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Lin C, Qiu L, Wang P, Zhang B, Yan L, Zhao C. Thymosin beta-4 participate in antibacterial immunity and wound healing in black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon. Fish Shellfish Immunol 2023; 141:109065. [PMID: 37689229 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2023.109065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
Thymosin beta-4 (Tβ4) is a ubiquitous protein with multiple and diverse intracellular and extracellular functions in vertebrates, which play fundamental roles in innate immune against pathogens and wound healing. In this study, the full-length cDNA of Tβ4 was cloned from Penaeus monodon (designated as PmTβ4), using the technology of rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The cDNA of PmTβ4 was 1361 bp with an open reading frame (ORF) of 501 bp, which encoding a polypeptide of 166 amino acid. The Quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis results showed that PmTβ4 was ubiquitously expressed in all the tested shrimp tissues, with the highest expression level was detected in the hemolymph, while the lowest expression level in the muscle. The expression level of PmTβ4 was significantly up-regulated in hepatopancreas after challenged by Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio harveyi and Staphylococcus aureus. In vitro antimicrobial test showed that the recombinant protein of PmTβ4 (rPmTβ4) had broad-spectrum of antimicrobial activity, which could inhibit both the growth of gram-negative bacteria and gram-positive bacteria, including Vibrio vulnificus, V. parahaemolyticus, Streptococcus agalactiae, S. aureus and Aeromonas hydrophila. Moreover, rPmTβ4 had a certain binding ability to different bacteria, and this binding ability exhibits a strong dose-dependent effect. In vivo, PmTβ4 could facilitate external bacterial clearance in shrimp, and have beneficial to shrimp survival post V. parahaemolyticus infection. Furthermore, wound-healing assay was carried out to study the role of PmTβ4 in the process of wound healing. The results showed that the PmTβ4 expression was significantly up-regulated by injury treatment, and exerted positive effects to promote wound healing. In addition, PmTβ4 can significantly increase the expression level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Catalase (CAT) after injury treatment in shrimp, which would involve in scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused by the wound. In conclusion, these results indicated that PmTβ4 may play important roles in antibacterial immunity and wound healing in Penaeus monodon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changhong Lin
- South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou, PR China; College of Aqua-life Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, PR China; Key Laboratory of South China Sea Fishery Resources Exploitation & Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou, PR China
| | - Lihua Qiu
- South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou, PR China; Key Laboratory of South China Sea Fishery Resources Exploitation & Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou, PR China; Key Laboratory of Fishery Ecology and Environment, Guangdong Province, PR China
| | - Pengfei Wang
- South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou, PR China; Key Laboratory of South China Sea Fishery Resources Exploitation & Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou, PR China
| | - Bo Zhang
- South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou, PR China; Key Laboratory of South China Sea Fishery Resources Exploitation & Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou, PR China
| | - Lulu Yan
- South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou, PR China; Key Laboratory of South China Sea Fishery Resources Exploitation & Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou, PR China
| | - Chao Zhao
- South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou, PR China; Key Laboratory of South China Sea Fishery Resources Exploitation & Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou, PR China.
