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Qi G, Li S, Jiang Q, Yu Z, Peng Z, Li Q, Qi W, Guo M. Network pharmacology analysis and experimental validation to explore the effect and mechanism of tetramethylpyrazine for spinal cord injury. J Chem Neuroanat 2024; 136:102386. [PMID: 38176475 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2023.102386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2023] [Revised: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect and mechanism of Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) in treating Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) using network pharmacology analysis and animal experiments. METHODS This study was based on public databases, including PharmMapper, BATMAN-TCM, and STRING, as well as KEGG pathway analysis and other methods of network pharmacology were used to preliminarily explore the molecular mechanism of TMP in the treatment of SCI. Using a mouse SCI compression injury model, the efficacy of TMP was evaluated, and the expression of predictive targets on the PI3K/AKT and MAPK signaling pathways was measured using Western blotting and q-PCR. RESULTS Network pharmacology analysis showed that TMP may exert therapeutic effects through the MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. In animal experimental validation studies, it was shown that after treatment with TMP, the hind limb motor function scores and ramp test scores of the TMP-treated mice improved significantly. HE staining showed that after treatment with TMP, cavities decreased, fewer glial cells proliferated, and fewer inflammatory cells infiltrated; Nielsen staining showed less neuronal loss. Western blot studies showed that compared with the model group, expression of RAS, ERK1/2, RAF1, PI3K, and p-AKT proteins in the spinal cord tissue of mice treated with high-dose TMP was significantly lower. Accordingly, q-PCR studies showed that compared with the model group, the expression levels of RAS, ERK1/2, RAF1, PI3K, and p-AKT genes in the spinal cords of mice in the high-dose TMP group were significantly lower. CONCLUSION TMP exhibits a good neuroprotective effect after SCI, which may be related to inhibition of the MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guodong Qi
- Chongqing Orthopedic Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Orthopedics Department, Chongqing, China
| | - Shujun Li
- Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Prevention and Cure of Metabolic Diseases, Chongqing, China
| | - Qiong Jiang
- Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Prevention and Cure of Metabolic Diseases, Chongqing, China
| | - Zhijuan Yu
- Chongqing Erlang Community Health Service Center, Clinical Laboratory, Chongqing, China
| | - Zhenggang Peng
- Chongqing Orthopedic Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Orthopedics Department, Chongqing, China
| | - Qiurui Li
- Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Prevention and Cure of Metabolic Diseases, Chongqing, China
| | - Wei Qi
- Chongqing Orthopedic Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Orthopedics Department, Chongqing, China.
| | - Mingjun Guo
- Chongqing Orthopedic Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Orthopedics Department, Chongqing, China.
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Oliveros A, Poleschuk M, Cole PD, Boison D, Jang MH. Chemobrain: An accelerated aging process linking adenosine A 2A receptor signaling in cancer survivors. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2023; 170:267-305. [PMID: 37741694 PMCID: PMC10947554 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2023.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Chemotherapy has a significant positive impact in cancer treatment outcomes, reducing recurrence and mortality. However, many cancer surviving children and adults suffer from aberrant chemotherapy neurotoxic effects on learning, memory, attention, executive functioning, and processing speed. This chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment (CICI) is referred to as "chemobrain" or "chemofog". While the underlying mechanisms mediating CICI are still unclear, there is strong evidence that chemotherapy accelerates the biological aging process, manifesting as effects which include telomere shortening, epigenetic dysregulation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial defects, impaired neurogenesis, and neuroinflammation, all of which are known to contribute to increased anxiety and neurocognitive decline. Despite the increased prevalence of CICI, there exists a lack of mechanistic understanding by which chemotherapy detrimentally affects cognition in cancer survivors. Moreover, there are no approved therapeutic interventions for this condition. To address this gap in knowledge, this review attempts to identify how adenosine signaling, particularly through the adenosine A2A receptor, can be an essential tool to attenuate accelerated aging phenotypes. Importantly, the adenosine A2A receptor uniquely stands at the crossroads of cancer treatment and improved cognition, given that it is widely known to control tumor induced immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment, while also posited to be an essential regulator of cognition in neurodegenerative disease. Consequently, we propose that the adenosine A2A receptor may provide a multifaceted therapeutic strategy to enhance anticancer activity, while combating chemotherapy induced cognitive deficits, both which are essential to provide novel therapeutic interventions against accelerated aging in cancer survivors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfredo Oliveros
- Department of Neurosurgery, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, United States
| | - Michael Poleschuk
- Department of Neurosurgery, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, United States
| | - Peter D Cole
- Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Detlev Boison
- Department of Neurosurgery, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, United States.
