scholarly journals Niacin Inhibits Vascular Inflammation via Downregulating Nuclear Transcription Factor-κB Signaling Pathway

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanhong Si ◽  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Jilong Zhao ◽  
Shoudong Guo ◽  
Lei Zhai ◽  
...  

The study aimed to investigate the effect of niacin on vascular inflammatory lesionsin vivoandin vitroas well as its lipid-regulating mechanism.In vivostudy revealed that niacin downregulated the levels of inflammatory factors (IL-6 and TNF-α) in plasma, suppressed protein expression of CD68 and NF-κB p65 in arterial wall, and attenuated oxidative stress in guinea pigs that have been fed high fat diet.In vitrostudy further confirmed that niacin decreased the secretion of IL-6 and TNF-αand inhibited NF-κB p65 and notch1 protein expression in oxLDL-stimulated HUVECs and THP-1 macrophages. Moreover, niacin attenuated oxLDL-induced apoptosis of HUVECs as well. In addition, niacin significantly lessened lipid deposition in arterial wall, increased HDL-C and apoA levels and decreased TG and non-HDL-C levels in plasma, and upregulated the mRNA amount of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase A1 in liver of guinea pigs. These data suggest for the first time that niacin inhibits vascular inflammationin vivoandin vitrovia downregulating NF-κB signaling pathway. Furthermore, niacin also modulates plasma lipid by upregulating the expression of factors involved in the process of reverse cholesterol transport.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Longhua Feng ◽  
Pengjiang Cheng ◽  
Zhengyun Feng ◽  
Xiaoyu Zhang

Abstract Background: To investigate the role of transmembrane p24 trafficking protein 2 (TMED2) in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and determine whether TMED2 knockdown could inhibit LUAD in vitro and in vivo.Methods: TIMER2.0, Kaplan-Meier plotter, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), Target Gene, and pan-cancer systems were used to predict the potential function of TMED2. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were performed to analyze TMED2 expression in different tissues or cell lines. The proliferation, development, and apoptosis of LUAD were observed using a lentivirus-mediated TMED2 knockdown. Bioinformatics and western blot analysis of TMED2 against inflammation via the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway were conducted. Results: TMED2 expression in LUAD tumor tissues was higher than that in normal tissues and positively correlated with poor survival in lung cancer and negatively correlated with apoptosis in LUAD. The expression of TMED2 was higher in tumors or HCC827 cells. TMED2 knockdown inhibited LUAD development in vitro and in vivo and increased the levels of inflammatory factors via the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. TMED2 was correlated with TME, immune score, TME-associated immune cells, their target markers, and some mechanisms and pathways, as determined using the TIMER2.0, GO, and KEGG assays.Conclusions: TMED2 may regulate inflammation in LUAD through the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway, and enhance the proliferation, development, and prognosis of LUAD by regulating inflammation, which provide a new strategy for treating LUAD by regulating inflammation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan He ◽  
Qiang Li ◽  
Guangli Du ◽  
Guofeng Meng ◽  
Jijia Sun ◽  
...  

Background: Guizhi has the pharmacological activity of anti-inflammatory. However, the effect mechanism of Guizhi against nephrotic syndrome (NS) remains unclear. A network pharmacological approach with experimental verification in vitro and in vivo was performed to investigate the potential mechanisms of Guizhi to treat NS.Methods: Active compounds and potential targets of Guizhi, as well as the related targets of NS were obtained from the public databases. The intersecting targets of Guizhi and NS were obtained through Venny 2.1.0. The key targets and signaling pathways were determined by protein-protein interaction (PPI), genes ontology (GO) and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analysis. And the overall network was constructed with Cytoscape. Molecular docking verification was carried out by AutoDock Vina. Finally, in vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to verify the mechanism of Guizhi to treat NS.Results: 63 intersecting targets were obtained, and the top five key targets mainly involed in NF- Kappa B and MAPK signaling pathway. In the overall network, cinnamaldehyde (CA) was the top one active compound with the highest degree value. The molecular docking showed that the top five key targets were of good binding activity with the active components of Guizhi. To in vitro experiment, CA, the main active component of Guizhi, inhibited the secretion of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α in LPS challenged RAW264.7 cells, and down regulated the protein expression of p-NF-κB p65 and p-p38 MAPK in LPS challenged RAW264.7 cells. In vitro experiment showed that, 24 urinary protein and renal function were increased in ADR group. To western blot, CA down regulated the protein expression of p-p38 MAPK in rats of adriamycin-induced nephropathy.Conclusion: CA might be the main active component of Guizhi to treat NS, and the underlying mechanism might mainly be achieved by inhibiting MAPK signaling pathway.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guo Zu ◽  
Jing Guo ◽  
Ningwei Che ◽  
Tingting Zhou ◽  
Xiangwen Zhang

