Multinucleation resets human macrophages for specialized functions at the expense of their identity.

Macrophages undergo plasma membrane fusion and cell multinucleation to form multinucleated giant cells (MGCs) such as osteoclasts in bone, Langhans giant cells (LGCs) as part of granulomas or foreign-body giant cells (FBGCs) in reaction to exogenous material. How multinucleation per se contributes to functional specialization of mature mononuclear macrophages remains poorly understood in humans. Here, we integrate comparative transcriptomics with functional assays in purified mature mononuclear and multinucleated human osteoclasts, LGCs and FBGCs. Strikingly, in all three types of MGCs, multinucleation causes a pronounced downregulation of macrophage identity. We show enhanced lysosome-mediated intracellular iron homeostasis promoting MGC formation. The transition from mononuclear to multinuclear state is accompanied by cell specialization specific to each polykaryon. Enhanced phagocytic and mitochondrial function associate with FBGCs and osteoclasts, respectively. Moreover, human LGCs preferentially express B7-H3 (CD276) and can form granuloma-like clusters in vitro, suggesting that their multinucleation potentiates T cell activation. These findings demonstrate how cell-cell fusion and multinucleation reset human macrophage identity as part of an advanced maturation step that confers MGC-specific functionality.

BCAT1 affects mitochondrial metabolism independently of leucine transamination in activated human macrophages.

In response to environmental stimuli, macrophages change their nutrient consumption and undergo an early metabolic adaptation that progressively shapes their polarization state. During the transient, early phase of pro-inflammatory macrophage activation, an increase in tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle activity has been reported, but the relative contribution of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) leucine remains to be determined. Here, we show that glucose but not glutamine is a major contributor of the increase in TCA cycle metabolites during early macrophage activation in humans. We then show that, although uptake of BCAAs is not altered, their transamination by BCAT1 is increased following 8 h lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. Of note, leucine is not metabolized to integrate into the TCA cycle in basal or stimulated human macrophages. Surprisingly, the pharmacological inhibition of BCAT1 reduced glucose-derived itaconate, α-ketoglutarate and 2-hydroxyglutarate levels without affecting succinate and citrate levels, indicating a partial inhibition of the TCA cycle. This indirect effect is associated with NRF2 (also known as NFE2L2) activation and anti-oxidant responses. These results suggest a moonlighting role of BCAT1 through redox-mediated control of mitochondrial function during early macrophage activation.

Genome-wide analysis of differential RNA editing in epilepsy.

The recoding of genetic information through RNA editing contributes to proteomic diversity, but the extent and significance of RNA editing in disease is poorly understood. In particular, few studies have investigated the relationship between RNA editing and disease at a genome-wide level. Here, we developed a framework for the genome-wide detection of RNA sites that are differentially edited in disease. Using RNA-sequencing data from 100 hippocampi from mice with epilepsy (pilocarpine-temporal lobe epilepsy model) and 100 healthy control hippocampi, we identified 256 RNA sites (overlapping with 87 genes) that were significantly differentially edited between epileptic cases and controls. The degree of differential RNA editing in epileptic mice correlated with frequency of seizures, and the set of genes differentially RNA-edited between case and control mice were enriched for functional terms highly relevant to epilepsy, including "neuron projection" and "seizures." Genes with differential RNA editing were preferentially enriched for genes with a genetic association to epilepsy. Indeed, we found that they are significantly enriched for genes that harbor nonsynonymous de novo mutations in patients with epileptic encephalopathy and for common susceptibility variants associated with generalized epilepsy. These analyses reveal a functional convergence between genes that are differentially RNA-edited in acquired symptomatic epilepsy and those that contribute risk for genetic epilepsy. Taken together, our results suggest a potential role for RNA editing in the epileptic hippocampus in the occurrence and severity of epileptic seizures.

Changes in macrophage transcriptome associate with systemic sclerosis and mediate GSDMA contribution to disease risk.

