Prmt7 regulates the JAK/STAT/Socs3 signaling pathway in postmenopausal cardiomyopathy.

Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) modulate diverse cellular processes, including stress responses. The present study explored the role of Prmt7 in protecting against menopause-associated cardiomyopathy. Mice with cardiac-specific Prmt7 ablation (cKO) exhibited sex-specific cardiomyopathy. Male cKO mice exhibited impaired cardiac function, myocardial hypertrophy, and interstitial fibrosis associated with increased oxidative stress. Interestingly, female cKO mice predominantly exhibited comparable phenotypes only after menopause or ovariectomy (OVX). Prmt7 inhibition in cardiomyocytes exacerbated doxorubicin (DOX)-induced oxidative stress and DNA double-strand breaks, along with apoptosis-related protein expression. Treatment with 17ß-estradiol (E2) attenuated the DOX-induced decrease in Prmt7 expression in cardiomyocytes, and Prmt7 depletion abrogated the protective effect of E2 against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Transcriptome analysis of ovariectomized wild-type (WT) or cKO hearts and mechanical analysis of Prmt7-deficient cardiomyocytes demonstrated that Prmt7 is required for the control of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway by regulating the expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (Socs3), which is a negative feedback inhibitor of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway. These data indicate that Prmt7 has a sex-specific cardioprotective effect by regulating the JAK/STAT signaling pathway and, ultimately, may be a potential therapeutic tool for heart failure treatment depending on sex.

Cdon ablation in motor neurons causes age-related motor neuron degeneration and impaired sciatic nerve repair.

BACKGROUND: The functional deterioration and loss of motor neurons are tightly associated with degenerative motor neuron diseases and aging-related muscle wasting. Motor neuron diseases or aging-related muscle wasting in turn contribute to increased risk of adverse health outcomes in the elderly. Cdon (cell adhesion molecule-downregulated oncogene) belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell adhesion molecule and plays essential roles in multiple signalling pathways, including sonic hedgehog (Shh), netrin, and cadherin-mediated signalling. Cdon as a Shh coreceptor plays a critical role in motor neuron specification during embryonic development. However, its role in adult motor neuron function is unknown. METHODS: Hb9-Cre recombinase-driven motor neuron-specific Cdon deficient mice (mnKO) and a compound mutant mice (mnKO::SOD1G93A ) were generated to investigate the role of Cdon in motor neuron degeneration. Motor neuron regeneration was examined by using a sciatic nerve crush injury model. To investigate the phenotype, physical activity, compound muscle action potential, immunostaining, and transmission electron microscopy were carried out. In the mechanism study, RNA sequencing and RNA/protein analyses were employed. RESULTS: Mice lacking Cdon in motor neurons exhibited middle age onset lethality and aging-related decline in motor function. In the sciatic nerve crush injury model, mnKO mice exhibited an impairment in motor function recovery evident by prolonged compound muscle action potential duration (4.63 ± 0.35 vs. 3.93 ± 0.22 s for f/f, P < 0.01) and physical activity. Consistently, neuromuscular junctions of mnKO muscles were incompletely occupied (49.79 ± 5.74 vs. 79.39 ± 3.77% fully occupied neuromuscular junctions for f/f, P < 0.0001), suggesting an impaired reinnervation. The transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that mnKO sciatic nerves had smaller axon diameter (0.88 ± 0.13 vs. 1.43 ± 0.48 µm for f/f, P < 0.0001) and myelination defects. RNA sequencing of mnKO lumbar spinal cords showed alteration in genes related to neurogenesis, inflammation and cell death. Among the altered genes, ErbB4 and FgfR expressions were significantly altered in mnKO as well as in Cdon-depleted NSC34 motor neuron cells. Consistently, Cdon-depleted NSC34 cells exhibited elevated levels of cleaved Caspase3 and γH2AX proteins, as well as Bax transcription. Cdon-depleted NSC34 cells also exhibited impaired activation of Akt in response to neuregulin-1 (NRG1) treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our current data demonstrate the functional importance of Cdon in motor neuron function and nerve repair. Cdon ablation causes alterations in neurotrophin signalling that leads to motor neuron degeneration.

