The pleiotropic effects of TNFα in breast cancer subtypes is regulated by TNFAIP3/A20

Dual activity of Minnelide chemosensitize basal/triple negative breast cancer stem cells and reprograms immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype is characterized with higher EMT/stemness properties and immune suppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Women with advanced TNBC exhibit aggressive disease and have limited treatment options. Although immune suppressive TME is implicated in driving aggressive properties of basal/TNBC subtype and therapy resistance, effectively targeting it remains a challenge. Minnelide, a prodrug of triptolide currently being tested in clinical trials, has shown anti-tumorigenic activity in multiple malignancies via targeting super enhancers, Myc and anti-apoptotic pathways such as HSP70. Distinct super-enhancer landscape drives cancer stem cells (CSC) in TNBC subtype while inducing immune suppressive TME. We show that Minnelide selectively targets CSCs in human and murine TNBC cell lines compared to cell lines of luminal subtype by targeting Myc and HSP70. Minnelide in combination with cyclophosphamide significantly reduces the tumor growth and eliminates metastasis by reprogramming the tumor microenvironment and enhancing cytotoxic T cell infiltration in 4T1 tumor-bearing mice. Resection of residual tumors following the combination treatment leads to complete eradication of disseminated tumor cells as all mice are free of local and distant recurrences. All control mice showed recurrences within 3 weeks of post-resection while single Minnelide treatment delayed recurrence and one mouse was free of tumor. We provide evidence that Minnelide targets tumor intrinsic pathways and reprograms the immune suppressive microenvironment. Our studies also suggest that Minnelide in combination with cyclophosphamide may lead to durable responses in patients with basal/TNBC subtype warranting its clinical investigation.

Modulation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system by phytochemicals: Therapeutic implications in malignancies with an emphasis on brain tumors

Regarding the multimechanistic nature of cancers, current chemo- or radiotherapies often fail to eradicate disease pathology, and frequent relapses or resistance to therapies occur. Brain malignancies, particularly glioblastomas, are difficult-to-treat cancers due to their highly malignant and multidimensional biology. Unfortunately, patients suffering from malignant tumors often experience poor prognoses and short survival periods. Thus far, significant efforts have been conducted to discover novel and more effective modalities. To that end, modulation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) has attracted tremendous interest since it affects the homeostasis of proteins critically engaged in various cell functions, for example, cell metabolism, survival, proliferation, and differentiation. With their safe and multimodal actions, phytochemicals are among the promising therapeutic tools capable of turning the operation of various UPS elements. The present review, along with an updated outline of the role of UPS dysregulation in multiple cancers, provided a detailed discussion on the impact of phytochemicals on the UPS function in malignancies, especially brain tumors.

A20 Enhances the Expression of the Proto-Oncogene C-Myc by Downregulating TRAF6 Ubiquitination after ALV-A Infection

Hens infected with avian leukosis virus subgroup A (ALV-A) experience stunted growth, immunosuppression, and potentially, lymphoma development. According to past research, A20 can both promote and inhibit tumor growth. In this study, DF-1 cells were infected with ALV-A rHB2015012, and Gp85 expression was measured at various time points. A recombinant plasmid encoding the chicken A20 gene and short hairpin RNA targeting chicken A20 (A20-shRNA) was constructed and transfected into DF-1 cells to determine the effect on ALV-A replication. The potential signaling pathways of A20 were explored using bioinformatics prediction, co-immunoprecipitation, and other techniques. The results demonstrate that A20 and ALV-A promoted each other after ALV-A infection of DF-1 cells, upregulated A20, inhibited TRAF6 ubiquitination, and promoted STAT3 phosphorylation. The phosphorylated-STAT3 (p-STAT3) promoted the expression of proto-oncogene c-myc, which may lead to tumorigenesis. This study will help to further understand the tumorigenic process of ALV-A and provide a reference for preventing and controlling ALV.

