Heme induces rapid endothelial barrier dysfunction via the MKK3/p38MAPK axis.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: James J
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7414589 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Smoking is a major preventable risk factor for atherosclerosis. However, the causative link between cigarette smoke and atherosclerosis remains to be established. The objective of this study is to characterize the role of GTP cyclohydrolase 1 (GTPCH1), the rate-limiting enzyme for de novo tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) synthesis, in the smoking-accelerated atherosclerosis and the mechanism involved. In vitro, human umbilical vein endothelial cells were treated with nicotine, a major component of cigarette smoke, which reduced the mRNA and protein levels of GTPCH1 and led to endothelial dysfunction. GTPCH1 overexpression or sepiapterin could attenuate nicotine-reduced nitric oxide and -increased reactive oxygen species levels. Mechanistically, human antigen R (HuR) bound with the adenylateuridylate-rich elements of the GTPCH1 3' untranslated region and increased its stability; nicotine inhibited HuR translocation from the nucleus to cytosol, which downregulated GTPCH1. In vivo, nicotine induced endothelial dysfunction and promoted atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- mice, which were attenuated by GTPCH1 overexpression or BH4 supplement. Our findings may provide a novel and promising approach to atherosclerosis treatment.
| S-EPMC6201367 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundEngagement of the ?2 integrin, lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1), results in stabilization of T cell mRNA transcripts containing AU-rich elements (AREs) by inducing rapid nuclear-to-cytosolic translocation of the RNA-stabilizing protein, HuR. However, little is known regarding integrin-induced signaling cascades that affect mRNA catabolism. This study examines the role of the GTPases, Rac 1 and Rac 2, and their downstream effectors, in the LFA-1-induced effects on mRNA.Methodology/principal findingsEngagement of LFA-1 to its ligand, ICAM-1, in human peripheral T cells resulted in rapid activation of Rac1 and Rac2. siRNA-mediated knockdown of either Rac1 or Rac2 prevented LFA-1-stimulated stabilization of the labile transcripts encoding IFN-? and TNF-?, and integrin mediated IFN-? mRNA stabilization was absent in T cells obtained from Rac2 gene-deleted mice. LFA-1 engagement-induced translocation of HuR and stabilization of TNF- ? mRNA was lost in Jurkat cells deficient in the Rac guanine nucleotide exchange factor Vav-1 (J.Vav1). The transfection of J.Vav1 cells with constitutively active Rac1 or Rac2 stabilized a labile ?-globin reporter mRNA, in a HuR-dependent manner. Furthermore, LFA-1-mediated mRNA stabilization and HuR translocation in mouse splenic T cells was dependent on the phosphorylation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase, MKK3, and its target MAP kinase p38MAPK, and lost in T cells obtained from MKK3 gene-deleted mice.Conclusions/significanceCollectively, these results demonstrate that LFA-1-induced stabilization of ARE-containing mRNAs in T cells is dependent on HuR, and occurs through the Vav-1, Rac1/2, MKK3 and p38MAPK signaling cascade. This pathway constitutes a molecular switch that enhances immune and pro-inflammatory gene expression in T cells undergoing adhesion at sites of activation and effector function.
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Project description:Previous studies by our group as well as others have shown that acute adenosine exposure enhances lung vascular endothelial barrier integrity and protects against increased permeability lung edema. In contrast, there is growing evidence that sustained adenosine exposure has detrimental effects on the lungs, including lung edema. It is well established that adenosine modulates lung inflammation. However, little is known concerning the effect of sustained adenosine exposure on lung endothelial cells (ECs), which are critical to the maintenance of the alveolar-capillary barrier. We show that exogenous adenosine plus adenosine deaminase inhibitor caused sustained elevation of adenosine in lung ECs. This sustained adenosine exposure decreased EC barrier function, elevated cellular reactive oxygen species levels, and activated p38, JNK, and RhoA. Inhibition of equilibrative nucleoside transporters (ENTs) prevented sustained adenosine-induced p38 and JNK activation and EC barrier dysfunction. Inhibition of p38, JNK, or RhoA also partially attenuated sustained adenosine-induced EC barrier dysfunction. These data indicate that sustained adenosine exposure causes lung EC barrier dysfunction via ENT-dependent intracellular adenosine uptake and subsequent activation of p38, JNK, and RhoA. The antioxidant N-acetylcysteine and the NADPH inhibitor partially blunted sustained adenosine-induced JNK activation but were ineffective in attenuation of p38 activation or barrier dysfunction. p38 was activated exclusively in mitochondria, whereas JNK was activated in mitochondria and cytoplasm by sustained adenosine exposure. Our data further suggest that sustained adenosine exposure may cause mitochondrial oxidative stress, leading to activation of p38, JNK, and RhoA in mitochondria and resulting in EC barrier dysfunction.
