Inhibiting PRMT1 protects against CoNV by regulating macrophages through the FGF2/PI3K/Akt pathway.

Corneal neovascularization (CoNV) is predominantly initiated by inflammatory processes, resulting in aberrant vascular proliferation and consequent visual impairment. Existing therapeutic interventions for CoNV demonstrate limited efficacy and potential for adverse reactions. Protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) is associated with the regulation of inflammation and M2 macrophage polarization. Nevertheless, the precise mechanism by which PRMT1 operates in CoNV remains uncertain. This study explored the impact of PRMT1 inhibition in a murine model of CoNV induced by alkali burn. Our findings indicated a direct relationship between PRMT1 levels and corneal damage. Moreover, our observations indicated an increase in fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) expression in CoNV, which was reduced after treatment with a PRMT1 inhibitor. The inhibition of PRMT1 alleviated both corneal injury and CoNV, as evidenced by decreased corneal opacity and neovascularization. Immunofluorescence analysis and evaluation of inflammatory factor expression demonstrated that PRMT1 inhibition attenuated M2 macrophage polarization, a phenomenon that was reversed by the administration of recombinant FGF2 protein. These results were confirmed through experimentation on Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) and Mouse leukemia cells of monocyte macrophage cells (RAW264.7). Furthermore, it was established that FGF2 played a role in PI3K/Akt signal transduction, a critical regulatory pathway for M2 macrophage polarization. Importantly, the activity of this pathway was found to be suppressed by PRMT1 inhibitors. Mechanistically, PRMT1 was shown to promote M2 macrophage polarization, thereby contributing to CoNV, through the FGF2/PI3K/Akt pathway. Therefore, targeting PRMT1 may offer a promising therapeutic approach.

Efficacy of endoscopic therapy for T1b esophageal cancer and construction of prognosis prediction model: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of endoscopic therapy on the long-term survival outcomes of T1b oesophageal cancer (EC) is unclear, this study was designed to clarify the survival outcomes of endoscopic therapy and to construct a model for predicting the prognosis in T1b EC patients. METHODS: This study was performed using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database from 2004 to 2017 of patients with T1bN0M0 EC. Cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) were compared between endoscopic therapy group, esophagectomy group and chemoradiotherapy group, respectively. Stabilized inverse probability treatment weighting was used as the main analysis method. The propensity score matching method and an independent dataset from our hospital were used as sensitivity analysis. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression (Lasso) was employed to sift variables. A prognostic model was then established and was verified in two external validation cohorts. RESULTS: The unadjusted 5-year CSS was 69.5% (95% CI, 61.5-77.5) for endoscopic therapy, 75.0% (95% CI, 71.5-78.5) for esophagectomy and 42.4% (95% CI, 31.0-53.8) for chemoradiotherapy. After stabilized inverse probability treatment weighting adjustment, CSS and OS were similar in endoscopic therapy and esophagectomy groups ( P =0.32, P =0.83), while the CSS and OS of chemoradiotherapy patients were inferior to endoscopic therapy patients ( P <0.01, P <0.01). Age, histology, grade, tumour size, and treatment were selected to build the prediction model. The area under the curve of receiver operating characteristics of 1, 3, and 5 years in the validation cohort 1 were 0.631, 0.618, 0.638, and 0.733, 0.683, 0.768 in the validation cohort 2. The calibration plots also demonstrated the consistency of predicted and actual values in the two external validation cohorts. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic therapy achieved comparable long-term survival outcomes to esophagectomy for T1b EC patients. The prediction model developed performed well in calculating the OS of patients with T1b EC.

Ginkgo biloba extract promotes osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in a pathway involving Wnt/ß-catenin signaling.

Human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are a novel cell source used in stem cell therapy to treat bone diseases owing to their high potential to differentiate into osteoblasts. Effective induction of osteogenic differentiation from human BM-MSCs is critical to fulfill their therapeutic potential. In this study, Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE), a traditional herbal medicine, was used to stimulate the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human BM-MSCs. The present study revealed that GBE improved the proliferation and osteogenesis of human BM-MSCs in a dose-dependent manner in the range 25-75 mg/l, as indicated by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and calcium content. However, such effect was decreased or inhibited at 100mg/l or higher. The dose-dependent improvement in osteogenesis of human BM-MSCs by GBE was further confirmed by the dose-dependent upregulation of marker genes, osteopontin (OPN) and Collagen I. The increased osteoprotegerin (OPG) expression and minimal expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) suggested that GBE also inhibited osteoclastogenesis of human BM-MSCs. Further mechanistic study demonstrated that the transcriptional levels of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) and runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) in the BMP signaling, ß-catenin and Cyclin D1 in the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling, increased significantly during GBE-promoted osteogenesis. Meanwhile, loss-of-function assay with the signaling inhibitor(s) confirmed that the BMP and Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathways were indispensable during the GBE-promoted osteogenesis, suggesting that GBE improved osteogenesis via upregulation of the BMP and Wnt/ß-catenin signaling. The present study proposed GBE to be used to upregulate the osteogenic differentiation of human BM-MSCs for new bone formation in BM-MSC-based cell therapy, which could provide an attractive and promising treatment for bone disorders.

Immobilized lentivirus vector on chondroitin sulfate-hyaluronate acid-silk fibroin hybrid scaffold for tissue-engineered ligament-bone junction.

The lack of a fibrocartilage layer between graft and bone remains the leading cause of graft failure after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The objective of this study was to develop a gene-modified silk cable-reinforced chondroitin sulfate-hyaluronate acid-silk fibroin (CHS) hybrid scaffold for reconstructing the fibrocartilage layer. The scaffold was fabricated by lyophilizing the CHS mixture with braided silk cables. The scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) showed that microporous CHS sponges were formed around silk cables. Each end of scaffold was modified with lentiviral-mediated transforming growth factor- ß 3 (TGF- ß 3) gene. The cells on scaffold were transfected by bonded lentivirus. In vitro culture demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on scaffolds proliferated vigorously and produced abundant collagen. The transcription levels of cartilage-specific genes also increased with culture time. After 2 weeks, the MSCs were distributed uniformly throughout scaffold. Deposited collagen was also found to increase. The chondral differentiation of MSCs was verified by expressions of collagen II and TGF- ß 3 genes in mRNA and protein level. Histology also confirmed the production of cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) components. The results demonstrated that gene-modified silk cable-reinforced CHS scaffold was capable of supporting cell proliferation and differentiation to reconstruct the cartilage layer of interface.