Apelin/APJ system protects placental trophoblasts from hypoxia-induced oxidative stress through activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in preeclampsia

MicroRNA-510-3p regulated vascular dysfunction in Preeclampsia by targeting Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGFA) and its signaling axis

INTRODUCTION

Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy complication associated with multi-organ damage and vascular dysfunction. Meanwhile, microRNAs or miRNAs are crucial regulators of gene expression in various diseases including PE. Our previous studies reported high expression of miR-510 in the PE patients' blood compared to normal. Hence, we hypothesize that miR-510-3p targets Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) in the regulation of PI3K/AKT/eNOS/mTOR axis in PE and miR-510-3p could be a potential therapeutic target for PE.

METHODS

The proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of HTR8/SVNeo and BeWo cells were analyzed by manipulating the miR-510-3p and VEGFA expression. Similarly, the inhibition of miR-510-3p through anti-miR-510-3p was analyzed in PE rat models, and the biochemical, hemodynamic parameters, and histopathology were examined between the groups. Moreover, the expression of miR-510-3p and VEGFA/PI3K/AKT/eNOS/mTOR axis was analyzed using qRT-PCR and Western blot.

RESULTS

Significant changes were observed in the BP, proteinuria, and other biochemical parameters between PE and control rats. Our results suggest that miR-510-3p targets VEGFA leading to vascular dysfunction in PE, while treatment with anti-miR-510-3p in the PE-induced rat model exhibits a significant change in the expression of miR-510-3p/VEGFA/PI3K/AKT/eNOS/mTOR signaling where miR-510-3p showed lesser expression and vice versa with VEGFA. The gene and protein expression analysis revealed a significant correlation between miR-510-3p and the VEGFA signaling axis in PE.

DISCUSSION

Thus, our findings from in vitro and in vivo suggest miR-510-3p as a potential therapeutic target and anti-miR-510-3p as a novel therapeutic molecule for PE.

Neuroprotective Effect and Mechanism of Tanreqing Injection on Ischemic Stroke: Insights from Network Pharmacology and in vivo Experiments

OBJECTIVE

To explore the neuroprotective effects and mechanism of Tanreqing Injection (TRQ) on treating ischemic stroke based on network pharmacology and in vivo experimental validation.

METHODS

The chemical compounds of TRQ were retrieved based on published data, with targets retrieved from PubChem, Therapeutic Target Database and DrugBank. Network visualization and analysis were performed using Cytoscape, with protein-protein interaction networks derived from the STRING database. Enrichment analysis was performed using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes Genomes pathway and Gene Ontology analysis. In in vivo experiments, the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model was used. Infarct volume was determined by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium hydrochloride staining and protein expressions were analyzed by Western blot. Molecular docking was performed to predict ligand-receptor interactions.

RESULTS

We screened 81 chemical compounds in TRQ and retrieved their therapeutic targets. Of the targets, 116 were therapeutic targets for stroke. The enrichment analysis showed that the apelin signaling pathway was a key pathway for ischemic stroke. Furthermore, in in vivo experiment we found that administering with intraperitoneal injection of 2.5 mL/kg TRQ every 6 h could significantly reduce the infarct volume of MCAO rats (P<0.05). In addition, protein levels of the apelin receptor (APJ)/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) pathway were increased by TRQ (P<0.05). In addition, 41 chemical compounds in TRQ could bind to APJ.

CONCLUSIONS

The neuroprotective effect of TRQ may be related to the APJ/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. However, further studies are needed to confirm the findings.

Role of increased IGFBP2 in trophoblast cell proliferation and recurrent spontaneous abortion development: A pilot study

Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is a serious condition that adversely affects women's health. Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in plasma of patients experiencing RSA is helpful to find new therapeutic targets and identified with mass spectrometry. In 57 DEPs, 21 were upregulated and 36 were downregulated in RSA. Gene ontology analyses indicated that identified DEPs were associated with cell proliferation, including significantly downregulated insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP2). Immunohistochemical result using clinical decidual tissues also showed that IGFBP2 expression was significantly decreased in RSA trophoblasts. Cell proliferation assay indicated that IGFBP2 treatment increased the proliferation and mRNA expressions of PCNA and Ki67 in trophoblast cells. Transcriptome sequencing experiments and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses revealed that gene expression for components in PI3K-Akt pathway in trophoblasts was significantly upregulated following IGFBP2 treatment. To confirm bioinformatics findings, we did cell-based experiments and found that treatment of inhibitors for insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 receptor-PI3K-Akt pathway significantly reduced IGFBP2-induced trophoblast cell proliferation and mRNA expressions of PCNA and Ki67. Our findings suggest that IGFBP2 may increase trophoblast proliferation through the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway to affect pregnancy outcomes and that IGFBP2 may be a new target for future research and treatment of RSA.