Diagnostic value of T2 relaxation time for hepatic iron grading in rat model of fatty and fibrotic liver.

The objective of this study was to assess the quantitative diagnostic value of T2 relaxation time for determining liver iron grades in the presence of fat and fibrosis. Sixty Sprague-Dawley (SD) male rats were randomly divided into control (10 rats) and model (50 rats) groups. The model group of coexisting iron, steatosis, and liver fibrosis was induced by intraperitoneal injection of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) dissolved in edible vegetable oil (40% v/v). The control group received an intraperitoneal injection of 0.9% saline. All rats underwent multi-echo gradient and spin echo (M-GRASE) magnetic resonance imaging, and the T2 relaxation time of the liver was measured. The rats were killed immediately after imaging, and liver specimens were extracted for histological evaluation of steatosis, iron, and fibrosis. The relationship and differences between T2 relaxation time and liver fibrosis stage, as well as the pathological grade of hepatic steatosis, were assessed by Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, non-parametric Mann-Whitney test, and the Kruskal-Wallis test. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and interaction analysis were used to quantify the diagnostic performance of T2 relaxation time for detecting different degrees of liver iron grades. Six normal control rats and 34 model rats were included in this study. Fibrosis stages were F0 (n = 6), F1 (n = 6), F2 (n = 8), F3 (n = 10), and F4 (n = 10). Steatosis grades were S0 (n = 5), S1 (n = 8), S2 (n = 12), and S3 (n = 15). Hepatocyte or Kupffer cell iron grades were 0 (n = 7), 1 (n = 9), 2 (n = 12), 3 (n = 10), and 4 (n = 2). The liver fibrosis stages were positively correlated with the iron grades (P < 0.01), and the iron grades and fibrosis stages were negatively correlated with the T2 relaxation time (P < 0.01). The T2 relaxation times exhibited strongly significant differences among rats with different histologically determined iron grades (P < 0.01). Pairwise comparisons between each grade of liver iron indicated significant differences between all iron grades, except between grades 0 and 1, and between grades 1 and 2 (P > 0.05). The T2 relaxation time of the liver had an area under the receiving operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.965 (95% CI 0.908-0.100, P < 0.001) for distinguishing rats with a pathological grade of hepatic iron (grade ≥ 1) from those without, an AUC of 0.871 (95% CI 0.757-0.985, P < 0.001) for distinguishing rats with no iron overload (grade ≤ 1) from rats with moderate or severe iron overload (grade ≥ 2), and an AUC of 0.939 (95% CI 0.865-1.000, P < 0.001) for distinguishing rats with no to moderate iron overload (grade ≤ 2) from rats with severe iron overload (grade 3). The interaction of different pathological grades of iron, steatosis, and fibrosis has a negligible influence on the T2 relaxation time (P > 0.05). In conclusion, T2 relaxation time can assess histologically determined liver iron grades, regardless of coexisting liver steatosis or fibrosis; therefore, it is suitable for distinguishing between the presence and absence of iron deposition and it is more accurate for higher iron grading.

Histone H3K4 Methyltransferases as Targets for Drug-Resistant Cancers.

The KMT2 (MLL) family of proteins, including the major histone H3K4 methyltransferase found in mammals, exists as large complexes with common subunit proteins and exhibits enzymatic activity. SMYD, another H3K4 methyltransferase, and SET7/9 proteins catalyze the methylation of several non-histone targets, in addition to histone H3K4 residues. Despite these structural and functional commonalities, H3K4 methyltransferase proteins have specificity for their target genes and play a role in the development of various cancers as well as in drug resistance. In this review, we examine the overall role of histone H3K4 methyltransferase in the development of various cancers and in the progression of drug resistance. Compounds that inhibit protein-protein interactions between KMT2 family proteins and their common subunits or the activity of SMYD and SET7/9 are continuously being developed for the treatment of acute leukemia, triple-negative breast cancer, and castration-resistant prostate cancer. These H3K4 methyltransferase inhibitors, either alone or in combination with other drugs, are expected to play a role in overcoming drug resistance in leukemia and various solid cancers.

SETD1A Promotes Proliferation of Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Cells via FOXM1 Transcription.