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Bock-Marquette I, Maar K, Maar S, Lippai B, Faskerti G, Gallyas F, Olson EN, Srivastava D. Thymosin beta-4 denotes new directions towards developing prosperous anti-aging regenerative therapies. Int Immunopharmacol 2023; 116:109741. [PMID: 36709593 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.109741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [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: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Our dream of defeating the processes of organ damage and aging remains a challenge scientists pursued for hundreds of years. Although the goal is to successfully treat the body as a whole, steps towards regenerating individual organs are even considered significant. Since initial approaches utilizing only progenitor cells appear limited, we propose interconnecting our collective knowledge regarding aging and embryonic development may lead to the discovery of molecules which provide alternatives to effectively reverse cellular damage. In this review, we introduce and summarize our results regarding Thymosin beta-4 (TB4) to support our hypothesis using the heart as model system. Accordingly, we investigated the developmental expression of TB4 in mouse embryos and determined the impact of the molecule in adult animals by systemically injecting the peptide following acute cardiac infarction or with no injury. Our results proved, TB4 is expressed in the developing heart and promotes cardiac cell migration and survival. In adults, the peptide enhances myocyte survival and improves cardiac function after coronary artery ligation. Moreover, intravenous injections of TB4 alter the morphology of the adult epicardium, and the changes resemble the characteristics of the embryo. Reactivation of the embryonic program became equally reflected by the increased number of cardiac vessels and by the alteration of the gene expression profile typical of the embryonic state. Moreover, we discovered TB4 is capable of epicardial progenitor activation, and revealed the effect is independent of hypoxic injury. By observing the above results, we believe, further discoveries and consequential postnatal administration of developmentally relevant candidate molecules such as TB4 may likely result in reversing aging processes and accelerate organ regeneration in the human body.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ildiko Bock-Marquette
- Department of Biochemistry and Medical Chemistry, University of Pecs, Medical School, Pecs H-7624, Hungary; Szentagothai Research Centre, Research Group of Regenerative Science, Sport and Medicine, University of Pecs, Pecs H-7624, Hungary.
| | - Klaudia Maar
- Department of Biochemistry and Medical Chemistry, University of Pecs, Medical School, Pecs H-7624, Hungary; Szentagothai Research Centre, Research Group of Regenerative Science, Sport and Medicine, University of Pecs, Pecs H-7624, Hungary
| | - Szabolcs Maar
- Department of Biochemistry and Medical Chemistry, University of Pecs, Medical School, Pecs H-7624, Hungary; Szentagothai Research Centre, Research Group of Regenerative Science, Sport and Medicine, University of Pecs, Pecs H-7624, Hungary
| | - Balint Lippai
- Department of Biochemistry and Medical Chemistry, University of Pecs, Medical School, Pecs H-7624, Hungary; Szentagothai Research Centre, Research Group of Regenerative Science, Sport and Medicine, University of Pecs, Pecs H-7624, Hungary
| | - Gabor Faskerti
- Department of Biochemistry and Medical Chemistry, University of Pecs, Medical School, Pecs H-7624, Hungary; Szentagothai Research Centre, Research Group of Regenerative Science, Sport and Medicine, University of Pecs, Pecs H-7624, Hungary
| | - Ferenc Gallyas
- Department of Biochemistry and Medical Chemistry, University of Pecs, Medical School, Pecs H-7624, Hungary; Szentagothai Research Centre, Research Group of Regenerative Science, Sport and Medicine, University of Pecs, Pecs H-7624, Hungary
| | - Eric N Olson
- Department of Molecular Biology, Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Deepak Srivastava
- Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease and Roddenberry Stem Cell Center, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
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Naeem A, Knoer G, Avantaggiati ML, Rodriguez O, Albanese C. Provocative non-canonical roles of p53 and AKT signaling: A role for Thymosin β4 in medulloblastoma. Int Immunopharmacol 2023; 116:109785. [PMID: 36720193 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.109785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Revised: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
The PI3K/AKT and p53 pathways are key regulators of cancer cell survival and death, respectively. Contrary to their generally accepted roles, several lines of evidence, including ours in medulloblastoma, the most common childhood brain cancer, highlight non-canonical functions for both proteins and show a complex context-dependent dynamic behavior in determining cell fate. Interestingly, p53-mediated cell survival and AKT-mediated cell death can dominate in certain conditions, and these interchangeable physiological functions may potentially be manipulated for better clinical outcomes. This review article presents studies in which p53 and AKT behave contrary to their well-established functions. We discuss the factors and circumstances that may be involved in mediating these changes and the implications of these unique roles of p53 and AKT in devising therapeutic strategies. Lastly, based on our recent finding of Thymosin beta 4-mediated chemosensitivity via an AKT-p53 interaction in medulloblastoma cells, we also discuss the possible implications of Thymosin beta-4 in enhancing drug sensitivity in this deadly childhood disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aisha Naeem
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA; Health Research Governance Department, Ministry of Public Health, Qatar.
| | - Grace Knoer
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Maria Laura Avantaggiati
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Olga Rodriguez
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA; Center for Translational Imaging, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Chris Albanese
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA; Department of Radiology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA; Center for Translational Imaging, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA.
