Calcium signaling mediates antifungal activity of triazole drugs in the Aspergilli.

Azoles are widely applied and largely effective as antifungals; however, the increasing prevalence of clinically resistant isolates has yet to be matched by approaches to improve the efficacy of antimicrobial therapy. In this study, using the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans and one of the most common human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus as research materials, we present the evidence that calcium signaling is involved in the azole-antifungals-induced stress-response reactions. In normal media, antifungal-itraconazole (ITZ) is able to induce the [Ca(2+)]c increased sharply but the addition of calcium chelator-EGTA or BAPTA almost blocks the calcium influx responses, resulted in the dramatically decreasing of [Ca(2+)]c transient. Real-time PCR analysis verified that six-tested Ca(2+)-inducible genes-two calcium channels (cchA/midA), a calmodulin-dependent phosphatase-calcineurin (cnaA), a transcription factor-crzA, and two calcium transporters (pmrA/pmcA)-could be transiently up-regulated by adding ITZ, indicating these components are involved in the azole stress-response reaction. Defect of cnaA or crzA caused more susceptibility to azole antifungals than did single mutants or double deletions of midA and cchA. Notably, EGTA may influence Rh123 accumulation as an azole-mimicking substrate through the process of the drug absorption. In vivo studies of a Galleria mellonella model identified that the calcium chelator works as an adjunct antifungal agent with azoles for invasive aspergillosis. Most importantly, combination of ITZ and EGTA or ITZ with calcium signaling inhibitor-FK506 greatly enhances the ITZ efficacy. Thus, our study provides potential clues that specific inhibitors of calcium signaling could be clinically useful adjuncts to conventional azole antifungals in the Aspergilli.

Exploration of treatment in childhood Langerhans cell histiocytosis based on inflammatory and malignant symptoms: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Multisystem childhood Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) patients, especially those with risk organ (RO) involved, had not been satisfactorily treated under the international traditional schemes as high incidences of reactivation with late sequelae were largely reported. Over years, we have observed that LCH patients with varied clinical symptoms responded differently to different drugs, suggesting the current grouping strategies based only on the number of organs involved might be inadequate. LCH has been defined as an inflammatory myeloid tumor, thus this study has innovatively divided LCH pediatric patients into inflammatory or malignant symptoms group, and given different intensity treatment regimens to different groups. AIM: This clinical study aimed to explore a more appropriate patient grouping system according to the LCH symptom presentations and examine the clinical outcomes of treatment strategies in different groups. METHODS: According to the clinical manifestations, 37 cases of children were divided into Group A (only inflammatory symptoms) and Group B (malignant symptoms with or without inflammatory symptoms). Patients in Group A and B were initially treated with vindesine (VDS) and methylprednisolone (PSL), and VDS, PSL, pirarubicin (THP) and cyclophosphamide (CTX), respectively. Treatment responses were evaluated six weeks after the induction therapy in all patients, and the criteria were disease status and clinical scores of symptoms. RESULTS: Pre- and post-treatment scores were 1.22 ± 0.547 and 0.00 ± 0.00 in Group A, and 14.79 ± 1.686 and 1.00 ± 1.563 in Group B, respectively. All patients had subsequentlly received maintenance therapy without progressive disease. The 4-year overall survival (OS) rate was 100% in both groups and the 4-year event-free survival (EFS) was 94.4% in Group A and 89.5% in Group B, respectively. There were no obvious adverse events (AE) in Group A, whereas the main AE in Group B were alopecia and non-lethal hematological toxicity. CONCLUSION: Stratification according to patients' clinical symptoms, with low-intensity treatment for inflammatory symptoms (mild manifestations) and intensive treatment with multiple drugs for malignant symptoms (severe manifestations), is a positive exploration that simplifies stratification method, achieves good long-term remission of the disease, and obtains a higher survival rate and quality of life, which seemed to be more appropriate for LCH patients.

