Fenofibrate Attenuates Radiation-Induced Oxidative Damage to the Skin through Fatty Acid Binding Protein 4 (FABP4).

BACKGROUND: Radiation facilities and radioactive materials have been widely used in military, industry, medicine, science and nuclear facilities, which has significantly increased the potential of large-scale, uncontrolled exposure to radiation. The skin is one of the radiosensitive organ systems and radiation-induced skin injury remains a serious concern after ionizing radiation exposure. Our previous report indicates the involvement of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor pathway in the response of skin tissues to ionizing radiation. PPARα is a member of the PPAR nuclear hormone receptor superfamily, which can be activated by fibrate ligands. However, the protection of fenofibrate against ionizing radiation in skin keratinocytes and fibroblasts has not been described. METHODS: The PPARα mRNA levels in irradiated and nonirradiated skin tissues of rats were determined by real-time assay. The expression of PPARα, and FABP4 were evaluated by western blot and IHC assay. The cell proliferation was detected by colony formation. The γH2AX foci and ROS levels in irradiated WS1 cells with FABP4 overexpression than in control cells were performed by Immunofluorescence assay. RESULTS: We found that PPARα expression was lower in the irradiated skin tissues of mouse, rat, monkey, and human patients than in their nonirradiated counterparts. PPARα fenofibrate significantly decreased radiation-induced ROS and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in human keratinocyte HaCaT and skin fibroblast WS1 cells. Moreover, fenofibrate significantly decreased radiation-induced ROS and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in electron beam irradiated skin tissues of rats. Mechanistically, the proximal promoter of fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) harbored three binding sites of PPARα and fenofibrate stimulated the transcription of FABP4 in skin cells. FABP4 overexpression decreased radiation-induced ROS and γH2AX foci. FABP4 inhibitor BMS309403 abrogated the ROS-eliminating activity as well as the lipid-accumulating role of fenofibrate, indicating that FABP4 mediates the radioprotective role of fenofibrate. In addition, FABP4 overexpression significantly decreased radiation-induced oxidative damage in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm that fenofibrate attenuated radiation-induced oxidative damage to the skin by stimulating FABP4.

NF-E2-Related Factor 2 (Nrf2) Ameliorates Radiation-Induced Skin Injury.

Radiation-induced skin injury (RISI) commonly occur in cancer patients who received radiotherapy and is one of the first clinical symptoms after suffering from nuclear exposure. Oxidative damage is the major causes of RISI. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is considered as a key mediator of the cellular antioxidant response. However, whether Nrf2 can alleviate RISI after high-dose irradiation remains unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that Nrf2-deficient (Nrf2 -/-) mice were susceptible to high-dose irradiation and adenovirus-mediated overexpression of Nrf2 (ad-Nrf2) protected against radiation in skin cells. Overexpression of Nrf2 attenuated the severity of skin injury after high-dose electron beam irradiation. To uncover the mechanisms of Nrf2 involved in RISI, mRNA sequencing technology was performed to analyze the mRNA expression profiles of Ad-Nrf2 skin cells following radiation. The results revealed that a total of 127 genes were significantly changed, 55 genes were upregulated, and 72 genes were downregulated after Nrf2 overexpression. GSEA showed that Nrf2 was associated with positive regulation of genes involved in the reactive oxygen species pathway after radiation. Taken together, this study illustrated the role of Nrf2 in RISI and provided potentially strategies for ameliorating RISI.

The Nrf2/GCH1/BH4 Axis Ameliorates Radiation-Induced Skin Injury by Modulating the ROS Cascade.

