MicroRNA-223-3p Protect Against Radiation-Induced Cardiac Toxicity by Alleviating Myocardial Oxidative Stress and Programmed Cell Death via Targeting the AMPK Pathway

Objectives: Radiotherapy improves the survival rate of cancer patients, yet it also involves some inevitable complications. Radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD) is one of the most serious complications, especially the radiotherapy of thoracic tumors, which is characterized by cardiac oxidative stress disorder and programmed cell death. At present, there is no effective treatment strategy for RIHD; in addition, it cannot be reversed when it progresses. This study aims to explore the role and potential mechanism of microRNA-223-3p (miR-223-3p) in RIHD.Methods: Mice were injected with miR-223-3p mimic, inhibitor, or their respective controls in the tail vein and received a single dose of 20 Gy whole-heart irradiation (WHI) for 16 weeks after 3 days to construct a RIHD mouse model. To inhibit adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) or phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D), compound C (CompC) and AAV9-shPDE4D were used.Results: WHI treatment significantly inhibited the expression of miR-223-3p in the hearts; furthermore, the levels of miR-223-3p decreased in a radiation time-dependent manner. miR-223-3p mimic significantly relieved, while miR-223-3p inhibitor aggravated apoptosis, oxidative damage, and cardiac dysfunction in RIHD mice. In addition, we found that miR-223-3p mimic improves WHI-induced myocardial injury by activating AMPK and that the inhibition of AMPK by CompC completely blocks these protective effects of miR-223-3p mimic. Further studies found that miR-223-3p lowers the protein levels of PDE4D and inhibiting PDE4D by AAV9-shPDE4D blocks the WHI-induced myocardial injury mediated by miR-223-3p inhibitor.Conclusion: miR-223-3p ameliorates WHI-induced RIHD through anti-oxidant and anti-programmed cell death mechanisms via activating AMPK by PDE4D regulation. miR-223-3p mimic exhibits potential value in the treatment of RIHD.

Canagliflozin protects against cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury by AMPK-mediated autophagy in renal proximal tubular cells

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors, which are recently introduced as glucose-lowering agents, improve cardiovascular and renal outcomes in patients with diabetes mellitus. These drugs also have beneficial effects in various kidney disease models. However, the effect of SGLT2 inhibitors on cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) and their mechanism of action need to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated whether canagliflozin protects against cisplatin-induced AKI, depending on adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation and following induction of autophagy. In the experiments using the HK-2 cell line, cell viability assay and molecular analysis revealed that canagliflozin protected renal proximal tubular cells from cisplatin, whereas addition of chloroquine or compound C abolished the protective effect of canagliflozin. In the mouse model of cisplatin-induced AKI, canagliflozin protected mice from cisplatin-induced AKI. However, treatment with chloroquine or compound C in addition to administration of cisplatin and canagliflozin eliminated the protective effect of canagliflozin. Collectively, these findings indicate that canagliflozin protects against cisplatin-induced AKI by activating AMPK and autophagy in renal proximal tubular cells.

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of (Z)-4-{[4-(3-methyl-3-phenylcyclobutyl)thiazol-2-yl]amino}-4-oxobut-2-enoic acid

The title cyclobutyl compound, C18H18N2O3S, was synthesized by the interaction of 4-(3-methyl-3-phenylcyclobutyl)thiazol-2-amine and maleic anhydride, and crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P212121 with Z′ = 1. The molecular geometry is partially stabilized by an intramolecular N—H...O hydrogen bond forming an S 1 1(7) ring motif. The molecule is non-planar with a dihedral angle of 88.29 (11)° between the thiazole and benzene rings. In the crystal, the molecules are linked by O—H...N hydrogen bonds, forming supramolecular ribbons with C 1 1(9) chain motifs. To further analyze the intermolecular interactions, a Hirshfeld surface analysis was performed. The results indicate that the most important contributions to the overall surface are from H...H (43%), C...H (18%), O...H (17%) and N...H (6%), interactions.

Synthesis, crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of dimethyl 3-(3-bromophenyl)-6-methyl-7-oxo-3,5,6,7-tetrahydropyrazolo[1,2-a]pyrazole-1,2-dicarboxylate

The title compound, C17H17BrN2O5, resulted from the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction between dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate and (3-bromobenzylidene)-4-methyl-5-oxopyrazolidin-2-ium-1-ide in CHCl3. The dihedral angle between the pyrazole rings (all atoms) is 32.91 (10)°; the oxo-pyrazole ring displays an envelope conformation whereas the other pyrazole ring adopts a twisted conformation. The bromophenyl ring subtends a dihedral angle of 88.95 (9)° with the mean plane of its attached pyrazole ring. In the crystal, the molecules are linked by C—H...O hydrogen bonds and aromatic π–π interactions with an inter-centroid distance of 3.8369 (10) Å. The Hirshfeld surface analysis and fingerprint plots reveal that the molecular packing is governed by H...H (37.1%), O...H/H...O (31.3%), Br...H/H...Br (13.5%) and C...H/H...C (10.6%) contacts. The energy framework indicates that dispersion energy is the major contributor to the molecular packing.