Effects of Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Exosomes on Corneal Stromal Fibroblast Viability and Extracellular Matrix Synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Corneal stromal cells (CSCs) are components of the corneal endothelial microenvironment that can be induced to form a functional tissue-engineered corneal endothelium. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) have been reported as an important component of regenerative medicine and cell therapy for corneal stromal damage. We have demonstrated that the treatment with ADSCs leads to phenotypic changes in CSCs in vitro. However, the underlying mechanisms of such ADSC-induced changes in CSCs remain unclear. METHODS: ADSCs and CSCs were isolated from New Zealand white rabbits and cultured in vitro. An Exosome Isolation Kit, Western blotting, and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) were used to isolate and confirm the exosomes from ADSC culture medium. Meanwhile, the optimal exosome concentration and treatment time were selected. Cell Counting Kit-8 and annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide assays were used to assess the effect of ADSC- derived exosomes on the proliferation and apoptosis of CSCs. To evaluate the effects of ADSC- derived exosomes on CSC invasion activity, Western blotting was used to detect the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and collagens. RESULTS:: ADSCs and CSCs were successfully isolated from New Zealand rabbits. The optimal concentration and treatment time of exosomes for the following study were 100 µg/ml and 96 h, respectively. NTA revealed that the ADSC-derived exosomes appeared as nanoparticles (40-200 nm), and Western blotting confirmed positive expression of CD9, CD81, flotillin-1, and HSP70 versus ADSC cytoplasmic proteins (all P < 0.01). ADSC-derived exosomes (50 µg/ml and 100 µg/ml) significantly promoted proliferation and inhibited apoptosis (mainly early apoptosis) of CSCs versus non-exosome-treated CSCs (all P < 0.05). Interestingly, MMPs were downregulated and extracellular matrix (ECM)-related proteins including collagens and fibronectin were upregulated in the exosome-treated CSCs versus non-exosome-treated CSCs (MMP1: t = 80.103, P < 0.01; MMP2: t = 114.778, P < 0.01; MMP3: t = 56.208, P < 0.01; and MMP9: t = 60.617, P < 0.01; collagen I: t = -82.742, P < 0.01; collagen II: t = -72.818, P < 0.01; collagen III: t = -104.452, P < 0.01; collagen IV: t = -133.426, P < 0.01, and collagen V: t = -294.019, P < 0.01; and fibronectin: t = -92.491, P < 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSION:: The findings indicate that ADSCs might play an important role in CSC viability regulation and ECM remodeling, partially through the secretion of exosomes.

[Underlying Mechanisms of Iron Overloading in Myelodysplastic Syndrome -Review].

Myelodysplastic Syndromes(MDS) comprise a heterogenous group of hematopoietic stem cell malignancies characterized by peripheral cytopenias and have a substantial risk of progression to acute myeloid leukemia(AML). MDS, without effective cure methods, is one of the common hematologic malignant tumors with great threaten to people's health. The phenomenon of iron overloading is common in MDS, which has a poor effect on overall survival and leukemic progression to MDS but get good prognosis by iron chelation therapy. Therefore, increasing researchers are interested in iron overloading of MDS. So far, many researchers have reported that blood transfusion, ineffective hematopoiesis, genetic changes, mitochondrial apoptosis and ROS were found to be important in the incidence of iron overloading. There is greatly valuable to guide iron chelation therapy to study the relationship between those elements with iron overloading. In this paper, we reviewed the great important and specific influence of blood transfusion, ineffective hematopoiesis, genetic changes, mitochondrial apoptosis and ROS in the mechanism of iron overloading, which there is a great significance on iron overloading- associated MDS.

Cell viability and extracellular matrix synthesis in a co-culture system of corneal stromal cells and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

AIM: To investigate the impact of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) on cell viability and extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis of corneal stromal cells (CSCs). METHODS: ADSCs and CSCs were obtained from the corneas of New Zealand white rabbits and indirectly co-cultured in vitro. The proliferative capacity of CSCs in the different groups was assessed by CCK-8 assays. Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/proliferation indices (PI) assays were used to detect the apoptosis of CSCs. The expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), such as MMP1, MMP2, MMP9, and collagens were also evaluated by Western blot. RESULTS: ADSCs significantly promoted proliferation and invasion of CSCs in the indirect co-culture assays. The co-cultural group displayed much higher ability of proliferation, especially under the co-culture conditions of ADSCs for 3d, compared with that CSCs cultured alone. The PI of CSCs in the co-culture system were increased approximately 3-8-fold compared with the control group. A significant change was observed in the proportions of cells at apoptosis (early and late) between the negative control group (6.34% and 2.06%) and the ADCSs-treated group (4.69% and 1.59%). The expression levels of MMPs were down regulated in the co-culture models. Compared with the control group, the decrease intensities of MMP-1, MMP-2 and MMP-9 in CSCs/ADSCs group were observed, 3.90-fold, 1.09-fold and 3.03-fold, respectively. However, the increase intensities of collagen type (I, II, III, IV, and V) in CSCs were observed in CSCs/ADSCs group, 3.47-fold, 4.30-fold, 2.35-fold, 2.55-fold and 2.43-fold, respectively, compared to that in the control group. The expressions of aldehyde dehydrogenase and fibronectin in CSCs were upregulated in the co-culture models. CONCLUSION: ADSCs play a promotive role in CSCs' growth and invasion, which may be partially associated with MMPs decrease and collagens increase, resulting in a positive participation in the plasticity and ECM synthesis of CSCs. This provided a new insight into the extensive role of ADSCs in CSCs and a potential molecular target for corneal therapy.

Iron overload promotes erythroid apoptosis through regulating HIF-1a/ROS signaling pathway in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome.

