Transcriptome analysis of the effect of diosgenin on autoimmune thyroiditis in a rat model

Experimental rat models for Hashimoto's thyroiditis

PURPOSE

Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is an autoimmune thyroid disease characterized by T lymphocyte-mediated destruction of thyroid follicles. To study the pathogenesis of HT and the efficacy of new substances for its treatment, an easily obtained and adequate to the human disease experimental model is needed. The aim of our study was to find out whether it is possible to induce experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT) similar to Hashimoto's thyroiditis by injecting with thyroglobulin (Tg) without using agents that enhance its thyroiditogenicity and without taking into account the genetic sensitivity of animals.

METHODS

Wistar rats were immunized with freshly isolated rat Tg or porcine Tg. In 8 weeks, histological studies of the thyroid and parathyroid glands were performed. Thyroid function and total serum calcium level were also evaluated.

RESULTS

Immunization with both rat and porcine freshly isolated Tg caused T lymphocytic infiltration of the thyroid gland, thyroid follicle atrophy and degradation in Wistar rats. EAT caused by porcine Tg was characterized by greater severity than EAT induced with rat Tg. In 55% of rats with porcine Tg-induced EAT, oxyphilic metaplasia was detected in the parathyroid glands. In addition, low total serum calcium was observed in these rats.

CONCLUSION

Two rat models of autoimmune thyroiditis were obtained. EAT caused in Wistar rats by immunization with rat Tg is similar to Hashimoto's thyroiditis. EAT induced with porcine Tg was accompanied by oxyphil cell metaplasia in the parathyroids and hypocalcemia.

Genetic Associations Between Stress-Related Disorders and Autoimmune Disease

Objective: Emerging evidence supports a bidirectional phenotypic association between stress-related disorders and autoimmune disease. However, the biological underpinnings remain unclear. Here, the authors examined whether and how shared genetics contribute to the observed phenotypic associations. Methods: Based on data from 4,123,631 individuals identified from Swedish nationwide registers, familial coaggregation of stress-related disorders (any disorder or posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]) and autoimmune disease were initially estimated in seven cohorts with different degrees of kinship. Polygenic risk score (PRS) analyses were then performed with individual-level genotyping data from 376,871 participants in the UK Biobank study. Finally, genetic correlation analyses and enrichment analyses were performed with genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics. Results: Familial coaggregation analyses revealed decreasing odds of concurrence of stress-related disorders and autoimmune disease with descending kinship or genetic relatedness between pairs of relatives; adjusted odds ratios were 1.51 (95% CI=1.09–2.07), 1.28 (95% CI=0.97–1.68), 1.16 (95% CI=1.14–1.18), and 1.01 (95% CI=0.98–1.03) for monozygotic twins, dizygotic twins, full siblings, and half cousins, respectively. Statistically significant positive associations were observed between PRSs of stress-related disorders and autoimmune disease, as well as between PRSs of autoimmune disease and stress-related disorders. GWAS summary statistics revealed a genetic correlation of 0.26 (95% CI=0.14–0.38) between these two phenotypes and identified 10 common genes and five shared functional modules, including one module related to G-protein–coupled receptor pathways. Similar analyses performed for PTSD and specific autoimmune diseases (e.g., autoimmune thyroid disease) largely recapitulated the results of the main analyses. Conclusions: This study demonstrated familial coaggregation, genetic correlation, and common biological pathways between stress-related disorders and autoimmune disease.

Anticancer Activity of Methyl Protodioscin against Prostate Cancer by Modulation of Cholesterol-Associated MAPK Signaling Pathway <i>via</i> FOXO1 Induction

Methyl protodioscin (MPD), a furostanol saponin found in the rhizomes of Dioscoreaceae, has lipid-lowering and broad anticancer properties. However, the efficacy of MPD in treating prostate cancer remains unexplored. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the anticancer activity and action mechanism of MPD in prostate cancer. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), wound healing, transwell, and flow cytometer assays revealed that MPD suppressed proliferation, migration, cell cycle, and invasion and induced apoptosis of DU145 cells. Mechanistically, MPD decreased cholesterol concentration in the cholesterol oxidase, peroxidase and 4-aminoantipyrine phenol (COD-PAP) assay, disrupting the lipid rafts as detected using immunofluorescence and immunoblot analyses after sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Further, it reduced the associated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway protein P-extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK), detected using immunoblot analysis. Forkhead box O (FOXO)1, a tumor suppressor and critical factor controlling cholesterol metabolism, was predicted to be a direct target of MPD and induced by MPD. Notably, in vivo studies demonstrated that MPD significantly reduced tumor size, suppressed cholesterol concentration and the MAPK signaling pathway, and induced FOXO1 expression and apoptosis in tumor tissue in a subcutaneous mouse model. These results suggest that MPD displays anti-prostate cancer activity by inducing FOXO1 protein, reducing cholesterol concentration, and disrupting lipid rafts. Consequently, the reduced MAPK signaling pathway suppresses proliferation, migration, invasion, and cell cycle and induces apoptosis of prostate cancer cells.

Diosgenin derivatives developed from Pd(II) catalysed dehydrogenative coupling exert an effect on breast cancer cells by abrogating their growth and facilitating apoptosis via regulating the AKT1 pathway

Palladium metallates containing 4-oxo-4H-chromene-3-carbaldehyde derived ONS donor Schiff bases were synthesized and their efficacy was tested in the direct amination of diosgenin - a phyto steroid. Based on the pharmacological importance of diosgenin, the obtained derivatives were exposed to study their effect on breast cancer cells where they significantly reduced the growth of cancer cells and left non-malignant breast epithelial cells unaffected. Among the derivatives, D3, D4 and D6 showed a better anti-proliferative effect and further analysis revealed that the D3, D4 and D6 derivatives markedly promoted cell cycle arrest and apoptosis by attenuation of the AKT1 signalling pathway.

Metabolic and transcriptional disruption of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) by enrofloxacin in commercial aquaculture

Antibiotics, including enrofloxacin (ENR), are widely used for bacterial disease treatment in aquaculture in China, resulting in their discharge into various aquatic environments. Therefore, researchers have focused their attention on the harmful effects of antibiotics on aquatic animal metabolism. To understand the impacts of ENR on the metabolism of cultured American shad, the guts of these fish were sampled to test the toxicity of ENR through the combined results of metabolomics and transcriptomics analyses. In this study, adult American shad were exposed to ENR (200 mg/kg) for 30 days. The results showed that ENR could significantly (p< 0.05) increase the body weight of American shad. ENR exposure also contributed to the dysregulation of intestinal metabolism (approximately 49 metabolites and 963 genes). Multiomics analyses of the responses indicated that the specific metabolic dysregulation caused by ENR affects many signaling pathways, such as the glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and pentose phosphate pathways, which are known to be linked with body weight gain through protein and lipid accumulation. In conclusion, ENR treatment affected the metabolic system in the gut of American shad. The transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis results provide essential data for evaluating antibiotic hazards in the guts of aquatic organisms.