Abstract Ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1) is one of the major bioactive ingredients in Panax ginseng, and it attenuates inflammation and apoptosis. The aims of our study were to explore the potential of Rg1 for the treatment of intestinal I/R injury and to determine whether the protective effects of Rg1 were exerted through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. In this study, Rg1 treatment ameliorated inflammatory factors, ROS and apoptosis that were induced by intestinal I/R injury. Cell viability was increased and cell apoptosis was decreased with Rg1 pretreatment following hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) in the in vitro study. Rg1 activated the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in both the in vivo and in vitro models, and in the in vitro study, the activation was blocked by DKK1. Our study provides evidence that pretreatment with Rg1 significantly reduces ROS and apoptosis induced by intestinal I/R injury via activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Taken together, our results suggest that Rg1 could exert its therapeutic effects on intestinal I/R injury through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and provide a novel treatment modality for intestinal I/R injury.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinju Li ◽  
Rongge Shao ◽  
Qiuwen Xie ◽  
XueKe Du

Abstract Purpose:Ulinastatin (UTI) is an endogenous protease inhibitor with potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and organ protective effects. The inhibitor has been reported to ameliorate inflammatory lung injury but precise mechanisms remain unclear. Methods: An in vivo model of lung injury has been constructed by intratracheal infusion of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The number of neutrophils and the phagocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils were observed by Diff- Quick method. Lung injury was observed by HE staining .BALF cells were counted by hemocytometer and concentrations of protein plus inflammatory factors were measured with a BCA test kit. During in vitro experiments, RAW264.7 cells were pretreated with UTI (1000 and 5000U/ mL), stained with CellTrackerTM Green B0DIPYTM and HL60 cells added with UV-induced apoptosis and PKH26 Red staining. The expression of ERK5\Mer related proteins was detected by western blot and immunofluorescence.Results: An in vivo model of lung injury has been constructed by intratracheal infusion of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). UTI treatment enhanced the phagocytotic effect of mouse alveolar macrophages on neutrophils, alleviated lung lesions, decreased the pro-inflammatory factor and total protein content of BALF and increased levels of anti-inflammatory factors. in vitro experiments ,UTI enhanced the phagocytosis of apoptotic bodies by RAW264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Increased expression levels of ERK5 and Mer by UTI were shown by Western blotting and immunofluorescence.Conclusions: UTI mediated the activation of the ERK5/Mer signaling pathway, enhanced phagocytosis of neutrophils by macrophages and improved lung inflammation. The current study indicates potential new clinical approaches for accelerating the recovery from lung inflammation.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanji Xu ◽  
Kunshou Zhu ◽  
Junqiang Chen ◽  
Liyan Lin ◽  
Zhengrong Huang ◽  
...  

Abstract SASS6 encodes for the Homo sapiens SAS-6 centriolar assembly protein and is important for proper centrosome formation. Although centrosomes are amplified in a wide variety of tumor types, abnormally high SASS6 expression had previously only been identified in colon cancer. Moreover, the role of SASS6 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) pathogenesis has not yet been elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate the role and mechanisms of SASS6 in ESCC. In this study, we found that the mRNA and protein levels of SASS6 were increased in human ESCC samples. In addition, SASS6 protein expression was associated with the esophageal cancer stage and negatively affected survival of patients with ESCC. Furthermore, silencing of SASS6 inhibited cell growth and promoted apoptosis of ESCC cells in vitro and inhibited xenograft tumor formation in vivo. A genetic cluster and pathway analysis showed that SASS6 regulated the p53 signaling pathway. Western blot demonstrated that CCND2, GADD45A and EIF4EBP1 protein expression decreased and that TP53 protein expression increased after the knockdown of SASS6 in ESCC cells. Therefore, SASS6 promoted the proliferation of esophageal cancer by inhibiting the p53 signaling pathway. SASS6 has potential as a novel tumor marker and a therapeutic target for ESCC.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingsong Cao ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Tao Zhang

