Inhibition of PPARα target genes during cyclosporine A-induced nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity

Time-course cross-species transcriptomics reveals conserved hepatotoxicity pathways induced by repeated administration of cyclosporine A

Cyclosporine A (CsA) has shown efficacy against immunity-related diseases despite its toxicity in various organs, including the liver, emphasizing the need to elucidate its underlying hepatotoxicity mechanism. This study aimed to capture the alterations in genome-wide expression over time and the subsequent perturbations of corresponding pathways across species. Six data from humans, mice, and rats, including animal liver tissue, human liver microtissues, and two liver cell lines exposed to CsA toxic dose, were used. The microtissue exposed to CsA for 10 d was analyzed to obtain dynamically differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Single-time points data at 1, 3, 5, 7, and 28 d of different species were used to provide additional evidence. Using liver microtissue-based longitudinal design, DEGs that were consistently up- or down-regulated over time were captured, and the well-known mechanism involved in CsA toxicity was elucidated. Thirty DEGs that consistently changed in longitudinal data were also altered in 28-d rat in-house data with concordant expression. Some genes (e.g. TUBB2A, PLIN2, APOB) showed good concordance with identified DEGs in 1-d and 7-d mouse data. Pathway analysis revealed up-regulations of protein processing, asparagine N-linked glycosylation, and cargo concentration in the endoplasmic reticulum. Furthermore, the down-regulations of pathways related to biological oxidations and metabolite and lipid metabolism were elucidated. These pathways were also enriched in single-time-point data and conserved across species, implying their biological significance and generalizability. Overall, the human organoids-based longitudinal design coupled with cross-species validation provides temporal molecular change tracking, aiding mechanistic elucidation and biologically relevant biomarker discovery.

Cyclosporine A-induced systemic metabolic perturbations in rats: A comprehensive metabolome analysis

A better understanding of cyclosporine A (CsA)-induced nephro- and hepatotoxicity at the molecular level is necessary for safe and effective use. Utilizing a sophisticated study design, this study explored metabolic alterations after long-term CsA treatment in vivo. Rats were exposed to CsA with 4, 10, and 25 mg/kg for 4 weeks and then sacrificed to obtain liver, kidney, urine, and serum for untargeted metabolomics analysis. Differential network analysis was conducted to explore the biological relevance of metabolites significantly altered by toxicity-induced disturbance. Dose-dependent toxicity was observed in all biospecimens. The toxic effects were characterized by alterations of metabolites related to energy metabolism and cellular membrane composition, which could lead to the cholestasis-induced accumulation of bile acids in the tissues. The unfavorable impacts were also demonstrated in the serum and urine. Intriguingly, phenylacetylglycine was increased in the kidney, urine, and serum treated with high doses versus controls. Differential correlation network analysis revealed the strong correlations of deoxycytidine and guanosine with other metabolites in the network, which highlighted the influence of repeated CsA exposure on DNA synthesis. Overall, prolonged CsA administration had system-level dose-dependent effects on the metabolome in treated rats, suggesting the need for careful usage and dose adjustment.

Metabolic network and proteomic expression perturbed by cyclosporine A to model microbe Escherichia coli

Cyclosporine A (CsA) is a model drug that has caused great concern due to its widespread use and abuse in the environment. However, the potential harm of CsA to organisms also remains largely unknown, and this issue is exceptionally important for the health risk assessment of antibiotics. To address this concern, the crosstalk between CsA stress and cellular metabolism at the proteomic level in Escherichia coli was investigated and dissected in this study. The results showed that CsA inhibited E. coli growth in a time-dependent manner. CsA induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction in a dose- and time-dependent manner, leading to membrane depolarization followed by cell apoptosis. In addition, translation, the citric acid cycle, amino acid biosynthesis, glycolysis and responses to oxidative stress and heat were the central metabolic pathways induced by CsA stress. The upregulated proteins, including PotD, PotF and PotG, controlled cell growth. The downregulated proteins, including SspA, SspB, CstA and DpS, were regulators of self-feedback during the starvation process. And the up- and downregulated proteins, including AtpD, Adk, GroS, GroL and DnaK, controlled energy production. These results provide an important reference for the environmental health risk assessment of CsA.

