Comparative structural and immunological analysis of outer membrane proteins and dermonecrotic toxin in Bordetella bronchiseptica canine isolate.

Bordetella bronchiseptica is a pathogen causing respiratory infections in mammals. With the improving understanding of companion animals' welfare, addressing the side effects of bordetella vaccine gains importance in dogs. Studies on diverse subunit vaccines are actively pursued in humans to safely and effectively control bordetellosis. Therefore, our objective was to develop a canine bordetella vaccine inspired by human vaccine development. We evaluated the immunogenicity of the two bacterial components: the outer membrane proteins (OMPs) and the dermonecrotic toxin (DNT) from a canine isolate of B. bronchiseptica. In-silico analysis identified eight domains of DNT, and Domain 3 was selected as the most promising antigen candidate. Additionally, the OMPs were extracted and examined using SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. The distinct immunological characteristic of OMPs and DNT-3 were examined individually and in combination. Gene expression and cytokine production were also evaluated in DH82 cells after stimulation with those antigens. Treatment with OMPs resulted in higher level of Th1 related cytokines, while DNT-3 induced a predominant response associated with Th17 and Th2 in the cytokine production. Synergistic effects were observed exclusively on IL-23, indicating increase of a potential risk of side effects when OMPs and DNT act together. These findings provide valuable insights into the reactogenicity of conventional Bordetella vaccines. Further, the presented preclinical data in this study offer an alternative method of the development for an optimal next-generation Bordetella vaccine for companion animals and humans, replacing the acellular vaccines containing both toxin and protein components.

Comparative genomic analysis of plasmids encoding metallo-ß-lactamase NDM-5 in Enterobacterales Korean isolates from companion dogs.

Carbapenems are broad-spectrum antibiotics widely used for the treatment of human infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria. However, emerging carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) are rising as a public threat to human and animal health. We screened clinical bacterial isolates from 241 dogs and 18 cats hospitalized at Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, Seoul National University, from 2018 to 2020 for carbapenemase production. In our study, 5 strains of metallo-ß-lactamase NDM-5-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated from 4 different dogs. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) results showed that all E. coli strains were ST410 and all K. pneumoniae strains were ST378. Whole genome analysis of the plasmid showed that blaNDM-5 is carried on a IncX3 plasmid, showing a high concordance rate with plasmids detected worldwide in human and animal isolates. The blaNDM gene was associated with the bleMBL gene and the ISAba125 element, truncated with the IS5 element. The results of this study show that CPE has already become as a threat to both animals and humans in our society, posing the necessity to solve it in terms of "One Health". Therefore, preventive strategies should be developed to prevent the spread of CPE in animal and human societies.

16S and 23S rRNA Gene Mutation Independent Multidrug Resistance of Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria Isolated from South Korean Soil.

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous microorganisms that have the potential to cause disease in both humans and animals. Recently, NTM infections have rapidly increased in South Korea, especially in urbanized areas. However, the distribution of species and the antibiotic resistance profile of NTM in environmental sources have not yet been investigated. Therefore, we analyzed the distribution of species and the antibiotic resistance profile of NTM in soil within urban areas of South Korea. A total of 132 isolates of NTM were isolated from soil samples from 1 municipal animal shelter and 4 urban area parks. Among the 132 isolates, 105 isolates were identified as slowly growing mycobacteria (SGM) and 27 isolates as rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) based on the sequences of the rpoB and hsp65 genes. The antibiotic resistance patterns of NTM isolates differed from species to species. Additionally, a mutation in the rrs gene found in this study was not associated with aminoglycoside resistance. In conclusion, our results showed that NTM isolates from South Korean soil exhibit multidrug resistance to streptomycin, amikacin, azithromycin, ethambutol, isoniazid, and imipenem. These results suggest that NTM may pose a public threat.

Induction of Th2 response through TLR2-mediated MyD88-dependent pathway in human microfold cells stimulated with chitosan nanoparticles loaded with Brucella abortus Mdh.

