Periplaneta Americana Extract May Attenuate Renal Fibrosis through Inhibiting Janus Tyrosine Kinase 2/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 Pathway

Pharmacology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 102 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingsong Liu ◽  
Lin Zhou ◽  
Liyu He ◽  
Ying Zhong ◽  
Xiaobai Zhang ◽  
...  

Background: Periplaneta americana is one of the ancient insect groups with the strongest vitality. Periplaneta americana extract (PAE) has been explored as an alternative remedy for many diseases. Although much progress has been made in the study about PAE, the role of the drug in renal disease is rarely reported, especially in renal fibrosis. This study was designed to evaluate the renoprotective effect of PAE treatment to renal fibrosis. Method: An in vivo, unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) mouse model was built. Then the mice were treated with PAE (100 mg/kg body weight) once daily by oral gavage, again starting on the day of UUO and continued for 1 week. At the end of 1 week, the mice were sacrificed; kidney samples were collected for further analysis. In vitro, Boston University mouse proximal tubular cells were plated in 35-mm dishes at a density of 0.3 * 106 cells/dish. Then the cells were treated with 5-ng/mL TGF-β1 in serum-free DMEM medium for an indicated length of time. The experimental groups were pretreated with the indicated concentrations of PAE (0.3125 mg/mL). The cells were further cultured for 24 h, and then cells were monitored morphologically or collected for biochemical analyses. Results: Both in vivo and vitro PAE inhibits the expression of FN and alpha-smooth muscle actin and suppresses renal fibrosis. Importantly, PAE protects against renal fibrosis by inhibiting Janus tyrosine kinase 2 (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT) tyrosine phosphorylation. Conclusion: PAE attenuates renal fibrosis through the suppression of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway.

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Hammer ◽  
Leah Rider ◽  
Peter Oladimeji ◽  
Leslie Cook ◽  
Quanwen Li ◽  
...  

Abstract The p21-activated serine-threonine kinase (PAK1) is activated by small GTPase-dependent and -independent mechanisms and regulates cell motility. Both PAK1 and the hormone prolactin (PRL) have been implicated in breast cancer by numerous studies. We have previously shown that the PRL-activated tyrosine kinase JAK2 (Janus tyrosine kinase 2) phosphorylates PAK1 in vivo and identified tyrosines (Tyr) 153, 201, and 285 in the PAK1 molecule as sites of JAK2 tyrosyl phosphorylation. Here, we have used human breast cancer T47D cells stably overexpressing PAK1 wild type or PAK1 Y3F mutant in which Tyr(s) 153, 201, and 285 were mutated to phenylalanines to demonstrate that phosphorylation of these three tyrosines are required for maximal PRL-dependent ruffling. In addition, phosphorylation of these three tyrosines is required for increased migration of T47D cells in response to PRL as assessed by two independent motility assays. Finally, we show that PAK1 phosphorylates serine (Ser) 2152 of the actin-binding protein filamin A to a greater extent when PAK1 is tyrosyl phosphorylated by JAK2. Down-regulation of PAK1 or filamin A abolishes the effect of PRL on cell migration. Thus, our data presented here bring some insight into the mechanism of PRL-stimulated motility of breast cancer cells.


Author(s):  
Joon M. Jung ◽  
Hae K. Yoon ◽  
Chang J. Jung ◽  
Soo Y. Jo ◽  
Sang G. Hwang ◽  
...  

Cold plasma can be beneficial for promoting skin wound healing and has a high potential of being effectively used in treating various wounds. Our aim was to verify the effect of cold plasma in accelerating wound healing and investigate its underlying mechanism in vitro and in vivo. For the in vivo experiments, 2 full-thickness dermal wounds were created in each mouse (n = 30). While one wound was exposed to 2 daily plasma treatments for 3 min, the other wound served as a control. The wounds were evaluated by imaging and histological analyses at 4, 7, and 11 days post the wound infliction process. Immunohistochemical studies were also performed at the same time points. In vitro proliferation and scratch assay using HaCaT keratinocytes and fibroblasts were performed. The expression levels of wound healing–related genes were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis. On day 7, the wound healing rates were 53.94% and 63.58% for the control group and the plasma-treated group, respectively. On day 11, these rates were 76.05% and 93.44% for the control and plasma-treated groups, respectively, and the difference between them was significant ( P = .039). Histological analysis demonstrated that plasma treatment promotes the formation of epidermal keratin and granular layers. Immunohistochemical studies also revealed that collagen 1, collagen 3, and alpha-smooth muscle actin appeared more abundantly in the plasma-treated group than in the control group. In vitro, the proliferation of keratinocytes was promoted by plasma exposure. Scratch assay showed that fibroblast exposure to plasma increased their migration. The expression levels of collagen 1, collagen 3, and alpha-smooth muscle actin were elevated upon plasma treatment. In conclusion, cold plasma can accelerate skin wound healing and is well tolerated.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nozomi Igarashi ◽  
Megumi Honjo ◽  
Makoto Aihara

AbstractWe examined the effects of mTOR inhibitors on the fibrotic response induced by transforming growth factor-beta2 (TGF-β2) in cultured human trabecular meshwork (hTM) cells. TGF-β2-induced expression of fibronectin, collagen type I, alpha 1 chain (COL1A1), and alpha-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) in hTM cells was examined in the presence or absence of mTOR inhibitors using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. The migration rates of hTM cells were examined in the presence of TGF-β2 with or without mTOR inhibitors. An in vitro study showed that the expression of fibronectin, COL1A1, and αSMA was upregulated by TGF-β2 treatment of hTM cells; such upregulation was significantly suppressed by mTOR inhibitors. The inhibitors significantly reduced the migration rate of TGF-β2-stimulated hTM cells. mTOR inhibitors may usefully reduce the fibrotic response of hTM cells and we may have to explore if it is also effective in in vivo model.


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