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As a part of the immune system, leukocytes have the features of circumvention of immunogenicity as well as recruitment to sites of inflammation during infection and tumorigenesis. Utilizing leukocytes as vehicles to carry theranostic agents is a promising strategy for highly efficient targeted delivery and treatment for inflammation and cancer. Specifically, the leukocytes, similar to "Trojan horses", can bypass the immune system and thus enhance the therapeutic effects on inflammation and cancer. In this context, the latest progress of leukocyte-based delivery systems for improving theranostics of inflammations and cancers is summarized, including in vitro incubation and in vivo internalization strategy. Although the therapeutic efficacy of leukocyte-based delivery systems has been achieved, the system construction is complex and the effect is not fulfilling demand completely. Encouragingly, a most recent work reported that the supramolecular arrangement of proteins on the nanocarriers would drive them to be selectively uptaken by neutrophils, opening a new avenue for diagnosis and treatment of inflammation. Moreover, enucleated cells are considered as the biomimetic drug delivery vehicle to retain the organelles for a range of diseases in a safe, controllable and effective manner. These novel findings provide more opportunities for researchers to rethink and redesign the leukocyte-based delivery systems to overcome existing limitations and broaden their usage, especially in clinical medicine. .
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Despite advancements in antiretroviral therapy (ART) suppressing HIV-1 replication, existing antiviral drugs pose limitations, including lifelong medication, frequent administration, side effects and viral resistance, necessitating novel HIV-1 treatment approaches. CD4, pivotal for HIV-1 entry, poses challenges for drug development due to neutralization and cytotoxicity concerns. Nevertheless, Ibalizumab, the sole approved CD4-specific antibody for HIV-1 treatment, reignites interest in exploring alternative anti-HIV targets, emphasizing CD4's potential value for effective drug development. Here, we explore anti-CD4 nanobodies, particularly Nb457 from a CD4-immunized alpaca. Nb457 displays high potency and broad-spectrum activity against HIV-1, surpassing Ibalizumab's efficacy. Strikingly, engineered trimeric Nb457 nanobodies achieve complete inhibition against live HIV-1, outperforming Ibalizumab and parental Nb457. Structural analysis unveils Nb457-induced CD4 conformational changes impeding viral entry. Notably, Nb457 demonstrates therapeutic efficacy in humanized female mouse models. Our findings highlight anti-CD4 nanobodies as promising HIV-1 therapeutics, with potential implications for advancing clinical treatment against this global health challenge.
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Antígenos CD4 , Camélidos del Nuevo Mundo , Anticuerpos Anti-VIH , Infecciones por VIH , VIH-1 , Anticuerpos de Dominio Único , VIH-1/inmunología , VIH-1/efectos de los fármacos , Anticuerpos de Dominio Único/farmacología , Anticuerpos de Dominio Único/inmunología , Animales , Antígenos CD4/inmunología , Antígenos CD4/metabolismo , Humanos , Infecciones por VIH/inmunología , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Infecciones por VIH/virología , Camélidos del Nuevo Mundo/inmunología , Anticuerpos Anti-VIH/inmunología , Anticuerpos Anti-VIH/farmacología , Ratones , Anticuerpos Neutralizantes/inmunología , Anticuerpos Neutralizantes/farmacología , Conformación Proteica , Femenino , Internalización del Virus/efectos de los fármacos , Células HEK293 , Fármacos Anti-VIH/farmacología , Fármacos Anti-VIH/uso terapéutico , Anticuerpos MonoclonalesRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Socioeconomic status (SES) has been proven to be associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Western populations, but the evidence is very limited in China. This study aimed to investigate the association between SES and the risk of COPD incident. METHODS: This study was based on the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) project in Wuzhong District, Suzhou. A total of 45,484 adults aged 30-79 were included in the analysis during 2004-2008. We used Cox proportional hazard models to investigate the association between SES and the risk of COPD. Household income, education, private property and consumption potential was used to measure SES. Incident COPD cases were ascertained using hospitalization records, death certificates, and active follow-up. RESULTS: A total of 524 COPD cases were identified during a median follow-up of 11.2 years. Household income was inversely associated with the risk of COPD (Ptrend<0.005). The adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for incident COPD were 0.88 (0.69-1.14), 0.77 (0.60-0.99), and 0.42 (0.31-0.57) for participants with annual household income of 10,000 ~ 19,999 yuan, 20,000 ~ 34,999 yuan and ≥ 35,000 yuan respectively, in comparison to participants with an annual household income < 10,000 yuan. Furthermore, we found that education level, refrigerator use, private toilet, private phone, and motor vehicle were adversely associated with COPD risk, while ownership of newly renovated flats was positively correlated with COPD incident. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective study suggests that SES is associated with the risk of COPD in Chinese adults. Population-based COPD prevention strategies tailored for people with different SES could help reduce the burden of COPD in Chinese.
