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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2021/6611085.].
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Atherosclerosis and its sequelae, such as coronary artery disease (CAD), are the most common diseases worldwide and the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in most countries. Our previous studies have shown that circulating secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP4) levels are increased in patients with CAD. However, the role of SFRP4 in the development of atherosclerosis remains unclear; thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of SFRP4 on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced atherosclerosis and explore the possible mechanisms. In this study, we found for the first time that administration of recombinant SFRP4 alleviates atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- mice by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. In addition, the anti-atherosclerotic effect of SFRP4 was associated with inhibition of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, and Wnt1 overexpression abolished the anti-atherosclerotic effects of SFRP4. Taken together, our results highlight the potential beneficial effect of SFRP4 as a therapeutic agent for atherosclerosis and CAD.
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Aterosclerosis , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas/metabolismo , Animales , Aterosclerosis/tratamiento farmacológico , Humanos , Inflamación/tratamiento farmacológico , Inflamación/metabolismo , Péptidos y Proteínas de Señalización Intracelular , Ratones , Estrés OxidativoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Interleukin-16 (IL-16) is an important inflammatory regulator and has been shown to have a powerful effect on the regulation of the inflammatory response. Cardiac inflammation has been reported to be closely related to doxorubicin- (DOX-) induced cardiac injury. In this study, the role of IL-16 in DOX-induced cardiac injury and the possible mechanisms were examined. METHODS: Cardiac IL-16 levels were first measured in DOX- or saline-treated mice. Additionally, mice were pretreated with the anti-IL-16-neutralizing antibody (nAb) or isotype IgG for 1 day and further administered DOX or saline for 5 days. Then, cardiac injury, cardiac M1 macrophage levels, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis were analyzed. The effects of the anti-IL-16 nAb on macrophage differentiation and cardiomyocyte apoptosis were also investigated in vitro. RESULTS: DOX administration increased IL-16 expression in cardiac macrophages compared with that of saline treatment. The anti-IL-16 nAb significantly decreased serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), myocardial-bound creatine kinase (CK-MB), and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and elevated cardiac function in DOX-induced mice. Treatment with the anti-IL-16 nAb also reduced p65 pathway activation, decreased M1 macrophage-related marker and cytokine expression, and protected against cardiomyocyte apoptosis in DOX-induced mice. In cell studies, the anti-IL-16 nAb also reduced DOX-induced M1 macrophage differentiation and alleviated apoptosis in cardiomyocytes cocultured with macrophages. CONCLUSIONS: The anti-IL-16 nAb protects against DOX-induced cardiac injury by reducing cardiac inflammation, and IL-16 may be a promising target to prevent DOX-related cardiac injury.
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Anticuerpos Neutralizantes/uso terapéutico , Cardiotoxicidad/prevención & control , Doxorrubicina/toxicidad , Interleucina-16/antagonistas & inhibidores , Miocarditis/tratamiento farmacológico , Animales , Apoptosis/efectos de los fármacos , Diferenciación Celular/efectos de los fármacos , Interleucina-16/fisiología , Macrófagos/citología , Macrófagos/efectos de los fármacos , Masculino , Ratones , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Miocitos Cardíacos/patologíaRESUMEN
Previous studies showed that interleukin-9 (IL-9) is involved in cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension and cardiac fibrosis. This study aimed to investigate the role of IL-9 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced myocardial cell (MC) apoptosis. Mice were treated with LPS, and IL-9 expression was measured and the results showed that compared with WT mice, LPS-treated mice exhibited increased cardiac Mø-derived IL-9. Additionally, the effects of IL-9 deficiency (IL-9-/-) on macrophage (Mø)-related oxidative stress and MC apoptosis were evaluated, the results showed that IL-9 knockout significantly exacerbated cardiac dysfunction, inhibited Nrf2 nuclear transfer, promoted an imbalance in M1 and M2 Møs, and exacerbated oxidative stress and MC apoptosis in LPS-treated mice. Treatment with ML385, a specific nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway inhibitor significantly alleviated the above effects in LPS-treated IL-9-/- mice. Bone marrow-derived Møs from wild-type (WT) mice and IL-9-/- mice were treated with LPS, and the differentiation and oxidative stress levels of Møs were measured. The effect of Mø differentiation on mouse MC apoptosis was also analyzed in vitro. The results showed that LPS-induced M1 Mø/M2 Mø imbalance and Mø-related oxidative stress were alleviated by IL-9 knockout but were exacerbated by ML385 treatment. The protective effects of IL-9 deficiency on the MC apoptosis mediated by LPS-treated Møs were reversed by ML-385. Our results suggest that deletion of IL-9 decreased the nuclear translocation of Nrf2 in Møs, which further aggravated Mø-related oxidative stress and MC apoptosis. IL-9 may be a target for the prevention of LPS-induced cardiac injury.
