Selective Autophagy in Hyperglycemia-Induced Microvascular and Macrovascular Diseases

Everolimus alleviates CD4+ T cell inflammation by regulating autophagy and cellular redox homeostasis

Aging is associated with the onset and progression of multiple diseases, which limit health span. Chronic low-grade inflammation in the absence of overt infection is considered the simmering source that triggers age-associated diseases. Failure of many cellular processes during aging is mechanistically linked to inflammation; however, the overall decline in the cellular homeostasis mechanism of autophagy has emerged as one of the top and significant inducers of inflammation during aging, frequently known as inflammaging. Thus, physiological or pharmacological interventions aimed at improving autophagy are considered geroprotective. Rapamycin analogs (rapalogs) are known for their ability to inhibit mTOR and thus regulate autophagy. This study assessed the efficacy of everolimus, a rapalog, in regulating inflammatory cytokine production in T cells from older adults. CD4+ T cells from older adults were treated with a physiological dose of everolimus (0.01 µM), and indices of autophagy and inflammation were assessed to gain a mechanistic understanding of the effect of everolimus on inflammation. Everolimus (Ever) upregulated autophagy and broadly alleviated inflammatory cytokines produced by multiple T cell subsets. Everolimus's ability to alleviate the cytokines produced by Th17 subsets of T cells, such as IL-17A and IL-17F, was dependent on autophagy and antioxidant signaling pathways. Repurposing the antineoplastic drug everolimus for curbing inflammaging is promising, given the drug's ability to restore multiple cellular homeostasis mechanisms.

Targeting autophagy with natural products as a potential therapeutic approach for diabetic microangiopathy

As the quality of life improves, the incidence of diabetes mellitus and its microvascular complications (DMC) continues to increase, posing a threat to people's health and wellbeing. Given the limitations of existing treatment, there is an urgent need for novel approaches to prevent and treat DMC. Autophagy, a pivotal mechanism governing metabolic regulation in organisms, facilitates the removal of dysfunctional proteins and organelles, thereby sustaining cellular homeostasis and energy generation. Anomalous states in pancreatic β-cells, podocytes, Müller cells, cardiomyocytes, and Schwann cells in DMC are closely linked to autophagic dysregulation. Natural products have the property of being multi-targeted and can affect autophagy and hence DMC progression in terms of nutrient perception, oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. This review consolidates recent advancements in understanding DMC pathogenesis via autophagy and proposes novel perspectives on treating DMC by either stimulating or inhibiting autophagy using natural products.

Effect of exercise on improving myocardial mitochondrial function in decreasing diabetic cardiomyopathy

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a significant cause of heart failure in patients with diabetes, and its pathogenesis is closely related to myocardial mitochondrial injury and functional disability. Studies have shown that the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy is related to disorders in mitochondrial metabolic substrates, changes in mitochondrial dynamics, an imbalance in mitochondrial Ca2+ regulation, defects in the regulation of microRNAs, and mitochondrial oxidative stress. Physical activity may play a role in resistance to the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy by improving myocardial mitochondrial biogenesis, the level of autophagy and dynamic changes in fusion and division; enhancing the ability to cope with oxidative stress; and optimising the metabolic substrates of the myocardium. This paper puts forward a new idea for further understanding the specific mitochondrial mechanism of the occurrence and development of diabetic cardiomyopathy and clarifying the role of exercise-mediated myocardial mitochondrial changes in the prevention and treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy. This is expected to provide a new theoretical basis for exercise to reduce diabetic cardiomyopathy symptoms.

Loss of Autophagy Disrupts Stemness of Ameloblast-Lineage Cells in Aging

Autophagy is one of the intracellular degradation pathways and maintains cellular homeostasis, regulating the stress response, cell proliferation, and signal transduction. To elucidate the role of autophagy in the maintenance of dental epithelial stem cells and the subsequent enamel formation, we analyzed autophagy-deficient mice in epithelial cells (Atg7f/f;KRT14-Cre mice), focusing on the influence of aging and stress environments. We also performed in vitro cell and organ culture experiments with an autophagy inhibitor. In young Atg7f/f;KRT14-Cre mice, morphological change was not obvious in maxillary incisors, except for the remarkable cell death in the stratum intermedium of the transitional stage. However, under stress conditions of hyperglycemia, the incisor color changed to white in diabetes Atg7f/f;KRT14-Cre mice. Regarding dental epithelial stem cells, the shape of the apical bud region of the incisor became irregular with age, and odontoma was formed in aged Atg7f/f;KRT14-Cre mice. In addition, the shape of apical bud culture cells of Atg7f/f;KRT14-Cre mice became irregular and enlarged atypically, with epigenetic changes during culture, suggesting that autophagy deficiency may induce tumorigenesis in dental epithelial cells. The epigenetic change and upregulation of p21 expression were induced by autophagy inhibition in vivo and in vitro. These findings suggest that autophagy is important for the regulation of stem cell maintenance, proliferation, and differentiation of ameloblast-lineage cells, and an autophagy disorder may induce tumorigenesis in odontogenic epithelial cells.

