Atorvastatin inhibits endoplasmic reticulum stress through AMPK signaling pathway in atherosclerosis in mice

Differential expression profile of miRNAs between stable and vulnerable plaques of carotid artery stenosis patients

Plaque vulnerability is associated with the degree of carotid artery stenosis (CS) and the risk of stroke. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) exert critical functions in disease progression, although only a few miRNAs have been well identified in CS. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the differential expression profile of miRNAs and their potential functions in plaques of CS patients. Three CS patients with stable plaques and three patients with vulnerable plaques who underwent carotid endarterectomy were enrolled in this study. Differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) between patients with stable and vulnerable plaques were determined using small RNA sequencing. Target genes of DEmiRNAs were predicted and submitted to functional analyses. Validation of dysregulated DEmiRNAs was determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). After sequencing, 76 DEmiRNAs were identified in vulnerable plaques, including 53 upregulated miRNAs and 23 downregulated miRNAs. Next, 23,495 target genes of the identified DEmiRNAs were predicted and functionally analyzed. This indicated that the target genes of the identified DEmiRNAs were mainly enriched in protein phosphorylation, transcription, nitrogen compound metabolism, endocytosis and autophagy, and related to signaling pathways of Hippo, MAPK, insulin, TGF-β, FoxO, AMPK and p53. Furthermore, qRT-PCR results for six miRNAs showed that five (83%) of them (hsa-miR-511-5p, hsa-miR-150-5p, hsa-miR-378a-5p, hsa-miR-365b-5p and hsa-miR-6511b-5p) were consistent with the sequencing results. Differential expression profiles and potential function of miRNAs associated with plaque stability in CS patients are identified for the first time, which should help to understand the regulatory mechanism of plaque stability in CS.

Avicularin Attenuates Lead-Induced Impairment of Hepatic Glucose Metabolism by Inhibiting the ER Stress-Mediated Inflammatory Pathway

Lead (Pb), an environmental hazard, causes several human diseases. Avicularin (Avi), a main dietary flavonoid found in several plants and fruits, exhibits potential protective properties on organs. However, the molecular mechanisms of Avi's protective effects against Pb-induced damage are not clear. In our study, the effects of Avi on Pb-induced hepatotoxicity were evaluated using ICR mice. We have revealed for the first time that treatment with Avi significantly reduced hepatic inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and glucose metabolism disorder induced by Pb. Avi decreased the serum biochemical indicators of glucose metabolism. Avi increased the activities of glycogenolysis rate-limiting enzyme hexokinase (HK), pyruvate kinase (PK), glucokinase (GK) and glycogen phosphorylase (PYG) and inhibited the activities of gluconeogenesis rate-limiting enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxy kinase (PEPCK) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD). Avi decreased the protein expression levels of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), phosphorylated inositol requiring enzyme 1 (p-IRE1), phosphorylated RNA-dependent protein kinase-like ER kinase (p-PERK) and phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (p-eIF2α). The levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were decreased in the liver as a result of Avi suppression Pb-induced inflammation. These results indicated that Avi attenuated Pb-induced impairment of hepatic glucose metabolism by the ERS and inflammation pathway.

Contribution of endoplasmic reticulum stress, MAPK and PI3K/Akt pathways to the apoptotic death induced by a penicillin derivative in melanoma cells

We have previously examined the in vitro and in vivo antitumor action of TAP7f, a synthetic triazolylpeptidyl penicillin, on murine melanoma cells. In this work, we explored the signal transduction pathways modulated by TAP7f in murine B16-F0 and human A375 melanoma cells, and the contribution of some intracellular signals to the apoptotic cell death. TAP7f decreased ERK1/2 phosphorylation and increased phospho-p38, phospho-JNK and phospho-Akt levels. ERK1/2 blockage suppressed cell growth, while inhibition of p38, JNK and PI3K-I pathways reduced the antitumor effect of TAP7f. Pharmacological inhibition of p38 and JNK, or blockage of PI3K-I/Akt cascade with a dominant negative PI3K-I mutant diminished Bax expression levels and PARP-1 cleavage, indicating the involvement of these pathways in apoptosis. PI3K-I/Akt inhibition also favored an autophagic response, as evidenced by the higher expression levels of Beclin-1 and LC3-II detected in transfected cells exposed to TAP7f. However, although PI3K-I/Akt blockage promoted an autophagic survival response, this mechanism appears not to be critical for TAP7f antitumor action. It was also shown that TAP7f induced ER stress by enhancing the expression of ER stress-related genes and proteins. Downregulation of CHOP protein with specific siRNA increased cell growth and decreased cleavage of PARP-1, supporting its role in apoptosis. Furthermore, it was found that activation of p38, JNK and Akt occurred downstream ER perturbation. In summary, our results showed that TAP7f triggers an apoptotic cell death in melanoma cells through induction of ER stress and activation of p38, JNK and PI3K-I/Akt pathways.

