Neural precursor cell-expressed, developmentally down-regulated 4 (NEDD4) regulates hydrogen peroxide-induced cell proliferation and death through inhibition of Hippo signaling

DMT1 ubiquitination by Nedd4 protects against ferroptosis after intracerebral hemorrhage

OBJECTIVE

Neuronal precursor cells expressed developmentally down-regulated 4 (Nedd4) are believed to play a critical role in promoting the degradation of substrate proteins and are involved in numerous biological processes. However, the role of Nedd4 in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remains unknown. This study aims to investigate the regulatory role of Nedd4 in the ICH model.

METHODS

Male C57BL/6J mice were induced with ICH. Subsequently, the levels of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration, iron content, mitochondrial morphology, as well as the expression of divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) and Nedd4 were assessed after ICH. Furthermore, the impact of Nedd4 overexpression was evaluated through analyses of hematoma area, ferroptosis, and neurobehavioral function. The mechanism underlying Nedd4-mediated degradation of DMT1 was elecidated using immunoprecipitation (IP) after ICH.

RESULTS

Upon ICH, the level of DMT1 in the brain increased, but decreased when Nedd4 was overexpressed using Lentivirus, suggesting a negative correlation between Nedd4 and DMT1. Additionally, the degradation of DMT1 was inhibited after ICH. Furthermore, it was found that Nedd4 can interact with and ubiquitinate DMT1 at lysine residues 6, 69, and 277, facilitating the degradation of DMT1. Functional analysis indicated that overexpression of Nedd4 can alleviate ferroptosis and promote recovery following ICH.

CONCLUSION

The results demonstrated that ferroptosis occurs via the Nedd4/DMT1 pathway during ICH, suggesting it potential as a valuable target to inhibit ferroptosis for the treatment of ICH.

Musculoskeletal defects associated with myosin heavy chain-embryonic loss of function are mediated by the YAP signaling pathway

Mutations in MYH3, the gene encoding the developmental myosin heavy chain-embryonic (MyHC-embryonic) skeletal muscle-specific contractile protein, cause several congenital contracture syndromes. Among these, recessive loss-of-function MYH3 mutations lead to spondylocarpotarsal synostosis (SCTS), characterized by vertebral fusions and scoliosis. We find that Myh3 germline knockout adult mice display SCTS phenotypes such as scoliosis and vertebral fusion, in addition to reduced body weight, muscle weight, myofiber size, and grip strength. Myh3 knockout mice also exhibit changes in muscle fiber type, altered satellite cell numbers and increased muscle fibrosis. A mass spectrometric analysis of embryonic skeletal muscle from Myh3 knockouts identified integrin signaling and cytoskeletal regulation as the most affected pathways. These pathways are closely connected to the mechanosensing Yes-associated protein (YAP) transcriptional regulator, which we found to be significantly activated in the skeletal muscle of Myh3 knockout mice. To test whether increased YAP signaling might underlie the musculoskeletal defects in Myh3 knockout mice, we treated these mice with CA3, a small molecule inhibitor of YAP signaling. This led to increased muscle fiber size, rescue of most muscle fiber type alterations, normalization of the satellite cell marker Pax7 levels, increased grip strength, reduced fibrosis, and decline in scoliosis in Myh3 knockout mice. Thus, increased YAP activation underlies the musculoskeletal defects seen in Myh3 knockout mice, indicating its significance as a key pathway to target in SCTS and other MYH3-related congenital syndromes.

The Ubiquitin-Proteasome System in Tumor Metabolism

Metabolic reprogramming, which is considered a hallmark of cancer, can maintain the homeostasis of the tumor environment and promote the proliferation, survival, and metastasis of cancer cells. For instance, increased glucose uptake and high glucose consumption, known as the "Warburg effect," play an essential part in tumor metabolic reprogramming. In addition, fatty acids are harnessed to satisfy the increased requirement for the phospholipid components of biological membranes and energy. Moreover, the anabolism/catabolism of amino acids, such as glutamine, cystine, and serine, provides nitrogen donors for biosynthesis processes, development of the tumor inflammatory environment, and signal transduction. The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) has been widely reported to be involved in various cellular biological activities. A potential role of UPS in the metabolic regulation of tumor cells has also been reported, but the specific regulatory mechanism has not been elucidated. Here, we review the role of ubiquitination and deubiquitination modification on major metabolic enzymes and important signaling pathways in tumor metabolism to inspire new strategies for the clinical treatment of cancer.