Restoring glucose balance: Conditional HMGB1 knockdown mitigates hyperglycemia in a Streptozotocin induced mouse model

Diabetes mellitus (DM) poses a significant global health burden, with hyperglycemia being a primary contributor to complications and high morbidity associated with this disorder. Existing glucose management strategies have shown suboptimal effectiveness, necessitating alternative approaches. In this study, we explored the role of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) in hyperglycemia, a protein implicated in initiating inflammation and strongly correlated with DM onset and progression. We hypothesized that HMGB1 knockdown will mitigate hyperglycemia severity and enhance glucose tolerance. To test this hypothesis, we utilized a novel inducible HMGB1 knockout (iHMGB1 KO) mouse model exhibiting systemic HMGB1 knockdown. Hyperglycemic phenotype was induced using low dose streptozotocin (STZ) injections, followed by longitudinal glucose measurements and oral glucose tolerance tests to evaluate the effect of HMGB1 knockdown on glucose metabolism. Our findings showed a substantial reduction in glucose levels and enhanced glucose tolerance in HMGB1 knockdown mice. Additionally, we performed RNA sequencing analyses, which identified potential alternations in genes and molecular pathways within the liver and skeletal muscle tissue that may account for the in vivo phenotypic changes observed in hyperglycemic mice following HMGB1 knockdown. In conclusion, our present study delivers the first direct evidence of a causal relationship between systemic HMGB1 knockdown and hyperglycemia in vivo, an association that had remained unexamined prior to this research. This discovery positions HMGB1 knockdown as a potentially efficacious therapeutic target for addressing hyperglycemia and, by extension, the DM epidemic. Furthermore, we have revealed potential underlying mechanisms, establishing the essential groundwork for subsequent in-depth mechanistic investigations focused on further elucidating and harnessing the promising therapeutic potential of HMGB1 in DM management.

The role of mitochondria in myocardial damage caused by energy metabolism disorders: From mechanisms to therapeutics

Myocardial damage is the most serious pathological consequence of cardiovascular diseases and an important reason for their high mortality. In recent years, because of the high prevalence of systemic energy metabolism disorders (e.g., obesity, diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome), complications of myocardial damage caused by these disorders have attracted widespread attention. Energy metabolism disorders are independent of traditional injury-related risk factors, such as ischemia, hypoxia, trauma, and infection. An imbalance of myocardial metabolic flexibility and myocardial energy depletion are usually the initial changes of myocardial injury caused by energy metabolism disorders, and abnormal morphology and functional destruction of the mitochondria are their important features. Specifically, mitochondria are the centers of energy metabolism, and recent evidence has shown that decreased mitochondrial function, caused by an imbalance in mitochondrial quality control, may play a key role in myocardial injury caused by energy metabolism disorders. Under chronic energy stress, mitochondria undergo pathological fission, while mitophagy, mitochondrial fusion, and biogenesis are inhibited, and mitochondrial protein balance and transfer are disturbed, resulting in the accumulation of nonfunctional and damaged mitochondria. Consequently, damaged mitochondria lead to myocardial energy depletion and the accumulation of large amounts of reactive oxygen species, further aggravating the imbalance in mitochondrial quality control and forming a vicious cycle. In addition, impaired mitochondria coordinate calcium homeostasis imbalance, and epigenetic alterations participate in the pathogenesis of myocardial damage. These pathological changes induce rapid progression of myocardial damage, eventually leading to heart failure or sudden cardiac death. To intervene more specifically in the myocardial damage caused by metabolic disorders, we need to understand the specific role of mitochondria in this context in detail. Accordingly, promising therapeutic strategies have been proposed. We also summarize the existing therapeutic strategies to provide a reference for clinical treatment and developing new therapies.