| | - Mi-Hyeon Jang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, United States.
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Ni WF, Zhou KL, Zhang HJ, Chen YT, Hu XL, Cai WT, Wang XY. Functions and mechanisms of cytosolic phospholipase A 2 in central nervous system trauma. Neural Regen Res 2023; 18:258-266. [PMID: 35900400 PMCID: PMC9396495 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.346460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
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Liu X, Song L, Ma X, Liu Y, Huang H, Xu Y, Yan W. Overexpression of RAPGEF3 enhances the therapeutic effect of dezocine in treatment of neuropathic pain. Genet Mol Biol 2021; 44:e20200463. [PMID: 34807222 PMCID: PMC8607529 DOI: 10.1590/1678-4685-gmb-2020-0463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Pain is a significant problem worldwide that affects the quality of life of patients. Dezocine is a non-addictive analgesic drug with kappa-opioid antagonist activity and has been successfully used to alleviate of postoperative pain. In addition, dezocine has an analgesic effect similar to that of morphine, alleviating moderate to severe pain. Rap guanine nucleotide exchange factor 3 (RAPGEF3) is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for GTPases Rap1 and Rap2, which could enhance the activity of Rap1 to promote cell adhesion and axon regeneration, as well as promote neurite extension by interacting with nerve growth factors. Here, we first observed that overexpression of RAPGEF3 increased cell viability, as shown by a CCK-8 assay, and recovered brain function in rats. The expression of inflammation-related factors at the mRNA level was detected using qPCR, and the concentration of these factors in a cultured cell medium and rat serum samples were decreased as shown by ELISA after RAPGEF3 overexpression. Through western blotting, we further found that pro-inflammatory proteins were decreased, and these effects might be mediated by inhibition of the Ras/p-38 MAPK signaling pathway. Taken together, we speculated that RAPGEF3overexpression enhances the therapeutic effect of dezocine on neuropathic pain by inhibiting the inflammatory response through inhibition of the Ras/p-38 MAPK signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Liu
- The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Department of Anesthesiology, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Li Song
- The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Department of Anesthesiology, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Xiaojun Ma
- The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Department of Anesthesiology, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Yong Liu
- The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Department of Anesthesiology, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Hui Huang
- The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Department of Anesthesiology, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Yongsheng Xu
- The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Department of Anesthesiology, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Wei Yan
- The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Department of Anesthesiology, Qingdao, Shandong, China
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Activation of Three Major Signaling Pathways After Endurance Training and Spinal Cord Injury. Mol Neurobiol 2021; 59:950-967. [PMID: 34811634 PMCID: PMC8857148 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-021-02628-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
We aimed to investigate the effects of endurance training on expression of growth factors (GFs) and stimulation of neurotrophin-dependent signaling pathways (PI3k/Akt, PLCγ/PKC, PLCγ/CAMKII, Ras-Erk1/2 and Rac1-Cdc42) responsible for neuroplasticity, neuroregeneration, survival and growth after spinal cord injury (SCI). Wistar rats were divided into four groups: (i) intact controls; (ii) 6 weeks of endurance training; (iii) SCI; (iv) pre-training + SCI. The animals survived for 6 weeks after SCI. Firstly, endurance training markedly upregulated mRNA expression and protein levels (up to four times) of growth factors (BDNF, GDNF) and their receptors (TrkB, Gfrα) in low thoracic segments (Th8–Th10) compared to levels in untrained animals. Secondly, we found that spontaneous neuroplasticity seen in the SCI alone group was GF-specific and was activated through both PLCγ-PKC and PLC-CAMKII signaling pathways. In addition, training prior to SCI markedly increased the activity of PLCγ-PKC signaling at both transcript and protein levels at and around the lesion site. Similar effects were seen in expression of PI3k/Akt and Ras/Erk1/2 signaling responsible for cell survival and regeneration. Thirdly, rats which underwent physical activity prior to SCI were more active and had significantly better neurological scores at the 14th and 42nd days of survival. These results suggest that regular physical activity could play an important role after SCI, as it maintains increased expression of GFs in spinal cord tissue 6 weeks post-SCI. The BDNF- and/or BDNF + GDNF-dependent signaling pathways were significantly affected in pre-trained SCI animals. In contrast, GDNF-dependent Rac1-Cdc42 signaling was not involved in training-affected SCI response.
