雷公藤红素通过激活LXRα/ABCA1通路和细胞自噬抑制巨噬细胞脂质蓄积

巨噬细胞源性泡沫细胞转化被认为是动脉粥样硬化(atherosclerosis,AS)形成与发展的早期变化,其细胞内蓄积的过量脂质可通过促进血管内膜生长与坏死核形成,继而诱发斑块破裂及血栓形成等严重后果.近期研究发现,雷公藤红素可显著调节脂质代谢,对泡沫细胞转化进程具有潜在的治疗意义.本研究表明,雷公藤红素(Celasrol,CeT)呈浓度依赖性减少巨噬细胞Raw264.7内的脂滴积蓄,并上调胆固醇转运关键分子ABCA1、LXRA蛋白质表达.进一步研究显示,CeT可逆转ABCA1敲低介导的脂质蓄积与ABCA1表达下调.此外,CeT处理Raw264.7细胞24 h时观察到自噬标志物LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ增加、p62减少,且采用自噬抑制剂3MA可恢复细胞内脂质水平.综上,CeT可能通过上调LXRα/ABCA1信号及激活荷脂细胞自噬,抑制巨噬细胞内脂质蓄积.因此,深入探究CeT在巨噬细胞源性泡沫细胞转化及AS发生发展中的作用,是研究AS治疗新的着力点,并为药物干预提供新的靶点.     

Plin2通过NF-κB通路参与oxLDL诱导巨噬细胞LOX1的表达

目的 oxLDL可上调Plin2的表达,进而促进泡沫细胞的形成,LOX1是oxLDL的受体。本文探讨Plin2与LOX1在动脉粥样硬化发生发展过程中的关系。方法 从GEO数据库中下载GSE43292,分析Plin2、LOX1的表达及Plin2、LOX1与NF-κB信号通路的相关性。采用oxLDL处理的RAW264.7细胞作为动脉粥样硬化的细胞模型进行研究,蛋白质免疫印迹法检测细胞中Plin2、LOX1和p-p65的表达,荧光中性脂质染料BODIPY 493/503染色法检测细胞内脂滴。结果 通过分析GSE43292数据发现,Plin2、LOX1在颈动脉粥样硬化斑块中的表达显著高于颈动脉邻近组织。oxLDL处理RAW264.7细胞24 h后,Plin2与LOX1的表达、细胞内脂滴明显增加。过表达Plin2的细胞中LOX1表达升高;当用oxLDL孵育过表达Plin2的细胞后,LOX1的水平升高更为显著;但在没有oxLDL处理的情况下,敲减Plin2对细胞内LOX1的表达没有影响。基因集富集分析（gene set enrichment analysis,GSEA）结果显示,在动脉粥样硬化中,Plin2和LOX1的表达与NF-κB的活化呈正相关。此外,尽管采用oxLDL处理细胞,NF-κB抑制剂JSH-23预处理仍可显著降低Plin2与LOX1的表达、细胞内的脂质积聚,过表达Plin2后,JSH-23亦能显著抑制oxLDL孵育的细胞中Plin2和LOX1的表达。结论 Plin2可通过上调LOX1的表达促进细胞内脂质积聚,参与动脉粥样硬化,这一过程至少部分是通过激活NF-κB通路实现的。     

