scholarly journals Expression Profile of Cationic Amino Acid Transporters in Rats with Endotoxin-Induced Uveitis

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yung-Ray Hsu ◽  
Shu-Wen Chang ◽  
Chang-Hao Yang ◽  
Yi-An Lee ◽  
Tzu-Yun Kao

Purpose. The transcellular arginine transportation via cationic amino acid transporter (CAT) is the rate-limiting step in nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, which is crucial in intraocular inflammation. In this study, CAT isoforms and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression was investigated in endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU).Methods.EIU was induced in Lewis rats by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection. In the treatment group, the rats were injected intraperitoneally with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib before EIU induction. After 24 hours, leukocyte quantification, NO measurement of the aqueous humor, and histopathological examination were evaluated. The expression of CAT isoforms and iNOS was determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, and immunofluorescence staining. Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) binding activity was evaluated by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. The mouse macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 was used to validate thein vivofindings.Results. LPS significantly stimulated iNOS, CAT-2A, and CAT-2B mRNA and protein expression but did not affect CAT-1 in EIU rats and RAW 264.7 cells. Bortezomib attenuated inflammation and inhibited iNOS, CAT-2A, and CAT-2B expression through NF-κB inhibition.Conclusions.CAT-2 and iNOS, but not CAT-1, are specifically involved in EIU. NF-κB is essential in the induction of CAT-2 and iNOS in EIU.

Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 420
Author(s):  
Su-Jung Hwang ◽  
Ye-Seul Song ◽  
Hyo-Jong Lee

Kushen (Radix Sophorae flavescentis) is used to treat ulcerative colitis, tumors, and pruritus. Recently, phaseolin, formononetin, matrine, luteolin, and quercetin, through a network pharmacology approach, were tentatively identified as five bioactive constituents responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects of S. flavescentis. However, the role of phaseolin (one of the primary components of S. flavescentis) in the direct regulation of inflammation and inflammatory processes is not well known. In this study, the beneficial role of phaseolin against inflammation was explored in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation models of RAW 264.7 macrophages and zebrafish larvae. Phaseolin inhibited LPS-mediated production of nitric oxide (NO) and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), without affecting cell viability. In addition, phaseolin suppressed pro-inflammatory mediators such as cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, phaseolin reduced matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity as well as macrophage adhesion in vitro and the recruitment of leukocytes in vivo by downregulating Ninjurin 1 (Ninj1), an adhesion molecule. Finally, phaseolin inhibited the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB). In view of the above, our results suggest that phaseolin could be a potential therapeutic candidate for the management of inflammation.


2010 ◽  
Vol 299 (2) ◽  
pp. C230-C239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaguo Zhou ◽  
David D. Kim ◽  
R. Daniel Peluffo

Nitric oxide (NO) plays a central role as a cellular signaling molecule in health and disease. In the heart, NO decreases the rate of spontaneous beating and the velocity and extent of shortening and accelerates the velocity of relengthening. Since the cationic amino acid l-arginine (l-Arg) is the substrate for NO production by NO synthases (NOS), we tested whether the transporters that mediate l-Arg import in cardiac muscle cells represent an intervention point in the regulation of NO synthesis. Electrical currents activated by l-Arg with low apparent affinity in whole cell voltage-clamped rat cardiomyocytes were found to be rapidly and reversibly inhibited by NO donors. Radiotracer uptake studies performed on cardiac sarcolemmal vesicles revealed the presence of high-affinity/low-capacity and low-affinity/high-capacity components of cationic amino acid transport that were inhibited by the NO donor S-nitroso- N-acetyl-dl-penicillamine. NO inhibited uptake in a noncompetitive manner with Ki values of 275 and 827 nM for the high- and low-affinity component, respectively. Fluorescence spectroscopy experiments showed that millimolar concentrations of l-Arg initially promoted and then inhibited the release of endogenous NO in cardiomyocytes. Likewise, l-Arg currents measured in cardiac myocytes voltage clamped in the presence of 460 nM free intracellular Ca2+, a condition in which a Ca-CaM complex should activate endogenous NO production, showed fast activation followed by inhibition of l-Arg transport. The NOS inhibitor N-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester, but not blockers of downstream reactions, specifically removed this inhibitory component. These results demonstrate that NO acutely regulates its own biosynthesis by modulating the availability of l-Arg via cationic amino acid transporters.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Wang ◽  
You-Jin Jeon ◽  
Jae-Il Kim

Abstract Background Inflammation plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of many diseases such as arthritis and atherosclerosis. In the present study, we evaluated anti-inflammatory activity of sterol-rich fraction prepared from Spirogyra sp., a freshwater green alga, in an effort to find bioactive extracts derived from natural sources. Methods The sterol content of ethanol extract of Spirogyra sp. (SPE) was enriched by fractionation with hexane (SPEH), resulting 6.7 times higher than SPE. Using this fraction, the in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated in lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells and zebrafish. Results SPEH effectively and dose-dependently decreased the production of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). SPEH suppressed the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and IL-1β through downregulating nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells without cytotoxicity. The in vivo test results indicated that SPEH significantly and dose-dependently reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, cell death, and NO production in LPS-stimulated zebrafish. Conclusions These results demonstrate that SPEH possesses strong in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory activities and has the potential to be used as healthcare or pharmaceutical material for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.