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Zhang J, Long M, Sun Z, Yang C, Jiang X, He L, Su L, Peng Z. Association between Thymosin beta-4, acute kidney injury, and mortality in patients with sepsis: An observational cohort study. Int Immunopharmacol 2021; 101:108167. [PMID: 34607232 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2021.108167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [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: 06/28/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome, associated with high risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) and in-hospital mortality. Thymosin beta-4 (Tβ4) is an actin-sequestering protein that can prevent inflammation in several tissues. Thus, we studied the role of Tβ4 in sepsis. METHODS The Tβ4 concentrations were prospectively measured in 191 patients within 6 h of the intensive care units (ICU) admission with diagnosis of sepsis. The cohort was divided into Tβ4 concentration tertiles: 1.19-7.11 ng/ml (n = 64), 7.12-11.01 ng/ml (n = 64), and 11.02-28.10 ng/ml (n = 63). RESULTS Of 191 patients, 92 patients developed AKI, 24 of whom received continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), 29 patients died within 7 days, and 53 patients died within 28 days. Lower Tβ4 stages were correlated with poor prognosis, including AKI(odds ratio [OR], 2.102 per stage lower; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.448 to 3.050; P < 0.001), CRRT(OR, 2.346 per stage lower; 95% CI, 1.287 to 4.276; P = 0.005), 7-day mortality(OR, 1.755 per stage lower; 95% CI, 1.050 to 2.935; P = 0.032), and 28-day mortality(OR, 1.821 per stage lower; 95% CI, 1.209 to 2.743; P = 0.004). Kaplan-Meier analysis also demonstrated that patients with lower Tβ4 stages had a high risk of AKI and death. In addition, the area under the curve (AUC) of Tβ4 for predicting AKI, CRRT, 7-day mortality, and 28-day mortality were, respectively, 0.702 (95% CI 0.628-0.776), 0.717 (95% CI 0.592-0.842), 0.694 (95% CI 0.579-0.808), and 0.682 (95% CI 0.598-0.767). CONCLUSIONS Lower Tβ4 stages are associated with higher odds of poor prognosis in ICU patients with sepsis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahao Zhang
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Minghui Long
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Zhongyi Sun
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Cheng Yang
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Xiaofang Jiang
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Li He
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
| | - Lianjiu Su
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
| | - Zhiyong Peng
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China; Hubei clinical research center for critical care medicine, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
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Li Y, Zhu X, Liu X, Du A, Yu B. MiR-200a mediates protection of thymosin beta 4 in cardiac microvascular endothelial cells as a novel mechanism under hypoxia-reoxygenation injury. J Cell Biochem 2017; 120:12069-12069. [PMID: 28857257 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.26381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [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: 06/18/2017] [Revised: 08/22/2017] [Accepted: 08/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Thymosin beta-4 (Tβ4) is a ubiquitous protein, which has been suggested to regulate multiple cell signal pathways and a variety of cellular functions. However, the role Tβ4 plays in the cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (CMECs) under myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI) is currently unknown. Here we investigated the effects of Tβ4 on hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) induced CMECs injury and its potential molecular mechanism. Cultured CMECs were positively identified by flow cytometry using antibody against CD31 and VWF/Factor VIII, which are constitutively expressed on the surface of CMECs. Then the reduced level of Tβ4 was detected in H/R-CMECs by RT-qPCR. In order to determine the effects of Tβ4 on H/R-CMECs, we transfected the overexpression or silence vector of Tβ4 into CMECs under H/R condition. Our results indicated that H/R treatment could reduce proliferation, increased apoptosis, adhesion and ROS production in CMECs, which were attenuated by Tβ4 overexpression or aggravated by Tβ4 silence, implying Tβ4 is able to promote CMECs against H/R-induced cell injury. Furthermore, the microRNA 200a (miR-200a) level was also increased by Tβ4 in H/R-CMECs or reduced by Tβ4 siRNA. To investigated the mechanism of protective effects of Tβ4 on CMECs injury, the miR-200a inhibitor was transfected into H/R-CMECs. The results indicated that inhibition of miR-200a inversed the protection of Tβ4 on H/R-CMECs, specifically including cell proliferation, cell adhesion, cell apoptosis and ROS production, as well as nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) nuclear translocation. In conclusion, our results determined that Tβ4 attenuated H/R induced CMECs injury by miR-200a-Nrf2 signaling. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Li
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, Liaoning, PR China
| | - Xiaolong Zhu
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, Liaoning, PR China
| | - Xiping Liu
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, Liaoning, PR China
