scholarly journals Acetylcholine Attenuated TNF-α-Induced Apoptosis in H9c2 Cells: Role of Calpain and the p38-MAPK Pathway

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 1877-1889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Zhao ◽  
Yang Yang ◽  
Xueyuan Bi ◽  
Xiaojiang Yu ◽  
Hanghuan Jia ◽  
...  

Background: Previous studies have shown that inflammation is associated with excessive activation of calpains. Acetylcholine (ACh) has been reported to inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokine release and protect against cardiomyocyte injury. However, there is no direct evidence regarding whether ACh can regulate calpains to exert cardioprotection. To this end, we investigated the effect of ACh on tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)-induced cardiomyocyte injury and further explored the underlying mechanism. Methods: Flow cytometry and transmission electron microscopy were performed to evaluate apoptosis and cellular ultrastructure. Western blotting was performed to assess changes in protein expression. siRNA was employed to silence specific proteins. Results: TNF-α treatment increased the expression of cleaved caspase-3, calpain-1 and p38-mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38-MAPK). The calpain inhibitor PD150606 and the p38-MAPK inhibitor SB203580 inhibited apoptosis induced by TNF-α. Moreover, SB203580 decreased the expression and activity of calpain-1, possibly related to the up-regulation of calpastatin. ACh significantly inhibited TNF-α-induced cell apoptosis, as evidenced by decreases in caspase-3 cleavage, p38-MAPK phosphorylation, and calpain-1 expression and activity as well as increases in calpastatin expression. These beneficial effects of ACh were abolished by atropine or M2AChR siRNA. Conclusion: Our results suggest that ACh ameliorated TNF-α-induced calpain activation by decreasing p38-MAPK phosphorylation and enhancing calpastatin expression, indicating that calpain may be an important link between inflammatory factors and myocardial cell apoptosis.

2011 ◽  
Vol 300 (2) ◽  
pp. C375-C382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunhui Wang ◽  
Hua Xu ◽  
Huacong Chen ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Bo Zhang ◽  
...  

Diarrhea is a common manifestation of gastrointestinal disorders. Diarrhea-induced losses of fluid and electrolyte could lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalances, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality, especially in children living in developing countries. Somatostatin, a peptide hormone secreted by D-cells, plays an important role in regulating motility and intestinal Na+ absorption. Although octreotide, a somatostatin analog, is used to treat diarrhea, its mechanisms of action are unclear. Here we showed that octreotide increased brush-border membrane Na+/H+ exchanger 8 (NHE8) expression in the small intestine to the exclusion of other NHEs that participate in Na+ absorption. The same effect also occurred in human intestinal cells (Caco-2). We found that the increase of NHE8 expression by somatostatin required p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation. Furthermore, the somatostatin receptor SSTR2 antagonist CYN154806 could abolish somatostatin-induced NHE8 expression and p38 MAPK phosphorylation. Thus our data provided the first concrete evidence indicating that somatostatin stimulates intestinal Na+ absorption by increasing intestinal NHE8 expression through the SSTR2-p38 MAPK pathway.


2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Rania Elsayed Hussein ◽  
Laila Ahmed Rashed ◽  
Basma Emad Aboulhoda ◽  
Ghada Mahmoud Abdelaziz ◽  
Ebtehal Gamal Abdelhady ◽  
...  