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Enfermedad Pulmonar Obstructiva Crónica , Clase Social , Humanos , Enfermedad Pulmonar Obstructiva Crónica/epidemiología , China/epidemiología , Persona de Mediana Edad , Masculino , Femenino , Estudios Prospectivos , Adulto , Anciano , Factores de Riesgo , Modelos de Riesgos Proporcionales , IncidenciaRESUMEN
HIV-1 infection remains a public health problem with no cure. Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) is effective for suppressing HIV-1 replication, it requires lifelong drug administration due to a stable reservoir of latent proviruses and may cause serious side effects and drive the emergence of drug-resistant HIV-1 variants. Gene therapy represents an alternative approach to overcome the limitations of conventional treatments against HIV-1 infection. In this study, we constructed and investigated the antiviral effects of an HIV-1 Tat-dependent conditionally replicating adenovirus, which selectively replicates and expresses the diphtheria toxin A chain (Tat-CRAds-DTA) in HIV-1-infected cells both in vitro and in vivo. We found that Tat-CRAds-DTA could specifically induce cell death and inhibit virus replication in HIV-1-infected cells mediated by adenovirus proliferation and DTA expression. A low titer of progeny Tat-CRAds-DTA was also detected in HIV-1-infected cells. In addition, Tat-CRAds-DTA showed no apparent cytotoxicity to HIV-1-negative cells and demonstrated significant therapeutic efficacy against HIV-1 infection in a humanized mouse model. The findings in this study highlight the potential of Tat-CRAds-DTA as a new gene therapy for the treatment of HIV-1 infection.
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Adenoviridae , Toxina Diftérica , Terapia Genética , Vectores Genéticos , Infecciones por VIH , VIH-1 , Replicación Viral , Productos del Gen tat del Virus de la Inmunodeficiencia Humana , Humanos , VIH-1/genética , Toxina Diftérica/genética , Animales , Adenoviridae/genética , Infecciones por VIH/terapia , Productos del Gen tat del Virus de la Inmunodeficiencia Humana/genética , Productos del Gen tat del Virus de la Inmunodeficiencia Humana/metabolismo , Ratones , Terapia Genética/métodos , Vectores Genéticos/genética , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Línea Celular , Células HEK293 , Expresión Génica , Fragmentos de PéptidosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI) can lead to somatic, emotional, and cognitive symptoms that persist for years after the initial injury. Although the ability of various treatments to promote recovery after rmTBI has been explored, the optimal time window for early intervention after rmTBI is unclear. Previous research has shown that hydrogen-rich water (HRW) can diffuse through the blood-brain - barrier, attenuate local oxidative stress, and reduce neuronal apoptosis in patients with severe traumatic brain injury. However, research on the effect of HRW on rmTBI is scarce. AIMS: The objectives of this study were to explore the following changes after rmTBI and HRW treatment: (i) temporal changes in inflammasome activation and oxidative stress-related protein expression through immunoblotting, (ii) temporal changes in neuron/myelin-related metabolite concentrations in vivo through magnetic resonance spectroscopy, (iii) myelin structural changes in late-stage rmTBI via immunofluorescence, and (iv) postinjury anxiety/depression-like behaviors and spatial learning and memory impairment. RESULTS: NLRP-3 expression in the rmTBI group was elevated at 7 and 14 DPI, and inflammasome marker levels returned to normal at 30 DPI. Oxidative stress persisted throughout the first month postinjury. HRW replacement significantly decreased Nrf2 expression in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampal CA2 region at 14 and 30 DPI, respectively. Edema and local gliosis in the hippocampus and restricted diffusion in the thalamus were observed on MR-ADC images. The tCho/tCr ratio in the rmTBI group was elevated, and the tNAA/tCr ratio was decreased at 30 DPI. Compared with the mice in the other groups, the mice in the rmTBI group spent more time exploring the open arms in the elevated plus maze (P < 0.05) and were more active in the maze (longer total distance traveled). In the sucrose preference test, the rmTBI group exhibited anhedonia. In the Morris water maze test, the latency to find the hidden platform in the rmTBI group was longer than that in the sham and HRW groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Early intervention with HRW can attenuate inflammasome assembly and reduce oxidative stress after rmTBI. These changes may restore local oligodendrocyte function, promote myelin repair, prevent axonal damage and neuronal apoptosis, and alleviate depression-like behavior and cognitive impairment.