Daxx通过上调caveolin-1的表达介导Ox-LDL诱导巨噬细胞胆固醇蓄积和凋亡

为探讨Daxx对氧化型低密度脂蛋白(oxidized low-density lipoprotein,Ox-LDL)诱导巨噬细胞胆固醇蓄积和凋亡的介导作用及其可能的分子机制,用高效液相色谱法检测细胞内胆固醇含量,油红O染色观察细胞内脂滴的形成情况,流式细胞术和吖啶橙/溴化乙锭(AO/EB)染色法研究Ox-LDL对细胞凋亡的影响,Real time RT-PCR检测细胞内Daxx mRNA的表达水平,Western blot检测caveolin-1蛋白的表达,用特异性siRNA沉默Daxx在RAW264.7 细胞中的表达．Ox-LDL上调Daxx mRNA和caveolin-1的表达、增加细胞内胆固醇含量、促使RAW264.7细胞凋亡,用特异性siRNA干扰Daxx在RAW264.7细胞中的表达能降低caveolin-1的表达、减少细胞内胆固醇含量、以及抑制细胞凋亡．上述结果表明,Daxx对Ox-LDL诱导RAW264.7巨噬细胞胆固醇蓄积和凋亡具有介导作用,这一作用可能与Daxx上调caveolin -1的表达有关．     

研究: 肺炎衣原体抑制LXRα-ABCA1途径促进巨噬细胞脂质蓄积

为探讨肝X受体α (LXRα)-三磷酸腺苷结合盒转运体A1 (ABCA1)途径在肺炎衣原体 (C. pneumoniae)促巨噬细胞脂质蓄积中的作用和机制,以THP-1巨噬细胞源性泡沫细胞为模型,采用高效液相色谱分析细胞内总胆固醇、游离胆固醇和胆固醇酯含量,液体闪烁计数器检测细胞内胆固醇流出,RT-PCR检测ABCA1和LXRα mRNA的表达,蛋白质印迹检测ABCA1和LXRα的蛋白质表达;使用LXRα的特异性激动剂T0901317对细胞进行预处理,再观察上述指标的变化．结果显示,C. pneumoniae可促进THP-1巨噬细胞源性泡沫细胞内总胆固醇、游离胆固醇和胆固醇酯含量增加,抑制胆固醇外流,降低细胞ABCA1和LXRα的表达;使用ABCA1激动剂8-溴-环磷酸腺苷预处理细胞或LXR激动剂T0901317预处理细胞后,可明显减弱C. pneumoniae对THP-1细胞ABCA1的表达抑制,促进细胞胆固醇流出,降低细胞内胆固醇的含量．结果提示,C. pneumoniae促进巨噬细胞脂质蓄积及胆固醇流出障碍,其机制可能与LXRα-ABCA1途径有关．     

烟曲霉感染时内在化Dectin-1介导巨噬细胞自噬活化

目的探究在烟曲霉感染时Dectin-1是否内在化表达并介导了巨噬细胞的自噬活化,初步明确其作用机制。方法采用Western blot法和免疫荧光技术,观察经β-1,3-D-葡聚糖酶消化前后的烟曲霉孢子刺激下,RAW264.7细胞内Dectin-1与LC3Ⅱ的表达与定位,通过DCFH-DA探针检测消化β-葡聚糖对活性氧(ROS)生成的影响。结果烟曲霉孢子刺激后RAW264.7细胞的Dectin-1与LC3Ⅱ表达水平显著升高,同时二者呈斑点状聚集并共定位于烟曲霉孢子表面;消化β-葡聚糖后Dectin-1与LC3Ⅱ表达量降低,荧光斑点消失,并且ROS的生成受到抑制。结论烟曲霉感染时Dectin-1提高自身内在化表达并诱导了巨噬细胞自噬功能的活化。     

HIF-1α/BNIP3信号通路对BCG诱导巨噬细胞自噬的影响

【背景】缺氧诱导因子1α(hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha,HIF-1α)是响应细胞低氧反应的关键因子,在红细胞生成、血管形成、能量代谢及调节宿主免疫代谢中发挥着重要作用。【目的】探讨HIF-1α/Bcl-2-腺病毒E1B相互作用蛋白3(Bcl-2-adenovirus E1B 19-kDa interacting protein 3,BNIP3)信号通路对牛分枝杆菌卡介苗(Bacillus Calmette-Guérin,BCG)诱导小鼠巨噬细胞RAW 264.7自噬的影响。【方法】构建HIF-1α的小干扰RNA (siHIF-1α),转染RAW 264.7细胞后,结合BCG感染,采用流式细胞仪检测细胞自噬率,用Western blotting或免疫荧光技术检测HIF-1α、BNIP3、LC3、Beclin 1、Rheb和mTOR的表达水平。【结果】BCG感染显著上调巨噬细胞中LC3和HIF-1α的表达,用siHIF-1α结合BCG感染后显著下调巨噬细胞中HIF-1α、BNIP3、LC3、Beclin 1和细胞自噬率水平,并促进Rheb和p-mTOR的表达。【结论】在BCG感染RAW 264.7细胞过程中,干扰HIF-1α表达抑制了HIF-1α/BNIP3信号通路,进而激活了mTOR途径,抑制BCG感染诱导的细胞自噬。     

