Cocaine and amphetamine-regulated transcript improves myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury through PI3K/AKT signalling pathway.

Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) is a common clinic scenario that occurs in the context of reperfusion therapy for acute myocardial infarction. It has been shown that cocaine and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) can ameliorate cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, but the effect of CART on MIRI has not been studied yet. Here, we revealed that CART protected the heart during I/R process by inhibiting apoptosis and excessive autophagy, indicating that CART would be a potential drug candidate for the treatment of MIRI. Further analysis showed that CART upregulated the activation of phospho-AKT, leading to downregulation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, apoptosis, oxidative stress and excessive autophagy after I/R, which was inhibited by PI3K inhibitor, LY294002. Collectively, CART attenuated MIRI through inhibition of cardiomyocytes apoptosis and excessive autophagy, and the protective effect was dependent on PI3K/AKT signalling pathway.

YOD1 protects against MRSA sepsis-induced DIC through Lys33-linked deubiquitination of NLRP3.

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is considered to be the most common and lethal complication of sepsis. NLR-family pyrin domain-containing-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome plays an important role in host defense against microbial pathogens, and its deregulation may cause coagulation cascade and should be strictly managed. Here, we identified the deubiquitinase YOD1, which played a vital role in regulating coagulation in a NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent manner in sepsis induced by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). YOD1 interacted with NLRP3 to remove K33-linked ubiquitination of NLRP3 based on its deubiquitinating enzyme activity and specifically inhibited expression of NLRP3 as well as activation of NLRP3 inflammasome. Deficiency of YOD1 expression enhanced NLRP3 inflammasome activation and coagulation both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, pharmacological inhibition of the NLRP3 effectively improved coagulation and alleviated organ injury in Yod1-/- mice infected with MRSA. Thus, our study reported that YOD1 is a key regulator of coagulation during MRSA infection, and provided YOD1 as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of NLRP3 inflammasome-related diseases, especially MRSA sepsis-induced DIC.

A novel histone deacetylase inhibitor Se-SAHA attenuates isoproterenol-induced heart failure via antioxidative stress and autophagy inhibition.

Heart failure is associated with histone deacetylase (HDAC) regulation of gene expression, the inhibition of which is thought to be beneficial for heart failure therapy. Here, we explored the cardioprotective effects and underlying mechanism of a novel selenium-containing HDAC inhibitor, Se-SAHA, on isoproterenol (ISO)-induced heart failure. We found that pretreatment with Se-SAHA attenuated ISO-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs). Se-SAHA significantly attenuated the generation of ISO-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) and restored the expression levels of superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in vitro. Furthermore, Se-SAHA pretreatment prevented the accumulation of autophagosomes. Se-SAHA reversed the high expression of HDAC1 and HDAC6 induced by ISO incubation. However, after the addition of the HDAC agonist, the effect of Se-SAHA on blocking autophagy was inhibited. Using ISO-induced mouse models, cardiac ventricular contractile dysfunction, hypertrophy, and fibrosis was reduced treated by Se-SAHA. In addition, Se-SAHA inhibited HDAC1 and HDAC6 overexpression in ISO-treated mice. Se-SAHA treatment significantly increased the activity of SOD2 and improved the ability to eliminate free radicals. Se-SAHA hindered the excessive levels of the microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)-II and Beclin-1 in heart failure mice. Collectively, our results indicate that Se-SAHA exerts cardio-protection against ISO-induced heart failure via antioxidative stress and autophagy inhibition.

Syringaresinol Alleviates Early Diabetic Retinopathy by Downregulating HIF-1α/VEGF via Activating Nrf2 Antioxidant Pathway.

SCOPE: Early diabetic retinopathy (DR) is characterized by chronic inflammation, excessive oxidative stress, and retinal microvascular damage. Syringaresinol (SYR), as a natural polyphenolic compound, has been proved to inhibit many disease progression due to its antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties. The present study focuses on exploring the effect of SYR on hyperglycemia-induced early DR as well as the underlying mechanisms. METHODS AND RESULTS: Wild-type (WT) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-knockout C57BL/6 mice of type 1 diabetes and high glucose (HG)-induced RF/6A cells are used as in vivo and in vitro models, respectively. This study finds that SYR protects the retinal structure and function in diabetic mice and reduces the permeability and apoptosis of HG-treated RF/6A cells. Meanwhile, SYR distinctly mitigates inflammation and oxidative stress in vivo and vitro. The retinal microvascular damages are suppressed by SYR via downregulating hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α)/vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway. Whereas, SYR-provided protective effects are diminished in Nrf2-knockout mice, indicating that SYR improves DR progression by activating Nrf2. Similarly, SYR cannot exert protective effects against HG-induced oxidative stress and endothelial injury in small interfering RNA (siRNA)-Nrf2-transfected RF/6A cells. CONCLUSION: In summary, SYR suppresses oxidative stress via activating Nrf2 antioxidant pathway, which ameliorates retinal microvascular damage by downregulating HIF-1α/VEGF, thereby alleviating early DR progression.

