Extract of Plumbago zeylanica enhances the growth of hair follicle dermal papilla cells with down-regulation of 5α-reductase type II.

BACKGROUND: Cellular senescence, a phenomenon of irreversible growth arrest of mammalian cells, is involved in various age-related phenomena in organisms. Hair follicle dermal papilla (DP) cells play important roles in the regulation of hair growth and loss. AIMS: We examined the implication of cellular senescence of DP cells in androgenetic alopecia (AGA), the most common form of male hair loss, and searched for the compounds that have a beneficial effect on the prevention of AGA. PATIENTS/METHODS: Expression of the 5α-reductase type II (SRD5A2) gene, which plays a key role in the development of AGA, was examined by quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting analysis in DP cells. Besides, DP cells were cultured with the extracts of herbs used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine to search for the compounds that have a beneficial effect on the growth of DP cells. RESULTS: We found that expression of the SRD5A2 was up-regulated in senescent DP cells. We also found that the herbal extract of Plumbago zeylanica (root) enhanced the growth of DP cells and down-regulated the expression of SRD5A2 in DP cells. Further, plumbagin, an ingredient of P zeylanica, would be responsible for the above effects of P zeylanica. CONCLUSION: These results suggested the possibility that senescent DP cells may have a role in the development of AGA through up-regulating SRD5A2 expression, and the P zeylanica extract and plumbagin may suppress its development through enhancing the growth of DP cells and down-regulating SRD5A2 expression in DP cells.

The role of lamin B receptor in the regulation of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP).

Cellular senescence is a phenomenon of irreversible growth arrest of mammalian somatic cells. Senescent cells increase the production of secretory proteins such as inflammatory cytokines, a phenomenon termed senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). SASP is known to have profound effects on organismal health and aging; however, the molecular mechanisms of SASP are not precisely understood. In our previous studies, we have shown that senescent cells show decreased function of lamin B receptor (LBR), a nuclear membrane protein that regulates heterochromatin organization. Here we examined the implication of LBR in the regulation of SASP because senescent cells show altered heterochromatin organization, which would affect gene expression. We found that knock-down of LBR up-regulated the expression of the SASP factors such as IL-6, IL-8, and MMP1 in HeLa cells, even though cellular senescence was not induced by LBR knock-down. Conversely, enforced expression of LBR suppressed their up-regulated expression in senescent cells induced by excess thymidine. Further, our gene expression profile analysis also showed that many secretory proteins were up-regulated by LBR knock-down. We then analyzed the regulatory mechanisms of the expression of SASP factors by LBR, and found that the promoters of these SASP factors associated with LBR in normally growing cells, but dissociated from it in senescent cells. Additionally, we found that enforced expression of LBR decreased the generation of cytoplasmic DNA, which could be involved in SASP, in senescent cells. These findings suggested that LBR would play crucial roles in the regulation of SASP.

Lamin B receptor plays a key role in cellular senescence induced by inhibition of the proteasome.

Cellular senescence is a terminal growth arrest phenomenon in mammalian cells. Coordinated regulation of protein synthesis and degradation is required to maintain protein homeostasis in cells; however, senescent cells exhibit decreased activity of the proteasome, a major cellular proteolytic machinery, with an accumulation of proteins. Indeed, we showed that MG132, a proteasome inhibitor, induced cellular senescence through an accumulation of proteins in human cells. We then investigated the mechanisms of cellular senescence induced by protein accumulation by treating cells with MG132. We found that lamin B receptor (LBR), a nuclear membrane protein that regulates heterochromatin organization, was mislocalized and down-regulated in cells on treatment with MG132. Importantly, enforced expression of LBR suppressed cellular senescence induced by MG132. We also showed that LBR was involved in the regulation of chromatin organization in senescent cells, and that endoplasmic reticulum stress and autophagy were likely to be involved in the mislocalization and down-regulation of LBR. These findings indicate that decreased LBR function was responsible for the induction of cellular senescence by MG132, and thus suggest that protein accumulation caused by inhibition of the proteasome induced cellular senescence probably through chromatin dysregulation in human cells.

Extract of Emblica officinalis enhances the growth of human keratinocytes in culture.

OBJECTIVE: Keratinocytes are the predominant cell type in the epidermis and play key roles in epidermal function. Thus, identification of the compounds that regulate the growth of keratinocytes is of importance. Here we searched for such compounds from the herbs used in traditional medicine Ayurveda. METHODS: Human keratinocytes were cultured in the presence or absence of the herbal extracts for 2 weeks; the effect of the extracts on cell growth was determined by staining the cells with Coomassie brilliant blue. To detect the compounds that regulate the growth of keratinocytes, the herbal extracts were subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). RESULTS: We found that the extract of Emblica officinalis enhanced the growth of keratinocytes in culture. Further, we fractionated the extract of E. officinalis using HPLC and identified the fractions responsible for the enhanced growth of keratinocytes. CONCLUSION: The extract of E. officinalis enhanced the growth of human keratinocytes in culture. E. officinalis contains the compounds that would be beneficial for human skin health because enhanced growth of keratinocytes would promote wound healing.

