CXCL3: A key player in tumor microenvironment and inflammatory diseases

CXCL3 (C-X-C Motif Chemokine 3), a member of the C-X-C chemokine subfamily, operates as a potent chemoattractant for neutrophils, thereby orchestrating the recruitment and migration of leukocytes alongside eliciting an inflammatory response. Recent inquiries have shed light on the pivotal roles of CXCL3 in the context of carcinogenesis. In the tumor microenvironment, CXCL3 emanating from both tumor and stromal cells intricately modulates cellular behaviors through autocrine and paracrine actions, primarily via interaction with its receptor CXCR2. Activation of signaling cascades such as ERK/MAPK, AKT, and JAK2/STAT3 underscores CXCL3's propensity to favor tumorigenic processes. However, CXCL3 exhibits dualistic behaviors, as evidenced by its capacity to exert anti-tumor effects under specific conditions. Additionally, the involvement of CXCL3 extends to inflammatory disorders like eclampsia, obesity, and asthma. This review encapsulates the structural attributes, biological functionalities, and molecular underpinnings of CXCL3 across both tumorigenesis and inflammatory diseases.

Pravastatin in preeclampsia: A meta-analysis and systematic review

Objective

To review of the efficacy and safety of pravastatin use for prophylaxis and treatment of preeclampsia.

Design

Systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical studies evaluating pravastatin for treatment and/or prophylaxis of preeclampsia.

Data collection

Two independent reviewers systematically searched data from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, Embase, and clinicaltrials.gov databases, for studies evaluating pravastatin for prevention of pre-eclampsia.

Results

Fourteen studies were identified, including 1,570 pregnant women who received either pravastatin or placebo, published between 2003 and 2022. From these studies, 5 studies were identified for inclusion in the meta-analysis to evaluate the role of pravastatin use prior to 20 weeks of gestation, to prevent pre-eclampsia, Pravastatin treatment reduced the incidence of preeclampsia by 61% and premature birth by 45%. Among the newborns, there was a 45% reduction in intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) in the treated group, as well as a 77% reduction in those receiving neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions.

Conclusion

Prophylactic treatment with pravastatin appears to reduce risk of developing pre-eclampsia as well as potentially lowering risk of IUGR, preterm birth, and NICU admission in neonates.

Role of lncRNA BCYRN1 in trophoblast cell physiology and pathogenesis of preeclampsia

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) may play a key role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia (PE). The present study investigated the role of the lncRNA brain cytoplasmic RNA 1 (BCYRN1) in PE. A total of 30 patients with severe PE (SPE) and 30 patients with mild PE (MPE) were recruited, whilst 30 healthy pregnant individuals were enrolled as controls. Placental tissues of enrolled subjects were collected after delivery. The clinical data of pregnant women and newborns were recorded before the correlation between BCYRN1 expression and clinical characteristics was analyzed. Furthermore, HTR-8/SVneo cells were transfected with BCYRN1 overexpression plasmids and BCYRN1 small interfering (si)RNA. Cell Counting Kit-8, Transwell, flow cytometry and tube formation assays were used to detect the function of BCYRN1 in HTR-8/SVneo cells. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was used to detect BCYRN1 expression in placental tissues and HTR-8/SVneo cells. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression levels of Wnt1 and β-catenin. BCYRN1 expression was lower in placenta with mild PE compared with in normal placenta, and was in turn lower in placenta with severe PE. BCYRN1 was negatively correlated with systolic blood pressure and 24-h urinary protein in patients with PE. BCYRN1 siRNA inhibited cell viability, migration, invasion and tube forming abilities whilst increasing apoptosis. By contrast, BCYRN1 overexpression conferred opposite effects. The levels of Wnt1 and β-catenin expression in the cells and placental tissues were next measured. Cells overexpressing BCYRN1 were further treated with the Wnt pathway inhibitor XAV939. Wnt1 and β-catenin expression were elevated when BCYRN1 was overexpressed, but were decreased after BCYRN1 knockdown. XAV939 attenuated the effect of BCYRN1 overexpression on HTR-8/SVneo cells. Overall, the resulted indicated that upregulation of BCYRN1 increased trophoblast viability and prevented apoptosis by activating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway to delay PE onset.

Expression of lncRNA TINCR in the placenta of patients with pre-eclampsia and its effect on the biological behaviours of trophoblasts

To explore the effect of lncRNA TINCR on the biological behaviours of trophoblasts, we detected and analyzed the expression of terminal differentiation-induced non-protein coding RNA (TINCR) in the placenta tissues of pre-eclamptic and non-pre-eclamptic pregnant women. The gain- and loss-of-function of TINCR was performed to examine the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of Htr-8/Svneo cells. The levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins, cyclin and Wnt/β-catenin pathway were detected. High expression of lncRNA TINCR appeared in placental tissues of patients with pre-eclampsia. The proliferation, invasion and migration of Htr-8/Svneo cells were promoted by TINCR downregulation; the cells were transited from G0/G1 to S phase; and EMT was promoted and the Wnt/β-catenin pathway was activated. In summary, the downregulation of lncRNA TINCR activated the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and promoted the proliferation, invasion and migration of Htr-8/Svneo cells. This study may provide a theoretical basis for treatment of patients with pre-eclampsia.

Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) Improves Anti-Angiogenic State, Cell Viability, and Hypoxia-Induced Endothelial Dysfunction by Downregulating High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1) in Preeclampsia

Background

Preeclampsia (PE) is a serious complication of pregnancy with no effective therapy. This study assessed whether epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) could reduce the production of anti-angiogenic factors, improve cell viability, and suppress endothelial dysfunction in vitro via regulating high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) in preeclampsia.

Material/Methods

Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) grown in conditioned medium from hypoxic JEG-3 cells were used to investigate the effects of EGCG on anti-angiogenic state, cell viability, and markers of endothelial dysfunction. To confirm that EGCG exerted its effects via HMGB1, we also examined the impact of EGCG on anti-angiogenic state, cell viability, and endothelial dysfunction following HMGB1 treatment in vitro.

Results

EGCG inhibited HMGB1 expression in hypoxic trophoblast cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, EGCG relieved anti-angiogenic state and endothelial dysfunction in hypoxic trophoblast cells by downregulating HMGB1. Moreover, EGCG dose-dependently promoted cell proliferation by downregulating HMGB1.

Conclusions

Taken together, our data show the protective role of EGCG in preeclampsia and revealed EGCG-mediated effects on the production of anti-angiogenic factors, cell viability, and endothelial dysfunction through downregulating HMGB1. These observations suggest that EGCG is a novel therapeutic candidate for preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia serum increases CAV1 expression and cell permeability of human renal glomerular endothelial cells via down-regulating miR-199a-5p, miR-199b-5p, miR-204

INTRODUCTION

To gain insight into mechanisms of preeclampsia (PE)-dependent proteinuria, this study focused on whether preeclampsia serum (PES) could induce hyperpermeability in human renal glomerular endothelial cells (HRGECs) via the miRNAs-Caveolin-1 (CAV-1)-dependent pathway.

METHODS

Bioinformatics approach was used to identify miRNAs targeting CAV1. Normal pregnancy serum (NPS) and severe PES were used to treat HRGECs monolayer to demonstrate if PES could induce the expression of identified miRNAs. A luciferase reporter assay was used to determine whether CAV1 was a direct target of miR-199a-5p, miR-199b-5p, and miR-204. The relationship between the expression of miR-199a-5p, miR-199b-5p, miR-204, and CAV1 in HRGECs was determined using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot. The gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments were performed on HRGECs to investigate the effects of miR-199a-5p, miR-199b-5p, miR-204 on HRGECs permeability.

RESULTS

We identified that CAV1 3'UTR has putative binding sites for miR-199a-5p, miR-199b-5p, and miR-204, whereas miR-199a-5p does not appear to be a direct regulator of CAV1. We detected that PE serum downregulated the expression of miR-199a-5p, miR-199b-5p and miR-204, increased expression of CAV1 and increased cell monolayer permeability in HRGECs. The level of CAV1 and permeability decreased when miR-199b-5p or miR-204, but not miR-199a-5p, were overexpressed.

DISCUSSION

miR-199b-5p and miR-204 may play a role in PES-induced increasing permeability of HRGECs by regulating CAV1 expression.

CoQ10 alleviate preeclampsia symptoms by enhancing the function of mitochondria in the placenta of pregnant rats with preeclampsia

Objective: To assess whether supplementation with Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) during pregnancy alleviate preeclampsia symptoms and the underlying mechanism in the rats with preeclampsia. Methods: Forty-five pregnant Wistar rats were equally divided into three groups randomly and received subcutaneous saline injection (control group, n = 15) or 200 mg/kg L-NAME injection to induce preeclampsia symptoms (PE group, n = 30). The PE rats were treated by distilled water (PE+DW group, n = 15) and CoQ10 (PE+CoQ10 group, n = 15) on day 15 to 21 of gestation randomly. Physiological characteristics such as urine volume, total urine protein, blood pressure, number and weight of pups were recorded. Fluorescent dye was used to detect mitochondrial membrane potential in placenta. Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR was used to detect the expression of mitochondrial DNA(mtDNA) in placenta. Results: There was no statistic difference among all the three groups on day 10 of gestation in SBP and 24-h proteinuria (P > 0.05). Whereas, SBP and 24-h proteinuria were significantly higher in PE group than control group on day 15 and 21 of gestation (P < 0.05). SBP and 24-h proteinuria were significantly lower in PE+CoQ10 group than PE+DW group on day 21 of gestation (P < 0.05). The number and weight of normal pups were significantly lower in PE group than the control group (P < 0.05), which were most notably in distilled water group, and the number and weight of normal pups were markedly bigger in PE+CoQ10 group rats compared to PE+DW (P < 0.05). The PE+CoQ10 group showed a significantly higher in level of mitochondrial membrane potential than PE+DW group. The expression of mtDNA was significantly higher in the PE+CoQ10 group compared with PE+DW group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: CoQ10 can alleviate preeclampsia symptoms and enhance the function of mitochondria in the placenta.