OBJECTIVES: Several common and rare risk variants have been reported for systemic sclerosis (SSc), but the effector cell(s) mediating the function of these genetic variants remains to be elucidated. While innate immune cells have been proposed as the critical targets to interfere with the disease process underlying SSc, no studies have comprehensively established their effector role. Here we investigated the contribution of monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) in mediating genetic susceptibility to SSc. METHODS: We carried out RNA sequencing and genome-wide genotyping in MDMs from 57 patients with SSc and 15 controls. Our differential expression and expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis in SSc was further integrated with epigenetic, expression and eQTL data from skin, monocytes, neutrophils and lymphocytes. RESULTS: We identified 602 genes upregulated and downregulated in SSc macrophages that were significantly enriched for genes previously implicated in SSc susceptibility (P=5×10-4), and 270 cis-regulated genes in MDMs. Among these, GSDMA was reported to carry an SSc risk variant (rs3894194) regulating expression of neighbouring genes in blood. We show that GSDMA is upregulated in SSc MDMs (P=8.4×10-4) but not in the skin, and is a significant eQTL in SSc macrophages and lipopolysaccharide/interferon gamma (IFNγ)-stimulated monocytes. Furthermore, we identify an SSc macrophage transcriptome signature characterised by upregulation of glycolysis, hypoxia and mTOR signalling and a downregulation of IFNγ response pathways. CONCLUSIONS: Our data further establish the link between macrophages and SSc, and suggest that the contribution of the rs3894194 risk variant to SSc susceptibility can be mediated by GSDMA expression in macrophages.

Macrophage epoxygenase determines a profibrotic transcriptome signature.

Epoxygenases belong to the cytochrome P450 family. They generate epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, which are known to have anti-inflammatory effects, but little is known about their role in macrophage function. By high-throughput sequencing of RNA in primary macrophages derived from rodents and humans, we establish the relative expression of epoxygenases in these cells. Zinc-finger nuclease-mediated targeted gene deletion of the major rat macrophage epoxygenase Cyp2j4 (ortholog of human CYP2J2) resulted in reduced epoxyeicosatrienoic acid synthesis. Cyp2j4(-/-) macrophages have relatively increased peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ levels and show a profibrotic transcriptome, displaying overexpression of a specific subset of genes (260 transcripts) primarily involved in extracellular matrix, with fibronectin being the most abundantly expressed transcript. Fibronectin expression is under the control of epoxygenase activity in human and rat primary macrophages. In keeping with the in vitro findings, Cyp2j4(-/-) rats show upregulation of type I collagen following unilateral ureter obstruction of the kidney, and quantitative proteomics analysis (liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry) showed increased renal type I collagen and fibronectin protein abundance resulting from experimentally induced crescentic glomerulonephritis in these rats. Taken together, these results identify the rat epoxygenase Cyp2j4 as a determinant of a profibrotic macrophage transcriptome that could have implications in various inflammatory conditions, depending on macrophage function.

Integrating phosphoproteome and transcriptome reveals new determinants of macrophage multinucleation.

Macrophage multinucleation (MM) is essential for various biological processes such as osteoclast-mediated bone resorption and multinucleated giant cell-associated inflammatory reactions. Here we study the molecular pathways underlying multinucleation in the rat through an integrative approach combining MS-based quantitative phosphoproteomics (LC-MS/MS) and transcriptome (high-throughput RNA-sequencing) to identify new regulators of MM. We show that a strong metabolic shift toward HIF1-mediated glycolysis occurs at transcriptomic level during MM, together with modifications in phosphorylation of over 50 proteins including several ARF GTPase activators and polyphosphate inositol phosphatases. We use shortest-path analysis to link differential phosphorylation with the transcriptomic reprogramming of macrophages and identify LRRFIP1, SMARCA4, and DNMT1 as novel regulators of MM. We experimentally validate these predictions by showing that knock-down of these latter reduce macrophage multinucleation. These results provide a new framework for the combined analysis of transcriptional and post-translational changes during macrophage multinucleation, prioritizing essential genes, and revealing the sequential events leading to the multinucleation of macrophages.

Microglia regulate cortical remyelination via TNFR1-dependent phenotypic polarization.

Microglia are strongly implicated in demyelinating neurodegenerative diseases with increasing evidence for roles in protection and healing, but the mechanisms that control CNS remyelination are poorly understood. Here, we show that microglia-specific deletion of tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1) and pharmacological inhibition of soluble TNF (solTNF) or downstream interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R) allow maturation of highly activated disease-associated microglia with increased size and myelin phagocytosis capacity that accelerate cortical remyelination and motor recovery. Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of cortex at disease onset reveals that solTNF inhibition enhances reparative IL-10-responsive while preventing damaging IL-1-related signatures of disease-associated microglia. Longitudinal brain transcriptome analysis through disease reveals earlier recovery upon therapeutic loss of microglia TNFR1. The functional relevance of microglia inflammatory polarization pathways for disease is validated in vivo. Furthermore, disease-state microglia producing downstream IL-1/IL-18/caspase-11 targets are identified in human demyelinating lesions. Overall, redirecting disease microglia polarization by targeting cytokines is a potential approach for improving CNS repair in demyelinating disorders.

