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Nour J, Bonacina F, Norata GD. Gonadal sex vs genetic sex in experimental atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis 2023; 384:117277. [PMID: 37775425 DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2023.117277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Epidemiological data and interventional studies with hormone replacement therapy suggest that women, at least until menopause, are at decreased cardiovascular risk compared to men. Still the molecular mechanisms beyond this difference are debated and the investigation in experimental models of atherosclerosis has been pivotal to prove that the activation of the estrogen receptor is atheroprotective, despite not enough to explain the differences reported in cardiovascular disease between male and female. This casts also for investigating the importance of the sex chromosome complement (genetic sex) beyond the contribution of sex hormones (gonadal sex) on atherosclerosis. Aim of this review is to present the dualism between gonadal sex and genetic sex with a focus on the data available from experimental models. The molecular mechanisms driving changes in lipid metabolism, immuno-inflammatory reactivity and vascular response in males and females that affect atherosclerosis progression will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmine Nour
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences "Rodolfo Paoletti", University of Milan, Italy
| | - Fabrizia Bonacina
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences "Rodolfo Paoletti", University of Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe D Norata
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences "Rodolfo Paoletti", University of Milan, Italy.
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Chen N, Deng J, Zhang Z, Feng X, Wang H, Chen J, Li L, Cao Y, Jia C, Cao Y. Oxidative stress-triggered pyroptosis mediates Candida albicans susceptibility in diabetic foot. Microb Pathog 2022; 172:105765. [PMID: 36087690 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2022.105765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
An accumulating trend of research demonstrates that diabetic patients are susceptible to skin infections with Candida albicans, but the mechanism still remains unclear. The intense oxidative stress (OS) responses were occurred in the lesion of diabetic mice footpads after C. albicans infection. Localised skin infections would lead to more severe complications while the severity of the condition worsens or the inadequate treatment. Notably, in this study, through the investigation of murine diabetic footpad C. albicans infection model and molecular biotechnology, including histopathological staining, immunofluorescence (IF) staining, quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), western blot (WB), flow cytometry (FCM), sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assays, we found that intense OS responses in the footpad tissue not only mediated the activation of NF-κB protein complex, but also triggered downstream pyroptosis and apoptosis through NLRP3 inflammasome, which is one of the potential reasons for the severe condition of infectious skin injuries in diabetic mice. Caspase-1, a classical signal pathway protein in pyroptosis, could promote pore formation on cell membranes and the release of the cytokine after NLRP3 inflammasome activation. With intense immune-inflammatory responses, the organism also stimulates immune organs such as the spleen and lymph nodes to produce negative feedback regulation and generate CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells to rectify the process. Therefore, combined with the results of this work, it is possible to design and screen relevant drugs for NLRP3 inflammasomes as core targets to keep the OS response at a low level in the footpad tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Chen
- Institute of Vascular Anomalies, Shanghai TCM-Integrated Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200082, China
| | - Jie Deng
- Institute of Vascular Anomalies, Shanghai TCM-Integrated Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200082, China
| | - Zhihui Zhang
- Institute of Vascular Anomalies, Shanghai TCM-Integrated Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200082, China
| | - Xia Feng
- Institute of Vascular Anomalies, Shanghai TCM-Integrated Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200082, China
| | - Hongkang Wang
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology,School of Basic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Jian Chen
- Institute of Vascular Anomalies, Shanghai TCM-Integrated Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200082, China
| | - Ling Li
- Institute of Vascular Anomalies, Shanghai TCM-Integrated Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200082, China
| | - Yemin Cao
- Institute of Vascular Anomalies, Shanghai TCM-Integrated Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200082, China
| | - Chenglin Jia
- Institute of Vascular Anomalies, Shanghai TCM-Integrated Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200082, China.
| | - Yongbing Cao
- Institute of Vascular Anomalies, Shanghai TCM-Integrated Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200082, China.