TNFAIP3 promotes ALDH-positive breast cancer stem cells through FGFR1/MEK/ERK pathway

Breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) are a tiny population of self-renewing cells that may contribute to cancer initiation, progression, and resistance to therapy in patients. In our prior study, we found that tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced protein 3 (TNFAIP3) is necessary for fibroblast growth factors receptor 1 (FGFR1) signaling-promoted tumor growth and progression in breast cancer (BC). This study aims to investigate the involvement of TNFAIP3 in regulating BCSCs. In this work, we showed that ALDH-positive BCSCs were increased by activating the FGFR1-MEK-ERK pathway, meanwhile utilizing FGFR1 inhibitor, MEK inhibitor, or ERK inhibitor reversed the phenomenon in BC cells. Moreover, ALDH-positive BCSCs were decreased in TNFAIP3-knockout or TNFAIP3-depressing cells. In vivo analysis displayed that TNFAIP3-silenced MDA-MB-231 xenografts developed smaller tumors and ALDH immunostaining levels were significantly lower in TNFAIP3-depressing or TNFAIP3-knockout tumor tissues. Besides, our results also revealed that TNFAIP3 influences the transcription stemness factors gene expression. Taken together, TNFAIP3 could be a potential regulator in FGFR1-MEK-ERK-promoted ALDH-positive BCSCs.

SBP-0636457, a Novel Smac Mimetic, Cooperates with Doxorubicin to Induce Necroptosis in Breast Cancer Cells during Apoptosis Blockage

Breast cancer (BC) is a common health concern worldwide. Doxorubicin (Dox) is a widely used chemotherapeutic agent to treat various cancers, including BC. However, drug resistance and severe side effects often hinder the clinical application of Dox. Combination therapy is an effective potent strategy to increase chemosensitivity and reduce the adverse effects. Smac is a proapoptotic protein that interacts with inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) and thereby promotes cell death. Smac mimetic compounds can mimic its function and can be used to kill cancer cells. In this study, Dox and SBP-0636457, a novel Smac mimetic, were found to have cooperative effects in inducing BC cell death. Dox and SBP-0636457 cotreatment induced necroptosis instead of apoptosis in BC cells. Receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 or mixed-lineage kinase domain-like silencing could attenuate cell death caused by Dox/SBP-0636457 in BC cells. In addition, this combined treatment caused synergistic induction of TNFα, and TNFα/TNFR signalling is essential for cell death induced by Dox/SBP-0636457 in BC cells. Moreover, both canonical and noncanonical nuclear factor kappa B pathways were found to contribute to TNFα upregulation induced by Dox/SBP-0636457. Therefore, the findings suggest that SBP-0636457 combined with Dox is an alternative strategy for treating BC.

HSP70s in Breast Cancer: Promoters of Tumorigenesis and Potential Targets/Tools for Therapy

The high frequency of breast cancer worldwide and the high mortality among women with this malignancy are a serious challenge for modern medicine. A deeper understanding of the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and emergence of metastatic, therapy-resistant breast cancers would help development of novel approaches to better treatment of this disease. The review is dedicated to the role of members of the heat shock protein 70 subfamily (HSP70s or HSPA), mainly inducible HSP70, glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78 or HSPA5) and GRP75 (HSPA9 or mortalin), in the development and pathogenesis of breast cancer. Various HSP70-mediated cellular mechanisms and pathways which contribute to the oncogenic transformation of mammary gland epithelium are reviewed, as well as their role in the development of human breast carcinomas with invasive, metastatic traits along with the resistance to host immunity and conventional therapeutics. Additionally, intracellular and cell surface HSP70s are considered as potential targets for therapy or sensitization of breast cancer. We also discuss a clinical implication of Hsp70s and approaches to targeting breast cancer with gene vectors or nanoparticles downregulating HSP70s, natural or synthetic (small molecule) inhibitors of HSP70s, HSP70-binding antibodies, HSP70-derived peptides, and HSP70-based vaccines.

High-Throughput In Vitro Gene Expression Profile to Screen of Natural Herbals for Breast Cancer Treatment

