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Patil M, Singh S, Dubey PK, Tousif S, Umbarkar P, Zhang Q, Lal H, Sewell-Loftin MK, Umeshappa CS, Ghebre YT, Pogwizd S, Zhang J, Krishnamurthy P. Fibroblast-Specific Depletion of Human Antigen R Alleviates Myocardial Fibrosis Induced by Cardiac Stress. JACC Basic Transl Sci 2024; 9:754-770. [PMID: 39070272 PMCID: PMC11282885 DOI: 10.1016/j.jacbts.2024.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
Cardiac fibrosis can be mitigated by limiting fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation and proliferation. Human antigen R (HuR) modulates messenger RNA stability and expression of multiple genes. However, the direct role of cardiac myofibroblast HuR is unknown. Myofibroblast-specific deletion of HuR limited cardiac fibrosis and preserved cardiac functions in pressure overload injury. Knockdown of HuR in transforming growth factor-β1-treated cardiac fibroblasts suppressed myofibroblast differentiation and proliferation. HuR deletion abrogated the expression and messenger RNA stability of cyclins D1 and A2, suggesting a potential mechanism by which HuR promotes myofibroblast proliferation. Overall, these data suggest that inhibition of HuR could be a potential therapeutic approach to limit cardiac fibrosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mallikarjun Patil
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Heersink School of Medicine and School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Sarojini Singh
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Heersink School of Medicine and School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Praveen Kumar Dubey
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Heersink School of Medicine and School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Sultan Tousif
- Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Prachi Umbarkar
- Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Qinkun Zhang
- Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Hind Lal
- Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Mary Kathryn Sewell-Loftin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Heersink School of Medicine and School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | | | - Yohannes T. Ghebre
- Department of Radiation Oncology, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Steven Pogwizd
- Comprehensive Cardiovascular Center, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Jianyi Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Heersink School of Medicine and School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Prasanna Krishnamurthy
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Heersink School of Medicine and School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
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Protective Effects of Carnosol on Renal Interstitial Fibrosis in a Murine Model of Unilateral Ureteral Obstruction. Antioxidants (Basel) 2022; 11:antiox11122341. [PMID: 36552549 PMCID: PMC9774539 DOI: 10.3390/antiox11122341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Renal fibrosis is a common feature of chronic kidney disease and is a promising therapeutic target. However, there is still limited treatment for renal fibrosis, so the development of new anti-fibrotic agents is urgently needed. Accumulating evidence suggest that oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress play a critical role in renal fibrosis. Carnosol (CS) is a bioactive diterpene compound present in rosemary plants and has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, we investigated the potential effects of CS on renal injury and fibrosis in a murine model of unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Male C57BL/6J mice underwent sham or UUO surgery and received intraperitoneal injections of CS (50 mg/kg) daily for 8 consecutive days. CS improved renal function and ameliorated renal tubular injury and interstitial fibrosis in UUO mice. It suppressed oxidative injury by inhibiting pro-oxidant enzymes and activating antioxidant enzymes. Activation of ER stress was also attenuated by CS. In addition, CS inhibited apoptotic and necroptotic cell death in kidneys of UUO mice. Furthermore, cytokine production and immune cell infiltration were alleviated by CS. Taken together, these findings indicate that CS can attenuate renal injury and fibrosis in the UUO model.
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Lee JS, Lamarche-Vane N, Richard S. Microexon alternative splicing of small GTPase regulators: Implication in central nervous system diseases. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-RNA 2021; 13:e1678. [PMID: 34155820 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Microexons are small sized (≤51 bp) exons which undergo extensive alternative splicing in neurons, microglia, embryonic stem cells, and cancer cells, giving rise to cell type specific protein isoforms. Due to their small sizes, microexons provide a unique challenge for the splicing machinery. They frequently lack exon splicer enhancers/repressors and require specialized neighboring trans-regulatory and cis-regulatory elements bound by RNA binding proteins (RBPs) for their inclusion. The functional consequences of including microexons within mRNAs have been extensively documented in the central nervous system (CNS) and aberrations in their inclusion have been observed to lead to abnormal processes. Despite the increasing evidence for microexons impacting cellular physiology within CNS, mechanistic details illustrating their functional importance in diseases of the CNS is still limited. In this review, we discuss the unique characteristics of microexons, and how RBPs participate in regulating their inclusion and exclusion during splicing. We consider recent findings of microexon alternative splicing and their implication for regulating the function of small GTPases in the context of the microglia, and we extrapolate these findings to what is known in neurons. We further discuss the emerging evidence for dysregulation of the Rho GTPase pathway in CNS diseases and the consequences contributed by the mis-splicing of microexons. This article is categorized under: RNA Processing > Splicing Mechanisms RNA Processing > Splicing Regulation/Alternative Splicing RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jee-San Lee
- Segal Cancer Center, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Nathalie Lamarche-Vane
- Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Cancer Research Program, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Stéphane Richard
- Segal Cancer Center, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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