Controversial Impact of Sirtuins in Chronic Non-Transmissible Diseases and Rehabilitation Medicine

Yiqigubiao pill treatment regulates Sirtuin 5 expression and mitochondrial function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous group of pathophysiological bases of airway inflammation and its anti-inflammatory response. Aberrant mitochondrial signaling and mitochondrial dysfunction underlie the pathomechanisms leading to COPD. This study aims to investigate the effects of the Yiqigubiao (YQGB) pill, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), on Sirtuin 5 (SIRT5) and mitochondrial function in patients with COPD.

Methods

Thirty-four patients with COPD were randomized into oral YQGB or placebo groups concurrent with a 24-week routine treatment. The pulmonary function was assessed by examining the levels of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1, and FVC. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot were used to detect SIRT5 expression in mitochondria isolated from peripheral blood. Flow cytometry was used to detect changes in mitochondrial membrane potential and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in peripheral blood lymphocytes. Human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells stimulated by cigarette smoke extract (CSE) were treated with YQGB. After SIRT5 was knocked down in cells, the changes in mitochondrial membrane potential, levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and ROS were detected.

Results

YQGB treatment significantly improved lung function in patients with COPD. The expression of SIRT5 and the mitochondrial membrane potential significantly increased and ROS decreased in patients with COPD after YQGB treatment. The CSE decreased cell proliferation and SIRT5 expression, which was alleviated after YQGB treatment. Furthermore, SIRT5 was knocked down in CSE-stimulated HBE cells, and its expression was elevated upon YQGB treatment. The knockdown of SIRT5 significantly altered the CSE-stimulation-induced dysregulation of mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP levels, and ROS. This was also restored after YQGB treatment.

Conclusions

YQGB treatment can elevate SIRT5 expression, restore mitochondrial function in COPD, and exert protective effects.

Global scientific trends in research of epigenetic response to exercise: A bibliometric analysis

The purpose of this work is to comprehensively understand the adaptive response of multiple epigenetic modifications on gene expression changes driven by exercise. Here, we retrieved literatures from publications in the PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection databases up to and including October 15, 2023. After screening with the exclusion criteria, 1910 publications were selected in total, comprising 1399 articles and 511 reviews. Specifically, a total of 512, 224, and 772 publications is involved in DNA methylation, histone modification, and noncoding RNAs, respectively. The correlations between publication number, authors, institutions, countries, references, and the characteristics of hotspots were explored by CiteSpace. Here, the USA (621 publications) ranked the world's most-influential countries, the University of California System (68 publications) was the most productive, and Tiago Fernandes (14 publications) had the most-published publications. A comprehensive keyword analysis revealed that cardiovascular disease, cancer, skeletal muscle development, and metabolic syndrome, and are the research hotspots. The detailed impact of exercise was further discussed in different aspects of these three categories of epigenetic modifications. Detailed analysis of epigenetic modifications in response to exercise, including DNA methylation, histone modification, and changes in noncoding RNAs, will offer valuable information to help researchers understand hotspots and emerging trends.

The epigenetic landscape of exercise in cardiac health and disease

With the rising incidence of cardiovascular diseases, the concomitant mortality and morbidity impose huge burdens on quality of life and societal costs. It is generally accepted that physical inactivity is one of the major risk factors for cardiac disease and that exercise benefits the heart in both physiological and pathologic conditions. However, the molecular mechanisms governing the cardioprotective effects exerted by exercise remain incompletely understood. Most recently, an increasing number of studies indicate the involvement of epigenetic modifications in the promotion of cardiac health and prevention of cardiac disease. Exercise and other lifestyle factors extensively induce epigenetic modifications, including DNA/RNA methylation, histone post-translational modifications, and non-coding RNAs in multiple tissues, which may contribute to their positive effects in human health and diseases. In addition, several studies have shown that maternal or paternal exercise prevents age-associated or high-fat diet-induced metabolic dysfunction in the offspring, reinforcing the importance of epigenetics in mediating the beneficial effects of exercise. It has been shown that exercise can directly modify cardiac epigenetics to promote cardiac health and protect the heart against various pathological processes, or it can modify epigenetics in other tissues, which reduces the risk of cardiac disease and affords cardioprotection through exerkines. An in-depth understanding of the epigenetic landscape of cardioprotective response to exercise will provide new therapeutic targets for cardiac diseases. This review, therefore, aimed to acquaint the cardiac community with the rapidly advancing and evolving field of exercise and epigenetics.

Treating Senescence like Cancer: Novel Perspectives in Senotherapy of Chronic Diseases

The WHO estimated around 41 million deaths worldwide each year for age-related non-communicable chronic diseases. Hence, developing strategies to control the accumulation of cell senescence in living organisms and the overall aging process is an urgently needed problem of social relevance. During aging, many biological processes are altered, which globally induce the dysfunction of the whole organism. Cell senescence is one of the causes of this modification. Nowadays, several drugs approved for anticancer therapy have been repurposed to treat senescence, and others are under scrutiny in vitro and in vivo to establish their senomorphic or senolytic properties. In some cases, this research led to a significant increase in cell survival or to a prolonged lifespan in animal models, at least. Senomorphics can act to interfere with a specific pathway in order to restore the appropriate cellular function, preserve viability, and to prolong the lifespan. On the other hand, senolytics induce apoptosis in senescent cells allowing the remaining non–senescent population to preserve or restore tissue function. A large number of research articles and reviews recently addressed this topic. Herein, we would like to focus attention on those chemical agents with senomorphic or senolytic properties that perspectively, according to literature, suggest a potential application as senotherapeutics for chronic diseases.