Autophagy and diabetes

The current literature findings on autophagy’s beneficial and detrimental roles in diabetes mellitus (DM) and diabetes-related comorbidities were reviewed. The effects of oral hypoglycaemic medicines and autophagy in DM. Autophagy plays an important function in cellular homeostasis by promoting cell survival or initiating cell death in physiological settings was also assessed. Although autophagy protects insulin-target tissues, organelle failure caused by autophagy malfunction influences DM and other metabolic diseases. Endoplasmic reticulum and oxidative stress enhance autophagy levels, making it easier to regulate stress-induced intracellular changes. Evidence suggests that autophagy-caused cell death can occur when autophagy is overstimulated and constitutively activated, which might prevent or develop DM. Even though the precise role of autophagy in DM complications is uncertain, deregulation of the autophagic machinery is strongly linked to beta cell destruction and the aetiology of DM. Thus, improving autophagy dysfunction is a possible therapeutic objective in treating DM and other metabolic disorders.

M2b macrophages protect against doxorubicin induced cardiotoxicity via alternating autophagy in cardiomyocytes

OBJECTIVE

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anthracycline antibiotic which is widely used for the treatment of various cancers, while the dose-related cardiotoxicity limits its potential therapeutic application. The underlying mechanism of DOX induced cardiotoxicity is complex and remains elusive. Our previous studies have shown that M2b macrophage plays an important role in reducing inflammation due to ischemic reperfusion injury in the myocardium. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential protective role of M2b macrophages in DOX induced cardiotoxicity.

METHODS

In vivo, we conducted DOX induced cardiac injury in C57BL/6 mice and treated them with M2b macrophages. Then, the mice were examined by echocardiography. The heart specimens were harvested for histological examination, transmission electron microscope analysis, and autophagy molecules evaluation. In vitro, HL-1 cardiac cell lines treated with DOX were cocultured with or without M2b macrophages. Then, Autophagy related genes and protein expression were assessed by real-time quantitative PCR and western blot; cell proliferation was assessed by cell counting kit-8.

RESULTS

We found that M2b macrophages can improve cardiac function and alleviate cardiac injury in DOX induced cardiac injury mice. M2b macrophages can enhance cardiac autophagy levels both in vivo and in vitro in DOX induced cardiac injury model. In addition, this protective effect can be blocked by an autophagy inhibitor.

CONCLUSION

Our study shows that M2b macrophages can help attenuate the DOX induced cardiotoxicity by regulating the autophagy level of cardiomyocytes.

Research progress of treatment of functional dyspepsia with traditional Chinese medicine compound based on cell signal pathway

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is the most common clinical gastrointestinal disease, with complex and prolonged clinical symptoms. The prevalence of FD is increasing year by year, seriously affecting the quality of life of patients. The main causes of FD are related to abnormal gastrointestinal dynamics, increased visceral sensitivity, Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection, intestinal flora disturbance and psychological factors. A review of the relevant literature reveals that the mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the treatment of FD mainly involve the following pathways:5-HT signal pathway, AMPK signal pathway,C-kit signal pathway, CRF signal pathway, PERK signal pathway,NF-κB signal pathway. Based on a holistic concept, TCM promotes gastrointestinal motility, regulates visceral sensitivity and alleviates gastrointestinal inflammation through multiple signal pathways, reflecting the advantages of multi-level, multi-pathway and multi-targeted treatment of FD.

The Pathogenic Role of Oxidative Stress, Cytokine Expression, and Impaired Hematological Indices in Diabetic Cardiovascular Diseases

A simultaneous increase in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM), a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), has contributed to the escalation of CVD related mortalities. To date, oxidative stress and inflammation are increasingly recognized as significant drivers of cardiovascular complications in patients with diabetes. Therefore, this study aims to explore the correlation between oxidative stress, inflammation, and hematological indices in diabetic patients with CVDs. Patients were allocated into five groups: healthy controls; nondiabetic patients with myocardial infarction; diabetic patients with myocardial infarction; nondiabetic patients with heart failure; and diabetic patients with heart failure. The results revealed that the malondialdehyde levels were increased; whereas superoxide dismutase enzyme activities were markedly reduced in all CVD groups compared with those of healthy controls. Although the mRNA expression levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-18, and IL-38 were significantly increased, those of the anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-35, have been reduced in all CVD groups compared with healthy controls. Regarding hematological indices, hematocrit, red blood cell distribution width, mean platelet (PLT) volume, plateletcrit, PLT distribution width, leukocyte count, and PLT-to-lymphocyte and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios were markedly increased in the diabetic and nondiabetic CVD groups compared with those of the healthy controls. Oxidative stress and cytokine biomarkers may play a significant role in the complications of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Moreover, hematological indices are particularly sensitive to systemic inflammatory changes and are novel markers for the early detection of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

The influence of high glucose conditions on macrophages and its effect on the autophagy pathway

Introduction

Macrophages are central cells in mediating the inflammatory response.