Roles and Therapeutic Implications of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Oxidative Stress in Cardiovascular Diseases

In different pathological states that cause endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium depletion, altered glycosylation, nutrient deprivation, oxidative stress, DNA damage or energy perturbation/fluctuations, the protein folding process is disrupted and the ER becomes stressed. Studies in the past decade have demonstrated that ER stress is closely associated with pathogenesis of obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Excess nutrients and inflammatory cytokines associated with metabolic diseases can trigger or worsen ER stress. ER stress plays a critical role in the induction of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Signaling pathways including AMP-activated protein kinase and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor have been identified to regulate ER stress, whilst ER stress contributes to the imbalanced production between nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) causing oxidative stress. Several drugs or herbs have been proved to protect against cardiovascular diseases (CVD) through inhibition of ER stress and oxidative stress. The present article reviews the involvement of ER stress and oxidative stress in cardiovascular dysfunction and the potential therapeutic implications.

Huotan Jiedu Tongluo Decoction Inhibits Balloon-Injury-Induced Carotid Artery Intimal Hyperplasia in the Rat through the PERK-eIF2α-ATF4 Pathway and Autophagy Mediation

In-stent restenosis (ISR) is the main factor affecting the outcome of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and its main pathological feature is neointimal hyperplasia. Huotan Jiedu Tongluo decoction (HTJDTLD) is an effective traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription for the treatment of vascular stenosis diseases. However, the precise anti-ISR mechanism of HTJDTLD remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether HTJDTLD can inhibit the excessive activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and reduce the level of autophagy factors through regulating the PERK-eIF2α-ATF4 pathway, thereby inhibiting the proliferation of the intima of blood vessels damaged by balloon injury (BI) and preventing the occurrence of ISR. In this study, a 2F Fogarty balloon was used to establish a common carotid artery (CCA) BI model in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Then, HTJDTLD (16.33 g/kg/d) or atorvastatin (1.19 mg/kg/d) was administered by gavage. Four weeks later, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Masson staining of the injured CCA were performed to observe the histological changes in the CCA. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to assess the proliferation and dedifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in the CCA. Western blotting and RT-PCR were used to measure the expression of ERS- and autophagy-related proteins and mRNAs in the CCA. The results indicated that HTJDTLD significantly alleviated BI-induced carotid artery intimal hyperplasia and fibrosis and reduced the neointimal area (NIA) and NIA/medial area (MA) ratio. In addition, HTJDTLD inhibited the proliferation and dedifferentiation of VSMCs, reduced the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and increased the smooth-muscle-α-actin- (SMα-actin-) positive area. HTJDTLD also significantly reduced the expression of the ERS-related factors: GRP78, p-PERK/PERK, p-eIF2α/eIF2α, ATF4, and CHOP. In addition, the expression of the autophagy-related factors, Beclin1, LC3B, and ATG12, was significantly decreased. In addition, in vitro experiments showed that HTJDTLD inhibited the above-mentioned ERS signal molecules in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and rat aortic smooth muscle cells (A7R5) induced by tunicamycin (TM) and played a crucial role in protecting cells from damage. HTJDTLD may be a very promising drug for the treatment of ISR.

Role of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Atherosclerosis and Its Potential as a Therapeutic Target

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is closely associated with atherosclerosis and related cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). It occurs due to various pathological factors that interfere with ER homeostasis, resulting in the accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the ER lumen, thereby causing ER dysfunction. Here, we discuss the role of ER stress in different types of cells in atherosclerotic lesions. This discussion includes the activation of apoptotic and inflammatory pathways induced by prolonged ER stress, especially in advanced lesional macrophages and endothelial cells (ECs), as well as common atherosclerosis-related ER stressors in different lesional cells, which all contribute to the clinical progression of atherosclerosis. In view of the important role of ER stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling pathways in atherosclerosis and CVDs, targeting these processes to reduce ER stress may be a novel therapeutic strategy.