Angiotensinogen and the Modulation of Blood Pressure

VH-4-A Bioactive Peptide from Soybean and Exercise Training Constrict Hypertension in Rats through Activating Cell Survival and AMPKα1, Sirt1, PGC1α, and FoX3α

Hypertension is a chronic disease related to age, which affects tens of millions of people around the world. It is an important risk factor that causes myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, and kidney damage. Bioactive peptide VHVV (VH-4) from soybean has shown several biological activities. Physical exercise is a cornerstone of non-pharmacologic treatment for hypertension and has established itself as an effective and complementary strategy for managing hypertension. The present study evaluates the efficacy of VH-4 supplement and swimming exercise training in preventing hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). SHR animals were treated with VH-4 (25 mg/kg by intraperitoneal administration) and swimming exercise (1 h daily) for eight weeks, and the hemodynamic parameters, histology, and cell survival pathway protein expression were examined. In SHR rats, increased heart weight, blood pressure, and histological aberrations were observed. Cell survival protein p-PI3K and p-AKT and antiapoptosis proteins Bcl2 and Bcl-XL expression decreased in SHR animals. SIRT1 and FOXO3 were decreased in hypertensive rats. Both bioactive peptide VH-4 treatment and swimming exercise training in hypertensive rats increased the cell survival proteins p-PI3K and p-AKT and AMPKα1, Sirt1, PGC1α, and FoX3α proteins. Soy peptide VH-4, along with exercise, acts synergistically and prevents hypertension by activating cell survival and AMPKα1, Sirt1, PGC1α, and FoX3α proteins.

Extracellular vesicles and their miRNA contents counterbalance the pro-inflammatory effect of air pollution during physiological pregnancy: A focus on Syncytin-1 positive vesicles

The impact of exposure to respirable particulate matter (PM) during pregnancy is a growing concern, as several studies have associated increased risks of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, and impaired intrauterine growth with air pollution. The molecular mechanisms responsible for such effects are still under debate. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), which travel in body fluids and transfer microRNAs (miRNAs) between tissues (e.g., pulmonary environment and placenta), might play an important role in PM-induced risk. We sought to determine whether the levels of PM with aerodynamic diameters of ≤10 µm (PM₁₀) and ≤2.5 µm (PM_2.5) are associated with changes in plasmatic EV release and EV-miRNA content by investigating 518 women enrolled in the INSIDE study during the first trimester of pregnancy. In all models, we included both the 90-day averages of PM (long-term effects) and the differences between the daily estimate of PM and the 90-day average (short-term effects). Short-term PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 were associated with increased concentrations of all seven EV types that we assayed (positive for human antigen leukocyte G (HLA-G), Syncytin-1 (Sync-1), CD14, CD105, CD62e, CD61, or CD25 determinants), while long-term PM₁₀ showed a trend towards decreased EV concentrations. Increased Sync-1 + EV levels were associated with the plasmatic decrease of sVCAM-1, but not of sICAM-1, which are circulating biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction. Thirteen EV-miRNAs were downregulated in response to long-term PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 variations, while seven were upregulated (p-value < 0.05, false discovery rate p-value (qFDR) < 0.1). Only one EV-miRNA (hsa-miR-221-3p) was downregulated after short-term variations. The identified PM-modulated EV-miRNAs exhibited putative roles in inflammation, gestational hypertension, and pre-eclampsia, as highlighted by miRNA target analysis. Our findings strongly support the hypothesis that EVs have an important role in modulating PM exposure effects during pregnancy, possibly through their miRNA cargo.

Serum Proteomic and Oxidative Modification Profiling in Mice Exposed to Total Body X-Irradiation

The details of the dose-dependent response of serum proteins exposed to ionizing radiation, especially the oxidative modification response in amino acid sequences of albumin, the most abundant protein, are unknown. Thus, a proteomic analysis of the serum components from mice exposed to total body X-irradiation (TBI) ranging from 0.5 Gy to 3.0 Gy was conducted using LC-MS/MS. The analysis of oxidative modification sequences of albumin (mOMSA) in TBI mouse serum revealed significant moderate or strong correlations between the X-irradiation exposure dose and modification of 11 mOMSAs (especially the 97th, 267th and 499th lysine residues, 159th methionine residue and 287th tyrosine residues). In the case of X-irradiation of serum alone, significant correlations were also found in the 14 mOMSAs. In addition, a dose-dependent variation in six proteins (Angiotensinogen, Odorant-binding protein 1a, Serine protease inhibitor A3K, Serum paraoxonase/arylesterase 1, Prothrombin and Epidermal growth factor receptor) was detected in the serum of mice exposed to TBI. These findings suggest the possibility that the protein variation and serum albumin oxidative modification responses found in exposed individuals are important indicators for considering the effects of radiation on living organisms, along with DNA damage, and suggests their possible application as biomarkers of radiation dose estimation.