Melatonin attenuates diabetic cardiomyopathy by increasing autophagy of cardiomyocytes via regulation of VEGF-B/GRP78/PERK signaling pathway.

AIMS: Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a major cause of mortality in patients with diabetes, and the potential strategies for treating DCM are insufficient. Melatonin (Mel) has been shown to attenuate DCM, however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. The role of vascular endothelial growth factor-B (VEGF-B) in DCM is little known. In present study, we aimed to investigate whether Mel alleviated DCM via regulation of VEGF-B and explored its underlying mechanisms. METHODS AND RESULTS: We found that Mel significantly alleviated cardiac dysfunction and improved autophagy of cardiomyocytes in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) induced cardiomyopathy mice. VEGF-B was highly expressed in DCM mice in comparison with normal mice, and its expression was markedly reduced after Mel treatment. Mel treatment diminished the interaction of VEGF-B and Glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and reduced the interaction of GRP78 and protein kinase RNA -like ER kinase (PERK). Furthermore, Mel increased phosphorylation of PERK and eIF2α, then up-regulated the expression of ATF4. VEGF-B-/- mice imitated the effect of Mel on wild type diabetic mice. Interestingly, injection with Recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 9 (AAV9)-VEGF-B or administration of GSK2656157 (GSK), an inhibitor of phosphorylated PERK abolished the protective effect of Mel on DCM. Furthermore, rapamycin, an autophagy agonist displayed similar effect with Mel treatment; while 3-Methyladenine (3-MA), an autophagy inhibitor neutralized the effect of Mel on high glucose-treated neonatal rat ventricular myocytes. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrated that Mel attenuated DCM via increasing autophagy of cardiomyocytes, and this cardio-protective effect of Mel was dependent on VEGF-B/GRP78/PERK signaling pathway.

Syringaresinol protects against diabetic nephropathy by inhibiting pyroptosis via NRF2-mediated antioxidant pathway.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the serious complications of diabetes that has limited treatment options. As a lytic inflammatory cell death, pyroptosis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of DN. Syringaresinol (SYR) possesses anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, the therapeutic effects and the underlying mechanism of SYR in DN remain unclear. Herein, we showed that SYR treatment ameliorated renal hypertrophy, fibrosis, mesangial expansion, glomerular basement membrane thickening, and podocyte foot process effacement in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. Mechanistically, SYR prevented the abundance of pyroptosis-related proteins such as NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase 1 (Caspase-1), and gasdermin D (GSDMD), and the biosynthesis of inflammatory cytokines interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß) and interleukin 18 (IL-18). In addition, SYR promoted the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (NRF2) and enhanced the downstream antioxidant enzymes heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), thereby effectively decreasing excess reactive oxygen species (ROS). Most importantly, knockout of NRF2 abolished SYR-mediated renoprotection and anti-pyroptotic activities in NRF2-KO diabetic mice. Collectively, SYR inhibited the NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD pyroptosis pathway by upregulating NRF2 signaling in DN. These findings suggested that SYR may be promising a therapeutic option for DN.

Resveratrol inhibits tumor progression by down-regulation of NLRP3 in renal cell carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common urologic malignant tumors. Current chemotherapy is not effective in RCC and results in some side effects. Resveratrol (RSV) has been reported to exert antitumor effects in some cancer cells; however the mechanism is not fully understood. Herein, we aimed to determine the anticancer effect of RSV on RCC and further explore the underlying molecular mechanism in this process. We found that RSV inhibited tumor cells proliferation, migration and invasion and increased apoptosis of RCC either in vivo or in vitro. RSV significantly down-regulated expressions of NLRP3 and its downstream genes. Inhibition of NLRP3 by NLRP3 small interfering RNA mimicked the effects of RSV on RCC cells. These results suggested that RSV could exert antitumor effect by depressing activity of NLRP3, and NLRP3 would be a promising clinical therapeutic strategy for RCC.

Resveratrol prevents ISO-induced myocardial remodeling associated with regulating polarization of macrophages through VEGF-B/AMPK/NF-kB pathway.