Molecular Mechanism of Long Noncoding RNA SNHG14 in Osteogenic Differentiation of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells through the NEDD4L/FOXA2/PCP4 Axis

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have a superior potential of osteogenic differentiation (OD) and a promising stem cell type to treat bone defects. This study sought to investigate the molecular mechanism of long noncoding RNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 14 (SNHG14) in OD of BMSCs. Western blot analysis or RT-qPCR showed that SNHG14, neural precursor cell expressed developmentally downregulated 4-like (NEDD4L), and Purkinje cell protein 4 (PCP4) were upregulated whereas forkhead box A2 (FOXA2) was declined in OD of BMSCs. RT-qPCR and cell staining showed that SNHG14 downregulation repressed OD of BMSCs, as manifested by reductions in osteopontin and osteocalcin levels, the mineralization degree, and alkaline phosphatase activity. RNA/Co/chromatin immunoprecipitation and dual-luciferase assays and determination of mRNA stability and ubiquitination level showed that SNHG14 bound to human antigen R improves NEDD4L mRNA stability and expression, further promoted FOXA2 ubiquitination to inhibit FOXA2 expression, and then reduced FOXA2 enrichment on the PCP4 promoter to upregulate PCP4 transcription. Functional rescue experiments showed that the overexpression of NEDD4L or PCP4 and knockdown of FOXA2 both attenuated the inhibition of SNHG14 downregulation on OD of BMSCs. Overall, our findings suggested that SNHG14 promoted OD of BMSCs through the NEDD4L/FOXA2/PCP4 axis.

Serum and glucocorticoid inducible kinase 1 modulates mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in doxorubicin-induced cardiomyocytes by regulating Hippo pathway via Neural precursor cell-expressed developmentally down-regulated 4 type 2

Doxorubicin (Dox) was reported to cause mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes, leading to cardiomyocyte apoptosis and ultimately heart failure. Serum and glucocorticoid inducible kinase 1 (SGK1) participates in the progression of various cardiovascular diseases. Thus, we aimed to explore the role and regulatory mechanism of SGK1 in Dox-induced cardiomyocyte injury. The expression of SGK1 was evaluated in blood samples of heart failure children, and in myocardial tissues and blood samples of Dox-induced rats. Subsequently, we treated cardiomyocytes with Dox in vitro. A gain-of-function assay was performed to assess the effects of SGK1 on mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in Dox-induced cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, the modulation of SGK1 on Neural precursor cell-expressed developmentally down-regulated 4 type 2 (NEDD4-2) expression and the subsequent Hippo pathway was validated. In our study, we found that SGK1 was downregulated in blood samples of heart failure children, as well as myocardial tissues and blood samples of Dox-induced rats. SGK1 overexpression alleviated the decreases of mitochondrial complex activity, mitochondrial membrane potential, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content and ATP synthetase activity stimulated by Dox. Besides, SGK1 overexpression reversed the promoting effects of Dox on oxidative stress and apoptosis. Mechanistically, SGK1 overexpression inhibited the expression of NEDD4-2 and blocked the subsequent activation of Hippo pathway. NEDD4-2 overexpression or activation of Hippo reversed the protective effects of SGK1 overexpression on Dox-induced cardiomyocyte injury. In conclusion, our results revealed that SGK1 modulated mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in Dox-induced cardiomyocytes by regulating Hippo pathway via NEDD4-2.

Pretreatment of nucleus pulposus mesenchymal stem cells with appropriate concentration of H2O2 enhances their ability to treat intervertebral disc degeneration

Background

Nucleus pulposus mesenchymal stem cells (NPMSCs) transplantation is a promising treatment for intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). However, the transplanted NPMSCs exhibited weak cell proliferation, high cell apoptosis, and a low ability to resist the harsh microenvironment of the degenerated intervertebral disc. There is an urgent need to explore feasible methods to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of NPMSCs transplantation.

Objective

To identify the optimal concentration for NPMSCs pretreatment with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and explore the therapeutic efficacy of NPMSCs transplantation using H₂O₂ pretreatment in IVDD.

Methods

Rat NPMSCs were pretreated with different concentrations (range from 25 to 300 μM) of H₂O₂. The proliferation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, and apoptosis of NPMSCs were detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) staining, and flow cytometry in vitro. The underlying signalling pathways were explored utilizing Western blotting. A rat needle puncture-stimulated IVDD model was established. X-ray, histological staining, and a multimode small animal live imaging system were used to evaluate the therapeutic effect of H₂O₂-pretreated NPMSCs in vivo.

Results

NPMSCs pretreated with 75 μM H₂O₂ demonstrated the strongest elevated cell proliferation by inhibiting the Hippo pathway (P < 0.01). Meanwhile, 75 μM H₂O₂-pretreated NPMSCs exhibited significantly enhanced antioxidative stress ability (P < 0.01), which is related to downregulated Brd4 and Keap1 and upregulated Nrf2. NPMSCs pretreated with 75 μM H₂O₂ also exhibited distinctly decreased apoptosis (P < 0.01). In vivo experiments verified that 75 μM H₂O₂-pretreated NPMSCs-transplanted rats exhibited an enhanced disc height index (DHI% = 90.00 ± 4.55, P < 0.01) and better histological morphology (histological score = 13.5 ± 0.5, P < 0.01), which means 75 μM H₂O₂-pretreated NPMSCs can better adapt to the environment of degenerative intervertebral discs and promote the repair of IVDD.

Conclusions

Pretreatment with 75 μM H₂O₂ was the optimal concentration to improve the proliferation, antioxidative stress, and antiapoptotic ability of transplanted NPMSCs, which is expected to provide a new feasible method to improve the stem cell therapy efficacy of IVDD.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13287-022-03031-7.

Anti-cancer peptides: their current trends in the development of peptide-based therapy and anti-tumor drugs

Human cancer remains a cause of high mortality throughout the world. The conventional methods and therapies currently employed for treatment are followed by moderate-to-severe side effects. They have not generated curative results due to the ineffectiveness of treatments. Besides, the associated high costs, technical requirements, and cytotoxicity further characterize their limitations. Due to relatively higher presidencies, bioactive peptides with anti-cancer attributes have recently become treatment choices within the therapeutic arsenal. The peptides act as potential anti-cancer agents explicitly targeting tumor cells while being less toxic to normal cells. The anti-cancer peptides are isolated from various natural sources, exhibit high selectivity and high penetration efficiency, and could be quickly restructured. The therapeutic benefits of compatible anti-cancer peptides have contributed to the significant expansion of cancer treatment; albeit, the mechanisms by which bioactive peptides inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells remain unclear. This review will provide a framework for assessing anti-cancer peptides' structural and functional aspects. It shall provide appropriate information on their mode of action to support and strengthen efforts to improve cancer prevention. The article will mention the therapeutic health benefits of anti-cancer peptides. Their importance in clinical studies is elaborated for reducing cancer incidences and developing sustainable treatment models.

The double-edged roles of ROS in cancer prevention and therapy

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) serve as cell signaling molecules generated in oxidative metabolism and are associated with a number of human diseases. The reprogramming of redox metabolism induces abnormal accumulation of ROS in cancer cells. It has been widely accepted that ROS play opposite roles in tumor growth, metastasis and apoptosis according to their different distributions, concentrations and durations in specific subcellular structures. These double-edged roles in cancer progression include the ROS-dependent malignant transformation and the oxidative stress-induced cell death. In this review, we summarize the notable literatures on ROS generation and scavenging, and discuss the related signal transduction networks and corresponding anticancer therapies. There is no doubt that an improved understanding of the sophisticated mechanism of redox biology is imperative to conquer cancer.