| | - Aolin Du
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, Liaoning, PR China
| | - Bo Yu
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, Liaoning, PR China
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Şahin S, Ekinci O, Seçkin S, Dursun A. Thymosin beta-4 overexpression correlates with high-risk groups in gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors: A retrospective analysis by immunohistochemistry. Pathol Res Pract 2017; 213:1139-43. [PMID: 28756979 DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2017.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2017] [Revised: 06/01/2017] [Accepted: 07/02/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Thymosin beta-4 (Tβ4) is a protein that is linked to a number of important biological actions and recently tumor progression and poor prognosis of some tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate Tβ4 expression in gastric GISTs and correlate with some clinicopathological characteristics related with prognosis and clinical outcome in order to add further data to the current literature. METHODS Tβ4 antibody was applied to the 4μm-thick paraffin sections of 57 gastric GISTs by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS Tβ4 expression was found to be directly corrrelated with higher risk groups, tumor size, mitotic count, cellularity, and necrosis while it was inversely correlated with overall survival (OS) by univariate analysis (p=0.000, p=0.001, p=0.000, p=0.025, p=0.023, and p=0.042, respectively). The direct association between Tβ4 expression and risk groups were also supported by multivariate analysis (p=0.000, β=0.497, t=4.374). CONCLUSION Overexpression of Tβ4 was found to be related with predictive characteristics for tumor progression and adverse prognosis. Thus, we suggest that overexpression of Tβ4 might play a role in the progression of gastric GISTs and might be used as a potential prognostic tool as well as a target for novel therapies.
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Maccarrone G, Nischwitz S, Deininger SO, Hornung J, König FB, Stadelmann C, Turck CW, Weber F. MALDI imaging mass spectrometry analysis-A new approach for protein mapping in multiple sclerosis brain lesions. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 2016; 1047:131-140. [PMID: 27461358 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2016.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [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: 02/21/2016] [Accepted: 07/01/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system characterized by recurrent inflammatory demyelinating lesions in the early disease stage. Lesion formation and mechanisms leading to lesion remyelination are not fully understood. Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation Mass Spectrometry imaging (MALDI-IMS) is a technology which analyses proteins and peptides in tissue, preserves their spatial localization, and generates molecular maps within the tissue section. In a pilot study we employed MALDI imaging mass spectrometry to profile and identify peptides and proteins expressed in normal-appearing white matter, grey matter and multiple sclerosis brain lesions with different extents of remyelination. The unsupervised clustering analysis of the mass spectra generated images which reflected the tissue section morphology in luxol fast blue stain and in myelin basic protein immunohistochemistry. Lesions with low remyelination extent were defined by compounds with molecular weight smaller than 5300Da, while more completely remyelinated lesions showed compounds with molecular weights greater than 15,200Da. An in-depth analysis of the mass spectra enabled the detection of cortical lesions which were not seen by routine luxol fast blue histology. An ion mass, mainly distributed at the rim of multiple sclerosis lesions, was identified by liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry as thymosin beta-4, a protein known to be involved in cell migration and in restorative processes. The ion mass of thymosin beta-4 was profiled by MALDI imaging mass spectrometry in brain slides of 12 multiple sclerosis patients and validated by immunohistochemical analysis. In summary, our results demonstrate the ability of the MALDI-IMS technology to map proteins within the brain parenchyma and multiple sclerosis lesions and to identify potential markers involved in multiple sclerosis pathogenesis and/or remyelination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppina Maccarrone
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804 Munich, Germany; Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Germany
| | - Sandra Nischwitz
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | | | - Joachim Hornung
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Fatima Barbara König
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Str. 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany; Institut für Pathologie, Klinikum Kassel, Mönchebergstr. 41-43, 34125 Kassel, Germany
| | - Christine Stadelmann
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Str. 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christoph W Turck
- Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Germany
| | - Frank Weber
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804 Munich, Germany; Medical Park Bad Camberg, Obertorstr. 100-102, 65520 Bad Camberg, Germany.
