Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lucie Valek, Bao Ngoc Tran, Irmgard Tegeder
Summary: The study found that nucleoredoxin (NXN) plays an important role in regulating thermal sensation and nociception. The loss of NXN in neurons leads to increased sensitivity to cold temperature and heightened heat nociception in mice. These abnormal responses are associated with changes in calcium influx, mitochondrial dysfunction, and increased density of neurite trees in sensory neurons.
FREE RADICAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Ryoko Sato-Nishiuchi, Masamichi Doiguchi, Nanami Morooka, Kiyotoshi Sekiguchi
Summary: Polydom is an extracellular matrix protein involved in lymphatic vessel development. In this study, it was found that Polydom directly binds to Tie1, a receptor in the Angiopoietin-Tie system, and promotes lymphatic endothelial cell migration. The PI3K/Akt pathway is involved in Polydom-induced LEC migration. These findings suggest that Polydom plays a crucial role in lymphatic vessel development through Tie1 and the PI3K/Akt pathway.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bao Ngoc Tran, Lucie Valek, Annett Wilken-Schmitz, Dominik Christian Fuhrmann, Dimitry Namgaladze, Ilka Wittig, Irmgard Tegeder
Summary: The study showed that Nucleoredoxin plays a crucial role in neuronal function, impacting neuronal plasticity and synaptic protein activity. Mice deficient in synaptic protein Nestin-NXN-/- displayed normal behavior in tests, but showed reduced interest in rewards.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Manali Tilak, Jennifer Holborn, Laura A. New, Jasmin Lalonde, Nina Jones
Summary: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a deadly cancer with limited response to existing therapies. Subtypes of GBM with distinct genetic signatures show aberrant activation of signal transduction pathways. Current research focuses on understanding these molecular alterations to develop more efficient targeted therapies.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Neil Bate, James Lodge, Nicholas P. J. Brindle
Summary: This study enhanced the binding affinity of Tie2 Ectodomain trap for Ang2 using directed protein evolution and revealed different contributions of Tie2 residues to binding of Ang1 and Ang2. It also identified selectivity-determining residues that could be targeted for the design of inhibitors of Ang2 in the treatment of vascular dysfunction.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ravi Varma Aithabathula, Naveed Pervaiz, Ishita Kathuria, Mallory Swanson, Udai P. Singh, Santosh Kumar, Frank Park, Bhupesh Singla
Summary: This study demonstrates the potential role of H2S donor NaHS in promoting lymphatic vessel formation, suggesting its potential for treating lymphatic dysfunction-related disorders.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yun Ju Choi, Ji Eun Kim, Su Jin Lee, Jeong Eun Gong, You Jeong Jin, Ho Lee, Dae Youn Hwang
Summary: The current study investigates the impact of complement component 3 (C3) deficiency on receptor downstream-mediated inflammatory response. The results show that C3 knockout (KO) mice exhibit significant enhancement in the iNOS-mediated COX-2 induction pathway, inflammasome pathway, NF-kappa B activation, and inflammatory cytokine expressions. Additionally, lower levels of E-cadherin, tight junction channels, and ion channels are observed in the mid colon of C3 KO mice, along with a slight increase in myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity for neutrophils.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Review
Oncology
Paula Aldaz, Imanol Arozarena
Summary: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and lethal form of malignant brain tumor, and patients typically undergo surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Despite promising preclinical evidence, clinical trials testing the therapeutic potential of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting EGFR, PDGF receptors, and other tyrosine kinases have not led to significant breakthroughs in treating GBM over the past two decades. This article critically analyzes the reasons for the failure of TKIs in GBM treatment and proposes alternative approaches for the evaluation of TKIs in GBM patients.