Androgen deprivation therapy eventually leads to the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Here, we demonstrate for the first time that the histone H3K4 methyltransferase SETD1A is a major regulator for the proliferation of metastatic CRPC (mCRPC). The expression of SETD1A was significantly correlated with the survival rate of patients with prostate cancer. SETD1A, which is expressed at a higher level in mCRPC than in primary prostate cancer cells, promotes the expression of FOXM1, a gene encoding a cell proliferation-specific transcription factor. SETD1A is recruited to the promoter region of FOXM1 (forkhead box M1) upon binding to E2F1, a protein that regulates the transcription of FOXM1 and contributes to the trimethylation of H3K4 in the FOXM1 promoter region. In addition, SETD1A is essential for the expression of stem cell factor (e.g., OCT4, octamer-binding transcription factor 4) and stem cell formation in mCRPC, suggesting the importance of SETD1A expression in mCRPC tumor formation. Notably, poor prognosis is associated with high expression of the SETD1A-FOXM1 pair in clinical data sets. Therefore, our study suggests that SETD1A plays an important role in the proliferation of mCRPC by regulating FOXM1 transcription.

MLL2 regulates glucocorticoid receptor-mediated transcription of ENACα in human retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Glucocorticoids require the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), a type of ligand-dependent nuclear receptor to transmit their downstream effects. Upon glucocorticoid binding, GR associates with glucocorticoid response elements (GREs) and recruits other transcriptional coregulators to activate or repress target gene transcription. Many SET-domain family proteins have been demonstrated to contribute to GR-mediated transcriptional activity. However, whether histone H3K4-specific methyltransferase plays a cell-type-specific role in GR transcriptional regulation remains poorly understood. In this report, we examined MLL2 (KMT2D), a histone-lysine methyltransferase that catalyzes histone H3 lysine 4 methylation (H3K4me). Furthermore, we demonstrated that MLL2 specifically regulates the transcription of some GR target genes (e.g., ENACα and FLJ20371) in ARPE-19 cells, but has no effect in A549 cells. Mechanistically, co-immunoprecipitation assays revealed that MLL2 is associated with GR in a ligand-independent manner in APRE-19 cells. Moreover, chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses demonstrated that MLL2 could co-occupy glucocorticoid response elements (GREs) of GR target genes along with GR following Dex stimulation. Finally, the FAIRE-qPCR results illustrated that MLL2 is pivotal in establishing chromatin structure accessibility at the GREs of ARPE-19 specific genes in the presence of Dex. Taken together, our study determined that MLL2 regulates GR-mediated transcription in a cell-type-specific manner, and we provide a molecular mechanism to explain the specific role of MLL2 in regulating GR target gene expression in ARPE-19 cells.

Diet control to achieve euglycaemia induces tau hyperphosphorylation via AMPK activation in the hippocampus of diabetic rats.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease, and typical pathologic findings include abnormally hyperphosphorylated tau aggregation and neurofibrillary tangles. Insulin resistance and hyperglycaemia have been proposed as risk factors for AD development. As the maintenance of optimal blood glucose level is an important indicator of diabetes mellitus (DM) treatment, diet control is essential. AMPK is a crucial sensor of cellular bioenergetics for controlling anabolic and catabolic metabolism. Since AMPK is a direct regulator of tau phosphorylation, we hypothesized that strict diet control to achieve euglycaemia affects tau protein phosphorylation through increased AMPK activity in the hippocampus of DM rats. To test this hypothesis, we generated insulin-deficient DM rats by subtotal pancreatectomy and the animals were categorized into the diet-restriction (R) group and ad libitum (AL) feeding group. We found that tau phosphorylation was significantly higher in the R group than that in the sham-control (C) or AL group. AMPK activity in the R group was significantly higher than that in the C or AL group, as expected. Furthermore, the R group showed more critical tau pathology in the hippocampus than the other groups. These results suggest that diet control to achieve euglycaemia in an insulin-deficient DM condition may be harmful because of the greater possibility of AD development through increased tau phosphorylation by AMPK activation in the hippocampus.

Heterogeneity in liver histopathology is associated with GSK-3ß activity and mitochondrial dysfunction in end-stage diabetic rats on differential diets.