Drug delivery by the nasal or oral route is considered the preferred route of administration because it can induce systemic mucosal immunity. However, few studies have examined the immunogenicity and transport of antigen at the level of the microfold (M) cell, the epithelial cell that specializes in antigen sampling at mucosal surfaces. In our previous study, Brucella abortus malate dehydrogenase (Mdh) was loaded in chitosan nanoparticles (CNs), and it induced high production of proinflammatory cytokines in THP-1 cells and systemic IgA in BALB/C mice. In the present study, an in vitro M cell model was used in which Caco-2 cells and Raji B cells were co-cultured to investigate the impact of the uptake and immunogenicity of B. abortus Mdh on nanoparticle transport in human M cells. Our results showed that loaded CNs induced enhanced transport of Mdh in the M cell model. ELISAs showed significantly higher production of IL-1ß and IL-6 in the CN-Mdh stimulation group than that seen in the Mdh stimulation group. The observed increase of gene expression of TLR2, MyD88, TRAF6, IRF4 and CD14 implied that MyD88-dependent TLR2 signaling was activated by stimulation with CNs-Mdh. These results suggest that Mdh and CNs may function synergistically to enhance Th2-related responses triggered by the MyD88-dependent TLR2 signaling pathway and could induce an inflammatory response in M cells as an M cell-targeted delivery system. This study will contribute to the development of not only effective antigens for intracellular bacteria, including B. abortus, but also vaccine delivery systems that target M cells.

Induction of systemic immunity through nasal-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT) of mice intranasally immunized with Brucella abortus malate dehydrogenase-loaded chitosan nanoparticles.

Infection with Brucella abortus causes contagious zoonosis, brucellosis, and leads to abortion in animals and chronic illness in humans. Chitosan nanoparticles (CNs), biocompatible and nontoxic polymers, acts as a mucosal adjuvant. In our previous study, B. abortus malate dehydrogenase (Mdh) was loaded in CNs, and it induced high production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in THP-1 cells and systemic IgA in BALB/C mice. In this study, the time-series gene expression analysis of nasal-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT) was performed to identify the mechanism by which Mdh affect the target site of nasal immunization. We showed that intranasal immunization of CNs-Mdh reduced cell viability of epithelial cells and muscle cells at first 1 h, then induced cellular movement of immune cells such as granulocytes, neutrophils and lymphocytes at 6h, and activated IL-6 signaling pathway at 12h within NALT. These activation of immune cells also promoted signaling pathway for high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1), followed by the maturation of DCs required for mucosal immunity. The CNs also triggered the response to other organism and inflammatory response, showing it is immune-enhancing adjuvant. The ELISA showed that significant production of specific IgA was detected in the fecal excretions and genital secretions from the CNs-Mdh-immunized group after 2 weeks-post immunization. Collectively, these results suggest that B. abortus Mdh-loaded CNs triggers activation of HMGB1, IL-6 and DCs maturation signaling within NALT and induce production of systemic IgG and IgA.

Elicitation of Th1/Th2 related responses in mice by chitosan nanoparticles loaded with Brucella abortus malate dehydrogenase, outer membrane proteins 10 and 19.

Brucella spp. is the causative agent of brucellosis, one of the worldwide diseases. The pathogen infects humans and animals mainly through the digestive or respiratory tract. Therefore, induction of mucosal immunity is required as the first line of defense. In this study, three Brucella abortus recombinant proteins, malate dehydrogenase (rMdh), outer membrane proteins (rOmp) 10 and 19 were loaded in mucoadhesive chitosan nanoparticles (CNs) and induction of mucosal and systemic immunity were investigated after intranasal immunization of BALB/c mice. These antigens were also coimmunized as cocktail (rCocktail) to evaluate multiple antigen specific vaccine candidates. At 6-weeks post-immunization (wpi), antigen specific total IgG was increased in all of the immunized groups, predominantly IgG1. In addition, spleenocyte from rMdh-, rOmp19-, and rCocktail-immunized groups significantly produced IFN-γ and IL-4 suggesting the induction of a mixed Th1-Th2 response. For mucosal immunity, anti-Mdh IgA from nasal washes and fecal excretions, and anti-Omps IgA from sera, nasal washes, genital secretions and fecal excretions were significantly increased in single antigen immunized groups. In the rCocktail-immunized group, anti-Mdh IgA were significantly increased while anti-Omps IgA was not. Collectively, this study indicates that comprise of B. abortus antigen-loaded CNs elicited the antigen-specific IgA with a Th2-polarized immune responses and combination of the highly immunogenic antigens elicited IgG specific to each type of antigen.

