scholarly journals Human Dermcidin Protects Mice Against Hepatic Ischemia-Reperfusion–Induced Local and Remote Inflammatory Injury

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoling Qiang ◽  
Jianhua Li ◽  
Shu Zhu ◽  
Mingzhu He ◽  
Weiqiang Chen ◽  
...  

BackgroundHepatic ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury is commonly associated with surgical liver resection or transplantation, and represents a major cause of liver damage and graft failure. Currently, there are no effective therapies to prevent hepatic I/R injury other than ischemic preconditioning and some preventative strategies. Previously, we have revealed the anti-inflammatory activity of a sweat gland-derived peptide, dermcidin (DCD), in macrophage/monocyte cultures. Here, we sought to explore its therapeutic potential and protective mechanisms in a murine model of hepatic I/R.MethodsMale C57BL/6 mice were subjected to hepatic ischemia by clamping the hepatic artery and portal vein for 60 min, which was then removed to initiate reperfusion. At the beginning of reperfusion, 0.2 ml saline control or solution of DCD (0.5 mg/kg BW) or DCD-C34S analog (0.25 or 0.5 mg/kg BW) containing a Cys (C)→Ser (S) substitution at residue 34 was injected via the internal jugular vein. For survival experiments, mice were subjected to additional resection to remove non-ischemic liver lobes, and animal survival was monitored for 10 days. For mechanistic studies, blood and tissue samples were collected at 24 h after the onset of reperfusion, and subjected to measurements of various markers of inflammation and tissue injury by real-time RT-PCR, immunoassays, and histological analysis.ResultsRecombinant DCD or DCD-C34S analog conferred a significant protection against lethal hepatic I/R when given intravenously at the beginning of reperfusion. This protection was associated with a significant reduction in hepatic injury, neutrophilic CXC chemokine (Mip-2) expression, neutrophil infiltration, and associated inflammation. Furthermore, the administration of DCD also resulted in a significant attenuation of remote lung inflammatory injury. Mechanistically, DCD interacted with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a key regulator of liver inflammation, and significantly inhibited hepatic I/R-induced phosphorylation of EGFR as well as a downstream signaling molecule, protein kinase B (AKT). The suppression of EGFR expression by transducing Egfr-specific shRNA plasmid into macrophages abrogated the DCD-mediated inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production induced by a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP), cold-inducible RNA-binding protein, CIRP.ConclusionsThe present study suggests that human DCD and its analog may be developed as novel therapeutics to attenuate hepatic I/R-induced inflammatory injury possibly by impairing EGFR signaling.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Liu ◽  
Chang Chun Ling ◽  
Wai Ho Oscar Yeung ◽  
Li Pang ◽  
Jiang Liu ◽  
...  

AbstractTumor recurrence is the major obstacle for pushing the envelope of liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. The inflammatory cascades activated by acute liver graft injury promote tumor recurrence. We aimed to explore the role and mechanism of myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) mobilization induced by liver graft injury on tumor recurrence. By analyzing 331 HCC patients who received liver transplantation, the patients with graft weight ratio (GWR, the weight of liver graft divided by the estimated standard liver weight of recipient) <60% had higher tumor recurrence than GWR ≥60% ones. MDSCs and CXCL10/TLR4 levels were significantly increased in patients with GWR <60% or tumor recurrence. These findings were further validated in our rat orthotopic liver transplantation model. In CXCL10−/− and TLR4−/− mice of hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury plus major hepatectomy (IRH) model, monocytic MDSCs, instead of granulocytic MDSCs, were significantly decreased. Importantly, CXCL10 deficiency reduced the accumulation of TLR4+ monocytic MDSCs, and CXCL10 increased MDSC mobilization in the presence of TLR4. Moreover, MMP14 was identified as the key molecule bridging CXCL10/TLR4 signaling and MDSC mobilization. Knockout or inhibition of CXCL10/TLR4 signaling significantly reduced the tumor growth with decreased monocytic MDSCs and MMP14 in the mouse tumor recurrent model. Our data indicated that monocytic MDSCs were mobilized and recruited to liver graft during acute phase injury, and to promote HCC recurrence after transplantation. Targeting MDSC mobilization via CXCL10/TLR4/MMP14 signaling may represent the therapeutic potential in decreasing post-transplant liver tumor recurrence.


Medicina ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale ◽  
Peitta ◽  
Simile ◽  
Feo

Several researchers have analyzed the alterations of the methionine cycle associated with liver disease to clarify the pathogenesis of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and improve the preventive and the therapeutic approaches to this tumor. Different alterations of the methionine cycle leading to a decrease of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) occur in hepatitis, liver steatosis, liver cirrhosis, and HCC. The reproduction of these changes in MAT1A-KO mice, prone to develop hepatitis and HCC, demonstrates the pathogenetic role of MAT1A gene under-regulation associated with up-regulation of the MAT2A gene (MAT1A:MAT2A switch), encoding the SAM synthesizing enzymes, methyladenosyltransferase I/III (MATI/III) and methyladenosyltransferase II (MATII), respectively. This leads to a rise of MATII, inhibited by the reaction product, with a consequent decrease of SAM synthesis. Attempts to increase the SAM pool by injecting exogenous SAM have beneficial effects in experimental alcoholic and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and hepatocarcinogenesis. Mechanisms involved in hepatocarcinogenesis inhibition by SAM include: (1) antioxidative effects due to inhibition of nitric oxide (NO•) production, a rise in reduced glutathione (GSH) synthesis, stabilization of the DNA repair protein Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endonuclease 1 (APEX1); (2) inhibition of c-myc, H-ras, and K-ras expression, prevention of NF-kB activation, and induction of overexpression of the oncosuppressor PP2A gene; (3) an increase in expression of the ERK inhibitor DUSP1; (4) inhibition of PI3K/AKT expression and down-regulation of C/EBPα and UCA1 gene transcripts; (5) blocking LKB1/AMPK activation; (6) DNA and protein methylation. Different clinical trials have documented curative effects of SAM in alcoholic liver disease. Furthermore, SAM enhances the IFN-α antiviral activity and protects against hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury during hepatectomy in HCC patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, although SAM prevents experimental tumors, it is not curative against already established experimental and human HCCs. The recent observation that the inhibition of MAT2A and MAT2B expression by miRNAs leads to a rise of endogenous SAM and strong inhibition of cancer cell growth could open new perspectives to the treatment of HCC.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Bejaoui ◽  
Eirini Pantazi ◽  
Maria Calvo ◽  
Emma Folch-Puy ◽  
Anna Serafín ◽  
...  

Hepatic ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) is an inevitable clinical problem for liver surgery. Polyethylene glycols (PEGs) are water soluble nontoxic polymers that have proven their effectiveness in variousin vivoandin vitromodels of tissue injury. The present study aims to investigate whether the intravenous administration of a high molecular weight PEG of 35 kDa (PEG 35) could be an effective strategy for rat liver preconditioning against IRI. PEG 35 was intravenously administered at 2 and 10 mg/kg to male Sprague Dawley rats. Then, rats were subjected to one hour of partial ischemia (70%) followed by two hours of reperfusion. The results demonstrated that PEG 35 injected intravenously at 10 mg/kg protected efficiently rat liver against the deleterious effects of IRI. This was evidenced by the significant decrease in transaminases levels and the better preservation of mitochondrial membrane polarization. Also, PEG 35 preserved hepatocyte morphology as reflected by an increased F-actin/G-actin ratio and confocal microscopy findings. In addition, PEG 35 protective mechanisms were correlated with the activation of the prosurvival kinase Akt and the cytoprotective factor AMPK and the inhibition of apoptosis. Thus, PEG may become a suitable agent to attempt pharmacological preconditioning against hepatic IRI.


2005 ◽  
Vol 289 (5) ◽  
pp. G969-G976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles C. Caldwell ◽  
Tomohisa Okaya ◽  
Andre Martignoni ◽  
Thomas Husted ◽  
Rebecca Schuster ◽  
...  

Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion results in an acute inflammatory response culminating in the recruitment of activated neutrophils that directly injure hepatocytes. Recent evidence suggests that CD4+ lymphocytes may regulate this neutrophil-dependent injury, but the mechanisms by which this occurs remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we sought to determine the type of CD4+ lymphocytes recruited to the liver after ischemia-reperfusion and the manner in which these cells regulated neutrophil recruitment and tissue injury. Wild-type and CD4 knockout (CD4−/−) mice were subjected to hepatic ischemia-reperfusion. CD4+ lymphocytes were recruited in the liver within 1 h of reperfusion and remained for at least 4 h. These cells were comprised of conventional (αβTCR-expressing), unconventional (γδTCR-expressing), and natural killer T cells. CD4−/− mice were then used to determine the functional role of CD4+ lymphocytes in hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury. Compared with wild-type mice, CD4−/− mice had significantly greater liver injury, yet far less neutrophil accumulation. Adoptive transfer of CD4+ lymphocytes to CD4−/− mice recapitulated the wild-type response. In wild-type mice, neutralization of interleukin (IL)-17, a cytokine released by activated CD4+ lymphocytes, significantly reduced neutrophil recruitment in association with suppression of MIP-2 expression. Finally, oxidative burst activity of liver-recruited neutrophils was higher in CD4−/− mice compared with those from wild-type mice. These data suggest that CD4+ lymphocytes are rapidly recruited to the liver after ischemia-reperfusion and facilitate subsequent neutrophil recruitment via an IL-17-dependent mechanism. However, these cells also appear to attenuate neutrophil activation. Thus the data suggest that CD4+ lymphocytes have dual, opposing roles in the hepatic inflammatory response to ischemia-reperfusion.


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