scholarly journals Novel NFκB Inhibitor SC75741 Mitigates Chondrocyte Degradation and Prevents Activated Fibroblast Transformation by Modulating miR-21/GDF-5/SOX5 Signaling

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (20) ◽  
pp. 11082
Author(s):  
Pei-Wei Weng ◽  
Vijesh Kumar Yadav ◽  
Narpati Wesa Pikatan ◽  
Iat-Hang Fong ◽  
I-Hsin Lin ◽  
...  

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common articular disease manifested by the destruction of cartilage and compromised chondrogenesis in the aging population, with chronic inflammation of synovium, which drives OA progression. Importantly, the activated synovial fibroblast (AF) within the synovium facilitates OA through modulating key molecules, including regulatory microRNAs (miR’s). To understand OA associated pathways, in vitro co-culture system, and in vivo papain-induced OA model were applied for this study. The expression of key inflammatory markers both in tissue and blood plasma were examined by qRT-PCR, western blot, immunohistochemistry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescence assays. Herein, our result demonstrated, AF-activated human chondrocytes (AC) exhibit elevated NFκB, TNF-α, IL-6, and miR-21 expression as compared to healthy chondrocytes (HC). Importantly, AC induced the apoptosis of HC and inhibited the expression of chondrogenesis inducers, SOX5, TGF-β1, and GDF-5. NFκB is a key inflammatory transcription factor elevated in OA. Therefore, SC75741 (an NFκB inhibitor) therapeutic effect was explored. SC75741 inhibits inflammatory profile, protects AC-educated HC from apoptosis, and inhibits miR-21 expression, which results in the induced expression of GDF-5, SOX5, TGF-β1, BMPR2, and COL4A1. Moreover, ectopic miR-21 expression in fibroblast-like activated chondrocytes promoted osteoblast-mediated differentiation of osteoclasts in RW264.7 cells. Interestingly, in vivo study demonstrated SC75741 protective role, in controlling the destruction of the articular joint, through NFκB, TNF-α, IL-6, and miR-21 inhibition, and inducing GDF-5, SOX5, TGF-β1, BMPR2, and COL4A1 expression. Our study demonstrated the role of NFκB/miR-21 axis in OA progression, and SC75741′s therapeutic potential as a small-molecule inhibitor of miR-21/NFκB-driven OA progression.

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 1107-1118
Author(s):  
Ningning Li ◽  
Zhan Wang ◽  
Tao Sun ◽  
Yanfei Lei ◽  
Xianghua Liu ◽  
...  

Objective: Renal fibrosis is a common pathway leading to the progression of chronic kidney disease. Activated fibroblasts contribute remarkably to the development of renal fibrosis. Although apigenin has been demonstrated to play a protective role from fibrotic diseases, its pharmacological effect on renal fibroblast activation remains largely unknown. Materials and Methods: Here, we examined the functional role of apigenin in the activation of renal fibroblasts response to transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and its potential mechanisms. Cultured renal fibroblasts (NRK-49F) were exposed to apigenin (1, 5, 10 and 20 μM), followed by the stimulation of TGF-β1 (2 ng/mL) for 24 h. The markers of fibroblast activation were determined. In order to confirm the anti-fibrosis effect of apigenin, the expression of fibrosis-associated genes in renal fibroblasts was assessed. As a consequence, apigenin alleviated fibroblast proliferation and fibroblastmyofibroblast differentiation induced by TGF-β1. Result: Notably, apigenin significantly inhibited the fibrosis-associated genes expression in renal fibroblasts. Moreover, apigenin treatment significantly increased the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Apigenin treatment also obviously reduced TGF-β1 induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2 but not Smad2/3, p38 and JNK MAPK in renal fibroblasts. Conclusion: In a summary, these results indicate that apigenin inhibits renal fibroblast proliferation, differentiation and function by AMPK activation and reduced ERK1/2 phosphorylation, suggesting it could be an attractive therapeutic potential for the treatment of renal fibrosis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qilu Wei ◽  
Ning Kong ◽  
Xiaohui Liu ◽  
Run Tian ◽  
Ming Jiao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease of the entire joint involving synovial fibrosis and inflammation. Pathological changes to the synovium can accelerate the progression of OA. Pirfenidone (PFD) is a potent anti-fibrotic drug with additional anti-inflammatory properties. However, the influence of PFD on OA is unknown. Methods Proliferation of human fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) after treatment with TGF-β1 or PFD was evaluated using a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and their migration using a Transwell assay. The expression of fibrosis-related genes (COL1A1, TIMP-1, and ACTA-2) and those related to inflammation (IL-6 and TNF-α) was quantified by real-time quantitative PCR. The protein expression levels of COL1A1, α-SMA (coded by ACTA-2), IL-6 and TNF-α were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A rabbit model of OA was established and then PFD was administered by gavage. The expression of genes related to fibrosis (COL1A1, TIMP-1, and ADAM-12) and inflammation (IL-6 and TNF-α) was measured using RNA extracted from the synovium. Synovial tissue was examined histologically after staining with H&E, Masson’s trichrome, and immunofluorescence. Synovitis scores, the volume fraction of collagen, and mean fluorescence intensity were calculated. Degeneration of articular cartilage was analyzed using a Safranin O-fast green stain and OARSI grading. Results The proliferation of FLSs was greatest when induced with 2.5 ng/ml TGF-β1 although it did not promote their migration. Therefore, 2.5 ng/ml TGF-β1 was used to stimulate the FLSs and evaluate the effects of PFD, which inhibited the migration of FLSs at concentrations as low as 1.0 mg/ml. PFD decreased the expression of COL1A1 while TGF-β1 increased both mRNA and protein expression levels of IL-6 but had no effect on α-SMA or TNF-α expression. PFD decreased mRNA expression levels of COL1A1, IL-6, and TNF-α in vivo. H&E staining and synovitis scores indicated that PFD reduced synovial inflammation, while Masson’s trichrome and immunofluorescence staining suggested that PFD decreased synovial fibrosis. Safranin O-Fast Green staining and the OARSI scores demonstrated that PFD delayed the progression of OA. Conclusions PFD attenuated synovial fibrosis and inflammation, and postponed the progression of osteoarthritis in a modified Hulth model of OA in rabbits, which was related to its anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory properties.


Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 615
Author(s):  
Shang-En Huang ◽  
Erna Sulistyowati ◽  
Yu-Ying Chao ◽  
Bin-Nan Wu ◽  
Zen-Kong Dai ◽  
...  

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative arthropathy that is mainly characterized by dysregulation of inflammatory responses. KMUP-1, a derived chemical synthetic of xanthine, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Here, we aimed to investigate the in vitro anti-inflammatory and in vivo anti-osteoarthritis effects of KMUP-1. Protein and gene expressions of inflammation markers were determined by ELISA, Western blotting and microarray, respectively. RAW264.7 mouse macrophages were cultured and pretreated with KMUP-1 (1, 5, 10 μM). The productions of TNF-α, IL-6, MMP-2 and MMP- 9 were reduced by KMUP-1 pretreatment in LPS-induced inflammation of RAW264.7 cells. The expressions of iNOS, TNF-α, COX-2, MMP-2 and MMP-9 were also inhibited by KMUP-1 pretreatment. The gene expression levels of TNF and COX families were also downregulated. In addition, KMUP-1 suppressed the activations of ERK, JNK and p38 as well as phosphorylation of IκBα/NF-κB signaling pathways. Furthermore, SIRT1 inhibitor attenuated the inhibitory effect of KMUP-1 in LPS-induced NF-κB activation. In vivo study showed that KMUP-1 reduced mechanical hyperalgesia in monoiodoacetic acid (MIA)-induced rats OA. Additionally, KMUP-1 pretreatment reduced the serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in MIA-injected rats. Moreover, macroscopic and histological observation showed that KMUP-1 reduced articular cartilage erosion in rats. Our results demonstrated that KMUP-1 inhibited the inflammatory responses and restored SIRT1 in vitro, alleviated joint-related pain and cartilage destruction in vivo. Taken together, KMUP-1 has the potential to improve MIA-induced articular cartilage degradation by inhibiting the levels and expression of inflammatory mediators suggesting that KMUP-1 might be a potential therapeutic agent for OA.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (14) ◽  
pp. 3574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye-Sun Lim ◽  
Yu Jin Kim ◽  
Bu-Yeo Kim ◽  
Soo-Jin Jeong

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of bakuchiol on the inflammatory response and to identify the molecular mechanism of the inflammatory effects in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV-2 mouse microglial cell line and mice model. The production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), TNF-α, and IL-6 was measured using reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction analysis. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation was determined by western blot analysis. In vitro experiments, bakuchiol significantly suppressed the production of PGE2 and IL-6 in LPS-stimulated BV-2 cells, without causing cytotoxicity. In parallel, bakuchiol significantly inhibited the LPS-stimulated expression of iNOS, COX-2, and IL-6 in BV-2 cells. However, bakuchiol had no effect on the LPS-stimulated production and mRNA expression of TNF-α or on LPS-stimulated c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase phosphorylation. In contrast, p38 MAPK and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation were inhibited by bakuchiol. In vivo experiments, Bakuchiol reduced microglial activation in the hippocampus and cortex tissue of LPS-injected mice. Bakuchiol significantly suppressed LPS-injected production of TNF-α and IL-6 in serum. These results indicate that the anti-neuroinflammatory effects of bakuchiol in activated microglia are mainly regulated by the inhibition of the p38 MAPK and ERK pathways. We suggest that bakuchiol may be beneficial for various neuroinflammatory diseases.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (15) ◽  
pp. 2729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melo ◽  
Luzo ◽  
Lana ◽  
Santana

