Project description:Owing to the limited regenerative capacity of articular cartilage, damaged cartilage does not spontaneously heal over time. Various scientific efforts have been made to improve damaged articular cartilage. Nevertheless, no single approach has achieved a promising outcome for the damaged cartilage. Meanwhile, owing to the increasing cost of drug development, drug repositioning has been actively attempted. We aimed to identify the drug that can improve the cartilage defect, using chondrogenesis related microarray data recruited from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) public database. Furthermore, we attempted to experiment using cellular and animal models to verify the cartilage regeneration potential for the identified drug. To screen for drugs that promote cartilage restoring, chondrogenesis related microarray data were collected from the GEO public database. The GSE69110, GSE107649, GSE111822, and GSE116173 datasets from the GEO were used to identify cartilage differentiation-related genes. Differentially expressed genes were identified using StringTie, and drug data were extracted from the Drug-Gene Interaction database. The effect of aripiprazole on cartilage was evaluated in aripiprazole-treated adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) and chondrocyte using qRT-PCR and 3D pellet culture. The cartilage restoring efficacy was verified in vivo by mixing it with a scaffold and introducing it into the artificially damaged cartilage of Sprague-Dawley rats. Next, mRNA was sequenced for mechanistic analysis. As a result, aripiprazole significantly increased the mRNA expression of COL2A1 and SOX9, two cartilage differentiation-related genes, and chondrogenic condensation in vitro. Moreover, it effectively promoted cartilage regeneration in the cartilage defect rat model. Analysis of mRNA sequencing data from chondrocyte treated with aripiprazole, using KEGG and GOBP, indicated that aripiprazole significantly upregulates genes associated with ribosomes and cytoplasmic translation, thus promoting chondrogenesis. In conclusion, we discovered that aripiprazole can effectively improve damaged cartilage, providing a promising approach for cartilage regeneration.
Project description:Clinical trials of novel therapeutics for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) have consumed a large amount of time and resources with largely negative results. Repurposing drugs already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for another indication is a more rapid and less expensive option. In this study, we profile 80 FDA-approved and clinically tested drugs in neural cell cultures, with the goal of producing a ranked list of possible repurposing candidates.
Project description:we present a novel path to drug repurposing to identify new immunotherapies for ASCVD. The integration of time of-flight mass cytometry (CyTOF) and RNA-sequencing identified unique inflammatory signatures in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) stimulated with ASCVD plasma. By comparing these inflammatory signatures to large-scale gene expression data from the LINCS L1000 dataset, we identified drugs that could reverse this inflammatory response. In conclusion, a systems immunology-driven drug repurposing with pre- clinical validation strategy can aid the development of new cardiovascular immunotherapies.
Project description:we present a novel path to drug repurposing to identify new immunotherapies for ASCVD. The integration of time of-flight mass cytometry (CyTOF) and RNA-sequencing identified unique inflammatory signatures in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) stimulated with ASCVD plasma. By comparing these inflammatory signatures to large-scale gene expression data from the LINCS L1000 dataset, we identified drugs that could reverse this inflammatory response. In conclusion, a systems immunology-driven drug repurposing with pre- clinical validation strategy can aid the development of new cardiovascular immunotherapies.
Project description:we present a novel path to drug repurposing to identify new immunotherapies for ASCVD. The integration of time of-flight mass cytometry (CyTOF) and RNA-sequencing identified unique inflammatory signatures in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) stimulated with ASCVD plasma. By comparing these inflammatory signatures to large-scale gene expression data from the LINCS L1000 dataset, we identified drugs that could reverse this inflammatory response. In conclusion, a systems immunology-driven drug repurposing with pre- clinical validation strategy can aid the development of new cardiovascular immunotherapies.
Project description:The global burden of tuberculosis (TB) is aggravated by the continuously increasing emergence of drug resistance, highlighting the need for innovative therapeutic options. The concept of host-directed therapy (HDT) as adjunctive to classical antibacterial therapy with antibiotics represents a novel and promising approach for treating TB. Here, we have focused on repurposing the clinically used anticancer drug tamoxifen, which was identified as a molecule with strong host-directed activity against intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Using a primary human macrophage Mtb infection model, we demonstrate the potential of tamoxifen against drug-sensitive as well as drug-resistant Mtb bacteria. The therapeutic effect of tamoxifen was confirmed in an in vivo TB model based on Mycobacterium marinum infection of zebrafish larvae. Tamoxifen had no direct antimicrobial effects at the concentrations used, confirming that tamoxifen acted as an HDT drug. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the antimycobacterial effect of tamoxifen is independent of its well-known target the estrogen receptor (ER) pathway, but instead acts by modulating autophagy, in particular the lysosomal pathway. Through RNA sequencing and microscopic colocalization studies, we show that tamoxifen stimulates lysosomal activation and increases the localization of mycobacteria in lysosomes both in vitro and in vivo, while inhibition of lysosomal activity during tamoxifen treatment partly restores mycobacterial survival. Thus, our work highlights the HDT potential of tamoxifen and proposes it as a repurposed molecule for the treatment of TB.
Project description:Directed differentiation of stem cells toward chondrogenesis in vitro and in situ to regenerate cartilage suffers from off-target differentiation and hypertrophic tendency. Here, we generated a cartilaginous organoid system from human expanded pluripotent stem cells (hEPSCs) carrying a COL2A1mCherry and COL10A1eGFP double reporter, enabling real-time monitoring of chondrogenesis and hypertrophy. After screening 2,040 FDA-approved drugs, we found that α-adrenergic receptor (α-AR) antagonists, especially phentolamine, stimulated chondrogenesis but repressed hypertrophy, while α2-AR agonists reduced chondrogenesis and induced hypertrophy. Phentolamine prevented cartilage degeneration in hEPSC cartilaginous organoid and human cartilage explant models and stimulated microfracture-activated endogenous skeletal stem cells toward hyaline-like cartilage regeneration without fibrotic degeneration in situ. Mechanistically, α2-AR signaling induced hypertrophic degeneration via cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) production. SLPI-deleted cartilaginous organoid was degeneration resistant, facilitating large cartilage defect healing. Ultimately, targeting α2-AR/SLPI was a promising and clinically feasible strategy to regenerate cartilage via promoting chondrogenesis and repressing hypertrophy.
Project description:Directed differentiation of stem cells toward chondrogenesis in vitro and in situ to regenerate cartilage suffers from off-target differentiation and hypertrophic tendency. Here, we generated a cartilaginous organoid system from human expanded pluripotent stem cells (hEPSCs) carrying a COL2A1mCherry and COL10A1eGFP double reporter, enabling real-time monitoring of chondrogenesis and hypertrophy. After screening 2,040 FDA-approved drugs, we found that α-adrenergic receptor (α-AR) antagonists, especially phentolamine, stimulated chondrogenesis but repressed hypertrophy, while α2-AR agonists reduced chondrogenesis and induced hypertrophy. Phentolamine prevented cartilage degeneration in hEPSC cartilaginous organoid and human cartilage explant models and stimulated microfracture-activated endogenous skeletal stem cells toward hyaline-like cartilage regeneration without fibrotic degeneration in situ. Mechanistically, α2-AR signaling induced hypertrophic degeneration via cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) production. SLPI-deleted cartilaginous organoid was degeneration resistant, facilitating large cartilage defect healing. Ultimately, targeting α2-AR/SLPI was a promising and clinically feasible strategy to regenerate cartilage via promoting chondrogenesis and repressing hypertrophy.