Microglial forkhead box O3a deficiency attenuates LPS-induced neuro-inflammation and depressive-like behaviour through regulating the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Depression is closely linked with microglial activation and neuro-inflammation. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) plays an important role in M2 activation of microglia. Forkhead box (FOX) O3a has been implicated in the regulation of mood-relevant behaviour. However, little is known about the inflammatory mechanisms of in the microglia of the brain. Here, we have investigated the role of microglial FOXO3a/PPAR-γ in the development of depression. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: The effect of FOXO3a on microglia inflammation was analysed in vitro and in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depression-like behaviours in vivo. ChIP-seq and Dual-luciferase reporter assays were used to confirm the interaction between FOXO3a and PPAR-γ. Behavioural changes were measured, while inflammatory cytokines, microglial phenotype and morphological properties were determined by ELISA, qRT-PCR, western blotting and immunostaining. KEY RESULTS: Overexpression of FOXO3a significantly attenuated expression of PPAR-γ and enhanced the microglial polarization towards the M1 phenotype, while knockdown of FOXO3a had the opposite effect. FOXO3a binds to the promoters of PPAR-γ and decreases its transcription activity. Importantly, deacetylation and activation of FOXO3a regulate LPS-induced neuro-inflammation by inhibiting the expression of PPAR-γ in microglia cells, supporting the antidepressant potential of histone deacetylase inhibitors. Microglial FOXO3a deficiency in mice alleviated LPS-induced neuro-inflammation and depression-like behaviours but failed to reduce anxiety behaviour, whereas pharmacological inhibition of PPAR-γ by GW9662 restored LPS-induced microglial activation and depressive-like behaviours in microglial FOXO3a-deficient mice. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: FOXO3a/PPAR-γ axis plays an important role in microglial activation and depression, identifying a new therapeutic avenue for the treatment of major depression.

Microglial FoxO3a deficiency ameliorates ferroptosis-induced brain injury of intracerebral haemorrhage via regulating autophagy and heme oxygenase-1.

Microglial HO-1 regulates iron metabolism in the brain. Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) shares features of ferroptosis and necroptosis; hemin is an oxidized product of haemoglobin from lysed red blood cells, leading to secondary injury. However, little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms attributable to secondary injury by hemin or ICH. In this study, we first show that FoxO3a was highly co-located with neurons and microglia but not astrocytes area of ICH model mice. Hemin activated FoxO3a/ATG-mediated autophagy and HO-1 signalling resulting in ferroptosis in vitro and in a mice model of brain haemorrhage. Accordingly, autophagy inhibitor Baf-A1 or HO-1 inhibitor ZnPP protected against hemin-induced ferroptosis. Hemin promoted ferroptosis of neuronal cells via FoxO3a/ATG-mediated autophagy and HO-1 signalling pathway. Knock-down of FoxO3a inhibited autophagy and prevented hemin-induced ferroptosis dependent of HO-1 signalling. We first showed that hemin stimulated microglial FoxO3a/HO-1 expression and enhanced the microglial polarisation towards the M1 phenotype, while knockdown of microglial FoxO3a inhibited pro-inflammatory cytokine production in microglia. Furthermore, the microglia activation in the striatum showed significant along with a high expression level of FoxO3a in the ICH mice. We found that conditional knockout of FoxO3a in microglia in mice alleviated neurological deficits and microglia activation as well as ferroptosis-induced striatum injury in the autologous blood-induced ICH model. We demonstrate, for the first time, that FoxO3a/ATG-mediated autophagy and HO-1 play an important role in microglial activation and ferroptosis-induced striatum injury of ICH, identifying a new therapeutic avenue for the treatment of ICH.

Role of omentin-1 in susceptibility to anxiety and depression like behaviors.

