Fingolimod inhibits PDGF-B-induced migration of vascular smooth muscle cell by down-regulating the S1PR1/S1PR3 pathway

Myeloid-derived growth factor suppresses VSMC dedifferentiation and attenuates postinjury neointimal formation in rats by activating S1PR2 and its downstream signaling

Restenosis after angioplasty is caused usually by neointima formation characterized by aberrant vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) dedifferentiation. Myeloid-derived growth factor (MYDGF), secreted from bone marrow-derived monocytes and macrophages, has been found to have cardioprotective effects. In this study we investigated the effect of MYDGF to postinjury neointimal formation and the underlying mechanisms. Rat carotid arteries balloon-injured model was established. We found that plasma MYDGF content and the level of MYDGF in injured arteries were significantly decreased after balloon injury. Local application of exogenous MYDGF (50 μg/mL) around the injured vessel during balloon injury markedly ameliorated the development of neointimal formation evidenced by relieving the narrow endovascular diameter, improving hemodynamics, and reducing collagen deposition. In addition, local application of MYDGF inhibited VSMC dedifferentiation, which was proved by reversing the elevated levels of osteopontin (OPN) protein and decreased levels of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in the left carotid arteries. We showed that PDGF-BB (30 ng/mL) stimulated VSMC proliferation, migration and dedifferentiation in vitro; pretreatment with MYDGF (50-200 ng/mL) concentration-dependently eliminated PDGF-BB-induced cell proliferation, migration and dedifferentiation. Molecular docking revealed that MYDGF had the potential to bind with sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 2 (S1PR2), which was confirmed by SPR assay and Co-IP analysis. Pretreatment with CCG-1423 (Rho signaling inhibitor), JTE-013 (S1PR2 antagonist) or Ripasudil (ROCK inhibitor) circumvented the inhibitory effects of MYDGF on VSMC phenotypic switching through inhibiting S1PR2 or its downstream RhoA-actin monomers (G-actin) /actin filaments (F-actin)-MRTF-A signaling. In summary, this study proves that MYDGF relieves neointimal formation of carotid arteries in response to balloon injury in rats, and suppresses VSMC dedifferentiation induced by PDGF-BB via S1PR2-RhoA-G/F-actin-MRTF-A signaling pathway. In addition, our results provide evidence for cross talk between bone marrow and vasculature.

Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Metabolism and Signaling in Kidney Diseases

In the past few decades, sphingolipids and sphingolipid metabolites have gained attention because of their essential role in the pathogenesis and progression of kidney diseases. Studies in models of experimental and clinical nephropathies have described accumulation of sphingolipids and sphingolipid metabolites, and it has become clear that the intracellular sphingolipid composition of renal cells is an important determinant of renal function. Proper function of the glomerular filtration barrier depends heavily on the integrity of lipid rafts, which include sphingolipids as key components. In addition to contributing to the structural integrity of membranes, sphingolipid metabolites, such as sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), play important roles as second messengers regulating biologic processes, such as cell growth, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis. This review will focus on the role of S1P in renal cells and how aberrant extracellular and intracellular S1P signaling contributes to the pathogenesis and progression of kidney diseases.

S1PR1 as a Novel Promising Therapeutic Target in Cancer Therapy

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) can regulate several physiological and pathological processes. S1P signaling via its cell surface receptor S1PR1 has been shown to enhance tumorigenesis and stimulate growth, expansion, angiogenesis, metastasis, and survival of cancer cells. S1PR1-mediated tumorigenesis is supported and amplified by activation of downstream effectors including STAT3, interleukin-6, and NF-κB networks. S1PR1 signaling can also trigger various other signaling pathways involved in carcinogenesis including activation of PI3K/AKT, MAPK/ERK1/2, Rac, and PKC/Ca, as well as suppression of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). It also induces immunological tolerance in the tumor microenvironment, while the immunosuppressive function of S1PR1 can also lead to the generation of pre-metastatic niches. Some tumor cells upregulate S1PR1 signaling pathways, which leads to drug resistant cancer cells, mainly through activation of STAT3. This signaling pathway is also implicated in some inflammatory conditions leading to the instigation of inflammation-driven cancers. Furthermore, it can also increase survival via induction of anti-apoptotic pathways, for instance, in breast cancer cells. Therefore, S1PR1 and its signaling pathways can be considered as potential anti-tumor therapeutic targets, alone or in combination therapies. Given the oncogenic nature of S1PR1 and its distribution in a variety of cancer cell types along with its targeting advantages over other molecules of this family, S1PR1 should be considered a favorable target in therapeutic approaches to cancer. This review describes the role of S1PR1 in cancer development and progression, specifically addressing breast cancer, glioma, and hematopoietic malignancies. We also discuss the potential use of S1P signaling modulators as therapeutic targets in cancer therapy.