Sex identification using ZFX and ZFY genes in leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus) in Korea.

In this study, we used multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine the sex of leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus) in Korea. When we applied PCR using primers based on the intronic region between ZFX and ZFY, only one DNA band of 143 bp was detected in females, compared with two specific bands of 143 and 310 bp in males, indicating that the band patterns were clearly different between females and males. Since the set of primers also proved compatible with tissue and fecal samples, the results of the present study demonstrate that the present PCR could be a convenient tool for identifying the sex of leopard cats.

Induction of Th2-related immune responses and production of systemic IgA in mice intranasally immunized with Brucella abortus malate dehydrogenase loaded chitosan nanoparticles.

The aim of this study was to investigate the induction of mucosal immune responses by an important Brucella abortus antigen, malate dehydrogenase (Mdh), loaded in mucoadhesive chitosan nanoparticles (CNs) and immunized intranasally in a BALB/c mouse model. The production of cytokines was investigated in human leukemic monocyte cells (THP-1 cells) after stimulation with the nanoparticles. Mdh-loaded CNs (CNs-Mdh) induced higher interleukin (IL)-6 production than unloaded antigens and TF loaded CNs (CNs-TF). Using ELISpot to quantify cytokines and antibody-secreting cells in the intranasally immunized mice, IL-4 and IgG-secreting cells were found to be significantly increased at 4 weeks and 6 weeks post-immunization in the CNs-Mdh immunized group, respectively. Increases in Mdh-specific IgG, IgG1, and IgG2a antibodies were confirmed at 6 weeks after immunization, indicating a predominant IgG1 response. Analysis of the mucosal immune response in the intranasally immunized mice revealed, Mdh-specific IgA and total IgA in the nasal washes, genital secretions, fecal extracts and sera that were remarkably increased in the CNs-Mdh-immunized group compared to the CNs-TF-immunized group except total IgA of nasal wash. Therefore, the results indicated that the intranasal immunization of CNs-loaded B. abortus Mdh antigen effectively induced antigen-specific mucosal immune responses through the elicitation of Th2-related immune responses.

Genes Related to Intracellular Survival of Brucella abortus in THP-1 Macrophage Cells.

Brucella abortus can survive and replicate within host macrophages, and great efforts have been made to demonstrate the genes involved in pathogenicity, such as internalization, in Brucella research. Here, intracellular responses were compared between THP-1 macrophage cells stimulated with B. abortus wild-type and four mutants (C1, C10, C27, and C32) using microarray to demonstrate the role of genes related to intracellular survival and replication. These mutants were generated by deleting genes encoding BAB_RS13225 (4-hydrobenzoate 3-monooxygenase, PHBH), BAB_RS00455 (heme exporter protein cytochrome C, CcmC), BAB_RS03675 (exopolyphosphatase, PPX), and BAB_RS13225 (peptidase M24). The results showed that mutants C1 and C10 induced significant suppression of survival levels and cytokine expression relative to wild-type in the THP-1 macrophage cells. These findings suggest that the BAB_RS13225 and BAB_RS00455 genes play important roles in survival within human macrophages. Conversely, mutants C27 and C32 induced significantly higher survival level than wild-type in the cells inhibiting cellular signal transduction. It is assumed that the BAB_RS03675 and BAB_RS13225 genes play a role in cellular resistance to B. abortus. Therefore, the disrupted genes are involved in B. abortus intracellular growth, and especially in its survival, and they could be effective targets for understanding the intracellular bacterium, B. abortus.

Global gene-expression profiles of intracellular survival of the BruAb2_1031 gene mutated Brucella abortus in professional phagocytes, RAW 264.7 cells.

