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Zhang X, Hu Q, Peng H, Huang J, Sang W, Guan J, Huang Z, Jiang B, Sun D. Therapeutic potential of flavopiridol in diabetic retinopathy: Targeting DDX58. Int Immunopharmacol 2024; 137:112504. [PMID: 38897127 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2024.112504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2024] [Revised: 06/02/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a common complication of diabetes, is characterized by inflammation and neovascularization, and is intricately regulated by the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). Despite advancements, identifying ubiquitin-related genes and drugs specifically targeting DR remains a significant challenge. In this study, bioinformatics analyses and the Connectivity Map (CMAP) database were utilized to explore the therapeutic potential of genes and drugs for DR. Through these methodologies, flavopiridol was identified as a promising therapeutic candidate. To evaluate flavopiridol's therapeutic potential in DR, an in vitro model using Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) induced by high glucose (HG) conditions was established. Additionally, in vivo models using mice with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced DR and oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) were employed. The current study reveals that flavopiridol possesses robust anti-inflammatory and anti-neovascularization properties. To further elucidate the molecular mechanisms of flavopiridol, experimental validation and molecular docking techniques were employed. These efforts identified DDX58 as a predictive target for flavopiridol. Notably, our research demonstrated that flavopiridol modulates the DDX58/NLRP3 signaling pathway, thereby exerting its therapeutic effects in suppressing inflammation and neovascularization in DR. This study unveils groundbreaking therapeutic agents and innovative targets for DR, and establishes a progressive theoretical framework for the application of ubiquitin-related therapies in DR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Zhang
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China; Future Medical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China
| | - Qiang Hu
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China; Future Medical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China
| | - Hongsong Peng
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China; Future Medical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China
| | - Jiayang Huang
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China; Future Medical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China
| | - Wei Sang
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China; Future Medical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China
| | - Jitian Guan
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China; Future Medical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China
| | - Zhangxin Huang
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China; Future Medical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China
| | - Bo Jiang
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China
| | - Dawei Sun
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, China.
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Wang S, Xia K, Zhu X, Liu Y, Sun L, Zhu Q. Separation of high-purity plasma extracellular vesicles for investigating proteomic signatures in diabetic retinopathy. J Chromatogr A 2024; 1718:464700. [PMID: 38354507 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2024.464700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a multifaceted role in intercellular communication and hold significant promise as bio-functional indicators for clinical diagnosis. Although plasma samples represent one of the most critical sources of circulating EVs, the existing technical challenges associated with plasma-EV isolation have restricted their application in disease diagnosis and biomarker discovery. In this study, we introduce a two-step purification method utilizing ultracentrifugation (UC) to isolate crude extracellular vesicle (EV) samples, followed by a phospholipid affinity-based technique for the selective isolation of small EVs, ensuring a high level of purity for downstream proteomic analysis. Our research demonstrates that the UC & TiO2-coated magnetic bead (TiMB) purification system significantly improves the purity of EVs when compared to conventional UC or TiMB along. We further revealed that proteomic alterations in plasma EVs effectively reflect key gene ontology components associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR) pathogenesis, including the VEGF-activated neuropilin pathway, positive regulation of angiogenesis, angiogenesis, cellular response to vascular endothelial growth factor stimulus, and immune response. By employing a comprehensive analytical approach, which incorporates both time-series analysis (cluster analysis) and differential analysis, we have identified three potential protein signatures including LGALS3, MYH10, and CPB2 that closely associated with the retinopathy process. These proteins exhibit promising diagnostic and severity-classification capabilities for DR disease. This adaptable EV isolation system can be regarded as an effective analytical tool for enhancing plasma-based liquid biopsies toward clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyao Wang
- National Engineering Research Center of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China
| | - Kangfu Xia
- Institute of Health and Medicine, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei China
| | - Xinxi Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Heart and Lung, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, China
| | - Yuhan Liu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China
| | - Lei Sun
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Lu'an Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Lu'an People's Hospital of Anhui Province, Lu'an, 237005, China; Department of Clinical Laboratory, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, China.
| | - Qingfu Zhu
- National Engineering Research Center of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China.
