scholarly journals MiR-144-3p Aggravated Cartilage Injury in Rheumatoid Arthritis by Regulating BMP2/PI3K/Akt Axis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei-Li Mo ◽  
Jin-Mei Jiang ◽  
Xiao-Ping Long ◽  
Li-Hu Xie

Abstract Objectives Present study aimed to illustrate the role of miR-144-3p in RA. Methods N1511 chondrocytes were stimulated by IL-1β to mimic RA injury model in vitro. Rats were subjected to injection of type II collagen to establish an in vivo RA model and the arthritis index score was calculated. Cell viability was determined by CCK-8. The expression of cartilage extracellular matrix proteins (Collagen II and Aggrecan) and matrix metalloproteinases protein (MMP-13) were determined by qRT-PCR and western blots. Cell apoptosis was measured by Flow cytometry. ELISA was applied to test the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and TNF-α). Tissue injury and apoptosis were detected by HE staining and TUNEL staining. Interaction of miR-144-3p and BMP2 was verified by dual luciferase assay. Results MiR-144-3p was dramatically increased in IL-1β induced N1511 cells. MiR-144-3p depletion elevated cell viability, suppressed apoptosis, pro-inflammatory cytokine releasing, and extracellular matrix loss in IL-1β induced N1511 cells. Moreover, miR-144-3p targeted BMP2 to modulate its expression negatively. Activation of PI3K/Akt signaling compromised inhibition of BMP2 induced aggravated N1511 cell injury with IL-1β stimulation. Inhibition of miR-144-3p alleviated cartilage injury and inflammatory in RA rats. Conclusion Collectively, miR-144-3p could aggravate chondrocytes injury inflammatory response in RA via BMP2/PI3K/Akt axis.

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 1939-1951 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Li ◽  
Lian-Mei Zhao ◽  
Su-li Dai ◽  
Wen-Xuan Cui ◽  
Hui-Lai Lv ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Periplocin is extracted from the traditional herbal medicine cortex periplocae, which has been reported to suppress the growth of cancer cells. However, little is known about its effect on gastric cancer cells. Methods: Gastric cancer cells were treated with periplocin, and cell viability was assessed using MTS assay. Flow cytometry and TUNEL staining were performed to evaluate apoptosis, and protein expression was examined by western blotting. Microarray analysis was used to screen for changes in related genes. Results: We found that periplocin had an inhibitory effect on gastric cancer cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. Periplocin inhibited cell viability via the ERK1/2-EGR1 pathway to induce apoptosis. Periplocin also inhibited the growth of tumor xenografts and induced apoptosis in vivo. Conclusion: Our results show that periplocin inhibits the proliferation of gastric cancer cells and induces apoptosis in vitro and in vivo, indicating its potential to be used as an antitumor drug.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Zhou ◽  
Yu-Kai Wang ◽  
Cheng-Guo Zhang ◽  
Bing-Yi Wu

