Zinc-binding protein-89 (ZBP-89) cooperates with NF-κB to regulate expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in response to inflammatory cytokines

Zn2+ @Polyvinylpyrrolidone and Urushiol Preparation of Nanofibrous Membranes and Their Synergistic Effect

In this study, lacquer is gathered from a lacquer tree and rotary evaporation is used to remove impurities to obtain urushiol. Next, 10 mL of anhydrous ethanol serves as the solvent for blending polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) at a specified content (0.7 g and 0.2-0.7 g urushiol) to form an electrospinning solution. Electrospinning is carried out with a voltage of 18 kV to prepare PVP/urushiol nanofibrous membranes. At a ratio of 7/4, the PVP/urushiol nanofibrous membranes are not eroded in 98% sulfuric acid and these membranes also demonstrate a 50-60% antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Moreover, the antibacterial effect can be boosted to 98% with the incorporation of zinc ions. The results indicate that anhydrous ethanol can remove the sensitization of urushiol from PVP/urushiol membranes. Furthermore, animal test results indicate that when rats are in contact with PVP/urushiol anhydrous ethanol for 48 h, their skins are free from dark brown skin allergy. The presence of PVP eliminates the sensitization of urushiol, and the nanofibrous membranes demonstrate low toxicity. Hence, urushiol is the only natural material that enables PVP to withstand 98% sulfuric acid as well as acquire hydrolyzability, thereby qualify PVP as a medical material.

Interleukin-1β triggers matrix metalloprotease-3 expression through p65/RelA activation in melanoma cells

Melanoma shows highly aggressive behavior (i.e., local invasion and metastasis). Matrix metalloprotease-3 (MMP-3), a zinc-dependent endopeptidase, degrades several extracellular substrates and contributes to local invasion by creating a microenvironment suitable for tumor development. Here, we report that interleukin-1β (IL-1β) triggers the MMP-3 expression in canine melanoma cells. The activity of MMP-3 in the culture supernatant was increased in IL-1β-treated melanoma cells. IL-1β time- and dose-dependently provoked the mRNA expression of MMP-3. IL-1β induced the migration of melanoma cells; however, this migration was attenuated by UK356618, an MMP-3 inhibitor. When the cells were treated with the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) inhibitor TPCA-1, the inhibition of MMP-3 expression was observed. In IL-1β-treated cells, the phosphorylation both of p65/RelA and p105 was detected, indicating NF-κB pathway activation. In p65/RelA-depleted melanoma cells, IL-1β-mediated mRNA expression of MMP-3 was inhibited, whereas this reduction was not observed in p105-depleted cells. These findings suggest that MMP-3 expression in melanoma cells is regulated through IL-1β-mediated p65/RelA activation, which is involved in melanoma cell migration.

Loss of microRNA-147 function alleviates synovial inflammation through ZNF148 in rheumatoid and experimental arthritis

MicroRNA-147 (miR-147) had been previously found induced in synoviocytes by inflammatory stimuli derived from T cells in experimental arthritis. This study was designed to verify whether loss of its function might alleviate inflammatory events in joints of experimental and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Dark Agouti (DA) rats were injected intradermally with pristane to induce arthritis, and rno-miR-147 antagomir was locally administrated into individual ankle compared with negative control or rno-miR-155-5p antagomir (potential positive control). Arthritis onset, macroscopic severity, and pathological changes were monitored. While in vitro, gain or loss function of hsa-miR-147b-3p/hsa-miR-155-5p and ZNF148 was achieved in human synovial fibroblast cell line SW982 and RA synovial fibroblasts (RASF). The expression of miRNAs and mRNAs was detected by using RT-quantitative PCR, and protein expression was detected by using Western blotting. Anti-miR-147 therapy could alleviate the severity, especially for the synovitis and joint destruction in experimental arthritis. Gain of hsa-miR-147b-3p/hsa-miR-155-5p function in TNF-α stimulated SW982 and RASF cells could upregulate, in contrast, loss of hsa-miR-147b-3p/hsa-miR-155-5p function could downregulate the gene expression of TNF-α, IL-6, MMP3, and MMP13. Hence, such alteration could participate in synovial inflammation and joint destruction. RNAi of ZNF148, a miR-147's target, increased gene expression of TNF-α, IL-6, MMP3, and MMP13 in SW982 and RASF cells. Also, mRNA sequencing data showed that hsa-miR-147b-3p mimic and ZNF148 siRNA commonly regulated the gene expression of CCL3 and DEPTOR as well as some arthritis and inflammation-related pathways. Taken together, miR-147b-3p contributes to synovial inflammation through repressing ZNF148 in RA and experimental arthritis.

Modulating the expression of Chtop, a versatile regulator of gene-specific transcription and mRNA export

Chtop binds competitively to the arginine methyltransferases PRMT1 and PRMT5, thereby promoting the asymmetric or symmetric methylation of arginine residues, respectively. In cooperation with PRMT1, Chtop activates transcription of certain gene groups, such as the estrogen-inducible genes in breast cancer cells, the 5-hydroxymethylcytosine-modified genes involved in glioblastomagenesis, or the Zbp-89-dependent genes in erythroleukemia cells. Chtop also represses expression of the fetal γ-globin gene. In addition, Chtop is a component of the TREX complex that links transcription elongation to mRNA export. The regulation of Chtop expression is, therefore, a key process during the expression of certain gene groups and pathogenesis of certain diseases. Our recent study revealed that cellular levels of Chtop are strictly autoregulated by a mechanism involving intron retention and nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. Here, we summarize roles of Chtop in gene-specific expression and highlight our recent findings concerning the autoregulation of Chtop.

