mTOR信号通路诱导的自噬在心肌细胞缺氧损伤中的作用研究

目的:探讨自噬在心肌细胞缺氧损伤中的作用及分子机制。方法:体外分离培养乳鼠心肌细胞,体外建立缺氧/去血清(H/SD)模型以模拟在体的缺血环境。分别给予自噬抑制剂3-甲基腺嘌呤(3MA,5 mM)和mTOR抑制剂雷帕霉素(1.0μg/L)调节心肌细胞自噬水平。分别采用TUNEL染色检测心肌细胞凋亡,Western blot方法检测心肌细胞蛋白表达水平。结果:H/SD损伤可以显著诱导心肌细胞自噬水平(P0.05),并且细胞自噬水平可以被3-MA及雷帕霉素调节。同时,H/SD可以显著增加心肌细胞凋亡(P0.05),而给予3-MA抑制自噬水平可以减少细胞凋亡(P0.05)。相反,雷帕霉素增加自噬同样可以加重缺氧导致的心肌细胞凋亡(P0.05)。H/SD损伤过程中,心肌细胞mTOR信号通路被激活,而自噬抑制剂3-MA可以显著提高缺氧条件下心肌细胞中p-mTOR(Ser2448)的表达水平(P0.05),并增加mTOR下游分子p-p70S6k(P0.05)和p-S6(P0.05)的表达。结论:mTOR信号通路诱导的细胞自噬可能参与了缺氧损伤诱导的心肌细胞凋亡。     

纳米氧化铈负载槲皮素引起人肝癌细胞自噬阻断

稀土氧化物纳米材料的生物安全性越来越受到关注,这类纳米材料引起的自噬反应对于癌细胞杀伤也具有重要意义。自噬在细胞存活和死亡中发挥双重作用,槲皮素可以促进自噬,稀土氧化物已被证明可引起不同类型的自噬。制备了葡聚糖包被的氧化铈纳米颗粒负载的槲皮素复合材料DCQ,并对其自身性质进行表征,从细胞活力及氧化损伤以及自噬、凋亡机制这几个方面研究了其对人肝癌细胞HepG2的作用。结果表明,此复合材料对HepG2细胞具有更强的毒性(P<0.05),并且对正常细胞人脐静脉血管内皮细胞HUVEC无明显毒害作用,复合材料能够诱发人肝癌细胞产生大量活性氧,引起自噬阻断和诱导癌细胞凋亡。上述结果说明,这种纳米复合材料能有效杀伤人肝癌细胞,为肝癌治疗提供了新思路。     

脂多糖通过自噬作用促进氧化低密度脂蛋白诱导的泡沫细胞的形成

目的:研究脂多糖(LPS)促进氧化低密度脂蛋白(ox-LDL)诱导的泡沫细胞形成的机制。方法:人源性THP-1细胞的培养,经ox-LDL诱导形成泡沫细胞。采用油红O染色鉴定泡沫细胞的形成,免疫荧光和Western blot方法检测自噬活性,观察自噬作用对泡沫细胞脂质沉积的影响。结果:①经形态学观察,脂多糖可以促进ox-LDL诱导的泡沫细胞的形成。②脂多糖可以激活自噬作用,并且自噬活性在16h达到最强。③脂多糖可以增强自噬激活剂雷帕霉素(Rap)的促自噬作用(P0.05),并且削弱自噬抑制剂3-甲基腺嘌呤(3-MA)的作用。④Rap单独作用不能影响泡沫细胞中脂质的累积,然而脂多糖能够增强Rap的作用,显著促进脂滴在泡沫细胞中的累积(P0.05);3-MA可以抑制基础水平和脂多糖诱导后泡沫细胞中脂滴的积累。结论:脂多糖通过增强自噬作用促进泡沫细胞的形成。     