Fingolimod promotes angiogenesis and attenuates ischemic brain damage via modulating microglial polarization

INTRODUCTION

Microglial activation plays a crucial role in the pathology of ischemic stroke. Recently, we demonstrated that fingolimod (FTY720) exerted neuroprotective effects via immunomodulation in ischemic white matter damage induced by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion, which was accompanied by robust microglial activation. In this study, we assessed the pro-angiogenic potential of FTY720 in a murine model of acute cortical ischemic stroke.

METHODS

The photothrombotic (PT) method was used to induce cortical ischemic stroke in mice. We evaluated cortical damage, behavioral deficits, microglial polarization, and angiogenesis to identify the neuroprotective effects and possible molecular mechanisms of FTY720 in acute ischemic stroke.

RESULTS

In vivo, a reduction in neuronal loss and improved motor function were observed in FTY720-treated mice after PT stroke. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that robust microglial activation and the associated neuroinflammatory response in the peri-infarct area were ameliorated by FTY720 via its ability to polarize microglia toward the M2 phenotype. Furthermore, both in vivo and in vitro, angiogenesis was enhanced in the microglial M2 phenotype state. Behaviorally, a significant improvement in the FTY720-treated group compared to the control group was evident from days 7 to 14.

CONCLUSIONS

Our research indicated that FTY720 treatment promoted angiogenesis via microglial M2 polarization and exerted neuroprotection in PT ischemic stroke.

S1P1 receptor phosphorylation, internalization, and interaction with Rab proteins: effects of sphingosine 1-phosphate, FTY720-P, phorbol esters, and paroxetine

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) and FTY720-phosphate (FTYp) increased intracellular calcium in cells expressing S1P₁ mCherry-tagged receptors; the synthetic agonist was considerably less potent. Activation of protein kinase C by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) blocked these effects. The three agents induced receptor phosphorylation and internalization, with the action of FTYp being more intense. S1P₁ receptor–Rab protein (GFP-tagged) interaction was studied using FRET. The three agents were able to induce S1P₁ receptor–Rab5 interaction, although with different time courses. S1P₁ receptor–Rab9 interaction was mainly increased by the phorbol ester, whereas S1P₁ receptor–Rab7 interaction was only increased by FTYp and after a 30-min incubation. These actions were not observed using dominant negative (GDP-bound) Rab protein mutants. The data suggested that the three agents induce interaction with early endosomes, but that the natural agonist induced rapid receptor recycling, whereas activation of protein kinase C favored interaction with late endosome and slow recycling and FTYp triggered receptor interaction with vesicles associated with proteasomal/lysosomal degradation. The ability of bisindolylmaleimide I and paroxetine to block some of these actions suggested the activation of protein kinase C was associated mainly with the action of PMA, whereas G protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK) 2 (GRK2) was involved in the action of the three agents.

Characterizing Sphingosine Kinases and Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Receptors in the Mammalian Eye and Retina

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) signaling regulates numerous biological processes including neurogenesis, inflammation and neovascularization. However, little is known about the role of S1P signaling in the eye. In this study, we characterize two sphingosine kinases (SPHK1 and SPHK2), which phosphorylate sphingosine to S1P, and three S1P receptors (S1PR1, S1PR2 and S1PR3) in mouse and rat eyes. We evaluated sphingosine kinase and S1P receptor gene expression at the mRNA level in various rat tissues and rat retinas exposed to light-damage, whole mouse eyes, specific eye structures, and in developing retinas. Furthermore, we determined the localization of sphingosine kinases and S1P receptors in whole rat eyes by immunohistochemistry. Our results unveiled unique expression profiles for both sphingosine kinases and each receptor in ocular tissues. Furthermore, these kinases and S1P receptors are expressed in mammalian retinal cells and the expression of SPHK1, S1PR2 and S1PR3 increased immediately after light damage, which suggests a function in apoptosis and/or light stress responses in the eye. These findings have numerous implications for understanding the role of S1P signaling in the mechanisms of ocular diseases such as retinal inflammatory and degenerative diseases, neovascular eye diseases, glaucoma and corneal diseases.

Novel Adipokine, FAM19A5, Inhibits Neointima Formation After Injury Through Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor 2

Background:

Obesity plays crucial roles in the development of cardiovascular diseases. However, the mechanisms that link obesity and cardiovascular diseases remain elusive. Compelling evidence indicates that adipokines play an important role in obesity-related cardiovascular diseases. Here, we found a new adipokine-named family with sequence similarity 19, member A5 (FAM19A5), a protein with unknown function that was predicted to be distantly related to the CC-chemokine family. We aimed to test whether adipose-derived FAM19A5 regulates vascular pathology on injury.

