scholarly journals Rhubarb Tannins Extract Inhibits the Expression of Aquaporins 2 and 3 in Magnesium Sulphate-Induced Diarrhoea Model

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunfang Liu ◽  
Yanfang Zheng ◽  
Wen Xu ◽  
Hui Wang ◽  
Na Lin

Tannins, a group of major active components of Chinese rhubarb and widely distributed in nature, have a significant antidiarrhoeal activity. Aquaporins (AQPs) 2 and 3 play important roles in regulating water transfer during diarrhoea. The present study aims to determine the effect of the total tannins extract of rhubarb on aquaporins (AQPs) 2 and 3 in diarrhoea mice and HT-29 cells both induced by magnesium sulphate (MgSO4). Our results showed that rhubarb tannins extract (RTE) significantly decreased the faecal water content in colon and evaluation index of defecation of diarrhoea mice. Interestingly, RTE could markedly reduce the mRNA and protein expression levels of AQPs 2 and 3 in apical and lateral mucosal epithelial cells in the colons of diarrhoea mice and HT-29 cells both induced by MgSO4in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, RTE suppressed the production of cyclic monophosphate- (cAMP-) dependent protein kinase A catalytic subunitsα(PKA C-α) and phosphorylated cAMP response element-binding protein (p-CREB, Ser133) in MgSO4-induced HT-29 cells. Our data showed for the first time that RTE inhibit AQPs 2 and 3 expressionin vivoandin vitrovia downregulating PKA/p-CREB signal pathway, which accounts for the antidiarrhoeal effect of RTE.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (12) ◽  
pp. 2326-2340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luce Perie ◽  
Narendra Verma ◽  
Lingyan Xu ◽  
Xinran Ma ◽  
Elisabetta Mueller

Abstract Zinc finger factors are implicated in a variety of cellular processes, including adipose tissue differentiation and thermogenesis. We have previously demonstrated that zinc finger protein 638 (ZNF638) is a transcriptional coactivator acting as an early regulator of adipogenesis in vitro. In this study, we show, to our knowledge for the first time, that, in vivo, ZNF638 abounds selectively in mature brown and subcutaneous fat tissues and in fully differentiated thermogenic adipocytes. Furthermore, gene expression studies revealed that ZNF638 is upregulated by cAMP modulators in vitro and by cold exposure and by pharmacological stimulation of β-adrenergic signaling in vivo. In silico analysis of the upstream regulatory region of the ZNF638 gene identified two putative cAMP response elements within 500 bp of the ZNF638 transcription start site. Detailed molecular analysis involving EMSA and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) binds to these cAMP response element regions of the ZNF638 promoter, and functional studies revealed that CREB is necessary and sufficient to regulate the levels of ZNF638 transcripts. Taken together, these results demonstrate that ZNF638 is selectively expressed in mature thermogenic adipocytes and tissues and that its induction in response to classic stimuli that promote heat generation is mediated via CREB signaling, pointing to a possible novel role of ZNF638 in brown and beige fat tissues.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 3861
Author(s):  
Seok-Chun Ko ◽  
Seung-Hong Lee

Protocatechuic aldehyde (PA) is a naturally occurring phenolic compound that is a potent inhibitor of mushroom tyrosinase. However, the molecular mechanisms of the anti-melanogenesis activity of PA have not yet been reported. The aim of the current study was to clarify the melanogenesis inhibitory effects of PA and its molecular mechanisms in murine melanoma cells (B16F10). We first predicted the 3D structure of tyrosinase and used a molecular docking algorithm to simulate binding between tyrosinase and PA. These molecular modeling studies calculated a binding energy of −527.42 kcal/mol and indicated that PA interacts with Cu400 and 401, Val283, and His263. Furthermore, PA significantly decreased α-MSH-induced intracellular tyrosinase activity and melanin content in a dose-dependent manner. PA also inhibited key melanogenic proteins such as tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TRP-1), and TRP-2 in α-MSH-stimulated B16F10 cells. In addition, PA decreased MITF expression levels by inhibiting phosphorylation of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) and cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA). These results demonstrate that PA can effectively suppress melanin synthesis in melanoma cells. Taken together, our results show that PA could serve as a potential inhibitor of melanogenesis, and hence could be explored as a possible skin-lightening agent.