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Conmoción Encefálica , Disfunción Cognitiva , Ratones , Humanos , Animales , Vaina de Mielina/metabolismo , Depresión , Inflamasomas/metabolismo , Aprendizaje por Laberinto , Estrés Oxidativo , Disfunción Cognitiva/metabolismo , Inflamación/metabolismo , Receptores de Antígenos de Linfocitos T , Modelos Animales de EnfermedadRESUMEN
AIMS: To investigate astrocyte-related phagocytosis of synapses in the ipsilateral hippocampus after traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: We performed controlled cortical impact to simulate TBI in mice. Seven days postinjury, we performed cognitive tests, synapse quantification, and examination of astrocytic phagocytosis in association with Megf10 expression. RESULTS: During the subacute stage post-TBI, we found a reduction in excitatory postsynaptic materials in the ipsilateral hippocampus, which was consistent with poor performance in the cognitive test. The transcriptome data suggested that robust phagocytosis was responsible for this process. Coincidently, we identified phagocytic astrocytes containing secondary lysosomes that were wrapped around the synapses in the ipsilateral hippocampus. Moreover, a significant increase in the co-location of GFAP and PSD-95 in the CA1 region suggested astrocytic engulfment of excitatory postsynaptic proteins. After examining the reported phagocytic pathways, we found that both the transcription level and protein expression of Megf10 were elevated. Co-immunofluorescence of GFAP and Megf10 demonstrated that the expression of Megf10 was spatially upregulated in astrocytes, exclusively in the CA1 region, and was related to the astrocytic engulfment of PSD-95. CONCLUSION: Our study elaborated that the Megf10-related astrocytic engulfment of PSD-95 in the CA1 region of the ipsilateral hippocampus aggravated cognitive dysfunction following severe TBI.
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Astrocitos , Lesiones Traumáticas del Encéfalo , Ratones , Animales , Astrocitos/metabolismo , Hipocampo/metabolismo , Lesiones Traumáticas del Encéfalo/metabolismo , Homólogo 4 de la Proteína Discs Large/metabolismo , Sinapsis/metabolismo , Proteínas de la Membrana/genética , Proteínas de la Membrana/metabolismoRESUMEN
Introduction: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a common chronic heterogeneous metabolic disorder. However, the roles of pyroptosis and infiltrating immune cells in islet dysfunction of patients with T2D have yet to be explored. In this study, we aimed to explore potential crucial genes and pathways associated with pyroptosis and immune infiltration in T2D. Methods: To achieve this, we performed a conjoint analysis of three bulk RNA-seq datasets of islets to identify T2D-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs). After grouping the islet samples according to their ESTIMATE immune scores, we identified immune- and T2D-related DEGs. A clinical prediction model based on pyroptosis-related genes for T2D was constructed. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis was performed to identify genes positively correlated with pyroptosis-related pathways. A protein-protein interaction network was established to identify pyroptosis-related hub genes. We constructed miRNA and transcriptional networks based on the pyroptosis-related hub genes and performed functional analyses. Single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) was conducted using the GSE153885 dataset. Dimensionality was reduced using principal component analysis and t-distributed statistical neighbor embedding, and cells were clustered using Seurat. Different cell types were subjected to differential gene expression analysis and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Cell-cell communication and pseudotime trajectory analyses were conducted using the samples from patients with T2D. Results: We identified 17 pyroptosis-related hub genes. We determined the abundance of 13 immune cell types in the merged matrix and found that these cell types were correlated with the 17 pyroptosis-related hub genes. Analysis of the scRNA-seq dataset of 1892 islet samples from patients with T2D and controls revealed 11 clusters. INS and IAPP were determined to be pyroptosis-related and candidate hub genes among the 11 clusters. GSEA of the 11 clusters demonstrated that the myc, G2M checkpoint, and E2F pathways were significantly upregulated in clusters with several differentially enriched pathways. Discussion: This study elucidates the gene signatures associated with pyroptosis and immune infiltration in T2D and provides a critical resource for understanding of islet dysfunction and T2D pathogenesis.
