miR-467 regulates inflammation and blood insulin and glucose

Dynamic molecular choreography induced by acute heat exposure in human males: a longitudinal multi-omics profiling study

Introduction

Extreme heat events caused by occupational exposure and heat waves are becoming more common. However, the molecular changes underlying the response to heat exposure in humans remain to be elucidated.

Methods

This study used longitudinal multi-omics profiling to assess the impact of acute heat exposure (50°C for 30 min) in 24 subjects from a mine rescue team. Intravenous blood samples were collected before acute heat exposure (baseline) and at 5 min, 30 min, 1 h, and 24 h after acute heat exposure (recovery). In-depth multi-omics profiling was performed on each sample, including plasma proteomics (untargeted) and metabolomics (untargeted).

Results

After data curation and annotation, the final dataset contained 2,473 analytes, including 478 proteins and 1995 metabolites. Time-series analysis unveiled an orchestrated molecular choreography of changes involving the immune response, coagulation, acid-base balance, oxidative stress, cytoskeleton, and energy metabolism. Further analysis through protein-protein interactions and network analysis revealed potential regulators of acute heat exposure. Moreover, novel blood-based analytes that predicted change in cardiopulmonary function after acute heat exposure were identified.

Conclusion

This study provided a comprehensive investigation of the dynamic molecular changes that underlie the complex physiological processes that occur in human males who undergo heat exposure. Our findings will help health impact assessment of extreme high temperature and inspire future mechanistic and clinical studies.

Obesity as a Risk Factor for Breast Cancer-The Role of miRNA

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer diagnosed among women in the world, with an ever-increasing incidence rate. Due to the dynamic increase in the occurrence of risk factors, including obesity and related metabolic disorders, the search for new regulatory mechanisms is necessary. This will help a complete understanding of the pathogenesis of breast cancer. The review presents the mechanisms of obesity as a factor that increases the risk of developing breast cancer and that even initiates the cancer process in the female population. The mechanisms presented in the paper relate to the inflammatory process resulting from current or progressive obesity leading to cell metabolism disorders and disturbed hormonal metabolism. All these processes are widely regulated by the action of microRNAs (miRNAs), which may constitute potential biomarkers influencing the pathogenesis of breast cancer and may be a promising target of anti-cancer therapies.

(-)-Epicatechin exerts positive effects on anxiety in high fat diet-induced obese mice through multi-genomic modifications in the hippocampus

Obesity is associated with increased occurrence of cognitive and mood disorders. While consumption of high-fat diets (HFD) and associated obesity could have a detrimental impact on the brain, dietary bioactives may mitigate these harmful effects. We previously observed that (-)-epicatechin (EC) can mitigate HFD-induced anxiety-associated behaviors in mice. The aim of our study is to investigate the molecular mechanisms of EC actions in the hippocampus which underlies its anti-anxiety effects in HFD-fed mice using a multi-genomic approach. Healthy eight-week old male C57BL/6J mice were fed for 24 weeks either: (A) a control diet containing 10% total calories from fat; (B) a HFD containing 45% total calories from fat; or (C) the HFD supplemented with 20 mg EC per kg body weight. Hippocampi were isolated for genomic analysis using Affymetrix arrays, followed by in-depth bioinformatic analyses. Genomic analysis demonstrated that EC induced significant changes in mouse hippocampal global gene expression. We observed changes in the expression of 1001 protein-coding genes, 241 miRNAs, and 167 long non-coding RNAs. Opposite gene expression profiles were observed when the gene expression profile obtained upon EC supplementation was compared to the profile obtained after consumption of the HFD. Functionality analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes regulate processes involved in neurofunction, inflammation, endothelial function, cell-cell adhesion, and cell signaling. In summary, the capacity of EC to mitigate anxiety-related behaviors in HFD-induced obese mice can be in part explained by its capacity to exert complex genomic modifications in the hippocampus, counteracting changes driven by consumption of the HFD and/or associated obesity.

The Regulatory Role of MicroRNAs on Phagocytes: A Potential Therapeutic Target for Chronic Diseases

An effective acute inflammatory response results in the elimination of infectious microorganisms, followed by a smooth transition to resolution and repair. During the inflammatory response, neutrophils play a crucial role in antimicrobial defense as the first cells to reach the site of infection damage. However, if the neutrophils that have performed the bactericidal effect are not removed in time, the inflammatory response will not be able to subside. Anti-inflammatory macrophages are the main scavengers of neutrophils and can promote inflammation towards resolution. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have great potential as clinical targeted therapy and have attracted much attention in recent years. This paper summarizes the involvement of miRNAs in the process of chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus by regulating lipid metabolism, cytokine secretion, inflammatory factor synthesis and tissue repair in two types of cells. This will provide a certain reference for miRNA-targeted treatment of chronic diseases.