1994 ◽  
Vol 301 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Schmidt ◽  
P Klatt ◽  
B Mayer

Uptake of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitors NG-methyl-L-arginine (L-NMA) and NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) by macrophages is mediated by two different mechanisms. Activation of the cells with cytokines resulted in an up-regulation of L-NMA uptake but did not affect L-NNA transport. Characterization of the transport sites revealed that uptake of L-NMA is mediated by a cationic amino acid transporter (system y+) whereas a neutral amino acid transporter (system L) accounts for the uptake of L-NNA.


2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (05) ◽  
pp. 973-983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hee-Sung Chae ◽  
Ok-Hwa Kang ◽  
Jang-Gi Choi ◽  
You-Chang Oh ◽  
Young-Seob Lee ◽  
...  

To determine the anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of methyl gallate (MG) isolated from Galla Rhois, MG was studied in vivo for its analgesic activities using the writhing response in mice. Anti-inflammatory activity of MG was evaluated for NO and IL-6 production in RAW 264.7 cells. MG inhibited LPS-induced NO and IL-6 production. Consistent with these observations, the protein and mRNA expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were inhibited by MG. Moreover, MG suppressed the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that MG has anti-inflammatory effects.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 300
Author(s):  
Moo Rim Kang ◽  
Sun Ah Jo ◽  
Hyunju Lee ◽  
Yeo Dae Yoon ◽  
Joo-Hee Kwon ◽  
...  

Scytonemin is a yellow-green ultraviolet sunscreen pigment present in different genera of aquatic and terrestrial blue-green algae, including marine cyanobacteria. In the present study, the anti-inflammatory activities of scytonemin were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Topical application of scytonemin inhibited 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced ear swelling in BALB/c mice. The expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was also suppressed by scytonemin treatment in the TPA-treated ear of BALB/c mice. In addition, scytonemin inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of TNF-α and nitric oxide (NO) in RAW 264.7 cells, a murine macrophage-like cell line, and the mRNA expressions of TNF-α and iNOS were also suppressed by scytonemin in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Further study demonstrated that LPS-induced NF-κB activity was significantly suppressed by scytonemin treatment in RAW 264.7 cells. Our results also showed that the degradation of IκBα and nuclear translocation of the p65 subunit were blocked by scytonemin in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Collectively, these results suggest that scytonemin inhibits skin inflammation by blocking the expression of inflammatory mediators, and the anti-inflammatory effect of scytonemin is mediated, at least in part, by down-regulation of NF-κB activity. Our results also suggest that scytonemin might be used as a multi-function skin care ingredient for UV protection and anti-inflammation.


2004 ◽  
Vol 287 (3) ◽  
pp. L467-L474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanhong Zhang ◽  
Neil Hogg

S-Nitrosothiols have been suggested to be mediators of many nitric oxide-dependent processes, including apoptosis and vascular relaxation. Thiol nitrosation is a poorly understood process in vivo, and the mechanisms by which nitric oxide can be converted into a nitrosating agent have not been established. There is a discrepancy between the suggested biological roles of nitric oxide and its known chemical and physical properties. In this study, we have examined the formation of S-nitrosothiols in lipopolysaccharide-treated RAW 264.7 cells. This treatment generated 17.4 ± 1.0 pmol/mg of protein (means ± SE, n =27) of intracellular S-nitrosothiol that slowly decayed over several hours. S-Nitrosothiol formation depended on the formation of nitric oxide and not on the presence of nitrite. Extracellular thiols were nitrosated by cell-generated nitric oxide. Oxygenated ferrous hemoglobin inhibited the formation of S-nitrosothiol, indicating the nitrosation occurred more slowly than diffusion. We discuss several mechanisms for S-nitrosothiol formation and conclude that the nitrosation propensity of nitric oxide is a freely diffusible element that is not constrained within an individual cell and that both nitric oxide per se and nitric oxide-derived nitrosating agents are able to diffuse across cell membranes. To achieve intracellular localization of the nitrosation reaction, mechanisms must be invoked that do not involve the formation of nitric oxide as an intermediate.


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