Abstract Background Stroke affects 3–4% of adults and kills numerous people each year. Recovering blood flow with minimal reperfusion-induced injury is crucial. However, the mechanisms underlying reperfusion-induced injury, particularly inflammation, are not well understood. Here, we investigated the function of miR-19a/b-3p/SIRT1/FoxO3/SPHK1 axis in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). Methods MCAO (middle cerebral artery occlusion) reperfusion rat model was used as the in vivo model of I/R. Cultured neuronal cells subjected to OGD/R (oxygen glucose deprivation/reperfusion) were used as the in vitro model of I/R. MTT assay was used to assess cell viability and TUNEL staining was used to measure cell apoptosis. H&E staining was employed to examine cell morphology. qRT-PCR and western blot were performed to determine levels of miR-19a/b-3p, SIRT1, FoxO3, SPHK1, NF-κB p65, and cytokines like TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β. EMSA and ChIP were performed to validate the interaction of FoxO3 with SPHK1 promoter. Dual luciferase assay and RIP were used to verify the binding of miR-19a/b-3p with SIRT1 mRNA. Results miR-19a/b-3p, FoxO3, SPHK1, NF-κB p65, and cytokines were elevated while SIRT1 was reduced in brain tissues following MCAO/reperfusion or in cells upon OGD/R. Knockdown of SPHK1 or FoxO3 suppressed I/R-induced inflammation and cell death. Furthermore, knockdown of FoxO3 reversed the effects of SIRT1 knockdown. Inhibition of the miR-19a/b-3p suppressed inflammation and this suppression was blocked by SIRT1 knockdown. FoxO3 bound SPHK1 promoter and activated its transcription. miR-19a/b-3p directly targeted SIRT1 mRNA. Conclusion miR-19a/b-3p promotes inflammatory responses during I/R via targeting SIRT1/FoxO3/SPHK1 axis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Xiao ◽  
Yinu Zhao ◽  
Hongjing Sun ◽  
Jia Xu ◽  
Wenjie Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a diabetic complication and the primary cause of blindness in the world. However, the treatments of DR are challenging given its complicated pathogenesis. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanisms of DR by focusing on the function of E2F1/miR-423-5p/HIPK2/HIF1α/VEGF axis. Methods Cultured retinal endothelial cells (hRMECs, hRECs) were treated with 25 mM glucose to mimic the high glucose-induced DR in vitro. Streptozotocin (STZ) was injected into mice to induce DR in mice. qRT-PCR, western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and ELISA were employed to measure levels of E2F1, miR-423-5p, HIPK2, HIF1α, and VEGF. H&E staining was utilized to examine retinal neovascularization. CCK-8 assay, transwell assay, and vascular tube formation assay were used to assess the cell viability, migration, and angiogenesis. Dual luciferase assay was performed to validate interactions between E2F1 and miR-423-5p, miR-423-5p and HIPK2. Results HG treatment increased the cell viability, migration, and angiogenesis accompanied by upregulation of E2F1, miR-423-5p, HIF1α, and VEGF levels, but reduction in HIPK2 expression. Knockdown of E2F1 or miR-423-5p suppressed the HG-induced increases in cell viability, migration, and angiogenesis. E2F1 transcriptionally activated miR-423-5p expression and miR-423-5p mimics blocked the effects of E2F1 knockdown on angiogenesis. Moreover, miR-423-5p directly targeted HIPK2 to disinhibit HIF1α/VEGF signaling. Knockdown of HIPK2 reversed the effects of miR-423-5p inhibitor on cell viability, migration, and angiogenesis. Knockdown of E2F1 suppressed neovascularization during DR in vivo. Conclusions E2F1 activates miR-423-5p transcription during DR to promote angiogenesis via suppressing HIPK2 expression to disinhibit HIF1α/VEGF signaling. Strategies targeting E2F1/miR-423-5p/HIPK2 axis could be potentially used for DR treatment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Biao Duan ◽  
Yan Liu ◽  
He Hu ◽  
Fu-Guo Shi ◽  
Ya-Long Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent joint disease, and there are still no effective therapeutic agents or clinical methods for the cure of this disease to date. The degradation of cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) is a major cause of OA. Method IL-1β was used to induce chondrogenic degradation. Q-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect mRNA and protein level, respectively. ELISA was used to detect the secreted TNF-α and IL-6 level. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the protein level of Aggrecan, Collagen II and ki67. TUNEL and flow cytometry were used to examine cell apoptosis of chondrocytes. ChIP and luciferase assay were used to study molecular gene regulation. Osteoarthritic animal model and Safranin-O staining were used to determine the in vivo OA phenotype. Results The expression of ADAM8 was up-regulated in osteoarthritic chondrocytes. Knockdown of ADAM8 suppressed the OA phenotype in the in vitro OA cell model. ADAM8 regulated OA progression through the activation of EGFR/ERK/NF-κB signaling pathway. Inhibition of Notch signaling suppressed OA phenotype in the in vitro OA cell model. Notch signaling regulated the gene expression of ADAM8 directly via Hes1. Notch1-ADAM8 positive feedback loop promoted the progression of OA in vivo. Conclusion Notch1-ADAM8 feed-back loop regulates the degradation of chondrogenic extracellular matrix and osteoarthritis progression.


2003 ◽  
Vol 284 (5) ◽  
pp. C1309-C1318 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. Kelly ◽  
Ruben M. Sandoval ◽  
Kenneth W. Dunn ◽  
Bruce A. Molitoris ◽  
Pierre C. Dagher