Trx通过Sirt3-P53通路促进自噬并改善高糖诱发的CMECs损伤

目的:明确硫氧还蛋白(Thioredoxin,Trx)通过自噬调节对大鼠心脏微血管内皮细胞损伤的保护作用及相关机制。方法:分离成年大鼠心脏微血管内皮细胞并分为:(1)正常对照组;(2)高糖组;(3)高糖+Trx组;(4)高糖+Trx+Ad-sh Sirt3组;(5)高糖+Trx+Ad-sh P53组;(6)高糖+DMSO空载组。通过In Vitro Vascular Permeability Assay Kit检测单层心脏微血管内皮细胞通透性,TUNEL染色检测细胞凋亡,Western blot法检测Sirt3、P53、Atg5、LC3BI/II等相关自噬相关信号通路关键蛋白的表达水平。结果:与正常对照组相比,高糖引起单层心脏微血管内皮细胞通透功能损伤,增加细胞凋亡,抑制自噬,且Sirt3、Atg5、LC3BI/II表达下降而P53表达上升;给予Trx可以上调Sirt3、Atg5、LC3BI/II蛋白表达水平,抑制P53表达,并显著减轻上述高糖引起的细胞损伤;但是,分别干扰Sirt3和P53表达后,Trx的作用明显减弱。结论:Trx通过Sirt3-P53信号通路促进心脏微血管内皮细胞自噬,降低细胞凋亡,改善高糖诱发的大鼠心脏微血管内皮细胞损伤。     

自噬对氧化应激引起的脊髓神经元细胞损伤的作用及其机制

氧化应激是脊髓损伤(spinal cord injury,SCI)后脊髓神经元细胞继发性损伤的重要机制,但是如何缓解氧化应激目前仍然不明确。该文培养SD(Sprague Dawley)大鼠原代脊髓神经元细胞,使用不同浓度的H-2O_2作用于神经元细胞12 h后,Western blot检测LC3-II、Beclin-1和P62蛋白质水平变化,分析自噬水平,电镜和绿色荧光蛋白标的记微管相关蛋白轻链3(green fluorescent proteinmicrotubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3,GFP-LC3)转染观察自噬的数量。ATG5 si RNA转染抑制自噬和雷帕霉素(rapamycin)促进细胞自噬,并使用CCK-8和TUNEL(terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated d UTP-biotin nick end labeling)染色分析自噬对氧化应激下神经元细胞的作用。结果显示,随着H-2O_2浓度增加,LC3-II和Beclin-1蛋白质水平显著升高,而P62蛋白质水平显著下降(P0.05)。透射电镜和共聚焦观察发现,10、50μmol/L H-2O_2可以增加神经元细胞中自噬体的数量。与对照组比较,H-2O_2明显抑制神经元细胞的活力(P0.05),ATG5 si RNA抑制自噬水平后,H-2O_2作用下的细胞活力进一步下降,而雷帕霉素促进自噬后却可以提高细胞的活力(P0.05)。TUNEL和膜联蛋白V/PI(annexin V/PI)染色结果发现,雷帕霉素可以抑制H-2O_2引起的神经元细胞凋亡(P0.05)。该研究结果提示,脊髓神经元细胞处于氧化应激状态下时,自噬代偿性激活并保护神经元细胞。     

Notch信号及自噬在三氧化矿化聚合物促人牙髓细胞体外增殖中的作用

目的:探讨Notch信号及自噬在三氧化矿化聚合物(MTA)促人牙髓细胞(h DPCs)体外增殖中的作用。方法:取临床上完整拔除的健康第三磨牙,通过酶消化法获得原代培养h DPCs。采用CCK-8比色法检测不同浓度(0.5、1.0、2.0、5.0、10.0 mg/m L)MTA对h DPCs增殖的影响,筛选出最佳促增殖作用浓度和作用时间。通过Western Blot法检测MTA作用下h DPCs Notch信号及自噬相关蛋白表达的变化。结果:1.0 mg/m L MTA对体外培养h DPCs促增殖作用最显著,高浓度MTA(10 mg/m L)则具有一定的细胞毒性。与未处理h DPCs相比,MTA处理组h DPCs的Notch1、Hes1表达(P0.05)及自噬相关蛋白P62及LC3II/I表达(P0.01)均显著增高。平衡盐溶液(EBSS)饥饿实验诱导自噬发生后Notch1表达水平显著下降。结论:MTA可显著促进h DPCs的体外增殖,其作用机制可能与Notch1-Hes1信号转导途径激活及自噬抑制有关。     

