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Gebreyesus LH, Choi S, Neequaye P, Mahmoud M, Mahmoud M, Ofosu-Boateng M, Twum E, Nnamani DO, Wang L, Yadak N, Ghosh S, Gonzalez FJ, Gyamfi MA. Pregnane X receptor knockout mitigates weight gain and hepatic metabolic dysregulation in female C57BL/6 J mice on a long-term high-fat diet. Biomed Pharmacother 2024; 173:116341. [PMID: 38428309 PMCID: PMC10983615 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.116341] [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: 12/16/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Obesity is a significant risk factor for several chronic diseases. However, pre-menopausal females are protected against high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and its adverse effects. The pregnane X receptor (PXR, NR1I2), a xenobiotic-sensing nuclear receptor, promotes short-term obesity-associated liver disease only in male mice but not in females. Therefore, the current study investigated the metabolic and pathophysiological effects of a long-term 52-week HFD in female wild-type (WT) and PXR-KO mice and characterized the PXR-dependent molecular pathways involved. After 52 weeks of HFD ingestion, the body and liver weights and several markers of hepatotoxicity were significantly higher in WT mice than in their PXR-KO counterparts. The HFD-induced liver injury in WT female mice was also associated with upregulation of the hepatic mRNA levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (Pparg), its target genes, fat-specific protein 27 (Fsp27), and the liver-specific Fsp27b involved in lipid accumulation, apoptosis, and inflammation. Notably, PXR-KO mice displayed elevated hepatic Cyp2a5 (anti-obesity gene), aldo-keto reductase 1b7 (Akr1b7), glutathione-S-transferase M3 (Gstm3) (antioxidant gene), and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) levels, contributing to protection against long-term HFD-induced obesity and inflammation. RNA sequencing analysis revealed a general blunting of the transcriptomic response to HFD in PXR-KO compared to WT mice. Pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated enrichment by HFD for several pathways, including oxidative stress and redox pathway, cholesterol biosynthesis, and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis in WT but not PXR-KO mice. In conclusion, this study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms by which PXR deficiency protects against long-term HFD-induced severe obesity and its adverse effects in female mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lidya H Gebreyesus
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 881 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Sora Choi
- Julius L. Chambers Biomedical Biotechnology Research Institute, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA
| | - Prince Neequaye
- Julius L. Chambers Biomedical Biotechnology Research Institute, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA
| | - Mattia Mahmoud
- Julius L. Chambers Biomedical Biotechnology Research Institute, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA
| | - Mia Mahmoud
- Julius L. Chambers Biomedical Biotechnology Research Institute, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA
| | - Malvin Ofosu-Boateng
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 881 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Elizabeth Twum
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 881 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Daniel O Nnamani
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 881 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Lijin Wang
- Center for Computational Biology, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, Singapore
| | - Nour Yadak
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Sujoy Ghosh
- Center for Computational Biology, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, Singapore; Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Core, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA
| | - Frank J Gonzalez
- Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Building 37, Room 3106, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Maxwell A Gyamfi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 881 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN 38163, USA; Julius L. Chambers Biomedical Biotechnology Research Institute, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA.
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Zeng N, Jian Z, Xu J, Zheng S, Fan Y, Xiao F. DLK1 overexpression improves sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction and fibrosis in mice through the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway and MMPs. J Mol Histol 2023; 54:655-664. [PMID: 37759133 DOI: 10.1007/s10735-023-10161-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Sepsis is a serious inflammatory disease caused by bacterial infection. Cardiovascular dysfunction and remodeling are serious complications of sepsis, which can significantly affect sepsis patients' mortality. Delta-like homologue 1 (DLK1) has been reported could inhibit cardiac myofibroblast differentiation. However, the function of DLK1 in sepsis is unknown. In the present study, the DLK1 expression was first identified based on the online dataset GSE79962 analysis and cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis mouse model. DLK1 expression was significantly reduced in septic heart tissues. In septic mouse heart, CLP operation decreased the fractional shortening (EF) (%) and ejection fraction (FS) (%) and caused significant edema, disordered myofilament arrangement, and degradation and necrosis in myocardial cells; CLP operation also increased collagen deposition and elevated the protein levels of fibrotic markers (α-SMA and F-actin). DLK1 overexpression in septic mice could effectively increase EF (%) and FS (%), attenuate CLP-caused ECM degradation and deposition and partially inhibit the CLP-induced TGF-β1/Smad signaling activation. In conclusion, DLK1 expression was poorly expressed in the CLP-induced septic mouse heart. DLK1 overexpression partially alleviated sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction and fibrosis, with the involvement of the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway and MMPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ni Zeng
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China
| | - Zaijin Jian
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China
| | - Junmei Xu
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China
| | - Sijia Zheng
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China
| | - Yongmei Fan
- Department of Rehabilitation, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China
| | - Feng Xiao
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China.
