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Whinnery CD, Nie Y, Boskovic DS, Soriano S, Kirsch WM. CD59 Protects Primary Human Cerebrovascular Smooth Muscle Cells from Cytolytic Membrane Attack Complex. Brain Sci 2024; 14:601. [PMID: 38928601 PMCID: PMC11202098 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14060601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2024] [Revised: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Cerebral amyloid angiopathy is characterized by a weakening of the small- and medium-sized cerebral arteries, as their smooth muscle cells are progressively replaced with acellular amyloid β, increasing vessel fragility and vulnerability to microhemorrhage. In this context, an aberrant overactivation of the complement system would further aggravate this process. The surface protein CD59 protects most cells from complement-induced cytotoxicity, but expression levels can fluctuate due to disease and varying cell types. The degree to which CD59 protects human cerebral vascular smooth muscle (HCSM) cells from complement-induced cytotoxicity has not yet been determined. To address this shortcoming, we selectively blocked the activity of HCSM-expressed CD59 with an antibody, and challenged the cells with complement, then measured cellular viability. Unblocked HCSM cells proved resistant to all tested concentrations of complement, and this resistance decreased progressively with increasing concentrations of anti-CD59 antibody. Complete CD59 blockage, however, did not result in a total loss of cellular viability, suggesting that additional factors may have some protective functions. Taken together, this implies that CD59 plays a predominant role in HCSM cellular protection against complement-induced cytotoxicity. The overexpression of CD59 could be an effective means of protecting these cells from excessive complement system activity, with consequent reductions in the incidence of microhemorrhage. The precise extent to which cellular repair mechanisms and other complement repair proteins contribute to this resistance has yet to be fully elucidated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carson D. Whinnery
- Division of Biochemistry, Department of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA; (C.D.W.); (D.S.B.); (W.M.K.)
- Neurosurgery Center for Research, Training and Education, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA;
| | - Ying Nie
- Neurosurgery Center for Research, Training and Education, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA;
| | - Danilo S. Boskovic
- Division of Biochemistry, Department of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA; (C.D.W.); (D.S.B.); (W.M.K.)
| | - Salvador Soriano
- Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Department of Pathology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA
| | - Wolff M. Kirsch
- Division of Biochemistry, Department of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA; (C.D.W.); (D.S.B.); (W.M.K.)
- Neurosurgery Center for Research, Training and Education, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA;
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Whinnery C, Nie Y, Boskovic DS, Soriano S, Kirsch WM. CD59 Protects Primary Human Cerebrovascular Smooth Muscle Cells from Cytolytic Membrane Attack Complex. RESEARCH SQUARE 2024:rs.3.rs-4165045. [PMID: 38645247 PMCID: PMC11030535 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4165045/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Cerebral amyloid angiopathy is characterized by a weakening of the small and medium sized cerebral arteries, as their smooth muscle cells are progressively replaced with acellular amyloid β, increasing vessel fragility and vulnerability to microhemorrhage. In this context, an aberrant overactivation of the complement system would further aggravate this process. The surface protein CD59 protects most cells from complement-induced cytotoxicity, but expression levels can fluctuate due to disease and vary between cell types. The degree to which CD59 protects human cerebral vascular smooth muscle (HCSM) cells from complement-induced cytotoxicity has not yet been determined. To address this shortcoming, we selectively blocked the activity of HCSM-expressed CD59 with an antibody and challenged the cells with complement, then measured cellular viability. Unblocked HCSM cells proved resistant to all tested concentrations of complement, and this resistance decreased progressively with increasing concentrations of anti-CD59 antibody. Complete CD59 blockage, however, did not result in total loss of cellular viability, suggesting that additional factors may have some protective functions. Taken together, this implies that CD59 plays a predominant role in HCSM cellular protection against complement-induced cytotoxicity. Over-expression of CD59 could be an effective means of protecting these cells from excessive complement system activity, with consequent reduction in the incidence of microhemorrhage. The precise extent to which cellular repair mechanisms and other complement repair proteins contribute to this resistance has yet to be fully elucidated.
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Parker J, Marten SM, Ó Corcora TC, Rajkov J, Dubin A, Roth O. The effects of primary and secondary bacterial exposure on the seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) immune response. DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY 2024; 153:105136. [PMID: 38185263 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2024.105136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Evolutionary adaptations in the Syngnathidae teleost family (seahorses, pipefish and seadragons) culminated in an array of spectacular morphologies, key immune gene losses, and the enigmatic male pregnancy. In seahorses, genome modifications associated with immunoglobulins, complement, and major histocompatibility complex (MHC II) pathway components raise questions concerning their immunological efficiency and the evolution of compensatory measures that may act in their place. In this investigation heat-killed bacteria (Vibrio aestuarianus and Tenacibaculum maritimum) were used in a two-phased experiment to assess the immune response dynamics of Hippocampus erectus. Gill transcriptomes from double and single-exposed individuals were analysed in order to determine the differentially expressed genes contributing to immune system responses towards immune priming. Double-exposed individuals exhibited a greater adaptive immune response when compared with single-exposed individuals, while single-exposed individuals, particularly with V. aestuarianus replicates, associated more with the innate branch of the immune system. T. maritimum double-exposed replicates exhibited the strongest immune reaction, likely due to their immunological naivety towards the bacterium, while there are also potential signs of innate trained immunity. MHC II upregulated expression was identified in selected V. aestuarianus-exposed seahorses, in the absence of other pathway constituents suggesting a possible alternative or non-classical MHC II immune function in seahorses. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis highlighted prominent angiogenesis activity following secondary exposure, which could be linked to an adaptive immune process in seahorses. This investigation highlights the prominent role of T-cell mediated adaptive immune responses in seahorses when exposed to sequential foreign bacteria exposures. If classical MHC II pathway function has been lost, innate trained immunity in syngnathids could be a potential compensatory mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie Parker
- Marine Evolutionary Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University, D-24118, Kiel, Germany.