Royal Jelly and Chlorella vulgaris Mitigate Gibberellic Acid-Induced Cytogenotoxicity and Hepatotoxicity in Rats via Modulation of the PPARα/AP-1 Signaling Pathway and Suppression of Oxidative Stress and Inflammation

Gibberellic acid (GA3) is a well-known plant growth regulator used in several countries, but its widespread use has negative effects on both animal and human health. The current study assesses the protective effect of royal jelly (RJ) and Chlorella vulgaris (CV) on the genotoxicity and hepatic injury induced by GA3 in rats. Daily oral administration of 55 mg/kg GA3 to rats for 6 constitutive weeks induced biochemical and histopathological changes in the liver via oxidative stress and inflammation. Co-administration of 300 mg/kg RJ or 500 mg/kg CV with GA3 considerably ameliorated the serum levels of AST (aspartate aminotransferase), ALT (alanine aminotransferase), ALP (alkaline phosphatase), γGT (gamma-glutamyl transferase), total bilirubin, and albumin. Lowered malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) levels along with elevated SOD (superoxide dismutase), CAT (catalase), and GPx (glutathione peroxidase) enzyme activities indicated the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of both RJ and CV. Also, they improved the histological structure and reduced cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expressions along with up-regulating peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α (PPARα) and down-regulating activator protein 1 (AP-1) gene expression. Additionally, chromosomal abnormalities and mitotic index were nearly normalized after treatment with RJ and CV. In conclusion, RJ and CV can protect against GA3-induced genotoxicity and liver toxicity by diminishing oxidative stress and inflammation, and modulating the PPARα/AP-1 signaling pathway.

Genome-wide gene expression analysis reveals molecular insights into the drug-induced toxicity of nephrotoxic agents

Drug-induced nephrotoxicity is frequently reported. However, the mechanisms underlying nephrotoxic medications and their overlapping molecular events, which might have therapeutic value, are unclear. We performed a genome-wide analysis of gene expression and a gene set enrichment analysis to identify common and unique pathways associated with the toxicity of colistin, ifosfamide, indomethacin, and puromycin. Rats were randomly allocated into the treatment or control group. The treatment group received a toxic dose once daily of each investigated drug for 1 week. Differentially expressed genes were found in the drug-treated kidney and liver compared to the control, except for colistin in the liver. Upregulated pathways were mainly related to cell death, cell cycle, protein synthesis, and immune response modulation in the kidney. Cell cycle was upregulated by all drugs. Downregulated pathways were associated with carbon metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and fatty acid metabolism. Indomethacin, colistin, and puromycin shared the most altered pathways in the kidney. Ifosfamide and indomethacin affected molecular processes greatly in the liver. Our findings provide insight into the mechanisms underlying the renal and hepatic adverse effects of the four drugs. Further investigation should explore the combinatory drug therapies that attenuate the toxic effects and maximize the effectiveness of nephrotoxic drugs.

Dysregulation of fatty acid metabolism associated with esophageal inflammation of ICR mice induced by nitrosamines exposure

Nitrosamines, as ubiquitous environmental carcinogens with adverse impact on human health, were crucial inducers of esophageal cancer (EC). Esophageal inflammation (EI) was an important biological process and considered to be associated with the progression of EC. However, the underlying regulatory mechanism of EI process caused by nitrosamines exposure remained largely unclear. In this study, a metabolomics approach based on mass spectrometry was utilized to explore the effect of nitrosamines exposure to ICR mice. Also, the changes of pivotal metabolic enzyme levels, urinary nitrosamines and histopathological analysis were evaluated. The results showed that nitrosamines exposure was intimately interrelated with EI process in mice. Metabolomics profiling analysis indicated that nitrosamines caused significant alterations of metabolic pathway predominantly enriched in fatty acid metabolism. Targeted metabolomics analysis revealed that nitrosamines promoted decomposition of fatty acids and facilitated fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) of mice. The significant increase of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1) and downregulation of acetyl-CoA acyltransferase 2 (ACAA2) would promote FAO in EI process induced by nitrosamines. Additionally, the exposure levels of more than half of nitrosamines in urine were correlated with inflammatory fatty acid biomarkers. Overall, this study found that EI triggered by nitrosamines may be associated with the promotion of FAO, and provided novel insights for evaluating the underlying mechanism of environmental pollutant-caused toxicity based on metabolomics.