Matrine From Sophora Flavescens Attenuates on Collagen-Induced Osteoarthritis by Modulating the Activity of miR-29B-3P/PGRN Axis

Matrine is an active ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine that has been shown to be effective in treating bone disorders. The anti-osteoarthritis (OA) effects of matrine were assessed using both in in vitro and in vivo systems, and the mechanisms underlying the effects were investigated by focusing on the activity of miR-29b-3p/PGRN axis. The miR was chosen as potential target for matrine after chondrocytes were treated with both IL-1? and matrine. Changes in cell viability, cell apoptosis, inflammation, and miR-29b-3p/PGRN axis were detected. In vitro assays results were validated using collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rat models. Incubation with IL-1? reduced cell viability, induced cell apoptosis, and inhibited production of cytokines in chondrocytes, which was associated with the up-regulation of miR-29b-3p and down-regulation of PGRN. In CIA rats, matrine reduced bone destruction and weight loss in a dose-dependent manner. Matrine also reduced the systemic levels of cytokines. At the molecular level, matrine inhibited the expression of miR-29b-3p while increasing the expression of PGRN. The findings outlined in the current study showed that matrine exerted its anti-OA effects by modulating the miR-29b-3p/PGRN axis.

Refining frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17: introducing FTDP-17 (MAPT) and FTDP-17 (PGRN)

Frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism (FTDP) is a major neurodegenerative syndrome, particularly for those with symptoms beginning before age 65 years. A spectrum of degenerative disorders can present as sporadic or familial FTDP. Mutations in the gene encoding the microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT; OMIM +157140) on chromosome 17 have been found in many kindreds with familial FTDP. Several other kindreds with FTDP had been linked to chromosome 17, but they had ubiquitin-positive inclusions rather than tauopathy pathology and no mutations in MAPT. This conundrum was solved in 2006 with the identification of mutations in the gene encoding progranulin (PGRN; OMIM *138945), which is only 1.7 Mb centromeric to MAPT on chromosome 17. In this review, we compare and contrast the demographic, clinical, radiologic, neuropathologic, genetic, and pathophysiologic features in patients with FTDP linked to mutations in MAPT and PGRN, highlighting the many similarities but also a few important differences. Our findings describe an intriguing oddity of nature in which 2 genes can cause a similar phenotype through apparently different mechanisms yet reside so near to each other on the same chromosome.