Peer Review #1 of "Achilles and tail tendons of perlecan exon 3 null heparan sulphate deficient mice display surprising improvement in tendon tensile properties and altered collagen fibril organisation compared to C57BL/6 wild type mice (v0.2)"

Abstract Inflammation is a hallmark in the human cervix remodelling. A possible candidate inducing the inflammatory driven ripening of the cervix is the matrix component heparan sulphate, which has been shown to be elevated in late pregnancy in the cervix and uterus. Heparin and a glycol-split low molecular weight heparin (gsHep) with low anticoagulant potency has been shown to enhance myometrial contraction and interleukin (IL)-8 production by cervical fibroblasts. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism by which heparin promotes cervical inflammation. Wild-type, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), Myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 n (MyD88) and Interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3)-deficient mice were treated by deposition of gsHep into the vaginas of nonpregnant mice. To identify which cells that responded to the heparin fragments, a rhodamine fluorescent construct of gsHep was used, which initially did bind to the epithelial cells and were at later time points located in the sub-mucosa. The heparin fragments induced a strong local inflammatory response in wild-type mice shown by a rapid infiltration of neutrophils and to a lesser extent macrophages into the epithelium and the underlying extracellular matrix (ECM) of the cervix. Further, a marked migration into the cervical and vaginal lumen was seen by both neutrophils and macrophages. The induced mucosal inflammation was strongly reduced in TLR4- and IRF3-deficient mice. In conclusion, our findings suggest that a TLR4/IRF3-mediated innate immune response in the cervical mucosa is induced by gsHep. This low anticoagulant heparin version, a novel TLR4 agonist, could contribute to human cervical ripening during the initiation of labour.

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Soluble syndecan-1 and glycosaminoglycans in preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancies

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-82972-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

H. Hassani Lahsinoui ◽

F. Amraoui ◽

L. J. A. Spijkers ◽

G. J. M. Veenboer ◽

S. L. M. Peters ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Heparan Sulphate ◽

Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time ◽

Male Mice ◽

Wild Type ◽

Dermatan Sulphate ◽

Keratan Sulphate ◽

Blood Pressure Elevation ◽

Wild Type Male ◽

Deficient Mice

AbstractPreeclampsia, an important cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, is associated with increased sFLT1 levels and with structural and functional damage to the glycocalyx contributing to endothelial dysfunction. We investigated glycocalyx components in relation to preeclampsia in human samples. While soluble syndecan-1 and heparan sulphate were similar in plasma of preeclamptic and normotensive pregnant women, dermatan sulphate was increased and keratan sulphate decreased in preeclamptic women. Dermatan sulphate was correlated with soluble syndecan-1, and inversely correlated with blood pressure and activated partial thromboplastin time. To determine if syndecan-1 was a prerequisite for the sFlt1 induced increase in blood pressure in mice we studied the effect of sFlt1 on blood pressure and vascular contractile responses in syndecan-1 deficient and wild type male mice. The classical sFlt1 induced rise in blood pressure was absent in syndecan-1 deficient mice indicating that syndecan-1 is a prerequisite for sFlt1 induced increase in blood pressure central to preeclampsia. The results show that an interplay between syndecan-1 and dermatan sulphate contributes to sFlt1 induced blood pressure elevation in pre-eclampsia.

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Dermatan Sulfate Epimerase 1-Deficient Mice Have Reduced Content and Changed Distribution of Iduronic Acids in Dermatan Sulfate and an Altered Collagen Structure in Skin

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.00430-09 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 29 (20) ◽

pp. 5517-5528 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

Marco Maccarana ◽

Sebastian Kalamajski ◽

Mads Kongsgaard ◽

S. Peter Magnusson ◽

Åke Oldberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Tensile Strength ◽

