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Randazzo P, Sinisi R, Gornati D, Bertuolo S, Bencheva L, De Matteo M, Nibbio M, Monteagudo E, Turcano L, Bianconi V, Peruzzi G, Summa V, Bresciani A, Mozzetta C, Di Fabio R. Identification and in vitro characterization of a new series of potent and highly selective G9a inhibitors as novel anti-fibroadipogenic agents. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2022; 72:128858. [PMID: 35718104 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2022.128858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
A new series of in vitro potent and highly selective histone methyl transferase enzyme G9a inhibitors was obtained. In particular, compound 2a, one the most potent G9a inhibitor identified, was endowed with >130-fold selectivity over GLP and excellent ligand efficiency. Therefore, it may represent a valuable tool compound to validate the role of highly selective G9a inhibitors in different pathological conditions. When 2a was characterized in vitro in cellular models of skeletal muscle differentiation, a relevant increase of myofibers' size and reduction of the fibroadipogenic infiltration were observed, further confirming the therapeutic potential of selective G9a inhibitors for the treatment of Duchenne muscle dystrophy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Martina Nibbio
- IRBM Science Park, Via Pontina Km 30.600, 00070 Pomezia, Italy
| | - Edith Monteagudo
- CHDI Foundation, 6080 Center Drive, Suite 700, CA 90045, Los Angeles
| | - Lorenzo Turcano
- IRBM Science Park, Via Pontina Km 30.600, 00070 Pomezia, Italy
| | - Valeria Bianconi
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology (IBPM), National Research Council (CNR) of Italy c/o, Department of Biology and Biotechnology "C. Darwin", Sapienza University, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanna Peruzzi
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), V.le Regina, Elena 291, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Summa
- University of Naples Federico II, Vial Domenico Montesano 49, 80131, Naples, Italy
| | - Alberto Bresciani
- Exscientia LTD, The Schrödinger Building Oxford Science Park, Oxford OX4 4GE, UK
| | - Chiara Mozzetta
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology (IBPM), National Research Council (CNR) of Italy c/o, Department of Biology and Biotechnology "C. Darwin", Sapienza University, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Romano Di Fabio
- Promidis, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milano, Italy; IRBM Science Park, Via Pontina Km 30.600, 00070 Pomezia, Italy.
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Zanotti S, Gibertini S, Blasevich F, Bragato C, Ruggieri A, Saredi S, Fabbri M, Bernasconi P, Maggi L, Mantegazza R, Mora M. Exosomes and exosomal miRNAs from muscle-derived fibroblasts promote skeletal muscle fibrosis. Matrix Biol 2018; 74:77-100. [PMID: 29981373 DOI: 10.1016/j.matbio.2018.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2018] [Revised: 07/02/2018] [Accepted: 07/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Exosomes, natural carriers of mRNAs, non-coding RNAs and proteins between donor and recipient cells, actively contribute to cell-cell communication. We investigated the potential pro-fibrotic role of exosomes released by muscle-derived fibroblasts of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients, and of miRNAs carried by exosomes. By fibrosis focused array analysis we found that exosomes from DMD fibroblasts, had significantly higher levels of miR-199a-5p, a miRNA up-regulated in fibrotic conditions, compared to control exosomes, while levels in myoblast-derived exosomes were not increased. In control fibroblasts, exposure to DMD fibroblast-derived exosomes induced a myofibroblastic phenotype with increase in α-smooth actin, collagen and fibronectin transcript and protein expression, soluble collagen production and deposition, cell proliferation, and activation of Akt and ERK signaling, while exposure to control exosomes did not. Transfecting control fibroblasts or loading control exosomes with miR-199a-5p mimic or inhibitor induced opposing effects on fibrosis-related mRNAs and proteins, on collagen production and Akt and ERK pathways. Finally, injection of DMD fibroblast-derived exosomes into mouse tibialis anterior muscle after cardiotoxin-induced necrosis, produced greater fibrosis than control exosomes. Our findings indicate that exosomes produced by local fibroblasts in the DMD muscle are able to induce phenotypic conversion of normal fibroblasts to myofibroblasts thereby increasing the fibrotic response. This conversion is related to transfer of high levels of miR-199a-5p and to reduction of its target caveolin-1; both, therefore, are potential therapeutic targets in muscle fibrosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Zanotti
- Neuromuscular Diseases and Neuroimmunology Unit, Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute C. Besta, Milano, Italy
| | - Sara Gibertini
- Neuromuscular Diseases and Neuroimmunology Unit, Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute C. Besta, Milano, Italy
| | - Flavia Blasevich
- Neuromuscular Diseases and Neuroimmunology Unit, Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute C. Besta, Milano, Italy
| | - Cinzia Bragato
- Neuromuscular Diseases and Neuroimmunology Unit, Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute C. Besta, Milano, Italy; PhD Program in Neuroscience, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - Alessandra Ruggieri
- Neuromuscular Diseases and Neuroimmunology Unit, Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute C. Besta, Milano, Italy
| | - Simona Saredi
- Neuromuscular Diseases and Neuroimmunology Unit, Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute C. Besta, Milano, Italy
| | - Marco Fabbri
- Unit of Haematopathology, European Institute of Oncology, IEO, Milan 20141, Italy
| | - Pia Bernasconi
- Neuromuscular Diseases and Neuroimmunology Unit, Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute C. Besta, Milano, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Maggi
- Neuromuscular Diseases and Neuroimmunology Unit, Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute C. Besta, Milano, Italy
| | - Renato Mantegazza
- Neuromuscular Diseases and Neuroimmunology Unit, Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute C. Besta, Milano, Italy
| | - Marina Mora
- Neuromuscular Diseases and Neuroimmunology Unit, Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute C. Besta, Milano, Italy.