Integrative Analysis of RNA Expression and Regulatory Networks in Mice Liver Infected by Echinococcus multilocularis

The larvae of Echinococcus multilocularis causes alveolar echinococcosis, which poses a great threat to the public health. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the host and parasite interactions are still unclear. Exploring the transcriptomic maps of mRNA, miRNA and lncRNA expressed in the liver in response to E. multilocularis infection will help us to understand its pathogenesis. Using liver perfusion, different cell populations including the hepatic cells, hepatic stellate cells and Kupffer cells were isolated from mice interperitoneally inoculated with protoscoleces. Their transcriptional profiles including lncRNAs, miRNAs and mRNAs were done by RNA-seq. Among these cell populations, the most differentially-expressed (DE) mRNA, lncRNAs and miRNAs were annotated and may involve in the pathological processes, mainly including metabolic disorders, immune responses and liver fibrosis. Following the integrative analysis of 38 differentially-expressed DEmiRNAs and 8 DElncRNAs, the lncRNA-mRNA-miRNA networks were constructed, including F63-miR-223-3p-Fbxw7/ZFP36/map1b, F63-miR-27-5p-Tdrd6/Dip2c/Wdfy4 and IFNgAS1-IFN-γ. These results unveil the presence of several potential lncRNA-mRNA-miRNA axes during E. multilocularis infection, and further exploring of these axes may contribute to better understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms.

Hyperglycemia-Induced miR-467 Drives Tumor Inflammation and Growth in Breast Cancer

The tumor microenvironment contains the parenchyma, blood vessels, and infiltrating immune cells, including tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). TAMs affect the developing tumor and drive cancer inflammation. We used mouse models of hyperglycemia and cancer and specimens from hyperglycemic breast cancer (BC) patients to demonstrate that miR-467 mediates the effects of high blood glucose on cancer inflammation and growth. Hyperglycemic patients have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. We have identified a novel miRNA-dependent pathway activated by hyperglycemia that promotes BC angiogenesis and inflammation supporting BC growth. miR-467 is upregulated in endothelial cells (EC), macrophages, BC cells, and in BC tumors. A target of miR-467, thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), inhibits angiogenesis and promotes resolution of inflammation. Systemic injections of a miR-467 antagonist in mouse models of hyperglycemia resulted in decreased BC growth (p < 0.001). Tumors from hyperglycemic mice had a two-fold increase in macrophage accumulation compared to normoglycemic controls (p < 0.001), and TAM infiltration was prevented by the miR-467 antagonist (p < 0.001). BC specimens from hyperglycemic patients had increased miR-467 levels, increased angiogenesis, decreased levels of TSP-1, and increased TAM infiltration in malignant breast tissue in hyperglycemic vs. normoglycemic patients (2.17-fold, p = 0.002) and even in normal breast tissue from hyperglycemic patients (2.18-fold increase, p = 0.04). In malignant BC tissue, miR-467 levels were upregulated 258-fold in hyperglycemic patients compared to normoglycemic patients (p < 0.001) and increased 56-fold in adjacent normal tissue (p = 0.008). Our results suggest that miR-467 accelerates tumor growth by inducing angiogenesis and promoting the recruitment of TAMs to drive hyperglycemia-induced cancer inflammation.

miR-467 regulates inflammation and blood insulin and glucose

Obesity is associated with inflammation and insulin resistance (IR), but the regulation of insulin sensitivity (IS) and connections between IS and inflammation remain unclear. We investigated the role of miR-467a-5p, a miRNA induced by hyperglycaemia, in regulating inflammation and blood glucose handling. We previously demonstrated that miR-467a-5p is induced by hyperglycaemia and inhibits the production of thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), a protein implicated in regulating inflammation. To investigate the role of miR-467 in blood glucose handling and tissue inflammation, WT C57BL/6 mice were fed chow or Western diet from 5 to 32 weeks of age and injected weekly with miR-467a-5p antagonist. Inhibiting miR-467a-5p resulted in 47% increase in macrophage infiltration and increased Il6 levels in adipose tissue, higher plasma insulin levels (98 ng/mL vs 63 ng/mL), and 17% decrease in glucose clearance without increase in weight or HDL/LDL. The antagonist effect was lost in mice on Western diet. Mice lacking TSP-1 lost some but not all of the miR-467 effects, suggesting Thbs1 (and other unknown transcripts) are targeted by miR-467 to regulate inflammation. miR-467a-5p provides a physiological feedback when blood glucose is elevated to avoid inflammation and increased blood glucose and insulin levels, which may prevent IR.