miR-449a ameliorates acute rejection after liver transplantation via targeting procollagen-lysine1,2-oxoglutarate5-dioxygenase 1 in macrophages.

Acute rejection (AR) is an important factor that leads to poor prognosis after liver transplantation (LT). Macrophage M1-polarization is an important mechanism in AR development. MicroRNAs play vital roles in disease regulation; however, their effects on macrophages and AR remain unclear. In this study, rat models of AR were established following LT, and macrophages and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from rats and humans, respectively. We found miR-449a expression to be significantly reduced in macrophages and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Overexpression of miR-449a not only inhibited the M1-polarization of macrophages in vitro but also improved the AR of transplant in vivo. The mechanism involved inhibiting the noncanonical nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) pathway. We identified procollagen-lysine1,2-oxoglutarate5-dioxygenase 1 (PLOD1) as a target gene of miR-449a, which could reverse miR-449a's inhibition of macrophage M1-polarization, amelioration of AR, and inhibition of the NF-κB pathway. Overall, miR-449a inhibited the NF-κB pathway in macrophages through PLOD1 and also inhibited the M1-polarization of macrophages, thus attenuating AR after LT. In conclusion, miR-449a and PLOD1 may be new targets for the prevention and mitigation of AR.

HSP110 aggravates ischemia-reperfusion injury after liver transplantation by promoting NF-κB pathway.

BACKGROUND: Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) poses a significant challenge to liver transplantation (LT). The underlying mechanism primarily involves overactivation of the immune system. Heat shock protein 110 (HSP110) functions as a molecular chaperone that helps stabilize protein structures. METHODS: An IRI model was established by performing LT on Sprague-Dawley rats, and HSP110 was silenced using siRNA. Hematoxylin-eosin staining, TUNEL, immunohistochemistry, ELISA and liver enzyme analysis were performed to assess IRI following LT. Western blotting and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were conducted to investigate the pertinent molecular changes. RESULTS: Our findings revealed a significant increase in the expression of HSP110 at both the mRNA and protein levels in the rat liver following LT (P < 0.05). However, when rats were injected with siRNA-HSP110, IRI subsequent to LT was notably reduced (P < 0.05). Additionally, the levels of liver enzymes and inflammatory chemokines in rat serum were significantly reduced (P < 0.05). Silencing HSP110 with siRNA resulted in a marked decrease in M1-type polarization of Kupffer cells in the liver and downregulated the NF-κB pathway in the liver (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: HSP110 in the liver promotes IRI after LT in rats by activating the NF-κB pathway and inducing M1-type polarization of Kupffer cells. Targeting HSP110 to prevent IRI after LT may represent a promising new approach for the treatment of LT-associated IRI.

E2F8-TPX2 axis regulates glycolysis and angiogenesis to promote progression and reduce chemosensitivity of liver cancer.

Liver cancer (LC) is a global health concern, marked by its high prevalence and mortality rates and known for its resistance to chemotherapy. The treatment of LC patients is facing great challenges. Targeting protein for Xenopus kinesin-like protein 2 (TPX2) is a LC marker that has been discovered in recent years, and there are sporadic data suggesting that it has an impact on the level of chemoresistance, but the exact mechanism remains to be deciphered. Our investigation, grounded in bioinformatics strategies including the TCGA database, GEO database, K-M plot database, GSEA, Pearson correlation analysis, and detection of clinical samples, led to the identification of TPX2 and its upstream transcription factor E2F8 as differentially expressed elements in LC tissues. We also probed the role of the axis in glycolysis, angiogenesis, tumor progression, and chemoresistance in LC cells. This was achieved by a battery of molecular and cellular experiments, such as qRT-PCR, CCK-8, Transwell, flow cytometry, and angiogenesis assays. Both TPX2 and E2F8 were upregulated in LC tissues and cells with E2F8 being responsible for the upregulation of TPX2. Through bioinformatics analysis, we observed a significant enrichment of TPX2 in the glycolysis and angiogenesis pathways. Cell-based experiments corroborated these findings, demonstrating that TPX2 knockdown led to significant inhibition of glycolysis and angiogenesis, along with a suppression of the malignant progression of LC cells. This was mirrored by a reduction in the IC50 values for cisplatin and apatinib to 0.8257 µM and 10.79 µM, respectively. In contrast, E2F8 overexpression reversed these effects in LC cells, increasing the IC50 values to 3.375 and 16.06 µM, respectively. The E2F8-TPX2 axis promotes glycolysis and angiogenesis in LC cells, which in turn accelerates cancer progression and reduces chemosensitivity. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10616-024-00655-w.

The effect of Gö6976 on chronic myeloid leukemia in vitro and in vivo.