Leukocyte and platelet-rich plasma (L-PRP) is an autologous product that when activated forms fibrin nanofibers, which are useful in regenerative medicine. As an important part of the preparation of L-PRP, the centrifugation parameters may affect the release of soluble factors that modulate the behavior of the cells in the nanofibers. In this study, we evaluated the influences of four different centrifugation conditions on the concentration of platelets and leukocytes in L-PRP and on the anabolic/catabolic balance of the nanofiber microenvironment. Human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (h-AdMSCs) were seeded in the nanofibers, and their viability and growth were evaluated. L-PRPs prepared at 100× g and 100 + 400× g released higher levels of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB due to the increased platelet concentration, while inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-8 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were more significantly released from L-PRPs prepared via two centrifugation steps (100 + 400× g and 800 + 400× g) due to the increased concentration of leukocytes. Our results showed that with the exception of nanofibers formed from L-PRP prepared at 800 + 400× g, all other microenvironments were favorable for h-AdMSC proliferation. Here, we present a reproducible protocol for the standardization of L-PRP and fibrin nanofibers useful in clinical practices with known platelet/leukocyte ratios and in vitro evaluations that may predict in vivo results.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan-Yan Meng ◽  
Yu-Pei Yuan ◽  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Chun-Yan Kong ◽  
Peng Song ◽  
...  

Oxidative stress and cardiomyocyte apoptosis play critical roles in the development of doxorubicin- (DOX-) induced cardiotoxicity. Our previous study found that geniposide (GE) could inhibit cardiac oxidative stress and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes but its role in DOX-induced heart injury remains unknown. Our study is aimed at investigating whether GE could protect against DOX-induced heart injury. The mice were subjected to a single intraperitoneal injection of DOX (15 mg/kg) to induce cardiomyopathy model. To explore the protective effects, GE was orally given for 10 days. The morphological examination and biochemical analysis were used to evaluate the effects of GE. H9C2 cells were used to verify the protective role of GE in vitro. GE treatment alleviated heart dysfunction and attenuated cardiac oxidative stress and cell loss induced by DOX in vivo and in vitro. GE could activate AMP-activated protein kinase α (AMPKα) in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, inhibition of AMPKα could abolish the protective effects of GE against DOX-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis. GE could protect against DOX-induced heart injury via activation of AMPKα. GE has therapeutic potential for the treatment of DOX cardiotoxicity.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (05) ◽  
pp. 410-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Birdwhistell ◽  
Lohitash Karumbaiah ◽  
Samuel Franklin

