The Oral Administration Effect of Drug Mannuronic Acid (M2000) on Gene Expression of Matrix and Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a complex disease involving an unknown number of genes, and affecting a large number of organs, tissues, and sites across the body. It is affecting approximately 1% of the population worldwide. The safety and therapeutic efficacy of ß-D-mannuronic acid (M2000) as a novel NSAID with immunosuppressive property has been demonstrated under in vitro, in vivo examinations and clinical trials phase 1/11 in Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) patients in addition to phase I/11 and 111 in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients. OBJECTIVE: In this study, our goal is to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of oral administration of M2000 on gene expression of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP2, MMP9) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP1, TIMP2) as inflammatory molecules in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: The study has included 15 RA patients who had an insufficient response to the conventional drug. Therefore, mannuronic acid was used as an additive to the conventional regime. The research was a single-blinded study. The dose of M2000 was 500mg orally twice per day for 12 weeks. There were 15 healthy participants considered as control. Blood samples have been collected from both groups once from the healthy control and twice from RA patients before and after treatment with M2000. The Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) were isolated for assessment of the gene expression level of MMP2, MMP9, TIMP1, and TIMP2 using the real-time PCR method. RESULTS: The gene expression level of MMP2 and MMP9 reported a significant reduction in RA patients after treatment with M2000 compared to before treatment. On the other hand, the gene expression level of TIMP2 demonstrated a significant increase in RA patients after treatment with mannuronic acid compared to before treatment, but there was no significant difference between the group of RA patients before treatment and the control group. Vice versa to other molecules, there was no significant difference in the level of TIMP1 in compression with RA patients before and after treatment. CONCLUSION: our findings proved that the ß -D- mannuronic acid) as a novel NSAID with immunosuppressive property has a significant effect on the gene expression level of MMP2, MMP9 and TIMP2 molecules in RA patients.

Metalloproteinases and their Inhibitors under the Course of Immunostimulation by CPG-ODN and Specific Antigen Inhalation in Equine Asthma.

OBJECTIVES: Inhalation of immunostimulatory bacterial DNA segments (cytosine-phosphate-guanosine-oligodeoxynucleotides, CpG-ODN) normalizes clinical and cytologic parameters in severe equine asthma. We hypothesized that CpG-ODN inhalation also reduces the misbalance of elastinolytic activity in asthmatic horses. METHODS: Twenty asthmatic horses diagnosed by clinical examinations using a scoring system were included. All horses inhaled CpG-ODNs for 14 days in 2-day intervals. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-2/-9) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP-1/-2) concentrations were measured in tracheal aspirates using equine sandwich ELISAs before and 2 and 6 weeks after CpG-ODN inhalation. RESULTS: MMP and TIMP concentrations correlated with the results of clinical scoring in all stages of equine asthma. Inhalation therapy led to significant reductions in clinical scores. MMP-2, MMP-9, and TIMP-2 concentrations were significantly reduced immediately, and all MMP and TIMP concentrations 6 weeks after therapy. DISCUSSION: In equine asthma, overexpression of MMPs contributes to pathological tissue destruction, while TIMPs counteract MMPs with overexpression leading to fibrosis formation. The results of this study show that CpG-ODN inhalation may be an effective therapy to address a misbalance in equine asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Misbalance of elastinolytic activity seems to improve by CpG-ODN inhalation for at least 6 weeks posttherapy, which may reduce the remodeling of the extracellular matrix. Further studies should evaluate this effect in comparison to glucocorticoid inhalation therapy. SIGNIFICANCE: CpG-ODN inhalation may be an effective therapy in the prevention of pulmonary fibrosis formation in equine asthma.