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of thymoquinone (TQ) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in rats. Our study has reported that TQ treatment of experimentally-induced HCC results in the up-regulation of the Jun-N-terminal kinase and p38 mitogen activated protein kinase pathway (JNK/p38 MAPK) and the enhancement of anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and pro-apoptotic machineries. TQ resulted in a significant decrease in the levels of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B-cells (NFκB), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and a significant increase in the anti-inflammatory interleukin-10 (IL-10). The pro-apoptotic effect of TQ was demonstrated through stimulating the apoptotic Bcl-2-associated X (Bax) gene and inhibiting the anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) gene together with increasing the level of caspase 3 and up-regulating the C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP-1) gene expression. TQ treatment also enhanced the activity of the ROS scavenger, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and decreased the level of the lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA). TQ-dependent suppression of HCC was associated with the up-regulation of JNK/p38 MAPK, enhanced CHOP-1 expression, and subsequently increased Bax gene expression.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Xu ◽  
Haolin Fang ◽  
Liang Zhao ◽  
Cunxin Zhang ◽  
Luo Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Mechanical overload is a risk factor of disc degeneration. It can induce disc degeneration through mediating cell apoptosis. Mechano growth factor (MGF) has been reported to inhibit mechanical overload-induced apoptosis of chondrocytes. The present study is aimed to investigate whether MGF can attenuate mechanical overload-induced nucleus pulposus (NP) cell apoptosis and the possible signaling transduction pathway. Rat NP cells were cultured and subjected to mechanical overload for 7 days. The control NP cells did not experience mechanical load. The exogenous MGF peptide was added into the culture medium to investigate its protective effects. NP cell apoptosis ratio, caspase-3 activity, gene expression of Bcl-2, Bax and caspase-3, protein expression of cleaved caspase-3, cleaved PARP, Bax and Bcl-2 were analyzed to evaluate NP cell apoptosis. In addition, activity of the p38 MAPK pathway was also detected. Compared with the control NP cells, mechanical overload significantly increased NP cell apoptosis and caspase-3 activity, up-regulated gene/protein expression of pro-apoptosis molecules (i.e. Bax, caspase-3, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP) whereas down-regulated gene/protein expression of anti-apoptosis molecule (i.e. Bcl-2). However, exogenous MGF partly reversed these effects of mechanical overload on NP cell apoptosis. Further results showed that activity of the p38 MAPK pathway of NP cells cultured under mechanical overload was decreased by addition of MGF peptide. In conclusion, MGF is able to attenuate mechanical overload-induced NP cell apoptosis, and the p38 MAPK signaling pathway may be involved in this process. The present study provides that MGF supplementation may be a promising strategy to retard mechanical overload-induced disc degeneration.


Endocrinology ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 144 (10) ◽  
pp. 4433-4445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan A. Ehses ◽  
Vanbric R. Casilla ◽  
Tim Doty ◽  
J. Andrew Pospisilik ◽  
Kyle D. Winter ◽  
...  

The incretin glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) is a major regulator of postprandial insulin secretion in mammals. Recent studies in our laboratory, and others have suggested that GIP is a potent stimulus for protein kinase activation, including the MAPK (ERK1/2) module. Based on these studies, we hypothesized that GIP could regulate cell fate and sought to examine the underlying mechanisms involved in GIP stimulation of cell survival. GIP potentiated glucose-induced β-(INS-1)-cell growth to levels comparable with GH and GLP-1 while promoting cell survival in the face of serum and glucose-deprivation or treatment with wortmannin or streptozotocin. In the absence of GIP, 50% of cells died after 48 h of serum and glucose withdrawal, whereas 91 ± 10% of cells remained viable in the presence of GIP [n = 3, P < 0.05; EC50 of 1.24 ± 0.48 nm GIP (n = 4)]. Effects of GIP on cell survival and inhibition of caspase-3 were mimicked by forskolin, but pharmacological experiments excluded roles for MAPK kinase (Mek)1/2, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, protein kinase A, Epac, and Rap 1. Survival effects of GIP were ablated by the inhibitor SB202190, indicating a role for p38 MAPK. Furthermore, caspase-3 activity was also regulated by p38 MAPK, with a lesser role for Mek1/2, based on RNA interference studies. We propose that GIP is able to reverse caspase-3 activation via inhibition of long-term p38 MAPK phosphorylation in response to glucose deprivation (±wortmannin). Intriguingly, these findings contrasted with short-term phosphorylation of MKK3/6→p38 MAPK→ATF-2 by GIP. Thus, these data suggest that GIP is able to regulate INS-1 cell survival by dynamic control of p38 MAPK phosphorylation via cAMP signaling and lend further support to the notion that GIP regulation of MAPK signaling is critical for its regulation of cell fate.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haolin Fang ◽  
Xianzhou Li ◽  
Haiming Shen ◽  
Buwei Sun ◽  
Haijun Teng ◽  
...  