BACKGROUND: Since recognizing the interaction between Brucella and host cells is crucial to the elucidation of the infectious process, Brucella researches have prioritized the investigation of genes related to pathogenicity. To demonstrate the roles of Brucella genes, RAW 264.7 cells were infected with the Brucella abortus wild-type and mutant strains (generated using transposon mutagenesis), after which the different transcriptional responses of the infected cells were determined using microarray. RESULTS: Following infection, enhanced strategies for intracellular survival, such as down-regulation of genes associated with cytokine responses and apoptosis, were observed in RAW 264.7 cells infected with C3 mutant strain when compared to the transcriptional responses of wild-type infected cells. Using sequence analysis, we determined the mutation site of a C3 mutant strain as the ATP-binding cassette transporter permease (BruAb2_1031). These results were evidenced by an increased level of intracellular survival of the C3 mutant strain. CONCLUSIONS: Characteristics of each mutant strain including bacterial growth rate, abilities to induce cytokine production in macrophages after infection, internalization, and levels of intracellular survival and replication, were investigated by performing RAW 264.7 cell infection experiments. Our results indicate that the BruAb2_1031 gene might be closely related with intracellular survival of B. abortus in RAW 264.7 cells.

Cytokines production and toll-like receptors expression in human leukemic monocyte cells, THP-1, stimulated with Brucella abortus cellular antigens.

A zoonotic pathogen, Brucella spp. is the causative agent of brucellosis, which results in abortion and loss in milk production in domestic animals, and undulant fever, osteoarticular pain and splenomegaly in humans. Due to the capability of the bacteria to modulate the host cell functions and survive in macrophages, early detection and eradication of the intracellular bacteria has received significant attention. Moreover, understanding the immunological alterations in Brucella infection is crucial to help develop control measures. Cytokines and toll-like receptors (TLRs) are some of the major compounds that play important roles in modulating the innate immunity and acquired immunity in host after infection. In this study, therefore, human leukemic monocyte cells (THP-1 cells) were stimulated with five Brucella abortus cellular components: outer membrane protein 10 (OMP10), outer membrane protein 19 (OMP19), thiamine transporter substrate-binding protein (TbpA), arginase (RocF), and malate dehydrogenase (Mdh). Post stimulation, the cytokine productions and TLR expressions in the cells were evaluated at different time points (12 h and 24 h), and analyzed using ELISA and real time RT-PCR, respectively. In the production of cytokines, it was observed that the production of TNF-α and IL-6 was highly induced in THP-1 cells stimulated with five recombinant protein antigens. Also, TLR8 was induced in a time-dependent manner after stimulation with two recombinant proteins, rOMP19 and rMdh, until 24 h. These results suggest that the two B. abortus antigens, rOMP19 and rMdh, might be involved in TLR8 signaling pathway in THP-1 cells in a time-dependent manner. These two proteins are therefore potentially effective antigen candidates which would help to provide better understandings of the immune responses after Brucella infection.

Comparative Analysis of Immune Responses to Outer Membrane Antigens OMP10, OMP19, and OMP28 of Brucella abortus.

Brucella infection is accompanied by cytokine production, which serves as an important factor to evaluate the innate and adaptive immune responses. Several researchers have been investigating the mechanisms involved in Brucella infection in the host. Here, we conducted an analytical study to define pathogenic pathways and immune mechanisms involved in Brucella infection by investigating the antigenic efficacy of recombinant outer membrane protein 10 (rOMP10), outer membrane protein 19 (rOMP19), and outer membrane protein 28 (rOMP28) in vitro and in vivo upon stimulation/immunization. Cytokine production was analyzed by nitric oxide (NO) assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) after stimulation of RAW 264.7 cells and naive splenocytes with the recombinant proteins. Our results show that levels of NO, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interleukin (IL)-6 increased in RAW 264.7 cells in a time-dependent manner following recombinant protein stimulation. In contrast, levels of interferon (IFN)-γ and IL-2 increased in naive splenocytes after stimulation with proteins. ELISA and ELISpot assays were performed after immunization of mice with recombinant proteins. rOMP28 greatly increased IFN-γ, IL-2, and TNF-α levels than IL-4 and IL-6 levels in vitro. Of the recombinant proteins, rOMP19 elicited a mixed Th1/Th2 immune response by increasing the number of IgG-secreting cells in vivo.

