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Mendoza-Salazar I, Fragozo A, González-Martínez AP, Trejo-Martínez I, Arreola R, Pavón L, Almagro JC, Vallejo-Castillo L, Aguilar-Alonso FA, Pérez-Tapia SM. Almost 50 Years of Monomeric Extracellular Ubiquitin (eUb). Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2024; 17:185. [PMID: 38399400 PMCID: PMC10892293 DOI: 10.3390/ph17020185] [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: 12/26/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Monomeric ubiquitin (Ub) is a 76-amino-acid highly conserved protein found in eukaryotes. The biological activity of Ub first described in the 1970s was extracellular, but it quickly gained relevance due to its intracellular role, i.e., post-translational modification of intracellular proteins (ubiquitination) that regulate numerous eukaryotic cellular processes. In the following years, the extracellular role of Ub was relegated to the background, until a correlation between higher survival rate and increased serum Ub concentrations in patients with sepsis and burns was observed. Although the mechanism of action (MoA) of extracellular ubiquitin (eUb) is not yet well understood, further studies have shown that it may ameliorate the inflammatory response in tissue injury and multiple sclerosis diseases. These observations, compounded with the high stability and low immunogenicity of eUb due to its high conservation in eukaryotes, have made this small protein a relevant candidate for biotherapeutic development. Here, we review the in vitro and in vivo effects of eUb on immunologic, cardiovascular, and nervous systems, and discuss the potential MoAs of eUb as an anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and cardio- and brain-protective agent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivette Mendoza-Salazar
- Unidad de Desarrollo e Investigación en Bioterapéuticos (UDIBI), Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
- Laboratorio Nacional para Servicios Especializados de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación (I + D + i) para Farmoquímicos y Biotecnológicos, LANSEIDI-FarBiotec-CONACyT, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
- Departamento de Inmunología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
| | - Ana Fragozo
- Unidad de Desarrollo e Investigación en Bioterapéuticos (UDIBI), Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
- Laboratorio Nacional para Servicios Especializados de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación (I + D + i) para Farmoquímicos y Biotecnológicos, LANSEIDI-FarBiotec-CONACyT, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
- Departamento de Inmunología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
| | - Aneth P González-Martínez
- Unidad de Desarrollo e Investigación en Bioterapéuticos (UDIBI), Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
- Laboratorio Nacional para Servicios Especializados de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación (I + D + i) para Farmoquímicos y Biotecnológicos, LANSEIDI-FarBiotec-CONACyT, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
- Departamento de Inmunología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
| | - Ismael Trejo-Martínez
- Unidad de Desarrollo e Investigación en Bioterapéuticos (UDIBI), Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
- Laboratorio Nacional para Servicios Especializados de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación (I + D + i) para Farmoquímicos y Biotecnológicos, LANSEIDI-FarBiotec-CONACyT, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
- Departamento de Inmunología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
| | - Rodrigo Arreola
- Subdirección de Investigaciones Clínicas, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Calzada México-Xochimilco 101, Colonia San Lorenzo Huipulco, Tlalpan, Mexico City 14370, Mexico
| | - Lenin Pavón
- Laboratorio de Psicoinmunología, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico City 14370, Mexico
| | - Juan C Almagro
- Unidad de Desarrollo e Investigación en Bioterapéuticos (UDIBI), Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
- Laboratorio Nacional para Servicios Especializados de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación (I + D + i) para Farmoquímicos y Biotecnológicos, LANSEIDI-FarBiotec-CONACyT, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
- GlobalBio, Inc., 320 Concord Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Luis Vallejo-Castillo
- Unidad de Desarrollo e Investigación en Bioterapéuticos (UDIBI), Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
- Laboratorio Nacional para Servicios Especializados de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación (I + D + i) para Farmoquímicos y Biotecnológicos, LANSEIDI-FarBiotec-CONACyT, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
| | - Francisco A Aguilar-Alonso
- Unidad de Desarrollo e Investigación en Bioterapéuticos (UDIBI), Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
- Laboratorio Nacional para Servicios Especializados de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación (I + D + i) para Farmoquímicos y Biotecnológicos, LANSEIDI-FarBiotec-CONACyT, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
| | - Sonia M Pérez-Tapia
- Unidad de Desarrollo e Investigación en Bioterapéuticos (UDIBI), Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
- Laboratorio Nacional para Servicios Especializados de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación (I + D + i) para Farmoquímicos y Biotecnológicos, LANSEIDI-FarBiotec-CONACyT, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
- Departamento de Inmunología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Prolongación de Carpio y Plan de Ayala S/N, Colonia Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
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Ji Y, Yao J, He Y. Extracellular ubiquitin protects cardiomyocytes during ischemia/hypoxia by inhibiting mitochondrial apoptosis pathway through CXCR4. Biomed Pharmacother 2020; 131:110787. [PMID: 33152945 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2020.110787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2020] [Revised: 09/13/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