Farnesol prevents aging-related muscle weakness in mice through enhanced farnesylation of Parkin-interacting substrate.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) is a master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis. Reduced PGC-1α abundance is linked to skeletal muscle weakness in aging or pathological conditions, such as neurodegenerative diseases and diabetes; thus, elevating PGC-1α abundance might be a promising strategy to treat muscle aging. Here, we performed high-throughput screening and identified a natural compound, farnesol, as a potent inducer of PGC-1α. Farnesol administration enhanced oxidative muscle capacity and muscle strength, leading to metabolic rejuvenation in aged mice. Moreover, farnesol treatment accelerated the recovery of muscle injury associated with enhanced muscle stem cell function. The protein expression of Parkin-interacting substrate (PARIS/Zfp746), a transcriptional repressor of PGC-1α, was elevated in aged muscles, likely contributing to PGC-1α reduction. The beneficial effect of farnesol on aged muscle was mediated through enhanced PARIS farnesylation, thereby relieving PARIS-mediated PGC-1α suppression. Furthermore, short-term exercise increased PARIS farnesylation in the muscles of young and aged mice, whereas long-term exercise decreased PARIS expression in the muscles of aged mice, leading to the elevation of PGC-1α. Collectively, the current study demonstrated that the PARIS-PGC-1α pathway is linked to muscle aging and that farnesol treatment can restore muscle functionality in aged mice through increased farnesylation of PARIS.

Cdon suppresses vascular smooth muscle calcification via repression of the Wnt/Runx2 Axis.

Osteogenic transdifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is a risk factor associated with vascular diseases. Wnt signaling is one of the major mechanisms implicated in the osteogenic conversion of VSMCs. Since Cdon has a negative effect on Wnt signaling in distinct cellular processes, we sought to investigate the role of Cdon in vascular calcification. The expression of Cdon was significantly downregulated in VSMCs of the aortas of patients with atherosclerosis and aortic stenosis. Consistently, calcification models, including vitamin D3 (VD3)-injected mice and VSMCs cultured with calcifying media, exhibited reduced Cdon expression. Cdon ablation mice (cKO) exhibited exacerbated aortic stiffness and calcification in response to VD3 compared to the controls. Cdon depletion induced the osteogenic conversion of VSMCs accompanied by cellular senescence. The Cdon-deficient aortas showed a significant alteration in gene expression related to cell proliferation and differentiation together with Wnt signaling regulators. Consistently, Cdon depletion or overexpression in VSMCs elevated or attenuated Wnt-reporter activities, respectively. The deletion mutant of the second immunoglobulin domain (Ig2) in the Cdon ectodomain failed to suppress Wnt signaling and osteogenic conversion of VSMCs. Furthermore, treatment with purified recombinant proteins of the entire ectodomain or Ig2 domain of Cdon displayed suppressive effects on Wnt signaling and VSMC calcification. Our results demonstrate a protective role of Cdon in VSMC calcification by suppressing Wnt signaling. The Ig2 domain of Cdon has the potential as a therapeutic tool to prevent vascular calcification.

Dendritic Cell-Mediated Th2 Immunity and Immune Disorders.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the professional antigen-presenting cells that recognize and present antigens to naïve T cells to induce antigen-specific adaptive immunity. Among the T-cell subsets, T helper type 2 (Th2) cells produce the humoral immune responses required for protection against helminthic disease by activating B cells. DCs induce a Th2 immune response at a certain immune environment. Basophil, eosinophil, mast cells, and type 2 innate lymphoid cells also induce Th2 immunity. However, in the case of DCs, controversy remains regarding which subsets of DCs induce Th2 immunity, which genes in DCs are directly or indirectly involved in inducing Th2 immunity, and the detailed mechanisms underlying induction, regulation, or maintenance of the DC-mediated Th2 immunity against allergic environments and parasite infection. A recent study has shown that a genetic defect in DCs causes an enhanced Th2 immunity leading to severe atopic dermatitis. We summarize the Th2 immune-inducing DC subsets, the genetic and environmental factors involved in DC-mediated Th2 immunity, and current therapeutic approaches for Th2-mediated immune disorders. This review is to provide an improved understanding of DC-mediated Th2 immunity and Th1/Th2 immune balancing, leading to control over their adverse consequences.

