Exendin-4 may improve type 2 diabetes by modulating the epigenetic modifications of pancreatic histone H3 in STZ-induced diabetic C57BL/6 J mice

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a complicated systemic disease that might be improved by exendin-4, although the epigenetic role remains unclear. In the current study, C57BL/6 J mice were used to generate a T2D model, followed by treatment with exendin-4 (10 μg/kg). Histone H3K9 and H3K23 acetylation, H3K4 mono-methylation, and H3K9 di-methylation were explored by western blot analysis of pancreatic histone extracts. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to examine the expression levels of pancreatic beta cell development-related genes, and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was applied to analyze H3 and H3K9 acetylation, H3K4 mono-methylation, and H3K9 di-methylation in the promoter region of the pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 (Pdx1) gene. The results showed that total H3K9 di-methylation and H3K9 and H3K23 acetylation increased in pancreatic tissues of diabetic mice, whereas H3K4 mono-methylation was reduced. All of these changes could be abrogated by treatment with exendin-4. Our data indicated that T2D progression might be improved by exendin-4 treatment through the reversal of global pancreatic histone H3K9 and H3K23 acetylation, H3K4 mono-methylation, and H3K9 di-methylation. A better understanding of these epigenetic alterations may, therefore, lead to novel therapeutic strategies for T2D. (AU)

Exendin-4 may improve type 2 diabetes by modulating the epigenetic modifications of pancreatic histone H3 in STZ-induced diabetic C57BL/6 J mice.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a complicated systemic disease that might be improved by exendin-4, although the epigenetic role remains unclear. In the current study, C57BL/6 J mice were used to generate a T2D model, followed by treatment with exendin-4 (10 µg/kg). Histone H3K9 and H3K23 acetylation, H3K4 mono-methylation, and H3K9 di-methylation were explored by western blot analysis of pancreatic histone extracts. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to examine the expression levels of pancreatic beta cell development-related genes, and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was applied to analyze H3 and H3K9 acetylation, H3K4 mono-methylation, and H3K9 di-methylation in the promoter region of the pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 (Pdx1) gene. The results showed that total H3K9 di-methylation and H3K9 and H3K23 acetylation increased in pancreatic tissues of diabetic mice, whereas H3K4 mono-methylation was reduced. All of these changes could be abrogated by treatment with exendin-4. Our data indicated that T2D progression might be improved by exendin-4 treatment through the reversal of global pancreatic histone H3K9 and H3K23 acetylation, H3K4 mono-methylation, and H3K9 di-methylation. A better understanding of these epigenetic alterations may, therefore, lead to novel therapeutic strategies for T2D.

TGF-ß1 Induces Immune Escape by Enhancing PD-1 and CTLA-4 Expression on T Lymphocytes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Primary liver cancer (PLC) is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for approximately 90% of PLC cases. The HCC microenvironment plays an important role in the occurrence and development of HCC. Immunotherapy for the HCC microenvironment has become an effective treatment strategy. T lymphocytes are an important part of the HCC microenvironment, and programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) are the main immunosuppressive molecules of T lymphocytes. Transforming growth factor ß1 (TGF-ß1) can inhibit the immune function of T lymphocytes and promote the occurrence and development of tumors. However, few studies have explored whether TGF-ß1 can upregulate the expression of PD-1 and CTLA-4 on T cells. In this study, we showed that TGF-ß1 upregulated the expression of PD-1 and CTLA-4 on T lymphocytes and attenuated the cytotoxicity of T lymphocytes for HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. In addition, TGF-ß1 increased the apoptosis of T lymphocytes induced by HCC cells. Finally, we found that the mechanism by which TGF-ß1 upregulates the expression of PD-1 and CTLA-4 on T lymphocytes may be related to the calcineurin-nuclear factor of activated T cells 1 (CaN/NFATc1) pathway. This study will provide some experimental basis for liver cancer immunotherapy based on the tumor microenvironment.

The Mitochondrial Response to DNA Damage.

Mitochondria are double membrane organelles in eukaryotic cells that provide energy by generating adenosine triphosphate (ATP) through oxidative phosphorylation. They are crucial to many aspects of cellular metabolism. Mitochondria contain their own DNA that encodes for essential proteins involved in the execution of normal mitochondrial functions. Compared with nuclear DNA, the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is more prone to be affected by DNA damaging agents, and accumulated DNA damages may cause mitochondrial dysfunction and drive the pathogenesis of a variety of human diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. Therefore, understanding better how mtDNA damages are repaired will facilitate developing therapeutic strategies. In this review, we focus on our current understanding of the mtDNA repair system. We also discuss other mitochondrial events promoted by excessive DNA damages and inefficient DNA repair, such as mitochondrial fusion, fission, and mitophagy, which serve as quality control events for clearing damaged mtDNA.