Evidence for an Interaction Between NEDD4 and Childhood Trauma on Clinical Characters of Schizophrenia With Family History of Psychosis

Background: Neural precursor cell-expressed developmentally downregulated 4 (NEDD4) polymorphisms and childhood trauma (CT) are associated with schizophrenia. However, whether NEDD4 interacts with CT on symptoms of schizophrenia remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the gene-environment interaction effect. Methods: We recruited 289 schizophrenia patients and 487 controls and genotyped rs2303579, rs3088077, rs7162435, rs11550869, and rs62043855 in their NEDD4 gene. Results: We found significant differences in the rs2303579 and rs3088077 between the two groups. Patients with the rs2303579 CC genotype had higher scores compared with other genotype (P = 0.026) in the test of positive schizophrenia syndrome scores, whereas patients with the rs3088077 TT (P = 0.037) and rs7162435 CC genotypes (P = 0.009) had higher scores compared with the other genotypes in the test of excitement factor. Patients with a family history of psychosis (FH+) reported higher negative scores (P = 0.012) than those without. Patients exposed to physical abuse (PA) reported a lower language learning and memory score (P = 0.017) and working memory score (P = 0.047) than those not. Patients exposed to sexual abuse (SA) reported a lower reasoning and problem-solving skills score (P = 0.025); those exposed to emotional neglect (EN) reported a lower social cognition score (P = 0.044); and those exposed to physical neglect reported a lower social cognition score (P = 0.036) but higher visual learning and memory score (P = 0.032). Rs3088077 could interact with EN to increase risk for schizophrenia. Optimal model rs62043855 × EA, rs3088077 × rs7162435 × rs11550869 × SA × EN and rs2303579 × rs7162435 × rs11550869 × rs62043855 × EA × PA could explain positive symptom, excitement symptom and working memory, respectively, in FH+ group. Conclusion: The study highlighted that the combined interaction of NEDD4 and CT may be associated with symptoms of schizophrenia especially for those with FH+.

NEDD4 Plays Roles in the Maintenance of Breast Cancer Stem Cell Characteristics

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive type with poor prognosis among the breast cancers and has a high population of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are the main target to cure and inhibit TNBC. In this study, we examined the role of neural precursor cell expressed developmentally downregulated protein 4 (NEDD4) in the proliferation, migration, and CSC characteristics of MDA-MB-231, a TNBC cell line. Interestingly, the Kaplan–Meier plotter showed that the survival rate of patients with a higher expression level of NEDD4 was significantly shorter than those of patients with a lower expression only in relatively aggressive and higher stage (grade 3) breast cancer patients. The knockdown of NEDD4 drastically decreased the proliferation, migration, and mammosphere formation in MDA-MB-231 cells. A proteomic analysis revealed the alteration of CSC-related proteins; notably, Myc targets stem cell-like signatures in siNEDD4-treated MDA-MB-231. An immunoassay also showed that the expression and the activity of breast CSC markers are decreased in NEDD4-deleted MDA-MB-231. Taken together, these results indicate that NEDD4 is involved in the maintenance of populations and characteristics of breast CSCs.

Structure and Function of HECT E3 Ubiquitin Ligases and their Role in Oxidative Stress

Ubiquitination is a modification after protein transcription that plays a vital role in maintaining the homeostasis of the cellular environment. The Homologous to E6AP C-terminus (HECT) family E3 ubiquitin ligases are a kind of E3 ubiquitin ligases with a C-terminal HECT domain that mediates the binding of ubiquitin to substrate proteins and a variable-length N-terminal extension. HECT-ubiquitinated ligases can be divided into three categories: NEDD4 superfamily, HERC superfamily, and other HECT superfamilies. HECT ubiquitin ligase plays an essential role in the development of many human diseases. In this review, we focus on the physiological and pathological processes involved in oxidative stress and the role of E3 ubiquitin ligase of the HECT family.