Bone-derived Nestin-positive mesenchymal stem cells improve cardiac function via recruiting cardiac endothelial cells after myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Bone-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) transplantation has been reported to be effective for the treatment of ischemic heart disease, but whether BMSCs are the optimal cell type remains under debate. Increasing numbers of studies have shown that Nestin, an intermediate filament protein, is a potential marker for MSCs, which raises the question of whether Nestin+ cells in BMSCs may play a more crucial role in myocardial repair. METHODS: Nestin+ cells were isolated using flow cytometry by gating for CD45- Ter119- CD31- cells from the compact bone of Nestin-GFP transgenic mice, expressing GFP driven by the Nestin promoter. Colony-forming and proliferative curve assays were conducted to determine the proliferative capacity of these cells, while qRT-PCR was used to analyze the mRNA levels of relative chemokines and growth factors. Cardiac endothelial cell (CEC) recruitment was assessed via a transwell assay. Moreover, permanent ligation of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery was performed to establish an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) mouse model. After cell transplantation, conventional echocardiography was conducted 1 and 4 weeks post-MI, and hearts were harvested for hematoxylin-and-eosin (HE) staining and immunofluorescence staining 1 week post-MI. Further evaluation of paracrine factor levels and administration of a neutralizing antibody (TIMP-1, TIMP-2, and CXCL12) or a CXCR4 antagonist (AMD3100) in MI hearts were performed to elucidate the mechanism involved in the chemotactic effect of Nestin+ BMSCs in vivo. RESULTS: Compared with Nestin- BMSCs, a greater proliferative capacity of Nestin+ BMSCs was observed, which further exhibited moderately high expression of chemokines instead of growth factors. More CEC recruitment in the Nestin+ BMSC-cocultured group was observed in vitro, while this effect was obviously abolished after treatment with neutralizing antibodies against TIMP-1, TIMP-2, or CXCL12, and more importantly, blocking the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis with a AMD3100 significantly reduced the chemotactic effect of Nestin+ BMSCs. After transplantation into mice exposed to myocardial infarction (MI), Nestin+ BMSC-treated mice showed significantly improved survival and left ventricular function compared with Nestin- BMSC-treated mice. Moreover, endogenous CECs were markedly increased, and chemokine levels were significantly higher, in the infarcted border zone with Nestin+ BMSC treatment. Meanwhile, neutralization of each TIMP-1, TIMP-2, or CXCL12 in vivo could reduce the left ventricular function at 1 and 4 weeks post-MI; importantly, the combined use of these three neutralizing antibodies could make a higher significance on cardiac function. Finally, blocking the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis with AMD3100 significantly reduced the left ventricular function and greatly inhibited Nestin+ BMSC-induced CEC chemotaxis in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that Nestin+ BMSC transplantation can improve cardiac function in an AMI model by recruiting resident CECs to the infarcted border region via the CXCL12/CXCR4 chemokine pathway. And we demonstrated that Nestin+BMSC-secreted TIMP-1/2 enhances CXCL12(SDF1α)/CXCR4 axis-driven migration of endogenous Sca-1+ endothelial cells in ischemic heart post-AMI. Taken together, our results show that Nestin is a useful marker for the identification of functional BMSCs and indicate that Nestin+ BMSCs could be a better therapeutic candidate for cardiac repair.

QSAR modelling on a series of arylsulfonamide-based hydroxamates as potent MMP-2 inhibitors.

Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) is a lucrative therapeutic target as far as anticancer drug discovery is concerned. Overexpression of MMP-2 is found to facilitate tumour propagation through the involvement of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). However, even after different techniques, finding a target-specific MMP-2 inhibitor with respectable pharmacodynamic properties is still a challenging task. Regression-dependent quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) strategies might be among the possible drug design methods to explore the essential structural features that would be valuable to find a suitable MMP-2 inhibitor. In this paper, 72 molecules were explored using the PaDEL descriptors and stepwise multiple linear regression (S-MLR). The partial least squares (PLS) method was also used to create a viable statistical model with an acceptable metric related to these models. The final statistical models were formed with statistical parameters within acceptable range (r2 = 0.797, Q2 = 0.725 and r2pred = 0.643 for the MLR model, and r2 = 0.780, Q2 = 0.685 and r2pred = 0.666 for the PLS model). The models were analysed and compared with those already published on the same endpoint.