While liver histopathology is heterogeneous in diabetes, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We investigated whether glycemic variation resulting from differential diets can induce heterogeneity in diabetic liver and the underlying molecular mechanisms. We generated end-stage non-obese diabetic model rats by subtotal-pancreatectomy in male Sprague- Dawley rats and ad libitum diet for 7 weeks (n = 33). The rats were then divided into three groups, and fed a standard- or a low-protein diet (18 or 6 kcal%, respectively), for another 7 weeks: to maintain hyperglycemia, 11 rats were fed ad libitum (18AL group); to achieve euglycemia, 11 were calorierestricted (18R group), and 11 were both calorie- and proteinrestricted with the low-protein diet (6R group). Overnightfasted liver samples were collected after the differential diets together with sham-control (18S group), and histology and molecular changes were compared. Hyperglycemic-18AL showed glycogenic hepatopathy (GH) without steatosis, with the highest GSK-3ß inactivation because of Akt activation during hyperglycemia; mitochondrial function was not impaired, compared to the 18S group. Euglycemic-18R showed neither GH nor steatosis, with intermediate GSK-3ß activation and mitochondrial dysfunction. However, euglycemic-6R showed both GH and steatosis despite the highest GSK-3ß activity and no molecular evidence of increased lipogenesis or decreased ApoB expression, where mitochondrial dysfunction was highest among the groups. In conclusion, heterogeneous liver histopathology developed in end-stage non-obese diabetic rats as the glycemic levels varied with differential diets, in which protein content in the diets as well as glycemic levels differentially influenced GSK-3ß activity and mitochondrial function in insulin-deficient state. [BMB Reports 2020; 53(2): 100-105].

Differentiation grade for extrahepatic bile duct adenocarcinoma: Assessed by diffusion-weighted imaging at 3.0-T MR.

PURPOSE-: To assess the pathological differentiation grade in the patients with extrahepatic bile duct adenocarcinoma (EBDA) using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) at 3.0-T MR. METHODS-: Sixty-eight patients who were clinically and histologically diagnosed with EBDA underwent abdominal DWI within 2 weeks before surgery. The lesion signal intensity, signal intensity ratio of the lesion and hepar (SIR-LH) value, and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value in patients with EBDA were retrospectively analysed. RESULTS: -In the 68 patients, 22 well-differentiated, 36 moderately-differentiated, and 10 poorly-differentiated EBDAs were histopathological confirmed. These EBDAs exhibited hyper-intensity on DWI in 95.59% of patients. Hyper-intensity lesions were found in 90.91% of patients with good-differentiation, in 97.22% with moderate-differentiation and in 100% with poor-differentiation. There showed no statistical difference for the lesion signal intensity (P=0.426) and SIR-LH value (P=0.766) on DWI among three groups. The median ADC value of the well-differentiated, moderately-differentiated and poorly-differentiated EBDAs were 1.506×10-3mm2/s, 1.275×10-3mm2/s and 1.154×10-3mm2/s, respectively. As the pathological differentiation grade decreased, the lesion ADC value of EBDA gradually declined (x2=51.220, P=0.000). The ADC value <1.184×10-3mm2/s can predict the poorly-differentiated EBDA with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 94.83%. The ADC value >1.316×10-3mm2/s can forecast the well-differentiated EBDA with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 84.78%. CONCLUSIONS-: The histopathological differentiation grade of EBDA can be detected non-invasively using DWI at 3.0-T MR.

Euglycemia in Diabetic Rats Leads to Reduced Liver Weight via Increased Autophagy and Apoptosis through Increased AMPK and Caspase-3 and Decreased mTOR Activities.