2016 ◽  
Vol 311 (4) ◽  
pp. F731-F739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilfred Lieberthal ◽  
Meiyi Tang ◽  
Mark Lusco ◽  
Mersema Abate ◽  
Jerrold S. Levine

This study had two objectives: 1) to determine whether preconditioning cultured proximal tubular cells (PTCs) with pharmacological activators of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) protects these cells from apoptosis induced by metabolic stress in vitro and 2) to assess the effects of preconditioning mice with these agents on the severity of ischemic acute renal kidney injury (AKI) in vivo. We demonstrate that preconditioning PTCs with 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR) or A-769662 reduces apoptosis of PTCs induced by subsequent stress. We also show that the reduction in cell death during metabolic stress associated with pretreatment by AMPK activators is associated with an increase in the cytosolic level of ATP, which is mediated by an increase in the rate of glycolysis. In addition, we provide evidence that the effect of AMPK activators on glycolysis is mediated, at least in part, by an increased uptake of glucose, and by the induction of hexokinase II (HK II) expression. Our data also show that the increased in HK II expression associated with preconditioning with AMPK activators is mediated by the activation (phosphorylation) of the cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB). We also provide entirely novel evidence that that A-79662 is substantially more effective than AICAR in mediating these alterations in PTCs in vitro. Finally, we demonstrate that preconditioning mice with AICAR or A-769662 substantially reduces the severity of renal dysfunction and tubular injury in a model of ischemic AKI in vivo and that the efficacy of AICAR and A-768662 in ameliorating ischemic AKI in vivo is comparable.


Endocrinology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 153 (8) ◽  
pp. 3792-3803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Y. Cheong ◽  
Andrea Kwakowsky ◽  
Zsuzsanna Barad ◽  
Robert Porteous ◽  
Allan E. Herbison ◽  
...  

Rapid, nonclassical 17β-estradiol (E2) actions are thought to play an important role in the modulation of neuronal function. The present study addresses the intracellular signaling cascades involved in the rapid E2-induced phosphorylation of cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) in GnRH neurons. Administration of E2 to adult female mice resulted in the activation of ERK1/2 in GnRH neurons within 15 min. In vitro studies using pharmacological antagonists showed that ERK1/2 was essential for E2-induced CREB phosphorylation in GnRH neurons. Upstream to this, protein kinase A and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II, but not protein kinase C, were found to be necessary for E2-induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2. This rapid E2 signaling cascade in GnRH neurons was found to require both direct and indirect E2 actions. E2 failed to phosphorylate ERK1/2 and CREB in GnRH neuron-specific estrogen receptor β knockout mice in vivo. Equally, however, a cocktail of tetrodotoxin and γ-aminobutyric acidA/glutamate receptor antagonists also blocked E2-induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation in GnRH neurons in wild-type mice in vitro. Together, these observations indicate that E2 acts through calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II and protein kinase A to rapidly phosphorylate ERK1/2, which then acts to phosphorylate CREB in adult female GnRH neurons. Intriguingly, these effects of E2 are dependent upon both direct ERβ mechanisms as well as indirect actions mediated by afferent inputs to GnRH neurons.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomomi Kurashige ◽  
Yasuyo Nakajima ◽  
Mika Shimamura ◽  
Masanobu Yamada ◽  
Yuji Nagayama

Abstract Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved catabolic process by which cells degrade intracellular proteins and organelles in the lysosomes and recycle their metabolites. We have recently demonstrated the crucial role for the basal level of autophagic activity in thyrocyte survival and homeostasis using the thyroid-specific autophagy knockout mice. Here, we first studied hormonal regulation of autophagy in thyrocytes in vitro using a rat thyroid cell line PCCl3 and in vivo with mice. In cultured PCCl3 cells, thyroxine decreased microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) puncta (a component of autophagosome) and increased p62 (an autophagy substrate) levels, showing thyroxine-suppression of autophagy. In contrast, TSH increased both LC3 puncta and p62 levels, but at the same time stabilized p62 protein by inhibiting p62 degradation, indicating TSH induction of autophagy. Our experiments with various inhibitors identified that both the cAMP-protein kinase (PK) A-cAMP response element binding protein/ERK and PKC signaling pathways regulates positively autophagic activity. The in vivo results obtained with wild-type mice treated with methimazole and perchlorate or thyroxine were consistent with in vitro results. Next, in thyroid-specific autophagy knockout mice treated with methimazole and perchlorate (that is, mice were placed under a stressed condition where enhanced autophagy was required) for 2 months, lower follicle sizes and lower thyroglobulin contents in thyrocytes were observed, suggesting impaired thyroglobulin production presumably from insufficient nutrient supply. We therefore conclude that TSH positively regulates autophagic activity through the cAMP-PKA-cAMP response element binding protein/ERK and PKC signaling pathways, whereas thyroid hormones inhibit its activity in thyrocytes. Metabolites produced by autophagy appear to be necessary for protein synthesis stimulated by TSH.