Analysis of protein expression in Brucella abortus mutants with different growth rates by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and LC-MS/MS peptide analysis.

Brucella abortus is a bacterium that causes brucellosis and is the causative agent of worldwide zoonoses. Pathogenesis of the B. abortus infection is complicated, and several researchers have attempted to elucidate the infection mechanism of B. abortus. While several proteins have been revealed as pathogenic factors by previous researchers, the underlying mechanism of B. abortus infection is unresolved. In this study, we identified proteins showing different expression levels in B. abortus mutants with different biological characteristics that were generated by random insertion of a transposon. Five mutants were selected based on biological characteristics, in particular, their growth features. Total proteins of mutant and wild-type B. abortus were purified and subjected to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Thirty protein spots of each mutant with expression increases or decreases were selected; those with a change of more than 2-fold were compared with the wild-type. Selected spots underwent liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for peptide analysis. DnaK and ClpB, involved in protein aggregation, increased. SecA and GAPDH, associated with energy metabolism, decreased in some mutants with a growth rate slower than that of the wild-type. Mutants with slower growth showed a decrease in energy metabolism-related proteins, while mutants with faster growth showed an increase in pathogenicity-related proteins.

Th2-related immune responses by the Brucella abortus cellular antigens, malate dehydrogenase, elongation factor, and arginase.

Brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease caused by Brucella species. The disease is difficult to control due to the intracellular survival of the bacterium and the lack of precise understanding of pathogenesis. Despite of continuous researches on the pathogenesis of Brucella spp. infection, there is still question on the pathogenesis, especially earlier immune response in the bacterial infection. Malate dehydrogenase (MDH), elongation factor (Tsf), and arginase (RocF), which showed serological reactivity, were purified after gene cloning, and their immune modulating activities were then analyzed in a murine model. Cytokine production profiles were investigated by stimulating RAW 264.7 cells and naïve splenocytes with the three recombinant proteins. Also, immune responses were analyzed by ELISA and an ELIspot assay after immunizing mice with the three proteins. Only TNF-α was produced in stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, whereas Th1-related cytokines, IFN-γ and IL-2, were induced in naïve splenocytes. In contrast, Th2-type immune response was more strongly induced in antigen-secreting cells in the splenocytes obtained 28 days after immunizing mice with the three proteins, as were IgM and IgG. The induction of Th2-related antibody, IgG1, was higher than the Th1-related antibody, IgG2a, in immunized mice. These results suggest that the three proteins strongly induce Th2-type immune response in vivo, even though Th1-related cytokines were produced in vitro.

Evaluation of Th1/Th2-Related Immune Response against Recombinant Proteins of Brucella abortus Infection in Mice.

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease caused by Brucella, a genus of gram-negative bacteria. Cytokines have key roles in the activation of innate and acquired immunities. Despite several research attempts to reveal the immune responses, the mechanism of Brucella infection remains unclear. Therefore, immune responses were analyzed in mice immunized with nine recombinant proteins. Cytokine production profiles were analyzed in the RAW 264.7 cells and naive splenocytes after stimulation with three recombinant proteins, metal-dependent hydrolase (r0628), bacterioferritin (rBfr), and thiamine transporter substrate-binding protein (rTbpA). Immune responses were analyzed by ELISA and ELISpot assay after immunization with proteins in mice. The production levels of NO, TNF-α, and IL-6 were time-dependently increased after having been stimulated with proteins in the RAW 264.7 cells. In naive splenocytes, the production of IFN-γ and IL-2 was increased after stimulation with the proteins. It was concluded that two recombinant proteins, r0628 and rTbpA, showed strong immunogenicity that was induced with Th1-related cytokines IFN-γ, IL-2, and TNF-α more than Th2-related cytokines IL-6, IL-4, and IL-5 in vitro. Conversely, a humoral immune response was activated by increasing the number of antigen-secreting cells specifically. Furthermore, these could be candidate diagnosis antigens for better understanding of brucellosis.