Genistein reverses isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy by regulating miR-451/TIMP2.

Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, a prevalent clinical condition is deeply associated with many physiological factors. The underlying mechanisms of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy are not yet fully understood. In this study, H9C2 cells were treated with genistein, miR-451 mimic, miR-451 inhibitor and isoproterenol for 24 h, to study the effect of genistein on isoproterenol-induced myocardial hypertrophy in vitro. Simultaneously, ICR mice were treated with genistein for 21 days to evaluate the effects of the phytochemical on isoproterenol-induced myocardial hypertrophy in vivo. Results showed that isoproterenol induced cardiac hypertrophy and down-regulated the expression of miR-451 and up-regulated miR-451's target gene TIMP2. Genistein increased the expression of miR-451 and inhibited the isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy. This study explored the function of genistein from the epigenetic level, suggesting that miR-451 may play a significant role in the genistein-assisted amelioration of isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy both in vitro and in vivo.

MicroRNA-410 inhibition of the TIMP2-dependent MAPK pathway confers neuroprotection against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis after ischemic stroke in mice.

Ischemic stroke (IS) is an acute cerebral event characterized by a high incidence rate, high disability rate as well as a high mortality. More recently, accumulative literature has provided evidence highlighting the role played by microRNAs (miRs) in the development of neurons. Hence, the aim of the present study was to investigate the neuroprotective role of miR-410 in IS. Microarray-based gene expression profiling of AMI was conducted in order to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and the corresponding miRs regulating these genes. IS models were established to assess neurology on a scoring basis. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) were all subsequently assessed. The functional role of miR-410 in IS was determined based on ectopic expression, knockdown and reporter assay experiments in hippocampal neurons. The expressions of microRNA-410, TIMP2, ERK, p38MAPK, JNK were all examined accordingly. The survival rate was assessed by MTT assay, and cell cycle and apoptosis by flow cytometry. After the loss of hippocampal neurons, infarct size as well as oxidative stress injury had been detected, microarray technology revealed that TIMP2 was differentially expressed in IS and that miR-410 regulated TIMP2. Initial observations revealed elevated levels of TIMP2 expression and MDA activity, in addition to evidence obtained indicated that the MAPK pathway had been activated along with decreased SOD, GSH-Px activity and miR-410 expression in IS mice. Ectopic expression of miR-410 was observed to inactivate the MAPK pathway, TIMP2 expression and hippocampal neuron apoptosis, while elevated hippocampal neuron survival rates and cell cycle entry were detected. Furthermore, TIMP2 as a direct target gene of miR-410, was determined to be negatively regulated by miR-410, while the MAPK pathway was found to be inhibited following TIMP2 knockdown. Our results revealed that the overexpression of miR-410 could ameliorate hippocampal neuron loss, reduce infarct size and oxidative stress injury in IS mice. Taken together, the key evidence of the current study elucidated the distinct nature of the inhibitory effect on IS as a result of overexpressed miR-410 whereby the conferral of neuroprotection was observed in oxidative stress-induced apoptosis post IS through the TIMP2-dependent repression of the MAPK pathway in mice.

In vitro and ex vivo anti-fibrotic effects of LY2109761, a small molecule inhibitor against TGF-ß.