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Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2 , Piroptosis , Humanos , Piroptosis/genética , Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2/genética , Modelos Estadísticos , Análisis de Expresión Génica de una Sola Célula , PronósticoRESUMEN
A deeper understanding of the underlying biological mechanisms of secondary brain injury induced by traumatic brain injury (TBI) will greatly advance the development of effective treatments for patients with TBI. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) is a central regulator of cellular response to hypoxia. In addition, growing evidence shows that HIF-1α plays the important role in TBI-induced changes in biological processes; however, detailed functional mechanisms are not completely known. The aim of the present work was to further explore HIF-1α-mediated events after TBI. To this end, next-generation sequencing, coupled with cellular and molecular analysis, was adopted to interrogate vulnerable events in a rat controlled cortical impact model of TBI. The results demonstrated that TBI induced accumulation of HIF-1α at the peri-injury site at 24 h post-injury, which was associated with neuronal loss. Moreover, gene set enrichment analysis unveiled that neuroinflammation, especially an innate inflammatory response, was significantly evoked by TBI, which could be attenuated by the inhibition of HIF-1α. Furthermore, the inhibition of HIF-1α could mitigate the activation of microglia and astrocytes. Taken together, all these data implied that HIF-1α might contribute to secondary brain injury through regulating neuroinflammation.
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After brain injury, infiltration and abnormal activation of neutrophils damages brain tissue and worsens inflammation, but the mediators that connect activated neutrophils with neuroinflammation have not yet been fully clarified. To identify regulators of neutrophil-mediated neuroinflammation after traumatic brain injury, a mouse model of traumatic brain injury was established by controlled cortical impact. At 7 days post-injury (sub-acute phase), genome-wide transcriptomic data showed that interleukin 17A-associated signaling pathways were markedly upregulated, suggesting that interleukin 17A may be involved in neuroinflammation. Double immunofluorescence staining showed that interleukin 17A was largely secreted by neutrophils rather than by glial cells and neurons. Furthermore, nuclear factor-kappaB and Stat3, both of which are important effectors in interleukin 17A-mediated proinflammatory responses, were significantly activated. Collectively, our findings suggest that neutrophil-derived interleukin 17A participates in neutrophil-mediated neuroinflammation during the subacute phase of traumatic brain injury. Therefore, interleukin 17A may be a promising therapeutic target for traumatic brain injury.
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Proteomics is a powerful tool that can be used to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of diseases and identify new biomarkers. Therefore, it may also be helpful for understanding the detailed pathological mechanism of traumatic brain injury (TBI). In this study, we performed Tandem Mass Tag-based quantitative analysis of cortical proteome profiles in a mouse model of TBI. Our results showed that there were 302 differentially expressed proteins in TBI mice compared with normal mice 7 days after injury. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses showed that these differentially expressed proteins were predominantly involved in inflammatory responses, including complement and coagulation cascades, as well as chemokine signaling pathways. Subsequent transcription factor analysis revealed that the inflammation-related transcription factors NF-κB1, RelA, IRF1, STAT1, and Spi1 play pivotal roles in the secondary injury that occurs after TBI, which further corroborates the functional enrichment for inflammatory factors. Our results suggest that inflammation-related proteins and inflammatory responses are promising targets for the treatment of TBI.