Disc degeneration is correlated with mechanical load. Osteogenic protein-1 (OP-1) is potential to regenerate degenerative disc. To investigate whether OP-1 can protect against high magitude compression-induced nucleus pulposus (NP) cell apoptosis and NP matrix catabolism, and its potential mechanism; porcine discs were cultured in a bioreactor and compressed at a relatively high-magnitude mechanical compression (1.3 MPa at a frequency of 1.0 Hz for 2 h once per day) for 7 days. OP-1 was added along with the culture medium to investigate the protective effects of OP-1. NP cell apoptosis and matrix biosynthesis were evaluated. Additionally, activity of the p38 MAPK pathway is also analyzed. Compared with the control group, high magnitude compression significantly promoted NP cell apoptosis and decreased NP matrix biosynthesis, reflected by the increase in the number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells and caspase-3 activity, the up-regulated expression of Bax and caspase-3 mRNA and down-regulated expression of Bcl-2 mRNA, and the decreased Alcian Blue staining intensity and expression of matrix proteins (aggrecan and collagen II). However, OP-1 addition partly attenuated the effects of high magnitude compression on NP cell apoptosis and NP matrix biosynthesis. Further analysis showed that inhibition of the p38 MAPK pathway partly participated in this process. OP-1 can attenuate high magnitude compression-induced NP cell apoptosis and promoted NP matrix biosynthesis, and inhibition of the p38 MAPK pathway may participate in this regulatory process. The present study provides that OP-1 may be efficient in retarding mechanical overloading-exacerbated disc degeneration.


2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonghao Li ◽  
Wenhao Qian ◽  
Changyun Zhao

Recent studies have demonstrated that ginsenoside Rb1 protects the myocardium from ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the precise mechanisms for this protection have not been determined. This study aimed to determine whether the attenuation of I/R-induced myocardial injury by ginsenoside Rb1 (GS Rb1) is due to inhibition of p38α mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Sprague–Dawley rats were distributed among 6 treatment groups: sham group; I/R group; p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580 group (SB + I/R); GS Rb1 group (GS + I/R); p38 MAPK agonist anisomycin group (Ani + I/R); and the GS Rb1 + Ani group (GS + Ani + I/R). All of the anaesthetized rats, except those in the sham group, underwent an open-chest procedure that involved 30 min of myocardial ischemia followed by 2 h of reperfusion. Myocardial infarction size (MIS), caspase-3 activity, and levels of the cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in the myocardium were monitored. The expressions of p38α MAPK, caspase-3, and TNF-α in the myocardium were assayed. GS Rb1 reduced MIS and attenuated caspase-3 activity and the levels of TNF-α in the myocardium. Protein expression of total p38α MAPK was not significantly altered. In the Ani + I/R and I/R groups, the levels of phospho-p38α MAPK were significantly increased compared with the sham group, and these increased levels were reduced with GS Rb1. Hemodynamic parameters were not significantly different between the GS + I/R and SB + I/R groups. GS Rb1 exerts an anti-apoptotic effect that protects against I/R injury by inhibiting p38α MAPK phosphorylation, suggesting that GS Rb1-mediated protection requires the inhibition of p38α MAPK.


2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 208-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie  Liu ◽  
Yuzhang Zhu ◽  
Shipiao Chen ◽  
Bin Shen ◽  
Fang Yu ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Apocynin, a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase inhibitor, has been identified as a potential neuroprotectant. In this study, we aimed to investigate the protective effect of apocynin against cobalt chloride (CoCl2)-induced pheochromocytoma (PC12) cell apoptosis. Methods: The PC12 cell culture was pretreated with apocynin and/or SB203580 (p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase [p38-MAPK] inhibitor) at different time points prior to CoCl2 incubation. The cell viability, apoptosis rate, DAN damage, and antioxidant activity were detected using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and comet assay respectively. The protein and mRNA expressions of p38-MAPK and caspase-3 in the cells were measured by qRT-PCR and Western blotting. Results: Apocynin inhibited CoCl2-mediated apoptosis, reduced oxidative stress, and down-regulated the expression of p38-MAPK and caspase-3. Conclusions: Our findings show that apocynin attenuated CoCl2-induced apoptosis by potently restraining p38-MAPK-caspase-3 signaling pathway in PC12 cells, suggesting that apocynin may be a potent prophylactic reagent against CoCl2-mediated PC12 cell apoptosis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 1687-1697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yichun Xu ◽  
Hui Yao ◽  
Qiyou Wang ◽  
Wenbin Xu ◽  
Kaihua Liu ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Previous studies have shown that oxidative damage is a main contributor to disc nucleus pulposus (NP) cell apoptosis. Aquaporin-3 (AQP-3) facilitates reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and thus alleviates oxidative injury in other cells. This study aims to investigate the role and mechanism of AQP-3 in regulating NP cell apoptosis under oxidative damage. Methods: Rat NP cells were treated with H2O2 for 48 hours, while control NP cells were free of H2O2. Recombinant AQP-3 lentiviral vectors were used to investigate the effect of enhanced AQP-3 expression levels in NP cells. NP cell apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry, caspase-3 activity, gene expression of apoptosis-related molecules (Bax, Bcl-2 and caspase-3), and protein expression of cellular apoptosis markers (cleaved PARP and cleaved caspase-3). Additionally, intracellular ROS content and activity of the p38 MAPK pathway were evaluated. Results: Compared with the control NP cells, oxidative damage in the treatment cells significantly increased cell apoptosis ratios and caspase-3 activity, upregulated gene expression of Bax and caspase-3, downregulated gene expression of Bcl-2, and increased protein expression of cleaved PARP and cleaved caspase-3, as well as increased intracellular ROS content and activity of the p38 MAPK pathway. However, AQP-3 overexpression partly alleviated cell apoptosis, decreased intracellular ROS content, and inhibited the p38 MAPK pathway in NP cells under oxidative damage. Conclusion: Oxidative damage can significantly downregulate AQP-3 expression. Enhancing AQP-3 expression in NP cells partly attenuates cellular apoptosis through regulating the p38 MAPK pathway under oxidative damage.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizhen Shan ◽  
Di Yang ◽  
Danjie Zhu ◽  
Fabo Feng ◽  
Xiaolin Li