Fibrosis is a pathophysiological state characterized by the excessive formation/deposition of fibrous extracellular matrix. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-ß) is a central profibrotic mediator, and targeting TGF-ß is a promising strategy in the development of drugs for the treatment of fibrosis. Therefore, the effect of LY2109761, a small molecule inhibitor against TGF-ß with targets beyond TGF-ß signaling, on fibrogenesis was elucidated in vitro (HepG2 cells and LX-2 cells) and ex vivo (human and rat precision-cut liver slices). Our results displayed an anti-fibrotic effect of LY2109761, as it markedly down-regulated gene and protein expression of collagen type 1, as well as gene expression of the inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1. This effect on fibrosis markers was partially mediated by targeting TGF-ß signaling, seeing that LY2109761 inhibited TGF-ß1 gene expression and SMAD2 protein phosphorylation. Interestingly, particularly at a high concentration, LY2109761 decreased SMAD1 protein phosphorylation and gene expression of the inhibitor of DNA binding 1, which appeared to be TGF-ß-independent effects. In conclusion, LY2109761 exhibited preclinical anti-fibrotic effects via both TGF-ß-dependent and -independent pathways. These results illustrate that small molecule inhibitors directed against TGF-ß could possibly influence numerous signaling pathways and thereby mitigate fibrogenesis.

Exosomal miR-93 promotes proliferation and invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma by directly inhibiting TIMP2/TP53INP1/CDKN1A.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant cancer worldwide; lacking biomarkers for early prognostication contributes to its high lethality. Herein, we report a novel biomarker, exosome delivered miR-93, is up-regulated in HCC cell line media and serum samples of HCC patients. We measured the proliferation and invasion ability of HCC cell lines following exosomal miR-93 treatment. After prediction with online algorithms, we further confirmed that TP53INP1, TIMP2 and CDKN1A are direct targets of miR-93 by dual-luciferase reporter assay. In addition, the diagnostic value of exosomal miR-93 was evaluated by qPCR and ROC analysis. The significant correlation between serum exosomal miR-93 and clinical information including stage, tumor size were observed. Furthermore, the survival differences of HCC patients with high or low miR-93 were statistically significant using Kaplan-Meier analysis. In summary, our work identified exosomal miR-93 as a novel biomarker for both diagnosis and prognosis in HCC.

LncRNA GAS5 Represses Osteosarcoma Cells Growth and Metastasis via Sponging MiR-203a.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: LncRNA GAS5, a growth suppressor, has been reported to exert anti-tumor actions in various cancers, whereas the exact mechanism underling the anti-tumor action is still unclear. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of lncRNA GAS5 on osteosarcoma and tried to decode the underling mechanisms. METHODS: Expressions of lncRNA GAS5 in MG-63 cells were silenced by shRNA transfection, while were overexpressed by vector transfection. Cell viability, migration, invasion and apoptosis were respectively assessed by MTT, Transwell assay and flow cytometry. Regulations between lncRNA GAS5 and miR-203a, as well as between miR-203a and TIMP2 were detected by qPCR, western blot and dual luciferase activity assay. RESULTS: LncRNA GAS5 was down-regulated in MG-63 and OS-732 cells compared to hFOB1.19 cells. Silence of lncRNA GAS5 significantly promoted MG-63 cells viability, migration and invasion, and up-regulated Cyclin D1, Cyclin B1, CDK1 and CDK4 expressions. miR-203a was negatively regulated by lncRNA GAS5. The promoting activities of lncRNA GAS5 silence on MG-63 cells growth and metastasis were reversed by miR-203a suppression. TIMP2 was a target of miR-203a and the anti-growth and anti-metastasis actions of miR-203a suppression were reversed by TIMP2 silence. Further, lncRNA GAS5 silence, miR-203a overexpression, and TIMP2 silence could activate PI3K/AKT/GSK3ß signaling while block NF-κB signaling. CONCLUSION: LncRNA GAS5 might be a tumor suppressor in osteosarcoma via sponging miR-203a, sequestering miR-203a away from TIMP2.

Human umbilical cord plasma proteins revitalize hippocampal function in aged mice.