Euglycemia is the ultimate goal in diabetes care to prevent complications. However, the benefits of euglycemia in type 2 diabetes are controversial because near-euglycemic subjects show higher mortality than moderately hyperglycemic subjects. We previously reported that euglycemic-diabetic rats on calorie-control lose a critical liver weight (LW) compared with hyperglycemic rats. Here, we elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying the loss of LW in euglycemic-diabetic rats and identified a potential risk in achieving euglycemia by calorie-control. Sprague-Dawley diabetic rats generated by subtotal-pancreatectomy were fed a calorie-controlled diet for 7 weeks to achieve euglycemia using 19 kcal% (19R) or 6 kcal% (6R) protein-containing chow or fed ad libitum (19AL). The diet in both R groups was isocaloric/kg body weight to the sham-operated group (19S). Compared with 19S and hyperglycemic 19AL, both euglycemic R groups showed lower LWs, increased autophagy, and increased AMPK and caspase-3 and decreased mTOR activities. Though degree of insulin deficiency was similar among the diabetic rats, Akt activity was lower, and PTEN activity was higher in both R groups than in 19AL whose signaling patterns were similar to 19S. In conclusion, euglycemia achieved by calorie-control is deleterious in insulin deficiency due to increased autophagy and apoptosis in the liver via AMPK and caspase-3 activation.

Diet control to achieve euglycemia induces significant loss of heart and liver weight via increased autophagy compared with ad libitum diet in diabetic rats.

Intensive glucose control increases the all-cause mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that strict diet control to achieve euglycemia in diabetes damages major organs, increasing the mortality risk. To evaluate effects on major organs when euglycemia is obtained by diet control, we generated a model of end-stage T2DM in 13-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats by subtotal pancreatectomy, followed by ad libitum feeding for 5 weeks. We divided these rats into two groups and for the subsequent 6 weeks provided ad libitum feeding to half (AL, n=12) and a calorie-controlled diet to the other half (R, n=12). To avoid hypoglycemia, the degree of calorie restriction in the R group was isocaloric (g per kg body weight per day) compared with a sham-operated control group (C, n=12). During the 6-week diet control period, AL rats ate three times more than rats in the C or R groups, developing hyperglycemia with renal hyperplasia. R group achieved euglycemia but lost overall body weight significantly compared with the C or AL group (49 or 22%, respectively), heart weight (39 or 23%, respectively) and liver weight (50 or 46%, respectively). Autophagy levels in the heart and liver were the highest in the R group (P<0.01), which also had the lowest pAkt/Akt levels among the groups (P<0.05 in the heart; P<0.01 in the liver). In conclusion, glycemic control achieved by diet control can prevent hyperglycemia-induced renal hyperplasia in diabetes but may be deleterious even at isocaloric rate when insulin is deficient because of significant loss of heart and liver mass via increased autophagy.

Oroxylin A improves attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-like behaviors in the spontaneously hypertensive rat and inhibits reuptake of dopamine in vitro.

In previous studies we have demonstrated that the γ-aminobutryic acid-A (GABA-A) receptor antagonist oroxylin A has an awakening effect and it also represses ADHD-like behaviors (hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention) in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) model of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We hypothesized that the effects of oroxylin A were exerted via the GABA-A receptor given the important role of the GABAergic system in ADHD. However, it is possible that aside from the GABAergic system, oroxylin A may influence other systems especially those implicated in ADHD (e.g. DAergic, etc.). To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the effects of GABA agonist, or dopamine (DA) antagonist in oroxylin A-induced alleviation of ADHD-like behaviors in SHR. SHR showed inattention and impulsivity as measured by the Y-maze and the electro-foot shock aversive water drinking tests, respectively. Oroxylin A significantly improved these behaviors, furthermore, its effect on SHR impulsivity was attenuated by haloperidol, a DA antagonist, but not by baicalein, an agonist of the GABA-A receptor. In vitro studies showed that oroxylin A inhibited DA uptake similar to methylphenidate, a dopamine transporter blocker, but did not influence norepinephrine uptake unlike atomoxetine, a selective NE reuptake inhibitor. Collectively, the present findings suggest that oroxylin A improves ADHD-like behaviors in SHR via enhancement of DA neurotransmission and not modulation of GABA pathway as previously reported. Importantly, the present study indicates the potential therapeutic value of oroxylin A in the treatment of ADHD.

Multiple signaling routes involved in the regulation of adenylyl cyclase and extracellular regulated kinase by dopamine D(2) and D(3) receptors.