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Catia R. Lopes, Vanessa S. Lourenco, Angelo R. Tome, Rodrigo A. Cunha, Paula M. Canas
Summary: The study explores the role of adenosine receptors in the brain, indicating the potential of A1R in neurodegeneration and A2AR in psychiatric conditions. Transgenic mouse experiments reveal the different roles of A2AR in various cell types and brain areas, emphasizing the regulatory role of adenosine in the brain and uncovering potential mechanisms of action.
BIOCHEMICAL PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Jian Chen, Fan Zhang, Mengmeng Hua, Xiaobin Song, Shaohua Liu, Zuoqing Dong
Summary: This study demonstrated a significant association between intratumoral lymphatic vessel density (ILVD) and increased lymphatic metastasis, tumor recurrence, and reduced disease-specific survival in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. ILVD could be considered as an indicator for predicting the prognosis of OSCC.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Daria Monogiou Belik, Riccardo Bernasconi, Lifen Xu, Giacomo Della Verde, Vera Lorenz, Vivienne Gruterich, Melania Balzarolo, Michika Mochizuki, Otmar Pfister, Gabriela M. Kuster
Summary: This study aimed to test whether Flt3-targeting TKI treatment aggravates cardiac injury after myocardial infarction (MI). The results showed that quizartinib did not alter cardiac dimensions or function in healthy mice, but significantly enhanced ventricular dilatation and apoptotic cell death in MI mice. In vitro studies further confirmed that quizartinib increased cell death and apoptosis, potentially through a p38-dependent mechanism.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Jorge A. Castorena-Gonzalez
Summary: Research has established a two-way connection between obesity and lymphatic dysfunction, indicating that obesity may lead to lymphedema, with lymphatic valve dysfunction potentially being a critical component of obesity-induced lymphedema.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Lin-Na Wang, Meng-Dan Xing, Wan-Ting Qu, Cong-Bei Wang, Zhi-Qiang Liu, Jing Han, Wei Ren, Yan-Ning Qiao
Summary: The study suggests that vascular smooth muscle CB1 receptors play a key role in mediating the vasodilation effects of cannabinoids, particularly in ischemic conditions such as stroke where they exert a protective function.
MICROVASCULAR RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Oncology
Kalpana K. Bhanumathy, Amrutha Balagopal, Frederick S. Vizeacoumar, Franco J. Vizeacoumar, Andrew Freywald, Vincenzo Giambra
Summary: Protein phosphorylation is a key regulatory mechanism controlling cellular responses, catalysed by members of the protein kinase superfamily. Tyrosine kinases have been extensively studied for their roles in human malignancies, leading to the development of targeted therapies. Various tyrosine kinases, both receptor and nonreceptor types, play critical roles in the pathogenesis and drug resistance of leukemia, highlighting their potential as therapeutic targets.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Elena C. Sigmund, Lilian Baur, Philipp Schineis, Jorge Arasa, Victor Collado-Diaz, Martina Vranova, Rolf A. K. Stahl, Marcus Thelen, Cornelia Halin
Summary: ACKR3 is a scavenging receptor implicated in lymphatic development, with deficiency leading to lymphatic hyperplasia and cardiac defects in mice. However, in adult mice, LEC-expressed ACKR3 does not contribute to postnatal lymphangiogenesis or lymphatic function.
Article
Cell Biology
Jin Liu, Hongna Zuo, Ziliu Wang, Wei Wang, Xuezhen Qian, Yingyuan Xie, Di Peng, Yubin Xie, Liquan Hong, Wanling You, Huiling Lou, Guanzheng Luo, Jian Ren, Bin Shen, Jinping Zheng, Hu Wang, Zhenyu Ju
Summary: Muscle stem cells are crucial for the maintenance and repair of skeletal muscles in mammals. It has been found that a specific type of RNA modification, known as N6-methyladenosine (m6A), plays a significant role in muscle development and regeneration. However, the exact mechanism by which m6A modification regulates muscle stem cells is not well understood. In this study, researchers discovered that a protein called Ythdc1, which is responsible for reading m6A modifications, is essential for skeletal muscle regeneration and the proliferation of muscle stem cells in mice. The absence of Ythdc1 prevents muscle stem cells from exiting a quiescent state, hindering their ability to regenerate muscle tissue. This is due to Ythdc1's role in regulating the alternative splicing of specific mRNAs and, subsequently, the PI4K-Akt-mTOR signaling pathway. Ythdc1-deficient muscle stem cells exhibit deficiencies in key molecules involved in this pathway, leading to their inability to exit quiescence. These findings establish a connection between dynamic RNA methylation and the regulation of the PI4K-Akt-mTOR pathway during stem cell proliferation and adult tissue regeneration.