双特异性磷酸酶5过表达/干扰RAW264.7细胞株建立及其对自噬调控的影响

为探究双特异性磷酸酶5(dual-specificity phosphatase 5,DUSP5)在巨噬细胞RAW264.7自噬中的调控作用,该研究采用慢病毒转染的技术方法建立DUSP5过表达/干扰RAW264.7细胞株,并用自噬激活剂雷帕霉素(rapamycin,Rapa)和抑制剂巴弗洛霉素A1(bafilomycin A1,Baf A1)分别对其进行刺激,使用蛋白免疫印迹技术(Western blot)、荧光定量PCR(Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR,q RT-PCR)、单丹磺酰尸胺(monodansylcadaverine,MDC)染色以及免疫荧光等方法探究过表达或抑制DUSP5后对巨噬细胞RAW264.7自噬的影响。结果显示:DUSP5过表达/干扰慢病毒转染RAW264.7可显著提高/抑制DUSP5 m RNA和蛋白的表达量(P0.01);Rapa刺激后,过表达DUSP5抑制自噬相关蛋白Beclin1和LC3II表达且自噬体形成减少,而抑制DUSP5表达结果与此相反;用Baf A1阻断DUSP5干扰RAW264.7稳定转染细胞株自噬流,DUSP5干扰RAW264.7稳定转染细胞株中LC3II表达量和自噬体数量均显著上调(P0.01)。由此说明,DUSP5参与调控巨噬细胞自噬,可能通过抑制自噬体合成来阻碍巨噬细胞自噬进程。此结论为进一步探究巨噬细胞自噬调控机制提供了新的研究思路。     

克柔假丝酵母菌通过Dectin-1/Syk信号通路活化巨噬细胞自噬

目的探究Dectin-1/Syk信号通路在克柔假丝酵母菌激活RAW264.7细胞自噬中的作用。方法以特异性抗体封闭RAW264.7细胞表面TLR-2、TLR-4及Dectin-1受体,免疫蛋白印记检测克柔假丝酵母菌刺激后LC3II的表达量;通过白皮杉醇及Raf-1抑制剂分别阻断RAW264.7细胞Syk及Raf-1磷酸化,观察对克柔假丝酵母菌激活细胞自噬的影响;采用SiMi Transfection Reagents转染Atg5siRNA,检测不同时间段RAW264.7细胞对克柔假丝酵母菌的杀菌率。结果封闭细胞膜Dectin-1、阻断Syk磷酸化显著抑制克柔假丝酵母菌诱导RAW264.7细胞LC3II的表达,而封闭细胞膜TLR-2或TLR-4,以及阻断Raf-1磷酸化对于克柔假丝酵母菌刺激下LC3II的表达无显著影响。敲低Atg5后RAW264.7细胞在感染6h后对克柔假丝酵母菌的杀菌率显著降低。结论 Dectin-1/Syk信号通路介导了克柔假丝酵母菌激活RAW264.7细胞自噬,并且自噬功能参与了该细胞对克柔假丝酵母菌的杀灭作用。     