Radiation-induced skin injury is a common side effect of radiotherapy and can limit the duration and dose of radiotherapy. Most early work focused on elimination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) after radiation; however, less is known about the mechanisms underlying amplification of ROS and consequent skin injury by radiation. 5,6,7,8-Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is an essential cofactor for all nitric oxide synthases. Inadequate availability of BH4 leads to uncoupling of nitric oxide synthases and production of highly oxidative radicals. In this study, we demonstrated that radiation disrupted BH4, which resulted in nitric oxide synthases uncoupling and augmented radiation-induced ROS. Overexpression of GTP cyclohydrolase I (GCH1), the rate-limiting enzyme for BH4 synthesis, restored cellular BH4 levels and nitric oxide production and decreased radiation-induced ROS. GCH1 also protected skin cells and rat skins against radiation-induced damage. We found that GCH1 was regulated by NF-E2-related factor 2, a key mediator of the cellular antioxidant response. Importantly, we identified GCH1 as a key effector for NF-E2-related factor 2-mediated protection against radiation-induced skin injury by inhibiting ROS production. Taken together, the findings of this study illustrate the key role of the NF-E2-related factor 2/GCH1/BH4 axis during radiation-induced skin damage.

Proteomic Profiling of Radiation-Induced Skin Fibrosis in Rats: Targeting the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System.

PURPOSE: To investigate the molecular changes underlying the pathogenesis of radiation-induced skin fibrosis. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Rat skin was irradiated to 30 or 45 Gy with an electron beam. Protein expression in fibrotic rat skin and adjacent normal tissues was quantified by label-free protein quantitation. Human skin cells HaCaT and WS-1 were treated by x-ray irradiation, and the proteasome activity was determined with a fluorescent probe. The effect of proteasome inhibitors on Transforming growth factor Beta (TGF-B) signaling was measured by Western blot and immunofluorescence. The efficacy of bortezomib in wound healing of rat skin was assessed by the skin injury scale. RESULTS: We found that irradiation induced epidermal and dermal hyperplasia in rat and human skin. One hundred ninety-six preferentially expressed and 80 unique proteins in the irradiated fibrotic skin were identified. Through bioinformatic analysis, the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway showed a significant fold change and was investigated in greater detail. In vitro experiments demonstrated that irradiation resulted in a decline in the activity of the proteasome in human skin cells. The proteasome inhibitor bortezomib suppressed profibrotic TGF-ß downstream signaling but not TGF-ß secretion stimulated by irradiation in HaCaT and WS-1 cells. Moreover, bortezomib ameliorated radiation-induced skin injury and attenuated epidermal hyperplasia. CONCLUSION: Our findings illustrate the molecular changes during radiation-induced skin fibrosis and suggest that targeting the ubiquitin-proteasome system would be an effective countermeasure.

[The expression and significance of hnRNPD in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein D (hnRNPD) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissues and the relationship between hnRNPD expression and the clinicopathological features of ESCC, and to study the effect of down-regulated hnRNPD on the proliferation of ESCC cells and explore its potential mechanism. METHODS: The expression of hnRNPD protein in ESCC tissues and the normal paracancerous tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry. The siRNA-hnRNPD was transfected into ESCC cells and the silence effect was verified by Western blotting. MTT assay and clone formation assay were used to evaluate the proliferation of ESCC cells after down-regulation of hnRNPD genes. Cell apoptosis was examined by annexin V-phycoerythrin/7-aminoactinomycin D (annexin V-PE/7-AAD) staining and flow cytometry. RESULTS: The expression of hnRNPD protein in ESCC tissues was significantly higher than that of the normal paracancerous tissues, and the expression was closely related with neoplasm staging. Down-regulation of hnRNPD inhibited the proliferation and clonality of ESCC cells. Compared with the control group, siRNA targeting hnRNPD significantly promoted cell apoptosis. CONCLUSION: Down-regulation of hnRNPD inhibits the proliferation of ESCC cells by promoting cell apoptosis.