Macrophage expansion and inflammatory responses are involved in induction of cardiac remodeling. Resveratrol has strong anti-inflammatory effects, however its effect on macrophage infiltration and polarization is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of RSV on ISO-induced myocardial remodeling in mice and its regulatory role in macrophage polarization. BALB/c mice were orally administered with RSV (100 mg/kg) daily for one week, then were subcutaneously injected with ISO (50 mg/kg) daily for another week. ISO injections to mouse caused cardiac dysfunction evidenced by cardiac hypertrophy and cardiomyocyte fibrosis. Meanwhile, macrophage M1 polarization was found in ISO treated mice, which was evidenced by increased percentage of Ly6Clow macrophages in the heart, levels of M1 cytokines and expression of CD68, and decreased percentage of Ly6Chigh macrophage, levels of M2 cytokines and expression of CD206. All these changes in cardiac and macrophage M1 polarization were ameliorated when mice were pretreated with RSV. The effect of RSV on macrophage polarization was also tested in RAW264.7 cells. It was found that pre-treatment with RSV decreased the levels of M1 marker or proinflammatory cytokines, while increased the levels of M2 markers in ISO treated cells. In addition, it was found that RSV could upregulate the expression of VEGF-B and the activity of AMPK, while it downregulated the expression of phosphorylated NF-κB p65 both in RAW264.7 cells and in mice. Furthermore, pretreatment with VEGF-B siRNA greatly reversed changes in almost all above parameters evoked by RSV in RAW264.7 cells. Therefore, our findings suggest RSV has potential therapeutic effects in ISO-induced myocardial injury, which may be by inhibiting the M1 polarization of macrophages through VEGFB/AMPK/NF-кB pathway.

Resveratrol protects against isoproterenol induced myocardial infarction in rats through VEGF-B/AMPK/eNOS/NO signalling pathway.

According to our previous results, resveratrol (RSV, 3, 5, 4-trihydroxystilbene), a naturally polyphenolic phytoalexin, could attenuate myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury through up-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor B (VEGF-B) in isolated rat heart or H9c2 cells. However, the molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of RSV on myocardial infarction (MI) in rats and further explored the underlying signal pathway after VEGF-B. Rats received RSV or normal saline by intragastric administration for 7 consecutive days and followed by subcutaneously isoproterenol (ISO) or normal saline injections for another 2 days. We found that RSV pretreatment prevented the unfavourable changes in HW/BW, HW/TL, infarct size, and cell apoptosis in ISO-treated rats. Moreover, superoxide and malondialdehyde (MDA) production were significantly reduced and superoxide dismutase (SOD) was increased by RSV in ISO-treated rats. Furthermore, it showed that RSV pretreatment increased VEGF-B, p-eNOS and p-AMPK expression, and NO production in ISO-treated rats. Using Neonatal Rat Ventricular Myocytes (NRVM), we found that VEGF-B siRNA could abolish the cardio-protective effect of RSV. The enhanced ratios of eNOS phosphorylation to eNOS expression induced by RSV were markedly reversed by VEGF-B siRNA in NRVM also. Meantime, we found that the effect of VEGF-B knock-down on eNOS activation was rescued by AMPK activator AICAR. L-NAME, a NOS inhibitor, could inhibit RSV enhanced eNOS phosphorylation but had no effect on VEGF-B expression in NRVM or in rats. Collectively, our results indicate that RSV exerts cardio-protection from ISO-induced myocardial infarction through VEGF-B/AMPK/eNOS/NO signalling pathway.

Corrigendum to "The Epidemiology of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis in China".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2018/4320195.].

The Epidemiology of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis in China.

Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) are life-threatening disease. However, there are only few epidemiologic studies of SJS/TEN from China. To analyze the clinical characteristics, causality, and outcome of treatment for SJS/TEN in China, we reviewed case reports of patients with SJS/TEN from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang database from 2006 to 2016 and patients with SJS/TEN who were admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University during the same period. There were 166 patients enrolled, including 70 SJS, 2 SJS/TEN overlap, and 94 TEN. The most common offending drugs were antibiotics (29.5%) and anticonvulsants (24.1%). Carbamazepine, allopurinol, and penicillins were the most common single offending drugs (17.5%, 9.6%, and 7.2%). Chinese patent medicines accounted for 5.4%. There were 76 (45.8%) patients receiving systemic steroid and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in combination therapy, especially for TEN (80.3%), and others were treated with systemic steroids alone. Mortality rate of combination treatment comparing with steroid alone in TEN patients had no statistical significance. In conclusion, carbamazepine and allopurinol were the leading causative drugs for SJS/TEN in China. Combination of IVIG and steroids is a common treatment for TEN, but its efficacy in improving mortality needs further investigation.