Engineered Wnt ligands enable blood-brain barrier repair in neurological disorders.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) protects the central nervous system (CNS) from harmful blood-borne factors. Although BBB dysfunction is a hallmark of several neurological disorders, therapies to restore BBB function are lacking. An attractive strategy is to repurpose developmental BBB regulators, such as Wnt7a, into BBB-protective agents. However, safe therapeutic use of Wnt ligands is complicated by their pleiotropic Frizzled signaling activities. Taking advantage of the Wnt7a/b-specific Gpr124/Reck co-receptor complex, we genetically engineered Wnt7a ligands into BBB-specific Wnt activators. In a "hit-and-run" adeno-associated virus-assisted CNS gene delivery setting, these new Gpr124/Reck-specific agonists protected BBB function, thereby mitigating glioblastoma expansion and ischemic stroke infarction. This work reveals that the signaling specificity of Wnt ligands is adjustable and defines a modality to treat CNS disorders by normalizing the BBB.

Circular CPM promotes chemoresistance of gastric cancer via activating PRKAA2-mediated autophagy.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy can significantly improve the disease-free survival and overall survival of patients with advanced gastric cancer (GC). 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is frequently applied in the clinic, acting as a first-line chemotherapy drug of advanced GC, which could be used alone or combining platinum drugs. However, its efficacy is significantly attenuated by chemoresistance, which is associated with patients' poor survival. Recently, there is evidence suggesting that dysregulation of autophagy may contribute to drug resistance in cancer, and circular RNAs (circRNAs) also take part in chemoresistance. However, whether circRNAs participate in 5-FU chemoresistance through autophagy remains largely unknown. METHODS: RNA sequencing technologies and bioinformatics analysis were performed in GC. Sanger sequencing, Actinomycin D assay and RNase R assay confirmed the circular structure of circular CPM (circCPM). Various cell line models and animal models were used to explore related functions in vitro and in vivo. Quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), fluorescence in situ hybridization, ribonucleic acid; (RNA) pulldown assays, RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation assays and Luciferase reporter assays were applied to explore involved pathways. RESULTS: circCPM was up-regulated in 5-FU resistant GC cell lines and tissue. Moreover, high circCPM expression is positively associated with poor survival. Silencing circCPM greatly improved chemosensitivity in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, it directly binds to miR-21-3p in the cytoplasm and therefore increases the expression of PRKAA2, contributing to the activation of autophagy and chemoresistance. CONCLUSION: Our results reveal that circCPM has a crucial role in regulating GC autophagy and 5-FU resistance by targeting PRKAA2. It may function as a new theory basis for assessing the curative effect of GC and reversing 5-FU chemoresistance.

Steroid hormones and hormone antagonists regulate the neural marker neurotrimin in uterine leiomyoma.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the role of steroid hormone and antihormone exposure on neurotrimin (NTM) expression in human leiomyoma and myometrial tissue and cells. DESIGN: Laboratory study of placebo and ulipristal acetate (UPA)-treated patient tissue. In vitro assessment of immortalized myometrial and leiomyoma cell lines after hormone and antihormone exposure. SETTING: Academic research center. PATIENT(S): Not applicable. INTERVENTIONS(S): Exposure of leiomyoma cell lines to 17ß-E2, medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), UPA, and fulvestrant. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Messenger RNA expression quantified with the use of RNASeq analysis and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Protein levels quantified by means of Western blot analysis. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) on placebo- and UPA-treated patient uterine tissue specimens. RESULT(S): Expression of NTM in human uterine leiomyoma specimens according to RNASeq was increased compared with myometrium (5.22 ± 0.57-fold), which was confirmed with the use of qRT-PCR (1.95 ± 0.05). Furthermore, NTM protein was elevated in leiomyoma tissue compared with matched myometrium (2.799 ± 0.575). IHC revealed increased staining intensity in leiomyoma surgical specimens compared with matched myometrium of placebo patients. Western blot analysis in immortalized leiomyoma cell lines demonstrated an up-regulation of NTM protein expression (2.4 ± 0.04). Treatment of leiomyoma cell lines with 17ß-E2 yielded a 1.98 ± 0.11-fold increase in NTM protein expression; however, treatment with fulvestrant showed no significant change compared with control. Leiomyoma cell lines demonstrated a 1.91 ± 0.97-fold increase in NTM protein expression after progesterone treatment. RNASeq analysis demonstrated a reduced expression in patient leiomyoma after UPA treatment (0.75 ± 0.14). Treatment of leiomyoma cells with UPA demonstrated a reduced total NTM protein amount (0.54 ± 0.31) in patients, which was confirmed with the use of IHC (UPA10 147.2 ± 9.40, UPA20 182.8 ± 8.98). In vitro studies with UPA treatment revealed a concentration-dependent effect that supported these findings. CONCLUSION(S): NTM, a neural cell adhesion molecule, is increased in leiomyoma compared with myometrium in patient tissue and in vitro models after estrogen and progesterone treatment. Down-regulation of expression occurs after UPA treatment, but not after fulvestrant exposure. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT00290251.

