A-family anti-inflammatory cyclopentenone prostaglandins: A novel class of non-statin inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase.

Disruption of the intracellular lipid balance leading to cholesterol accumulation is one of the features of cells that participate in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. Evidence form our laboratory indicates that anti-inflammatory cyclopentenone prostaglandins (cyPGs) of A- and J-family deviate lipid metabolism from the synthesis of cholesterol and cholesteryl esters to the synthesis of phospholipids in foam-cell macrophages. cyPGs possessing an α,ß-unsaturated cyclopentane ring are highly electrophilic substances able to promptly react with reactive cysteines of intracellular molecules through Michael addition. On the other hand, HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR), the enzyme responsible for the rate-limiting step in cholesterol biosynthesis, presents critically reactive cysteines at the entry of catalytic domain, particularly Cys561, that could be target of cyPG inhibition. In the present study, we showed that cyPGs (but not other non-α,ß-unsaturated PGs) physically interact with HMGCR, in a dithiothreitol- and ß-mercaptoethanol-sensitive way, and block the activity of the catalytic subunit of the enzyme (IC50 for PGA2 = 0.17 µM). PGA2 inhibits HMGCR activity in cultured rat and human macrophages/macrophage-foam cells and leads to enhanced expression of HMGCR protein, as observed with statins. In cell culture models, PGA2 effectively inhibits the reductase at non-toxic doses (e.g., 1 µM) that block cell proliferation thus suggesting that part of the well-known antiproliferative effect of PGA2 may be due to its ability of blocking HMGCR activity, as cells cannot proliferate without a robust cholesterogenesis. Therefore, besides the powerfully anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative effects, the anticholesterogenic effects of PGA2 should be exploited in atherosclerosis therapeutics.

Modulation of rat monocyte/macrophage innate functions by increasing intensities of swimming exercise is associated with heat shock protein status.

Moderate exercise positively impacts innate immune functions, bringing about a better resistance against infections and general immunosurveillance. Exercise of high workloads (i.e., high intensity and/or duration) such as elite marathon, on the other hand, may have detrimental effects over immune function, but neither how long nor how intense should be the exercise sessions to be deleterious is known, this being a matter of intense dispute. Exercise is, at the same time, one of the most powerful inducers of the 70 kDa family of heat shock proteins (HSPAs, formerly known as HSP70s), which are protein chaperones characterized by a marked anti-inflammatory potency, when located intracellularly (iHSPA), but may act as pro-inflammatory cytokines if in the extracellular space (eHSPA). The above observations led us to suppose that short-term exercise could impose long-lasting effects on macrophage function that should be related to the eHSPA-to-iHSPA ratio, viz. H-index. Sedentary adult male Wistar rats were then submitted to 20 min swimming sessions with an overload (as a percentage of body weight attached to the tail base) of either 2, 4, 6, or 8 %. Control animals were maintained at rest in shallow water. Monocyte/macrophage functions (phagocytic capacity, nitric oxide [NO], and hydrogen peroxide [H2O2]) were assessed just after and 12 h after exercise and compared with HSPA status and oxidative stress markers. The results showed that exercise increased phagocytosis and H2O2 immediately after the bouts in a workload-dependent way. This was accompanied by increased H-index but no alteration in the redox status. Enhanced phagocytic capacity persisted for up to 12 h, when a marked rise in NO production was also observed, but H-index resumes its control values, suggesting that immune alertness returned to basal levels. Of note was the detection of the cognate form of eHSPA (encoded by hspa8 gene and formerly known as HSP73) in the rat sera. In total, acute exercise may evoke 12 h long workload-dependent effects associated with HSPA status.

Sex-related differences in the effects of high-fat diets on DHEA-treated rats.

Several studies have investigated the beneficial effects of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on lipid and glucose metabolism. However, many of these studies are inconclusive about the effects of DHEA administration on metabolic disorders, and there appear to be sex-related differences in the effects of DHEA treatment. Few animal studies have addressed the effects of DHEA on diet-induced metabolic disorders. The present study sought to ascertain whether sex differences exist in the effects of a high-fat diet (HFD) on weight gain, adiposity, and biochemical and hormonal parameters in DHEA-treated rats. Rats were fed a HFD for 4 weeks and simultaneously received treatment with DHEA (10 mg/kg by subcutaneous injection) once weekly. Body weight, retroperitoneal fat depot weight, serum glucose, insulin, and leptin levels, and hepatic lipids were measured. HFD exposure increased the adiposity index in both sexes, the hepatic triglyceride content in both sexes, and the hepatic total cholesterol level in males. Moreover, the HFD induced an increase in blood glucose levels in both sexes, and hyperinsulinemia in males. In this experimental model, DHEA treatment reduced hepatic triglyceride levels only in females, regardless of HFD exposure. Exposure to a HFD, even if it does not cause obesity, may enhance risk factors for metabolic disorders, and males are more sensitive to this effect. DHEA treatment can help prevent metabolic derangements, but its effect varies with sex.