Collagen Fibril ◽

Glucuronic Acid ◽

Dermatan Sulfate ◽

Collagen Structure ◽

Wild Type ◽

Iduronic Acid ◽

Skin Collagen ◽

Deficient Mice

ABSTRACT Dermatan sulfate epimerase 1 (DS-epi1) and DS-epi2 convert glucuronic acid to iduronic acid in chondroitin/dermatan sulfate biosynthesis. Here we report on the generation of DS-epi1-null mice and the resulting alterations in the chondroitin/dermatan polysaccharide chains. The numbers of long blocks of adjacent iduronic acids are greatly decreased in skin decorin and biglycan chondroitin/dermatan sulfate, along with a parallel decrease in iduronic-2-O-sulfated-galactosamine-4-O-sulfated structures. Both iduronic acid blocks and iduronic acids surrounded by glucuronic acids are also decreased in versican-derived chains. DS-epi1-deficient mice are smaller than their wild-type littermates but otherwise have no gross macroscopic alterations. The lack of DS-epi1 affects the chondroitin/dermatan sulfate in many proteoglycans, and the consequences for skin collagen structure were initially analyzed. We found that the skin collagen architecture was altered, and electron microscopy showed that the DS-epi1-null fibrils have a larger diameter than the wild-type fibrils. The altered chondroitin/dermatan sulfate chains carried by decorin in skin are likely to affect collagen fibril formation and reduce the tensile strength of DS-epi1-null skin.

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Different effects of chronic helicobactor pylori infection on parietal and ECL cells between wild type and gastrin-deficient mice

Gastroenterology ◽

10.1016/s0016-5085(01)83624-6 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 120 (5) ◽

pp. A728-A728

Author(s):

D CHEN ◽

L FRIISHANSEN ◽

X WANG ◽

C ZHAO ◽

H WALDUM ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wild Type ◽

Ecl Cells ◽

Helicobactor Pylori ◽

Deficient Mice

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CCR5 deficiency decreases susceptibility to experimental cerebral malaria

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood-2002-05-1493 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 101 (11) ◽

pp. 4253-4259 ◽

Cited By ~ 82

Author(s):

Elodie Belnoue ◽

Michèle Kayibanda ◽

Jean-Christophe Deschemin ◽

Mireille Viguier ◽

Matthias Mack ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

Cerebral Malaria ◽

Cd8 T Cells ◽

Cytokine Production ◽

Wild Type ◽

Experimental Cerebral Malaria ◽

Pathologic Features ◽

Th1 Cytokine ◽

The Brain ◽

Deficient Mice

Abstract Infection of susceptible mouse strains with Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA) is a valuable experimental model of cerebral malaria (CM). Two major pathologic features of CM are the intravascular sequestration of infected erythrocytes and leukocytes inside brain microvessels. We have recently shown that only the CD8+ T-cell subset of these brain-sequestered leukocytes is critical for progression to CM. Chemokine receptor–5 (CCR5) is an important regulator of leukocyte trafficking in the brain in response to fungal and viral infection. Therefore, we investigated whether CCR5 plays a role in the pathogenesis of experimental CM. Approximately 70% to 85% of wild-type and CCR5+/- mice infected with PbA developed CM, whereas only about 20% of PbA-infected CCR5-deficient mice exhibited the characteristic neurologic signs of CM. The brains of wild-type mice with CM showed significant increases in CCR5+ leukocytes, particularly CCR5+ CD8+ T cells, as well as increases in T-helper 1 (Th1) cytokine production. The few PbA-infected CCR5-deficient mice that developed CM exhibited a similar increase in CD8+ T cells. Significant leukocyte accumulation in the brain and Th1 cytokine production did not occur in PbA-infected CCR5-deficient mice that did not develop CM. Moreover, experiments using bone marrow (BM)–chimeric mice showed that a reduced but significant proportion of deficient mice grafted with CCR5+ BM develop CM, indicating that CCR5 expression on a radiation-resistant brain cell population is necessary for CM to occur. Taken together, these results suggest that CCR5 is an important factor in the development of experimental CM.