嗜肺军团菌重组免疫原蛋白(IP)对RAW264.7细胞自噬的影响

【目的】观察嗜肺军团菌重组免疫原蛋白(immunogenic protein,IP)对RAW264.7细胞自噬流及自噬相关因子表达水平的影响并探讨其作用机制。【方法】采用His标签蛋白纯化试剂盒纯化嗜肺军团菌重组免疫原蛋白(IP),并用CCK-8法检测IP对RAW264.7细胞半数抑制浓度(half maximal inhibitory concentration,IC₅₀)。采用低浓度(0.05×IC₅₀)、中浓度(0.1×IC₅₀)、高浓度(0.2×IC₅₀) IP与RAW264.7细胞进行体外共培养1、3、6、12 h,并设细胞对照组,应用自噬双标质粒pmCherry-C1-EGFP-LC3B检测巨噬细胞自噬流的变化,筛选最佳浓度进行后续实验;最佳浓度IP与RAW264.7细胞进行体外共培养6、12、24 h,并设细胞对照组,RT-qPCR检测各组自噬相关蛋白Beclin1、微管相关蛋白1轻链3 (microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3,LC3)、SQSTM 1 (sequestosome 1,p62)及组蛋白去乙酰化酶6 (histone deacetylase 6,HDAC6)的mRNA表达水平;Western blotting法检测各组自噬相关因子的蛋白表达水平;免疫荧光检测各组自噬相关因子的表达。【结果】根据CCK-8结果计算IC₅₀为0.26μg/μL。自噬双标质粒pmCherry-C1-EGFP-LC3B检测自噬流结果显示,与对照组相比,中浓度(0.026μg/μL) IP与RAW264.7细胞进行体外共培养后自噬流抑制显著。RT-qPCR及Western blotting检测结果显示,与对照组相比,IP与RAW264.7细胞共培养6 h,P62表达水平升高,LC3B、HDAC6、Beclin1表达水平均降低,P<0.05;与6 h组相比,12 h组LC3B表达水平降低,P62、HDAC6及Beclin1表达水平均升高,P<0.05;与12 h组相比,24 h组Beclin1表达水平升高,P<0.05。IP一定程度上以时间依赖的方式降低了LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ比值并升高了P62蛋白的表达水平,P<0.05。免疫荧光结果基本与RT-qPCR及Western blotting检测结果一致。【结论】嗜肺军团菌IP抑制巨噬细胞自噬,可能与通过影响自噬小体-溶酶体融合途径,干扰自噬小体及自噬溶酶体的形成、成熟等过程有关。     

KGF联合HIF-1α对BECN1敲除IEC-6细胞缺氧的保护作用及机制

摘要 目的：探讨KGF联合HIF-1α对BECN1敲除后的IEC-6细胞在缺氧应激状态下的保护作用及相关机制。方法：构建敲除BECN1基因的稳定细胞系IEC-6B-细胞,分为空白对照组（BC）、阴性对照组（NC）、HIF-1α组、KGF联合HIF-1α组（KH）。观察细胞形态学改变。检测细胞存活率、ATP含量、细胞周期和细胞凋亡率。检测自噬相关基因表达水平和凋亡、自噬相关蛋白的表达。结果：低氧处理24 h后,各组细胞可见梭形、星形及其它异常形态变化;NC组细胞胞质内可见大量大小不一的吞噬溶酶体泡;其他各组细胞呈现细胞早期凋亡形态变化,BC组和KH组细胞胞质中可见自噬泡。与BC组相比较,各敲除组细胞存活率均显著降低（P<0.01）,其中KH组细胞存活率高于NC组、KGF组及HIF-1α组（P<0.05）。BC组细胞内ATP含量均显著高于其他各组（P<0.05）。与BC组和KH组比较,其他三组细胞G0/G1期百分比显著增加,细胞凋亡率均显著增加（P<0.05）。与BC组相比较,其余各组细胞自噬基因BECN1、SQSTM1及LC3基因mRNA表达均显著降低（P<0.05）;Beclin 1蛋白及LC3 II/LC3 I的比值均显著降低（P<0.05）,且p62蛋白表达显著增加（P<0.05）。KH组的Bax/Bcl-2的比值、Caspase3蛋白表达低于NC组（P<0.05）。结论：KGF联合HIF-1α能促进细胞增殖、增强细胞能量代谢、减少G₀/G₁期阻滞细胞率、抑制细胞凋亡作用,对低氧应激的IEC-6B-细胞具有保护作用。     