CELL PROLIFERATION
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Yunfan Tian, Jingyu Sun, Ming Qiu, Yan Lu, Xuesong Qian, Wei Sun, Xiangqing Kong
Summary: The study found a positive association between the TyG index and albuminuria in hypertensive patients. This finding provides important reference for the assessment and treatment of hypertension in patients.
CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL HYPERTENSION
(2023)
Editorial Material
Oncology
Alessandro Passardi, Alessandro Bittoni, Zhigang Bai, Zhongtao Zhang, Cornelis Sier, Yulong He, Endrit Shahini, Antonio Giovanni Solimando
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Engineering, Biomedical
Xin Lou, Bin Shen
NATURE BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Editorial Material
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Buqing Ni, Jing Shi, Wei Sun, Yongfeng Shao
EUROPEAN HEART JOURNAL-CASE REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Na Yuan, Wen Wei, Li Ji, Jiawei Qian, Zhicong Jin, Hong Liu, Li Xu, Lei Li, Chen Zhao, Xueqin Gao, Yulong He, Mingyuan Wang, Longhai Tang, Yixuan Fang, Jianrong Wang
Summary: The bone marrow niche, responsible for maintaining hematopoietic stem cell homeostasis, declines in function with aging and hematological malignancies. This study reveals that disrupting autophagy in HSCs accelerates niche aging, while transplantation of young donor HSCs repairs the niche environment. Further investigation shows that HSCs transdifferentiate into functional niche cells, including mesenchymal stromal cells and endothelial cells, in an autophagy-dependent manner. These findings provide a clinical solution to rejuvenate an aged or damaged bone marrow hematopoietic niche.
Article
Hematology
Xudong Cao, Taotao Li, Beibei Xu, Kai Ding, Weimin Li, Bin Shen, Man Chu, Dengwen Zhu, Li Rui, Zhi Shang, Xiao Li, Yinyin Wang, Shuyu Zheng, Kari Alitalo, Ganqiang Liu, Jing Tang, Yoshiaki Kubota, Yulong He
Summary: This study reveals that TIE1 and TIE2 act synergistically to restrict sprouting angiogenesis during the development of the venous system.
ARTERIOSCLEROSIS THROMBOSIS AND VASCULAR BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Yunxi Zhao, Luyang Wang, Mingwei Liu, Anning Du, Ming Qiu, Huanyu Shu, Lu Li, Xiangqing Kong, Wei Sun
Summary: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have a crucial role in macrophage polarization. However, the harmful effects of reducing ROS through epigenetic influence are often overlooked. In this study, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to stimulate macrophages and increase ROS levels, while N-acetylcysteine (NAC) was used to reduce ROS. Inflammatory factors were used to evaluate macrophage M1 polarization, and it was discovered that reducing ROS led to an increase in the demethylase KDM6A and a decrease in H3K27me3 levels, which in turn increased NOX2 transcription, ROS production, and the production of inflammatory factors. Knocking out KDM6A reduced NOX2 transcription and ROS production, preventing macrophage M1 polarization. In comparison, direct inhibition of KDM6A was found to be more effective in reducing ROS production and inhibiting macrophage M1 polarization.