Ageing drives changes in neuronal and cognitive function, the decline of which is a major feature of many neurological disorders. The hippocampus, a brain region subserving roles of spatial and episodic memory and learning, is sensitive to the detrimental effects of ageing at morphological and molecular levels. With advancing age, synapses in various hippocampal subfields exhibit impaired long-term potentiation, an electrophysiological correlate of learning and memory. At the molecular level, immediate early genes are among the synaptic plasticity genes that are both induced by long-term potentiation and downregulated in the aged brain. In addition to revitalizing other aged tissues, exposure to factors in young blood counteracts age-related changes in these central nervous system parameters, although the identities of specific cognition-promoting factors or whether such activity exists in human plasma remains unknown. We hypothesized that plasma of an early developmental stage, namely umbilical cord plasma, provides a reservoir of such plasticity-promoting proteins. Here we show that human cord plasma treatment revitalizes the hippocampus and improves cognitive function in aged mice. Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2 (TIMP2), a blood-borne factor enriched in human cord plasma, young mouse plasma, and young mouse hippocampi, appears in the brain after systemic administration and increases synaptic plasticity and hippocampal-dependent cognition in aged mice. Depletion experiments in aged mice revealed TIMP2 to be necessary for the cognitive benefits conferred by cord plasma. We find that systemic pools of TIMP2 are necessary for spatial memory in young mice, while treatment of brain slices with TIMP2 antibody prevents long-term potentiation, arguing for previously unknown roles for TIMP2 in normal hippocampal function. Our findings reveal that human cord plasma contains plasticity-enhancing proteins of high translational value for targeting ageing- or disease-associated hippocampal dysfunction.

miRNA-301a induces apoptosis of chronic myelogenous leukemia cells by directly targeting TIMP2/ERK1/2 and AKT pathways.

We investigated the biological functions and mechanism of miRNA­301a on apoptosis in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The expression of miRNA­301a in patient with CML cells was higher than the expression of normal patients. Overall survival (OS) of chronic granulocytic leukemia cell patient with low miRNA­301 expression was superior to that of CML patient with high miRNA­301 expression. Moreover, the upregulation of miRNA­301a increased cell proliferation, inhibited apoptosis and caspase-3 and -9 activity of K562 cells. Next, the upregulation of miRNA­301a suppressed Bax/Bcl-2 rate and TIMP2 protein expression, increased phosphorylation-ERK1/2 and decreased phosphorylation-AKT protein expression of K562 cells. Furthermore, si­TIMP2 expression enhanced the upregulation of miRNA­301a on the promotion of cell proliferation, inhibition of apoptosis and caspase-3 and -9 activity, suppression of Bax/Bcl-2 rate, increasing phosphorylation-ERK1/2 and decreasing phosphorylation-AKT protein expression of K562 cells. Taken together, our results clearly suggested that miRNA­301a induces apoptosis of CML cells by directly targeting the TIMP2/ERK1/2 and AKT pathways.

Expression of matrix metalloproteinases in bovine luteal cells induced by prostaglandin F2α, interferon γ and tumor necrosis factor α.

We recently demonstrated that luteal cells flow out from the ovary via lymphatic vessels during luteolysis. However, the regulatory mechanisms of the outflow of luteal cells are not known. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) can degrade the extracellular matrix and basal membrane, and tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs) inhibit the activity of MMPs. To test the hypothesis that MMP expression in luteal cells is regulated by luteolytic factors, we investigated the effects of prostaglandin F2α (PGF), interferon γ (IFNG) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF) on the mRNA expression of MMPs and TIMPs in cultured luteal cells. Luteal cells obtained from the CL at the mid-luteal stage (days 8-12 after ovulation) were cultured with PGF (0.01, 0.1, 1 µM), IFNG (0.05, 0.5, 5 nM) and TNF (0.05, 0.5, 0.5 nM) alone or in combination for 24 h. PGF and IFNG significantly increased the expression of MMP-1 mRNA. In addition, 1 µM PGF in combination with 5 nM IFNG stimulated MMP-1 and MMP-9 mRNA expression significantly more than either treatment alone. In contrast, IFNG significantly decreased the level of MMP-14 mRNA. The mRNA expression of TIMP-1, which preferentially inhibits MMP-1, was suppressed by 5 nM INFG. One µM PGF and 5 nM IFNG suppressed TIMP-2 mRNA expression. These results suggest a new role of MMPs: luteal MMPs stimulated by PGF and IFNG break down the extracellular matrix surrounding luteal cells, which accelerates detachment from the CL during luteolysis, providing an essential prerequisite for outflow of luteal cells from the CL to lymphatic vessels.