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Tao B, Wang Q, Cao J, Yasen Y, Ma L, Sun C, Shang J, Feng S. The mechanisms of Chuanxiong Rhizoma in treating spinal cord injury based on network pharmacology and experimental verification. ANNALS OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE 2021; 9:1145. [PMID: 34430586 PMCID: PMC8350674 DOI: 10.21037/atm-21-2529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Background Chuanxiong Rhizoma (CR) is a common traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that has been widely used in the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the underlying molecular mechanism of CR is still largely unknown. This study was designed to explore the bioactive components and the mechanism of CR in treating SCI based on a network pharmacology approach and experimental validation. Methods First, the active compounds and related target genes in CR were screened from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) database. Subsequently, the corresponding target genes of SCI were collected by the Therapeutic Target Database (TTD) and GeneCards database. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the STRING database. Furthermore, GO function and KEGG enrichment analysis of the targets were analyzed using DAVID tools. Subsequently, the AutoDock software for molecular docking was adopted to verify the above network pharmacology analysis results between the active components and key targets. Finally, an SCI rat model animal validation experiment was assessed to verify the reliability of the network pharmacology results. Results There were 7 active ingredients identified in CR and 246 SCI-related targets were collected. Then, 4 core nodes (ALB, AKT1, MAPK1, and EGFR) were discerned via construction of a PPI network of 111 common targets. The KEGG enrichment analysis results indicated that the Ras signaling pathway, estrogen signaling pathway, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway were enriched in the development of SCI. The results of molecular docking demonstrated that the effects of CR have a strong affinity with the 4 pivotal targets. Experimental validation in a rat model showed that CR could effectively improve the recovery of motor function and mechanical pain threshold after SCI. Conclusions In summary, it revealed the mechanism of CR treatment for SCI involve active ingredients, targets and signaling pathways, providing a scientific basis for future investigations into the mechanism underlying CR treating for SCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Tao
- Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Spine and Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China.,International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China
| | - Qi Wang
- Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Spine and Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China.,International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China
| | - Jiangang Cao
- Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Spine and Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China.,International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China
| | - Yimingjiang Yasen
- Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Spine and Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China.,International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China
| | - Lei Ma
- Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Spine and Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China.,International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China
| | - Chao Sun
- Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Spine and Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China.,International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China
| | - Jun Shang
- Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Spine and Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China.,International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China
| | - Shiqing Feng
- Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Spine and Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China.,International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Spinal Cord Injury, Tianjin, China
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Bie F, Wang K, Xu T, Yuan J, Ding H, Lv B, Liu Y, Lan M. The potential roles of circular RNAs as modulators in traumatic spinal cord injury. Biomed Pharmacother 2021; 141:111826. [PMID: 34328121 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2021.111826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) may cause long-term physical impairment and bring a substantial burden to both the individual patient and society. Existing therapeutic approaches for SCI have proven inadequate. This is mainly owing to the incomplete understanding of the cellular and molecular events post-injury. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) represent a new class of non-coding RNAs with a covalently closed annular structure that participates in regulating the transcription of certain genes and are linked to various biological processes and diseases. Mounting evidence is indicative that circRNAs are highly expressed in the spinal cord and they play key roles in multiple processes of neurological diseases. Recently, a role for circRNAs as effectors of SCI has emerged, leading to the continuity of relevant research. In this review, we presented current studies with regards to the abnormality of circRNAs mediating SCI by affecting mechanisms of autophagy, apoptosis, inflammation, and neural regeneration. Furthermore, the potential clinical value of circRNAs as therapeutic targets of SCI was also analyzed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fan Bie
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212002, China.
| | - Kaiyang Wang
- Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China.
| | - Tao Xu
- Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
| | - Jishan Yuan
- Department of Orthopedics, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212002, China.
| | - Hua Ding
- Department of Orthopedics, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212002, China.
| | - Bin Lv
- Department of Orthopedics, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212002, China; Department of Orthopedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
| | - Yuwen Liu
- Department of Orthopedics, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, China.
| | - Min Lan
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212002, China.
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Identification of a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network to explore the effects of circRNAs on pathogenesis and treatment of spinal cord injury. Life Sci 2020; 257:118039. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2020.118039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Revised: 06/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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Wang Y, Wu S, Yang C, Gao H, Yu H, Lu X, Yuan S. Construction and Analysis of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA Molecular Regulatory Networks During Herba Gelsemium elegans Intoxication. Front Pharmacol 2019; 10:1217. [PMID: 31680981 PMCID: PMC6812611 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2019.01217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Gelsemium elegans (Gardner & Champ.) Benth. (GE) has therapeutic effects for pain and malignant tumors but also has high toxicity. Its mechanism of toxicity has not yet been fully clarified, thus limiting its application. Meanwhile, evidence has shown that circRNAs are closely related to the progression of disease. However, very little is known about their expression profiles during intoxication. In this paper, circRNA/mRNA microarrays were respectively performed to detect their expression profiles in mice with acute GE intoxication versus normal controls. CircRNAs were verified by qRT-PCR in subsequent experiments. A regulation pattern of circRNA→miRNA→mRNA was deduced based on intersection analysis of circRNA/mRNA microarrays. The results revealed circRNAs (143) and mRNAs (1,921) were significantly expressed during intoxication. Most of the circRNAs were exonic, and most distributions in chromosomes were transcribed from chr1, chr2, chr7, and chr11. Furthermore, dysregulated expression of mmu-circRNA-013703 and mmu-circRNA-010022 was verified. Then a circRNA-targeted miRNA-mRNA co-expression network was constructed. The network map contained 2 circRNAs, 52 miRNAs, and 752 mRNAs. GO & KEGG analysis further predicted that mmu-circRNA-013703 and mmu-circRNA-010022 may participate in cellular survival/demise-related, neuron/synapse-related, and channel-related pathways. Based on functional modules analysis, a new network was formed, in which mmu-circRNA-013703 VS mmu-miR-361-3p linked to most mRNAs. Most of these mRNAs were known to be involved in the aforementioned functional module. This indicated that mmu-circRNA-013703 functioned as a sponge of miRNAs to regulate the more comprehensive circRNA-miRNA-mRNA co-expression network. Our approach revealed a landscape of dysregulated circRNA-miRNA-mRNA and may be valuable for the identification of new biomarkers during intoxication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinghao Wang
- College of Pharmacy, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China
| | - Shuisheng Wu
- College of Pharmacy, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China
| | - Ce Yang
- College of Pharmacy, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China
| | - Hanyun Gao
- College of Pharmacy, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China
| | - Hongmin Yu
- College of Pharmacy, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China
| | - Xuehua Lu
- Institute of Materia Medica, Fujian Medical Science Research Institute, Fuzhou, China
| | - Shugang Yuan
- College of Pharmacy, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China
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Carvalho BC, Oliveira LC, Rocha CD, Fernandes HB, Oliveira IM, Leão FB, Valverde TM, Rego IMG, Ghosh S, Silva AM. Both knock-down and overexpression of Rap2a small GTPase in macrophages result in impairment of NF-κB activity and inflammatory gene expression. Mol Immunol 2019; 109:27-37. [PMID: 30851634 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2019.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2018] [Revised: 01/12/2019] [Accepted: 02/17/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Small Ras GTPases are key molecules that regulate a variety of cellular responses in different cell types. Rap1 plays important functions in the regulation of macrophage biology during inflammation triggered by toll-like receptors (TLRs). However, despite sharing a relatively high degree of similarity with Rap1, no studies concerning Rap2 in macrophages and innate immunity have been reported yet. In this work, we show that either way alterations in the levels of Rap2a hampers proper macrophages response to TLR stimulation. Rap2a is activated by LPS in macrophages, and although putative activator TLR-inducible Ras guanine exchange factor RasGEF1b was sufficient to induce, it was not fully required for Rap2a activation. Silencing of Rap2a impaired LPS-induced production of IL-6 cytokine and KC/Cxcl1 chemokine, and also NF-κB activity as measured by reporter gene studies. Surprisingly, overexpression of Rap2a did also lead to marked inhibition of NF-κB activation induced by LPS, Pam3CSK4 and downstream TLR signaling molecules. We also found that Rap2a can inhibit the LPS-induced phosphorylation of the NF-κB subunit p65 at serine 536. Collectively, our data suggest that expression levels of Rap2a in macrophages might be tightly regulated to avoid unbalanced immune response. Our results implicate Rap2a in TLR-mediated responses by contributing to balanced NF-κB activity status in macrophages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brener C Carvalho
- Laboratory of Inflammatory Genes, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Leonardo C Oliveira
- Laboratory of Inflammatory Genes, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Carolina D Rocha
- Laboratory of Inflammatory Genes, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Heliana B Fernandes
- Laboratory of Inflammatory Genes, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Isadora M Oliveira
- Laboratory of Inflammatory Genes, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Felipe B Leão
- Laboratory of Inflammatory Genes, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Thalita M Valverde
- Laboratory of Inflammatory Genes, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Igor M G Rego
- Laboratory of Inflammatory Genes, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Sankar Ghosh
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Aristóbolo M Silva
- Laboratory of Inflammatory Genes, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
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Yu S, Liu H, Li K, Qin Z, Qin X, Zhu P, Li Z. Rapid characterization of the absorbed constituents in rat serum after oral administration and action mechanism of Naozhenning granule using LC–MS and network pharmacology. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2019; 166:281-290. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2019.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2018] [Revised: 12/01/2018] [Accepted: 01/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Yan S, Zhang L, Wang S, Wu T, Gong Z. Inhibition of the Ras/Raf/extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 signaling pathway by compounds of natural origin for possible treatment of spinal cord injury: An in silico approach. Exp Ther Med 2018; 15:2860-2868. [PMID: 29456689 PMCID: PMC5795380 DOI: 10.3892/etm.2018.5734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2017] [Accepted: 07/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe disease associated with permanent neurological deficit. Recent studies in the treatment of SCI have demonstrated that the Ras/Raf/extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) signaling pathway serves an important role in the disease etiology, and that upregulation of this signaling pathway is associated with the development of SCI. In the present study, inhibition of Ras protein was employed in order to downregulate the Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 signaling pathway using compounds of natural origin from the Interbioscreen natural compound database. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study using a chemical-computational approach in order to identify novel small molecule inhibitors for Ras. A database of ~50,000 compounds was selected for virtual screening, setting a free energy binding bias of −7 kcal/mol to limit the number of compounds. The subset of compounds generated by virtual screening was further limited by subjecting these to the Lipinski's rule of five parameters. A total of five shortlisted compounds were subjected to molecular docking simulation. The compounds were docked into the GTP binding site of Ras, and the inhibition of this site was examined as a promising strategy for the downregulation of Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 signaling pathway. The compounds bound to the GTP binding site through hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. The identified lead compound was then subjected to molecular dynamics simulation, and the results revealed that GLY60 in the GTP binding site of Ras protein was the optimal binding site during a 100 nsec run.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shilei Yan
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China
| | - Li Zhang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China
| | - Shuai Wang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China
| | - Tianhao Wu
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China
| | - Zhixin Gong