Neuro-inflammation and blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction are associated with depression. Evidence shows that adipokines enter the brain from the circulation, which regulates depressive behaviors. Omentin-1 is a newly identified adipocytokine that has anti-inflammatory effects, but little is known about its role in neuro-inflammation and mood-relevant behavior. Our results showed omentin-1 knockout mice (Omentin-1-/-) increased susceptibility to anxiety and depressive-like behaviors, which are associated with abnormalities of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and impaired BBB permeability. Moreover, omentin-1 depletion significantly increased hippocampal pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß, TNFα, IL-6), caused microglial activation, inhibited hippocampus neurogenesis, and resulted in autophagy impairment by dysregulating ATG genes. Omentin-1 deficiency also sensitized mice to the behavioral changes induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), suggesting that omentin-1 could rescue neuro-inflammation by acting as an anti-depressant. Our in vitro microglia cell culture data confirmed that recombinant omentin-1 suppresses microglial activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression induced by LPS. Our study suggests that omentin-1 can be used as a promising therapeutic agent for the prevention or treatment of depression by providing a barrier-promoting effect and an endogenous anti-inflammatory balance to downregulate the proinflammatory cytokines.

Energy stress modulation of AMPK/FoxO3 signaling inhibits mitochondria-associated ferroptosis.

Cancer cells and ischemic diseases exhibit unique metabolic responses and adaptations to energy stress. Forkhead box O 3a (FoxO3a) is a transcription factor that plays an important role in cell metabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress response. Although the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/FoxO3a signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in maintaining energy homeostasis under conditions of energy stress, the role of AMPK/FoxO3a signaling in mitochondria-associated ferroptosis has not yet been fully elucidated. We show that glucose starvation induced AMPK/FoxO3a activation and inhibited ferroptosis induced by erastin. Inhibition of AMPK or loss of FoxO3a in cancer cells under the glucose starvation condition can sensitize these cells to ferroptosis. Glucose deprivation inhibited mitochondria-related gene expression, reduced mitochondrial DNA(mtDNA) copy number, decreased expression of mitochondrial proteins and lowered the levels of respiratory complexes by inducing FoxO3a. Loss of FoxO3a promoted mitochondrial membrane potential hyperpolarization, oxygen consumption, lipid peroxide accumulation and abolished the protective effects of energy stress on ferroptosis in vitro. In addition, we identified a FDA-approved antipsychotic agent, the potent FoxO3a agonist trifluoperazine, which largely reduced ferroptosis-associated cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (CIR) injuries in rats through AMPK/FoxO3a/HIF-1α signaling and mitochondria-dependent mechanisms. We found that FoxO3a binds to the promoters of SLC7A11 and reduces CIR-mediated glutamate excitotoxicity through inhibiting the expression of SLC7A11. Collectively, these results suggest that energy stress modulation of AMPK/FoxO3a signaling regulates mitochondrial activity and alters the ferroptosis response. The regulation of FoxO3a by AMPK may play a crucial role in mitochondrial gene expression that controls energy balance and confers resistance to mitochondria-associated ferroptosis and CIR injuries.

Design, Synthesis and Anti-Tumor Activity Evaluation of Novel 3,4-(Methylenedioxy)cinnamic Acid Amide-Dithiocarbamate Derivatives.

The fragments, 3,4-(methylenedioxy)cinnamic acid amide and dithiocarbamates, have received increasing attention because of their multiple pharmacological activities in recent years, especially in anti-tumor. We synthesized 17 novel 3,4-(methylenedioxy)cinnamic acid amide-dithiocarbamate derivatives based on the principle of pharmacophore assembly and discovered that compound 4a7 displayed the most potent antiproliferative activity against HeLa cells with IC50 value of 1.01 µM. Further mechanistic studies revealed that 4a7 triggered apoptosis in HeLa cells via activating mitochondria-mediated intrinsic pathways and effectively inhibited colony formation. Also, 4a7 had the ability to arrest cell cycle in the G2/M phase as well as to inhibit the migration in HeLa cells. More importantly, acute toxicity experiments showed that 4a7 had good safety in vivo. All the results suggested that compound 4a7 might serve as a promising lead compound that merited further attention in future anti-tumor drug discovery.

Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of New 3,4-Dihydro-2(1H)-Quinolinone-Dithiocarbamate Derivatives as Multifunctional Agents for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) belongs to neurodegenerative disease, and the increasing number of AD patients has placed a heavy burden on society, which needs to be addressed urgently. ChEs/MAOs dual-target inhibitor has potential to treat AD according to reports. Purpose: To obtain effective multi-targeted agents for the treatment of AD, a novel series of hybrid compounds were designed and synthesized by fusing the pharmacophoric features of 3,4-dihydro-2 (1H)-quinolinone and dithiocarbamate. Methods: All compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory abilities of ChEs and MAOs. Then, further biological activities of the most promising candidate 3e were determined, including the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), kinetics and molecular model analysis, cytotoxicity in vitro and acute toxicity studies in vivo. Results: Most compounds showed potent and clear inhibition to AChE and MAOs. Among them, compound 3e was considered to be the most effective and balanced inhibitor to both AChE and MAOs (IC50=0.28 µM to eeAChE; IC50=0.34 µM to hAChE; IC50=2.81 µM to hMAO-B; IC50=0.91 µM to hMAO-A). In addition, 3e showed mixed inhibition of hAChE and competitive inhibition of hMAO-B in the enzyme kinetic studies. Further studies indicated that 3e could penetrate the BBB and showed no toxicity on PC12 cells and HT-22 cells when the concentration of 3e was lower than 12.5 µM. More importantly, 3e lacked acute toxicity in mice even at high dose (2500 mg/kg, P.O.). Conclusion: This work indicated that compound 3e with a six-carbon atom linker and a piperidine moiety at terminal position was a promising candidate and was worthy of further study.

Intermediate monocytes induced by IFN-γ inhibit cancer metastasis by promoting NK cell activation through FOXO1 and interleukin-27.

BACKGROUND: Circulating monocytes are functionally heterogeneous and can be divided into classical (CMo), intermediate (IMo), and non-CMo/patrolling monocyte (PMo) subsets. CMo can differentiate into PMo through IMo. PMos have been shown to inhibit cancer metastasis but the role of IMo is unclear. To date, no strategy has been developed to inhibit cancer metastasis through enhancing PMo/IMo differentiation. METHODS: We screened multiple inflammatory cytokines/chemokines activity of modulating PMo/IMo associated cell markers expression using human monocyte in vitro culture system. We tested our candidate cytokine activity in vivo using multiple mice models. We identified critical key factors and cytokines for our candidate cytokine activity by using gene-knockout mice and neutralization antibodies. RESULTS: We identified IFN-γ as a candidate inflammatory cytokine in the regulation of human IMo/PMo marker expression. Our in vivo data demonstrated that IMo expansion was induced by short-term (3 days) IFN-γ treatment through increasing CMo-IMo differentiation and blocking IMo-PMo differentiation. The IMo induced by IFN-γ (IFN-IMo), but not IFN-γ activated CMo (IFN-CMo), inhibited cancer metastasis by 90%. Surprizing, the effect of IFN-γ is greater in PMo deficiency mice, indicating the effect of IFN-IMo is not mediated through further differentiation into PMo. We also found that IFN-IMos induced by short-term IFN-γ treatment robustly boosted NK cell expansion for threefold and promoted NK differentiation and function through IL-27 and CXCL9. Furthermore, we identified that FOXO1, a key molecule controlling cellular energy metabolism, mediated the effect of IFN-γ induced IL-27 expression, and that NR4A1, a key molecule controlling PMo differentiation and inhibiting cancer metastasis, inhibited the pro-NK cell and anti-metastasis activity of IFN-IMo by suppressing CXCL9 expression. CONCLUSIONS: We have discovered the antimetastasis and pro-NK cell activity of IFN-IMo, identified FOXO1 as a key molecule for IFN-γ driven monocyte differentiation and function, and found NR4A1 as an inhibitory molecule for IFN-IMo activity. Our study has not only shown novel mechanisms for a classical antitumor cytokine but also provided potential target for developing superior monocytic cell therapy against cancer metastasis.