Rosuvastatin inhibits TIMP-2 and promotes myocardial angiogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Angiogenesis is usually driven by inflammation. Matrix metalloproteinases MMP-3 and MMP-9 and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 are implicated in vascular remodeling. TIMP-2 exhibits antiangiogenic properties. Statins show benefits that are additional to lipid lowering including pro- and antiangiogenic properties. Atherosclerotic lesions in the coronary arteries have been well studied, but less is known about the fine terminal branches of the myocardial vasculature. METHODS: To examine this, we studied rosuvastatin (RSV) treatment in ApoE knockout (ApoE(-/-)) mice fed a high cholesterol (HC) diet. Hearts from ApoE(-/-) mice on a normal diet, HC diet and HC diet with RSV were harvested to determine MMP-3, MMP-9, TIMP-1, TIMP-2, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and estrogen receptor-α (ER-α) mRNA. RESULTS: RSV inhibited TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 expression and enhanced myocardial VEGF-A and ER-α expression, independently of plasma lipid level changes, but had no effect on MMP-3 and MMP-9 expression. CONCLUSIONS: These modulations of TIMPs, VEGF and ER-α expression induced by RSV may act as local stimulating factors for arteriolar growth in the myocardium.

Overexpression of miR-483-5p/3p cooperate to inhibit mouse liver fibrosis by suppressing the TGF-ß stimulated HSCs in transgenic mice.

The transition from liver fibrosis to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been suggested to be a continuous and developmental pathological process. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are recently discovered molecules that regulate the expression of genes involved in liver disease. Many reports demonstrate that miR-483-5p and miR-483-3p, which originate from miR-483, are up-regulated in HCC, and their oncogenic targets have been identified. However, recent studies have suggested that miR-483-5p/3p is partially down-regulated in HCC samples and is down-regulated in rat liver fibrosis. Therefore, the aberrant expression and function of miR-483 in liver fibrosis remains elusive. In this study, we demonstrate that overexpression of miR-483 in vivo inhibits mouse liver fibrosis induced by CCl4 . We demonstrate that miR-483-5p/3p acts together to target two pro-fibrosis factors, platelet-derived growth factor-ß and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2, which suppress the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) LX-2. Our work identifies the pathway that regulates liver fibrosis by inhibiting the activation of HSCs.

Role of RUNX3 in suppressing metastasis and angiogenesis of human prostate cancer.

RUNX3 (runt-related transcription factor-3) has been reported to suppress tumor tumorigenesis and metastasis in different human cancers. In this study, we used tissue microarray (TMA) to determine the significance of RUNX3 in prostate cancer progession. Our results showed ectopic expression of RUNX3 in prostate cancer tissues when compared with tumor adjacent normal prostate tissues, and reduced RUNX3 staining was significantly correlated with TNM stage. Moreover, we demonstrated that RUNX3 overexpression inhibited prostate cancer cell migration and invasion resulting from the elevated upregulation of tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2), which subsequently inhibited metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) expression and activity in vitro. Knock down of RUNX3 expression broke up the balance of TIMP-2/MMP-2, whereas silence of TIMP-2 resulted in the inhibition of MMP-2 expression in prostate cells. We also showed that restoration of RUNX3 decreased vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion and suppressed endothelial cell growth and tube formation. Strikingly, RUNX3 was demonstrated to inhibit tumor metastasis and angiogenesis in vivo. Altogether, our results support the tumor suppressive role of RUNX3 in human prostate cancer, and provide insights into development of targeted therapy for this disease.

Inhibition of myelin-cleaving poteolytic activities by interferon-beta in rat astrocyte cultures. Comparative analysis between gelatinases and calpain-II.

