Avenanthramide C as a novel candidate to alleviate osteoarthritic pathogenesis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disorder that can result in the loss of articular cartilage. No effective treatment against OA is currently available. Thus, interest in natural health products to relieve OA symptoms is increasing. However, their qualities such as efficacy, toxicity, and mechanism are poorly understood. In this study, we determined the efficacy of avenanthramide (Avn)-C extracted from oats as a promising candidate to prevent OA progression and its mechanism of action to prevent the expression of matrix-metalloproteinases (MMPs) in OA pathogenesis. Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß), a proinflammatory cytokine as a main causing factor of cartilage destruction, was used to induce OAlike condition of chondrocytes in vitro. Avn-C restrained IL-1ß- mediated expression and activity of MMPs, such as MMP-3, -12, and -13 in mouse articular chondrocytes. Moreover, Avn-C alleviated cartilage destruction in experimental OA mouse model induced by destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) surgery. However, Avn-C did not affect the expression of inflammatory mediators (Ptgs2 and Nos) or anabolic factors (Col2a1, Aggrecan, and Sox9), although expression levels of these genes were upregulated or downregulated by IL-1ß, respectively. The inhibition of MMP expression by Avn-C in articular chondrocytes was mediated by p38 kinase and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling, but not by ERK or NF-κB. Interestingly, Avn-C added with SB203580 and SP600125 as specific inhibitors of p38 kinase and JNK, respectively, enhanced its inhibitory effect on the expression of MMPs in IL-1ß treated chondrocytes. Taken together, these results suggest that Avn-C is an effective candidate to prevent OA progression and a natural health product to relieve OA pathogenesis. [BMB Reports 2021; 54(10): 528-533].

Hypoxia-inducible factor-2α mediates senescence-associated intrinsic mechanisms of age-related bone loss.

Aging is associated with cellular senescence followed by bone loss leading to bone fragility in humans. However, the regulators associated with cellular senescence in aged bones need to be identified. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2α regulates bone remodeling via the differentiation of osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Here, we report that HIF-2α expression was highly upregulated in aged bones. HIF-2α depletion in male mice reversed age-induced bone loss, as evidenced by an increase in the number of osteoblasts and a decrease in the number of osteoclasts. In an in vitro model of doxorubicin-mediated senescence, the expression of Hif-2α and p21, a senescence marker gene, was enhanced, and osteoblastic differentiation of primary mouse calvarial preosteoblast cells was inhibited. Inhibition of senescence-induced upregulation of HIF-2α expression during matrix maturation, but not during the proliferation stage of osteoblast differentiation, reversed the age-related decrease in Runx2 and Ocn expression. However, HIF-2α knockdown did not affect p21 expression or senescence progression, indicating that HIF-2α expression upregulation in senescent osteoblasts may be a result of aging rather than a cause of cellular senescence. Osteoclasts are known to induce a senescent phenotype during in vitro osteoclastogenesis. Consistent with increased HIF-2α expression, the expression of p16 and p21 was upregulated during osteoclastogenesis of bone marrow macrophages. ChIP following overexpression or knockdown of HIF-2α using adenovirus revealed that p16 and p21 are direct targets of HIF-2α in osteoclasts. Osteoblast-specific (Hif-2αfl/fl;Col1a1-Cre) or osteoclast-specific (Hif-2αfl/fl;Ctsk-Cre) conditional knockout of HIF-2α in male mice reversed age-related bone loss. Collectively, our results suggest that HIF-2α acts as a senescence-related intrinsic factor in age-related dysfunction of bone homeostasis.

Controlling hypoxia-inducible factor-2α is critical for maintaining bone homeostasis in mice.

Pathological bone loss is caused by an imbalance between bone formation and resorption. The bone microenvironments are hypoxic, and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is known to play notable roles in bone remodeling. However, the relevant functions of HIF-2α are not well understood. Here, we have shown that HIF-2α deficiency in mice enhances bone mass through its effects on the differentiation of osteoblasts and osteoclasts. In vitro analyses revealed that HIF-2α inhibits osteoblast differentiation by targeting Twist2 and stimulates RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis via regulation of Traf6. In addition, HIF-2α appears to contribute to the crosstalk between osteoblasts and osteoclasts by directly targeting RANKL in osteoprogenitor cells. Experiments performed with osteoblast- and osteoclast-specific conditional knockout mice supported a role of HIF-2α in this crosstalk. HIF-2α deficiency alleviated ovariectomy-induced bone loss in mice, and specific inhibition of HIF-2α with ZINC04179524 significantly blocked RANKL-mediated osteoclastogenesis. Collectively, our results suggest that HIF-2α functions as a catabolic regulator in bone remodeling, which is critical for the maintenance of bone homeostasis.