Androgen receptor suppresses vasculogenic mimicry in hepatocellular carcinoma via circRNA7/miRNA7-5p/VE-cadherin/Notch4 signalling.

Androgen receptor (AR) can suppress hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) invasion and metastasis at an advanced stage. Vasculogenic mimicry (VM), a new vascularization pattern by which tumour tissues nourish themselves, is correlated with tumour progression and metastasis. Here, we investigated the effect of AR on the formation of VM and its mechanism in HCC. The results suggested that AR could down-regulate circular RNA (circRNA) 7, up-regulate micro RNA (miRNA) 7-5p, and suppress the formation of VM in HCC Small hairpin circR7 (ShcircR7) could reverse the impact on VM and expression of VE-cadherin and Notch4 increased by small interfering AR (shAR) in HCC, while inhibition of miR-7-5p blocked the formation of VM and expression of VE-cadherin and Notch4 decreased by AR overexpression (oeAR) in HCC. Mechanism dissection demonstrated that AR could directly target the circR7 host gene promoter to suppress circR7, and miR-7-5p might directly target the VE-cadherin and Notch4 3'UTR to suppress their expression in HCC. In addition, knockdown of Notch4 and/or VE-cadherin revealed that shVE-cadherin or shNotch4 alone could partially reverse the formation of HCC VM, while shVE-cadherin and shNotch4 together could completely suppress the formation of HCC VM. Those results indicate that AR could suppress the formation of HCC VM by down-regulating circRNA7/miRNA7-5p/VE-Cadherin/Notch4 signals in HCC, which will help in the design of novel therapies against HCC.

Characterization of Optimized Functional-Complementary Dual Insulinotorpic Peptide rolGG.

BACKGROUND: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) play a similar but complementary role in the regulation of glucose levels in islet ß-cells. This study was aimed to develop a fusion peptide, which combines 4 tandem repeated GLP-1 and 4 tandem repeated GIP (4rolGG), and to investigate its therapeutic effect on type 2 diabetes using a diabetic mice model. METHODS: A 4rolGG expression plasmid was constructed and expressed in BL21 (DE3). By inducting with IPTG, 4rolGG was expressed at a high level, which was confirmed by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and Western Blotting. Subsequently, 4rolGG was purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography and the purity of 4rolGG was up to 90%. RESULT AND CONCLUSION: After oral administration of 4rolGG for 4 weeks, streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice showed a dramatic reduction in the levels of plasma glucose, GHbA1C, TC and TG, while the insulin levels were increased significantly.

Pharmacological Effects and Pharmacokinetic Properties of a Dual-Function Peptide 5rolGLP-HV.

In order to better understand the therapeutic mechanism of dual-function peptide 5rolGLP-HV in treatment of treat diabetes and its complication of thrombosis, the pharmacological effects and pharmacokinetic properties of 5rolGLP-HV were conducted in this study. 5rolGLP-HV was orally administered to diabetic mice, and the hypoglycemic mechanism was investigated. Thrombotic mice were applied to study the thrombus dissolving ability of 5rolGLP-HV. The concentration of rolGLP and rHV in rat plasma following single oral dose or intravenous injection of 5rolGLP-HV was measured. Treatment with 5rolGLP-HV decreased insulin resistance (2.96 ± 1.43 vs. 9.35 ± 1.51, p < 0.05) of diabetic mice. 5rolGLP-HV shortened the length of thrombus in thrombosis mice (2.92 ± 0.74 vs. 5.92 ± 1.16 cm, p < 0.01) and extended the thrombin time (15.35 ± 1.22 vs. 8.67 ± 0.89 s, p < 0.01) of normal mice. Meanwhile, 5rolGLP-HV restored the damage of pancreatic, liver, kidney, and adipose tissues induced in the diabetic mice. 5rolGLP-HV exhibited a fast absorption and slow elimination phase after digested into rolGLP-1 and rHV in vivo. These results suggested that 5rolGLP-HV had an ideal therapeutic potential in the prevention of ß cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes and delay of the thrombus.