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Abstract
Strong epidemiological evidence now exists that sex is an important biologic variable in immunity. Recent studies, for example, have revealed that sex differences are associated with the severity of symptoms and mortality due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Despite this evidence, much remains to be learned about the mechanisms underlying associations between sex differences and immune-mediated conditions. A growing body of experimental data has made significant inroads into understanding sex-influenced immune responses. As physicians seek to provide more targeted patient care, it is critical to understand how sex-defining factors (e.g., chromosomes, gonadal hormones) alter immune responses in health and disease. In this review, we highlight recent insights into sex differences in autoimmunity; virus infection, specifically severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection; and cancer immunotherapy. A deeper understanding of underlying mechanisms will allow the development of a sex-based approach to disease screening and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole M. Wilkinson
- UCLA/Caltech Medical Scientist Training Program, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Ho-Chung Chen
- Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Melissa G. Lechner
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Maureen A. Su
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA,Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of Los Angeles, California, USA
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Mohammed Y, Michaud SA, Pětrošová H, Yang J, Ganguly M, Schibli D, Flenniken AM, Nutter LMJ, Adissu HA, Lloyd KCK, McKerlie C, Borchers CH. Proteotyping of knockout mouse strains reveals sex- and strain-specific signatures in blood plasma. NPJ Syst Biol Appl 2021; 7:25. [PMID: 34050187 PMCID: PMC8163790 DOI: 10.1038/s41540-021-00184-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
We proteotyped blood plasma from 30 mouse knockout strains and corresponding wild-type mice from the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium. We used targeted proteomics with internal standards to quantify 375 proteins in 218 samples. Our results provide insights into the manifested effects of each gene knockout at the plasma proteome level. We first investigated possible contamination by erythrocytes during sample preparation and labeled, in one case, up to 11 differential proteins as erythrocyte originated. Second, we showed that differences in baseline protein abundance between female and male mice were evident in all mice, emphasizing the necessity to include both sexes in basic research, target discovery, and preclinical effect and safety studies. Next, we identified the protein signature of each gene knockout and performed functional analyses for all knockout strains. Further, to demonstrate how proteome analysis identifies the effect of gene deficiency beyond traditional phenotyping tests, we provide in-depth analysis of two strains, C8a-/- and Npc2+/-. The proteins encoded by these genes are well-characterized providing good validation of our method in homozygous and heterozygous knockout mice. Ig alpha chain C region, a poorly characterized protein, was among the differentiating proteins in C8a-/-. In Npc2+/- mice, where histopathology and traditional tests failed to differentiate heterozygous from wild-type mice, our data showed significant difference in various lysosomal storage disease-related proteins. Our results demonstrate how to combine absolute quantitative proteomics with mouse gene knockout strategies to systematically study the effect of protein absence. The approach used here for blood plasma is applicable to all tissue protein extracts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yassene Mohammed
- University of Victoria-Genome BC Proteomics Centre, Victoria, BC, Canada.
- Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.
| | - Sarah A Michaud
- University of Victoria-Genome BC Proteomics Centre, Victoria, BC, Canada.
| | - Helena Pětrošová
- University of Victoria-Genome BC Proteomics Centre, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | - Juncong Yang
- University of Victoria-Genome BC Proteomics Centre, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | - Milan Ganguly
- The Center for Phenogenomics, Toronto, ON, Canada
- The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - David Schibli
- University of Victoria-Genome BC Proteomics Centre, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | - Ann M Flenniken
- The Center for Phenogenomics, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Sinai Health Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Lauryl M J Nutter
- The Center for Phenogenomics, Toronto, ON, Canada
- The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | - K C Kent Lloyd
- Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, and Mouse Biology Program, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | | | - Christoph H Borchers
- Proteomics Centre, Segal Cancer Centre, Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Department of Data Intensive Science and Engineering, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Skolkovo Innovation Center, Moscow, Russia.
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Arnold AP. Four Core Genotypes and XY* mouse models: Update on impact on SABV research. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 119:1-8. [PMID: 32980399 PMCID: PMC7736196 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2020] [Revised: 09/13/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The impact of two mouse models is reviewed, the Four Core Genotypes and XY* models. The models are useful for determining if the causes of sex differences in phenotypes are either hormonal or sex chromosomal, or both. Used together, the models also can distinguish between the effects of X or Y chromosome genes that contribute to sex differences in phenotypes. To date, the models have been used to uncover sex chromosome contributions to sex differences in a wide variety of phenotypes, including brain and behavior, autoimmunity and immunity, cardiovascular disease, metabolism, and Alzheimer's Disease. In some cases, use of the models has been a strategy leading to discovery of specific X or Y genes that protect from or exacerbate disease. Sex chromosome and hormonal factors interact, in some cases to reduce the effects of each other. Future progress will come from more extensive application of these models, and development of similar models in other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur P Arnold
- Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology, Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology of the Brain Research Institute, University of California, UCLA, 610 Charles Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-7239, United States.
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