Endocrinology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 145 (7) ◽  
pp. 3055-3061 ◽  
Author(s):  
István M. Ábrahám ◽  
Martin G. Todman ◽  
Kenneth S. Korach ◽  
Allan E. Herbison

Abstract Estrogen exerts classical genomic as well as rapid nongenomic actions on neurons. The mechanisms involved in rapid estrogen signaling are poorly defined, and the roles of the classical estrogen receptors (ERs α and β) are unclear. We examined here the in vivo role of classical ERs in rapid estrogen actions by evaluating the estrogen-induced effects on two major signaling pathways within the brains of αER-, βER-, and double αβER-knockout (ERKO) ovariectomized female mice. Estrogen significantly (P < 0.05) increased the numbers of phospho-cAMP response element binding protein (phospho-CREB)-immunoreactive cells in specific brain regions of wild-type mice in a time-dependent manner beginning within 15 min. In brain areas that express predominantly ERβ, this response was absent in βERKO mice, whereas brain regions that express mostly ERα displayed no change in αERKO mice. In the medial preoptic nucleus (MPN), an area that expresses both ERs, the estrogen-induced phosphorylation of CREB was normal in both αERKO and βERKO mice. However, estrogen had no effect on CREB phosphorylation in the MPN, or any other brain region, in double αβERKO animals. Estrogen was also found to increase MAPK phosphorylation levels in a rapid (<15 min) manner within the MPN. In contrast to CREB signaling, this effect was lost in either αERKO or βERKO mice. These data show that ERα and ERβ play region- and pathway-specific roles in rapid estrogen actions throughout the brain. They further indicate an indispensable role for classical ERs in rapid estrogen actions in vivo and highlight the importance of ERs in coordinating both classical and rapid actions of estrogen.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-253
Author(s):  
Liu Chenglong ◽  
Liu Haihua ◽  
Zhang Fei ◽  
Zheng Jie ◽  
Wei Fang

Cancer-induced bone pain is a severe and complex pain caused by metastases to bone in cancer patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the analgesic effect of scutellarin on cancer-induced bone pain in rat models by intrathecal injection of Walker 256 carcinoma cells. Mechanical allodynia was determined by paw withdrawal threshold in response to mechanical stimulus, and thermal hyperalgesia was indicated by paw withdrawal latency in response to noxious thermal stimulus. The paw withdrawal threshold and paw withdrawal latencies were significantly decreased after inoculation of tumor cells, whereas administration of scutellarin significantly attenuated tumor cell inoculation-induced mechanical and heat hyperalgesia. Tumor cell inoculation-induced tumor growth was also significantly abrogated by scutellarin. Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II is a multifunctional kinase with up-regulated activity in bone pain models. The activation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II triggers phosphorylation of cAMP-response element binding protein. Scutellarin significantly reduced the expression of phosphorylated-Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and phosphorylated-cAMP-response element binding protein in cancer-induced bone pain rats. Collectively, our study demonstrated that scutellarin attenuated tumor cell inoculation-induced bone pain by down-regulating the expression of phosphorylated-Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and phosphorylated-cAMP-response element binding protein. The suppressive effect of scutellarin on phosphorylated-Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II/phosphorylated-cAMP-response element binding protein activation may serve as a novel therapeutic strategy for CIBP management.


2012 ◽  
Vol 442 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gráinne Barkess ◽  
Yuri Postnikov ◽  
Chrisanne D. Campos ◽  
Shivam Mishra ◽  
Gokula Mohan ◽  
...  

HMGNs are nucleosome-binding proteins that alter the pattern of histone modifications and modulate the binding of linker histones to chromatin. The HMGN3 family member exists as two splice forms, HMGN3a which is full-length and HMGN3b which lacks the C-terminal RD (regulatory domain). In the present study, we have used the Glyt1 (glycine transporter 1) gene as a model system to investigate where HMGN proteins are bound across the locus in vivo, and to study how the two HMGN3 splice variants affect histone modifications and gene expression. We demonstrate that HMGN1, HMGN2, HMGN3a and HMGN3b are bound across the Glyt1 gene locus and surrounding regions, and are not enriched more highly at the promoter or putative enhancer. We conclude that the peaks of H3K4me3 (trimethylated Lys4 of histone H3) and H3K9ac (acetylated Lys9 of histone H3) at the active Glyt1a promoter do not play a major role in recruiting HMGN proteins. HMGN3a/b binding leads to increased H3K14 (Lys14 of histone H3) acetylation and stimulates Glyt1a expression, but does not alter the levels of H3K4me3 or H3K9ac enrichment. Acetylation assays show that HMGN3a stimulates the ability of PCAF [p300/CREB (cAMP-response-element-binding protein)-binding protein-associated factor] to acetylate nucleosomal H3 in vitro, whereas HMGN3b does not. We propose a model where HMGN3a/b-stimulated H3K14 acetylation across the bodies of large genes such as Glyt1 can lead to more efficient transcription elongation and increased mRNA production.


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