Expression of cytokine and apoptosis-related genes in bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with Brucella abortus recombinant proteins.

Brucellosis is a clinically and economically important disease. Therefore, eradication programs of the disease have been implemented in several countries. One hurdle in these programs is the detection of infected animals at the early stage. Although the protein antigens as diagnostic antigens have recently received attention, the exact mechanisms at the beginning of immune responses are not yet known. Therefore, genes encoding five B. abortus cellular proteins were cloned and the expressed recombinant proteins were purified. The expression of several cytokine genes (IL-1ß, IL-4, IL-6, IL-12p40, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and iNOS) was analyzed in bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (bPBMC) after stimulation with the recombinant proteins. Three apoptosis-related genes, Bax, Bcl-2, and TLR4, were also included in the analysis to find out the adverse effects of the proteins to the cells. Each protein induced different patterns of cytokine expression depending on the stimulation time and antigen dose. Expression of IL-6, IL-12p40, and IFN-γ was induced with all of the proteins while IL-1ß, IL-4, TNF-α, and iNOS gene expression was not. Expression of apoptosis-related genes was not altered except TLR4. These results suggest that the cellular antigens of B. abortus induce both humoral and cellular immunity via the production of IL-6, IL-12p40, and IFN-γ in bPBMC without exerting any adverse effects on the cells.

Whole-blood gene-expression profiles of cows infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis reveal changes in immune response and lipid metabolism.

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is the causative agent of Johne's disease, a chronic debilitating disease affecting ruminants worldwide. In the present study, we aimed to determine the major gene networks and pathways underlying the immune response to MAP infection using whole-blood cells, as well as provide the potential transcriptional markers for identifying the status of MAP infection. We analyzed the transcriptional profiles of whole-blood cells of cattle identified and grouped according to the presence of MAP-specific antibodies and the MAP shed by them. The grouping was based on the results obtained by ELISA and PCR analyses as follows: i) Test1 group: MAP-negative results obtained by ELISA and positive results obtained by PCR; ii) Test2 group: MAP-positive results obtained by ELISA and negative results obtained by PCR; iii) Test3 group: MAP-positive results obtained by ELISA and positive results obtained by PCR; iv) uninfected control: MAP-negative results obtained both by ELISA and PCR analysis. The results showed down-regulated production and metabolism of reactive oxygen species in the Test1 group, activation of pathways related to the host-defense response against MAP (LXR/RXR activation and complement system) in the Test2 and Test3 groups, and anti-inflammatory response (activation of IL-10 signaling pathway) only in the Test3 group. Our data indicate a balanced response that serves the immune-limiting mechanism while the host-defense responses are progressing.

MBD6 is a direct target of Oct4 and controls the stemness and differentiation of adipose tissue-derived stem cells.

Argonaute 2 (Ago2) is a pivotal regulator of cell fate in adult stem cells. Its expression is significantly downregulated in late passages of cells, concomitant with a prominent increase in Ago2 cytosolic localization in single cells. Nuclear localization of Ago2 is crucial for the survival, proliferation, and differentiation of hATSCs (human adipose tissue-derived stem cells), mediated by the specific binding of the regulatory regions of functional genes, which positively or negatively altered gene expression. Ago2 targets genes that control stemness, reactive oxygen species scavenging, and microRNA expression, all of which are crucial for hATSC survival and self-renewal. Ago2 promotes cell proliferation and self-renewal by activating the expression of octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4). We confirmed the direct regulation of Oct4 activity by Ago2, as indicated by the results of the ChIP analysis. Methyl-CpG-binding protein 6 (MBD6) was detected as an Oct4 regulatory gene. As predicted, knockdown of MBD6 expression attenuated cell proliferation and eventually induced cell death. We hypothesized that MBD6 functions downstream of Oct4 in the regulation of stemness-related genes, cell proliferation, self-renewal activity, and survival. MBD6 also promoted cell transdifferentiation into neural and endodermal ß-cells while significantly attenuating differentiation into the mesodermal lineage. We demonstrate that MBD6 is regulated by Ago2 via an interaction with Oct4, which alters self-renewal and gene expression in hATSCs. MBD6 was promoted cell proliferation through a novel set of signal mediators that may influence differentiation by repressing MBD2 and MBD3, which are possibly recruited by germ cell nuclear factor (GCNF).