Abstract Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an important risk factor of intervertebral disc degeneration. A high glucose niche-mediated disc cell apoptosis is an implicate causative factor for the spine degenerative diseases related with DM. However, the effects of a high glucose niche on disc annulus fibrosus (AF) cell apoptosis and the potential signaling transduction pathway is unclear. The present study is to investigate the effects of high glucose on disc AF cell apoptosis and the role of two potential signaling pathways in this process. Rat AF cells were cultured in baseline medium or medium with different concentrations (0.1 and 0.2 M) of glucose for 3 days. Flow cytometry was used to assess the degree of apoptosis. Activity of caspase 3/9 was evaluated by chemical kit. Expression of pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic molecules was analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. In addition, activity of the C-Jun NH2-terminal kinases (JNK) pathway and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway was evaluated by Western blot. Compared with the control group, high glucose culture increased cell apoptosis ratio and caspase-3/9 activity, up-regulated expression of bax, caspase-3, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP, and down-regulated expression of bcl-2 in a glucose concentration-dependent manner. Additionally, high glucose culture increased expression of the p-JNK and p-p38 MAPK in a concentration-dependent manner. Further results showed that inhibition of the JNK or p38 MAPK pathway attenuated the effects of high glucose on AF cell apoptosis. Together, high glucose promoted disc AF cell apoptosis through regulating the JNK pathway and p38 MAPK pathway in a glucose concentration-dependent manner.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanwen Zhang ◽  
Zhiwei Liu ◽  
Hongbin Luo ◽  
Weifang Wu ◽  
Kaimei Nie ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic articular synovial inflammatory disease. The precise etiology underlying the pathogenesis of RA remains unknown. We aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of curcumin analog FM0807 (curcumin salicylate monoester, 2-hydroxy-, 4-[(1E,6E)-7-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3,5-dioxo-1,6-heptadien-1-yl]-2-methoxyphenyl ester) on experimental RA and investigate its possible mechanisms of action. Method: Rats with Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA)-induced arthritis (AIA) were administered aspirin (0.1 mmol.kg−1), curcumin (0.1 mmol.kg−1), FM0807 (0.1, 0.2 mmol.kg−1) and vehicle via gastric gavage, from days 7 to 21, once daily. The hind paw volume and arthritis index (AI) were measured, and radiographic and histological examinations were performed. Twenty-one days later, the animals were killed and left ankle joints were removed to measure protein expression of the elements of the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway by Western blot analysis. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed to measure synovial fluid levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β and IL-10. Results: Compared with AIA group, FM0807 reduced the AI and swelling of the injected hind paw in a dose-dependent manner, and inhibited increases in inflammatory cell infiltration, pannus formation and cartilage destruction. FM0807 also potently attenuated the increase in the expression of inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β in synovial fluid, while IL-10 levels were also elevated. FM0807 significantly suppressed phosphorylation of extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 (ERK1/2), c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) 1/2 (JNK1/2), p38MAPK, inhibitor of NF-κB kinase (IKK), IκB and NF-κB p65 protein, (all P<0.05), which displayed more potential effects compared with those of the aspirin and curcumin groups. Conclusion: FM0807 exerts its therapeutic effects on RA by inhibiting cartilage degeneration. FM0807 treatment might be an effective therapeutic approach for RA.


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