FoxO3a cooperates with RUNX1 to promote chondrogenesis and terminal hypertrophic of the chondrogenic progenitor cells.

FoxO transcription factors (FoxOs) have recently been shown to protect against chondrocyte dysfunction and modulate cartilage homeostasis in osteoarthritis. The mechanism underlying of FoxOs regulate chondrocyte differentiation remains unknown. Runt related transcription factor 1 (RUNX1) mediated both chondrocyte and osteoblast differentiation. Our data showed that FoxO3a and RUNX1 are co-expressed in ATDC5 cells and undifferentiated mesenchyme cells and have similar high levels in chondrocytes undergoing transition from proliferation to hypertrophy. Overexpression of FoxO3a in ATDC5 cells or mouse mesenchymal cells resulted in a potent induction of the chondrocyte differentiation markers. Knockdown FoxO3a or RUNX1 potently inhibits the expressions of chondrocyte differentiation markers, including Sox9, Aggrecan, Col2, and hypertrophic chondrocyte markers including RUNX2, ColX, MMP13 and ADAMTs-5 in ATDC5 cells. Co-immunoprecipitation showed that FoxO3a binds the transcriptional regulator RUNX1. Immunohistochemistry showed that FoxO3a and RUNX1 are highly co-expressed in the proliferative chondrocytes of the growth plates in the hind limbs of newborn mice. Collectively, we revealed that FoxO3a cooperated with RUNX1 promoted chondrocyte differentiation through enhancing both early chondrogenesis and terminal hypertrophic of the chondrogenic progenitor cells, indicating FoxO3a interacting with RUNX1 may be a therapeutic target for the treatment of osteoarthritis and other bone diseases.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel xanthone-alkylbenzylamine hybrids as multifunctional agents for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

In this study, a series of multifunctional hybrids against Alzheimer's disease were designed and obtained by conjugating the pharmacophores of xanthone and alkylbenzylamine through the alkyl linker. Biological activity results demonstrated that compound 4j was the most potent and balanced dual ChEs inhibitor with IC50 values 0.85 µM and 0.59 µM for eeAChE and eqBuChE, respectively. Kinetic analysis and docking study indicated that compound 4j was a mixed-type inhibitor for both AChE and BuChE. Additionally, it exhibited good abilities to penetrate BBB, scavenge free radicals (4.6 trolox equivalent) and selectively chelate with Cu2+ and Al3+ at a 1:1.4 ligand/metal molar ratio. Importantly, after assessments of cytotoxic and acute toxicity, we found compound 4j could improve memory function of scopolamine-induced amnesia mice. Hence, the compound 4j can be considered as a promising lead compound for further investigation in the treatment of AD.

Val-Val-Tyr-Pro protects against non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in mice by modulating the gut microbiota and gut-liver axis activation.