The CH25H-CYP7B1-RORα axis of cholesterol metabolism regulates osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis-the most common form of age-related degenerative whole-joint disease1-is primarily characterized by cartilage destruction, as well as by synovial inflammation, osteophyte formation and subchondral bone remodelling2,3. However, the molecular mechanisms that underlie the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis are largely unknown. Although osteoarthritis is currently considered to be associated with metabolic disorders, direct evidence for this is lacking, and the role of cholesterol metabolism in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis has not been fully investigated4-6. Various types of cholesterol hydroxylases contribute to cholesterol metabolism in extrahepatic tissues by converting cellular cholesterol to circulating oxysterols, which regulate diverse biological processes7,8. Here we show that the CH25H-CYP7B1-RORα axis of cholesterol metabolism in chondrocytes is a crucial catabolic regulator of the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritic chondrocytes had increased levels of cholesterol because of enhanced uptake, upregulation of cholesterol hydroxylases (CH25H and CYP7B1) and increased production of oxysterol metabolites. Adenoviral overexpression of CH25H or CYP7B1 in mouse joint tissues caused experimental osteoarthritis, whereas knockout or knockdown of these hydroxylases abrogated the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. Moreover, retinoic acid-related orphan receptor alpha (RORα) was found to mediate the induction of osteoarthritis by alterations in cholesterol metabolism. These results indicate that osteoarthritis is a disease associated with metabolic disorders and suggest that targeting the CH25H-CYP7B1-RORα axis of cholesterol metabolism may provide a therapeutic avenue for treating osteoarthritis.

Crosstalk between FLS and chondrocytes is regulated by HIF-2α-mediated cytokines in arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA), two common types of arthritis, affect the joints mainly by targeting the synovium and cartilage. Increasing evidence indicates that a significant network connects synovitis and cartilage destruction during the progression of arthritis. We recently demonstrated that hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2α causes RA and OA by regulating the expression of catabolic factors in fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) or chondrocytes. To address the reciprocal influences of HIF-2α on FLS and chondrocytes, we applied an in vitro co-culture system using a transwell apparatus. When co-cultured with HIF-2α-overexpressing chondrocytes, FLS exhibited increased expression of matrix metalloproteinases and inflammatory mediators, similar to the effects induced by tumor-necrosis factor (TNF)-α treatment of FLS. Moreover, chondrocytes co-cultured with HIF-2α-overexpressing FLS exhibited upregulation of Mmp3 and Mmp13, which is similar to the effects induced by interleukin (IL)-6 treatment of chondrocytes. We confirmed these differential HIF-2α-induced effects via distinct secretory mediators using Il6-knockout cells and a TNF-α-blocking antibody. The FLS-co-culture-induced gene expression changes in chondrocytes were significantly abrogated by IL-6 deficiency, whereas TNF-α neutralization blocked the alterations in gene expression associated with co-culture of FLS with chondrocytes. Our results further suggested that the observed changes might reflect the HIF-2α-induced upregulation of specific receptors for TNF-α (in FLS) and IL-6 (in chondrocytes). This study broadens our understanding of the possible regulatory mechanisms underlying the crosstalk between the synovium and cartilage in the presence of HIF-2α, and may suggest potential new anti-arthritis therapies.

The generation of leukemic dendritic cells from acute myeloid leukemia cells is potentiated by the addition of CD40L at the terminal maturation stage.

Leukemic dendritic cells (DCs) that are derived from acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells display low-level expression of several key molecules. We investigated the optimal combination of cytokines needed to generate potent leukemic DCs from AML cells in vitro. AML cells were cultured in the presence of the following combinations of cytokines: Group A, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) + interleukin-4 (IL-4) + tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha); Group B, GM-CSF + IL-4 + CD40L; and Group C, CD40L addition at the terminal maturation point of cells that were grown as for Group A. The AML cells showed clear upregulation of CD80, CD83, CD86, CD40, and HLA-DR expression under all culture conditions, without significant differences between these groups. However, the addition of CD40L (as in Group C) showed a slight upregulation in the expression of CD83 and CD86 on leukemic DCs. The leukemic DCs in Groups A and B had higher allogeneic T-cell stimulatory capacities than untreated AML cells, and the addition of CD40L (Group C) enhanced this effect. The function of the cytotoxicity-stimulating autologous T cells was also augmented by the addition of CD40L (Group C). These results suggest that AML cells may be used to generate leukemic DCs using various cytokine combinations, and that the most potent, mature leukemic DCs are generated by the addition of CD40L to terminal-stage AML cultures that are grown in the presence of conventional cytokine combinations.

Immunotherapy using autologous monocyte-derived dendritic cells pulsed with leukemic cell lysates for acute myeloid leukemia relapse after autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation.