BACKGROUND: Proteolytic enzymes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) for both their ability to degrade myelin proteins and for their presence in MS plaques.In this study we investigated whether interferon-beta (IFN-ß) could differently modulate the activity and the expression of proteolytic activities against myelin basic protein (MBP) present in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated astrocytes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Rat astrocyte cultures were activated with LPS and simultaneously treated with different doses of IFN-ß. To assess the presence of MBP-cleaving proteolytic activity, culture supernatants and cellular extracts collected from astrocytes were incubated with exogenous MBP. A MBP-degrading activity was found in both lysates and supernatants from LPS-activated astrocytes and was dose-dependently inhibited by IFN-ß. The use of protease inhibitors as well as the zymographic analysis indicated the presence of calpain II (CANP-2) in cell lysates and gelatinases A (MMP-2) and B (MMP-9) in cell supernatants. RT-PCR revealed that the expression of CANP-2 as well as of MMP-2 and MMP-9 was increased in LPS-activated astrocytes and was dose-dependently inhibited by IFN-ß treatment. The expression of calpastatin, the natural inhibitor of CANPs, was not affected by IFN-ß treatment. By contrast, decreased expression of TIMP-1 and TIMP-2, the natural inhibitors of MMP-9 and MMP-2, respectively, was observed in IFN-ß-treated astrocytes compared to LPS-treated cells. The ratio enzyme/inhibitor indicated that the effect of IFN-ß treatment is more relevant to CANP-2 than on MMPs. CONCLUSIONS/ SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that the neuroinflammatory damage during MS involves altered balance between multiple proteases and their inhibitors and indicate that IFN-ß is effective in regulating different enzymatic systems involved in MS pathogenesis.

Molecular mechanism depressing PMA-induced invasive behaviors in human lung adenocarcinoma cells by cis- and trans-cinnamic acid.

Dietary polyphenols have been reported as an effective phytochemical for health protection and cinnamic acid (CA) is one of the polyphenols that has been demonstrated having chemopreventive potential. It was known that the early and distal metastasis might lead to the high mortality of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. We previously compared and verified the inhibitory effect of cis-CA and trans-CA on phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)-induced invasion of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells. The aim of this study was to explore the underlying molecular mechanism. By gelatin zymography and semi-quantitative RT-PCR, the activities and mRNA of MMP-9/MMP-2 exerted a significantly (p<.05) dose-dependent reduction by treating with cis-CA and trans-CA. Western blots further showed that the cis-CA- and trans-CA-inhibited MMPs might partly through modulating TIMP-1 and the PAI-2-regulated uPA activity. In molecular level, the AP-1 and NF-κB as well as the downstream of the MAPK pathway might be involved in cis-CA- and trans-CA-inhibited MMPs expression. This study disclosed the molecular mechanism underlying the anti-invasive activity of cis-CA and trans-CA and concluded the cis- and trans-form of CA should be a safe and potential agent to prevent lung tumor cells from metastasizing.

Modulation of u-PA, MMPs and their inhibitors by a novel nutrient mixture in human female cancer cell lines.

Cancers of the breast, cervix, uterus and ovary are the most prevalent cancers in women worldwide. Proteases play a key role in tumor cell invasion and metastasis by digesting the basement membrane and ECM components. Strong clinical and experimental evidence demonstrates association of elevated levels of urokinase plasminogen activators (u-PA) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) with cancer progression, metastasis and shortened patient survival. MMP activities are regulated by specific tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). Our main objective was to study the effect of a nutrient mixture (NM) on the activity of u-PA, MMPs and TIMPs in human breast, cervix, uterine and ovarian cancer cell lines. Human breast (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7), cervical (HeLa), uterine (SK-UT-1) and ovarian (SKOV3) cancer cell lines were cultured in their respective media and treated at confluence with NM at 0, 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000 µg/ml. Analysis of u-PA activity was carried out by fibrin zymography, MMPs by gelatinase zymography and TIMPs by reverse zymography. Both breast and uterine cancer cell lines expressed u-PA, which was inhibited by NM in a dose-dependent manner. However, no bands corresponding to u-PA were detected for HeLa and SK-OV-3 cell lines. On gelatinase zymography, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 showed one band corresponding to MMP-9, HeLa showed two bands, an intense band corresponding to MMP-2 and a faint band corresponding to MMP-9, SK-UT-1 showed PMA-induced MMP-9, and SK-OV-3 showed a band corresponding to MMP-2. NM inhibited their expression in all cell lines. The activity of TIMPs was upregulated in all cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. Analysis revealed a positive correlation between u-PA and MMPs and a negative correlation between u-PA/MMPs and TIMPs. These findings suggest the therapeutic potential of NM in the treatment of female cancers.