Val-Val-Tyr-Pro (VVYP) peptide is one of the main active components of Globin digest (GD). Our previous studies indicated that VVYP could protect against acetaminophen and carbon tetrachloride-induced acute liver failure in mice and decrease blood lipid level. However, the effects and underlying mechanisms of VVYP in the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) have not been discovered. Our present study was designed to investigate the preventive effect of VVYP on NASH and its underlying specific mechanisms. We found that VVYP inhibited the cytotoxicity and lipid accumulation in L-02 cells that were exposed to a mixture of free fatty acid (FFA). VVYP effectively alleviated the liver injury induced by methionine-choline-deficient (MCD) diet, demonstrated by reducing the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/triglycerides (TG)/non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and improving liver histology. VVYP decreased expression levels of lipid synthesis-related genes and reduced levels of the proinflammation cytokines in the liver of mice fed by MCD diet. Moreover, VVYP inhibited the increased level of LPS and reversed the liver mitochondria dysfunction induced by MCD diet. Meanwhile, VVYP significantly increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Eubacteriaceae, coriobacteriacease, Desulfovibrionaceae, S24-7 and Bacteroidia in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice, however, VVYP reduced the abundance of Lactobacillus. Moreover, VVYP conferred the protective effect of intestinal barrier via promoting the expression of the mucins and tight junction (TJ)-associated genes and inhibited subsequent liver inflammatory responses. These results indicated that the protective role of VVYP on NASH is mediated by modulating gut microbiota imbalance and related gut-liver axis activation. VVYP might be a promising drug candidate for NASH.

Hemolysis inhibits humoral B-cell responses and modulates alloimmunization risk in patients with sickle cell disease.

Red blood cell alloimmunization remains a barrier for safe and effective transfusions in sickle cell disease (SCD), but the associated risk factors remain largely unknown. Intravascular hemolysis, a hallmark of SCD, results in the release of heme with potent immunomodulatory activity, although its effect on SCD humoral response, specifically alloimmunization, remains unclear. Here, we found that cell-free heme suppresses human B-cell plasmablast and plasma cell differentiation by inhibiting the DOCK8/STAT3 signaling pathway, which is critical for B-cell activation, as well as by upregulating heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) through its enzymatic byproducts, carbon monoxide and biliverdin. Whereas nonalloimmunized SCD B cells were inhibited by exogenous heme, B cells from the alloimmunized group were nonresponsive to heme inhibition and readily differentiated into plasma cells. Consistent with a differential B-cell response to hemolysis, we found elevated B-cell basal levels of DOCK8 and higher HO-1-mediated inhibition of activated B cells in nonalloimmunized compared with alloimmunized SCD patients. To overcome the alloimmunized B-cell heme insensitivity, we screened several heme-binding molecules and identified quinine as a potent inhibitor of B-cell activity, reversing the resistance to heme suppression in alloimmunized patients. B-cell inhibition by quinine occurred only in the presence of heme and through HO-1 induction. Altogether, these data suggest that hemolysis can dampen the humoral B-cell response and that B-cell heme responsiveness maybe a determinant of alloimmunization risk in SCD. By restoring B-cell heme sensitivity, quinine may have therapeutic potential to prevent and inhibit alloimmunization in SCD patients.

FoxO3a suppresses neuropeptide W expression in neuronal cells and in rat hypothalamus and its implication in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

FoxO3a, a forkhead family member of transcription factors, is involved in the regulation of cell metabolism, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. However, whether FoxO3a participates in the regulation of glucocorticoids induced-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) dysfunction is still unknown. Our present results indicate that dexamethasone(DEX) increased FoxO3a expression in PC12 and hypothalamic neuronal cultures in correlation to reduced expression of NPW, a process that could be blocked by GR2 antagonist. DEX restrained the phosphorylation of Akt and FoxO3a, but not ERK1/2 phosphorylation, resulting with FoxO3a nuclear localization. Overexpression of FoxO3a inhibited NPW expression, while FoxO3a knockdown by siRNA had the opposite effect. The regulatory region of NPW promoter contains multiple FoxO3a binding sites, and FoxO3a bonding to these sites inhibited its transcriptional activity. In a rat model, chronic administration of corticosterone reduced animals' body weight and sucrose consumption and caused stress- depression like behavior. Corticosterone treatment induced a marked increase in FoxO3a levels, while decreased the expression of NPW protein in the hypothalamus. Immunofluorescent double labeling demonstrated that FoxO3a and NPW were collocated in the hypothalamus. Taken together, these data indicate that NPW is a new direct downstream target gene of FoxO3a. FoxO3a suppressed the transcription of NPW and modulated glucocorticoids-induced HPA dysfunction by directly regulating the expression of NPW. Thus, present findings suggest that FoxO3a and NPW may be potential therapeutic targets for endocrine and psychiatric disorders.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of coumarin-based N-hydroxycinnamamide derivatives as novel histone deacetylase inhibitors with anticancer activities.

