RESUMO
Sphingolipids are bioactive molecules associated with oxidative stress, inflammation, and neurodegenerative diseases, but poorly studied in the context of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a prevalent sight-threatening disease of the ageing retina. Here, we found higher serum levels of hexosylceramide (HexCer) d18:1/16:0 in patients with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and geographic atrophy (GA), two manifestations of late stage AMD, and higher ceramide (Cer) d18:1/16:0 levels in GA patients. A sensitivity analysis of genetic variants known to be associated with late stage AMD showed that rs1061170 (p.Y402H) in the complement factor H (CFH) gene influences the association of Cer d18:1/16:0 with GA. To understand the possible influence of this genetic variant on ceramide levels, we established a cell-based assay to test the modulation of genes in the ceramide metabolism by factor H-like protein 1 (FHL-1), an alternative splicing variant of CFH that also harbors the 402 residue. We first showed that malondialdehyde-acetaldehyde adducts, an oxidation product commonly found in AMD retinas, induces an increase in ceramide levels in WERI-Rb1 cells in accordance with an increased expression of ceramide synthesis genes. Then, we observed that cells exposed to the non-risk FHL-1:Y402, but not the risk associated variant FHL-1:H402 or full-length CFH, downregulated ceramide synthase 2 and ceramide glucosyltransferase gene expression. Together, our findings show that serum ceramide and hexosylceramide species are altered in AMD patients and that ceramide levels may be influenced by AMD associated risk variants.
Assuntos
Ceramidas/sangue , Degeneração Macular/diagnóstico , Esfingomielinas/sangue , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Linhagem Celular , Ceramidas/metabolismo , Neovascularização de Coroide/diagnóstico , Neovascularização de Coroide/genética , Proteínas Inativadoras do Complemento C3b/genética , Fator H do Complemento/genética , Regulação para Baixo , Variação Genética , Glucosiltransferases/genética , Humanos , Degeneração Macular/genética , Proteínas de Membrana/genética , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Polimorfismo de Nucleotídeo Único , Isoformas de Proteínas/genética , Fatores de Risco , Esfingosina N-Aciltransferase/genética , Proteínas Supressoras de Tumor/genéticaRESUMO
Millions of individuals older than 50-years suffer from age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Associated with this multifactorial disease are polymorphisms of complement factor genes and a main environmental risk factor-oxidative stress. Until now the linkage between these risk factors for AMD has not been fully understood. Recent studies, integrating results on oxidative stress, complement activation, epidemiology and ocular pathology suggested the following sequence in AMD-etiology: initially, chronic oxidative stress results in modification of proteins and lipids in the posterior of the eye; these tissue alterations trigger chronic inflammation, involving the complement system; and finally, invasive immune cells facilitate pathology in the retina. Here, we summarize the results for animal studies which aim to elucidate this molecular interplay of oxidative events and tissue-specific complement activation in the eye.
Assuntos
Ativação do Complemento , Proteínas do Sistema Complemento/metabolismo , Degeneração Macular/metabolismo , Estresse Oxidativo , Animais , Proteínas do Sistema Complemento/genética , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Humanos , Degeneração Macular/genética , Camundongos Knockout , Retina/metabolismo , Retina/patologiaRESUMO
Gamma irradiation is one of the methods used to sterilize melanoma cells prior to coculturing them with monocyte-derived immature dendritic cells in order to develop antitumor vaccines. However, the changes taking place in tumor cells after irradiation and their interaction with dendritic cells have been scarcely analyzed. We demonstrate here for the first time that after irradiation a fraction of tumor cells present large lipid bodies, which mainly contain triglycerides that are several-fold increased as compared to viable cells as determined by staining with Oil Red O and BODIPY 493/503 and by biochemical analysis. Phosphatidyl-choline, phosphatidyl-ethanolamine and sphingomyelin are also increased in the lipid bodies of irradiated cells. Lipid bodies do not contain the melanoma-associated antigen MART-1. After coculturing immature dendritic cells with irradiated melanoma cells, tumor cells tend to form clumps to which dendritic cells adhere. Under such conditions, dendritic cells are unable to act as stimulating cells in a mixed leukocyte reaction. However, when a maturation cocktail composed of TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-1beta and prostaglandin E2 is added to the coculture, the tumor cells clumps disaggregate, dendritic cells remain free in suspension and their ability to efficiently stimulate allogeneic lymphocytes is restored. These results help to understand the events following melanoma cell irradiation, shed light about interactions between irradiated cells and dendritic cells, and may help to develop optimized dendritic cell vaccines for cancer therapy.