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Project description:Circulating components of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), especially histones, are associated with tissue injury during inflammatory conditions like sepsis. Commonly used as a NET biomarker, citrullinated histone 3 (H3Cit) may also functionally contribute to the NET-associated inflammatory response. To this end, we sought to examine the role of H3Cit in mediating microvascular endothelial barrier dysfunction. Here we show that H3Cit can directly contribute to inflammatory injury by disrupting the microvascular endothelial barrier. We found that endothelial responses to H3Cit are characterized by cell-cell adherens junction opening and cytoskeleton reorganization with increased F-actin stress fibers. Several signaling pathways often implicated in the transduction of hyperpermeability, such as Rho and MLCK, did not appear to play a major role; however, the adenylyl cyclase activator forskolin blocked the endothelial barrier effect of H3Cit. Taken together, the data suggest that H3Cit-induced endothelial barrier dysfunction may hold promise to treat inflammatory injury.
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Project description:Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) is a rare, genetic premature aging disorder associated with severe atherosclerosis, often resulting in fatal heart attacks and strokes. Progerin, the mutant protein in HGPS, also is expressed in healthy individuals and may play a role in the development of atherosclerosis during physiologic aging. Here, we provide evidence for a primary involvement of vascular endothelium in the pathogenesis of accelerated atherosclerosis in HGPS. Expression of progerin in cultured human endothelial cells induces a dysfunctional phenotype, manifested by activation of multiple pro-inflammatory, pro-atherogenic genes. In particular, our data implicate endothelial-derived interleukin-1 (IL-1) as a key mediator of a pro-inflammatory vascular phenotype. Endothelial activation also is detectable in a mouse model of HGPS, and appears to be conveyed to neighboring vascular cells via autocrine and paracrine signaling. These new mechanistic insights into the vascular pathobiology of HGPS may have therapeutic implications for this disease. Genome-wide transcriptional profiling was carried out to assess functional phenotypic changes in endothelial cells (EC) as a result of progerin expression. Cultured EC were infected with an adenovirus expressing progerin (Ad-Progerin), and as a control, an adenovirus that did not express any construct (Ad-Null). Experiments were preformed with three different EC cultures.
2010-12-02 | E-GEOD-19270 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:BACKGROUND:Endothelial barrier dysfunction is central to the pathogenesis of sepsis-associated acute lung injury (ALI). Microtubule (MT) dynamics in vascular endothelium are crucial for the regulation of endothelial barrier function. Unfractionated heparin (UFH) possesses various biological activities, such as anti-inflammatory activity and endothelial barrier protection during sepsis. METHODS:Here, we investigated the effects and underlying mechanisms of UFH on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endothelial barrier dysfunction. C57BL/6 J mice were randomized into vehicle, UFH, LPS and LPS?+?UFH groups. Intraperitoneal injection of 30 mg/kg LPS was used to induce sepsis. Mice in the LPS?+?UFH group received intravenous UFH 0.5 h prior to LPS injection. Human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMECs) were cultured for analyzing the effects of UFH on LPS-induced and nocodazole-induced hyperpermeability, F-actin remodeling, and LPS-induced p38 MAPK activation. RESULTS:UFH pretreatment significantly attenuated LPS-induced pulmonary histopathological changes, and increased the lung W/D ratio and Evans blue accumulation in vivo. Both in vivo and in vitro studies showed that UFH pretreatment blocked the LPS-induced increase in guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF-H1) expression and myosin phosphatase target subunit 1 (MYPT1) phosphorylation, and microtubule (MT) disassembly in LPS-induced ALI mouse model and human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMECs). These results suggested that UFH ameliorated LPS-induced endothelial barrier dysfunction by inhibiting MT disassembly and GEF-H1 expression. In addition, UFH attenuated LPS-induced hyperpermeability of HPMECs and F-actin remodeling. In vitro, UFH pretreatment inhibited LPS-induced increase in monomeric tubulin expression and decrease in tubulin polymerization and acetylation. Meanwhile, UFH ameliorates nocodazole-induced MTs disassembly and endothelial barrier dysfunction.Additionally, UFH decreased p38 phosphorylation and activation, which was similar to the effect of the p38 MAPK inhibitor, SB203580. CONCLUSIONS:UFH exert its protective effects on pulmonary microvascular endothelial barrier dysfunction via microtubule stabilization and is associated with the p38 MAPK pathway.