Apoptosis is an important mode of cell death under both physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Numerous techniques are available for the study and quantitation of apoptosis in cell culture, but only few are useful when applied to complex tissues. Among these, the terminal transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay remains the most widely used technique. However, its specificity and sensitivity for the detection of apoptosis remain controversial. We developed a technique consisting of staining live cells and tissues with Hoechst 33342 and the vital dye propidium iodide (PI), followed by fixation and the TUNEL reaction. We demonstrate excellent retention of PI in necrotic cells after fixation. We also examined the distribution of TUNEL staining among necrotic and apoptotic cells in various models of cell injury in vitro and in vivo. We show that the sensitivity of the TUNEL varied between 61 and 90% in the models examined. The specificity exceeded 87% in all models but fell to 70% when a predominantly necrotic injury was induced. This novel and simple method will permit the determination of indices of sensitivity and specificity for the TUNEL assay in other tissues and experimental conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Yousefi ◽  
Bahram M. Soltani ◽  
Shahram Rabbani

AbstractCardiac fibrosis in the failing heart is modulated by activated myofibroblasts, and is a pathology marked by their deposition of extracellular matrix proteins. The TGFβ signaling pathway is important in stimulating fibrosis and therefore seems an attractive new target for anti-fibrotic therapy. The relationship between ncRNAs and TGFβ signaling pathway has been extensively studied. Here, we have provided several lines of evidence to prove that the fibrosis process could be regulated by miR-331 through targeting TGFβ signaling. First, bioinformatics analysis and dual luciferase assay validated a direct interaction between the miR-331 and TGFβ-R1 3′UTR sequence which results in the downregulation of TGFβ signaling pathway. Second, miR-331 expression was inversely related to the expression of a number of genes which are involved in extracellular matrix (ECM) production and deposition processes, both in the in vivo and in vitro fibrosis models. Third, in cultured mouse and human cardiac myofibroblasts (CMyoFbs) under ISO treatment, overexpression of miR-331 decreased the expression level of fibrosis-related genes. Consistently, western blot analysis confirmed that miR-331 overexpression ended in both Smad3 and Col1A1 protein level reduction in mouse cardiac myofibroblasts. Finally, flow cytometry analysis, cyclin D1 and D2 gene expression analysis, and wound-healing assay confirmed the inhibitory effect of miR-331 against cell proliferation and migration in ISO-treated cardiac myofibroblasts. Taken together, accumulative results showed that miR-331 reduced the level of fibrosis-related proteins in cardiac myofibroblasts culture via regulating TGFβ signaling pathway.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 116
Author(s):  
Lumei Liu ◽  
Sayali Dharmadhikari ◽  
Robert A. Pouliot ◽  
Michael M. Li ◽  
Peter M. Minneci ◽  
...  

Synthetic scaffolds for the repair of long-segment tracheal defects are hindered by insufficient biocompatibility and poor graft epithelialization. In this study, we determined if extracellular matrix (ECM) coatings improved the biocompatibility and epithelialization of synthetic tracheal grafts (syn-TG). Porcine and human ECM substrates (pECM and hECM) were created through the decellularization and lyophilization of lung tissue. Four concentrations of pECM and hECM coatings on syn-TG were characterized for their effects on scaffold morphologies and on in vitro cell viability and growth. Uncoated and ECM-coated syn-TG were subsequently evaluated in vivo through the orthotopic implantation of segmental grafts or patches. These studies demonstrated that ECM coatings were not cytotoxic and, enhanced the in vitro cell viability and growth on syn-TG in a dose-dependent manner. Mass spectrometry demonstrated that fibrillin, collagen, laminin, and nephronectin were the predominant ECM components transferred onto scaffolds. The in vivo results exhibited similar robust epithelialization of uncoated and coated syn-TG patches; however, the epithelialization remained poor with either uncoated or coated scaffolds in the segmental replacement models. Overall, these findings demonstrated that ECM coatings improve the seeded cell biocompatibility of synthetic scaffolds in vitro; however, they do not improve graft epithelialization in vivo.


ASN NEURO ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 175909142110106
Author(s):  
Zheng-Long Jin ◽  
Wen-Ying Gao ◽  
Shao-Jun Liao ◽  
Tao Yu ◽  
Qing Shi ◽  
...  

Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating subtype of stroke with high morbidity and mortality. It has been reported that paeonol (PAN) inhibits the progression of ICH. However, the mechanism by which paeonol mediates the progression of ICH remains unclear. To mimic ICH in vitro, neuronal cells were treated with hemin. An in vivo model of ICH was established to detect the effect of paeonol on ferroptosis in neurons during ICH. Cell viability was tested by MTT assay. Furthermore, cell injury was detected by GSH, MDA and ROS assays. Ferroptosis was examined by iron assay. RT-qPCR and western blotting were used to detect gene and protein expression, respectively. The correlation among HOTAIR, UPF1 and ACSL4 was explored by FISH, RNA pull-down and RIP assays. Paeonol significantly inhibited the ferroptosis of neurons in ICH mice. In addition, paeonol significantly reversed hemin-induced injury and ferroptosis in neurons, while this phenomenon was notably reversed by HOTAIR overexpression. Moreover, paeonol notably inhibited ferroptosis in hemin-treated neuronal cells via inhibition of ACSL4. Additionally, HOTAIR bound to UPF1, and UPF1 promoted the degradation of ACSL4 by binding to ACSL4. Furthermore, HOTAIR overexpression reversed paeonol-induced inhibition of ferroptosis by mediating the UPF1/ACSL4 axis. Paeonol inhibits the progression of ICH by mediating the HOTAIR/UPF1/ACSL4 axis. Therefore, paeonol might serve as a new agent for the treatment of ICH.


Antioxidants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen ◽  
Lin ◽  
Shih ◽  
Wang ◽  
Hong ◽  
...  

Resveratrol (RSV) is a polyphenolic phytoalexin found in peanuts, grapes, and other plants. Uterine fibroids (UF) are benign growths that are enriched in extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of RSV on UF using in vivo and in vitro approaches. In mouse xenograft models, tumors were implanted through the subcutaneous injection of Eker rat-derived uterine leiomyoma cells transfected with luciferase (ELT-3-LUC) in five-week-old female nude (Foxn1nu) mice. When the tumors reached a size of 50–100 mm3, the mice were randomly assigned to intraperitoneal treatment with RSV (10 mg·kg−1) or vehicle control (dimethyl sulfoxide). Tumor tissues were assayed using an immunohistochemistry analysis. We also used primary human leiomyoma cells as in vitro models. Cell viability was determined using the sodium bicarbonate and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The protein expression was assayed using Western blot analysis. The messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression was assayed using quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (qRT–PCR). Cell apoptosis was assayed using Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and propidium iodide (PI) and Hoechst 33342 staining. RSV significantly suppressed tumor growth in vivo and decreased the proportion of cells showing expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). In addition, RSV decreased the protein expression of PCNA, fibronectin, and upregulated the ratio of Bax (Bcl-2-associated X) and Bcl-2 (B-cell lymphoma/leukemia 2) in vivo. Furthermore, RSV reduced leiomyoma cell viability, and decreased the mRNA levels of fibronectin and the protein expression of collagen type 1 (COL1A1) and α-SMA (ECM protein marker), as well as reducing the levels of β-catenin protein. RSV induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at sub-G1 phase. Our findings indicated the inhibitory effects of RSV on the ELT-3-LUC xenograft model and indicated that RSV reduced ECM-related protein expression in primary human leiomyoma cells, demonstrating its potential as an anti-fibrotic therapy for UF.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 205873842091000
Author(s):  
Shichun Wang ◽  
Qianqian Tang ◽  
Fuchao Ge ◽  
Qing Guo

This current research was performed to investigate the role of typhae pollen polysaccharides (TPP) in hypoxia-treated PC12 cell which was an in vitro cell model of cerebral ischemia. Hypoxia-treated cells were treated with TPP for 12 h. Cell viability and apoptosis were detected by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2 5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Cell apoptotic proteins and PI3K/AKT and Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signal pathway–associated proteins were also examined by western blot. Furthermore, abnormal expression of miR-34a and silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) was achieved by transfection. Besides, the expression of miR-34a and SIRT1 was examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The expression of SIRT1 was detected by qRT-PCR and western blot. The relationship between miR-34a and SIRT1 was verified by luciferase assay. We found that TPP enhanced cell viability and inhibited apoptosis in hypoxia-treated PC12 cells. Moreover, TPP increased the accumulated levels of Bcl-2 while decreased expression of Bax, cleaved Caspase-3, and cleaved PARP. TPP downregulated miR-34a expression while induced by hypoxia. Further results showed that miR-34a overexpression reversed the results led by TPP in cell viability, apoptosis, and its related proteins. In addition, SIRT1 was upregulated by TPP and was verified to be a target of miR-34a. Silence of SIRT1 led to the opposite results led by TPP. In the end, TPP activated PI3K/AKT and Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signal pathways. In conclusion, TPP plays important roles in regulating cell viability and apoptosis in hypoxia-treated PC12 cells via modulating miR-34a/SIRT1, as well as activating PI3K/AKT and Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signal pathways.


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