Transendothelial migration (TEM) of in vitro generated dendritic cell vaccine in cancer immunotherapy.

Many efforts have been made to improve the efficacy of dendritic cell (DC) vaccines in DC-based cancer immunotherapy. One of these efforts is to deliver a DC vaccine more efficiently to the regional lymph nodes (rLNs) to induce stronger anti-tumor immunity. Together with chemotaxis, transendothelial migration (TEM) is believed to be a critical and indispensable step for DC vaccine migration to the rLNs after administration. However, the mechanism underlying the in vitro-generated DC TEM in DC-based cancer immunotherapy has been largely unknown. Currently, junctional adhesion molecules (JAMs) were found to play an important role in the TEM of in vitro generated DC vaccines. This paper reviews the TEM of DC vaccines and TEM-associated JAM molecules.

Junctional adhesion molecules mediate transendothelial migration of dendritic cell vaccine in cancer immunotherapy.

In vitro generated dendritic cells (DCs) have been studied in cancer immunotherapy for decades. However, the detailed molecular mechanism underlying transendothelial migration (TEM) of DC vaccine across the endothelial barrier to regional lymph nodes (LNs) remains largely unknown. Here, we found that junctional adhesion molecule (JAM)-Like (JAML) is involved in the TEM of mouse bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs). Treatment with an anti-JAML antibody or JAML knock-down significantly reduced the TEM activity of BMDCs, leading to impairment of DC-based cancer immunotherapy. We found that the interaction of JAML of BMDCs with the coxsackie and adenovirus receptor of endothelial cells plays a crucial role in the TEM of BMDCs. On the other hand, human monocyte-derived DCs (MoDCs) did not express the JAML protein but still showed normal TEM activity. We found that MoDCs express only JAM1 and that the homophilic interaction of JAM1 is essential for MoDC TEM across a HUVEC monolayer. Our findings suggest that specific JAM family members play an important role in the TEM of in vitro-generated mouse and human DCs from the inoculation site to regional LNs in DC-based cancer immunotherapy.

SH2 domain-containing adaptor protein B expressed in dendritic cells is involved in T-cell homeostasis by regulating dendritic cell-mediated Th2 immunity.

PURPOSE: The Src homology 2 domain-containing adaptor protein B (SHB) is widely expressed in immune cells and acts as an important regulator for hematopoietic cell function. SHB silencing induces Th2 immunity in mice. SHB is also involved in T-cell homeostasis in vivo. However, SHB has not yet been studied and addressed in association with dendritic cells (DCs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effects of SHB expression on the immunogenicity of DCs were assessed by Shb gene silencing in mouse bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs). After silencing, surface phenotype, cytokine expression profile, and T-cell stimulation capacity of BMDCs were examined. We investigated the signaling pathways involved in SHB expression during BMDC development. We also examined the immunogenicity of SHB-knockdown (SHBKD) BMDCs in a mouse atopic dermatitis model. RESULTS: SHB was steadily expressed in mouse splenic DCs and in in vitro-generated BMDCs in both immature and mature stages. SHB expression was contingent on activation of the mitogen- activated protein kinase/Foxa2 signaling pathway during DC development. SHBKD increased the expression of MHC class II and costimulatory molecules without affecting the cytokine expression of BMDCs. When co-cultured with T cells, SHBKD in BMDCs significantly induced CD4+ T-cell proliferation and the expression of Th2 cytokines, while the regulatory T cell (Treg) population was downregulated. In mouse atopic dermatitis model, mice inoculated with SHBKD DCs developed more severe symptoms of atopic dermatitis compared with mice injected with control DCs. CONCLUSION: SHB expression in DCs plays an important role in T-cell homeostasis in vivo by regulating DC-mediated Th2 polarization.

Dab2, a negative regulator of DC immunogenicity, is an attractive molecular target for DC-based immunotherapy.