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Li J, Zhang Y, Liu Y, Zhang Y, Xiang Z, Qu F, Yu Z. A thymosin beta-4 is involved in production of hemocytes and immune defense of Hong Kong oyster, Crassostrea hongkongensis. Dev Comp Immunol 2016; 57:1-9. [PMID: 26695126 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2015.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2015] [Revised: 12/10/2015] [Accepted: 12/11/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Thymosin beta-4 (Tβ4) is a ubiquitous protein with multiple and diverse intracellular and extracellular functions in vertebrates. In this study, the full-length cDNA of Tβ4 was cloned and identified in Crassostrea hongkongensis, designated as ChTβ4. The full-length cDNA of ChTβ4 consists of 530 bp with an open reading frame of 126 bp encoding a 41 amino acid polypeptide. SMART analysis indicated that there is one thymosin domain and a highly conserved actin-binding motif (18LKKTET23) in ChTβ4. In vivo injection of recombinant ChTβ4 protein could significantly increase total hemocytes count in oysters, and knockdown of the expression of ChTβ4 resulted in a significant decrease in the circulating hemocytes. Tissue distribution analysis revealed a ubiquitous presence of ChTβ4, with the highest expression in hemocytes. The upregulated transcripts of ChTβ4 in response to bacterial challenge and tissue injury suggest that ChTβ4 is involved in both innate immunity against pathogen infection and wound healing. Moreover, bacteria-clearance experiment showed ChTβ4 could facilitate the clearance of injected bacteria in oysters. In vivo injection with ChTβ4 resulted in reduction of the intracellular ROS in hemocytes, which was associated with increased expression of antioxidant enzymes Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase, and Glutathione Peroxidase (GPX) by pre-treatment with ChTβ4. These results suggest that ChTβ4 is a thymosin beta-4 homolog and plays a vital role in the immune defense of C. hongkongensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Li
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou 510301, China; South China Sea Bio-Resource Exploitation and Utilization Collaborative Innovation Center, China
| | - Yuehuan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou 510301, China; South China Sea Bio-Resource Exploitation and Utilization Collaborative Innovation Center, China
| | - Ying Liu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou 510301, China; South China Sea Bio-Resource Exploitation and Utilization Collaborative Innovation Center, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou 510301, China; South China Sea Bio-Resource Exploitation and Utilization Collaborative Innovation Center, China.
| | - Zhiming Xiang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou 510301, China; South China Sea Bio-Resource Exploitation and Utilization Collaborative Innovation Center, China
| | - Fufa Qu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou 510301, China; South China Sea Bio-Resource Exploitation and Utilization Collaborative Innovation Center, China
| | - Ziniu Yu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou 510301, China; South China Sea Bio-Resource Exploitation and Utilization Collaborative Innovation Center, China.
