Regulation of activity of transcription factor NF-κB by synthetic oligonucleotides

Akt inhibitor deguelin aggravates inflammation and fibrosis in myocarditis

OBJECTIVES

Myocarditis is characterized by inflammatory cell infiltration in myocardial stroma. Attenuation of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β is a reliable mark for improving the prognosis. Protein kinase B (Akt) plays an important role in the development and progression of myocarditis. The specific role of the natural inhibitor of Akt, Deguelin, on myocarditis has not been reported. In this study, we used deguelin to investigate the effects of natural Akt inhibitor on myocarditis in experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

EAM rat models were made by using Lewis rats and Deguelin was injected intraperitoneally on day 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 after successful modeling. On day 18, rats were sacrificed and the heart weight (HW)/ body weight (BW) ratio were measured. The pathological changes, pathological scores and fibrosis area were evaluated after H.&E. and Masson's trichrome staining. The mRNA levels of TNF-α and IL-1β were measured by RT-qPCR, while the protein expressions of TNF-α and IL-1β were detected by immunohistochemical staining and Western bolt. The protein expressions of Akt, Akt1, phosphorylated (p-) Akt and nuclear factor (NF)-κB were detected by Western bolt.

RESULTS

We found that the TNF-α and IL-1β levels, inflammatory scores and fibrosis areas were markedly increased after 18 days deguelin administration.

CONCLUSION

Akt inhibition with deguelin may aggravate myocarditis of EAM rats.

Modeling the therapeutic efficacy of NFκB synthetic decoy oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs)

BACKGROUND

Transfection of NF κB synthetic decoy Oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) has been proposed as a promising therapeutic strategy for a variety of diseases arising from constitutive activation of the eukaryotic transcription factor NF κB. The decoy approach faces some limitations under physiological conditions notably nuclease-induced degradation.

RESULTS

In this work, we show how a systems pharmacology model of NF κB regulatory networks displaying oscillatory temporal dynamics, can be used to predict quantitatively the dependence of therapeutic efficacy of NF κB synthetic decoy ODNs on dose, unbinding kinetic rates and nuclease-induced degradation rates. Both deterministic mass action simulations and stochastic simulations of the systems biology model show that the therapeutic efficacy of synthetic decoy ODNs is inversely correlated with unbinding kinetic rates, nuclease-induced degradation rates and molecular stripping rates, but is positively correlated with dose. We show that the temporal coherence of the stochastic dynamics of NF κB regulatory networks is most sensitive to adding NF κB synthetic decoy ODNs having unbinding time-scales that are in-resonance with the time-scale of the limit cycle of the network.

CONCLUSIONS

The pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) predicted by the systems-level model should provide quantitative guidance for in-depth translational research of optimizing the thermodynamics/kinetic properties of synthetic decoy ODNs.

Suppression of chronic inflammation with engineered nanomaterials delivering nuclear factor κB transcription factor decoy oligodeoxynucleotides

As a prototypical pro-inflammatory transcription factor, constitutive activation of NF-κB signaling pathway has been reported in several chronic inflammatory disorders including inflammatory bowel disease, cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. Application of decoy oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) against NF-κB, as an effective molecular therapy approach, has brought about several promising outcomes in treatment of chronic inflammatory disorders. However, systematic administration of these genetic constructs is mostly hampered due to their instability, rapid degradation by nucleases and poor cellular uptake. Both chemical modification and application of delivery systems have shown to effectively overcome some of these limitations. Among different administered delivery systems, nanomaterials have gained much attention for delivering NF-κB decoy ODNs owing to their high loading capacity, targeted delivery and ease of synthesis. In this review, we highlight some of the most recently developed nanomaterial-based delivery systems for overcoming limitations associated with clinical application of these genetic constructs.

Molecular Elucidation of Disease Biomarkers at the Interface of Chemistry and Biology

Disease-related biomarkers are objectively measurable molecular signatures of physiological status that can serve as disease indicators or drug targets in clinical diagnosis and therapy, thus acting as a tool in support of personalized medicine. For example, the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) biomarker is now widely used to screen patients for prostate cancer. However, few such biomarkers are currently available, and the process of biomarker identification and validation is prolonged and complicated by inefficient methods of discovery and few reliable analytical platforms. Therefore, in this Perspective, we look at the advanced chemistry of aptamer molecules and their significant role as molecular probes in biomarker studies. As a special class of functional nucleic acids evolved from an iterative technology termed Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX), these single-stranded oligonucleotides can recognize their respective targets with selectivity and affinity comparable to those of protein antibodies. Because of their fast turnaround time and exceptional chemical properties, aptamer probes can serve as novel molecular tools for biomarker investigations, particularly in assisting identification of new disease-related biomarkers. More importantly, aptamers are able to recognize biomarkers from complex biological environments such as blood serum and cell surfaces, which can provide direct evidence for further clinical applications. This Perspective highlights several major advancements of aptamer-based biomarker discovery strategies and their potential contribution to the practice of precision medicine.

[Application of esmolol in severe hand, foot, and mouth disease]

OBJECTIVE

To study the clinical effect and mechanism of action of esmolol in the treatment of severe hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD).

METHODS

A prospective randomized controlled trial was performed. A total of 102 children with severe HFMD were enrolled in the study and were randomly divided into conventional treatment and esmolol treatment groups (n=51 each). The children in the conventional treatment group were given conventional treatment according to the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of HFMD. Those in the esmolol treatment group were given esmolol in addition to the conventional treatment. The heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and respiratory rate (RR) were continuously monitored for all children. Blood samples were collected from all children before treatment and 1, 3, and 5 days after treatment to measure the levels of norepinephrine (NE), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) p65 in mononuclear cells. Serum levels of myocardial enzymes and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were measured before treatment and after 5 days of treatment.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in HR, SBP, RR, NE, TNF-α, IL-6, NF-κB p65, serum myocardial enzymes, and NT-proBNP before treatment between the conventional treatment and esmolol treatment groups. Both groups had significant reductions in these parameters at each time point (P<0.05). Compared with the conventional treatment group, the esmolol treatment group had significant improvements in the above parameters after 1 and 3 days of treatment (P<0.05). After 5 days of treatment, the esmolol treatment group had significant improvements in serum levels of myocardial enzymes and NT-proBNP compared with the conventional treatment group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Early application of esmolol can effectively stabilize the vital signs of the children with severe HFMD. Its mechanism of action may be related to reducing serum catecholamine concentration, alleviating myocardial damage, improving cardiac function, and reducing inflammatory response.

Catch and Release DNA Decoys: Capture and Photochemical Dissociation of NF-κB Transcription Factors

Catch and release DNA decoys (CRDDs) are a new class of non-natural DNA probes that capture and dissociate from DNA-binding proteins using a light trigger. Photolytic cleavage of non-natural nucleobases in the CRDD yields abasic sites and truncation products that lower the affinity of the CRDD for its protein target. Herein, we demonstrate the ability of the first-generation CRDD to bind and release NF-κB proteins. This platform technology should be applicable to other DNA-binding proteins by modification of the target sequence.