Project description:Chronic kidney disease is associated with progressive renal fibrosis, where perivascular cells give rise to the majority of α-SMA positive myofibroblasts. We sought to identify pericytic miRNAs that could serve as a target to decrease myofibroblast formation. We induced kidney fibrosis in FoxD1-GC;Z/Red-mice by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) followed by FACS sorting of dsRed-positive FoxD1-derivative cells and miRNA profiling. MiR-132 selectively increased 21-fold during pericyte-to-myofibroblast formation whereas miR-132 was only 2.5-fold up in total kidney lysates (both in UUO and ischemia-reperfusion injury). MiR-132 silencing in UUO decreased collagen deposition (35%) and tubular apoptosis. Immunohistochemistry, western blot and qRT-PCR confirmed a similar decrease in interstitial α-SMA+ cells. Pathway analysis identified a rate-limiting role for miR-132 in myofibroblast proliferation that was confirmed in vitro. Indeed, antagomir-132 treated mice displayed a reduction in the number of proliferating, ki67+ interstitial myofibroblasts. Interestingly, this was selective for the interstitial compartment and did not impair the reparative proliferation of tubular epithelial cells, as evidenced by an increase in ki67+ epithelial cells, as well as increased (p-)RB1, Cyclin-A and decreased RASA1, p21 levels in kidney lysates. Taken together, silencing miR-132 counteracts the progression of renal fibrosis by selectively decreasing myofibroblast proliferation and could potentially serve as a novel antifibrotic therapy. Total RNA obtained from FACS sorted mouse renal FoxD1-derivatve interstitial cells from mice that were treated with antagomir-132 or scramblemir and underwent UUO (n=4)
Project description:Chronic kidney disease is associated with progressive renal fibrosis, where perivascular cells give rise to the majority of α-SMA positive myofibroblasts. We sought to identify pericytic miRNAs that could serve as a target to decrease myofibroblast formation. We induced kidney fibrosis in FoxD1-GC;Z/Red-mice by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) followed by FACS sorting of dsRed-positive FoxD1-derivative cells and miRNA profiling. MiR-132 selectively increased 21-fold during pericyte-to-myofibroblast formation whereas miR-132 was only 2.5-fold up in total kidney lysates (both in UUO and ischemia-reperfusion injury). MiR-132 silencing in UUO decreased collagen deposition (35%) and tubular apoptosis. Immunohistochemistry, western blot and qRT-PCR confirmed a similar decrease in interstitial α-SMA+ cells. Pathway analysis identified a rate-limiting role for miR-132 in myofibroblast proliferation that was confirmed in vitro. Indeed, antagomir-132 treated mice displayed a reduction in the number of proliferating, ki67+ interstitial myofibroblasts. Interestingly, this was selective for the interstitial compartment and did not impair the reparative proliferation of tubular epithelial cells, as evidenced by an increase in ki67+ epithelial cells, as well as increased (p-)RB1, Cyclin-A and decreased RASA1, p21 levels in kidney lysates. Taken together, silencing miR-132 counteracts the progression of renal fibrosis by selectively decreasing myofibroblast proliferation and could potentially serve as a novel antifibrotic therapy. Total RNA obtained from FACS sorted mouse FoxD1-derivative interstitial cells from healthy or fibrotic kidneys
Project description:Chronic kidney disease is associated with progressive renal fibrosis, where perivascular cells give rise to the majority of α-SMA positive myofibroblasts. We sought to identify pericytic miRNAs that could serve as a target to decrease myofibroblast formation. We induced kidney fibrosis in FoxD1-GC;Z/Red-mice by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) followed by FACS sorting of dsRed-positive FoxD1-derivative cells and miRNA profiling. MiR-132 selectively increased 21-fold during pericyte-to-myofibroblast formation whereas miR-132 was only 2.5-fold up in total kidney lysates (both in UUO and ischemia-reperfusion injury). MiR-132 silencing in UUO decreased collagen deposition (35%) and tubular apoptosis. Immunohistochemistry, western blot and qRT-PCR confirmed a similar decrease in interstitial α-SMA+ cells. Pathway analysis identified a rate-limiting role for miR-132 in myofibroblast proliferation that was confirmed in vitro. Indeed, antagomir-132 treated mice displayed a reduction in the number of proliferating, ki67+ interstitial myofibroblasts. Interestingly, this was selective for the interstitial compartment and did not impair the reparative proliferation of tubular epithelial cells, as evidenced by an increase in ki67+ epithelial cells, as well as increased (p-)RB1, Cyclin-A and decreased RASA1, p21 levels in kidney lysates. Taken together, silencing miR-132 counteracts the progression of renal fibrosis by selectively decreasing myofibroblast proliferation and could potentially serve as a novel antifibrotic therapy.