New insights into different adipokines in linking the pathophysiology of obesity and psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a chronic, systemic, hyper-proliferative immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease. The results of epidemiological investigations have shown that psoriasis affects around 2% of the general population worldwide, and the total number of psoriasis patients is more than 6 million in China. Apart from the skin manifestations, psoriasis has been verified to associate with several metabolic comorbidities, such as insulin resistance, diabetes and obesity. However, the underlying mechanism is still not elucidated. Adipocytes, considered as the active endocrine cells, are dysfunctional in obesity which displays increased synthesis and secretion of adipokines with other modified metabolic properties. Currently, growing evidence has pointed to the central role of adipokines in adipose tissue and the immune system, providing new insights into the effect of adipokines in linking the pathophysiology of obesity and psoriasis. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the pathological role of adipokines and the potential mechanisms whereby different adipokines link obesity and psoriasis. Furthermore, we also provide evidence which identifies a potential therapeutic target aiming at adipokines for the management of these two diseases.

Suppression of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Growth and Metastasis by a Novel Small Molecular Activator of RECK.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Reversion-inducing cysteine-rich protein with kazal motifs (RECK) is a novel tumor suppressor gene that is critical for regulating tumor cell invasion and metastasis. The expression of RECK is dramatically down-regulated in human cancers. Harmine, a tricyclic compound from Peganum harmala, has been shown to have potential anti-cancer activity. METHODS: Cell proliferation assay (CCK-8 cell viability assay), cell cycle analysis (detection by flow cytometry), apoptosis staining assay (TUNEL staining), cell migration assay and invasion assay (transwell assay) were carried out to investigate the Harmine's efficacy on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells in vitro. A549-luciferase cell orthotropic transplantation xenograft mouse model was used to determine the effect of Harmine treatment on NSCLC in vivo. Western blotting analysis of cell growth and metastasis related signal pathways was conducted to investigate the molecular mechanism of Harmine's inhibitory effect on NSCLC. RESULTS: Harmine treatment effectively inhibited cell proliferation and induced the G1/S cell cycle arrest of NSCLC cells. Further study proved that Harmine treatment led to apoptosis induction. Furthermore, treatment with NSCLC cells with Hamine resulted in decreased cell migration and cell invasion in vitro. More importantly, Harmine treatment significantly suppressed the NSCLC tumor growth and metastasis in mouse xenograft model in vivo. Mechanistically, in Harmine-treated NSCLC cells, RECK expression and its downstream signaling cascade were dramatically activated. As a consequence, the expression level of MMP-9 and E-cadherin were significantly decreased. CONCLUSION: These findings identify Harmine as a promising activator of RECK signaling for metastatic NSCLC treatment.

Role of CD73 in Disease: Promising Prognostic Indicator and Therapeutic Target.

CD73, also known as ecto-5'-nucleotidase (eN, NT5E, EC3.13.5), is the ratelimiting enzyme for adenosine generation and is expressed on multiple cells. Its expression is significantly influenced by hypoxia and inflammatory factors. During inflammation, CD73 protects endothelial barrier function and inhibits leukocyte trafficking. CD73 also promotes M2 macrophages (anti-inflammatory phenotype). In addition, CD73 is expressed on Treg cells and mediates immune suppression through adenosine. CD73 serves as an essential regulator for the immunity and inflammation. Its expression is related to many diseases, such as autoimmune diseases, ischemia-reperfusion injuries, arterial calcifications, and atherosclerosis. CD73 is overexpressed in many cancers. Its expression is positively associated with tumor growth, metastasis, angiogenesis, poor prognosis and resistance to chemotherapy. Thus, CD73 may be used for prognostic indicator and therapeutic target in diseases such as cancers.