Methods:

DNA cloning, protein expression, purification, and N-terminal sequencing were applied to characterize FAM19A5. Adenovirus infection and siRNA transfection were performed to regulate FAM19A5 expression. Balloon and wire injury were performed in vivo on the rat carotid arteries and mouse femoral arteries, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis, radioactive ligand-receptor binding assays, receptor internalization, and calcium mobilization assays were used to identify the functional receptor for FAM19A5.

Results:

We first characterized FAM19A5 as a secreted protein, and the first 43 N-terminal amino acids were the signal peptides. Both FAM19A5 mRNA and protein were abundantly expressed in the adipose tissue but were downregulated in obese mice. Overexpression of FAM19A5 markedly inhibited vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration and neointima formation in the carotid arteries of balloon-injured rats. Accordingly, FAM19A5 silencing in adipocytes significantly promoted vascular smooth muscle cell activation. Adipose-specific FAM19A5 transgenic mice showed greater attenuation of neointima formation compared with wild-type littermates fed with or without Western-style diet. We further revealed that sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 2 was the functional receptor for FAM19A5, with a dissociation constant ( K d ) of 0.634 nmol/L. Inhibition of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 2 or its downstream G12/13-RhoA signaling circumvented the suppressive effects of FAM19A5 on vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration.

Conclusions:

We revealed that a novel adipokine, FAM19A5, was capable of inhibiting postinjury neointima formation via sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 2-G12/13-RhoA signaling. Downregulation of FAM19A5 during obesity may trigger cardiometabolic diseases.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 regulates neointimal growth in a humanized model for restenosis

OBJECTIVE

The main objective of this study was to define a role of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1) in the arterial injury response of a human artery. The hypotheses were tested that injury induces an expansion of S1PR1-positive cells and that these cells accumulate toward the lumen because they follow the sphingosine-1-phosphate gradient from arterial wall tissue (low) to plasma (high).

METHODS

A humanized rat model was used in which denuded human internal mammary artery (IMA) was implanted into the position of the abdominal aorta of immunosuppressed Rowett nude rats. This injury model is characterized by medial as well as intimal hyperplasia, whereby intimal cells are of human origin. At 7, 14, and 28 days after implantation, grafts were harvested and processed for fluorescent immunostaining for S1PR1 and smooth muscle α-actin. Nuclei were stained with 4',6-diamidine-2'-phenylindole dihydrochloride. Using digitally reconstructed, complete cross sections of grafts, intimal and medial areas were measured, whereby the medial area had virtually been divided into an outer (toward adventitia) and inner (toward lumen) layer. The fraction of S1PR1-positive cells was determined in each layer by counting S1PR1-positive and S1PR1-negative cells.

RESULTS

The fraction of S1PR1-postive cells in naive IMA is 58.9% ± 6.0% (mean ± standard deviation). At day 28 after implantation, 81.6% ± 4.4% of medial cells were scored S1PR1 positive (P < .01). At day 14, the ratio between S1PR1-positive and S1PR1-negative cells was significantly higher in the lumen-oriented inner layer (9.3 ± 2.1 vs 6.0 ± 1.0; P < .01). Cells appearing in the intima at day 7 and day 14 were almost all S1PR1 positive. At day 28, however, about one-third of intimal cells were scored S1PR1 negative.

CONCLUSIONS

From these data, we conclude that denudation of IMA specifically induces the expansion of S1PR1-positive cells. Based on the nonrandom distribution of S1PR1-positive cells, we consider the possibility that much like lymphocytes, S1PR1-positive smooth muscle cells also use S1PR1 to recognize the sphingosine-1-phosphate gradient from tissue (low) to plasma (high) and so migrate out of the media toward the intima of the injured IMA.

FTY720 (Fingolimod) attenuates basal and sphingosine-1-phosphate-evoked thyroid cancer cell invasion