Multi-tissue profiling of oxylipins reveal a conserved up-regulation of epoxide:diol ratio that associates with white adipose tissue inflammation and liver steatosis in obesity.

BACKGROUND: Obesity drives maladaptive changes in the white adipose tissue (WAT) which can progressively cause insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and metabolic dysfunction-associated liver disease (MASLD). Obesity-mediated loss of WAT homeostasis can trigger liver steatosis through dysregulated lipid pathways such as those related to polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-derived oxylipins. However, the exact relationship between oxylipins and metabolic syndrome remains elusive and cross-tissue dynamics of oxylipins are ill-defined. METHODS: We quantified PUFA-related oxylipin species in the omental WAT, liver biopsies and plasma of 88 patients undergoing bariatric surgery (female N = 79) and 9 patients (female N = 4) undergoing upper gastrointestinal surgery, using UPLC-MS/MS. We integrated oxylipin abundance with WAT phenotypes (adipogenesis, adipocyte hypertrophy, macrophage infiltration, type I and VI collagen remodelling) and the severity of MASLD (steatosis, inflammation, fibrosis) quantified in each biopsy. The integrative analysis was subjected to (i) adjustment for known risk factors and, (ii) control for potential drug-effects through UPLC-MS/MS analysis of metformin-treated fat explants ex vivo. FINDINGS: We reveal a generalized down-regulation of cytochrome P450 (CYP)-derived diols during obesity conserved between the WAT and plasma. Notably, epoxide:diol ratio, indicative of soluble epoxide hydrolyse (sEH) activity, increases with WAT inflammation/fibrosis, hepatic steatosis and T2DM. Increased 12,13-EpOME:DiHOME in WAT and liver is a marker of worsening metabolic syndrome in patients with obesity. INTERPRETATION: These findings suggest a dampened sEH activity and a possible role of fatty acid diols during metabolic syndrome in major metabolic organs such as WAT and liver. They also have implications in view of the clinical trials based on sEH inhibition for metabolic syndrome. FUNDING: Wellcome Trust (PS3431_WMIH); Duke-NUS (Intramural Goh Cardiovascular Research Award (Duke-NUS-GCR/2022/0020); National Medical Research Council (OFLCG22may-0011); National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Z01 ES025034); NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre.

Cardiac glycosides cause cytotoxicity in human macrophages and ameliorate white adipose tissue homeostasis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cardiac glycosides inhibit Na+ /K+ -ATPase and are used to treat heart failure and arrhythmias. They can induce inflammasome activation and pyroptosis in macrophages, suggesting cytotoxicity, which remains to be elucidated in human tissues. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: To determine the cell-type specificity of this cytotoxicity, we used human monocyte-derived macrophages and non-adherent peripheral blood cells from healthy donors, plus omental white adipose tissue, stromal vascular fraction-derived pre-adipocytes and adipocytes from obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery. All these cells/tissues were treated with nanomolar concentrations of ouabain (50, 100, 500 nM) to investigate the level of cytotoxicity and the mechanisms leading to cell death. In white adipose tissue, we investigated ouabain-mediated cytotoxicity by measuring insulin sensitivity, adipose tissue function and extracellular matrix deposition ex vivo. KEY RESULTS: Ouabain induced cell death through pyroptosis and apoptosis, and was more effective in monocyte-derived macrophages compared to non-adherent peripheral blood mononuclear cell populations. This cytotoxicity is dependent on K+ flux, as ouabain causes intracellular depletion of K+ and accumulation of Na+ and Ca2+ . Consistently, the cell death caused by these ion imbalances can be rescued by addition of potassium chloride to human monocyte-derived macrophages. Remarkably, when white adipose tissue explants from obese patients are cultured with nanomolar concentrations of ouabain, this causes depletion of macrophages, down-regulation of type VI collagen levels and amelioration of insulin sensitivity ex vivo. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The use of nanomolar concentration of cardiac glycosides could be an attractive therapeutic treatment for metabolic syndrome, characterized by pathogenic infiltration and activation of macrophages. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed issue on Inflammation, Repair and Ageing. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v179.9/issuetoc.