细胞色素P450 1A1和1B1靶向抗肿瘤前药研究进展

细胞色素P450（CYP）能催化各种内源性及外源性化合物的代谢,与多种肿瘤发生有关。其中CYP1A1参与多种前致癌物和致突变物的代谢活化,CYP1B1被认为在许多人癌细胞中特异性表达,参与药物的氧化代谢和前药的活化。CYP1A1和181已成为靶向抗肿瘤前药研究的新靶点。相继有大量相关研究报道,本文就近年来文献报道的CYP1A1和1B1靶向抗肿瘤前药研究进展。     

Association of SULT1A1 and UGT1A1 polymorphisms with breast cancer risk and phenotypes in Russian women

Estrogens are critical for breast cancer initiation and development. Sulfotransferase 1A1 (SULT1A1) and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1) conjugate and inactivate both estrogens and their metabolites, thus preventing estrogen-mediated mitosis and mutagenesis. SULT1A1 and UGT1A1 are both polymorphic, and different alleles encode functionally different allozymes. We hypothesize that low-activity alleles SULT1A1*2 and UGT1A1*28 are associated with higher risk for breast cancer and more severe breast tumor phenotypes. We performed a case-control study, which included 119 women of Russian ancestry with breast cancer and 121 age-matched Russian female controls. We used PCR followed by pyrosequencing to determine the SULT1A1 and UGT1A1 genotypes. Allele UGT1A1*28 was present at a higher frequency than the wild-type UGT1A1*1 allele in breast cancer patients as compared to controls (P = 0.002, OR = 1.79, CI 1.23–2.63). Consistently, the frequency of genotypes that contain allele UGT1A1*28 in the homozygous or the heterozygous state was greater in breast cancer patients as compared with the frequency of the wild-type UGT1A1*1/*1 genotype (P = 0.003, OR = 4.00, CI 1.49–11.11 and P = 0.014, OR = 2.04, CI 1.14–3.57, respectively). Individuals carrying allele UGT1A1*28 in the homo-or heterozygous state had larger breast tumors (>2 cm) as compared to the group with high-activity genotypes (P = 0.011, IR = 3.44, CI 1.42–8.36). No association was observed between any of the SULT1A1 genotypes and breast cancer risk or phenotypes. Our data suggest that UGT1A1, but not SULT1A1, genotypes are important for breast cancer risk and phenotype in Russian women. Published in Russian in Molekulyarnaya Biologiya, 2006, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 263–270. The article was translated by the authors.     

NPC1L1:固醇脂质吸收的关键蛋白质

NPC1L1是最近发现的一种与NPC1同源的蛋白质。在体内的分布有物种差异性,其亚细胞定位存在很大争议。近些年发现NPC1L1在固醇类脂质代谢途径中起着重要作用,是肠道吸收固醇类脂质尤其是胆固醇的关键蛋白质,这项新发现使得人们对固醇类脂质的吸收机制有了了解。高胆固醇血症是心血管系统疾病的一个高危因子,因此,对NPC1L1的研究具有重大的实际意义,正逐渐成为研究的热点。     

Isolation and Characterization of Ubiquitin-activating Enzyme E1-domain Containing 1, UBE1DC1

Ubiquitin and other ubiquitin-like proteins play important roles in post-translational modification. They are phylogenetically well-conserved in eukaryotes. Activated by other proteins, ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like proteins can covalently modify target proteins. The enzymes responsible for the activation of this modification have been known to include UBA1, SAE2, UBA3, SAE1 and ULA1. Here we report a new ubiquitin activating enzyme like cDNA, named ubiquitin activating enzyme E1-domain containing 1 (UBE1DC1), whose cDNA is 2654 base pairs in length and contains an open reading frame encoding 404 amino acids. The UBE1DC1 gene consists of 12 exons and is located at human chromosome 3q22. The result of RT-PCR showed that UBE1DC1 is expressed in most of human tissues. These two authors contributed equally to this paper. The nucleotide sequence reported in this paper has been submitted to GenBank under accession number AY253672.     