| | - Silke-Mareike Marten
- Marine Evolutionary Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University, D-24118, Kiel, Germany
| | - Tadhg C Ó Corcora
- Marine Evolutionary Ecology, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, D-24105, Kiel, Germany
| | - Jelena Rajkov
- Marine Evolutionary Ecology, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, D-24105, Kiel, Germany
| | - Arseny Dubin
- Marine Evolutionary Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University, D-24118, Kiel, Germany
| | - Olivia Roth
- Marine Evolutionary Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University, D-24118, Kiel, Germany
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Xu J, Lei X, Li A, Li J, Li S, Chen L. Scalable production of recombinant three-finger proteins: from inclusion bodies to high quality molecular probes. Microb Cell Fact 2024; 23:48. [PMID: 38347541 PMCID: PMC10860255 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-024-02316-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The three-finger proteins are a collection of disulfide bond rich proteins of great biomedical interests. Scalable recombinant expression and purification of bioactive three-finger proteins is quite difficult. RESULTS We introduce a working pipeline for expression, purification and validation of disulfide-bond rich three-finger proteins using E. coli as the expression host. With this pipeline, we have successfully obtained highly purified and bioactive recombinant α-Βungarotoxin, k-Bungarotoxin, Hannalgesin, Mambalgin-1, α-Cobratoxin, MTα, Slurp1, Pate B etc. Milligrams to hundreds of milligrams of recombinant three finger proteins were obtained within weeks in the lab. The recombinant proteins showed specificity in binding assay and six of them were crystallized and structurally validated using X-ray diffraction protein crystallography. CONCLUSIONS Our pipeline allows refolding and purifying recombinant three finger proteins under optimized conditions and can be scaled up for massive production of three finger proteins. As many three finger proteins have attractive therapeutic or research interests and due to the extremely high quality of the recombinant three finger proteins we obtained, our method provides a competitive alternative to either their native counterparts or chemically synthetic ones and should facilitate related research and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiang Xu
- Molecular and Computational Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.
| | - Xiao Lei
- Molecular and Computational Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA
| | - Ao Li
- Molecular and Computational Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA
| | - Jun Li
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuxing Li
- Molecular and Computational Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA
| | - Lin Chen
- Molecular and Computational Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.
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Khan MA, Shamma T, Kazmi S, Altuhami A, Ahmed HA, Assiri AM, Broering DC. Hypoxia-induced complement dysregulation is associated with microvascular impairments in mouse tracheal transplants. J Transl Med 2020; 18:147. [PMID: 32234039 PMCID: PMC7110829 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-020-02305-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Complement Regulatory Proteins (CRPs), especially CD55 primarily negate complement factor 3-mediated injuries and maintain tissue homeostasis during complement cascade activation. Complement activation and regulation during alloimmune inflammation contribute to allograft injury and therefore we proposed to investigate a crucial pathological link between vascular expression of CD55, active-C3, T cell immunity and associated microvascular tissue injuries during allograft rejection. METHODS Balb/c→C57BL/6 allografts were examined for microvascular deposition of CD55, C3d, T cells, and associated tissue microvascular impairments during rejection in mouse orthotopic tracheal transplantation. RESULTS Our findings demonstrated that hypoxia-induced early activation of HIF-1α favors a cell-mediated inflammation (CD4+, CD8+, and associated proinflammatory cytokines, IL-2 and TNF-α), which proportionally triggers the downregulation of CRP-CD55, and thereby augments the uncontrolled release of active-C3, and Caspase-3 deposition on CD31+ graft vascular endothelial cells. These molecular changes are pathologically associated with microvascular deterioration (low tissue O2 and Blood flow) and subsequent airway epithelial injuries of rejecting allografts as compared to non-rejecting syngrafts. CONCLUSION Together, these findings establish a pathological correlation between complement dysregulation, T cell immunity, and microvascular associated injuries during alloimmune inflammation in transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Afzal Khan
- Organ Transplant Research Section, Comparative Medicine Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
| | - Talal Shamma
- Organ Transplant Research Section, Comparative Medicine Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Shadab Kazmi
- Organ Transplant Research Section, Comparative Medicine Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdullah Altuhami
- Organ Transplant Research Section, Comparative Medicine Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Hala Abdalrahman Ahmed
- Comparative Medicine Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdullah Mohammed Assiri
- Comparative Medicine Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.,College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.,Institute for Research and Medical Consultations, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Dieter Clemens Broering
- Organ Transplant Research Section, Comparative Medicine Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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