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Zika virus degrades the ?-3 fatty acid transporter Mfsd2a in brain microvascular endothelial cells and impairs lipid homeostasis.

ABSTRACT: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy increases the risk of postnatal microcephaly. Neurovascular function provides a homeostatic environment for proper brain development. The major facilitator superfamily domain-containing protein 2 (Mfsd2a) is selectively expressed in human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMECs) and is the major transporter mediating the brain uptake of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). We have discovered a pivotal role for Mfsd2a in the pathogenesis of ZIKV. ZIKV disrupted Mfsd2a both in cultured primary hBMECs and in the neonatal mouse brain. ZIKV envelope (E) protein specifically interacted with Mfsd2a and promoted Mfsd2a polyubiquitination for proteasome-dependent degradation. Infection with ZIKV or ectopic expression of ZIKV E impaired Mfsd2a-mediated DHA uptake. Lipidomic analysis revealed obvious differences in DHA-containing lipids after ZIKV infection. Supplementation with DHA rescued ZIKV-caused growth restriction and microcephaly. Our findings suggest endothelial Mfsd2a as an important pathogenic mediator and supplementation with DHA as a potential therapeutic option for ZIKV infection.

SUBMITTER: Zhou J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6810275 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Zika virus degrades the ω-3 fatty acid transporter Mfsd2a in brain microvascular endothelial cells and impairs lipid homeostasis.

Zhou Jia J Chi Xiaojing X Cheng Min M Huang Xingyao X Liu Xiuying X Fan Jingjing J Xu Hua H Lin Tianli T Shi Lei L Qin Chengfeng C Yang Wei W

Science advances 20191023 10

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy increases the risk of postnatal microcephaly. Neurovascular function provides a homeostatic environment for proper brain development. The major facilitator superfamily domain-containing protein 2 (Mfsd2a) is selectively expressed in human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMECs) and is the major transporter mediating the brain uptake of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). We have discovered a pivotal role for Mfsd2a in the pathogenesis of ZIKV. ZIKV dis ...[more]

PMID: 31681849

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Project description:The intrinsic connection between inflammation and tumor promotion is well characterized and is a key pathogenic event in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), the second most common cause of tumor-related death in western countries. Environmental factors and chronic inflammation represent the major causes of intestinal carcinogenesis. In fact, patients suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases, including Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis (UC), have high risk of developing colitis-associated CRC with poor prognoses. Therefore, targeting the cancer-associated inflammation may offer new avenues for cancer treatment. In fact, several anti-inflammatory drugs, have been used for prophylaxis and have shown efficacy in contrasting cancer, despite various adverse side effects. Thus, there is an urgent need to discover novel cancer-associated mechanisms to develop alternative therapies that may reduce aberrant inflammatory responses without interfering with physiological defenses against infection and functional anti-tumor immunity. A novel approach promoting anti-tumor immunity has been recently proposed after the discovery of potent, endogenous, specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs), including lipoxins, resolvins, protectins, and maresins, mainly derived from omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) via COX, LOX and CYP450 pathways, mediated by MFSD2A. Due to the potent bioactivity of SPMs in resolving inflammation and because of the correlation between inflammation and cancer, the roles of these lipid mediators have attracted great attention for their potential therapeutic role in cancer treatment, including CRC. Nevertheless, the understanding of the endogenous mechanisms that limit the inflammatory response during CRC development is incomplete and requires further investigation. Based on the preliminary results indicating that dysfunctional MFSD2A-dependent pro-resolving pathways may foster CRC development, the investigators aim to define the functional role of MFSD2A in orchestrating pro-resolving pathways in the intestinal endothelium of metastatic and not metastatic CRC patients. This is a cross-sectional single-center observational study involving patients with CRC. The investigators will enroll 15 patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) stratified by tumor stage (T0 / T1-T4, M0 / M1, N0 / N1 / N2) undergoing surgery in the Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy unit within Gastro Center (IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele). Human Intestinal Microvascular Endothelial Cells (HIMEC) will be generated from each sample of cancer surgical specimens, while the healthy cells will be derived from the healthy margins of the colorectal resection of the same CRC patients. MFSD2A will be overexpressed or silenced and the investigators will evaluate its biological effects in both tumor-derived HIMECs and healthy tissue-derived HIMECs through transcriptomics and lipidomics analysis. The investigators will also exploit a possible novel therapy based on the delivery of MFSD2A encoding plasmid-conjugated liposomes.

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Zika virus degrades the ?-3 fatty acid transporter Mfsd2a in brain microvascular endothelial cells and impairs lipid homeostasis.

Publications

Zika virus degrades the ω-3 fatty acid transporter Mfsd2a in brain microvascular endothelial cells and impairs lipid homeostasis.

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