A series of novel coumarin-based N-hydroxycinnamamide derivatives were designed and synthesized as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors. Most of the synthesized compounds showed potent HDAC inhibitory activity and significant antiproliferative activity against human cancer cell lines MCF-7, HepG2, HeLa and HCT-116. Among them, compound 14f displayed the most potent HDAC inhibition, especially against HDAC1 with IC50 value of 0.19 µM, which was better than that of SAHA (IC50 = 0.23 µM). It also showed the strongest antiproliferative activity towards HeLa cells and more than 26-fold selectivity for HDAC1 compared with HDAC6. Molecular docking studies revealed the possible binding modes of compound 14f into the two isoforms and provided a reasonable explanation for the selectivity. In addition, compound 14f could inhibit colony formation, upregulate the acetylation level of histone H3, and induce apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase in HeLa cells. Taken together, these results highlighted that compound 14f might be a promising HDAC inhibitor for cancer therapy.

MeCP2 inhibits proliferation and migration of breast cancer via suppression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) is an important epigenetic regulator for normal neuronal maturation and brain glial cell function. Additionally, MeCP2 is also involved in a variety of cancers, such as breast, prostate, lung, liver and colorectal. However, whether MeCP2 contributes to the progression of breast cancer remains unknown. In the present study, we investigated the role of MeCP2 in cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro. We found that knockdown of MeCP2 inhibited expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related markers in breast cancer cell lines. In conclusion, our study suggests that MeCP2 inhibits proliferation and invasion through suppression of the EMT pathway in breast cancer.

Intra-articular delivery of extracellular vesicles secreted by chondrogenic progenitor cells from MRL/MpJ superhealer mice enhances articular cartilage repair in a mouse injury model.

BACKGROUND: Chondrogenic progenitor cells (CPCs) have high self-renewal capacity and chondrogenic potential. Intra-articular delivery of purified mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from MRL/MpJ "superhealer" mice increased bone volume during repair and prevents post-traumatic arthritis. Recently, although extracellular vesicles released from MSCs have been used widely for treating OA, the application of extracellular vesicles secreted by CPCs from MRL/MpJ mice in OA therapy has never been reported. In this study, we evaluated the effects of extracellular vesicles secreted by CPCs from control CBA (CBA-EVs) and MRL/MpJ mice (MRL-EVs) on proliferation and migration of murine chondrocytes. We also determined here if weekly intra-articular injections of CBA-EVs and MRL-EVs would repair and regenerate surgically induced model in mice. METHODS: CPC surface markers were detected by flow cytometry. CBA-EVs and MRL-EVs were isolated using an ultrafiltration method. Nanoparticle tracking analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and western blots were used to identify extracellular vesicles. CBA-EVs and MRL-EVs were injected intra-articularly in a mouse model of surgical destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM)-induced OA, and histological and immunohistochemistry analyses were used to assess the efficacy of exosome injections. We used miRNA-seq analysis to analyze the expression profiles of exosomal miRNAs derived from CBA-EVs as well as MRL-EVs. Cell-counting and scratch assays were used to evaluate the effects of CBA-EVs and MRL-EVs on proliferation and migration of murine chondrocytes, respectively. Meanwhile, a specific RNA inhibitor assesses the roles of the candidate miRNAs in CPC-EV-induced regulation of function of chondrocytes. RESULTS: Both CBA-EVs and MRL-EVs stimulated chondrocyte proliferation and migration, but MRL-EVs exerted a stronger effect than CBA-EVs. The similar result was also observed in in vivo study, which indicated that injecting either CBA-EVs or MRL-EVs attenuated OA, but MRL-EVs showed a superior therapeutic effect in comparison with CBA-EVs. The results of bioinformatics analyses revealed that the differentially expressed exosomal miRNAs participated in multiple biological processes. We identified 80 significantly upregulated and 100 downregulated miRNAs. Moreover, we found that the top 20 differentially expressed exosomal miRNAs connected OA repair to processes such as AMPK signaling, regulation of autophagy, and insulin signaling. Notably, miRNA 221-3p were highly enriched in MRL-Exos and treatment with miR 221-3p inhibitor markedly decreased chondrocyte proliferation and migration induced by CBA-EVs or MRL-EVs in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to demonstrate MRL-EVs had a greater therapeutic effect on the treatment of OA than CBA-EVs. This study will hopefully provide new insight into the pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment of OA.