Role of aberrant metalloproteinase activity in the pro-inflammatory phenotype of bronchial epithelium in COPD.

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoke, the major risk factor for COPD, is known to activate matrix metalloproteinases in airway epithelium. We investigated whether metalloproteinases, particularly A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase (ADAM)17, contribute to increased pro-inflammatory epithelial responses with respect to the release of IL-8 and TGF-α, cytokines implicated in COPD pathogenesis. METHODS: We studied the effects of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) and metalloproteinase inhibitors on TGF-α and IL-8 release in primary bronchial epithelial cells (PBECs) from COPD patients, healthy smokers and non-smokers. RESULTS: We observed that TGF-α was mainly shed by ADAM17 in PBECs from all groups. Interestingly, IL-8 production occurred independently from ADAM17 and TGF-α shedding, but was significantly inhibited by broad-spectrum metalloproteinase inhibitor TAPI-2. CSE did not induce ADAM17-dependent TGF-α shedding, while it slightly augmented the production of IL-8. This was accompanied by reduced endogenous inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-3 levels, suggesting that CSE does not directly but rather indirectly alter activity of ADAM17 through the regulation of its endogenous inhibitor. Furthermore, whereas baseline TGF-α shedding was lower in COPD PBECs, the early release of IL-8 (likely due to its shedding) was higher in PBECs from COPD than healthy smokers. Importantly, this was accompanied by lower TIMP-2 levels in COPD PBECs, while baseline TIMP-3 levels were similar between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that IL-8 secretion is regulated independently from ADAM17 activity and TGF-α shedding and that particularly its early release is differentially regulated in PBECs from COPD and healthy smokers. Since TIMP-2-sensitive metalloproteinases could potentially contribute to IL-8 release, these may be interesting targets to further investigate novel therapeutic strategies in COPD.

Reduced TIMP-2 in hypoxia enhances angiogenesis.

Hypoxia, which characterizes ischemia, trauma, inflammation, and solid tumors, recruits monocytes, immobilizes them, and alters their function, leading to an anti-inflammatory and proangiogenic phenotype. Monocyte extravasation from the circulation and their migration in tissues are partially mediated by the balance between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs). The mechanisms evoked by hypoxia that regulate monocyte migration and activation are not entirely clear. Specifically, the effect of hypoxia on TIMPs in these cells has hardly been investigated. We show that hypoxia reduces TIMP-2 secretion from human primary monocytes and from the monocyte-like cell lines U937 and THP-1 by three- to fourfold (P < 0.01), by inhibiting TIMP-2 transcription through mechanisms that involve the transcription factor SP-1. Hypoxia also lowers TIMP-2 protein secretion from human endothelial cells (by 2-fold, P < 0.05). TIMP-2 levels do not influence the reduced migration of THP-1 cells in hypoxia; however, low TIMP-2 levels enhance endothelial cell migration/proliferation, their ability to form tubelike structures in vitro, and the appearance of mature blood vessels in a Matrigel plug assay in vivo. Thus we conclude that reduced TIMP-2 levels secreted from both hypoxic monocytes and endothelial cells are proangiogenic.