Breast cancer has surpassed lung cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women worldwide. Some therapeutic drugs and approaches could cause side effects and weaken the immune system. The combination of conventional therapies and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) significantly improves treatment efficacy in breast cancer. However, the chemical composition and underlying anti-tumor mechanisms of TCM still need to be investigated. The primary aim of this study is to provide unique insights to screen the natural components for breast cancer therapy using high-throughput transcriptome analysis. Differentially expressed genes were identified based on two conditions: single samples and groups were classified according to their pharmaceutical effect. Subsequently, the sample treated with E. cochinchinensis Lour. generated the most significant DEGs set, including 1,459 DEGs, 805 upregulated and 654 downregulated. Similarly, group 3 treatment contained the most DEGs (414 DEGs, 311 upregulated and 103 downregulated). KEGG pathway analyses showed five significant pathways associated with the inflammatory and metastasis processes in cancer, which include the TNF, IL−17, NF-kappa B, MAPK signaling pathways, and transcriptional misregulation in cancer. Samples were classified into 13 groups based on their pharmaceutical effects. The results of the KEGG pathway analyses remained consistent with signal samples; group 3 presents a high significance. A total of 21 genes were significantly regulated in these five pathways, interestingly, IL6, TNFAIP3, and BRIC3 were enriched on at least two pathways, seven genes (FOSL1, S100A9, CXCL12, ID2, PRS6KA3, AREG, and DUSP6) have been reported as the target biomarkers and even the diagnostic tools in cancer therapy. In addition, weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) was used to identify 18 modules. Among them, blue and thistle2 were the most relevant modules. A total of 26 hub genes in blue and thistle2 modules were identified as the hub genes. In conclusion, we screened out three new TCM (R. communis L., E. cochinchinensis Lour., and B. fruticosa) that have the potential to develop natural drugs for breast cancer therapy, and obtained the therapeutic targets.

Substance P Antagonism as a Novel Therapeutic Option to Enhance Efficacy of Cisplatin in Triple Negative Breast Cancer and Protect PC12 Cells against Cisplatin-Induced Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis

Although cisplatin is very effective as a treatment strategy in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), it has unwarranted outcomes owing to recurrence, chemoresistance and neurotoxicity. There is critically important to find new, effective and safe therapeutics for TNBC. We determined if SP-receptor antagonism in combination with cisplatin may serve as a novel, more efficacious and safer therapeutic option than existing therapies for TNBC. We used a neuronal cell line (PC12) and two TNBC cell lines (Sum 185 and Sum 159) for these studies. We determined that the levels of cells expressing the high-affinity SP-receptor (neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R)), as determined by flow-cytometry was significantly elevated in response to cisplatin in all three cells. We determined that treatment with aprepitant, an SP-receptor antagonist decreased cisplatin-induced, loss of viability (studied by MTT assay), production of reactive oxygen species (by DCFDA assay) and apoptosis (by flow-cytometry) in PC12 cells while it was increased in the two TNBC cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that important genes associated with metastases, inflammation, chemoresistance and cell cycle progression are attenuated by SP-receptor antagonism in the TNBC cell line, Sum 185. These studies implicate that SP-receptor antagonism in combination with cisplatin may possibly serve as a novel, more efficacious and safer therapeutic option than existing therapies for TNBC.

The dual roles of A20 in cancer

A20 is a prototypical anti-inflammatory molecule that is linked to multiple human diseases, including cancers. The role of A20 as a tumor suppressor was first discovered in B cell lymphomas. Subsequent studies revealed the dual roles of A20 in solid cancers. This review focuses on the roles of A20 in different cancer types to demonstrate that the effects of A20 are cancer type-dependent. A20 plays antitumor roles in colorectal carcinomas and hepatocellular carcinomas, whereas A20 acts as an oncogene in breast cancers, gastric cancers and melanomas. Moreover, the roles of A20 in the setting of glioma therapy are context-dependent. The action mechanisms of A20 in different types of cancer are summarized. Additionally, the role of A20 in antitumor immunity is discussed. Furthermore, some open questions in this rapidly advancing field are proposed. Exploration of the actions and molecular mechanisms of A20 in cancer paves the way for the application of A20-targeting approaches in future cancer therapy.

miR-125b promotes the NF-κB-mediated inflammatory response in NAFLD via directly targeting TNFAIP3

BACKGROUND

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has a high incidence and mortality rate, and a rapid course of clinical development. Although miR-125b is closely associated with the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, the role of miR-125b in NAFLD remains unknown.

METHODS

The levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β expression were examined via ELISA assays. Real-time PCR was used to determine the levels of miR-125b and tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced protein 3 (TNFAIP3) expression. The related molecular mechanisms were examined by performing luciferase reporter, western blot, and immunofluorescence assays. Structural changes in the livers of mice with NAFLD were observed via H&E staining.