The bioactive lipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a potent inducer of ML-1 thyroid cancer cell migration and invasion. It evokes migration and invasion by activating S1P receptor 1 and 3 (S1P1,3) and downstream signaling intermediates as well as through cross-communication with vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2). However, very little is known about the role of S1P receptors in thyroid cancer. Furthermore, the currently used treatments for thyroid cancer have proven to be rather unsuccessful. Thus, due to the insufficiency of the available treatments for thyroid cancer, novel and targeted therapies are needed. The S1P receptor functional antagonist FTY720, an immunosuppressive drug currently used for treatment of multiple sclerosis, has shown promising effects as an inhibitor of cancer cell proliferation and invasion. In this study, we investigated the effect of FTY720 on invasion and proliferation of several thyroid cancer cell lines. We present evidence that FTY720 attenuated basal as well as S1P-evoked invasion of these cell lines. Furthermore, FTY720 potently downregulated S1P1, protein kinase Cα(PKCα), PKCβI, and VEGFR2. It also attenuated S1P-evoked phosphorylation of ERK1/2. Our results also showed that FTY720 attenuated S1P-induced MMP2 intracellular expression, S1P-induced secretion of MMP2 and MMP9, and decreased basal MMP2 and MMP9 activity. Moreover, in FTY720-treated cells, proliferation was attenuated, p21 and p27 were upregulated, and the cells were arrested in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. FTY720 attenuated cancer cell proliferation in the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane assay. Thus, we suggest that FTY720 could be beneficial in the treatment of thyroid cancer.

PDGF induces SphK1 expression via Egr-1 to promote pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive, life-threatening disease for which there is currently no curative treatment available. Pathologic changes in this disease involve remodeling of the pulmonary vasculature, including marked proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). Recently, the bioactive lipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and its activating kinase, sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1), have been shown to be upregulated in PAH and promote PASMC proliferation. The mechanisms regulating the transcriptional upregulation of SphK1 in PASMCs are unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), a PAH-relevant stimuli associated with enhanced PASMC proliferation, on SphK1 expression regulation. In human PASMCs (hPASMCs), PDGF significantly increased SphK1 mRNA and protein expression and induced cell proliferation. Selective inhibition of SphK1 attenuated PDGF-induced hPASMC proliferation. In silico promoter analysis for SphK1 identified several binding sites for early growth response protein 1 (Egr-1), a PDGF-associated transcription factor. Luciferase assays demonstrated that PDGF activates the SphK1 promoter in hPASMCs, and truncation of the 5'-promoter reduced PDGF-induced SphK1 expression. Stimulation of hPASMCs with PDGF induced Egr-1 protein expression, and direct binding of Egr-1 to the SphK1 promoter was confirmed by chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis. Inhibition of ERK signaling prevented induction of Egr-1 by PDGF. Silencing of Egr-1 attenuated PDGF-induced SphK1 expression and hPASMC proliferation. These studies demonstrate that SphK1 is regulated by PDGF in hPASMCs via the transcription factor Egr-1, promoting cell proliferation. This novel mechanism of SphK1 regulation may be a therapeutic target in pulmonary vascular remodeling in PAH.

Angiogenesis in multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Angiogenesis, the formation of new vessels, is found in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) demyelinating lesions following Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) release and the production of several other angiogenic molecules. The increased energy demand of inflammatory cuffs and damaged neural cells explains the strong angiogenic response in plaques and surrounding white matter. An angiogenic response has also been documented in an experimental model of MS, experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), where blood–brain barrier disruption and vascular remodelling appeared in a pre-symptomatic disease phase. In both MS and EAE, VEGF acts as a pro-inflammatory factor in the early phase but its reduced responsivity in the late phase can disrupt neuroregenerative attempts, since VEGF naturally enhances neuron resistance to injury and regulates neural progenitor proliferation, migration, differentiation and oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) survival and migration to demyelinated lesions. Angiogenesis, neurogenesis and oligodendroglia maturation are closely intertwined in the neurovascular niches of the subventricular zone, one of the preferential locations of inflammatory lesions in MS, and in all the other temporary vascular niches where the mutual fostering of angiogenesis and OPC maturation occurs. Angiogenesis, induced either by CNS inflammation or by hypoxic stimuli related to neurovascular uncoupling, appears to be ineffective in chronic MS due to a counterbalancing effect of vasoconstrictive mechanisms determined by the reduced axonal activity, astrocyte dysfunction, microglia secretion of free radical species and mitochondrial abnormalities. Thus, angiogenesis, that supplies several trophic factors, should be promoted in therapeutic neuroregeneration efforts to combat the progressive, degenerative phase of MS.

Pericytes, mesenchymal stem cells and the wound healing process

Pericytes are cells that reside on the wall of the blood vessels and their primary function is to maintain the vessel integrity. Recently, it has been realized that pericytes have a much greater role than just the maintenance of vessel integrity essential for the development and formation of a vascular network. Pericytes also have stem cell-like properties and are seemingly able to differentiate into adipocytes, chondrocytes, osteoblasts and granulocytes, leading them to be identified as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). More recently it has been suggested that pericytes play a key role in wound healing, whereas the beneficial effects of MSCs in accelerating the wound healing response has been recognized for some time. In this review, we collate the most recent data on pericytes, particularly their role in vessel formation and how they can affect the wound healing process.