Project description:Transcriptional profiling of mouse VSMCs comparing control with VSMCs cultured with TNF-α Apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is a process that regulates vessel remodeling in various cardiovascular diseases. The specific mechanisms that control VSMC apoptosis remain unclear. The present study aimed to investigate whether microRNA-494 (miR-494) is involved in regulating VSMC apoptosis and its underlying mechanisms. Cell death ELISA and terminal deoxynucleotidyl-transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling assays were used to detect apoptosis of murine VSMCs following stimulation with tumor necrosis factor(TNF-α). The results indicated that TNF-α-upregulated VSMC apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Microarray analysis was used to evaluate the expression profile of microRNAs following TNF-α-stimulation in murine VSMCs. The expression of miR-494 was downregulated, whereas B-cell lymphoma 2-like 11 (BCL2L11) protein expression levels were upregulated in VSMCs following treatment with TNF- . Luciferase reporter assays confirmed that BCL2L11 was a direct target of miR-494. Transfection with miR-494 mimics decreased VSMC apoptosis and downregulated BCL2L11 protein levels. Conversely, transfection with miR-494 inhibitors increased cell apoptosis and upregulated BCL2L11 protein levels, suggesting that miR-494 may function as an essential regulator of BCL2L11. The increase in apoptosis caused by miR-494 inhibitors was abolished in cells co-transfected with BCL2L11-targeting small interfering RNA. The findings of the present study revealed that miR-494 inhibited TNF-α-induced VSMC apoptosis by downregulating the expression of BCL2L11.
Project description:G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) have diverse roles in physiological processes, including immunity. Gs-coupled GPCRs increase while Gi-coupled ones decrease intracellular cAMP. Previous studies suggest that, in epithelial cells, Gs-coupled GPCRs enhance whereas Gi-coupled GPCRs suppress pro-inflammatory immune responses. In order to examine the issue, we chose beta2 adrenergic receptor and GPR40 as representatives of Gs- and Gi- coupled GPCRs, respectively, and examined their effects on TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma-(TNF-alpha + IFN-gamma) induced gene expression by HaCaT. We used microarrays to detail the global changes of gene expression induced by a beta2 adrenergic receptor agonist terbutaline or GPR40 agonist GW9508 pre-treatment in TNF-alpha + IFN-gamma - stimulated HaCaT cells. HaCaT cells were pre-treated with terbutaline or GW9508, TNF-alpha + IFN-gamma were then added, and cultured for another 24 h. Cells were then used for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays. We sought to clarify changes in gene expression after 1) TNF-alpha + IFN-gamma, 2) TNF-alpha + IFN-gamma + terbutaline, and 3) TNF-alpha + IFN-gamma + GW9508 treatment. To this end, we set 4 groups of samples; 1) unstimulated group, 2) TNF-alpha + IFN-gamma-stimulated group, 3) TNF-alpha + IFN-gamma + terbutaline-stimulated group, and 4) TNF-alpha + IFN-gamma + GW9508-stimulated group. In each group, HaCaT cells were stimulated in triplicate wells (n=3).
Project description:Endothelial-mesenchymal-transition (EndMT) is an important source of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which are known to facilitate tumor progression. We have previously shown that EndMT is present in pancreatic tumors and that deficiency of the Tie1 receptor induces EndMT in human endothelial cells. Pancreatic tumors are characterized by the presence of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). We now show that TNF-α strongly induces human endothelial cells to undergo EndMT. In order to know the secretory feature of cells which undergo EndMT by TNF-α, we conducted a comparative analysis of HMVEC secretome treated or not for 24h and 48h with TNF-α. Secretome study shows that cells treated with TNF-α have an important fibroblast-like secretory capacity, and a proinflamatory signature. Moreover, Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) shows that pathways implicated in migration, inflammation and fibrosis are predicted to be activated and that necrosis and apoptosis pathways are inhibited. Accordingly cell survival, viability and cycle progression are activated. We show that TNF-α- treated cells secrete proteins related to 16 protumoral pathways, confirming their fibroblastic characteristic. Finally, among the predicted upstream regulators activated, IPA analysis shows that, TNFSF12 and its receptor are present at hight levels in PDAC patients. Altogether these results show the fibroblastic characteristic of treated cells and demonstrate that TNF-α induces CAFs.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of TNF-α treated HUVECs comparing cells transfected microRNA negative control with cells transfected with miR-181b.