综述: 影响血管内皮细胞自噬的因素及其相关机制探讨

自噬对维持细胞自身的稳定及细胞成分更新、保持正常的生理状态起着至关重要的作用．机体在生理和病理过程中都存在自噬,基础状态下的自噬对细胞具有保护和修复作用,而自噬过度激活会引起细胞的损伤及死亡．近年来,对自噬的研究主要集中于肿瘤细胞,而对正常细胞的自噬研究较少．血管内皮细胞作为人体中最活跃的细胞之一,其功能变化与心血管疾病的发生和发展有密切相关．本文对影响血管内皮细胞自噬的因素及其相关机制进行综述．     

普伐他汀对溶血磷脂酰胆碱所致血管内皮功能损伤的保护作用及机制探讨

目的:探讨不同剂量的普伐他汀对溶血磷脂酰胆碱(LPC)所致血管内皮功能的影响.方法:用离体血管环和培养的人脐静脉内皮细胞(HUVECs)为实验模型,以血管内皮依赖性舒张反应(EDR)、内皮细胞活力以及生化参数为指标,用LPC作为损伤因子,用普伐他汀作为保护药,观察LPC对内皮的损伤作用及普伐他汀的保护作用.结果:LPC与血管环共孵或内皮细胞显著性地抑制了血管EDR反应,增加了血管MDA含量,并导致培养的内皮细胞的活力、内皮型一氧化氮合酶(eNOS)活性及一氧化氮(NO)含量显著性降低;普伐他汀与血管环或内皮细胞共孵,浓度依赖性地减轻了LPC对血管EDR的抑制作用(P＜0.05),保护了内皮细胞的活力(P＜0.05).恢复了细胞eNOS活性及NO含量(P＜0.05),抑制了内皮细胞活性氧(ROS)的生成(P＜0.05).结论:LPC能直接损伤的血管内皮细胞,普伐他汀对LPC所致的血管内皮细胞损伤有显著性保护作用,其机制可能与LPC触发脂质过氧化反应,从而抑制血管内皮血管内皮细胞NO的合成有关,普伐他汀通过抗氧化而保护血管内皮细胞的功能.     

自噬对慢性间歇性低氧大鼠颏舌肌损伤的作用及机制

目的:探讨自噬在慢性间歇性低氧状态下大鼠颏舌肌损伤中的作用及其机制。方法:将36只SD大鼠随机均分为对照组,慢性间歇性低氧组(chronic intermittent hypoxia,CIH组),慢性间歇性低氧+氯喹组(CIH+CQ组)。苏木素-伊红(HE)染色观察颏舌肌组织形态学变化;激光共聚焦显微镜下观察自噬标记物LC3在颏舌肌中的表达;免疫组织化学染色法观察组织中细胞色素c(cytochrome,Cyt c)的表达。结果:激光共聚焦结果显示,对照组颏舌肌中未见明显LC3表达,CIH组中LC3的平均荧光强度较对照组明显增强(P0.05),CIH+CQ组中LC3的平均荧光强度较CIH组显著增加(P0.05)。免疫组织化学结果显示:CIH组中Cyt c的阳性表达较对照组增加(P0.05),CIH+CQ组中Cyt c表达与CIH组相比显著增加(P0.05)。结论:慢性间歇性低氧引起颏舌肌线粒体损伤,触发细胞凋亡,同时诱发自噬。抑制自噬加重线粒体损伤,促进细胞凋亡。说明自噬可能通过抑制凋亡而在慢性间歇性低氧状态下的大鼠颏舌肌中起维护肌肉功能的作用。     