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Apoptosis/genética , Interleucina-9/genética , Macrófagos/patología , Miocarditis/genética , Miocitos Cardíacos/patología , Factor 2 Relacionado con NF-E2/genética , Animales , Antígenos CD/genética , Antígenos CD/inmunología , Apoptosis/inmunología , Núcleo Celular/metabolismo , Citoplasma/metabolismo , Regulación de la Expresión Génica , Interleucina-9/deficiencia , Interleucina-9/inmunología , Lipopolisacáridos/administración & dosificación , Macrófagos/inmunología , Masculino , Ratones , Ratones Noqueados , Miocarditis/inducido químicamente , Miocarditis/inmunología , Miocarditis/patología , Miocitos Cardíacos/inmunología , Factor 2 Relacionado con NF-E2/antagonistas & inhibidores , Factor 2 Relacionado con NF-E2/inmunología , Estrés Oxidativo , Cultivo Primario de Células , Transporte de Proteínas , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas c-bcl-2/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas c-bcl-2/inmunología , Receptores del Factor Natriurético Atrial/genética , Receptores del Factor Natriurético Atrial/inmunología , Receptores de Interleucina-9/genética , Receptores de Interleucina-9/inmunología , Transducción de Señal , Tiazoles/farmacología , Función Ventricular Izquierda/fisiología , Proteína X Asociada a bcl-2/genética , Proteína X Asociada a bcl-2/inmunologíaRESUMEN
Several interleukin (IL) members have been reported to participate in sepsis. In this study, the effects of IL-16 on sepsis-induced cardiac injury and dysfunction were examined, and the related mechanisms were detected. IL-16 expression in septic mice was first measured, and the results showed that both cardiac and serum IL-16 expression levels were increased in mice with sepsis induced by LPS or cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) compared with control mice. Then, IL-16 was neutralized, and the effects on lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced cardiac injury were detected. The results showed that an anti-IL-16 neutralizing antibody (nAb) significantly reduced mortality and increased serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase myocardial bound (CK-MB), and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) levels while improving cardiac function in mice with LPS-induced sepsis. Neutralization of IL-16 also increased the activation of antioxidant pathways and the expression of antioxidant factors in septic mice while decreasing the activation of prooxidant pathways and the expression of prooxidants. Treatment with the anti-IL-16 nAb increased mitochondrial apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) expression, decreased nuclear AIF and cleaved poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) expression, and decreased TUNEL-positive cell percentages in LPS-treated mice. Additionally, treatment with CPUY192018, the nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway, significantly increased mortality and reversed the above effects in mice treated with LPS and the anti-IL-16 nAb. Our results showed that the anti-IL-16 nAb regulates oxidative stress through the Nrf2 pathway and participates in the regulation of cardiac injury in septic mice. Neutralization of IL-16 may be a beneficial strategy for the prevention of cardiac injury and dysfunction in sepsis patients.
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Anticuerpos Neutralizantes/uso terapéutico , Interleucina-16/antagonistas & inhibidores , Miocardio/patología , Factor 2 Relacionado con NF-E2/metabolismo , Sepsis/complicaciones , Sepsis/fisiopatología , Transducción de Señal , Animales , Anticuerpos Neutralizantes/farmacología , Apoptosis/efectos de los fármacos , Línea Celular , Interleucina-16/metabolismo , Lipopolisacáridos , Masculino , Ratones , Miocitos Cardíacos/efectos de los fármacos , Miocitos Cardíacos/metabolismo , Miocitos Cardíacos/patología , Estrés Oxidativo/efectos de los fármacos , Sepsis/patología , Transducción de Señal/efectos de los fármacosRESUMEN
Based on Volcano plotting, the controlled combination of weak and strong bond strengths of a bimetallic catalyst has the potential to maximize the catalytic effect via the formation of intermediate bond strength between the reactant and the two different types of active sites. In this study, a rational design approach was adopted to couple MoO3 and CeO2 to maximize the catalytic oxidation of Hg0 using oxygen as the oxidizing agent. It is found that CeO2 displayed a relatively strong bond strength with Hg0 while MoO3 has relatively weak bond strength with Hg0; the pre-doping of MoO3 results in the transformation of CeO2 from clusters to the form with additional exposed CeO2 (111) surface; the CeO2 and MoO3 show synergistic effect on the formation of Brønsted acid sites. Moreover, the results show that there is an overlap between the Hg0 desorption region of MoO3 and the Hg0 adsorption region of CeO2 (with adjusted optimum bond strength with Hg0), which contributes to the catalytic reaction of Hg0 by O2. Therefore, this study reveals that the synergistic effects of the coupling of CeO2 and MoO3 induced the reaction between Hg0 and O2, which is otherwise difficult.