Dab2 is an adapter protein involved in receptor-mediated signaling, endocytosis, cell adhesion, hematopoietic cell differentiation, and angiogenesis. It plays a pivotal role in controlling cellular homeostasis. In the immune system, the Dab2 is a Foxp3 target gene and is required for regulatory T (Treg) cell function. Dab2 expression and its biological function in dendritic cells (DCs) have not been described. In this study, we found that Dab2 was significantly induced during the development of mouse bone marrow (BM)-derived DCs (BMDCs) and human monocyte-derived DCs (MoDCs). Even in a steady state, Dab2 was expressed in mouse splenic DCs (spDCs). STAT5 activation, Foxp3 expression, and hnRNPE1 activation mediated by PI3K/Akt signaling were required for Dab2 expression during GM-CSF-derived BMDC development regardless of TGF-ß signaling. Dab2-silencing was accompanied by enhanced IL-12 and IL-6 expression, and an improved capacity of DC for antigen uptake, migration and T cell stimulation, which generated strong CTL in vaccinated mice. Vaccination with Dab2-silenced DCs inhibited tumor growth more effectively than did vaccination with wild type DCs. Dab2-overexpression abrogated the efficacy of the DC vaccine in DC-based tumor immunotherapy. These data strongly suggest that Dab2 might be an intrinsic negative regulator of the immunogenicity of DCs, thus might be an attractive molecular target to improve DC vaccine efficacy.

p53-derived host restriction of HIV-1 replication by protein kinase R-mediated Tat phosphorylation and inactivation.

UNLABELLED: Tumor suppressor p53 has been suggested to be a host restriction factor against HIV-1 replication, but the detailed molecular mechanism has remained elusive for decades. Here, we demonstrate that p53-mediated HIV-1 suppression is attributed to double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-dependent protein kinase (PKR)-mediated HIV-1 trans-activator (Tat) phosphorylation and inactivation. p53 silencing significantly enhanced HIV-1 replication in infected cells. Ectopic expression of p53 suppressed Tat activity, which was rescued by PKR silencing. In addition, ectopic expression of PKR abolished Tat activity in p53(-/-) and eIF2α(CA) cells. Finally, we found that HIV-1 infection activates p53, followed by the induction and activation of PKR. PKR directly interacted with HIV-1 Tat and phosphorylates the first exon of Tat exclusively at five Ser/Thr residues (T23, T40, S46, S62, and S68), which inhibits Tat-mediated provirus transcription in three critical steps: (i) phosphorylation near the arginine-rich motif (ARM) inhibits Tat translocation into the nucleus, (ii) accumulation of Tat phosphorylation abolishes Tat-Tat-responsive region (TAR) binding, and (iii) Tat phosphorylation at T23 and/or T40 obliterates the Tat-cyclin T1 interaction. These five Ser/Thr sites on Tat were highly conserved in HIV-1 strains prevalent in Europe and the United States. Taken together, our findings indicate that p53-derived host restriction of HIV-1 replication is likely attributable, at least in part, to a noncanonical p53/PKR/Tat phosphorylation and inactivation pathway in HIV-1 infection and AIDS pathogenesis. IMPORTANCE: HIV-1-mediated disease progression to AIDS lasts for years to decades after primary infection. Host restriction and associated viral latency have been studied for several decades. p53 has been suggested as an important host restriction factor against HIV-1 replication. However, the detailed molecular mechanism is still unclear. In the present study, we found that the p53-mediated HIV-1 restriction is attributed to a p53/PKR/Tat-inactivation pathway. HIV-1 infection activated p53, which subsequently induced PKR expression and activation. PKR directly phosphorylated Tat exclusively at five specific Ser/Thr residues, which was accompanied by significant suppression of HIV-1 replication. Accumulation of Tat phosphorylation at these sites inhibited Tat function by blocking Tat nuclear localization, Tat binding to TAR, and Tat-cyclin T1 interaction. Our findings provide a better understanding of the p53-derived host restriction mechanism against HIV-1 replication in AIDS pathogenesis and may contribute to further research focusing on the investigation of potential therapeutic targets for HIV-1.