增塑剂邻苯二甲酸二丁酯致血管内皮功能损伤及其机制

邻苯二甲酸二丁酯(DBP)是一种常用的增塑剂,在环境中广泛存在.DBP可以经口、呼吸吸入、皮肤接触、医疗暴露等途径进入人体.已报道DBP具有多种生物毒性,包括遗传毒性、神经毒性、生殖毒性和免疫毒性等.本研究以大鼠(Rattus norvegicus)和小鼠(Mus musculus)胸主动脉以及牛(Bovine)主动脉血管内皮细胞为研究对象,揭示增塑剂DBP对血管内皮功能的影响.实验分别采用不同浓度的DBP(0,5,25μmol/L)对大鼠和小鼠胸主动脉进行体外孵育,采用血管张力仪检测血管舒张功能的变化.分别采用一氧化氮(NO)探针和活性氧簇(ROS)探针,检测血管内皮细胞内NO和ROS含量.实时定量PCR和蛋白免疫印迹技术检测DBP对血管内皮细胞NLRP3炎症小体的激活作用.结果表明,DBP浓度依赖性损伤大鼠和小鼠血管舒张功能;在培养的内皮细胞中,DBP减少了NO的释放,增加了ROS的含量;DBP能够激活内皮细胞NLRP3炎症小体,且ROS清除剂二联苯碘能够抑制DBP引起的NLRP3炎症小体的激活,改善DBP引起的血管舒张功能障碍.上述结果提示,增塑剂DBP对血管内皮功能的损伤可能与ROS引起的NLRP3炎症小体的激活以及NO释放减少有关.     

Inhibition of autophagy rescues palmitic acid-induced necroptosis of endothelial cells

Accumulation of palmitic acid (PA) in cells from nonadipose tissues is known to induce lipotoxicity resulting in cellular dysfunction and death. The exact molecular pathways of PA-induced cell death are still mysterious. Here, we show that PA triggers autophagy, which did not counteract but in contrast promoted endothelial cell death. The PA-induced cell death was predominantly necrotic as indicated by annexin V and propidium iodide (PI) staining, absence of caspase activity, low levels of DNA hypoploidy, and an early ATP depletion. In addition PA induced a strong elevation of mRNA levels of ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase (CYLD), a known mediator of necroptosis. Moreover, siRNA-mediated knockdown of CYLD significantly antagonized PA-induced necrosis of endothelial cells. In contrast, inhibition and knockdown of receptor interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) had no effect on PA-induced necrosis, indicating the induction of a CYLD-dependent but RIPK1-independent cell death pathway. PA was recognized as a strong and early inducer of autophagy. The inhibition of autophagy by both pharmacological inhibitors and genetic knockdown of the autophagy-specific genes, vacuolar protein sorting 34 (VPS34), and autophagy-related protein 7 (ATG7), could rescue the PA-induced death of endothelial cells. Moreover, the initiation of autophagy and cell death by PA was reduced in endothelial cells loaded with the Ca(2+) chelator 1,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid-(acetoxymethyl) ester (BAPTA-AM), indicating that Ca(2+) triggers the fatal signaling of PA. In summary, we introduce an unexpected mechanism of lipotoxicity in endothelial cells and provide several novel strategies to counteract the lipotoxic signaling of PA.     

Vascular metabolic dysfunction and lipotoxicity

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of lipotoxicity in vascular smooth muscle (VSM). C(1)-BODIPY 500/510 C(12) used to assess the ability of VSM A7r5 cells to transport long-chain fatty acids showed that lipid transport did not appear to limit metabolism. Thin layer chromatography revealed that storage of transported fatty acid occurred primarily as mono- and diglycerides and fatty acids but not as triglycerides. We used lipid-induced apoptosis as a measure of lipotoxicity and found that 1.5 mM palmitate (6.8:1) bound to albumin resulted in a 15-fold increase in the number of apoptotic cells compared to the control at 24 hours. This apoptosis did not seem to be due to an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) since VSM cells incubated in palmitate showed less ROS production than cells incubated in albumin only. Similar exposure to oleate did not significantly increase the number of apoptotic cells compared to the control. Oleate actually significantly attenuated the apoptosis induced by palmitate, suggesting that unsaturated fatty acids have a protective effect on cells undergoing palmitate-induced apoptosis. These results suggest that vascular smooth muscle is vulnerable to lipotoxicity and that this lipotoxicity may play a role in the development of atherosclerosis.     