Erythroid apoptosis increases significantly in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients with iron overload, but the underlying mechanism is not fully clear. In this study, we aim to explore the effect of HIF-1a/ROS on erythroid apoptosis in MDS patients with iron overload. We found that iron overload injured cellular functions through up-regulating ROS levels in MDS/AML cells, including inhibited cell viability, increased cell apoptosis and blocked cell cycle at G0/G1 phase. Interestingly, overexpression of hypoxia inducible factor-1a (HIF-1a), which was under-expressed in iron overload models, reduced ROS levels and attenuated cell damage caused by iron overload in MDS/AML cells. And gene knockdown of HIF-1a got the similar results as iron overload in MDS/AML cells. Furthermore, iron overload caused high erythroid apoptosis was closely related with ROS in MDS patients. Importantly, the HIF-1a protein levels of erythrocytes elevated obviously after incubation with desferrioxamine (DFO) from MDS patients with iron overload, accompanied by ROS levels inhibited and erythroid apoptosis reduced. Taken together, our findings determine that the HIF-1a/ROS signaling pathway plays a key role in promoting erythroid apoptosis in MDS patients with iron overload.

[Changes of lipid levels in mice with hypoxic pulmonary arterial hypertension].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the changes of lipid levels in mice with pulmonary hypertension induced by hypoxia. METHODS: The animal model of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension was established by exposing the mice to isobaric hypoxic chamberfor 3 weeks (23 h/d, regular chow feed). Twenty male C57BL/6 mice were randomlydivided into normoxia group and hypoxia group (n=10). The concentrations of total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) in plasma were detected by Elisa method.The mRNA levels of HMG-CoAreductase (HMGCR), low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), scavenger receptor class B1 (SR-B1), and sterol regulatory element-binding factor-2 (SREBF2) in liverwere measured by real-time PCR. RESULTS: ① The right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) and the weight ratio of right ventricle (RV) to left ventricle plus septum (LV+S) of hypoxia group were significantly higher than those of normoxia group (P<0.05).② The concentrations of HDL and HDL/LDL in plasma were significantly higher in hypoxia group, compared with normoxia group (P<0.05).③The mRNA levels of LDLR and SR-B1in liver were significantly down-regulated in hypoxia group(P<0.05).④RVSP were significantly negative correlated with HDL/LDL, the gene expression of LDLR and SR-B1 (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal lipid metabolism participates in the pathological proceeding of pulmonary hypertension induced by hypoxia.

[Role of catestatin in 2K1C-induced renal hypertension in rats and the underlying mechanism].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the roles of catestatin (CST) in 2-kidney-1 clip (2K1C)-induced renal hypertension in rats, and to explore the underlying mechanism. METHODS: Thirty six male SD rats were randomly divided into Sham group (n=15) and Model group(n=21).The model group was performed by 2K1C operation. For 2K1C operation, the left renal arteries were narrowed by cotton thread. The Sham group was treated with the same condition as the 2K1C group except the renal artery was narrowed. Tail-cuff systemic blood pressure of rats was measured before and every weeks after 2K1C operation. Six weeks after 2K1C operation, a carotid artery catheter was inserted to measure blood pressure of rats under anesthesia. Then, the model group was randomly subdivided into 2K1C group (n=15) and 2K1C+CST group (n=6). The rats of 2K1C+CST group were intravenous given CST (80 µg/100 g) and the rats of Sham or 2K1C group were given normal saline. All rats were sacrificed after blood pressure was measured and blood was collected. Then, the left ventricular plus interventricular septum weight (LV+S) was weighted and the ratio of (LV+S)/body weight(BW) was calculated as the index of left ventricular hypertrophy. Norepinephrine (NE) contents in plasma were determined by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) and CST contents in plasma by ELISA. The nitrite/nitrate contents in the left ventricular tissue and plasma were measured by nitrate reduction method to represent nitric oxide (NO)contents.Expression levels of CST in the left ventricle, kidney, medulla oblongata and adrenal gland,as well as eNOS and iNOS, were tested by Western blot. RESULTS: ①The 2K1C group had higher tail-artery blood pressure(P<0.01) and were more marked presence of right ventricular hypertrophy than those of sham group (P<0.01). Compared with Sham group, plasma CST content in 2K1C group was decreased by 226% (P<0.01), while plasma NE content in 2K1C group was increased by 246% (P<0.01), expression levels of chromograminA(Chga) in medulla oblongata of 2K1C group were increased by 108%, in leftventricle and kidneywere decreased by 60% and 30%, respectively (P<0.05).the content of NO in left ventricular and plasmawere increased by 46% and 24% respectively. ②The carotid arterial blood pressure of 2K1C group markedly reduced after administration of CST.③Compared with 2K1C group, the content of NO in left ventricul and plasma of 2K1C+CST group were increased by 35% and 19% respectively(P<0.05). The expression of eNOS in left ventricular of 2K1C+CST group were also obviously increased. CONCLUSIONS: The CST expression of 2K1C-induced renal hypertension rats is reduced and the effects of exogenous CST lowering their blood pressure may be related to NO/NOS system.Therefore, we speculate CST could contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of renal hypertension.