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Hinkel R, Ball HL, DiMaio JM, Shrivastava S, Thatcher JE, Singh AN, Sun X, Faskerti G, Olson EN, Kupatt C, Bock-Marquette I. C-terminal variable AGES domain of Thymosin β4: the molecule's primary contribution in support of post-ischemic cardiac function and repair. J Mol Cell Cardiol 2015; 87:113-25. [PMID: 26255251 DOI: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2015.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2015] [Revised: 06/12/2015] [Accepted: 07/08/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Repairing defective cardiac cells is important towards improving heart function. Due to the frequency and severity of ischemic heart disease, management of patients featuring this type of cardiac failure receives significant interest. Previously we discovered that Thymosin β4 (TB4), a 43 amino-acid secreted actin sequestering peptide, is beneficial for myocardial cell survival and coronary re-growth after infarction in adult mammals. Considering the regenerative potential of full-length TB4 in the heart, and that minimal structural variations alter TB4's influence on actin assembly and cell movement, we investigated how various TB4 domains affect cardiac cell behavior and post-ischemic mammalian heart function. We synthesized 17 domain combinations of full-length TB4 and analyzed their impact on embryonic cardiac cells in vitro, and after cardiac infarction in vivo. We discovered the domains of TB4 affect cardiac cell behavior distinctly. We revealed TB4 specific C-terminal tetrapeptide, AGES, increases embryonic cardiac cell migration and myocyte beating in culture, and improves adult mammalian heart function following ischemia. Investigating the molecular background and mechanism we discovered systemic injection of AGES enhances early myocyte survival by activating Akt-mediated signaling mechanisms, increases coronary vessel growth and inhibits inflammation in mice and pigs. Biodistribution analyses revealed cardiomyocytes uptake AGES efficiently in vitro and in vivo projecting a potential independent clinical utilization for the tetrapeptide. Our comprehensive domain investigations also suggest, preservation and/or restoration of cardiomyocyte communication is a target of TB4 and AGES, and critical to improve post-ischemic heart function in pigs. In summary, we identified the C-terminal four amino-acid variable end of TB4 as the essential and responsible domain for the molecule's full benefits in the hypoxic heart. Additionally, we introduced AGES as a novel, systemically applicable drug candidate to aid cardiac infarction in adult mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rabea Hinkel
- Internal Medicine I, University Clinic Grosshadern, Munich 81377, Germany
| | - Haydn L Ball
- Protein Chemistry Technology Center University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - J Michael DiMaio
- Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Santwana Shrivastava
- Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Jeffrey E Thatcher
- Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Ajay N Singh
- Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Xiankai Sun
- Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Gabor Faskerti
- University of Pecs, Faculty of Medicine, Szentagothai Research Centre, Pecs 7624, Hungary
| | - Eric N Olson
- Department of Molecular Biology University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Christian Kupatt
- Internal Medicine I, University Clinic Grosshadern, Munich 81377, Germany
| | - Ildiko Bock-Marquette
- Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA; University of Pecs, Faculty of Medicine, Szentagothai Research Centre, Pecs 7624, Hungary.
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Ryu YK, Lee JW, Moon EY. Thymosin Beta-4, Actin-Sequestering Protein Regulates Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Expression via Hypoxia-Inducible Nitric Oxide Production in HeLa Cervical Cancer Cells. Biomol Ther (Seoul) 2015; 23:19-25. [PMID: 25593639 PMCID: PMC4286745 DOI: 10.4062/biomolther.2014.101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [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: 09/11/2014] [Revised: 10/16/2014] [Accepted: 10/30/2014] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important regulator of neovascularization. Hypoxia inducible nitric oxide (NO) enhanced the expression of VEGF and thymosin beta-4 (Tβ4), actin sequestering protein. Here, we investigated whether NO-mediated VEGF expression could be regulated by Tβ4 expression in HeLa cervical cancer cells. Hypoxia inducible NO production and VEGF expression were reduced by small interference (si) RNA of Tβ4. Hypoxia response element (HRE)-luciferase activity and VEGF expression were increased by the treatment with N-(β-D-Glucopyranosyl)-N2-acetyl-S-nitroso-D, L-penicillaminamide (SNAP-1), to generate NO, which was inhibited by the inhibition of Tβ4 expression with Tβ4-siRNA. In hypoxic condition, HRE-luciferase activity and VEGF expression were inhibited by the treatment with NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), an inhibitor to nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which is accompanied with a decrease in Tβ4 expression. VEGF expression inhibited by L-NMMA treatment was restored by the transfection with pCMV-Tβ4 plasmids for Tβ4 overexpression. Taken together, these results suggest that Tβ4 could be a regulator for the expression of VEGF via the maintenance of NOS activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun-Kyoung Ryu
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Sejong University, Seoul 143-747, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae-Wook Lee
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Sejong University, Seoul 143-747, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun-Yi Moon
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Sejong University, Seoul 143-747, Republic of Korea
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