Paclitaxel-induced epithelial damage and ectopic MMP-13 expression promotes neurotoxicity in zebrafish.

Paclitaxel is a microtubule-stabilizing chemotherapeutic agent that is widely used in cancer treatment and in a number of curative and palliative regimens. Despite its beneficial effects on cancer, paclitaxel also damages healthy tissues, most prominently the peripheral sensory nervous system. The mechanisms leading to paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy remain elusive, and therapies that prevent or alleviate this condition are not available. We established a zebrafish in vivo model to study the underlying mechanisms and to identify pharmacological agents that may be developed into therapeutics. Both adult and larval zebrafish displayed signs of paclitaxel neurotoxicity, including sensory axon degeneration and the loss of touch response in the distal caudal fin. Intriguingly, studies in zebrafish larvae showed that paclitaxel rapidly promotes epithelial damage and decreased mechanical stress resistance of the skin before induction of axon degeneration. Moreover, injured paclitaxel-treated zebrafish skin and scratch-wounded human keratinocytes (HEK001) display reduced healing capacity. Epithelial damage correlated with rapid accumulation of fluorescein-conjugated paclitaxel in epidermal basal keratinocytes, but not axons, and up-regulation of matrix-metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13, collagenase 3) in the skin. Pharmacological inhibition of MMP-13, in contrast, largely rescued paclitaxel-induced epithelial damage and neurotoxicity, whereas MMP-13 overexpression in zebrafish embryos rendered the skin vulnerable to injury under mechanical stress conditions. Thus, our studies provide evidence that the epidermis plays a critical role in this condition, and we provide a previously unidentified candidate for therapeutic interventions.

Paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy is caused by epidermal ROS and mitochondrial damage through conserved MMP-13 activation.

Paclitaxel induces peripheral neuropathy as a side effect of cancer treatment. The underlying causes are unclear, but epidermal, unmyelinated axons have been shown to be the first to degenerate. We previously utilized an in vivo zebrafish model to show that the epidermal matrix-metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13) induces degeneration of unmyelinated axons, whereas pharmacological inhibition of MMP-13 prevented axon degeneration. However, the precise functions by which MMP-13 is regulated and affects axons remained elusive. In this study, we assessed mitochondrial damage and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation as possible inducers of MMP-13, and we analyzed MMP-13-dependent damage. We show that the small ROS, H2O2, is increased in basal keratinocytes following treatment with paclitaxel. Cytoplasmic H2O2 appears to derive, at least in part, from mitochondrial damage, leading to upregulation of MMP-13, which in turn underlies increased epidermal extracellular matrix degradation. Intriguingly, also axonal mitochondria show signs of damage, such as fusion/fission defects and vacuolation, but axons do not show increased levels of H2O2. Since MMP-13 inhibition prevents axon degeneration but does not prevent mitochondrial vacuolation, we suggest that vacuolization occurs independently of axonal damage. Finally, we show that MMP-13 dysregulation also underlies paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy in mammals, indicating that epidermal mitochondrial H2O2 and its effectors could be targeted for therapeutic interventions.

Oxidative stress-dependent MMP-13 activity underlies glucose neurotoxicity.

BACKGROUND: A complication of diabetes is neuropathy, a condition of sensory axon degeneration that originates in the epidermis. The mechanisms remain unknown but reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in this condition. In this study, we assessed the role of ROS and a candidate downstream target, MMP-13 in glucose-induced sensory axon degeneration in zebrafish and mice. METHODS: The effects of glucose on metabolism and sensory axon degeneration were assessed using qPCR and live imaging. ROS were analyzed using pentafluorobenzene-sulfonyl fluorescein and activation of the NF-κB stress response was determined using Tg(NF-κB:GFP) zebrafish. The role of MMP-13 and ROS in glucose-dependent axon degeneration was determined in zebrafish following treatment with the antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine and the MMP-13 inhibitor, DB04760. Neuropathic mice fed on a high-fat/high-sugar diet were treated with the MMP-13 inhibitor, CL-82198 to assess sensory recovery. RESULTS: Glucose treatment of zebrafish induced metabolic changes that resemble diabetes. Sensory axon degeneration was mediated by ROS-induced MMP-13 and prevented upon antioxidant treatment or MMP-13 inhibition. MMP-13 inhibition also reversed neuropathy in diabetic mice. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that zebrafish are suitable to study glucose-induced neurotoxicity. Given the effects in zebrafish and mice, MMP-13 inhibition may be beneficial in the treatment of human diabetic neuropathy.