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Background: 5-methylcytosine (m5C) RNA methylation plays a significant role in several human diseases. However, the functional role of m5C in type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains unclear. Methods: The merged gene expression profiles from two Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets were used to identify m5C-related genes and T2D-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Least-absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis was performed to identify optimal predictors of T2D. After LASSO regression, we constructed a diagnostic model and validated its accuracy. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were conducted to confirm the biological functions of DEGs. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was used to determine the functional enrichment of molecular subtypes. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to select the module that correlated with the most pyroptosis-related genes. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was established using the STRING database, and hub genes were identified using Cytoscape software. The competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) interaction network of the hub genes was obtained. The CIBERSORT algorithm was applied to analyze the interactions between hub gene expression and immune infiltration. Results: m5C-related genes were significantly differentially expressed in T2D and correlated with most T2D-related DEGs. LASSO regression showed that ZBTB4 could be a predictive gene for T2D. GO, KEGG, and GSEA indicated that the enriched modules and pathways were closely related to metabolism-related biological processes and cell death. The top five genes were identified as hub genes in the PPI network. In addition, a ceRNA interaction network of hub genes was obtained. Moreover, the expression levels of the hub genes were significantly correlated with the abundance of various immune cells. Conclusion: Our findings may provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying T2D based on its pathophysiology and suggest potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for T2D.
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The brain is highly integrated and thus unilateral injury can impact the contralateral hemisphere. However, further research is needed to clarify the changes in the response of the contralateral homotopic area to ipsilateral injury. We hypothesized that severe unilateral brain injury would be accompanied by contralateral synaptic changes that are related to functional recovery. To test this, we divided rats into sham and experimental groups. In the experimental group, we performed right motor cortex resection. These rats were further divided into three subgroups according to post-injury time: 7 days, 14 days, and 30 days post-injury. Rats in each group were evaluated using a beam walking test to quantify the recovery of motor function, and all rats received an injection of adeno-associated virus-containing green fluorescent protein (GFP). Finally, we conducted morphological and histological analyses to identify synaptic changes. Over time, the behavior of the rats that underwent right motor cortex resection recovered. Furthermore, in contrast to the sham group, the experimental groups exhibited an increase in the spine density and expression of synaptic proteins in layer V of the contralateral motor cortex, which was consistent with the GFP-labeled neurons. Moreover, more immature spines were observed 7 days post-injury. Notably, spine morphology matured from 7 to 30 days, and the increase in Synapsin-1 intensity in layer V peaked 14 days after the resection, whereas PSD-95 intensity continued to increase until day 30. Our findings suggested that following motor function recovery from unilateral brain injury, spine morphology and synaptic proteins change dynamically in the contralateral hemisphere.
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Lesiones Encefálicas , Corteza Motora , Animales , Encéfalo , Lesiones Encefálicas/patología , Homólogo 4 de la Proteína Discs Large , Ratas , Recuperación de la Función/fisiologíaRESUMEN
Transfer RNA (tRNA)-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) are a recently established family of regulatory small non-coding RNAs that modulate diverse biological processes. Growing evidence indicates that tsRNAs are involved in neurological disorders and play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease. However, whether tsRNAs are involved in traumatic brain injury-induced secondary injury remains poorly understood. In this study, a mouse controlled cortical impact model of traumatic brain injury was established, and integrated tsRNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) transcriptome sequencing were used. The results revealed that 103 tsRNAs were differentially expressed in the mouse model of traumatic brain injury at 72 hours, of which 56 tsRNAs were upregulated and 47 tsRNAs were downregulated. Based on microRNA-like seed matching and Pearson correlation analysis, 57 differentially expressed tsRNA-mRNA interaction pairs were identified, including 29 tsRNAs and 26 mRNAs. Moreover, Gene Ontology annotation of target genes revealed that the significantly enriched terms were primarily associated with inflammation and synaptic function. Collectively, our findings suggest that tsRNAs may be associated with traumatic brain injury-induced secondary brain injury, and are thus a potential therapeutic target for traumatic brain injury. The study was approved by the Beijing Neurosurgical Institute Animal Care and Use Committee (approval No. 20190411) on April 11, 2019.