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Drira I, Noor M, Stone A, D'Souza Y, John B, McGrath O, Patel PJ, Aslam T. Comparison of Widefield OCT Angiography Features Between Severe Non-Proliferative and Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy. Ophthalmol Ther 2024; 13:831-849. [PMID: 38273048 PMCID: PMC10853160 DOI: 10.1007/s40123-024-00886-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION There is a high and ever-increasing global prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and invasive imaging techniques are often required to confirm the presence of proliferative disease. The aim of this study was to explore the images of a rapid and non-invasive technique, widefield optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A), to study differences between patients with severe non-proliferative and proliferative DR (PDR). METHODS We conducted an observational longitudinal study from November 2022 to March 2023. We recruited 75 patients who were classified into a proliferative group (28 patients) and severe non-proliferative group (47 patients). Classification was done by specialist clinicians who had full access to any multimodal imaging they required to be confident of their diagnosis, including fluorescein angiography. For all patients, we performed single-shot 4 × 4 and 10 × 10 mm (widefield) OCT-A imaging and when possible, the multiple images required for mosaic 17.5 × 17.5 mm (ultra widefield) OCT-A imaging. We assessed the frequency with which proliferative disease was identifiable solely from these OCT-A images and used custom-built MATLAB software to analyze the images and determine computerized metrics such as density and intensity of vessels, foveal avascular zone, and ischemic areas. RESULTS On clinically assessing the OCT-A 10 × 10 fields, we were only able to detect new vessels in 25% of known proliferative images. Using ultra-widefield mosaic images, however, we were able to detect new vessels in 100% of PDR patients. The image analysis metrics of 4 × 4 and 10 × 10 mm images did not show any significant differences between the two clinical groups. For mosaics, however, there were significant differences in the capillary density in patients with PDR compared to severe non-PDR (9.1% ± 1.9 in the PDR group versus 11.0% ± 1.9 for severe group). We also found with mosaics a significant difference in the metrics of ischemic areas; average area of ischemic zones (253,930.1 ± 108,636 for the proliferative group versus 149,104.2 ± 55,101.8 for the severe group. CONCLUSIONS Our study showed a high sensitivity for detecting PDR using only ultra-widefield mosaic OCT-A imaging, compared to multimodal including fluorescein angiography imaging. It also suggests that image analysis of aspects such as ischemia levels may be useful in identifying higher risk groups as a warning sign for future conversion to neovascularization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ines Drira
- Manchester University, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M13 9WL, UK
- Hospital of Toulouse, Pl. du Dr Joseph Baylac, 31300, Toulouse, France
| | - Maha Noor
- Manchester University, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M13 9WL, UK
| | - Amy Stone
- Manchester University, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M13 9WL, UK
| | - Yvonne D'Souza
- Manchester University, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M13 9WL, UK
| | - Binu John
- Manchester University, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M13 9WL, UK
| | - Orlaith McGrath
- Manchester University, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M13 9WL, UK
| | - Praveen J Patel
- National Institute for Health and Care Research Biomedical Research Centre, Moorfields Eye Hospital National Health Service Foundation Trust and University College London Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK
| | - Tariq Aslam
- Manchester University, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M13 9WL, UK.
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Corano Scheri K, Lavine JA, Tedeschi T, Thomson BR, Fawzi AA. Single-cell transcriptomics analysis of proliferative diabetic retinopathy fibrovascular membranes reveals AEBP1 as fibrogenesis modulator. JCI Insight 2023; 8:e172062. [PMID: 37917183 PMCID: PMC10896003 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.172062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The management of preretinal fibrovascular membranes, a devastating complication of advanced diabetic retinopathy (DR), remains challenging. We characterized the molecular profile of cell populations in these fibrovascular membranes to identify potentially new therapeutic targets. Preretinal fibrovascular membranes were surgically removed from patients and submitted for single-cell RNA-Seq (scRNA-Seq). Differential gene expression was implemented to define the transcriptomics profile of these cells and revealed the presence of endothelial, inflammatory, and stromal cells. Endothelial cell reclustering identified subclusters characterized by noncanonical transcriptomics profile and active angiogenesis. Deeper investigation of the inflammatory cells showed a subcluster of macrophages expressing proangiogenic cytokines, presumably contributing to angiogenesis. The stromal cell cluster included a pericyte-myofibroblast transdifferentiating subcluster, indicating the involvement of pericytes in fibrogenesis. Differentially expressed gene analysis showed that Adipocyte Enhancer-binding Protein 1, AEBP1, was significantly upregulated in myofibroblast clusters, suggesting that this molecule may have a role in transformation. Cell culture experiments with human retinal pericytes (HRP) in high-glucose condition confirmed the molecular transformation of pericytes toward myofibroblastic lineage. AEBP1 siRNA transfection in HRP reduced the expression of profibrotic markers in high glucose. In conclusion, AEBP1 signaling modulates pericyte-myofibroblast transformation, suggesting that targeting AEBP1 could prevent scar tissue formation in advanced DR.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Benjamin R Thomson
- Department of Ophthalmology and
- Cardiovascular and Renal Research Institute, Center for Kidney Research and Therapeutics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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