Although a second stem cell transplantation (SCT) can be used as salvage therapy in patients with relapsing leukemia after SCT, most of these patients have a poor outcome. We tried clinical vaccination using monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) pulsed with leukemic lysates to treat relapsing acute myeloid leukemia (AML) after autologous SCT. To generate DCs, CD14+ cells isolated from peripheral blood stem cell products were cultured in AIM-V in the presence of GM-CSF and IL-4. Adding TNF-alpha on day 6 induced maturation of the DCs, which were harvested on day 8 or 9. The DCs were incubated with tumor lysate and KLH for 2 hr at 37 degrees C. After certifying the absence of microorganisms and endotoxins, the patients received four DC vaccinations at two- to three-week intervals. Two patients received four DC vaccinations with means of 7.8 x 10(6) and 9 x 10(6) DCs at two- to three-week intervals. The DC vaccinations were well tolerated with no apparent side effects. After the vaccinations, the patients showed immunological responses with positive delayed-type hypersensitivity skin reaction and increasing autologous T cells stimulatory capacity to the DCs; however, the BM blast percentage of the patients did not improve. The results suggest that DCs are a feasible cellular therapy for relapsing AML after autologous SCT.

Proteomic identification of annexins, calcium-dependent membrane binding proteins that mediate osmotic stress and abscisic acid signal transduction in Arabidopsis.

Comparative proteomic analysis of the Arabidopsis thaliana root microsomal fraction was performed to identify novel components of salt stress signaling. Among the salt-responsive microsomal proteins, two spots that increased upon salt treatment on a two-dimensional gel were identified as the same protein, designated annexin 1 (AnnAt1). Annexins comprise a multigene family of Ca2+-dependent membrane binding proteins and have been extensively studied in animal cells. AnnAt1 is strongly expressed in root but rarely in flower tissue. In this study, the results suggest that salt stress induces translocation from the cytosol to the membrane and potential turnover of existing protein. This process is blocked by EGTA treatment, implying that AnnAt1 functions in stress response are tightly associated with Ca2+. T-DNA insertion mutants of annAt1 and a different isoform, annAt4, displayed hypersensitivity to osmotic stress and abscisic acid (ABA) during germination and early seedling growth. The results collectively suggest that AnnAt1 and AnnAt4 play important roles in osmotic stress and ABA signaling in a Ca2+-dependent manner.

Generation of cytotoxic donor CD8+ T cells against relapsing leukemic cells following allogeneic transplantation by stimulation with leukemic cell- or leukemic lysate pulsed donor cell-derived dendritic cells.

To treat leukemia relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), we investigated the possibility of immunotherapy using donor CD8+ T cells that were generated by stimulating leukemic cell-derived dendritic cells (leukemic-DCs) or leukemic cell lysate pulsed donor cell-derived DCs (donor-DCs). Leukemic- and donor-DCs were generated from mononuclear cells of patients and CD14+ cells of HLA-matched donors, respectively. The expression of CD80, CD83, CD86, CD1a, and CD40 on leukemic-DCs was significantly lower than that on donor-DCs. Donor-DCs exhibited a higher capacity to stimulate allogeneic T cells compared with leukemic-DCs. Donor CD8+ T cells stimulated by leukemic- or donor-DCs were more cytotoxic than unprimed CD8+ T cells, and slightly higher cytotoxicity was observed with donor-DCs compared to leukemic-DCs. This study indicates that leukemic- or donor-DCs pulsed with leukemic cell lysates can effectively prime donor cytotoxic T cells in vitro, and that they may be used as a potential alternative tool for treating leukemic patients who relapse after allogeneic HSCT.

Income Statement Analysis and Developing the Guidelines of Meal-pricing and Facilities Investment Cost in Contract-Managed High School Foodservice in Seoul

The purposes of this study were: 1) to investigate the operational and financial characteristics of contract-managed high school food services in Seoul, 2) to analyze the financial performance of high school food services 3) to develop guidelines for meal pricing and facilities investment costs. From Oct to Nov 2001, questionnaires were mailed to 249 high schools that were managed by contract food service companies. A 40.2% response rate was recorded. The results of this study were as follows: 1. Student enrollment in high schools run by contract-managed food services was 1,518, with a 68.5% participation rate in the school lunch program. The average meal price was 2,141 won. 2. Based on the income statement analysis, average total sales were 410,440,504 won and average net profit was 16,098,558 won. 3. The optimum food cost per meal was 1,200-1,300 won per meal, calculating using the methods of conversion factor, RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance), and nutrient exchange unit. 4. Guidelines for meal pricing were developed using the modified actual pricing method based on facilities investment cost, number of meals and food cost. The ratio of labor cost, general management expenses and ordinary profit were adopted from the schools with liability. The food cost, depreciation and interest cost were calculated based on unit meal. 5. The guideline for facilities investment was developed based on the number of meals, meal price and food cost. The guideline included the maximum facilities investment cost paid by the contract food service management company.