BACKGROUND Hepatic fibrosis is a serious condition,and the development of hepatic fibrosis can lead to a series of complications.However,the pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis remains unclear,and effective therapy optio...BACKGROUND Hepatic fibrosis is a serious condition,and the development of hepatic fibrosis can lead to a series of complications.However,the pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis remains unclear,and effective therapy options are still lacking.Our group identified hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein 3-transactivated protein 1(NS3TP1) by suppressive subtractive hybridization and bioinformatics analysis,but its role in diseases including hepatic fibrosis remains undefined.Therefore,additional studies on the function of NS3TP1 in hepatic fibrosis are urgently needed to provide new targets for treatment.AIM To elucidate the mechanism of NS3TP1 in hepatic fibrosis and the regulatory effects of calcitriol on NS3TP1.METHODS Twenty-four male C57BL/6 mice were randomized and separated into three groups,comprising the normal,fibrosis,and calcitriol treatment groups,and liver fibrosis was modeled by carbon tetrachloride(CCl4).To evaluate the level of hepatic fibrosis in every group,serological and pathological examinations of the liver were conducted.TGF-β1 was administered to boost the in vitro cultivation of LX-2 cells.NS3TP1,α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA),collagen I,and collagen Ⅲ in every group were examined using a Western blot and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.The activity of the transforming growth factor beta 1(TGFβ1)/Smad3 and NF-κB signaling pathways in each group of cells transfected with pcDNA-NS3TP1 or siRNA-NS3TP1 was detected.The statistical analysis of the data was performed using the Student’s t test.RESULTS NS3TP1 promoted the activation,proliferation,and differentiation of hepatic stellate cells(HSCs)and enhanced hepatic fibrosis via the TGFβ1/Smad3 and NF-κB signaling pathways,as evidenced by the presence of α-SMA,collagen I,collagen Ⅲ,p-smad3,and p-p65 in LX-2 cells,which were upregulated after NS3TP1 overexpression and downregulated after NS3TP1 interference.The proliferation of HSCs was lowered after NS3TP1 interference and elevated after NS3TP1 overexpression,as shown by the luciferase assay.NS3TP1 inhibited the apoptosis of HSCs.Moreover,both Smad3 and p65 could bind to NS3TP1,and p65 increased the promoter activity of NS3TP1,while NS3TP1 increased the promoter activity of TGFβ1 receptor I,as indicated by coimmunoprecipitation and luciferase assay results.Both in vivo and in vitro,treatment with calcitriol dramatically reduced the expression of NS3TP1.Calcitriol therapy-controlled HSCs activation,proliferation,and differentiation and substantially suppressed CCl4-induced hepatic fibrosis in mice.Furthermore,calcitriol modulated the activities of the above signaling pathways via downregulation of NS3TP1.CONCLUSION Our results suggest that calcitriol may be employed as an adjuvant therapy for hepatic fibrosis and that NS3TP1 is a unique,prospective therapeutic target in hepatic fibrosis.展开更多
Glioblastoma(GBM)is the most challenging malignant tumor of the central nervous system because of its high morbidity,mortality,and recurrence rate.Currently,mechanisms of GBM are still unclear and there is no effectiv...Glioblastoma(GBM)is the most challenging malignant tumor of the central nervous system because of its high morbidity,mortality,and recurrence rate.Currently,mechanisms of GBM are still unclear and there is no effective drug for GBM in the clinic.Therefore,it is urgent to identify new drug targets and corresponding drugs for GBM.In this study,in silico analyses and experimental data show that sphingosine kinase 1(SPHK1)is up-regulated in GBM patients,and is strongly correlated with poor prognosis and reduced overall survival.Overexpression of SPHK1 promoted the proliferation,invasion,metastasis,and clonogenicity of GBM cells,while silencing SPHK1 had the opposite effect.SPHK1 promoted inflammation through the NF-κB/IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway and led to the phosphorylation of JNK,activating the JNK-JUN and JNK-ATF3 pathways and promoting inflammation and proliferation of GBM cells by transcriptional activation of PTX3.SPHK1 interacted with PTX3 and formed a positive feedback loop to reciprocally increase expression,promote inflammation and GBM growth.Inhibition of SPHK1 by the inhibitor,PF543,also decreased tumorigenesis in the U87-MG and U251-MG SPHK1 orthotopic mouse models.In summary,we have characterized the role and molecular mechanisms by which SPHK1 promotes GBM,which may provide opportunities for SPHK1-targeted therapy.展开更多
基金the National Key Research and Development Program of China,No.2017YFC0908104National Science and Technology Projects,No.2017ZX10203201,No.2017ZX10201201,and No.2017ZX10202202.