Objectives: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a malignant tumor of the blood system. Gö6976, as a type of indolocarbazole and shows strong antitumor effects, but there have been no reports on the effect of Gö6976 on CML. The objectives of this research were: (1) to explore the impact of Gö6976 on CML in vitro and in vivo; and (2) to explore the drug toxicity of Gö6976 to normal cells and animals.Methods:K562 cells and CML mice were used to explore the effect of Gö6976 on CML. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), CD34+ cells, and healthy mice were used to explore the drug toxicity of Gö6976.Results: Cell experiments showed that Gö6976 could inhibit the proliferation of K562 cells and enhance the inhibitory effects of imatinib at 5 µM and 10 µM, but it had little effect on CD34+ cells or PBMCs at concentrations less than 5 µM. Animal experiments showed that 2.5 mg/kg Gö6976 could effectively inhibit the development of CML in mice, and it had almost no effects on healthy mice at 2.5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg.Discussion: Because of the direct inhibitory effect of Gö6976 on CML and its pharmacological enhancement effect on imatinib, it is foreseeable that Gö6976 could become a new type of anti-CML medicine. And the further research is needed.Conclusion: Our findings verified that Gö6976 could effectively inhibit CML in vitro and in vivo, and it is almost nontoxic to hematopoietic cells, immune cells, and healthy mice.

miR-194 ameliorates hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury via targeting PHLDA1 in a TRAF6-dependent manner.

Hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) is an inevitable pathological process in liver resection, shock and transplantation. However, the internal mechanism of hepatic IRI, including inflammatory transduction of multiple signaling pathways, is not fully understood. In the present study, we identified pleckstrin homology-like domain family member 1 (PHLDA1), suppressed by microRNA (miR)-194, as a critical intersection of dual inflammatory signals in hepatic IRI. PHLDA1 was upregulated in hepatic IRI with a concomitant downregulation of miR-194. Overexpression of miR-194 diminished PHLDA1 and inhibitors of the nuclear factor kappa-B kinase (IKK) pathway, thus leading to remission of hepatic pathological injury, apoptosis and release of cytokines. Further enrichment of PHLDA1 reversed the function of miR-194 both in vivo and in vitro. For an in-depth query, we verified PHLDA1 as a direct target of miR-194. Notably, inflammatory signal transduction of PHLDA1 was induced by activating TNF receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6), sequentially initiating IKK and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), both of which aggravate stress and inflammation in hepatic IRI. In conclusion, the miR-194/PHLDA1 axis was a key upstream regulator of IKK and MAPK in hepatic IRI. Targeting PHLDA1 might be a potential strategy for hepatic IRI therapy.

[Research Advance on Classic Wnt Pathway in Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia--Review].

Abstract　　Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a hematological malignancy that seriously threatens the lives of patients. It was found that there are abnormal classic Wnt pathway, that is, Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathways in CML cells, moreover, Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway is involved in the growth and proliferation of CML cells, and closely relates with the self-renewal ability of CML leukemic stem cells. This review summarizes the recent studies on the relationship between Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway and CML, and the researches on the targeting inhibition of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway in CML treatment, thus to provide new ideas for the treatment of CML.

[Effect of GÖ6976 on Proliferation of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Cells and Its Toxicity on Normal Cells and Mice].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of GÖ6976 on the proliferation of chronic myeloid leukemia cells and its toxic effect on normal cells and mice, so as to provide experimental basis for the effectiveness and safety of its clinical application. METHODS: Different concentrations of GÖ6976 were applied to the K562 cells, human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) and normal BaF3 cells, MTT assay was used to detect the effect on cell proliferation. BALB/C mice were used to investigate the toxicity in vivo. The general situation, body weight and the number of white blood cells in peripheral blood were monitored during administration, the blood collected from eyeballs before and after administration was used for biochemical examination, at the same time, the liver, kidney and femurs were examined pathologically. RESULTS: GÖ6976 could significantly inhibit the proliferation of K562 cells, inhibition effect increased with increasing dose (r=0.9623). However, there was no significant change in the inhibitory effect on PBMNC and BaF3 cells. The pathological examination of organs in each group showed no abnormal manifestations such as inflammatory infiltration, while the change rate of leukocyte count in peripheral blood of high dose group fluctuated greatly (P＜0.05), which might be related to the inhibition of intracellular protein kinase C, and no abnormality was observed in blood biochemical indexes. In the low dose group, there was no significant difference in peripheral blood leukocyte count, blood biochemical index and histopathology during administration drug as compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: GÖ6976 possesses a significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation of K562 cells, and the inhibitory effect increases with increasing dose. Long-term application of 5.0 µmol/L and below concentrations of GÖ6976 shows no obvious inhibitory effect on PBMNC, BaF3 cells. Long-term application of 10 mg/kg and below concentrations of GÖ6976 shows no obvious toxic effect on BALB/c mice.

[Advances in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia--Review].

Abstract　　At present, allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is still the only way to cure chronic myelogenous leukemia. With the advances of HLA matching technology, application of tyrosine kinase inhibitors before and after transplantation, improvement of postoperative immune status and fusion gene monitoring, and the control of postoperative complications, especially graft-versus-host disease etc. allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is displaying better efficacy in the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia, and the quality of life of patients has also been significantly improved. This article reviews the recent research advances on the allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and related support technologies for treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia.