Distinct expression of chemokine-like factor 1 in synovium of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis

CKLF1 interference alleviates IL‑1β‑induced inflammation, apoptosis and degradation of the extracellular matrix in chondrocytes via CCR5

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of joint disease with a rising prevalence and incidence among the elderly across the global population. Chemokine-like factor 1 (CKLF1) is a human cytokine, which has been demonstrated to be involved in the progression of multiple human diseases. However, little attention has been paid to the impact of CKLF1 on OA. The present study was designed to identify the role of CKLF1 in OA and to clarify the regulatory mechanism. The expression levels of CKLF1 and its receptor CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) were examined by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and western blotting. A Cell Counting Kit-8 assay was used to estimate cell viability. The levels and expression of inflammatory factors were determined by ELISA and RT-qPCR, respectively. Apoptosis was investigated by TUNEL assays and the protein levels of apoptosis-related factors were analyzed by western blotting. RT-qPCR and western blotting were used to examine the expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation-associated proteins and ECM components. Dimethylmethylene blue analysis was used to analyze the production of soluble glycosamine sulfate additive. A co-immunoprecipitation assay was used to confirm the protein interaction between CKLF1 and CCR5. The results revealed that CKLF1 expression was increased in IL-1β-exposed murine chondrogenic ATDC5 cells. Furthermore, CKLF1 silencing enhanced the viability of IL-1β-induced ATDC5 cells, while inflammation, apoptosis and degradation of the ECM were reduced. Additionally, CKLF1 knockdown led to decreased CCR5 expression in IL-1β-challenged ATDC5 cells, and CKLF1 bound with CCR5. The enhanced viability, as well as the suppressed inflammation, apoptosis and degradation of the ECM, following CKLF1 knockdown in the IL-1β-induced ATDC5 cells were all restored after CCR5 was overexpressed. In conclusion, CKLF1 might serve a detrimental role in the development of OA by targeting its receptor CCR5.

Delineating the glioblastoma stemness by genes involved in cytoskeletal rearrangements and metabolic alterations

Literature data on glioblastoma ongoingly underline the link between metabolism and cancer stemness, the latter is one responsible for potentiating the resistance to treatment, inter alia due to increased invasiveness. In recent years, glioblastoma stemness research has bashfully introduced a key aspect of cytoskeletal rearrangements, whereas the impact of the cytoskeleton on invasiveness is well known. Although non-stem glioblastoma cells are less invasive than glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs), these cells also acquire stemness with greater ease if characterized as invasive cells and not tumor core cells. This suggests that glioblastoma stemness should be further investigated for any phenomena related to the cytoskeleton and metabolism, as they may provide new invasion-related insights. Previously, we proved that interplay between metabolism and cytoskeleton existed in glioblastoma. Despite searching for cytoskeleton-related processes in which the investigated genes might have been involved, not only did we stumble across the relation to metabolism but also reported genes that were found to be implicated in stemness. Thus, dedicated research on these genes in GSCs seems justifiable and might reveal novel directions and/or biomarkers that could be utilized in the future. Herein, we review the previously identified cytoskeleton/metabolism-related genes through the prism of glioblastoma stemness.

Role of chemokine-like factor 1 as an inflammatory marker in diseases

Immunoinflammatory mechanisms have been incrementally found to be involved in the pathogenesis of multiple diseases, with chemokines being the main drivers of immune cell infiltration in the inflammatory response. Chemokine-like factor 1 (CKLF1), a novel chemokine, is highly expressed in the human peripheral blood leukocytes and exerts broad-spectrum chemotactic and pro-proliferative effects by activating multiple downstream signaling pathways upon binding to its functional receptors. Furthermore, the relationship between CKLF1 overexpression and various systemic diseases has been demonstrated in both in vivo and in vitro experiments. In this context, it is promising that clarifying the downstream mechanism of CKLF1 and identifying its upstream regulatory sites can yield new strategies for targeted therapeutics of immunoinflammatory diseases.

G-Protein-Coupled Receptors in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Recent Insights into Mechanisms and Functional Roles

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that leads to joint damage and even disability. Although there are various clinical therapies for RA, some patients still have poor or no response. Thus, the development of new drug targets remains a high priority. In this review, we discuss the role of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), including chemokine receptors, melanocortin receptors, lipid metabolism-related receptors, adenosine receptors, and other inflammation-related receptors, on mechanisms of RA, such as inflammation, lipid metabolism, angiogenesis, and bone destruction. Additionally, we summarize the latest clinical trials on GPCR targeting to provide a theoretical basis and guidance for the development of innovative GPCR-based clinical drugs for RA.

Expression and clinical significance of CMTM1 in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

CKLF Like Marvel Transmembrane Domain Containing 1 (CMTM1) plays a role in breast cancer and lung cancer, but studies on the occurrence and development of CMTM1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been reported.

Methods

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to detect CMTM1 expression in HCC tissues. The relationship between CMTM1 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of HCC patients was analyzed by chi-square test, and the relationship between CMTM1 expression and the prognosis of HCC patients was tested by the Kaplan–Meier model.

Results

Bioinformatics analysis showed that the mRNA expression of CMTM1 was upregulated in HCC tissues, and low expression of CMTM1 is associated with longer disease-free survival in patients with HCC. Similarly, the survival time of HCC patients in CMTM1 high expression group was significantly shorter than that in CMTM1 low expression group. IHC detection indicated that CMTM1 protein was highly expressed in both HCC and adjacent non-tumor tissues, with a positive expression in 84% (63/75) of HCC tissues and 89.3% (67/75) of adjacent non-tumor tissues. Moreover, CMTM1 expression was related to family history and TNM stage of HCC patients (P < 0.05), but had no relationship with other clinicopathological characteristics. The survival analysis based on IHC results showed that the prognosis of HCC patients in CMTM1 negative group was significantly poorer than that in CMTM1 positive group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

CMTM1 has a high expression in HCC tissues and is related to the prognosis of HCC patients.