Construction of a Fusion Peptide 5rolGLP-HV and Analysis of its Therapeutic Effect on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Thrombosis in Mice.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), is currently used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus and hirudin (HV), plays an important role in controlling thrombosis and cardiovascular diseases. This investigation aimed to develop a fusion peptide 5rolGLP-HV which combined functions of rolGLP-1 and rHV to treat diabetes and thrombosis. In this study, we constructed a fusion gene including five copies of rolGLP-1 and one copy of rHV (5rolGLP-HV). The optimum expression conditions of 5rolGLP-HV in a soluble form were 0.8 mM IPTG induction when OD600 reached 0.6-0.8 and further growing at 25 °C for 9 h. Isolated rolGLP-1 and rHV were acquired by trypsin digestion in vitro, and the concentration of them was determined by HPLC in vivo. Oral administration of 5rolGLP-HV significantly decreased the levels of blood glucose, GHbA1C, TC, and TG in diabetic mice at the time of 3 weeks compared to the saline-treated group (p < 0.05), while the insulin level was reversed significantly (p < 0.05). 5rolGLP-HV treatment significantly shortened the length of thrombus in thrombosis mice compared to the saline-treated group (p < 0.01). These results indicated that 5rolGLP-HV had dual-function in treating diabetes and preventing thrombosis.

Codon optimization and expression of irisin in Pichia pastoris GS115.

Irisin is a novel hormone which is related to many metabolic diseases. In order to illuminate the function and therapeutic effect of irisin, gaining active irisin is necessary. In this work, a codon-optimized irisin gene was designed according to Pichia pastoris synonymous codon usage bias and cloned into the pPIC9K expression vector. Sequencing result indicating that the sequence of irisin was consistent with the modified irisin and the irisin was in frame with α-factor secretion signal ATG. The plasmid pPIC9K-irisin was transformed into GS115 P. pastoris cells through electroporation. The positive transformants were screened on MD medium and analyzed by PCR. Five recombinant GS115/pPIC9K-irisin strains were obtained, but only one strain expressed irisin successfully. SDS-PAGE and Western blot were used to assess the expression level and purity of irisin. The irisin was also simply purified and the effect of pH value, methanol concentration and induction time on the production of irisin was investigated. The results showed that the best conditions of irisin expression were as follows: pH 6.0, 2.0% methanol and induction for 96 h. This work laid the basis for further investigation into the therapeutic and pharmacological effects of irisin, as well as development of irisin-based therapy.

Expression of CTB-10×rolGLP-1 in E. coli and its therapeutic effect on type 2 diabetes.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a short peptide that can significantly reduce blood glucose level. Recombination oral long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 (rolGLP-1), is a GLP-1 analog generated from site-specific mutation of GLP-1. CTB is a non-toxic portion of the cholera toxin and an ideal protein antigen carrier. In this study, we firstly constructed a vector pET-22b (+)-CTB-10×rolGLP-1 to express a fusion protein composed of CTB and ten tandem repeated rolGLP-1 in BL21 (DE3) line of E. coli. The CTB-10×rolGLP-1 was expressed efficiently in the inclusion bodies. The expression product was analyzed by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and Western blotting. The inclusion bodies were then denatured, refolded and purified by ion exchange chromatography to obtain a high-purity CTB- 10×rolGLP-1. The therapeutic effect of CTB-10×rolGLP-1 was assessed in comparison with 10×rolGLP-1 alone by daily oral-gavage administration up to 10 days in streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic mice. The results showed that the level of blood glucose was reduced more effectively and the oral glucose tolerance of mice was improved more significantly with the administration of CTB-10×rolGLP-1. Our results provided a potentially promising oral biological drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Liver histone H3 methylation and acetylation may associate with type 2 diabetes development.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a complicated systemic disease, and the exact pathogenetic molecular mechanism is unclear. Distinct histone modifications regulate gene expression in certain diseases, but little is known about histone epigenetics in diabetes. In the current study, C57BL/6 J mice were used to build T2D model, then treated with exendin-4 (10 µg/kg). Histone H3K9 and H3K23 acetylation, H3K4 monomethylation and H3K9 dimethylation were explored by Western blotting of liver histone extracts. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to examine expression levels of diabetes-related genes, while chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was applied to analyze H3 and H3K9 acetylation, H3K4 monomethylation, and H3K9 dimethylation in the promoter of facilitated glucose transporter member 2 (Glut2) gene. The results showed that liver's total H3K4 monomethylation and H3K9 dimethylation was increased in diabetic mice, which was abrogated with the treatment of exendin-4. In contrast, H3K9 and H3K23 acetylation were reduced in diabetic mice, while exendin-4 only alleviated the reduction of H3K9 acetylation. Our data indicated that the progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is associated with global liver histone H3K9 and H3K23 acetylation, H3K4 monomethylation, and H3K9 dimethylation. Exploiting exact histone modify enzyme inhibitors, which may represent a novel strategy to prevent T2D.