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Zanotti S, Mora M. Test of Antifibrotic Drugs in a Cellular Model of Fibrosis Based on Muscle-Derived Fibroblasts from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Patients. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1687:205-17. [PMID: 29067666 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7374-3_15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
An in vitro model of muscle fibrosis, based on the use of primary human fibroblasts isolated from muscle biopsies of patients affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophies (DMD) and cultivated in monolayer and 3D conditions, is used to test the potential antifibrotic activity of pirfenidone (PFD). This in vitro model may be usefully also to evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of other candidate molecules for the treatment of fibrosis. The drug toxicity is evaluated using a colorimetric assay based on the conversion of tetrazolium salt (MTT) to insoluble formazan, while the effect of the drug on cell proliferation is measured with the bromodeoxyuridine incorporation assay. The efficacy of the drug is evaluated in fibroblast monolayers by quantitating synthesis and deposition of intracellular collagen with a spectrophotometric picrosirius red-based assay, and by quantitating cell migration using a "scratch" assay. The efficacy of PFD as antifibrotic drug is also evaluated in a 3D fibroblast model by measuring diameters and number of nodules.
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Chan MC, Ziegler O, Liu L, Rowe GC, Das S, Otterbein LE, Arany Z. Heme oxygenase and carbon monoxide protect from muscle dystrophy. Skelet Muscle 2016; 6:41. [PMID: 27906108 PMCID: PMC5126804 DOI: 10.1186/s13395-016-0114-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2016] [Accepted: 11/18/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Duchenne muscle dystrophy (DMD) is one of the most common lethal genetic diseases of children worldwide and is 100% fatal. Steroids, the only therapy currently available, are marred by poor efficacy and a high side-effect profile. New therapeutic approaches are urgently needed. Methods Here, we leverage PGC-1α, a powerful transcriptional coactivator known to protect against dystrophy in the mdx murine model of DMD, to search for novel mechanisms of protection against dystrophy. Results We identify heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) as a potential novel target for the treatment of DMD. Expression of HO-1 is blunted in the muscles from the mdx murine model of DMD, and further reduction of HO-1 by genetic haploinsufficiency worsens muscle damage in mdx mice. Conversely, induction of HO-1 pharmacologically protects against muscle damage. Mechanistically, HO-1 degrades heme into biliverdin, releasing in the process ferrous iron and carbon monoxide (CO). We show that exposure to a safe low dose of CO protects against muscle damage in mdx mice, as does pharmacological treatment with CO-releasing molecules. Conclusions These data identify HO-1 and CO as novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of DMD. Safety profiles and clinical testing of inhaled CO already exist, underscoring the translational potential of these observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mun Chun Chan
- Cardiovascular Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.,Current address: Cardiovascular Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Olivia Ziegler
- Cardiovascular Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.,Current address: Cardiovascular Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Laura Liu
- Cardiovascular Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.,Current address: Cardiovascular Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Glenn C Rowe
- Cardiovascular Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.,Present Address: Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Saumya Das
- Cardiovascular Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.,Current address: Cardiovascular Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Leo E Otterbein
- Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Zoltan Arany
- Cardiovascular Institute and Institute Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism, Smilow Center for Translational Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 11th floor, 3400 Civic Blvd, Philadelphia, 19104, PA, USA.
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