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of (S)-N-methyl-1-phenylethan-1-aminium chloride

The title compound C9H14N+·Cl−, (1), can be synthesized starting from (S)-N-methyl-1-phenylethan-1-amine (2). Compound 2 upon addition of HCl·Et2O leads to crystallization of compound 1 as colorless blocks. The configuration of compound 1 is stable as well as preserved in space group P212121. Ammonium chlorides, like the title compound, are often observed as undesirable by-products in aminosilylation of chlorosilanes. Additionally, these by-products are usually soluble in selected organic solvents, which require difficult separation steps. Therefore, detailed studies on structural features and intermolecular interactions performed by Hirshfeld atom refinement (HAR) using NoSpherA2 [Kleemiss et al. (2021). Chem. Sci. 12, 1675–1692] and Hirshfeld surface analysis were used to address structural issues on that separation problem.

[Sulfonylbis(bromomethylene)]dibenzene

The title compound, C14H12Br2O2S, crystallizes as the meso isomer of a diastereoisomeric pair. This structure determination was key to determining that the 1,3 elimination of bromine by triphenylphosphine occurs with inversion of the configuration at each of the two chiral carbon atoms. In the crystal, the molecules are linked by weak C—H...O and C—H...Br hydrogen bonds.

Sesamol Attenuates Neuroinflammation by Regulating the AMPK/SIRT1/NF-κB Signaling Pathway after Spinal Cord Injury in Mice

Inflammation is one of the crucial mechanisms mediating spinal cord injury (SCI) progress. Sesamol, a component of sesame oil, has anti-inflammatory activity, but its mechanism in SCI remains unclear. We investigated if the AMPK/SIRT1/NF-κB pathway participated in anti-inflammation of sesamol in SCI. Sesamol could inhibit neuronal apoptosis, reduce neuroinflammation, enhance M2 phenotype microglial polarization, and improved motor function recovery in mice after SCI. Furthermore, sesamol increased SIRT1 protein expression and p-AMPK/AMPK ratio, while it downregulated the p-p65/p65 ratio, indicating that sesamol treatment upregulated the AMPK/SIRT1 pathway and inhibited NF-κB activation. However, these effects were blocked by compound C which is a specific AMPK inhibitor. Together, the study suggests that sesamol is a potential drug for antineuroinflammation and improving locomotor functional recovery through regulation of the AMPK/SIRT1/NF-κB pathway in SCI.

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of 3-methyl-4-oxo-N-phenyl-3,4-dihydroquinazoline-2-carbothioamide

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C16H13N3OS, comprises two molecules (A and B) with similar conformations that differ mainly in the orientation of the phenyl group relative to the rest of the molecule, as expressed by the Cthioamide—Nthioamide—Cphenyl—Cphenyl torsion angle of 49.3 (3)° for molecule A and of 5.4 (3)° for molecule B. In the crystal, two intermolecular N—H...N hydrogen bonds lead to the formation of a dimer with R 2 2(10) graph-set notation. A Hirshfeld surface analysis revealed that H...H interactions are the most important intermolecular interactions, contributing 40.9% to the Hirshfeld surface.

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of 2,2,2-trifluoro-1-(7-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-yl)ethan-1-one

The bicyclic imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine core in the molecule of the title compound, C10H7F3N2O, is planar within 0.004 (1) Å. In the crystal, the molecules are linked by pairs of C—H...N and C—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming strips. These strips are connected by the F...F contacts into layers, which are further joined by π–π stacking interactions. The Hirshfeld surface analysis and fingerprint plots reveal that molecular packing is governed by F...H/H...F (31.6%), H...H (16.8%), C...H/H...C (13.8%) and O...H/H...O (8.5%) contacts.

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of 6-((E)-2-{4-[2-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-oxoethoxy]phenyl}ethenyl)-4,5-dihydropyridazin-3(2H)-one

The pyridazine ring in the title compound, C20H17ClN2O3, adopts a screw-boat conformation. The whole molecule is flattened, the dihedral angles subtended by the least-squares plane of the central aromatic ring with those of the terminal benzene and pyridazine rings being 15.18 (19) and 11.23 (19)°, respectively. In the crystal, the molecules are linked by pairs of N—H...O bonds into centrosymmetric dimers and by C—H...π contacts into columns. The results of the Hirshfeld surface analysis show that the most prominent interactions are H...H, accounting for 36.5% of overall crystal packing, and H...O/O...H (18.6% contribution) contacts.