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a head and neck tumor with high degree of malignancy and with high incidence especially in southern China. AIMP2-DX2, one isoform of the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase interacting multifunctional proteins (AIMPs), is shown to be a potential target in many cancers. However, the detailed mechanisms of AIMP2-DX2 in NPC development remain to be elucidated. Here, we found that the mRNA expression level of AIMP2-DX2 was significantly increased in NPC specimens, compared with normal nasopharyngeal tissues. Microarray immunohistochemical analysis of NPC specimens and Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that patients with high AIMP2-DX2 protein expression had shorter overall survival than those with low AIMP2-DX2 level. Furthermore, mRNA and protein expression levels of AIMP2-DX2 were both increased in cultured NPC cell lines (5-8F, CNE-2Z, and CNE-1), by being compared with normal nasopharyngeal cell line NP69. Overexpression of AIMP2-DX2 remarkably promoted the cell viability, cell migration, and invasion of cultured NPC cells. Genetic knockdown of AIMP2-DX2 by shRNA lentiviruses significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion and induced apoptosis of NPC cells. Inhibition of AIMP2-DX2 decreased the highly expressed level of matrix metalloproteinase- (MMP-) 2 and MMP-9, further suppressed proliferation, migration, and invasion in cultured NPC cells in vitro, and inhibited tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model in vivo. Taken together, these results suggest that AIMP2-DX2 plays an important role in the regulation of NPC and could be a potential therapeutic target and prognostic indicator for the treatment of NPC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ganyu Wang ◽  
Weiqiang Jing ◽  
Yuxuan Bi ◽  
Yue Li ◽  
Liang Ma ◽  
...  

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common and prevalent chronic joint disorders in the elderly population across the globe, resulting in severe disability and impairment of quality of life. Existing treatment can only alleviate the symptoms and delay the progression of OA. Therefore, novel and effective therapeutics strategies for OA need to be developed. Our present study first found that neutrophil elastase (NE) was significantly increased in OA patients’ synovial fluid. Next, we examined the effect of neutrophil elastase (NE) on chondrocytes in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that NE suppressed cell proliferation, induced apoptosis and prevented cell migration in chondrocytes in vitro, accompanied by the elevation of intracellular ROS and calcium level. Moreover, NE enhanced the cleaved caspase-3 levels and disrupted the mitochondrial transmembrane potential balance. Meanwhile, chondrocytes apoptosis induced by NE can be alleviated by caspase inhibitor, zVAD-FMK and antioxidants, GSH. Besides, treatment of sivelestat, the inhibitor of NE, significantly reduced the pathological processes in OA model rats in vivo. The results of our study suggested that NE is an important factor in OA, which induces chondrocyte apoptosis and facilitates the occurrence of OA via caspase signaling pathway, and targeting the crucial signal centering around NE may be the potential therapies for OA.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Linhao Xu ◽  
Yanli Bi ◽  
Yizhou Xu ◽  
Yihao Wu ◽  
Xiaoxue Du ◽  
...  