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Project description:Lung hyperinflation is known to be an important contributing factor in the pathogenesis of ventilator-induced lung injury. Mechanical stretch causes epithelial barrier dysfunction and an increase in alveolar permeability, although the precise mechanisms have not been completely elucidated. p120-catenin is an adherens junction-associated protein that regulates cell-cell adhesion. In this study, we determined the role of p120-catenin in cyclic stretch-induced alveolar epithelial barrier dysfunction. Cultured alveolar epithelial cells (MLE-12) were subjected to uniform cyclic (0.5 Hz) biaxial stretch from 0 to 8 or 20% change in surface area for 0, 1, 2, or 4 h. At the end of the experiments, cells were lysed to determine p120-catenin expression by Western blot analysis. Immunofluorescence staining of p120-catenin and F-actin was performed to assess the integrity of monolayers and interepithelial gap formation. Compared with unstretched control cells, 20% stretch caused a significant loss in p120-catenin expression, which was coupled to interepithelial gap formation. p120-Catenin knockdown with small interfering RNA (siRNA) dose dependently increased stretch-induced gap formation, whereas overexpression of p120-catenin abolished stretch-induced gap formation. Furthermore, pharmacological calpain inhibition or depletion of calpain-1 with a specific siRNA prevented p120-catenin loss and subsequent stretch-induced gap formation. Our findings demonstrate that p120-catenin plays a critical protective role in cyclic stretch-induced alveolar barrier dysfunction, and, thus, maintenance of p120-catenin expression may be a novel therapeutic strategy for the prevention and treatment of ventilator-induced lung injury.
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Project description:Reactive oxygen species regulate canonical Wnt signaling. However, the role of the redox regulatory protein p66(Shc) in the canonical Wnt pathway is not known. We investigated whether p66(Shc) is essential for canonical Wnt signaling in the endothelium and determined whether the canonical Wnt pathway induces vascular endothelial dysfunction via p66(Shc)-mediated oxidative stress.The canonical Wnt ligand Wnt3a induced phosphorylation (activation) of p66(Shc) in endothelial cells. Wnt3a-stimulated dephosphorylation of ?-catenin, and ?-catenin-dependent transcription, was inhibited by knockdown of p66(Shc). Exogenous H2O2-induced ?-catenin dephosphorylation was also mediated by p66(Shc). Moreover, p66(Shc) overexpression dephosphorylated ?-catenin and increased ?-catenin-dependent transcription, independent of Wnt3a ligand. P66(Shc)-induced ?-catenin dephosphorylation was inhibited by antioxidants N-acetyl cysteine and catalase. Wnt3a upregulated endothelial NADPH oxidase-4, and ?-catenin dephosphorylation was suppressed by knocking down NADPH oxidase-4 and by antioxidants. Wnt3a increased H2O2 levels in endothelial cells and impaired endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation in mouse aortas, both of which were rescued by p66(Shc) knockdown. P66(Shc) knockdown also inhibited adhesion of monocytes to Wnt3a-stimulated endothelial cells. Furthermore, constitutively active ?-catenin expression in the endothelium increased vascular reactive oxygen species and impaired endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation. In vivo, high-fat diet feeding-induced endothelial dysfunction in mice was associated with increased endothelial Wnt3a, dephosphorylated ?-catenin, and phosphorylated p66(Shc). High-fat diet-induced dephosphorylation of endothelial ?-catenin was diminished in mice in which p66(Shc) was knocked down.p66(Shc) plays a vital part in canonical Wnt signaling in the endothelium and mediates Wnt3a-stimulated endothelial oxidative stress and dysfunction.
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Project description:IL-6/STAT3 pathway is involved in a variety of biological responses, including cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and inflammation. In our present study, we found that CO releasing molecules (CORMs) suppress IL-6-induced STAT3 phosphorylation, nuclear translocation and transactivity in endothelial cells (ECs). CO is a byproduct of heme degradation mediated by heme oxygenase (HO-1). However, CORMs can induce HO-1 expression and then inhibit STAT3 phosphorylation. CO has been found to increase a low level ROS and which may induce protein glutathionylation. We hypothesized that CORMs increases protein glutathionylation and inhibits STAT3 activation. We found that CORMs increase the intracellular GSSG level and induce the glutathionylation of multiple proteins including STAT3. GSSG can inhibit STAT3 phosphorylation and increase STAT3 glutathionylation whereas the antioxidant enzyme catalase can suppress the glutathionylation. Furthermore, catalase blocks the inhibition of STAT3 phosphorylation by CORMs treatment. The inhibition of glutathione synthesis by BSO was also found to attenuate STAT3 glutathionylation and its inhibition of STAT3 phosphorylation. We further found that HO-1 increases STAT3 glutathionylation and that HO-1 siRNA attenuates CORM-induced STAT3 glutathionylation. Hence, the inhibition of STAT3 activation is likely to occur via a CO-mediated increase in the GSSG level, which augments protein glutathionylation, and CO-induced HO-1 expression, which may enhance and maintain its effects in IL-6-treated ECs.
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