RESULTS

The levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β in NAFLD patients were greatly increased, and miR-125b expression was significantly up-regulated. The phosphorylation of IκBα and p65, and secretion of inflammatory factors were all markedly decreased by miR-125b silencing, but greatly increased by miR-125b overexpression. We also demonstrated that downregulation of TNFAIP3 in NAFLD was negatively correlated with miR-125b. Interestingly, the influence of miR-125b inhibitors on nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB)-mediated inflammatory responses were greatly aggravated by co-treatment with TNFAIP siRNA; however, the opposite results were obtained after treatment with miR-125b mimics and TNFAIP plasmids. Furthermore, the HF-induced liver damage and inflammatory responses were greatly ameliorated by miR-125b inhibitors but further aggravated by co-treatment with TNFAIP3 siRNA.

CONCLUSION

MiR-125b promoted the NF-κB-mediated inflammatory response in NAFLD by directly targeting TNFAIP3, and that mechanism might be target for treating NAFLD.

Combined A20 and tripartite motif-containing 44 as poor prognostic factors for breast cancer patients of the Japanese population

We previously reported that a strong immunoreactivity of tripartite motif-containing 44 (TRIM44) predicts the poor prognosis of patients with invasive breast cancer, and proposed that TRIM44 activates nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling as a causative mechanism. In the present study, we examined the clinicopathological roles of A20, which is known to be an NF-κB responsive gene, with TRIM44, in an updated cohort. Tissue samples of invasive breast cancer were obtained from 140 Japanese female breast cancer patients who underwent surgical treatment. Immunoreactivities of A20 and TRIM44 were analyzed using specific antibodies for each protein. A positive A20 immunoreactivity was significantly associated with a shorter disease-free survival (P = 0.043) and was positively correlated with TRIM44 immunoreactivity (P = 0.039). Combined use of the immunoreactivities for two proteins revealed that double-positive status for both A20 and TRIM44 immunoreactivities was associated with a shorter disease-free survival (P = 0.012) and was an independent factor for poor prognosis. These results indicate that a combined A20 and TRIM44 immunoreactivity predicted the prognosis of patients with invasive breast cancer. Moreover, the positive correlation between A20 and TRIM44 immunoreactivities suggested that the activation of NF-κB signaling by TRIM44 could occur in clinical breast cancer tissues.

Integrative Bioinformatics Analysis Reveals Potential Target Genes and TNFα Signaling Inhibition by Brazilin in Metastatic Breast Cancer Cells

OBJECTIVE

Metastasis is the most significant cause of morbidity and mortality in breast cancer patients. Previously, a combination of brazilin and doxorubicin has been shown to inhibit metastasis in HER2-positive breast cancer cells. This present study used an integrative bioinformatics approach to identify new targets and the molecular mechanism of brazilin in inhibiting metastasis in breast cancer.

METHODS

Cytotoxicity and mRNA arrays data were retreived from the DTP website, whereas genes that regulate metastatic breast cancer cells were retreived from PubMed with keywords "breast cancer metastasis". Gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment, and Drug association analysis were carried out by using WEB-based GEne SeT AnaLysis Toolkit (WebGestalt). Construction of protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis was performed by STRING-DB v11.0 and Cytoscape, respectively. The genetic alterations of the potential therapeutic target genes of brazilin (PB) were analyzed using cBioPortal.

RESULTS

Analysis of cytotoxicity with the public database of COMPARE showed that brazilin exerts almost the same cytotoxicity in the NCI-60 cells panel showing by similar GI50 value, in which the lowest GI50 value was observed in MDA-MB 231, a metastatic breast cancer cells. KEGG enrichment indicated several pathways regulated by brazilin such as TNF signaling pathway, cellular senescence, and pathways in cancer. We found ten drugs that are associated with PB, including protein kinase inhibitors, TNFα inhibitors, enzyme inhibitors, and anti-inflammatory agents.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this study identified eight PB, including MMP14, PTGS2, ADAM17, PTEN, CCL2, PIK3CB, MAP3K8, and CXCL3. In addition, brazilin possibly inhibits metastatic breast cancer through inhibition of TNFα signaling. The study results study need to be validated with in vitro and in vivo studies to strengthen scientific evidence of the use of brazilin in breast cancer metastasis inhibition.