Lamin B receptor (LBR) is involved in the induction of cellular senescence in human cells.

Cellular senescence is a phenomenon of irreversible growth arrest in mammalian somatic cells in culture. Various stresses induce cellular senescence and indeed, we have found that excess thymidine effectively induces cellular senescence in human cells. Further, many reports indicate the implication of chromatin proteins in cellular senescence. Here we analysed the role of lamin B receptor (LBR), a nuclear envelope protein that regulates heterochromatin organization, in cellular senescence induced by excess thymidine. We then found that the LBR protein was down-regulated and showed aberrant localization in cells upon induction of cellular senescence by excess thymidine. Additionally, we also found that knock-down of LBR facilitated the induction of cellular senescence by excess thymidine in cancerous HeLa cells, and importantly, it induced cellular senescence in normal human diploid fibroblast TIG-7 cells. These results suggested that decreased LBR function is involved in the induction of cellular senescence in human cells.

GNG11 (G-protein subunit γ 11) suppresses cell growth with induction of reactive oxygen species and abnormal nuclear morphology in human SUSM-1 cells.

Enforced expression of GNG11, G-protein subunit γ 11, induces cellular senescence in normal human diploid fibroblasts. We here examined the effect of the expression of GNG11 on the growth of immortalized human cell lines, and found that it suppressed the growth of SUSM-1 cells, but not of HeLa cells. We then compared these two cell lines to understand the molecular basis for the action of GNG11. We found that expression of GNG11 induced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and abnormal nuclear morphology in SUSM-1 cells but not in HeLa cells. Increased ROS generation by GNG11 would likely be caused by the down-regulation of the antioxidant enzymes in SUSM-1 cells. We also found that SUSM-1 cells, even under normal culture conditions, showed higher levels of ROS and higher incidence of abnormal nuclear morphology than HeLa cells, and that abnormal nuclear morphology was relevant to the increased ROS generation in SUSM-1 cells. Thus, SUSM-1 and HeLa cells showed differences in the regulation of ROS and nuclear morphology, which might account for their different responses to the expression of GNG11. Thus, SUSM-1 cells may provide a unique system to study the regulatory relationship between ROS generation, nuclear morphology, and G-protein signaling.

Triphala, a formulation of traditional Ayurvedic medicine, shows protective effect against X-radiation in HeLa cells.

Ayurveda is a holistic medical system of traditional medicine, and Triphala is one of the most popular formulations in Ayurveda. Triphala is composed of three kinds of herb, Terminalia chebula, Terminalia bellirica, and Emblica officinalis. Since Triphala is shown to exhibit a protective activity against ionizing radiation in mice, we investigated its activity in HeLa cells. We found that Triphala showed the protective effects against X-radiation and bleomycin, both of which generate DNA strand breaks, in HeLa cells. Further, Triphala efficiently eliminated reactive oxygen species (ROS) in HeLa cells. Thus, the antioxidant activity of Triphala would likely play a role in its protective actions against X-radiation and bleomycin because both agents damage DNA through the generation of ROS. These observations suggested that the radioprotective activity of Triphala can be, at least partly, studied with the cells cultured in vitro. The simple bioassay system with human cultured cells would facilitate the understanding of the molecular basis for the beneficial effects of Triphala.

Chyawanprash, a formulation of traditional Ayurvedic medicine, shows a protective effect on skin photoaging in hairless mice.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation induces skin photoaging (premature skin aging). UV irradiation generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are shown to play a pivotal role in skin photoaging. Ayurveda is a holistic traditional medical system, and Chyawanprash is one of the most popular formulations in Ayurveda. Since maintenance of the function and appearance of skin is important, we examined whether Chyawanprash has a protective effect on skin photoaging. METHODS: To examine the effect of Chyawanprash on skin photoaging, hairless mice were administered with Chyawanprash in drinking water for 3 weeks, and then repeatedly exposed to ultraviolet light B (UVB) irradiation (225 or 450 mJ/cm2) to induce skin photoaging. To further examine the function of Chyawanprash, its effects were examined in cells cultured in vitro. Chyawanprash was added in culture medium, and examined for the effect on the growth of human keratinocytes, and for the ability to eliminate ROS which generated by paraquat (50 µmol/L) in HeLa cells. RESULTS: UVB irradiation caused symptoms such as rough skin, erythema, and edema on the skin in hairless mice, but administration of Chyawanprash relieved these symptoms. Further, Chyawanprash significantly suppressed epidermal thickening, a typical marker of skin photoaging, in mice. We then analyzed the effect of Chyawanprash in human cells in culture, and found that Chyawanprash enhanced the growth of human keratinocytes, and efficiently eliminated ROS, which are causally involved in skin photoaging, in HeLa cells. CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that Chyawanprash may have beneficial effects on slowing skin photoaging.