Our previous study showed that growth arrest- and DNA damage-inducible gene 153 (GAD153/CHOP) plays an important role in intermittent hypoxia- (IH-) induced apoptosis and impaired synaptic plasticity. This study is aimed at determining which signaling pathway is activated to induce CHOP and the role of this protein in mitochondria-dependent apoptosis induced by IH. In the in vivo study, mice were placed in IH chambers for 8 h daily over a period of 2 weeks; the IH chambers had oxygen (O2) concentrations that oscillated between 10% and 21%, cycling every 90 s. In the in vitro study, PC12 cells were exposed to 21% O2 (normoxia) or 8 IH cycles (25 min at 21% O2 and 35 min at 0.1% O2 for each cycle). After 2 weeks of IH treatment, we observed that the expression levels of phosphorylated protein kinase-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (p-PERK), activating transcription factor 4 (ATF-4) and phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha (p-elf2α), were increased, but the levels of activating transcription factor 6 (ATF-6) and inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE-1) were not increased. GSK2606414, a specific chemical inhibitor of the PERK pathway, reduced the expression of p-PERK, ATF-4, p-elf2α, and CHOP and rescued ER structure. In addition, Bax and Bak accumulated in the mitochondria after IH treatment, which induced cytochrome c release and initiated apoptosis. These effects were prevented by GSK2606414 and CHOP shRNA. Finally, the impaired long-term potentiation and long-term spatial memory in the IH group were rescued by GSK2606414. Together, the data from the in vitro and in vivo experiments indicate that IH-induced apoptosis and impaired synaptic plasticity were mediated by the PERK-ATF-4-CHOP pathway. Suppressing PERK-ATF-4-CHOP signaling pathway attenuated mitochondria-dependent apoptosis by reducing the expression of Bax and Bak in mitochondria, which may serve as novel adjunct therapeutic strategy for ameliorating obstructive sleep apnea- (OSA-) induced neurocognitive impairment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingli Li ◽  
Ze Peng ◽  
Qian Hu ◽  
Lijun Xu ◽  
Xin Zou ◽  
...  

Aim. To further investigate the mechanism behind the antitumor properties of berberine regarding lipid metabolism. Methods. Cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis assays were performed to determine the antigrowth effects of berberine in vitro. Ectopic xenograft models in Balb/c nude mice were established to determine the antitumor effects of berberine in vivo. Results. Berberine inhibited cell viability and proliferation of MGC803 human gastric cancer cell lines in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Berberine induced apoptosis of MGC803 and increased the apoptotic rate with higher doses. Berberine induced the accumulation of fatty acid of MGC803 and suppressed the protein expression of FABPs and PPARα. The FABP inhibitor BMS309403 recapitulated the effects of berberine on MGC803 cells. In the xenograft model, berberine significantly decreased the tumor volume and tumor weight and induced apoptosis in tumor tissues. Berberine significantly elevated the fatty acid content and inhibited the expression of FABPs and PPARα in the MGC803 xenograft models. Conclusion. Berberine exerted anticancer effects on human gastric cancer both in vitro and in vivo by inducing apoptosis, which was due to the reduced protein expression of FABPs and the accumulation of fatty acid.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
lianxiang luo ◽  
Xiaoling Li ◽  
Riming Huang ◽  
Hui Luo

Abstract BackgroundAcute lung injury (ALI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in respiratory disease. Astaxanthin, a natural antioxidant xanthophyll carotenoid, has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory activity. However, poor evidence has been reported that whether it has protective effects against ALI.Methods A network pharmacology analysis was carried out combining the construction of the GeneCards database and the Pharmmapper database, The potential active compounds and targets were predicted by compound-target prediction, protein-protein interaction analysis, GO and KEGG pathway analysis. Then, the anti-inflammation effect of astaxanthin was investigated in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells in vitro and LPS-induced ALI mice in vivo.ResultsThe results screened by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis suggested that astaxanthin had extensive associations with 25 known therapeutic targets of ALI. These target genes were further found to be associated with pathways involved in inflammatory pathways in ALI, such as the Toll-like receptor signal pathway, TNF signal pathway, Hif signal pathway, and NF-Kappa B signal pathway. Pre-treatment with astaxanthin inhibited the TLR4/MyD88 signaling pathway and attenuated LPS-increased inflammatory factors in vitro. Furthermore, the administration of astaxanthin significantly protected lung injury in vivo. Subsequently, we validated astaxanthin binds to the TLR4 pocket using molecular docking. ConclusionTaken together, astaxanthin exerts impressively protective effects on LPS-induced ALI in vitro and in vivo via suppressing the TLR4/MyD88 signaling pathway.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document