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In our recent studies, we reported that mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) had the opposite effects of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) on neural cell survival after traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, whether short-term use of high-dose natural glucocorticoids, which are mixed agonists of both MR and GR, leads to neurotoxic effects by inducing excessive GR activation is unclear, as is the threshold GR activation level and the possible signaling pathways remain unclear. In this study, we examined the dual dose-dependent effects of corticosterone (CORT) on spatial memory, hippocampal cell survival and receptor-mediated downstream signaling pathways after TBI. We found that different doses of CORT exhibited dual effects on hippocampal cell survival and rat spatial memory. Low doses of CORT (0.3 and 3 mg/kg) significantly increased MR activation, upregulated Akt/CREB/Bad phosphorylation and Bcl-2 concentration, reduced the number of apoptotic neural cells, and subsequently improved rat spatial memory. In contrast, a high dose of CORT (30 mg/kg) exerted the opposite effects by overactivating GR, upregulating P53/Bax levels, and inhibiting Erk/CREB activity. The results suggest that the neuroprotective and neurotoxic effects of endogenous GC depend on a threshold level and that a higher dose of GC, even for short-term use, should be avoided after TBI.
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As one kind of "smart" material, thermogelling polymers find applications in biofabrication, drug delivery and regenerative medicine. In this work, we report a thermosensitive poly(2-oxazoline)/poly(2-oxazine) based diblock copolymer comprising thermosensitive/moderately hydrophobic poly(2-N-propyl-2-oxazine) (pPrOzi) and thermosensitive/moderately hydrophilic poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (pEtOx). Hydrogels were only formed when block length exceeded certain length (≈100 repeat units). The tube inversion and rheological tests showed that the material has then a reversible sol-gel transition above 25 wt.% concentration. Rheological tests further revealed a gel strength around 3 kPa, high shear thinning property and rapid shear recovery after stress, which are highly desirable properties for extrusion based three-dimensional (3D) (bio) printing. Attributed to the rheology profile, well resolved printability and high stackability (with added laponite) was also possible. (Cryo) scanning electron microscopy exhibited a highly porous, interconnected, 3D network. The sol-state at lower temperatures (in ice bath) facilitated the homogeneous distribution of (fluorescently labelled) human adipose derived stem cells (hADSCs) in the hydrogel matrix. Post-printing live/dead assays revealed that the hADSCs encapsulated within the hydrogel remained viable (≈97%). This thermoreversible and (bio) printable hydrogel demonstrated promising properties for use in tissue engineering applications.
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Hydrogels that can be processed with additive manufacturing techniques and concomitantly possess favorable mechanical properties are interesting for many advanced applications. However, the development of novel ink materials with high intrinsic 3D printing performance has been proven to be a major challenge. Herein, a novel 3D printable organic-inorganic hybrid hydrogel is developed from three components, and characterized in detail in terms of rheological property, swelling behavior and composition. The nanocomposite hydrogel combines a thermoresponsive hydrogel with clay LAPONITE® XLG and in situ polymerized poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide). Before in situ polymerization, the thermogelling and shear thinning properties of the thermoresponsive hydrogel provides a system well-suited for extrusion-based 3D printing. After chemical curing of the 3D-printed constructs by free radical polymerization, the resulting interpenetrating polymer network hydrogel shows excellent mechanical strength with a high stretchability to a tensile strain at break exceeding 550%. Integrating with the advanced 3D-printing technique, the introduced material could be interesting for a wide range of applications including tissue engineering, drug delivery, soft robotics and additive manufacturing in general.