MG132 enhances the radiosensitivity of lung cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Radiotherapy is a common treatment modality for lung cancer, however, radioresistance remains a fundamental barrier to attaining the maximal efficacy. Cancer cells take advantage of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) for increased proliferation and decreased apoptotic cell death. MG132 (carbobenzoxyl-leucinyl-leucinyl-leucinal­H), a specific and selective reversible inhibitor of the 26S proteasome, has shown anticancer effect in multiple types of cancers. Previously, we have reported that MG132 enhances the anti­growth and anti-metastatic effects of irradiation in lung cancer cells. However, whether MG132 can enhance the radiosensitivity in lung cancer cells in vitro and in vivo is still unknown. In this study, we found that MG132 increased apoptosis and dicentric chromosome ratio of A549 and H1299 cells treated by irradiation. Radiation-induced NF-κB expression and IκBα phosphorylation was attenuated in MG132 plus irradiation-treated cells. The in vivo model of H1299 xenografts of nude mice showed that the tumor size of MG132 plus irradiation treated xenografts was smaller than that of irradiation, MG132 or the control group. Moreover, MG132 plus irradiation group showed significant reduced Ki67 expression. Taken together, these results demonstrate that MG132 enhances the radiosensitivity through multiple mechanisms in vitro and in vivo.

REV3L modulates cisplatin sensitivity of non-small cell lung cancer H1299 cells.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately 80-85% of all cases of lung cancer. Cisplatin plays a significant role in the management of human lung cancer. Translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) is involved in DNA damage repair. DNA polymerase Î¶ (Pol Î¶) is able to mediate the DNA replication bypass of DNA damage, which is suggested to be involved in chemoresistance. REV3L is the catalytic subunit of Pol Î¶. Due to its critical role in translesion DNA synthesis, whether REV3L modulates cisplatin response in NSCLC cells remains unknown. In this study, REV3L overexpression and silencing H1299 cell lines were established. The reports showed that cisplatin induced the expression of REV3L by recruiting Sp1 to its promoter. Similar results were obtained when the ability of the cells to express luciferase from a platinated plasmid was measured. Co-transfection of the reporter with the REV3L overexpression vector or REV3L plus REV7L significantly enhanced the reporter activity. Nuclear condensation and fragmentation of shRNA-REV3L H1299 cells were more pronounced than shRNA-NC H1299 cells after cisplatin exposure, indicating that REV3L overexpression abolished cisplatin-induced DNA damage. Moreover, a forced expression of REV3L conferred the resistance of H1299 cells to cisplatin, whereas the knockdown of REV3L sensitized cisplatin efficacy in H1299 cells. Taken together, we demonstrated that inhibition of REV3L sensitized lung cancer H1299 cells to cisplatin treatment. Thus, REV3L may be a novel target for the chemotherapy of NSCLC.

Overexpression of CD9 correlates with tumor stage and lymph node metastasis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths worldwide. CD9 has been reported to play a critical role in cell motility, growth and metastasis of multiple cancers. The present study investigated the clinicopathological features of CD9, and its biological characteristics in ESCC. METHODS: Fifteen normal esophageal tissue specimens, fifty-three ESCC adjacent tissues and one hundred and four ESCC tissues were included in this study. Using immunohistochemistry (IHC), the expression levels of CD9 were evaluated among different samples. And its clinicopathological parameters and its prognostic factors were analyzed. Western blotting was used to measure CD9 expression and colony formation was performed to determine the effect of CD9 on cell growth in ESCC TE-1 cells. RESULTS: Compared with normal esophageal tissues and tumor adjacent tissues, CD9 expression level is significantly higher in ESCC tissues. CD9 expression correlated with tumor stage (P=0.022) and lymph node metastasis (P=0.019) in ESCC patients. Furthermore, the small interfering RNA-mediated silencing of CD9 expression in TE-1 cells resulted in increased proliferation as evidenced by increased colony number and colony size. CONCLUSION: CD9 expression is upregulated in ESCC tissues and its expression is correlated with tumor stage and lymph node metastasis in ESCC patients. CD9 suppresses the proliferation of TE-1 cells. CD9 may present a potential in tumor progression in ESCC.