AbstractActivated platelet-rich plasma (PRP), also referred to as platelet-rich fibrin (PRF), has been used to augment numerous techniques of cartilage repair in the knee but does not always result in superior quality of repair tissue. One possible reason that PRF does not consistently result in excellent cartilage regeneration is the transiency of growth factor provision with PRF. The objective of this study was to compare the release of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 from PRF and from PRP combined with a novel chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycan (CS-GAG) gel. PRP was prepared from nine healthy dogs and split into two aliquots: one activated with bovine thrombin and calcium chloride (CaCl2) to form PRF and the other aliquot was used to rehydrate a lyophilized CS-GAG gel. Both PRF and the CS-GAG gels were incubated in media for 13 days and media were collected, stored, and replaced every 48 hours and the concentration of TGF-β1 quantified in the media using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Concentrations of TGF-β1 in the media were up to three times greater with the CS-GAG gels and were significantly (p < 0.05) greater than with PRF on days 3, 5, 7, 9, and 13. Furthermore, TGF-β1 elution was still substantial at day 13 with the use of the CS-GAG gels. Additional in vitro work is warranted to characterize TGF-β1 elution from this CS-GAG gel with human PRP and to determine whether the use of these CS-GAG gels can augment cartilage repair in vivo.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Yu ◽  
Wen-tao Zhang ◽  
Fu-han Yang ◽  
Ya-dong Guo ◽  
Lin Ye ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been proved to accelerate prostate cancer (PCa) castration resistance progression. The purpose of this study is to investigate the contribution of MSCs to the development of docetaxel resistance in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) cells and its potential mechanisms.Methods: The effect of MSCs on CRPC cells resistance to docetaxel was determined using in-vivo and in-vitro approaches. CCK8 and PI/Annexin V-FITC assay were used to examined the cell viability and apoptosis. The concentration of transforming growth factor-β1 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and small interfering RNA was used for functional analyses.Results: MSCs significantly reduced the sensitivity of CRPC cells to docetaxel-induced proliferation inhibition and apoptosis promotion in vivo and in vitro. CRPC cells cocultured with MSCs under docetaxel administration have an increased autophagy activation, while autophagy inhibitor could effectively reversed MSCs-induced resistance to docetaxel. Additionally, MSCs-induced CRPC cell autophagy increase under docetaxel administration depends on MSCs secreting TGF-β1 and inhibition of TGF-β1 secretion in MSCs could consequently increase the sensitivity of CRPC cells to docetaxel.Conclusions: These results suggest that docetaxel administrated CRPC cells may elicit MSCs secreting TGF-β1 increase, which desensitizes CRPC to docetaxel chemotherapy accelerating chemoresistance occurrence via inducing cell autophagy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 92 (19) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Ari Schwartz ◽  
Hongliang Zhang ◽  
Zachary Ende ◽  
Martin J. Deymier ◽  
Terry Lee ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection often arises from a single transmitted/founder (TF) viral variant among a large pool of viruses in the quasispecies in the transmitting partner. TF variants are typically nondominant in blood and genital secretions, indicating that they have unique traits. The plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) is the primary alpha interferon (IFN-α)-producing cell in response to viral infections and is rapidly recruited to the female genital tract upon exposure to HIV-1. The impact of pDCs on transmission is unknown. We investigated whether evasion of pDC responses is a trait of TF viruses. pDCs from healthy donors were stimulated in vitro with a panel of 20 HIV-1 variants, consisting of one TF variant and three nontransmitted (NT) variants each from five transmission-linked donor pairs, and secretion of IFN-α and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). No significant differences in cytokine secretion in response to TF and NT viruses were observed, despite a trend toward enhanced IFN-α and TNF-α production in response to TF viruses. NT viruses demonstrated polarization toward production of either IFN-α or TNF-α, indicating possible dysregulation. Also, for NT viruses, IFN-α secretion was associated with increased resistance of the virus to inactivation by IFN-α in vitro, suggesting in vivo evolution. Thus, TF viruses do not appear to preferentially subvert pDC activation compared to that with nontransmitted HIV-1 variants. pDCs may, however, contribute to the in vivo evolution of HIV-1. IMPORTANCE The plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) is the first cell type recruited to the site of HIV-1 exposure; however, its contribution to the viral bottleneck in HIV-1 transmission has not been explored previously. We hypothesized that transmitted/founder viruses are able to avoid the pDC response. In this study, we used previously established donor pair-linked transmitted/founder and nontransmitted (or chronic) variants of HIV-1 to stimulate pDCs. Transmitted/founder HIV-1, instead of suppressing pDC responses, induced IFN-α and TNF-α secretion to levels comparable to those induced by viruses from the transmitting partner. We noted several unique traits of chronic viruses, including polarization between IFN-α and TNF-α production as well as a strong relationship between IFN-α secretion and the resistance of the virus to neutralization. These data rule out the possibility that TF viruses preferentially suppress pDCs in comparison to the pDC response to nontransmitted HIV variants. pDCs may, however, be important drivers of viral evolution in vivo.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youqiong Zhuo ◽  
Renyikun Yuan ◽  
Xinxin Chen ◽  
Jia He ◽  
Yangling Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundTanshinone I (TI) is a primary component of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Danshen), which confers a favorable role in a variety of pharmacological activities including cardiovascular protection. However, the exact mechanism of the cardiovascular protection activity of TI remains to be illustrated. In this study, the cardiovascular protective effect and its mechanism of TI were investigated.MethodsIn this study, tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-stimulated H9c2 cells model was employed to investigate the protective effect in vitro. The cell viability was determined by 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) kit. The reactive-oxygen-species (ROS) level and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were investigated by the flow cytometry and JC-1 assay, respectively. While in vivo experiment, the cardiovascular protective effect of TI was determined by using myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (MI/R) model including hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining assay and determination of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) release were detected by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All related protein expression was determined by western blotting.ResultsOur data demonstrated that TI pretreatment attenuated t-BHP- and MI/R injury-induced necroptosis by inhibiting the expression of p-RIP1, p-RIP3, and p-MLKL. TI activated the Akt/Nrf2 pathway to promote the expression of antioxidant-related proteins such as phosphorylation of Akt, nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2), quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO-1) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression in t-BHP-stimulated H9c2 cells. TI relieved oxidative stress by mitigating ROS generation and reversing MMP loss. In vivo experiment, TI made electrocardiograph (ECG) recovery better and lessened the degree of myocardial tissue damage. The counts of white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil (Neu), lymphocyte (Lym), and the release of TNF-α and IL-6 were reversed by TI treatment. SOD level was increased, while MDA level was decreased by TI treatment.ConclusionCollectively, our findings indicated that TI exerted cardiovascular protective activities in vitro and in vivo through suppressing RIP1/RIP3/MLKL and activating Akt/Nrf2 signaling pathways, which could be developed into a cardiovascular protective agent.


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