Project description:Cerebral aneurysms (CA) are a type of vascular disease that causes significant morbidity and mortality with rupture. Dysfunction of the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from circle of Willis (CoW) vessels mediates CA formation as they are the major cell type of the arterial wall and play a role in maintaining vessel integrity. Dimethyl fumarate (DMF), a first-line oral treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, has been shown to inhibit VSMC proliferation and reduce CA formation in a mouse model. Potential unwanted side effects of DMF on VSMC function have not been investigated yet. The present study characterizes the impact of DMF on VSMC using scRNA-seq in CoW vessels following CA induction and further explores its role in mitochondrial function using in vitro VSMC cultures. Two weeks of DMF treatment following CA induction impaired the transcription of the glutathione redox system and downregulated mitochondrial respiration genes in VSMCs. In vitro, DMF treatment increased lactate formation and enhanced the mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These effects rendered VSMCs vul-nerable to oxidative stress and led to mitochondrial dysfunction and enhancement of apoptosis. Taken together, our data support the concept that the DMF-mediated antiproliferative effect on VSMCs is linked to disturbed antioxidative functions resulting in altered mitochondrial metabo-lism. This negative impact of DMF treatment on VSMCs may be linked to preexisting alterations of cerebrovascular function due to renal hypertension. Therefore, before severe adverse effects emerge, it would be clinically relevant to develop indices or biomarkers linked to this disturbed antioxidative function to monitor patients undergoing DMF treatment.
Project description:We propose a strategy to boost the therapeutic efficacy of Oncolytic therapy by combining it with fumaric acid ester such as Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) The mechanism of action was examined by microarray analysis using the Affymetrix Human PrimeView Array.
Project description:Primary human and mouse T cells were treated with the multiple sclerosis drug dimethyl fumarate (DMF) or its in vivo metabolite monomethyl fumarate (MMF). Cysteines sensitive to DMF or MMF were identified using iodoacetamide alkyne enrichment.
Project description:Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is an immunomodulatory treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) that can cross the blood-brain barrier, presenting neuroprotective potential. Its mechanism of action is not fully understood and there is a need to characterize if DMF or its bioactive metabolite monomethyl fumarate (MMF) exert neuroprotective properties. The combination of adjuvant agents such as cannabidiol (CBD) could be relevant to enhance neuroprotection. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of DMF, MMF and CBD on neuroprotective and immunomodulatory pathways in neurons and microglia in vitro. We found that DMF and CBD, but not MMF, activated the Nrf2 antioxidant pathway in neurons. Similarly, only DMF and CBD, but not MMF, prevented the LPS-induced activation of the inflammatory pathway NF-kB in microglia. However, the 3 drugs inhibited the production of nitric oxide in microglia and protected neurons against apoptosis. Transcriptomically, DMF, MMF and CBD exhibited differential effects on these pathways, with DMF achieving the most pronounced changes. Our results show that DMF and MMF, despite being structurally related, present differences in their mechanisms of action that could be relevant for the achievement of neuroprotection in MS patients and the potential of CBD as an adjuvant therapy in neuroprotection.
Project description:Differential neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of dimethyl fumarate, monomethyl fumarate and cannabidiol in neurons and microglia
Project description:Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is an immunomodulatory treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) that can cross the blood-brain barrier, presenting neuroprotective potential. Its mechanism of action is not fully understood and there is a need to characterize if DMF or its bioactive metabolite monomethyl fumarate (MMF) exert neuroprotective properties. The combination of adjuvant agents such as cannabidiol (CBD) could be relevant to enhance neuroprotection. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of DMF, MMF and CBD on neuroprotective and immunomodulatory pathways in neurons and microglia in vitro. We found that DMF and CBD, but not MMF, activated the Nrf2 antioxidant pathway in neurons. Similarly, only DMF and CBD, but not MMF, prevented the LPS-induced activation of the inflammatory pathway NF-kB in microglia. However, the 3 drugs inhibited the production of nitric oxide in microglia and protected neurons against apoptosis. Transcriptomically, DMF, MMF and CBD exhibited differential effects on these pathways, with DMF achieving the most pronounced changes. Our results show that DMF and MMF, despite being structurally related, present differences in their mechanisms of action that could be relevant for the achievement of neuroprotection in MS patients and the potential of CBD as an adjuvant therapy in neuroprotection.
Project description:Differential neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of dimethyl fumarate, monomethyl fumarate and cannabidiol in neurons and microglia [Mouse]
Project description:Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is an oral drug approved for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) that leads to reduction of neurofilament light (NFL). This may be related to dynamics and persistence of microRNA signatures in the peripheral blood of treatment-naïve MS patients before and after dimethyl fumarate (DMF) at different time points. 210 blood samples were collected from 51 treatment-naïve patients at baseline (BL) and after 1-3, 4-7, 9-15 and 21-27 months of DMF and from 22 controls from the phase IV TREMEND trial. Using microarray, 1,085 miRNAs were two-folds above the background and compared versus NFL. Altered miRNA profiles peaked after 4-7 months. MiR-16-5p and miR-4306, involved in the NF-kB-pathway, were upregulated in low NFL samples, while miR-940 and miR-4665-3p were upregulated in high NFL samples. NFL and miRNA correlations were strongest after 4-7 months DMF. In four patients with blood samples taken at all 5 time points, time-series analysis found miR-146a-5p, the inhibitor of the NF-kB-pathway, increased 1-3 months after treatment. DMF induces dynamic changes in composite miRNA profiles 4-7 months after initiation, several involved in the NF-kB-pathway. Upregulation of miR-16-5p and miR-4306 in low-NFL, while miR-940 and miR-4665-3p in high-NFL samples may indicate a response to DMF treatment.