Serum Metabolomics and Proteomics to Study the Antihypertensive Effect of Protein Extracts from Tenebrio molitor

Hypertension is the leading risk factor for premature death worldwide and significantly contributes to the development of all major cardiovascular disease events. The management of high blood pressure includes lifestyle changes and treatment with antihypertensive drugs. Recently, it was demonstrated that a diet supplemented with Tenebrio molitor (TM) extracts is useful in the management of numerous pathologies, including hypertension. This study is aimed at unveiling the underlying mechanism and the molecular targets of intervention of TM dietary supplementation in hypertension treatment by means of proteomics and metabolomics techniques based on liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry. We demonstrate that serum proteome and metabolome of spontaneously hypertensive rats are severely altered with respect to their normotensive counterparts. Additionally, our results reveal that a diet enriched with TM extracts restores the expression of 15 metabolites and 17 proteins mainly involved in biological pathways associated with blood pressure maintenance, such as the renin–angiotensin and kallikrein–kinin systems, serin protease inhibitors, reactive oxygen scavenging, and lipid peroxidation. This study provides novel insights into the molecular pathways that may underlie the beneficial effects of TM, thus corroborating that TM could be proposed as a helpful functional food supplement in the treatment of hypertension.

Mast Cell and Basophil Granule Proteases - In Vivo Targets and Function

Proteases are stored in very large amounts within abundant cytoplasmic granules of mast cells (MCs), and in lower amounts in basophils. These proteases are stored in their active form in complex with negatively charged proteoglycans, such as heparin and chondroitin sulfate, ready for rapid release upon MC and basophil activation. The absolute majority of these proteases belong to the large family of chymotrypsin related serine proteases. Three such enzymes are found in human MCs, a chymotryptic enzyme, the chymase, a tryptic enzyme, the tryptase and cathepsin G. Cathepsin G has in primates both chymase and tryptase activity. MCs also express a MC specific exopeptidase, carboxypeptidase A3 (CPA3). The targets and thereby the functions of these enzymes have for many years been the major question of the field. However, the fact that some of these enzymes have a relatively broad specificity has made it difficult to obtain reliable information about the biologically most important targets for these enzymes. Under optimal conditions they may cleave a relatively large number of potential targets. Three of these enzymes, the chymase, the tryptase and CPA3, have been shown to inactivate several venoms from snakes, scorpions, bees and Gila monster. The chymase has also been shown to cleave several connective tissue components and thereby to be an important player in connective tissue homeostasis. This enzyme can also generate angiotensin II (Ang II) by cleavage of Ang I and have thereby a role in blood pressure regulation. It also display anticoagulant activity by cleaving fibrinogen and thrombin. A regulatory function on excessive TH2 immunity has also been observed for both the chymase and the tryptase by cleavage of a highly selective set of cytokines and chemokines. The chymase also appear to have a protective role against ectoparasites such as ticks, mosquitos and leeches by the cleavage of their anticoagulant proteins. We here review the data that has accumulated concerning the potential in vivo functions of these enzymes and we discuss how this information sheds new light on the role of MCs and basophils in health and disease.

Advances in The Study of RNA-binding Proteins in Diabetic Complications

Background

It has been reported that diabetes mellitus affects 435 million people globally as a primary health care problem. Despite many therapies available, many diabetes remains uncontrolled, giving rise to irreversible diabetic complications that pose significant risks to patients’ wellbeing and survival.

Scope of Review

In recent years, as much effort is put into elucidating the posttranscriptional gene regulation network of diabetes and diabetic complications; RNA binding proteins (RBPs) are found to be vital. RBPs regulate gene expression through various post-transcriptional mechanisms, including alternative splicing, RNA export, messenger RNA translation, RNA degradation, and RNA stabilization.

Major Conclusions

Here, we summarized recent studies on the roles and mechanisms of RBPs in mediating abnormal gene expression in diabetes and its complications. Moreover, we discussed the potential and theoretical basis of RBPs to treat diabetes and its complications.

• Mechanisms of action of RBPs involved in diabetic complications are summarized and elucidated.

• We discuss the theoretical basis and potential of RBPs for the treatment of diabetes and its complications.

• We summarize the possible effective drugs for diabetes based on RBPs promoting the development of future therapeutic drugs.

Molecular basis of a redox switch: molecular dynamics simulations and surface plasmon resonance provide insight into reduced and oxidised angiotensinogen

Angiotensinogen fine-tunes the tightly controlled activity of the renin-angiotensin system by modulating the release of angiotensin peptides that control blood pressure. One mechanism by which this modulation is achieved is via angiotensinogen's Cys18-Cys138 disulfide bond that acts as a redox switch. Molecular dynamics simulations of each redox state of angiotensinogen reveal subtle dynamic differences between the reduced and oxidised forms, particularly at the N-terminus. Surface plasmon resonance data demonstrate that the two redox forms of angiotensinogen display different binding kinetics to an immobilised anti-angiotensinogen monoclonal antibody. Mass spectrometry mapped the epitope for the antibody to the N-terminal region of angiotensinogen. We therefore provide evidence that the different redox forms of angiotensinogen can be detected by an antibody-based detection method.