Roles of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase-interacting multi-functional proteins in physiology and cancer

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs) are an important class of enzymes with an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for protein synthesis. In higher eukaryotic systems, eight ARSs and three ARS-interacting multi-functional proteins (AIMPs) form a multi-tRNA synthetase complex (MSC), which seems to contribute to cellular homeostasis. Of these, AIMPs are generally considered as non-enzyme factors, playing a scaffolding role during MSC assembly. Although the functions of AIMPs are not fully understood, increasing evidence indicates that these scaffold proteins usually exert tumor-suppressive activities. In addition, endothelial monocyte-activating polypeptide II (EMAP II), as a cleavage product of AIMP1, and AIMP2-DX2, as a splice variant of AIMP2 lacking exon 2, also have a pivotal role in regulating tumorigenesis. In this review, we summarize the biological functions of AIMP1, EMAP II, AIMP2, AIMP2-DX2, and AIMP3. Also, we systematically introduce their emerging roles in cancer, aiming to provide new ideas for the treatment of cancer.

Tumor Necrosis Factor α Blockade: An Opportunity to Tackle Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the principal cause of mortality by malignancy in women and represents a main problem for public health worldwide. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine whose expression is increased in a variety of cancers. In particular, in breast cancer it correlates with augmented tumor cell proliferation, higher malignancy grade, increased occurrence of metastasis and general poor prognosis for the patient. These characteristics highlight TNFα as an attractive therapeutic target, and consequently, the study of soluble and transmembrane TNFα effects and its receptors in breast cancer is an area of active research. In this review we summarize the recent findings on TNFα participation in luminal, HER2-positive and triple negative breast cancer progression and metastasis. Also, we describe TNFα role in immune response against tumors and in chemotherapy, hormone therapy, HER2-targeted therapy and anti-immune checkpoint therapy resistance in breast cancer. Furthermore, we discuss the use of TNFα blocking strategies as potential therapies and their clinical relevance for breast cancer. These TNFα blocking agents have long been used in the clinical setting to treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. TNFα blockade can be achieved by monoclonal antibodies (such as infliximab, adalimumab, etc.), fusion proteins (etanercept) and dominant negative proteins (INB03). Here we address the different effects of each compound and also analyze the use of potential biomarkers in the selection of patients who would benefit from a combination of TNFα blocking agents with HER2-targeted treatments to prevent or overcome therapy resistance in breast cancer.

The impact of DNA demethylation on the upregulation of the NRN1 and TNFAIP3 genes associated with advanced gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Very few therapeutic options are currently available in this neoplasia. The use of 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-AZAdC) was approved for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes, and this drug can treat solid tumours at low doses. Epigenetic manipulation of GC cell lines is a useful tool to better understand gene expression regulatory mechanisms for clinical applications. Therefore, we compared the gene expression profile of 5-AZAdC-treated and untreated GC cell lines by a microarray assay. Among the genes identified in this analysis, we selected NRN1 and TNFAIP3 to be evaluated for gene expression by RT-qPCR and DNA methylation by bisulfite DNA next-generation sequencing in 43 and 52 pairs of GC and adjacent non-neoplastic tissue samples, respectively. We identified 83 candidate genes modulated by DNA methylation in GC cell lines. Increased expression of NRN1 and TNFAIP3 was associated with advanced tumours (P < 0.05). We showed that increased NRN1 and TNFAIP3 expression seems to be regulated by DNA demethylation in GC samples: inverse correlations between the mRNA and DNA methylation levels in the promoter of NRN1 (P < 0.05) and the intron of TNFAIP3 (P < 0.05) were detected. Reduced NRN1 promoter methylation was associated with III/IV TNM stage tumours (P = 0.03) and the presence of Helicobacter pylori infection (P = 0.02). The identification of demethylated activated genes in GC may be useful in clinical practice, stratifying patients who are less likely to benefit from 5-AZAdC-based therapies. KEY MESSAGES: Higher expression of NRN1 and TNFAIP3 is associated with advanced gastric cancer (GC). NRN1 promoter hypomethylation contributes to gene upregulation in advanced GC. TNFAIP3 intronic-specific CpG site demethylation contributes to gene upregulation in GC. These findings may be useful to stratify GC patients who are less likely to benefit from DNA demethylating-based therapies.