Protective effect of BMSCs-derived exosomes mediated by BDNF on TBI via miR-216a-5p

Background

Transplantation of exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs-Exo) can improve the recovery of neurological function in rats after traumatic brain injury (TBI). We tested a new hypothesis that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-induced MSCs-Exo can effectively promote functional recovery and neurogenesis in rats after TBI.

Material/Methods

BM-MSCs of rats were extracted by whole bone marrow culture, BDNF was added to BM-MSCs as an intervention, supernatant was collected, and exosomes were separated and purified by ultracentrifugation. Exosomes were identified by Western blot (WB), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and particle size analysis and were subsequently used in cell and animal experiments. The experimental animals were divided into a sham group, a PBS group, an MSCs-Exo group, and a BDNF-induced MSCs-Exo group (n=12). An electric cortical contusion impactor (eCCI) was used to cause TBI in all rats except the sham group. We investigated the recovery of sensorimotor function and spatial learning ability, inflammation inhibition, and neuron regeneration in rats after TBI.

Results

Compared with the MSCs-Exo group, the BDNF-induced MSCs-Exo group showed better effects in promoting the recovery of sensorimotor function and spatial learning ability. BDNF-induced MSCs-Exo successfully inhibited inflammation and promoted neuronal regeneration in vivo and in vitro. We further analyzed miRNAs in BDNF-induced MSCs-Exo and MSCs-Exo and found that the expression of miR-216a-5p in BDNF-induced MSCs-Exo was significantly higher than that in MSCs-Exo as determined by qRT-PCR. Rescue experiments indicated that miR-216a-5p had a similar function as BDNF-induced MSCs-Exo.

Conclusions

We found that BDNF-induced MSCs-Exo can improve cell migration and inhibit apoptosis better than MSCs-Exo in rats after TBI, and the mechanism may be related to the high expression of miR-216a-5p.

Knockdown of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a novel target to protect neurons from parthanatos induced by simulated post-spinal cord injury oxidative stress

Parthanatos is a form of regulated cell death (RCD) that is closely linked to DNA damage, which is a common consequence of oxidative stress due to central nervous trauma, such as spinal cord injury (SCI). The mechanism by which apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) mediates DNA strand breaks in parthanatos was not clear until the discovery of the nuclease function of MIF. A previous study suggested that observed results may not be reliable if the oxidative stress induced in cells observed under experimental pathological conditions does not accurately replicate the specific pathologies being studied. According to an earlier direct measurement of extracellular oxidative stress in a rat SCI model, post-SCI oxidative stress was approximately the same as exposure to 150 μM H₂O₂. However, this concentration has been reported as sublethal oxidative stress in other cell types related to senescence, apoptosis, and parthanatos. Using sublethal H₂O₂ concentrations to induce oxidative stress is equivocal. Also, different cell types have diverse tolerances and responses to oxidative stress, and, therefore, exposure to H₂O₂. To avoid these limitations, the present study explored the mechanism of neuronal death under this simulated post-SCI oxidative stress and determined the effects of MIF knockdown in parthanatos associated with SCI. Immunofluorescence and flow cytometry were used to reveal typical characteristics of parthanatos that were blocked by PARP-1 inhibitors but not caspase inhibitors. In addition to classic features like PARP-1 and caspase-3 cleavage that were absent, we determined that parthanatos instead of apoptosis played a major role in the cell death caused by oxidative stress following SCI. Flow cytometry analysis of cells transfected by adenovirus with MIF-shRNA then exposed to H₂O₂ showed a significant decrease in cell death for MIF knockdown cells, even after AIF nuclear translocation. The comet assay also displayed significantly fewer DNA strand breaks after MIF knockdown. This is the first study has verified that MIF knockdown enables to protect neurons from parthanatos under a simulated in vivo oxidative stress following SCI. It suggests that MIF knockdown is a promising therapy to rescue neurons suffering from oxidative stress-induced SCI pathology.