Dual roles of ERK1/2 in cellular senescence induced by excess thymidine in HeLa cells.

DNA damage response is crucially involved in cellular senescence. We have previously shown that excess thymidine, which stalls DNA replication forks, induces cellular senescence in human cells, and ERK1/2 play a key role in the induction of it. In this study, we found that Chk1 and ERK1/2 were activated to promote cell survival upon addition of excess thymidine. Knockdown of ERK1/2 activated Chk1, and conversely, knockdown of Chk1 activated ERK1/2, which observations suggested a mechanism for compensatory activation of Chk1 and ERK1/2 in the absence of ERK1/2 and Chk1, respectively. We also found that Chk1 functioned mainly at the onset of cellular senescence, and on the other hand, ERK1/2 functioned for a more extended period to induce cellular senescence. Our findings suggested that Chk1 and ERK1/2 were activated to promote cell survival upon addition of excess thymidine, but prolonged activation of ERK1/2 led to cellular senescence. This implies a pleiotropic effect of ERK1/2 in cellular senescence induced by excess thymidine.

Combinatorial effects of continuous protein synthesis, ERK-signaling, and reactive oxygen species on induction of cellular senescence.

Mammalian cells, when treated with sub-lethal doses of genotoxic stresses, slow down DNA synthesis but continue protein synthesis. Thus, these cells show an accumulation of proteins and undergo unbalanced growth. In the previous studies, we have shown that HeLa cells treated with excess thymidine or camptothecin undergo unbalanced growth, and prolonged unbalanced growth causes induction of cellular senescence, which is suppressed by restriction of protein synthesis or inhibition of ERK-signaling. In this study, we found that restriction of protein synthesis, inhibition of ERK-signaling, and elimination of reactive oxygen species showed a combinatorial effect on suppression of cellular senescence induced by excess thymidine or camptothecin. Of these, restriction of protein synthesis most effectively suppressed cellular senescence. Importantly, a similar combinatorial effect was observed in replicative senescence in normal human diploid fibroblasts. Our findings suggested that various stresses were cumulatively involved in cellular senescence, and suppression of cellular senescence was improved by combining the treatments that reduce the stresses.

Restriction of protein synthesis abolishes senescence features at cellular and organismal levels.

Cellular senescence or its equivalence is induced by treatment of cells with an appropriate inducer of senescence in various cell types. Mild restriction of cytoplasmic protein synthesis prevented induction of all aspects of cellular senescence in normal and tumor-derived human cells. It allowed the cells to continuously grow with no sign of senescent features in the presence of various inducers. It also delayed replicative senescence in normal human fibroblasts. Moreover, it allowed for growth of the cells that had entered a senescent state. When adult worms of the nematode C. elegans were grown under protein-restricted conditions, their average and maximal lifespans were significantly extended. These results suggest that accumulation of cytoplasmic proteins due to imbalance in macromolecule synthesis is a fundamental cause of cellular senescence.

High concentrations of NaCl induce cell swelling leading to senescence in human cells.

Cell swelling and retardation in DNA replication are always observed in senescent cells. When DNA replication is slowed down with RNA and protein syntheses unchanged in proliferating cells, it causes a phenomenon known as unbalanced growth. The purpose of this study is to assess the role of cell swelling in unbalanced growth in terms of senescence and investigate the mechanism underlying this phenomenon. We tried to induce cell swelling with minimum damage to cells in this study. We perturbed the osmoregulatory functions to induce cell swelling under hypotonic and hypertonic conditions in normal human fibroblasts. Addition of excess NaCl was found to induce significant cell and nuclear swelling in dose- and time-dependent manners. Excess NaCl immediately retarded DNA replication, accumulated cells at G1 phase of the cell cycle, and eventually deprived division potential of the cells. Such cells showed typical senescent cell shape followed by expression of the typical senescence-associated genes. Excess NaCl also activated ERK1/2, p38, and JNK of the mitogen activated protein kinase family. Addition of U0126, an inhibitor of ERK1/2, prevented appearance of senescent features induced by excess NaCl. These results suggest that hypertonic conditions induce cell swelling due to unbalanced growth, thereby leading to cellular senescence.