Immunolipidomics Reveals a Globoside Network During the Resolution of Pro-Inflammatory Response in Human Macrophages.

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated changes in macrophages reshape intracellular lipid pools to coordinate an effective innate immune response. Although this has been previously well-studied in different model systems, it remains incompletely understood in primary human macrophages. Here we report time-dependent lipidomic and transcriptomic responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in primary human macrophages from healthy donors. We grouped the variation of ~200 individual lipid species measured by LC-MS/MS into eight temporal clusters. Among all other lipids, glycosphingolipids (glycoSP) and cholesteryl esters (CE) showed a sharp increase during the resolution phase (between 8h or 16h post LPS). GlycoSP, belonging to the globoside family (Gb3 and Gb4), showed the greatest inter-individual variability among all lipids quantified. Integrative network analysis between GlycoSP/CE levels and genome-wide transcripts, identified Gb4 d18:1/16:0 and CE 20:4 association with subnetworks enriched for T cell receptor signaling (PDCD1, CD86, PTPRC, CD247, IFNG) and DC-SIGN signaling (RAF1, CD209), respectively. Our findings reveal Gb3 and Gb4 globosides as sphingolipids associated with the resolution phase of inflammatory response in human macrophages.

A trans-eQTL network regulates osteoclast multinucleation and bone mass.

Functional characterisation of cell-type-specific regulatory networks is key to establish a causal link between genetic variation and phenotype. The osteoclast offers a unique model for interrogating the contribution of co-regulated genes to in vivo phenotype as its multinucleation and resorption activities determine quantifiable skeletal traits. Here we took advantage of a trans-regulated gene network (MMnet, macrophage multinucleation network) which we found to be significantly enriched for GWAS variants associated with bone-related phenotypes. We found that the network hub gene Bcat1 and seven other co-regulated MMnet genes out of 13, regulate bone function. Specifically, global (Pik3cb-/-, Atp8b2+/-, Igsf8-/-, Eml1-/-, Appl2-/-, Deptor-/-) and myeloid-specific Slc40a1 knockout mice displayed abnormal bone phenotypes. We report opposing effects of MMnet genes on bone mass in mice and osteoclast multinucleation/resorption in humans with strong correlation between the two. These results identify MMnet as a functionally conserved network that regulates osteoclast multinucleation and bone mass.

Systems genetics identifies a macrophage cholesterol network associated with physiological wound healing.

Among other cells, macrophages regulate the inflammatory and reparative phases during wound healing but genetic determinants and detailed molecular pathways that modulate these processes are not fully elucidated. Here, we took advantage of normal variation in wound healing in 1,378 genetically outbred mice, and carried out macrophage RNA-sequencing profiling of mice with extreme wound healing phenotypes (i.e., slow and fast healers, n = 146 in total). The resulting macrophage coexpression networks were genetically mapped and led to the identification of a unique module under strong trans-acting genetic control by the Runx2 locus. This macrophage-mediated healing network was specifically enriched for cholesterol and fatty acid biosynthetic processes. Pharmacological blockage of fatty acid synthesis with cerulenin resulted in delayed wound healing in vivo, and increased macrophage infiltration in the wounded skin, suggesting the persistence of an unresolved inflammation. We show how naturally occurring sequence variation controls transcriptional networks in macrophages, which in turn regulate specific metabolic pathways that could be targeted in wound healing.

Acute Iron Deprivation Reprograms Human Macrophage Metabolism and Reduces Inflammation In Vivo.

Iron is an essential metal that fine-tunes the innate immune response by regulating macrophage function, but an integrative view of transcriptional and metabolic responses to iron perturbation in macrophages is lacking. Here, we induced acute iron chelation in primary human macrophages and measured their transcriptional and metabolic responses. Acute iron deprivation causes an anti-proliferative Warburg transcriptome, characterized by an ATF4-dependent signature. Iron-deprived human macrophages show an inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation and a concomitant increase in glycolysis, a large increase in glucose-derived citrate pools associated with lipid droplet accumulation, and modest levels of itaconate production. LPS polarization increases the itaconate:succinate ratio and decreases pro-inflammatory cytokine production. In rats, acute iron deprivation reduces the severity of macrophage-dependent crescentic glomerulonephritis by limiting glomerular cell proliferation and inducing lipid accumulation in the renal cortex. These results suggest that acute iron deprivation has in vivo protective effects mediated by an anti-inflammatory immunometabolic switch in macrophages.