Effects of CXCL3 on migration, invasion, proliferation and tube formation of trophoblast cells

CXCL3 was reportedly associated with the invasion and metastasis of various malignancies, the role of CXCL3, however, in preeclampsia has not been fully discussed. We previously found placental CXCL3 level in severe preeclampsia was significantly lower than that in healthy pregnancy and exogenous recombinant human CXCL3 protein was able to promote trophoblasts' migration and proliferation. The current study, therefore, is further to investigate effects of endogenous CXCL3 on migration, invasion, proliferation, tube formation and apoptosis of trophoblasts. Immunofluorescence staining demonstrated that CXCL3 localized in both trophoblasts of placenta and HTR-8/SVneo cells. Moreover, data showed that migration, invasion, proliferation and tube-formation capability of HTR-8/SVneo cells transfected with siRNA-CXCL3 were suppressed by down-regulation of CXCL3, while those behaviors of HTR-8/SVneo cells transfected with pEZ-CXCL3 were enhanced by upregulation of CXCL3. Nevertheless, the apoptosis of HTR-8/SVneo cells was not affected by neither siRNA nor overexpression plasmid. The result suggests that CXCL3 is involved in migration, invasion, proliferation and tubule formation of trophoblasts and may play a key role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.

Detergent-Insoluble Proteome Analysis Revealed Aberrantly Aggregated Proteins in Human Preeclampsia Placentas

Preeclampsia (PE) is a placenta disease, featured by hypertension, proteinuria, and other multiorgan dysfunctions, and its etiology is unclear. We and others have shown that intensive endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and unfolded protein response (UPR) occur in the PE placenta. In this study, we isolated detergent-insoluble proteins (DIPs) from human placenta tissues, which were enriched with protein aggregates, to characterize the placenta UPR in PE. With data-independent acquisition (DIA) mass spectrometry, we identified 2066 DIPs across all normal (n = 10) and PE (n = 10) placenta samples, among which 110 and 108 DIPs were significantly up- and down-regulated in PE, respectively. Per clustering analysis, differential DIPs could generally distinguish PE from normal placentas. We verified the MS quantitation of endoglin and vimentin by immunoblotting. In addition, we observed that PE placenta tissues have remarkably more endoglin in the cytoplasm. Furthermore, we found that DIPs were evenly distributed across different chromosomes and could be enriched in diversified gene ontology terms, while differential DIPs avoided to distribute on X-chromosome. Significantly up-regulated DIPs in PE were focused on the top functions of lipid metabolism, while 23 of these DIPs could form the top network regulating cellular movement, development, growth, and proliferation. Our results implicate that human PE placentas have disease-relevant differential DIPs, which reflect aberrantly aggregated proteins of placental tissues. The mass spectrometry proteomics data have been deposited to ProteomeXchange consortium with the data set identifier PXD006654, and iProX database (accession number: IPX0000948000).

The relationship between hypertension and plasma allantoin, uric acid, xanthine oxidase activity and nitrite, and their predictive capacity in severe preeclampsia

It is controversial that uric acid (UA) levels are related to the severity of hypertension in preeclampsia (PE). Our aim in this study was to determine whether UA, xanthine oxidase activity (XOA), allantoin and nitrite levels are related to arterial blood pressure (BP) in PE. We formed a control group (n = 20) and a PE group (n = 20) for the study. Their BPs and plasma UA, XOA, allantoin and nitrite levels were measured. The values from the control and PE pregnant women were assessed via a Wilcoxon matched-pairs test. A Pearson correlation test was also performed. In addition, the diagnostic value of these tests was evaluated via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The BP, UA, XOA and allantoin levels in the PE patients were found to be higher when compared with those of the pregnant controls. The UA, XOA and allantoin levels showed high correlations with BP in cases of PE. However, there was no superiority among the correlations. No differences were observed between the groups in terms of nitrite levels and the relationship between nitrite and BP. UA, XOA and allantoin levels may be high due to placental cell death because of abnormal trophoblastic activity observed in PE. Moreover, the reactive oxygen products that are created during the genetic material degradation may explain how UA, XOA and allantoin levels are related to BP. According to ROC analysis, UA, XOA and allantoin assays are reliable predictors for the determination of PE.