In situ antitumor vaccination: Targeting the tumor microenvironment

Tumor microenvironment is known to play important roles in tumor progression. Many therapies, targeting the tumor microenvironment, are designed and applied in the clinic. One of these approaches is in situ antitumor therapy. This way, bacteria, antibodies, plasmid DNA, viruses, and cells are intratumorally delivered into the tumor site as "in-situ antitumor vaccine," which seeks to enhance immunogenicity and generate systemic T cell responses. In addition, this intratumoral therapy can alter the tumor microenvironment from immunosuppressive to immunostimulatory while limiting the risk of systemic exposure and associated toxicity. Contemporarily, promising preclinical results and some initial success in clinical trials have been obtained after intratumoral therapy.

pH- and acoustic-responsive platforms based on perfluoropentane-loaded protein nanoparticles for ovarian tumor-targeted ultrasound imaging and therapy

In this study, we developed a multifunctional ultrasound (US) therapeutic agent that encapsulates perfluoropentane (PFP) into ferritin (FRT) and conjugates the tumor-targeting molecule folic acid (FA) (FA-FRT-PFP). The prepared FA-FRT-PFP had an average particle diameter of 42.8 ± 2.5 nm, a zeta potential of - 41.1 ± 1.7 mV and shows good stability in physiological solution and temperatures. FRT is a pH-sensitive cage protein that, at pH 5.0, disassembles to form pores that can load PFP. The adjustment to neutral pH closes the pores and encapsulates the PFP inside the FRT to form nanoparticles. At pH 5.0, 3 min of low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU, 2 W/cm2) significantly enhanced the US signal of FA-FRT-PFP through the acoustic droplet vaporization (ADV) effect. Under identical conditions, 4 min of LIFU irradiation caused the bubbles generated by FA-FRT-PFP to break. FA-FRT-PFP could be efficiently targeted into ovarian cancer cells and significantly enhanced the US contrast of FA-FRT-PFP after 3 min of LIFU irradiation. After 4 min of LIFU irradiation, cell viability significantly decreased due to necrosis, likely due to the FA-FRT-PFP mediated release of PFP in the acidic environment of lysosomes after entering the tumor cells. PFP is then transformed into bubbles that burst under LIFU irradiation, forming physical shock waves that lead to the destruction of the cell structure and necrosis, achieving tumor treatment. Taken together, this demonstrates that FA-FRT-PFP is both a novel and promising US theranostics agent for future clinic application.

Necrostatin-1 ameliorates the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by suppressing apoptosis and necroptosis of oligodendrocyte precursor cells

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system characterized by neuronal demyelination. MS pathogenesis occurs via multiple mechanisms, and is mediated in part by oligodendrocyte apoptosis and a robust inflammatory response. In the present study, Necrostatin-1 (Nec-1), a specific inhibitor of the receptor-interacting protein 1 kinase domain, was revealed to effectively alleviate the severity and pathological damage associated with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a commonly used mouse model of MS. In addition, treatment with Nec-1 significantly decreased the number of lesions and inflammatory cell infiltrates in spinal cord tissues, as well as the production of associated pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), interferon-γ and interleukin-1β. Nec-1 also suppressed TNFα + zVAD-fmk-induced apoptosis and necroptosis in primary oligodendrocyte precursor cells. The present study revealed that Nec-1 effectively attenuated the progression of EAE by suppressing apoptosis and necroptosis in oligodendrocytes, and represents a potential novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of MS.

A20: A multifunctional tool for regulating immunity and preventing disease

A20, also known as TNFAIP3, is a potent regulator of ubiquitin (Ub) dependent signals. A20 prevents multiple human diseases, indicating that the critical functions of this protein are clinically as well as biologically impactful. As revealed by mouse models, cell specific functions of A20 are linked to its ability to regulate diverse signaling pathways. Aberrant expression or functions of A20 in specific cell types underlie divergent disease outcomes. Discernment of A20's biochemical functions and their phenotypic outcomes will contribute to our understanding of how ubiquitination is regulated, how Ub mediated functions can prevent disease, and will pave the way for future therapeutic interventions.