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Moreno-Lanceta A, Medrano-Bosch M, Simón-Codina B, Barber-González M, Jiménez W, Melgar-Lesmes P. PPAR-γ Agonist GW1929 Targeted to Macrophages with Dendrimer-Graphene Nanostars Reduces Liver Fibrosis and Inflammation. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:pharmaceutics15051452. [PMID: 37242695 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15051452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Macrophages play essential roles during the progression of chronic liver disease. They actively participate in the response to liver damage and in the balance between fibrogenesis and regression. The activation of the PPARγ nuclear receptor in macrophages has traditionally been associated with an anti-inflammatory phenotype. However, there are no PPARγ agonists with high selectivity for macrophages, and the use of full agonists is generally discouraged due to severe side effects. We designed dendrimer-graphene nanostars linked to a low dose of the GW1929 PPARγ agonist (DGNS-GW) for the selective activation of PPARγ in macrophages in fibrotic livers. DGNS-GW preferentially accumulated in inflammatory macrophages in vitro and attenuated macrophage pro-inflammatory phenotype. The treatment with DGNS-GW in fibrotic mice efficiently activated liver PPARγ signaling and promoted a macrophage switch from pro-inflammatory M1 to anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype. The reduction of hepatic inflammation was associated with a significant reduction in hepatic fibrosis but did not alter liver function or hepatic stellate cell activation. The therapeutic antifibrotic utility of DGNS-GW was attributed to an increased expression of hepatic metalloproteinases that allowed extracellular matrix remodeling. In conclusion, the selective activation of PPARγ in hepatic macrophages with DGNS-GW significantly reduced hepatic inflammation and stimulated extracellular matrix remodeling in experimental liver fibrosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alazne Moreno-Lanceta
- Department of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
- Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Service, Hospital Clínic Universitari, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mireia Medrano-Bosch
- Department of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Blanca Simón-Codina
- Department of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Wladimiro Jiménez
- Department of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
- Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Service, Hospital Clínic Universitari, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pedro Melgar-Lesmes
- Department of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
- Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Service, Hospital Clínic Universitari, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), 08036 Barcelona, Spain
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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Pituitary Tumor-Transforming Gene 1/Delta like Non-Canonical Notch Ligand 1 Signaling in Chronic Liver Diseases. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23136897. [PMID: 35805898 PMCID: PMC9267054 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23136897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The management of chronic liver diseases (CLDs) remains a challenge, and identifying effective treatments is a major unmet medical need. In the current review we focus on the pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG1)/delta like non-canonical notch ligand 1 (DLK1) axis as a potential therapeutic target to attenuate the progression of these pathological conditions. PTTG1 is a proto-oncogene involved in proliferation and metabolism. PTTG1 expression has been related to inflammation, angiogenesis, and fibrogenesis in cancer and experimental fibrosis. On the other hand, DLK1 has been identified as one of the most abundantly expressed PTTG1 targets in adipose tissue and has shown to contribute to hepatic fibrosis by promoting the activation of hepatic stellate cells. Here, we extensively analyze the increasing amount of information pointing to the PTTG1/DLK1 signaling pathway as an important player in the regulation of these disturbances. These data prompted us to hypothesize that activation of the PTTG1/DLK1 axis is a key factor upregulating the tissue remodeling mechanisms characteristic of CLDs. Therefore, disruption of this signaling pathway could be useful in the therapeutic management of CLDs.
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