NDUFA4L2 in smooth muscle promotes vascular remodeling in hypoxic pulmonary arterial hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by a progressive increase in pulmonary vascular resistance and obliterative pulmonary vascular remodelling (PVR). The imbalance between the proliferation and apoptosis of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) is an important cause of PVR leading to PAH. Mitochondria play a key role in the production of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (HPH). However, there are still many issues worth studying in depth. In this study, we demonstrated that NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone) 1 alpha subcomplex 4 like 2 (NDUFA4L2) was a proliferation factor and increased in vivo and in vitro through various molecular biology experiments. HIF-1α was an upstream target of NDUFA4L2. The plasma levels of 4-hydroxynonene (4-HNE) were increased both in PAH patients and hypoxic PAH model rats. Knockdown of NDUFA4L2 decreased the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-HNE in human PASMCs in hypoxia. Elevated MDA and 4-HNE levels might be associated with excessive ROS generation and increased expression of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) in hypoxia, but this effect was blocked by siNDUFA4L2. Further research found that p38-5-LO was a downstream signalling pathway of PASMCs proliferation induced by NDUFA4L2. Up-regulated NDUFA4L2 plays a critical role in the development of HPH, which mediates ROS production and proliferation of PASMCs, suggesting NDUFA4L2 as a potential new therapeutic target for PAH.

Hormonal Dysregulation and Unbalanced Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediator Biosynthesis Contribute toward Impaired B Cell Outcomes in Obesity

Diet-induced obesity is associated with impaired B-cell-driven humoral immunity, which coincides with chronic inflammation and has consequences for responses to infections and vaccinations. Key nutritional, cellular, and molecular mechanisms by which obesity may impair aspects of humoral immunity such as B cell development, class switch recombination, and formation of long-lived antibody secreting cells are reviewed. A key theme to emerge is the central role of white adipose tissue on the formation and function of pro-inflammatory B cell subsets that exacerbate insulin resistance. The underlying role of select hormones such as leptin is highlighted, which may be driving the formation of pro-inflammatory B cells in the absence of antigen stimulation. This review also extensively covers the regulatory role of lipid metabolites such as prostaglandins and specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) that are synthesized from polyunsaturated fatty acids. Notably, SPM biosynthesis is impaired in obesity and contributes toward impaired antibody production. Future directions for research, including avenues for therapeutic intervention, are included.

Phosphorylation- and stimulus-dependent inhibition of cellular 5-lipoxygenase activity by nonredox-type inhibitors

Nonredox-type 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) inhibitors such as ZM230487 or L-739.010 potently suppress leukotriene biosynthesis at low cellular peroxide tone. Here, we show that inhibition of 5-LO product formation by nonredox-type 5-LO inhibitors in human isolated polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) depends on the activation pathway of 5-LO. Thus, compared with 5-LO product synthesis induced by the Ca2+-mobilizing agent ionophore A23187, cell stress-induced 5-LO product formation involving 5-LO kinase pathways required ~10- to 100-fold higher concentrations of ZM230487 or L-739.010 for comparable 5-LO inhibition. No such differences were observed for the iron ligand-type 5-LO inhibitor BWA4C or the novel-type 5-LO inhibitors hyperforin and 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-boswellic acid. Experiments using purified 5-LO revealed that Ca2+ is no prerequisite for potent enzyme inhibition by ZM230487, and exposure of PMNL to the combination of ionophore and cell stress did not restore potent 5-LO suppression. Intriguingly, a significant difference in the potency of nonredox-type inhibitors (but not of BWA4C) was determined between wild-type 5-LO and the mutant S271A/S663A-5-LO (lacking phosphorylation sites for ERK1/2 and MAPKAPK-2) in HeLa cells. Collectively, our data suggest that compared with Ca2+-mediated 5-LO product formation, enzyme activation involving 5-LO phosphorylation events specifically and strongly alters the susceptibility of 5-LO toward nonredox-type inhibitors in intact cells.

Cell type-dependent activation of 5-lipoxygenase by arachidonic acid

5-Lipoxygenase (5-LO) is the key enzyme in the biosynthesis of proinflammatory leukotrienes. We show that stimulation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL), rat basophilic leukemia (RBL)-1, or transfected HeLa cells with arachidonic acid (AA) caused prominent 5-LO product formation that coincided with the activity of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. 5-LO product formation in AA-stimulated PMNL and RBL-1 cells was independent of Ca2+. However, in HeLa cells expressing a 5-LO mutant lacking potential 5-LO phosphorylation sites, removal of Ca2+ caused a prominent loss of 5-LO activity. For Mono Mac 6 (MM6) cells, AA failed to activate ERKs, and AA-induced 5-LO product formation was only minute. Also, activation of ERKs by phorbol esters did not lead to prominent 5-LO product synthesis. Instead, 5-LO activation in MM6 cells required Ca2+ or alternative signaling pathways induced by hyperosmotic stress. In summary, mechanisms for activation of 5-LO differ considerably between cell types.

Extracellular signal-regulated kinases phosphorylate 5-lipoxygenase and stimulate 5-lipoxygenase product formation in leukocytes

5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) is the key enzyme in the biosynthesis of proinflammatory leukotrienes. Here, we demonstrate that extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) can phosphorylate 5-LO in vitro. Efficient phosphorylation required the presence of unsaturated fatty acids and was abolished when Ser-663 was mutated to alanine. In intact HeLa cells stimulated with arachidonic acid (AA), impaired 5-LO product formation was evident in cells expressing the S663A-5-LO mutant compared with cells expressing wild-type 5-LO. For Mono Mac 6 cells, priming with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) before stimulation with ionophore was required for ERK1/2 activation and efficient 5-LO phosphorylation, in parallel with substantial AA release and 5-LO product formation. Inhibition of PKC by GF109203x or MEK1/2 by U0126 (or PD98059) abolished the 5-LO up-regulation effects of PMA. In contrast, these inhibitors failed to suppress 5-LO product formation induced by stimuli such as AA plus ionophore, which apparently do not involve the ERK1/2 pathway. Based on inhibitor studies, ERKs are also involved in AA-stimulated 5-LO product formation in PMNL, whereas a role for ERKs is not apparent in 5-LO activation induced by ionophore or cell stress. Finally, the data suggest that ERKs and p38 MAPK-regulated MAPKAPKs can act in conjunction to stimulate 5-LO by phosphorylation.