Pristimerin attenuates cell proliferation of uveal melanoma cells by inhibiting insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor and its downstream pathways.

Uveal melanoma (UM) has a high mortality rate due to liver metastasis. The insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) is highly expressed in UM and has been shown to be associated with hepatic metastases. Targeting IGF signalling may be considered as a promising approach to inhibit the process of metastatic UM cells. Pristimerin (PRI) has been demonstrated to inhibit the growth of several cancer cells, but its role and underlying mechanisms in the IGF-1-induced UM cell proliferation are largely unknown. The present study examined the anti-proliferative effect of PRI on UM cells and its possible role in IGF-1R signalling transduction. MTT and clonogenic assays were used to determine the role of PRI in the proliferation of UM cells. Flow cytometry was performed to detect the effect of PRI on the cell cycle distribution of UM cells. Western blotting was carried out to assess the effects of PRI and IGF-1 on the IGF-1R phosphorylation and its downstream targets. The results indicated that IGF-1 promoted the UM cell proliferation and improved the level of IGF-1R phosphorylation, whereas PRI attenuated the effect of IGF-1. Interestingly, PRI could not only induce the G1 phase accumulation and reduce the G2 phase induced by IGF-1, but also could stimulate the expression of p21 and inhibit the expression of cyclin D1. Besides, PRI could attenuate the phosphorylations of Akt, mTOR and ERK1/2 induced by IGF-1. Furthermore, the molecular docking study also demonstrated that PRI had potential inhibitory effects on IGF-1R. Taken together, these results indicated that PRI could inhibit the proliferation of UM cells through down-regulation of phosphorylated IGF-1R and its downstream signalling.

N2L, a novel lipoic acid-niacin dimer protects HT22 cells against ß-amyloid peptide-induced damage through attenuating apoptosis.

ß-amyloid protein (Aß) is thought to be the primary cause of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Niacin has been reported to have beneficial effects on AD. Previously, we synthesized a novel compound lipoicacid-niacin dimer (N2L) and revealed that it had potent blood-lipid regulation and antioxidative properties without aflushing effect. Given that lipid metabolism is also associated with AD, the present study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of N2L on Aß1-42-induced cytotoxicity in HT22 cells. We found that N2L significantly attenuated cell apoptosis, MDA level, ROS content, and the mitochondrial membrane potential corruption induced by Aß1-42 in HT22 cells. In addition, the activities of SOD, GSH-px and CAT that were decreased by Aß1-42 were also restored by N2L. Furthermore, N2L reduced proapoptotic signaling by increasing the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and decreasing the protein expression of both pro-apoptotic Bax and cleaved Caspase-3. Together, these findings indicate that N2L holds great potential for neuroprotection against Aß1-42-induced cytotoxicity via inhibition of oxidative stress and cell apoptosis, suggesting that N2L may be a promising agent for AD therapy.

Core regulatory RNA molecules identified in articular cartilage stem/progenitor cells during osteoarthritis progression.