Most G protein coupled receptors (GPCR) regulate multiple cellular processes by coupling to more than one kind of G protein. Furthermore, recent studies have reported G protein-independent/ß-arrestin-dependent signaling pathway for some GPCRs. Dopamine D(2) and D(3) receptors (D(2)R, D(3)R), the major targets of currently used antipsychotic drugs, are co-expressed in some of the same dopaminergic neurons and regulate the same overlapping effectors. However, the specific subunits of G proteins that regulate each signaling pathway are not clearly identified. In addition, the existence of ß-arrestin-dependent/G protein-independent signaling is not clear for these receptors. In this study, we determined the G protein subtypes and ß-arrestin dependency involved in the signaling of D(2)R and D(3)R, which was measured by inhibition of adenylyl cyclase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation. For the inhibition of cAMP production in HEK-293 cells, D(2)R used the Gαo subunit but D(3)R used the ßγ subunit of Gi family proteins. For the regulation of ERK activation, D(2)R used the α subunits of Gi/o proteins both in HEK-293 cells and COS-7 cells, but D(3)R used Gαo and Gßγ in HEK-293 cells and COS-7 cells, respectively. ß-Arrestin-dependent/G protein-independent ERK activation was not observed for both D(2)R and D(3)R. Agonist-induced ß-arrestin translocation was observed with D(2)R but not with D(3)R, and ß-arrestins exerted inhibitory influences on G protein-dependent ERK activation by D(2)R, but not D(3)R. These results show that the D(2)R and D(3)R, which have overlapping cellular expressions and functional roles, employ distinct G protein subunits depending on the cell types and the effectors they control.

Identification of cis-acting elements and signaling components of high affinity IgE receptor that regulate the expression of cyclooxygenase-2.

Allergic and inflammatory responses are functionally linked through a cascade of signaling events that connect the aggregation of the high affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI) on mast cells and the initiation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. In this study, we identified the cis-acting elements in the cox-2 promoter that control the expression of COX-2 in RBL-2H3 mast cells. We also investigated how the inflammatory reaction is controlled by the allergic reaction by determining the signaling components employed by FcεRI in the transcriptional regulation of cox-2. Among cis-acting components present in the cox-2 promoter, the CREB binding site, as well as the AP-1 and proximal NF-IL6 binding sites to a lesser extent, were required for the transcriptional regulation of the cox-2 promoter. However, NF-κB and Ets-1 binding sites exerted negative effects on the cox-2 promoter activity. Among the signaling components of FcεRI, Fyn, PI 3-kinase, Akt, and p38 MAPK positively mediated the COX-2 expression. Conventional PKCs and atypical PKCs exerted opposite regulatory effects on the cox-2 promoter activity. Blockade of MEK/ERK pathway inhibited the cox-2 promoter activity and the COX-2 expression. These results reveal intricate functional interactions among different cis-acting elements in the transcriptional regulation of cox-2. Fyn-->PI 3-kinase-->Akt pathway directly stimulate. On the other hand, Lyn-->Syk pathway exerts auxiliary or compensatory influences on COX-2 expression via PKC and MEK/ERK.

ß-arrestin2 plays permissive roles in the inhibitory activities of RGS9-2 on G protein-coupled receptors by maintaining RGS9-2 in the open conformation.

Together with G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) kinases (GRKs) and ß-arrestins, RGS proteins are the major family of molecules that control the signaling of GPCRs. The expression pattern of one of these RGS family members, RGS9-2, coincides with that of the dopamine D(3) receptor (D(3)R) in the brain, and in vivo studies have shown that RGS9-2 regulates the signaling of D2-like receptors. In this study, ß-arrestin2 was found to be required for scaffolding of the intricate interactions among the dishevelled-EGL10-pleckstrin (DEP) domain of RGS9-2, Gß5, R7-binding protein (R7BP), and D(3)R. The DEP domain of RGS9-2, under the permission of ß-arrestin2, inhibited the signaling of D(3)R in collaboration with Gß5. ß-Arrestin2 competed with R7BP and Gß5 so that RGS9-2 is placed in the cytosolic region in an open conformation which is able to inhibit the signaling of GPCRs. The affinity of the receptor protein for ß-arrestin2 was a critical factor that determined the selectivity of RGS9-2 for the receptor it regulates. These results show that ß-arrestins function not only as mediators of receptor-G protein uncoupling and initiators of receptor endocytosis but also as scaffolding proteins that control and coordinate the inhibitory effects of RGS proteins on the signaling of certain GPCRs.