文摘BACKGROUND Hepatic fibrosis is a serious condition,and the development of hepatic fibrosis can lead to a series of complications.However,the pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis remains unclear,and effective therapy options are still lacking.Our group identified hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein 3-transactivated protein 1(NS3TP1) by suppressive subtractive hybridization and bioinformatics analysis,but its role in diseases including hepatic fibrosis remains undefined.Therefore,additional studies on the function of NS3TP1 in hepatic fibrosis are urgently needed to provide new targets for treatment.AIM To elucidate the mechanism of NS3TP1 in hepatic fibrosis and the regulatory effects of calcitriol on NS3TP1.METHODS Twenty-four male C57BL/6 mice were randomized and separated into three groups,comprising the normal,fibrosis,and calcitriol treatment groups,and liver fibrosis was modeled by carbon tetrachloride(CCl4).To evaluate the level of hepatic fibrosis in every group,serological and pathological examinations of the liver were conducted.TGF-β1 was administered to boost the in vitro cultivation of LX-2 cells.NS3TP1,α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA),collagen I,and collagen Ⅲ in every group were examined using a Western blot and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.The activity of the transforming growth factor beta 1(TGFβ1)/Smad3 and NF-κB signaling pathways in each group of cells transfected with pcDNA-NS3TP1 or siRNA-NS3TP1 was detected.The statistical analysis of the data was performed using the Student’s t test.RESULTS NS3TP1 promoted the activation,proliferation,and differentiation of hepatic stellate cells(HSCs)and enhanced hepatic fibrosis via the TGFβ1/Smad3 and NF-κB signaling pathways,as evidenced by the presence of α-SMA,collagen I,collagen Ⅲ,p-smad3,and p-p65 in LX-2 cells,which were upregulated after NS3TP1 overexpression and downregulated after NS3TP1 interference.The proliferation of HSCs was lowered after NS3TP1 interference and elevated after NS3TP1 overexpression,as shown by the luciferase assay.NS3TP1 inhibited the apoptosis of HSCs.Moreover,both Smad3 and p65 could bind to NS3TP1,and p65 increased the promoter activity of NS3TP1,while NS3TP1 increased the promoter activity of TGFβ1 receptor I,as indicated by coimmunoprecipitation and luciferase assay results.Both in vivo and in vitro,treatment with calcitriol dramatically reduced the expression of NS3TP1.Calcitriol therapy-controlled HSCs activation,proliferation,and differentiation and substantially suppressed CCl4-induced hepatic fibrosis in mice.Furthermore,calcitriol modulated the activities of the above signaling pathways via downregulation of NS3TP1.CONCLUSION Our results suggest that calcitriol may be employed as an adjuvant therapy for hepatic fibrosis and that NS3TP1 is a unique,prospective therapeutic target in hepatic fibrosis.
基金This work was supported by Beijing Natural Science Foundation(7212157,China)This work was also supported by CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences(2021-I2M-1-029 and 2022-12M-JB-011,China)National Natural Science Foundation of China(81703536,China).
文摘Glioblastoma(GBM)is the most challenging malignant tumor of the central nervous system because of its high morbidity,mortality,and recurrence rate.Currently,mechanisms of GBM are still unclear and there is no effective drug for GBM in the clinic.Therefore,it is urgent to identify new drug targets and corresponding drugs for GBM.In this study,in silico analyses and experimental data show that sphingosine kinase 1(SPHK1)is up-regulated in GBM patients,and is strongly correlated with poor prognosis and reduced overall survival.Overexpression of SPHK1 promoted the proliferation,invasion,metastasis,and clonogenicity of GBM cells,while silencing SPHK1 had the opposite effect.SPHK1 promoted inflammation through the NF-κB/IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway and led to the phosphorylation of JNK,activating the JNK-JUN and JNK-ATF3 pathways and promoting inflammation and proliferation of GBM cells by transcriptional activation of PTX3.SPHK1 interacted with PTX3 and formed a positive feedback loop to reciprocally increase expression,promote inflammation and GBM growth.Inhibition of SPHK1 by the inhibitor,PF543,also decreased tumorigenesis in the U87-MG and U251-MG SPHK1 orthotopic mouse models.In summary,we have characterized the role and molecular mechanisms by which SPHK1 promotes GBM,which may provide opportunities for SPHK1-targeted therapy.
文摘目的基于网络药理学及动物实验探讨荆防颗粒对自身免疫性肝炎(autoimmune hepatitis,AIH)小鼠的治疗作用及作用机制。方法通过TCMSP数据库筛选荆防颗粒的活性成分及其对应的靶点,通过检索Omim、Drugbank和GeneCards数据库收集AIH相关的靶点,进而得到荆防颗粒治疗AIH的关键靶点;将获得的关键靶点导入STRING数据库进行分析,并构建蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用(protein-protein interaction,PPI)网络,通过Cytoscape软件可视化;通过Metascape数据库对关键靶点进行基因本体(gene ontology,GO)功能及京都基因与基因组百科全书(Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes,KEGG)通路富集分析。通过建立刀豆蛋白A诱导的AIH小鼠模型探讨荆防颗粒治疗AIH的作用机制。结果共筛选得到荆防颗粒中159个潜在活性成分和269个相关的靶点,与343个AIH相关靶点取交集,获得25个交集靶点。PPI网络分析显示,白细胞介素-6(interleukin-6,IL-6)、肿瘤坏死因子-α(tumor necrosis factor-α,TNF-α)、IL-1β、信号传导和转录激活蛋白3(signal transducer and activator of transcription 3,STAT3)和IL-8/CXC型趋化因子配体8(CXC chemokine ligand 8,CXCL8)等靶点可能为荆防颗粒治疗AIH的关键靶点;KEGG通路富集分析得到炎症途径和凋亡相关途径信号通路。体内实验结果显示,与模型组比较,荆防颗粒显著减轻了刀豆蛋白A诱导的肝炎,表现为小鼠存活率增加、肝细胞坏死减少、血清中丙氨酸氨基转移酶(alanine aminotransferase,ALT)和天冬氨酸氨基转移酶(aspartate aminotransferase,AST)活性降低(P<0.05、0.01);荆防颗粒还通过抑制IL-6/STAT3、NOD样受体热蛋白结构域相关蛋白3(NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3,NLRP3)/IL-1β和TNF-α/核因子-κB(nuclear factor-κB,NF-κB)通路进而调节多种细胞因子(IL-6、IL-1β、TNF-α、CXCL-8)的产生(P<0.05、0.01),从而发挥抗炎、抗凋亡作用。结论荆防颗粒通过多成分、多靶点发挥治疗AIH的作用。