Peritumoral overexpression of ZBP-89 is associated with unfavorable disease-free survival rates in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma following hepatectomy

Previous studies have revealed that the peritumoral environment has a profound influence on tumor initiation and progression. Zinc-binding protein-89 (ZBP-89) has been observed to be involved with tumor development, recurrence, and metastasis. High intratumoral expression of ZBP-89 has been associated with improved prognosis in several tumor types. However, the prognostic values of peritumoral expression of ZBP-89 remain to be elucidated in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following curative resection. In the present study, peritumoral ZBP-89 expression was examined using immunohistochemistry in 102 HCC patients who had received curative hepatectomy. Expression of ZBP-89 protein was positive in 66.3% of the peritumoral samples from 102 HCC patients. HCC patients with high peritumoral ZBP-89 expression exhibited significantly shorter disease-free survival (DFS) times (P=0.012) than those patients with low peritumoral ZBP-89 expression. Additionally, high ZBP-89 expression in peritumoral HCC tissue was positively associated with the presence of liver cirrhosis. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses demonstrated that albumin levels ≤35 g/l, multiple tumors, tumor sizes ≥5 cm, and macroscopic vascular invasion may serve as independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) [hazard ratio (HR)=2.031; P=0.014] in patients with HCC. The multivariate Cox regression model identified that high ZBP-89 expression, multiple tumors and macroscopic vascular invasion were independent prognostic factors for shorter DFS durations. High expression of ZBP-89 in peritumoral HCC tissues was associated with a shorter DFS in HCC patients following curative hepatectomy. Additionally, high ZBP-89 expression in peritumoral HCC tissue was positively associated with the presence of liver cirrhosis in HCC patients, indicating that cirrhosis accompanied by high ZBP-89 expression may be a contributing factor to the poor prognosis of patients with HCC. Therefore, peritumoral ZBP-89 expression may be a good prognostic marker to predict DFS time in HCC patients following curative hepatectomy and may provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms of HCC initiation.

Ginkgolic acids inhibit migration in breast cancer cells by inhibition of NEMO sumoylation and NF-κB activity

Ginkgolic acids (GA), a group of alkyl phenols found in crude extracts of Ginkgo biloba leaves, are known to have anticancer activity, but their mode of action is not well understood. Our aim in this study was to investigate the anti-migratory activity of seven GA against breast cancer cells and to determine the molecular mechanism behind this activity. All seven GA and their mixture inhibited wound healing in MCF-7 and MDA-MB 231 breast cancer cells. None of the compounds nor the mixture showed cytotoxicity towards the two cell lines, if tested by the resazurin assay. C13:0 inhibited NF-κB activity in the HEK Blue Null 1 reporter cell line. Furthermore, C13:0 inhibited degradation of nuclear factor of κ-light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor α (IκBα). Sumoylation assay revealed that GA inhibited sumoylation of NF-κB essential modulator (NEMO). Molecular docking on SUMO-activating enzyme E1 showed that the seven GA bound to the active adenylation site with high calculated affinities ranging from -10.28 to -12.27 kcal/mol. Quantitative RT-PCR using C15:0, C13:0 and the mixture showed a significant down-regulation of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9). We conclude that GA revealed considerable anti-migratory activity at non-cytotoxic concentrations, indicating anti-metastatic activity with low toxicity. This effect can be explained by the inhibition of NEMO sumoylation leading to inhibition of IκBα degradation and consequently a reduction of NF-κB activity, leading to the down-regulation of metastasis related genes including uPA, PAI-1, CXCR4, and MMP-9.

Reactive oxygen species-mediated switching expression of MMP-3 in stromal fibroblasts and cancer cells during prostate cancer progression

Studies on the aberrant control of extracellular matrices (ECMs) have mainly focused on the role of malignant cells but less on that of stromal fibroblasts during cancer development. Herein, by using paired normal and prostate cancer-associated stromal fibroblasts (CAFs) derived from a coculture cell model and clinical patient samples, we demonstrated that although CAFs promoted prostate cancer growth, matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) was lower in CAFs but elevated in prostate cancer cells relative to their normal counterparts. Furthermore, hydrogen peroxide was characterized as the central modulator for altered MMP-3 expression in prostate cancer cells and CAFs, but through different regulatory mechanisms. Treatment of CAFs but not prostate cancer cells with hydrogen peroxide directly inhibited mmp-3 promoter activity with concomitant nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), indicating that NF-κB is the downstream pathway for the transcriptional repression of MMP-3 in CAFs. Hydrogen peroxide reduced thrombospondin 2 (an MMP-3 suppressor) expression in prostate cancer cells by upregulating microRNA-128. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the crucial role of reactive oxygen species in the switching expression of MMP-3 in stromal fibroblasts and prostate cancer cells during tumor progression, clarifying how the tumor microenvironment modulates ECM homeostasis control.