Chemokine-like factor-like MARVEL transmembrane domain-containing family in autoimmune diseases

The chemokine-like factor (CKLF)-like MARVEL transmembrane domain-containing family (CMTM) is widely expressed in the immune system. Abnormal expression of CMTM is associated with the development of various diseases. This article summarizes the relevant research on the role of the CMTM family in immune disorders. This information will increase our understanding of pathogenesis and identify promising targets for the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases. The CMTM family is highly expressed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. CKLF1 may be involved in the development of arthritis through its interaction with C-C chemokine receptor 4. CKLF1 is associated with the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis and psoriasis. Both CMTM4 and CMTM5 are associated with the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus. CMTM1, CMTM2, CMTM3, and CMTM6 play a role in rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, Sjögren syndrome, and anti-phospholipid syndrome, respectively. The CMTM family has been implicated in various autoimmune diseases. Further research on the mechanism of the action of CMTM family members may lead to the development of new treatment strategies for autoimmune diseases.

Chemokine-Like Factor-Like MARVEL Transmembrane Domain-Containing Family in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Latest Advances

Chemokine-like factor (CKLF)-like MARVEL transmembrane domain-containing family (CMTMs) is a new gene family, consisting of CKLF and CMTM1 to CMTM8, which plays an important role in hematopoiesis system, autoimmune diseases, male reproduction etc. Abnormal expression of CMTMs is also associated with tumor genesis, development and metastasis. In this review, we briefly describe the characteristics of CMTM family, outline its functions in multiple kinds of carcinomas, and summarize the latest research on their roles in hepatocellular carcinoma which are mainly related to the expression, prognostic effect, potential functions, and mechanism of action. The CMTM family is expected to provide new ideas and targets for HCC diagnosis and treatment.

CKLF1 aggravates neointimal hyperplasia by inhibiting apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells through PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling

Chemokine-like factor 1 (CKLF1) is a cytokine, which has a detrimental effect on the multiple disease progression. Our previous studies reported that arterial injury induced the upregulation of CKLF1 expression in artery at 7-14 days after injury. Here, using a rat carotid balloon injury model, we found that CKLF1 knockdown in the injured site abolished neointimal formation and even decreased medial area; contrarily, CKLF1 overexpression developed a thicker neointima than controls, demonstrating that CKLF1 exerted positive effects on neointimal hyperplasia and the accumulation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). The mechanism study indicated that CKLF1 reduced susceptibility to the cell cycle G2/M arrest and apoptosis, and thereby speeding up VSMC accumulation. This role of CKLF1 was tightly associated with phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase signaling pathway. CKLF1 increased the expression of four isoforms of the PI3-kinase catalytic subunits, which in turn activated its downstream targets Akt and an effector NF-κB accepted as critical transcription factors of cell survival and proliferation. Furthermore, RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that CKLF1 had wide-ranging roles in regulating the expression of genes that mainly engaged in cell apoptosis and innate immune response. Collectively, the data allow us to conclude that high level CKLF1 after artery injury switches the balance of VSMC proliferation and apoptosis through PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling and consequently leads to neointimal hyperplasia. The findings shed insight into new treatment strategies to limit restenosis based on CKLF1 as a future target.

Identification of pathways significantly associated with spondyloarthropathy/ankylosing spondylitis using the sub‑pathway method

The aim of the present study was to extract potential sub-pathway biomarkers for spondyloarthropathy (SpA)/ankylosing spondylitis (AS) using a sub-pathway strategy. SpA/AS-relevant data, reference pathways and long non-coding (lnc)RNA-micro (mi)RNA-mRNA interactions were downloaded. The seed pathways based on Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways and the mRNAs in the co-expressed lncRNA-mRNA interactions were extracted. Sub-pathways regulated by lncRNA were selected after establishing condition-specific lncRNA competitively regulated pathways (LCRP) network. Significant sub-pathways were further identified using the attract method. These significant sub-pathways were evaluated in the other independent published AS microarray data (E-GEOD-25101) using in silico validation. In addition, to uncover SpA/AS-relevant lncRNAs, the degree analysis for all nodes in the LCRP network was conducted. A total of 35 lncRNAs, 131 mRNAs and 145 co-expressed interactions were identified. When entering these 131 mRNAs into the reference pathways, 82 seed pathways were extracted, which were transformed into undirected graphs, and the 35 lncRNAs were mapped to the pathway graphs to further establish the condition-specific LCRP network. Based on degree analysis, four hub lncRNAs were selected, including C14orf169, LINC00242, LINC00116 and LINC00482. It was identified that 35 lncRNAs competitively regulating sub-pathways were involved in 56 complete pathways. Among these, the top three sub-pathways were path: 04010_1, which was a subregion of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway; path: 04062-1, an important subregion in the chemokine signaling pathway; and path: 04066_2, was a part of HIF-1 signaling pathway. Furthermore, it was validated consistently in the separate microarray data set E-GEOD-25101. Cancer-associated pathways and hub node C14orf169 were identified in validation. Sub-pathways, including the MAPK signaling pathway and chemokine signaling pathway, and hub lncRNA (C14orf169) may serve important roles in SpA/AS.