Project description:Chronic kidney disease is associated with progressive renal fibrosis, where perivascular cells give rise to the majority of α-SMA positive myofibroblasts. We sought to identify pericytic miRNAs that could serve as a target to decrease myofibroblast formation. We induced kidney fibrosis in FoxD1-GC;Z/Red-mice by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) followed by FACS sorting of dsRed-positive FoxD1-derivative cells and miRNA profiling. MiR-132 selectively increased 21-fold during pericyte-to-myofibroblast formation whereas miR-132 was only 2.5-fold up in total kidney lysates (both in UUO and ischemia-reperfusion injury). MiR-132 silencing in UUO decreased collagen deposition (35%) and tubular apoptosis. Immunohistochemistry, western blot and qRT-PCR confirmed a similar decrease in interstitial α-SMA+ cells. Pathway analysis identified a rate-limiting role for miR-132 in myofibroblast proliferation that was confirmed in vitro. Indeed, antagomir-132 treated mice displayed a reduction in the number of proliferating, ki67+ interstitial myofibroblasts. Interestingly, this was selective for the interstitial compartment and did not impair the reparative proliferation of tubular epithelial cells, as evidenced by an increase in ki67+ epithelial cells, as well as increased (p-)RB1, Cyclin-A and decreased RASA1, p21 levels in kidney lysates. Taken together, silencing miR-132 counteracts the progression of renal fibrosis by selectively decreasing myofibroblast proliferation and could potentially serve as a novel antifibrotic therapy.
Project description:Despite some success of pharmacotherapies targeting primarily neurohormonal dysregulation, heart failure is a growing global pandemic with increasing burden. Treatments that improve the disease by reversing heart failure at the cardiomyocyte level are lacking. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are transcriptional regulators of gene expression, acting through complex biological networks, and playing thereby essential roles in disease progression. Adverse structural remodelling of the left ventricle due to myocardial infarction (MI) is a common pathological feature leading to heart failure. We previously demonstrated increased cardiomyocyte expression of the miR-212/132 family during pathological cardiac conditions. Transgenic mice overexpressing the miR-212/132 cluster (miR-212/132-TG) develop pathological cardiac remodelling and die prematurely from progressive HF. Using both knockout and antisense strategies, we have shown miR-132 to be both necessary and sufficient to drive the pathological growth of cardiomyocytes in a murine model of left ventricular pressure overload. Based on the findings, we proposed that miR-132 may serve as a therapeutic target in heart failure therapy. Here we provide novel mechanistic insight and translational evidence for the therapeutic efficacy in small and large animal models (n=135) of heart failure. We demonstrate strong PK/PD relationship, dose-dependent efficacy and high clinical potential of a novel optimized synthetic locked nucleic acid phosphorothioate backbone antisense oligonucleotide inhibitor of miR-132 (antimiR-132) as a next-generation heart failure therapeutic.
Project description:We overexpressed miR-212/132 by AAV9 in mouse model of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and wanted to identify myocardial targets of miR-212/132 in this model.
Project description:P21-activated kinase 1 (Pak1) is a key oncogenic kinase and a lot of work about the mechanism of Pak1 action in cancer have been reported, while it remains unknown whether Pak1 could potentially regulate the biology of regulatory miRNAs by new interacting substrate. Here, we identified that Pak1 modulated the miR-132 expression in gastric cancer cells. Pak1 interacted with and phosphorylated activating transcription factor-2 (ATF2) on Serine 62 (Ser62), which blocked ATF2 translocation into cell nucleus. We further demonstrated that ATF2 induced miR-132 transcription via binding to the miR-132 promoter in the -30 to -39 region. Moreover, overexpression of miR-132 in gastric cancer cells significantly reduced cell adhesion, migration and invasion in vitro and hematogenous metastasis in vivo. MiR-132 targeted CD44 and fibronectin (FN) and promoted lymphocytes to gather around gastric cancer cells and kill them. More importantly, downregulation of miR-132 in gastric cancer was specifically associated with hematogenous metastasis, instead of lymph node or implantation metastasis. Taken together, miR-132 is a key negative regulator in the hematogenous metastasis of gastric cancer. A novel cell signaling pathway Pak1-ATF2-miR-132-CD44/FN is established and may be a new therapeutic target for hematogenous metastasis of gastric caner.
Project description:Renal fibrosis is a common pathological endpoint that is challenging to reverse in chronic kidney disease (CKD) independently of the underlying causes. Although myofibroblasts are mainly responsible for the accumulation of a fibrillar collagen-rich extracellular matrix (ECM), recent reports revealed their heterogeneity in proliferative and fibrotic activities, mirroring specific metabolic states that drive fibrosis. Here, we investigate the role of E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase WWP2 in the metabolic reprogramming of renal myofibroblasts in fibrosis. The tubulointerstitial expression of WWP2 contributes to the progression of fibrosis in CKD patients and in pre-clinical models of CKD. WWP2 deficiency leads to increased fatty acid oxidation, boosting mitochondrial respiration, promoting myofibroblast proliferation and arresting pro-fibrotic activation, thus ameliorating kidney fibrosis. Specifically, WWP2 suppresses the transcription of PGC-1α, which mediates the metabolic and proliferative changes in fibrotic myofibroblasts. Pharmacological intervention targeting PGC-1α reverses the pro-fibrotic effect of WWP2. These findings reveal a previously unappreciated WWP2-PGC-1α axis underlying the metabolic reprogramming of myofibroblasts during renal fibrosis, which could provide a new target for therapeutic intervention in CKD.