AIM Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the deadliest diseases worldwide. The search for countermeasures to reduce cardiomyocytes death in the infarcted area has always been the focus of research. Ubiquitin (UB) is a small polypeptide mainly involved in proteasome-mediated protein degradation in cells, whereas extracellular UB in body fluids can also function through its receptor CXC chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4). This study aimed to explore the functional roles of extracellular UB in cardiomyocytes during ischemia/hypoxia (I/H). METHODS H9C2 cells were subjected to I/H treatment and cell injury was evaluated by cell viability, morphology changes and apoptosis rate. UB expression and levels of ubiquitinated proteins after I/H injury were measured. The effects of extracellular UB on I/H-induced cardiomyocytes apoptosis and the possible underlying mechanisms were studied. RESULTS I/H injury induced the decrease of cell viability as well as enhanced impaired cell morphology and apoptosis rate in H9C2 cells. Levels of UB mRNA and ubiquitinated proteins were significantly up-regulated after I/H treatment, whereas the concentration of extracellular UB in the conditioned media did not show significant change and the intracellular mono-UB levels in cells were down-regulated. Extracellular UB treatment protected cardiomyocytes from I/H injury by inhibiting the overactivation of mitochondria-dependent apoptosis pathway and up-regulating autophagy level. Inhibition of CXCR4 receptor using AMD3100 abolished cardioprotective effects of extracellular UB. CONCLUSION The up-regulation of UB was suggested to be an adaptive response to resist I/H-induced cardiomyocytes apoptosis, and additional extracellular UB treatment might serve as a new potential therapeutic drug for AMI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqun Ji
- MOE Engineering Center of Hematological Disease, MOH Key Lab of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, Jiangsu Institute of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Jialu Yao
- Department of Cardiology, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Yang He
- MOE Engineering Center of Hematological Disease, MOH Key Lab of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, Jiangsu Institute of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.
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Cai J, Zhang Q, Qian X, Li J, Qi Q, Sun R, Han J, Zhu X, Xie M, Guo X, Xia R. Extracellular ubiquitin promotes hepatoma metastasis by mediating M2 macrophage polarization via the activation of the CXCR4/ERK signaling pathway. ANNALS OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE 2020; 8:929. [PMID: 32953729 PMCID: PMC7475394 DOI: 10.21037/atm-20-1054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Background Stored red blood cell (RBC) transfusion has been shown to enhance the risk of cancer recurrence. However, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. At our lab, we have demonstrated that the extracellular ubiquitin (eUb) released by aged RBCs could promote tumor metastasis in a melanoma mouse model. This study aimed to confirm the pro-tumor effect of eUb on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and explore the related immunoregulatory mechanisms. Methods Forty HCC tissue specimens and the corresponding adjacent nontumor and normal liver tissues were collected. Two human hepatoma cell lines (MHCC-97H and HepG2.2.15), one murine hepatoma cell line (Hepa1-6), and one human monocyte cell line (THP-1) were adopted in this study. The coculture of hepatoma cells with macrophages was initiated with Transwell inserts. Cell migration in vitro was detected by Transwell and wound-healing assays, while in vivo tumor metastasis was measured by luciferase assay and H&E staining. Macrophage polarization was measured by flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, ELISA, qPCR, and Western blot. Protein expression was detected by Western blot, and immunoprecipitation was used to confirm the interaction between Ub and CXCR4 (CXC chemokine receptor type 4). Results Ub and CXCR4 were significantly upregulated in HCC tissues, and a positive correlation existed between them. In vitro, the migration of hepatoma cells was not affected by eUb directly, but their metastatic abilities were enhanced after coculture with the macrophages pretreated with eUb. Meanwhile, eUb promoted hepatoma cell metastasis in the lung in vivo and increased the ratio of M2 macrophages in the lung tissues and peripheral blood of tumor-bearing mice. Furthermore, the eUb-induced M2 macrophage polarization was related to the activation of the CXCR4/ERK (extracellular regulated protein kinase) signaling pathway. Conclusions Extracellular ubiquitin promoted hepatoma metastasis through M2 macrophage polarization via the activation of the CXCR4/ERK signaling pathway, indicating that a personalized transfusion strategy is needed for the treatment of HCC patients. Neutralizing Ub in stored RBC units could lessen the detrimental clinical outcomes induced by the transfusion of stored RBCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajing Cai
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuemeng Qian
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jingdong Li
- Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
| | - Qi Qi
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ru Sun
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
| | - Jia Han
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xinfang Zhu
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Mengyi Xie
- Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
| | - Xiaolan Guo
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China.,Translational Medicine Research Center, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
| | - Rong Xia
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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