Project description:Pro-inflammatory response of VSMCs is triggered by endothelial damage and a causative step for thrombosis and neointimal thickening in the arterial vessels. Therefore, we investigate a role of cytosolic Hsp60 as a novel pro-inflammatory mediator in VSMCs. Hsp60 was detected in the cytosol of VSMCs. The selective depletion of cytosolic Hsp60 in VSMCs reduced the IKK activation, repressed the induction of NF-κB-dependent pro-survival genes (MnSOD and Bfl-1/A1), and enhanced apoptotic death in response to TNF-α. Moreover, a quantitative RNA sequencing revealed that the expression of 75 genes among the 774 TNF-α-inducible genes was significantly reduced by the depletion of cytosolic Hsp60. In particular, the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines, such as CCL2, CCL20, and IL-6, was regulated by the cytosolic Hsp60 in VSMCs. Finally, the depletion of cytosolic Hsp60 markedly inhibited the neointimal thickening in the balloon-injured arterial vessels by inducing apoptotic cell death and inhibiting chemokine production. This study provides the first evidence that cytosolic Hsp60 could be a therapeutic target for preventing inflammation-driven VSMC hyperplasia in the injured vessels. Hsp60 normal vs knockout with TNF-alpha treatment
Project description:TNF-alpha has a number of pro-atherogenic effects in macrovascular endothelial cells, including induction of leukocyte adhesion molecules and chemokines. We investigated the role of acyl-CoA synthetase 3 (ACSL3) in the response of cultured human macrovascular endothelial cells to TNF-alpha. TNF-alpha induced ACSL3 both in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs). RNA sequencing demonstrated that knockdown of ACSL3 had no marked effects on the TNF-alpha transcriptome in HCAECs. Instead, ACSL3 was required for TNF-alpha-induced lipid droplet formation from fatty acids.
Project description:Primary human skeletal muscle cells (hSkMCs) were cultured in growth medium and a fraction of dishes was switched to differentiation medium and to differentiation medium containing 2 x 103 U/ml human recombinant TNF-alpha (Roche Applied Science, Basel, Switzerland), respectively. hSkMCs cells were harvested 24 h (myoblasts day one and myotubes day one without and with 2 x 103 U/ml TNF-alpha, respectively,) after the induction of differentiation. The experiments were performed in triplicates.
Project description:Graves’ disease is characterized by goiter, palpitation and exophthalmos (Merseburg’s trias). However, a few patients develop exophthalmos even though their thyroid function is normal, a condition known as euthyroid Graves’ disease (EGD). It remains unknown why these patients remain euthyroid, even though they have potent thyroid-stimulating antibody (TSAb). To investigate whether the immunoglobulins (IgGs) obtained from EGD patients elicit thyroid hormone-releasing activity (THRA), thyroid follicles obtained from Graves’ patients were cultured in agarose-coated culture dishes, and 125I incorporated into the thyroid follicles and organic 125I (mainly de novo-synthesized 125I-T3+125I-T4) released into the culture medium by TSH or purified IgGs were determined as thyroid hormone-releasing activity (THRA). This thyroid follicle culture system allows maintenance of the Wolff-Chaikoff effect, and the expression of mRNA for the sodium-iodide symporter is decreased by high concentrations of iodide (10-6-10-4M) and therapeutic concentrations of amiodarone (1-2microM). hTSH elicited THRA most efficiently at 0.4-10 microU/ml, suggesting that thyroid function is controlled within the normal range of TSH concentration (0.4-4.0 microU/ml). All IgGs obtained from hyperthyroid Graves’ patients elicited THRA equivalent to more than 4.6 microU/ml hTSH. IgGs obtained from EGD patients also had potent THRA, whereas IgGs obtained from normal subjects and Graves’ patients in complete remission had no significant THRA. When thyroid follicles from Graves’ thyroid, into which a number of lymphocytes had infiltrated, were used, only slight THRA was elicited by bTSH or Graves’ IgGs, probably due to inflammatory cytokines produced by immunocompetent cells that could not be separated during gentle centrifugation. Indeed, when thyroid follicles were cultured with autologous intrathyroidal lymphocytes, interleukin-2 completely abolished TSH-induced THRA. When thyroid follicles were cultured with inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1, tumor-necrosis factor-alpha, or interferon-gamma), each cytokine inhibited TSH-induced THRA in a concentration-dependent manner. These cytokines at lower concentrations synergistically and completely inhibited TSH-induced THRA. Microarray analyses of thyroid follicles cultured with IL-1alpha, TNF-alpha, or INF-gamma revealed decreased expression of mRNAs for TSHR, NIS, TPO and thyroglobulin, accompanied by increased expression of mRNAs for chemokines and cytokines. These findings suggest that IgGs obtained from patients with EGD have potent THRA in vitro, whereas in vivo, these IgGs are unable to elicit biological activity in the thyroid gland. Presumably, immunocompetent cells that infiltrate the thyroid gland produce inflammatory cytokines that synergistically inhibit thyroid function. Since a similar phenomenon may occur in the retroorbital tissues, these patients may develop exophthalmos despite having a normal serum level of TSH. This data will be published in Hyperthyroidism: Etiology, Diagnosis and Treatment (editor-in-chief;Dr.Frank Clumbus,Nova Science Publishers, Inc, New York, USA) Experiment Overall Design: One conditioned experiments: control vs. IL-1 alpha 5ng/ml, cultured for 24 hours; control vs. TNF alpha 20ng/ml, cultured for 24 hours; control vs. IFN gamma 1000U/ml, cultured for 48 hours.