Epoxygenase inactivation exacerbates diet and aging-associated metabolic dysfunction resulting from impaired adipogenesis.

OBJECTIVE: When molecular drivers of healthy adipogenesis are perturbed, this can cause hepatic steatosis. The role of arachidonic acid (AA) and its downstream enzymatic cascades, such as cyclooxygenase, in adipogenesis is well established. The exact contribution of the P450 epoxygenase pathway, however, remains to be established. Enzymes belonging to this pathway are mainly encoded by the CYP2J locus which shows extensive allelic expansion in mice. Here we aimed to establish the role of endogenous epoxygenase during adipogenesis under homeostatic and metabolic stress conditions. METHODS: We took advantage of the simpler genetic architecture of the Cyp2j locus in the rat and used a Cyp2j4 (orthologue of human CYP2J2) knockout rat in two models of metabolic dysfunction: physiological aging and cafeteria diet (CAF). The phenotyping of Cyp2j4-/- rats under CAF was integrated with proteomics (LC-MS/MS) and lipidomics (LC-MS) analyses in the liver and the adipose tissue. RESULTS: We report that Cyp2j4 deletion causes adipocyte dysfunction under metabolic challenges. This is characterized by (i) down-regulation of white adipose tissue (WAT) PPARγ and C/EBPα, (ii) adipocyte hypertrophy, (iii) extracellular matrix remodeling, and (iv) alternative usage of AA pathway. Specifically, in Cyp2j4-/- rats treated with a cafeteria diet, the dysfunctional adipogenesis is accompanied by exacerbated weight gain, hepatic lipid accumulation, and dysregulated gluconeogenesis. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that AA epoxygenases are essential regulators of healthy adipogenesis. Our results uncover their synergistic role in fine-tuning AA pathway in obesity-mediated hepatic steatosis.

mHGTD-P mediates hypoxic neuronal cell death via the release of apoptosis-inducing factor.

HGTD-P is a pro-apoptotic target protein of hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha (HIF-1alpha). It localizes to mitochondria and induces the mitochondrial permeability transition through its interaction with voltage dependent anion channels when overexpressed. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for its induction and its downstream effector molecules required during cell death, especially in neuronal cell death by hypoxia, are largely unknown. We performed this work to elucidate the effects of the pro-apoptotic protein HGTD-P on neuronal cell death induced by hypoxia and to investigate the cell death mechanisms activated during this process. In this report, we show that mouse HGTD-P (mHGTD-P) is transcriptionally increased by hypoxia and that its overexpression triggers neuronal cell death with affected cells displaying shrunken cytoplasm and condensed pyknotic nuclei in a caspase-independent manner. In addition, suppression of endogenous mHGTD-P expression by siRNA rescues neuronal cells from hypoxic injury. Finally, we show that mHGTD-P induces the mitochondrial release of apoptosis-inducing factor into the cytoplasm. Taken together, our data suggest that mHGTD-P participates in caspase-independent hypoxic neuronal cell death. Future studies will be necessary in order to determine whether hypoxia-induced mHGTD-P expression has any relevance in an ischemic animal model or clinical hypoxia-induced disorders.

GLTSCR2 sensitizes cells to hypoxic injury without involvement of mitochondrial apoptotic cascades.

OBJECTIVE: We attempted to identify novel genes that induce hypoxic cell death to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying hypoxia-induced cell death. Through this process the GLTSCR2 gene was found. The purpose of this work was to investigate the role of GLTSCR2 in hypoxic cell death pathways. METHODS: This work focuses on an investigation of roles and mechanisms of GLTSCR2 in hypoxic cell death by means of subtractive hybridization, RT-PCR, Western blot, immunocytochemistry, cell death assay, transient gene overexpression, and determination of mitochondrial membrane potential. RESULTS: We found that GLTSCR2 was transcriptionally suppressed by hypoxia, and ectopic expression of GLTSCR2 sensitized cells to hypoxic injury. Interestingly, while the majority of hypoxia-inducible pro-death proteins signal through mitochondrion-dependent pathways, GLTSCR2-overexpressed cells underwent apoptosis in a mitochondrion- and caspase-independent manner. CONCLUSION: Our data categorizes GLTSCR2 as a proapoptotic protein sensitizing cells to hypoxic injury when overexpressed.