MicroRNA 486 is a potentially novel target for the treatment of spinal cord injury.

MicroRNAs have been shown to effectively regulate gene expression at the translational level. Recently, we identified novel microRNAs that were upregulated in a mouse model of spinal cord injury. Among those, we have focused on microRNA 486, which directly represses NeuroD6 expression through a conserved sequence in its untranslated region. We correlated the overexpression of microRNA 486 in motor neurons with a poor outcome due to progressive neurodegeneration and a pathophysiology that is mediated by reactive oxygen species. The expression of microRNA 486 was induced by reactive oxygen species that were produced by inflammatory factors, and reactive oxygen species were accumulated in response to the knockdown of NeuroD6, which enhances the downregulation of glutathione peroxidase 3 and thioredoxin-like 1 after traumatic spinal cord injury. NeuroD6 directly bound to regulatory regions of thioredoxin-like 1 and glutathione peroxidase 3 in motor neurons and activated their expression, which promoted reactive oxygen species scavenging. Moreover, knocking down microRNA 486 induced the expression of NeuroD6, which effectively ameliorated the spinal cord injury and allowed the mice to recover motor function. The infusion of exogenic NeuroD6 in spinal cord injury lesions effectively blocked apoptosis by reactivating thioredoxin-like 1 and glutathione peroxidase 3, which was accompanied by a recovery of motor function. Collectively, these findings have identified a novel microRNA in spinal cord injury lesions called microRNA 486, demonstrating a new role for NeuroD6 in neuroprotection, and suggest a potential therapeutic target for spinal cord injuries.

Novel GSK-3ß inhibitors and CBM-1078 guide hATSCs' deaging via Oct4 and ß-catenin activation.

UNLABELLED: Abstract Aims: The fate decision of adult stem cells is determined by the activation of specific intracellular signaling pathways after exposure to specific stimuli. In this study, we demonstrated specific functions of a novel small molecule, CBM-1078, that induced cell self-renewal via Oct4- and canonical Wnt/ß-catenin-mediated deaging in cultured human adipose tissue-derived stem cells (hATSCs). RESULTS: As a potential glycogen synthase kinase-3ß (GSK-3ß) inhibitor, CBM-1078 primarily activated ß-catenin and Oct4 expression after inhibition of GSK-3ß. Treatment of hATSCs with CBM-1078 led to transdifferentiation toward a neural precursor cell fate after transient self-renewal, and the cells were capable of differentiation into gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA)-secreting neuronal cells with pain-modulating functions in an animal model of neuropathic pain. During cell self-renewal, CBM-1078 directs the translocalization of ß-catenin and Oct4 into the nucleus, an event that is crucial for the cooperative activation of hATSC neurogenesis via Oct4 and Wnt/ß-catenin. Nuclear-localized ß-catenin and Oct4 act together to regulate the expression of Oct4, Nanog, Sox2, ß-catenin, c-Myc, and STAT3 after binding to the regulatory regions of these genes. Nuclear Oct4 and Wnt3a/ß-catenin also control cell growth by binding to the promoters of STAT3, Gli3, and c-Myc after complex formation and direct interaction. CBM-1078 actively enhanced the DNA-binding affinity of Oct4 and ß-catenin to functional genes and activated the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway to promote hATSC reprogramming. INNOVATION AND CONCLUSION: This study revealed the value of a single small molecule, CBM-1078, showing a definitive cell reprogramming mechanism. Finally, we confirmed the therapeutic potential of GABA-hATSCs for treatment of neuropathic pain, which could be used for therapeutic purposes in humans. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 00, 000-000.