Interferon induces interleukin 8 and bone marrow stromal cell antigen 2 expression, inhibiting the production of hepatitis B virus surface antigen from human hepatocytes.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) loss is one of the treatment goals of chronic HBV infection. Bone marrow stromal cell antigen 2 (BST2) is one of the interferon (IFN)-stimulated genes (ISGs) and inhibits the release of various enveloped viruses. Here we examined the effects of antiviral treatment on HBsAg levels and its intracellular mechanism in HBsAg-producing hepatocytes. In PLC/PRF/5 and Huh1, IFNα-2a treatment decreased HBsAg levels in their conditioned media. Upregulation of interleukin 8 (IL8), toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP10) mRNAs was associated with the reduction of HBsAg in both PLC/PRF/5 and Huh1. The HBsAg level was upregulated by knockdown of IL8, TLR2 or IP10. Exogenous addition of IL8 enhanced BST2 promoter activity and BST2 mRNA expression. Additionally, knockdown of IL8 could lead to the downregulation of BST2 mRNA. Transfection of poly(I-C) enhanced IL8 and BST2 mRNA expression and inhibited HBsAg secretion from PLC/PRF/5 cells. In conclusion, IL8 might play an important role in the enhancement of BST2 and be involved in HBsAg eradication.

Investigation of neurotoxic and immunotoxic effects of some plant growth regulators at subacute and subchronic applications on rats.

The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of subacute and subchronic treatment of some plant growth regulators (PGRs), such as abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellic acid (GA3), on neurological and immunological biomarkers in various tissues of rats. The activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butrylcholinesterase (BChE) were selected as biomarkers for neurotoxic biomarkers. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were measured as indicators for immunotoxic investigation purpose. Wistar albino rats were orally administered with 25 and 50 ppm of PGRs ad libitum for 25-50 days continuously with drinking water. The treatment of PGRs caused different effects on the activities of enzymes. Results showed that the administrations of ABA and GA3 increased AChE and BChE activities in some tissues of rats treated with both the dosages and periods of ABA and GA3. With regard to the immunotoxic effects, ADA activity fluctuated, while MPO activity increased after subacute and subchronic exposure of treated rat tissues to both dosages when compared with the controls. The observations presented led us to conclude that the administrations of PGRs at subacute and subchronic exposure increased AChE, BChE, and MPO activities, while fluctuating the ADA activity in various tissues of rats. This may reflect the potential role of these parameters as useful biomarkers for toxicity of PGRs.

mTORC1 in the Paneth cell niche couples intestinal stem-cell function to calorie intake.

How adult tissue stem and niche cells respond to the nutritional state of an organism is not well understood. Here we find that Paneth cells, a key constituent of the mammalian intestinal stem-cell (ISC) niche, augment stem-cell function in response to calorie restriction. Calorie restriction acts by reducing mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signalling in Paneth cells, and the ISC-enhancing effects of calorie restriction can be mimicked by rapamycin. Calorie intake regulates mTORC1 in Paneth cells, but not ISCs, and forced activation of mTORC1 in Paneth cells during calorie restriction abolishes the ISC-augmenting effects of the niche. Finally, increased expression of bone stromal antigen 1 (Bst1) in Paneth cells­an ectoenzyme that produces the paracrine factor cyclic ADP ribose­mediates the effects of calorie restriction and rapamycin on ISC function. Our findings establish that mTORC1 non-cell-autonomously regulates stem-cell self-renewal, and highlight a significant role of the mammalian intestinal niche in coupling stem-cell function to organismal physiology.

Process automation toward ultra-high-throughput screening of combinatorial one-bead-one-compound (OBOC) peptide libraries.

With an aim to develop peptide-based protein capture agents that can replace antibodies for in vitro diagnosis, an ultra-high-throughput screening strategy has been investigated by automating labor-intensive, time-consuming processes that are the construction of peptide libraries, sorting of positive beads, and peptide sequencing through analysis of tandem mass spectrometry data. Although instruments for automation, such as peptide synthesizers and automatic bead sorters, have been used in some groups, the overall process has not been well optimized to minimize time, cost, and efforts, as well as to maximize product quality and performance. Herein we suggest and explore several solutions to the existing problems with the automation of the key processes. The overall process optimization has been done successfully in orchestration with the technologies such as rapid cleavage of peptides from beads and semiautomatic peptide sequencing that we have developed previously. This optimization allowed one-round screening, from peptide library construction to peptide sequencing, to be completed within 4 to 5 days. We also successfully identified a 6-mer ligand for carcinoembryonic antigen-cell adhesion molecule 5 (CEACAM 5) through three-round screenings, including one-round screening of a focused library.