CELL STRESS & CHAPERONES
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Yang Hua, Jin-Yu Sun, Yu-Xuan Lou, Wei Sun, Xiang-Qing Kong
Summary: This study investigated the association between MLR and mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality. The results showed that individuals with high MLR had a higher risk of death and cardiovascular disease mortality. MLR was a strong independent predictor of mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality in the general population.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CARDIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Linli Qi, Xiaojing Li, Fang Zhang, Xingguo Zhu, Qi Zhao, Dan Yang, Shujie Hao, Tong Li, Xiangyue Li, Taikun Tian, Jian Feng, Xiaochen Sun, Xilin Wang, Shangyan Gao, Hanzhong Wang, Jing Ye, Shengbo Cao, Yulong He, Hongyan Wang, Bin Wei
Summary: Using murine models, we found that vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 (VEGFR-3) is upregulated in macrophages in the central nervous system (CNS) upon viral infection, while infected neurons secrete the ligand VEGF-C. VEGFR-3(+) macrophages, when cultured with VEGF-C-containing supernatants from infected neurons, suppress tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) secretion to reduce neuron apoptosis. In mice treated with the VEGFR-3 kinase inhibitor or lacking the ligand-binding domain in myeloid cells, the severity of encephalitis, TNF-α production, and neuron apoptosis post Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) infection worsens. Activating VEGFR-3 or blocking TNF-α can alleviate encephalitis and neuronal damage upon JEV infection.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Li Hu, Yanfang Yu, Yueyao Shen, Huijie Huang, Donghai Lin, Kang Wang, Youjia Yu, Kai Li, Yue Cao, Qiang Wang, Xiaoxuan Sun, Zhibing Qiu, Dong Wei, Bin Shen, Jingyu Chen, David Fulton, Yong Ji, Jie Wang, Feng Chen
Summary: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a devastating disease characterized by irreversible pulmonary vascular remodeling (PVR) that causes right ventricular failure and death. The study found that N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modifications of RNA play an important role in phenotypic switching of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells and PH. The study also identified Ythdf2, an m6A reader, as a critical regulator of pulmonary inflammation and redox regulation in PH.
Article
Neurosciences
Sergio Kaiser, Luqing Zhang, Brit Mollenhauer, Jaison Jacob, Simonne Longerich, Jorge Del-Aguila, Jacob Marcus, Neha Raghavan, David Stone, Olumide Fagboyegun, Douglas Galasko, Mohammed Dakna, Bilada Bilican, Mary Dovlatyan, Anna Kostikova, Jingyao Li, Brant Peterson, Michael Rotte, Vinicius Sanz, Tatiana Foroud, Samantha J. Hutten, Mark Frasier, Hirotaka Iwaki, Andrew Singleton, Ken Marek, Karen Crawford, Fiona Elwood, Mirko Messa, Pablo Serrano-Fernandez
Summary: This study comprehensively analyzed the cerebrospinal fluid proteomes of Parkinson's disease patients, identifying potential causal proteins and revealing proteome differences between different subgroups of patients. The findings provide insights into the pathogenesis and clinical heterogeneity of Parkinson's disease, and have implications for the development of personalized medicine and therapeutic targets.
NPJ PARKINSONS DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuan Ma, Wei Sun, Zhifei Ye, Liuhui Liu, Menghuan Li, Jinhui Shang, Xinyu Xu, Hui Cao, Li Xu, Yongchao Liu, Xiangqing Kong, Guosheng Song, Xiao-Bing Zhang
Summary: This study presents a multiplexed diagnostic tool that has the potential to assess oxidative stress levels in the development of atherosclerosis. The tool incorporates photoacoustic imaging and urinalysis to dynamically report malondialdehyde levels in plaque and urine. By leveraging molecular design and a ratiometric photoacoustic nanoprobe, the tool enables the reflection of intraplaque malondialdehyde and detection of urinary malondialdehyde.
Meeting Abstract
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Yue Yuan, Wei Sun, Xiangqing Kong
JOURNAL OF HYPERTENSION
(2022)