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Compuestos Inorgánicos/química , Nanocompuestos , Nanogeles , Compuestos Orgánicos/química , Impresión Tridimensional , Ingeniería de TejidosRESUMEN
The heterogeneity of traumatic brain injury (TBI)-induced secondary injury has greatly hampered the development of effective treatments for TBI patients. Targeting common processes across species may be an innovative strategy to combat debilitating TBI. In the present study, a cross-species transcriptome comparison was performed for the first time to determine the fundamental processes of secondary brain injury in Sprague-Dawley rat and C57/BL6 mouse models of TBI, caused by acute controlled cortical impact. The RNA sequencing data from the mouse model of TBI were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (ID: GSE79441) at the National Center for Biotechnology Information. For the rat data, peri-injury cerebral cortex samples were collected for transcriptomic analysis 24 hours after TBI. Differentially expressed gene-based functional analysis revealed that common features between the two species were mainly involved in the regulation and activation of the innate immune response, including complement cascades as well as Toll-like and nucleotide oligomerization domain-like receptor pathways. These findings were further corroborated by gene set enrichment analysis. Moreover, transcription factor analysis revealed that the families of signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT), basic leucine zipper (BZIP), Rel homology domain (RHD), and interferon regulatory factor (IRF) transcription factors play vital regulatory roles in the pathophysiological processes of TBI, and are also largely associated with inflammation. These findings suggest that targeting the common innate immune response might be a promising therapeutic approach for TBI. The animal experimental procedures were approved by the Beijing Neurosurgical Institute Animal Care and Use Committee (approval No. 201802001) on June 6, 2018.
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Traumatic brain injury (TBI), a growing public health problem, is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, although its prevention measures and clinical cares are substantially improved. Increasing evidence shows that TBI may increase the risk of mood disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the complex relationship between TBI and AD remains elusive. Metabolic dysfunction has been the common pathology in both TBI and AD. On the one hand, TBI perturbs the glucose metabolism of the brain, and causes energy crisis and subsequent hyperglycolysis. On the other hand, glucose deprivation promotes amyloidogenesis via ß-site APP cleaving enzyme-1 dependent mechanism, and triggers tau pathology and synaptic function. Recent findings suggest that TBI might facilitate Alzheimer's pathogenesis by altering metabolism, which provides clues to metabolic link between TBI and AD. In this review, we will explore how TBI-induced metabolic changes contribute to the development of AD.
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Enfermedad de Alzheimer/etiología , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/metabolismo , Lesiones Traumáticas del Encéfalo/complicaciones , Lesiones Traumáticas del Encéfalo/metabolismo , Encéfalo/metabolismo , Glucosa/metabolismo , Precursor de Proteína beta-Amiloide/metabolismo , Glucólisis , Humanos , Tauopatías/etiologíaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: We previously found that high-dose methylprednisolone increased the incidence of critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency (CIRCI) and mortality in rats with traumatic brain injury (TBI), whereas low-dose hydrocortisone but not methylprednisolone exerted protective effects. However, the receptor-mediated mechanism remains unclear. This study investigated the receptor-mediated mechanism of the opposite effects of different glucocorticoids on the survival of paraventricular nucleus (PVN) cells and the incidence of CIRCI after TBI. METHODS: Based on controlled cortical impact (CCI) and treatments, male SD rats (n = 300) were randomly divided into the sham, CCI, CCI + GCs (methylprednisolone 1 or 30 mg/kg/day; corticosterone 1 mg/kg/day), CCI + methylprednisolone+RU486 (RU486 50 mg/kg/day), and CCI + corticosterone+spironolactone (spironolactone 50 mg/kg/day) groups. Blood samples were collected 7 days before and after CCI. Brain tissues were collected on postinjury day 7 and processed for histology and western blot analysis. RESULTS: We examined the incidence of CIRCI, mortality, apoptosis in the PVN, the receptor-mediated mechanism, and downstream signaling pathways on postinjury day 7. We found that methylprednisolone and corticosterone exerted opposite effects on the survival of PVN cells and the incidence of CIRCI by activating different receptors. High-dose methylprednisolone increased the nuclear glucocorticoid receptor (GR) level and subsequently increased cell loss in the PVN and the incidence of CIRCI. In contrast, low-dose corticosterone but not methylprednisolone played a protective role by upregulating mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) activation. The possible downstream receptor signaling mechanism involved the differential effects of GR and MR on the activity of the Akt/CREB/BDNF pathway. CONCLUSION: The excessive activation of GR by high-dose methylprednisolone exacerbated apoptosis in the PVN and increased CIRCI. In contrast, refilling of MR by corticosterone protects PVN neurons and reduces the incidence of CIRCI by promoting GR/MR rebalancing after TBI.