Upregulation of MAPKAPK5-AS1, PXN-AS1 and URB1-AS1 lncRNAs in non-functioning pituitary adenoma

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to be dysregulated in a variety of malignant and non-malignant lesions including non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs). In the current experimental study, we have selected six lncRNAs, namely MAPKAPK5-AS1, NUTM2B-AS1, ST7-AS1, LIFR-AS1, PXN-AS1 and URB1-AS1 to assess their expression in a cohort of Iranian patients with NFPA. MAPKAPK5-AS1, PXN-AS1 and URB1-AS1 were shown to be over-expressed in NFPA tissues compared with control samples (Expression ratios (95% CI) = 10 (3.94–25.36), 11.22 (4.3–28.8) and 9.33 (4.12–21.12); p values < 0.0001, respectively). The depicted ROC curves showed the AUC values of 0.73, 0.80 and 0.73 for MAPKAPK5-AS1, PXN-AS1 and URB1-AS1, respectively. Relative expression level of PXN-AS1 was associated with tumour subtype (p value = 0.49). Besides, relative expression levels of MAPKAPK5-AS1 and LIFR-AS1 were associated with gender of patients (p values = 0.043 and 0.01, respectively). Cumulatively, the current study indicates the possible role of MAPKAPK5-AS1, PXN-AS1 and URB1-AS1 lncRNAs in the pathogenesis of NFPAs.     

Bmi1 cooperates with Dnmt1-associated protein 1 in gene silencing

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are involved in gene silencing through chromatin modifications. Among polycomb repressive complexes (PRCs), PRC1 exhibits H2A-K119 ubiquitin E3 ligase activity. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying PRC1-mediated gene silencing remain largely obscure. In this study, we found that Bmi1 directly interacts with Dnmt-associated protein 1 (Dmap1), which has been characterized to associate with the maintenance DNA methyltransferase, Dnmt1. Bmi1 was demonstrated to form a ternary complex with Dmap1 and Dnmt1 with Dmap1 in the central position. Chromatin immunoprecipitations confirmed the ternary complex formation within the context of the PRC1 at the Bmi1 target loci. Loss of Dmap1 binding to the Bmi1 target loci was tightly associated with derepressed gene expression in Bmi1-/- cells. Dmap1 knockdown exhibited the same impact as Bmi1 knockout did on the expression of Bmi1 targets, including Hox genes. Collectively, our findings suggest that Bmi1 incorporates Dmap1 in polycomb gene silencing.     

Acid-dependent Interleukin-1 (IL-1) Cleavage Limits Available Pro-IL-1β for Caspase-1 Cleavage

Noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease (stroke and heart attack), cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes are a leading cause of death and disability worldwide and are worsened by inflammation. IL-1 is a driver of inflammation and implicated in many noncommunicable diseases. Acidosis is also a key feature of the inflammatory microenvironment; therefore it is vital to explore IL-1 signaling under acidic conditions. A HEK-IL-1 reporter assay and brain endothelial cell line were used to explore activity of mature IL-1α and IL-1β at pH 7.4 and pH 6.2, an acidic pH that can be reached under inflammatory or ischemic conditions, alongside cathepsin D-cleaved 20-kDa IL-1β produced under acidic conditions. We report that mature IL-1 signaling at IL-1 receptor type 1 (IL-1R1) is maintained at pH 6.2, but the activity of the decoy receptor, IL-1R2, is reduced. Additionally, cathepsin D-cleaved 20-kDa IL-1β was minimally active at IL-1R1 and was not further cleaved to highly active 17-kDa IL-1β. Therefore formation of the 20-kDa form of IL-1β may prevent the generation of mature bioactive IL-1β and thus may limit inflammation.