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BACKGROUND: Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is an ideal model organism not only for the study of basic metabolic processes in both plants and animals but also the production of biofuels including hydrogen. Transgenic analysis of C. reinhardtii is now well established and very convenient, but inducible exogenous gene expression systems remain under-studied. The most commonly used heat shock-inducible system has serious effects on algal cell growth and is difficult and costly to control in large-scale culture. Previous studies of hydrogen photoproduction in Chlamydomonas also use this heat-inducible system to activate target gene transcription and hydrogen synthesis. RESULTS: Here we describe a blue light-inducible system with which we achieved optogenetic regulation of target gene expression in C. reinhardtii. This light-inducible system was engineered in a photosynthetic organism for the first time. The photo-inducible heterodimerizing proteins CRY2 and CIB1 were fused to VP16 transcription activation domain and the GAL4 DNA-binding domain, respectively. This scheme allows for transcription activation of the target gene downstream of the activation sequence in response to blue light. Using this system, we successfully engineered blue light-inducible hydrogen-producing transgenic alga. The transgenic alga was cultured under red light and grew approximately normally until logarithmic phase. When illuminated with blue light, the transgenic alga expressed the artificial miRNA targeting photosynthetic system D1 protein, and altered hydrogen production was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The light-inducible system successfully activated the artificial miRNA and, consequently, regulation of its target gene under blue light. Moreover, hydrogen production was enhanced using this system, indicating a more convenient and efficient approach for gene expression regulation in large-scale microalgae cultivation. This optogenetic gene control system is a useful tool for gene regulation and also establishes a novel way to improve hydrogen production in green algae.
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Microalgae are regarded as the most promising biofuel candidates and extensive metabolic engineering were conducted but very few improvements were achieved. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) investigation and manipulation may provide new insights for this issue. LncRNAs refer to transcripts that are longer than 200 nucleotides, do not encode proteins but play important roles in eukaryotic gene regulation. However, no information of potential lncRNAs has been reported in eukaryotic alga. Recently, we performed RNA sequencing in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and obtained totally 3,574 putative lncRNAs. 1440 were considered as high-confidence lncRNAs, including 936 large intergenic, 310 intronic and 194 anti-sense lncRNAs. The average transcript length, ORF length and numbers of exons for lncRNAs are much less than for genes in this green alga. In contrast with human lncRNAs of which more than 98% are spliced, the percentage in C. reinhardtii is only 48.1%. In addition, we identified 367 lncRNAs responsive to sulfur deprivation, including 36 photosynthesis-related lncRNAs. This is the first time that lncRNAs were explored in the unicellular model organism C. reinhardtii. The lncRNA data could also provide new insights into C. reinhardtii hydrogen production under sulfur deprivation.
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Oxidation treatment on the adsorption and the stability of Hg on activated carbon (AC) was inrestigated. Both MnO2-AC and FeCl3-AC were produced during oxidation treatment. The measurement of modified AC's mercury adsorption capacity was conducted in a simulated coal-fired flue gas by adsorbing test apparatus. TCLP and column leaching methods were used to test the stability of mercury adsorbed on ACs. The results indicate that the oxidation treatment changed the pore structure of the AC and modified the carbon surface by creating chemical components such as MnO4-, Mn4+, O, NO3-, Fe3+, Cl-, etc. The Hg sorption capacity on MnO2-AC or FeCl3-AC was about three times higher than that of untreated carbon. In addition, the mercury control cost of each of the formers was about the half cost of the untreated carbon. The stability of Hg absorption was studied, it found that mercury adsorbed on the oxidation treated AC was not better than that of untreated carbon. It could concluded that the insoluble form of Hg is very important to the stability of mercury adsorbed on AC. This study suggests that the FeCl3-AC is the best absorbent for Hg with high adsorption capacity, better Hg adsorption stability in leaching environment, and lower cost among the three ACs tested.
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Carbón Orgánico/química , Contaminación Ambiental/prevención & control , Mercurio/química , Centrales Eléctricas/métodos , Adsorción , China , Microscopía Electrónica , Oxidación-Reducción , Espectrometría de FluorescenciaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: SMAD proteins have recently been identified as the first family of putative transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) signal transducers. This study was to investigate the effects of TGF-beta1 and signal protein Smad3 on rat cardiac hypertrophy. METHODS: The incorporation of [(3)H]-leucine was measured to determine the hypertrophy of cardiomyocyte incubated with different doses of TGF-beta1 in cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes. The model of rat cardiac hypertrophy was produced with constriction of the abdominal aorta. At different times after the operation, rats were killed, and their left ventricular mass index (LVMI) determined. The mRNA expression of TGF-beta1 and Smad3 of cultured cells and hypertrophic left ventricles were assessed by RT-PCR. The protein expression of Smad3 was assessed by Western blot. RESULTS: In cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes, TGF-beta1 significantly promoted incorporation of [(3)H]-leucine. With the concentration of 3 pg/L, it increased the expression of Smad3 in mRNA and protein levels after 15 minutes, and continued for up to 8 hours of cultured cardiomyocytes. The LVMI and the expression of TGF-beta1 (mRNA) and Smad3 (mRNA and protein) of hypertrophic left ventricle were increased by day 3 after the operation and continued to the 4th week. The peak expression of these was in the second week after operation. CONCLUSION: TGF-beta1 has positive effects on rat cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Signal protein Smad3 could be related to the pathologic progression of rat cardiac hypertrophy.