[Construction of yeast strains expressing long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and their therapeutic effects on type 2 diabetes mellitus mouse model].

Probiotics, i.e., bacteria expressing therapeutic peptides (protein), are used as a new type of orally administrated biologic drugs to treat diseases. To develop yeast strains which could effectively prevent and treat type 2 diabetes mellitus, we firstly constructed the yeast integrating plasmid pNK1-PGK which could successfully express green fluorescent protein (GFP) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The gene encoding ten tandem repeats of glucagon-like peptide-1(10 × GLP-1) was cloned into the vector pNK1-PGK and the resulting plasmids were then transformed into the S. cerevisiae INVSc1. The long-acting GLP-1 hypoglycemic yeast (LHY) which grows rapidly and expresses 10 × GLP-1 stably was selected by nutrition screening and Western blotting. The amount of 10 × GLP-1 produced by LHY reached 1.56 mg per gram of wet cells. Moreover, the oral administration of LHY significantly reduced blood glucose level in type 2 diabetic mice induced by streptozotocin plus high fat and high sugar diet.

Liver histone H3 methylation and acetylation may associate with type 2 diabetes development

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a complicated systemic disease, and the exact pathogenetic molecular mechanism is unclear. Distinct histone modifications regulate gene expression in certain diseases, but little is known about histone epigenetics in diabetes. In the current study, C57BL/6 J mice were used to build T2D model, then treated with exendin-4 (10 μg/kg). Histone H3K9 and H3K23 acetylation, H3K4 monomethylation and H3K9 dimethylation were explored by Western blotting of liver histone extracts. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to examine expression levels of diabetes-related genes, while chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was applied to analyze H3 and H3K9 acetylation, H3K4 monomethylation, and H3K9 dimethylation in the promoter of facilitated glucose transporter member 2 (Glut2) gene. The results showed that liver’s total H3K4 monomethylation and H3K9 dimethylation was increased in diabetic mice, which was abrogated with the treatment of exendin-4. In contrast, H3K9 and H3K23 acetylation were reduced in diabetic mice, while exendin-4 only alleviated the reduction of H3K9 acetylation. Our data indicated that the progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is associated with global liver histone H3K9 and H3K23 acetylation, H3K4 monomethylation, and H3K9 dimethylation. Exploiting exact histone modify enzyme inhibitors, which may represent a novel strategy to prevent T2D

Expression and purification of optimized rolGLP-1, a novel GLP-1 analog, in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) and its good glucoregulatory effect on type 2 diabetic mice.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an incretin hormone that decreases postprandial glycemic excursions by enhancing insulin secretion but with short half-life due to rapid inactivation by enzymatic N-terminal truncation. Therefore, efforts are being made to improve the stability of GLP-1 via modifying its structure or inhibiting dipeptidylpeptidase IV (DPP IV), which is responsible for its degradation. GLP-M, consisting of 10 tandem repeated rolGLP-1 (GLP-1 analog), has been expressed in Pichia pastoris by our laboratory. Although it had a long effect of maintaining glucose homeostasis, redundant amino acids and purification tag limited its application. Here, optimized rolGLP-1(GLPO) with no redundant amino acids and purification tag was constructed by molecular cloning and site-directed mutagenesis, which was expressed efficiently in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) with the production of 81.5 mg/L, and confirmed by the results of SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and Western Blotting. Then GLP-O was purified via ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography. The purity of GLP-O was close to 100%. GLP-O could be cut into single rolGLP-1 by trypsin in vitro, and rolGLP-1 had anti-trypsin activity. After oral administration of GLP-O for 4 weeks, the level of blood glucose in type 2 diabetic mice was lowered effectively, and the oral glucose tolerance of mice was improved significantly. These results settled the foundation for further clinical application of GLP-O.