BCAT1 controls metabolic reprogramming in activated human macrophages and is associated with inflammatory diseases.

Branched-chain aminotransferases (BCAT) are enzymes that initiate the catabolism of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), such as leucine, thereby providing macromolecule precursors; however, the function of BCATs in macrophages is unknown. Here we show that BCAT1 is the predominant BCAT isoform in human primary macrophages. We identify ERG240 as a leucine analogue that blocks BCAT1 activity. Selective inhibition of BCAT1 activity results in decreased oxygen consumption and glycolysis. This decrease is associated with reduced IRG1 levels and itaconate synthesis, suggesting involvement of BCAA catabolism through the IRG1/itaconate axis within the tricarboxylic acid cycle in activated macrophages. ERG240 suppresses production of IRG1 and itaconate in mice and contributes to a less proinflammatory transcriptome signature. Oral administration of ERG240 reduces the severity of collagen-induced arthritis in mice and crescentic glomerulonephritis in rats, in part by decreasing macrophage infiltration. These results establish a regulatory role for BCAT1 in macrophage function with therapeutic implications for inflammatory conditions.

Identification of Ceruloplasmin as a Gene that Affects Susceptibility to Glomerulonephritis Through Macrophage Function.

Crescentic glomerulonephritis (Crgn) is a complex disorder where macrophage activity and infiltration are significant effector causes. In previous linkage studies using the uniquely susceptible Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rat strain, we have identified multiple crescentic glomerulonephritis QTL (Crgn) and positionally cloned genes underlying Crgn1 and Crgn2, which accounted for 40% of total variance in glomerular inflammation. Here, we have generated a backcross (BC) population (n = 166) where Crgn1 and Crgn2 were genetically fixed and found significant linkage to glomerular crescents on chromosome 2 (Crgn8, LOD = 3.8). Fine mapping analysis by integration with genome-wide expression QTLs (eQTLs) from the same BC population identified ceruloplasmin (Cp) as a positional eQTL in macrophages but not in serum. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry confirmed Cp as a protein QTL in rat macrophages. WKY macrophages overexpress Cp and its downregulation by RNA interference decreases markers of glomerular proinflammatory macrophage activation. Similarly, short incubation with Cp results in a strain-dependent macrophage polarization in the rat. These results suggest that genetically determined Cp levels can alter susceptibility to Crgn through macrophage function and propose a new role for Cp in early macrophage activation.

Adrenomedullin regulates cellular glutathione content via modulation of gamma-glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit expression.

Adrenomedullin (AM) participates in a wide range of physiological and pathological processes including vasorelaxation, angiogenesis, cancer promotion, and apoptosis. Recently, it has been reported that AM protects a variety of cells against oxidative stress induced by stressors such as hypoxia, ischemia/reperfusion, and hydrogen peroxide through the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-dependent pathway. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathway of cell survival against hypoxic injury are largely unknown. In an effort to investigate the survival mechanism against hypoxic injury, we studied the effects of AM on cellular levels of reactive oxygen species, well-known mediators of cell death after oxidative stress, and the mechanism involved in the regulation of reactive oxygen species levels. Here, we show that AM increases gamma-glutamate-cysteine ligase (gamma-GCL) activity under both hypoxic and normoxic conditions, resulting in an up-regulation of cellular glutathione levels to more than 2-fold higher than basal expression. In addition, we demonstrate that AM induces concentration-dependent expression of the catalytic subunit of gamma-GCL (gamma-GCLC) at the mRNA and protein levels through the activation of the gamma-GCLC promoter fragment sequence from -597 to -320. However, when treated with the PI3K inhibitors, the effects of AM on gamma-GCLC expression were completely abrogated, suggesting that a PI3K pathway linked AM with the transcriptional activation of the gamma-GCLC promoter. Taken together, our data suggests that AM participates in the regulation of cellular redox status via glutathione synthesis. These results may explain, in part, the mechanism by which AM protects cells against oxidative stress.