Effects of Moderate Alcohol Intake in the Bladder of the Otsuka Long Evans Tokushima Fatty Diabetic Rats

Long non-coding RNA H19 mediates the miR-29b/transforming growth factor-β1/Drosophila mothers against decapentaplegic 3 signalling pathway to promote bladder fibrosis in diabetic rats

PURPOSE

Diabetic bladder fibrosis is a common comorbidity. Altered expression of some long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) has been associated with bladder fibrosis. LncRNA H19 has been reported to regulate bladder cancer through miR-29b. However, the action mechanism of LncRNA H19 in bladder fibrosis is unclear.

METHODS

In vitro, human bladder smooth muscle cells (HBSMCs) were cultured with transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) for 48 h to construct cell model of bladder fibrosis. HBSMCs were then transfected with si-LncRNA H19, si-NC, miR-29b-mimic, mimic-NC, or miR-29b-inhibitor. In vivo, Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were given a high-sucrose-high-fat (HSHF) diet for 4 weeks and injected with streptozotocin (STZ, 50 mg/kg) to induce bladder fibrosis model in diabetic rats, followed by injection of lentiviral particles knocking down LncRNA H19 expression, empty vector, or miR-29b-inhibitor, respectively.

RESULTS

LncRNA H19 was up-regulated in TGF-β1-induced HBSMC fibrosis and STZ-induced diabetic rat bladder fibrosis, whereas miR-29b was down-regulated. si-LncRNA H19 reduced blood glucose levels and improved histopathological damage of bladder tissue in rats. In addition, si-LncRNA H19 or miR-29b-mimic increased the expression of E-cadherin, but decreased the expression of N-cadherin, vimentin, fibronectin (FN) in bladder tissues, and HBSMCs. si-LncRNA H19 reduced TGF-β1/p-drosophila mothers against decapentaplegic 3 (Smad3) protein in HBSMCs and in rat bladder tissues, while miR-29b-inhibitor reversed the effect of si-LncRNA H19.

CONCLUSION

This study indicated that LncRNA H19 may inhibit bladder fibrosis in diabetic rats by targeting miR-29b via the TGF-β1/Smad3 signalling pathway.

Low-dose alcohol ameliorated high fat diet-induced anxiety-related behavior via enhancing adiponectin expression and activating the Nrf2 pathway

Long-term high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced obesity is associated with many comorbidities, such as cognitive impairment and anxiety, which are increasing public health burdens that have gained prevalence in adolescents. Although low-dose alcohol could attenuate the risk of cardiovascular disease, its mechanism on HFD-induced anxiety-related behavior remains not clear. The mice were divided into 4 groups, Control (Con), Alcohol (Alc), HFD and HFD + Alc groups. To verify the effects of low-dose alcohol on HFD-induced anxiety-related behavior, the mice were fed with HFD for 16 weeks. At the beginning of week 13, the HFD-fed mice were administered intragastrically with low-dose alcohol (0.8 g kg^-1) for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks of oral administration, low-dose alcohol decreased body weight and Lee's index in HFD-induced obese mice. Moreover, low-dose alcohol alleviated the anxiety-related behaviors of obese mice in the open field test and the elevated plus maze test. The HFD-induced damage to the hippocampus was improved in hematoxylin-eosin staining assay in mice. In addition, low-dose alcohol also suppressed HFD-induced oxidative stress and increased HFD-suppressed adiponectin (APN) expression and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) activation in the hippocampus. Taken together, low-dose alcohol significantly ameliorates HFD-induced obesity, oxidative stress and anxiety-related behavior in mice, which might be related to APN upregulation, Nrf2 activation and related antioxidase expression including SOD1, HO-1, and catalase.

Low-dose alcohol ameliorated homocysteine-induced anxiety-related behavior via attenuating oxidative stress in mice

Recent studies showed that homocysteine (Hcy) levels were obviously elevated in patients with anxiety, furthermore, oxidative stress and inflammation were closely linked with Hcy-related damage. Despite alcohol exposure has differential effects on different forms of anxiety, the role of alcohol on anxiety-related behavior induced by high Hcy levels is still not entirely clear. The present study investigated the protective potential of low-dose alcohol against homocysteine-induced anxiety-related behavior and explored the possible underlying mechanisms. Mice were administered intragastrically with methionine (2.0 g/kg/day) or alcohol (0.6 g/kg/day). After 21 days of administration, the anxiety-related behavior was evaluated through open field (OF) and elevated plus maze (EPM) tests, and the variations of oxidative stress and inflammation levels were measured. The results of OF and EPM tests showed that the anxiety-related behavior in mice was prevented by alcohol treatment. Alcohol lowered the elevated serum Hcy levels and alleviated the damage of hippocampal tissues in hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) mice. Meanwhile, the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of the hippocampal tissues enhanced, and the malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration of the hippocampal tissues and the serum interleukin-1β (IL-1β) level decreased. In addition, after administering alcohol, the increase of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) protein expression and the decrease of IL-1β protein expression were also detected in HHcy mice hippocampal tissues. Taken together, low-dose alcohol significantly ameliorated the Hcy-induced anxiety-related behavior in mice, which might be related to SOD1 and HO-1 upregulation and IL-1β downregulation.