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Toll-like Receptor 4 Signaling in Ventilator-induced Diaphragm Atrophy

Anesthesiology ◽

10.1097/aln.0b013e3182608cc0 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 117 (2) ◽

pp. 329-338 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Willem-Jan M. Schellekens ◽

Hieronymus W. H. van Hees ◽

Michiel Vaneker ◽

Marianne Linkels ◽

P. N. Richard Dekhuijzen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Ventilation ◽

Caspase 3 ◽

Toll Like Receptor ◽

Wild Type ◽

Toll Like Receptor 4 ◽

Ubiquitin Proteasome Pathway ◽

Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽

Proteasome Pathway ◽

Diaphragm Atrophy ◽

Deficient Mice

Background Mechanical ventilation induces diaphragm muscle atrophy, which plays a key role in difficult weaning from mechanical ventilation. The signaling pathways involved in ventilator-induced diaphragm atrophy are poorly understood. The current study investigated the role of Toll-like receptor 4 signaling in the development of ventilator-induced diaphragm atrophy. Methods Unventilated animals were selected for control: wild-type (n = 6) and Toll-like receptor 4 deficient mice (n = 6). Mechanical ventilation (8 h): wild-type (n = 8) and Toll-like receptor 4 deficient (n = 7) mice.Myosin heavy chain content, proinflammatory cytokines, proteolytic activity of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, caspase-3 activity, and autophagy were measured in the diaphragm. Results Mechanical ventilation reduced myosin content by approximately 50% in diaphragms of wild-type mice (P less than 0.05). In contrast, ventilation of Toll-like receptor 4 deficient mice did not significantly affect diaphragm myosin content. Likewise, mechanical ventilation significantly increased interleukin-6 and keratinocyte-derived chemokine in the diaphragm of wild-type mice, but not in ventilated Toll-like receptor 4 deficient mice. Mechanical ventilation increased diaphragmatic muscle atrophy factor box transcription in both wild-type and Toll-like receptor 4 deficient mice. Other components of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and caspase-3 activity were not affected by ventilation of either wild-type mice or Toll-like receptor 4 deficient mice. Mechanical ventilation induced autophagy in diaphragms of ventilated wild-type mice, but not Toll-like receptor 4 deficient mice. Conclusion Toll-like receptor 4 signaling plays an important role in the development of ventilator-induced diaphragm atrophy, most likely through increased expression of cytokines and activation of lysosomal autophagy.

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Vasomotor responses in MnSOD-deficient mice

AJP Heart and Circulatory Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpheart.01215.2003 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 287 (3) ◽

pp. H1141-H1148 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Jon J. Andresen ◽

Frank M. Faraci ◽

Donald D. Heistad

Keyword(s):

Oxidative Stress ◽

Acute Hypoxia ◽

Vasomotor Response ◽

Wild Type ◽

Similar Extent ◽

Sod Activity ◽

Vasomotor Function ◽

Mitochondrial Superoxide ◽

Prostaglandin F ◽

Deficient Mice

MnSOD is the only mammalian isoform of SOD that is necessary for life. MnSOD−/− mice die soon after birth, and MnSOD+/− mice are more susceptible to oxidative stress than wild-type (WT) mice. In this study, we examined vasomotor function responses in aortas of MnSOD+/− mice under normal conditions and during oxidative stress. Under normal conditions, contractions to serotonin (5-HT) and prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α), relaxation to ACh, and superoxide levels were similar in aortas of WT and MnSOD+/− mice. The mitochondrial inhibitor antimycin A reduced contraction to PGF2α and impaired relaxation to ACh to a similar extent in aortas of WT and MnSOD+/− mice. The Cu/ZnSOD and extracellular SOD inhibitor diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC) paradoxically enhanced contraction to 5-HT and superoxide more in aortas of WT mice than in MnSOD+/− mice. DDC impaired relaxation to ACh and reduced total SOD activity similarly in aortas of both genotypes. Tiron, a scavenger of superoxide, normalized contraction to 5-HT, relaxation to ACh, and superoxide levels in DDC-treated aortas of WT and MnSOD+/− mice. Hypoxia, which reportedly increases superoxide, reduced contractions to 5-HT and PGF2α similarly in aortas of WT and MnSOD+/− mice. The vasomotor response to acute hypoxia was similar in both genotypes. In summary, under normal conditions and during acute oxidative stress, vasomotor function is similar in WT and MnSOD+/− mice. We speculate that decreased mitochondrial superoxide production may preserve nitric oxide bioavailability during oxidative stress.

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