Objective and Methods

We evaluated the effect of high glucose conditions on the inflammatory profile and the autophagy pathway in Bone-Marrow Derived Macrophages (BMDM) from diabetic (D-BMDM) (alloxan: 60mg/kg, i.v.) and non-diabetic (ND-BMDM) C57BL/6 mice. BMDM were cultured in medium with normal glucose (5.5 mM), or high glucose (25 mM) concentration and were primed with Nigericin (20µM) stimulated with LPS (100 ng/mL) at times of 30 minutes; 2; 4; 6 and 24 hours, with the measurement of IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α cytokines.

Results

We have further identified changes in the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α, where BMDM showed increased secretion of these cytokines after LPS + Nigericin stimulation. In addition, changes were observed in the autophagy pathway, where the increase in the autophagic protein LC3b and Beclin-1 occurred by macrophages of non-diabetic animals in hyperglycemic medium, without LPS stimulation. D-BMDM showed a reduction on the expression of LC3b and Beclin-1, suggesting an impaired autophagic process in these cells.

Conclusion

The results suggest that hyperglycemia alters the inflammatory pathways in macrophages stimulated by LPS, playing an important role in the inflammatory response of diabetic individuals.

Perspectives for Forkhead box transcription factors in diabetic cardiomyopathy: Their therapeutic potential and possible effects of salvianolic acids

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in diabetic cardiovascular complications, which initially manifests as cardiac hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis, dysfunctional remodeling, and diastolic dysfunction, followed by systolic dysfunction, and eventually end with acute heart failure. Molecular mechanisms underlying these pathological changes in diabetic hearts are complicated and multifactorial, including but not limited to insulin resistance, oxidative stress, lipotoxicity, cardiomyocytes apoptosis or autophagy, inflammatory response, and myocardial metabolic dysfunction. With the development of molecular biology technology, accumulating evidence illustrates that members of the class O of Forkhead box (FoxO) transcription factors are vital for maintaining cardiomyocyte metabolism and cell survival, and the functions of the FoxO family proteins can be modulated by a wide variety of post-translational modifications including phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitination, arginine methylation, and O-glycosylation. In this review, we highlight and summarize the most recent advances in two members of the FoxO family (predominately FoxO1 and FoxO3a) that are abundantly expressed in cardiac tissue and whose levels of gene and protein expressions change as DCM progresses, with the goal of providing valuable insights into the pathogenesis of diabetic cardiovascular complications and discussing their therapeutic potential and possible effects of salvianolic acids, a natural product.

The Role of Mitochondria in Metabolic Syndrome–Associated Cardiomyopathy

With the rapid development of society, the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MS) is increasing rapidly. Evidence indicated that patients diagnosed with MS usually suffered from cardiomyopathy, called metabolic syndrome–associated cardiomyopathy (MSC). The clinical characteristics of MSC included cardiac hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction, followed by heart failure. Despite many studies on this topic, the detailed mechanisms are not clear yet. As the center of cellular metabolism, mitochondria are crucial for maintaining heart function, while mitochondria dysfunction plays a vital role through mechanisms such as mitochondrial energy deprivation, calcium disorder, and ROS (reactive oxygen species) imbalance during the development of MSC. Accordingly, in this review, we will summarize the characteristics of MSC and especially focus on the mechanisms related to mitochondria. In addition, we will update new therapeutic strategies in this field.

Targeting the microRNA-34a as a Novel Therapeutic Strategy for Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are still the main cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and include a group of disorders varying from vasculature, myocardium, arrhythmias and cardiac development. MicroRNAs (miRs) are endogenous non-coding RNAs with 18–23 nucleotides that regulate gene expression. The miR-34 family, including miR-34a/b/c, plays a vital role in the regulation of myocardial physiology and pathophysiological processes. Recently, miR-34a has been implicated in cardiovascular fibrosis, dysfunction and related cardiovascular disorders as an essential regulator. Interestingly, there is a pivotal link among miR-34a, cardiovascular fibrosis, and Smad4/TGF-β1 signaling. Notably, both loss-of-function and gain-of-function approaches identified the critical roles of miR-34a in cardiovascular apoptosis, autophagy, inflammation, senescence and remodeling by modulating multifunctional signaling pathways. In this article, we focus on the current understanding of miR-34a in biogenesis, its biological effects and its implications for cardiac pathologies including myocardial infarction, heart failure, ischaemia reperfusion injury, cardiomyopathy, atherosclerosis, hypertension and atrial fibrillation. Thus, further understanding of the effects of miR-34a on cardiovascular diseases will aid the development of effective interventions. Targeting for miR-34a has emerged as a potential therapeutic target for cardiovascular dysfunction and related diseases.