Aim: To assess cartilage-derived stem/progenitor cells (CSPCs) in osteoarthritis (OA) by employing mRNA-miRNA-circRNA-lncRNA network biology approach. Methods: Differentially expressed (DE) RNAs in CSPCs from 2-/4-/8-month-old STR/Ort and CBA mice were identified to construct networks via RNA sequencing. Results: Compared with age-matched CBA mice, 4-/8-month-old STR/Ort mice had cartilage lesions and their CSPCs exhibited lower proliferative and differentiation capacity (decreased CD44 and CD90), and identified 7082 DE RNAs in STR/Ort mice were associated with strain differences or OA progression. OA-related core RNAs were identified via the networks constructed with the predominant DE RNAs, which were involved in the signaling pathways (NF-κB/MAPK/Hippo/Wnt/TGF-ß/cytoskeleton organization). The core RNAs (miR-322-5p/miR-493-5p/miR-378c/CPNE1/Cdh2/PRDM16/CTGF/NCAM1) were validated in CSPCs from OA patients. Conclusion: RNA-based networks identifying core RNAs and signaling pathways contribute to CSPC-dependent OA mechanisms.

Neuropeptide W regulates proliferation and differentiation of ATDC5: Possible involvement of GPR7 activation, PKA and PKC-dependent signalling cascades.

Various neuropeptides related to the energy equilibrium affect bone growth in humans and animals. Neuropeptides W (NPW) are identical in the internal ligands of the two G-protein receptors (GPRs) included in subtypes 7 and 8. Neuropeptides W inhibits proliferation in the cultivated rat calvarial osteoblast-like (ROB) cells. This study examines the expression of NPW and GPR7 in murine chondrocyte and their function. An immunohistochemical analysis showed that NPW and GPR7 were expressed in the proliferative chondrocytes of the growth plates in the hind limbs of mice. The NPW mRNA quickly elevated in the early differentiation (7-14 days) of ATDC5 cells, while NPW and GPR7 mRNA were reduced during the late stage (14-21 days) of differentiation. Neuropeptide W-23 (NPW-23) promoted the proliferation of ATDC5 cells, which was attenuated by inhibiting the GPR7, protein kinase A (PKA), protein kinase C (PKC) and ERK1/2 pathways. Neuropeptide W-23 enhanced the early cell differentiation, as evaluated by collagen type II and the aggrecan gene expression, which was unaffected by inhibiting the ERK1/2 pathway, but significantly decreased by inhibiting the PKA, PKC and p38 MAPK pathways. In contrast, NPW-23 was not involved in the terminal differentiation of the chondrocytes, as evaluated by the mineralization of the chondrocytes and the activity of the alkaline phosphatase. Neuropeptides W stimulated the PKA, PKC, p38 MAPK and ERK1/2 activities in a dose- and time-dependent manner in the ATDC5 cells. These results show that NPW promotes the proliferation and early differentiation of murine chondrocyte via GPR7 activation, as well as PKA and PKC-dependent signalling cascades, which may be involved in endochondral bone formation.

Introduction of Z-GP scaffold into procarbazine reduces spermatoxicity and myelosuppression.

Incorporation of carbobenzoxy-glycylprolyl (Z-GP) to either α or ß position of the hydrazine moiety in procarbazine (Pcb) has been carried on in 5-steps process. The overall yield was 32.7%. The new entity Z-GP-Pcb was confirmed targeting to fibroblast activation protein-α (FAPα). Z-GP-Pcb may be hydrolyzed by either isolated rhFAPα or tumor homogenate. It was shown far less cytotoxicity against NCI-H460 cell line than Pcb. Z-GP-Pcb was displayed the potency to reduce spermatoxcity in H22-bearing mice. The mechanism may be ascribed to the blockade of dehydrogenation by α-glycerolphosphate dehydrogenase. This candidate was further proved equal antitumor activity to Pcb. However, the introduction of Z-GP scaffold decreased myelosuppression. All the evidences support that Z-GP-Pcb is a better antitumor agent than Pcb.