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China
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Kong FL, Wang XP, Li YN, Wang HX. The role of exosomes derived from cerebrospinal fluid of spinal cord injury in neuron proliferation in vitro. ARTIFICIAL CELLS NANOMEDICINE AND BIOTECHNOLOGY 2017; 46:200-205. [PMID: 28346015 DOI: 10.1080/21691401.2017.1304408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Exosomes is a key component of cell paracrine secretion and can exert important effects in various disease models. However, the role of exosomes in neuron repair of spinal cord injury (SCI) has rarely been reported. In this study, Exosomes were isolated from cerebrospinal fluid of SCI and normal, and incubated neuron in vitro respectively to research its biological function in cell proliferation. The results demonstrated these exosomes all expressed CD9, CD63, CD81, Alix and Tsg101; however, only exosomes derived from cerebrospinal fluid of SCI could promote proliferation of neuron via ERK signaling pathway, and decrease cell apoptosis. Exosomes contain cytosolic content, including proteins, mRNAs and non-cording RNAs, and play a role in important biological function. Our research showed exosomes derived from cerebrospinal fluid of SCI, they can influence neuron cell proliferation in vitro, we did not observe these characters in exosome derived from normal cerebrospinal fluid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fan-Long Kong
- a Department of Orthopaedics , The Third Hospital of HeBei Medical University , Shijiazhuang , China
| | - Xiao-Ping Wang
- b Department of Immunology and Rheumatology , The Second Hospital of HeBei Medical University , Shijiazhuang , China
| | - Ya-Nan Li
- c Department of Anesthesiology , The Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Shijiazhuang , Shijiazhuang , China
| | - Hai-Xu Wang
- a Department of Orthopaedics , The Third Hospital of HeBei Medical University , Shijiazhuang , China
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14
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Gray NE, Zweig JA, Murchison C, Caruso M, Matthews DG, Kawamoto C, Harris CJ, Quinn JF, Soumyanath A. Centella asiatica attenuates Aβ-induced neurodegenerative spine loss and dendritic simplification. Neurosci Lett 2017; 646:24-29. [PMID: 28279707 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2017.02.072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2016] [Revised: 02/21/2017] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The medicinal plant Centella asiatica has long been used to improve memory and cognitive function. We have previously shown that a water extract from the plant (CAW) is neuroprotective against the deleterious cognitive effects of amyloid-β (Aβ) exposure in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, and improves learning and memory in healthy aged mice as well. This study explores the physiological underpinnings of those effects by examining how CAW, as well as chemical compounds found within the extract, modulate synaptic health in Aβ-exposed neurons. Hippocampal neurons from amyloid precursor protein over-expressing Tg2576 mice and their wild-type (WT) littermates were used to investigate the effect of CAW and various compounds found within the extract on Aβ-induced dendritic simplification and synaptic loss. CAW enhanced arborization and spine densities in WT neurons and prevented the diminished outgrowth of dendrites and loss of spines caused by Aβ exposure in Tg2576 neurons. Triterpene compounds present in CAW were found to similarly improve arborization although they did not affect spine density. In contrast caffeoylquinic acid (CQA) compounds from CAW were able to modulate both of these endpoints, although there was specificity as to which CQAs mediated which effect. These data suggest that CAW, and several of the compounds found therein, can improve dendritic arborization and synaptic differentiation in the context of Aβ exposure which may underlie the cognitive improvement observed in response to the extract in vivo. Additionally, since CAW, and its constituent compounds, also improved these endpoints in WT neurons, these results may point to a broader therapeutic utility of the extract beyond Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora E Gray
- Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA.
| | - Jonathan A Zweig
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Charles Murchison
- Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Maya Caruso
- Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Donald G Matthews
- Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Colleen Kawamoto
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Christopher J Harris
- Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Joseph F Quinn
- Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA; Department of Neurology and Parkinson's Disease Research Education and Clinical Care Center (PADRECC), Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Amala Soumyanath
- Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
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