Induction of stearoyl-CoA desaturase protects human arterial endothelial cells against lipotoxicity

Endothelial lipotoxicity has been implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple stages of cardiovascular disease from early endothelial dysfunction to manifest atherosclerosis and its complications. Saturated free fatty acids are the major inducers of endothelial cell apoptosis and inflammatory cytokines. In humans, the enzyme human stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (hSCD-1) is the limiting step of the desaturation of saturated to monounsaturated fatty acids. Since we could demonstrate the expression of SCD-1 in primary human arterial endothelial cells (HAECs), we aimed to prove a beneficial role of upregulated hSCD-1 expression. In contrast to other cells that are less susceptible to lipotoxicity, hSCD-1 was not upregulated in HAECs upon palmitate treatment. Following that, we could show that upregulation of hSCD-1 using the LXR activator TO-901317 in HAECs protects the cells against palmitate-induced lipotoxicity, cell apoptosis, and expression of inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-8. Increased hSCD-1 activity was determined as increased C16:1/16:0 ratio and enhanced triglyceride storage in palmitate treated cells. The beneficial effect was clearly attributed to enhanced hSCD-1 activity. Overexpression of hSCD-1 blocked palmitate-induced cytotoxicity, and knockdown of hSCD-1 using siRNA abolished the protective effect of TO-901317 in HEK-293 cells. Additionally, inhibition of hSCD-1 with 10/12 CLA blocked the effect of TO-901317 on palmitate-induced lipotoxicity, cell apoptosis, and inflammatory cytokine induction in HAECs. We conclude that upregulation of hSCD-1 leads to a desaturation of saturated fatty acids and facilitates their esterification and storage, thereby preventing downstream effects of lipotoxicity in HAECs. These findings add a novel aspect to the atheroprotective actions of LXR activators in cardiovascular disease.     

Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1) augments saturated fatty acid-induced lipid accumulation and inhibits apoptosis in cardiac myocytes

Mismatch between the uptake and utilization of long-chain fatty acids in the myocardium leads to abnormally high intracellular fatty acid concentration, which ultimately induces myocardial dysfunction. Stearoyl-Coenzyme A desaturase-1 (SCD1) is a rate-limiting enzyme that converts saturated fatty acids (SFAs) to monounsaturated fatty acids. Previous studies have shown that SCD1-deficinent mice are protected from insulin resistance and diet-induced obesity; however, the role of SCD1 in the heart remains to be determined. We examined the expression of SCD1 in obese rat hearts induced by a sucrose-rich diet for 3 months. We also examined the effect of SCD1 on myocardial energy metabolism and apoptotic cell death in neonatal rat cardiac myocytes in the presence of SFAs. Here we showed that the expression of SCD1 increases 3.6-fold without measurable change in the expression of lipogenic genes in the heart of rats fed a high-sucrose diet. Forced SCD1 expression augmented palmitic acid-induced lipid accumulation, but attenuated excess fatty acid oxidation and restored reduced glucose oxidation. Of importance, SCD1 substantially inhibited SFA-induced caspase 3 activation, ceramide synthesis, diacylglycerol synthesis, apoptotic cell death, and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Experiments using SCD1 siRNA confirmed these observations. Furthermore, we showed that exposure of cardiac myocytes to glucose and insulin induced SCD1 expression. Our results indicate that SCD1 is highly regulated by a metabolic syndrome component in the heart, and such induction of SCD1 serves to alleviate SFA-induced adverse fatty acid catabolism, and eventually to prevent SFAs-induced apoptosis.     

自噬对高糖诱导的人冠状动脉内皮细胞凋亡的保护作用

目的:研究自噬对高糖诱导的人冠状动脉内皮细胞凋亡的影响。方法:将人冠状动脉内皮细胞,分别用常规培养基(正常对照组)、含30 mmol/L D-葡萄糖的高糖培养基(高糖组)、高糖培养基合并雷帕霉素(Rapamycin,RAPA;100 nmol/L)干预(RAPA组)和高糖培养基合并3-甲基腺嘌呤(3-Methyladenine,3-MA,5 mmol/L)干预(3-MA组)培养。利用CCK-8法检测细胞生长活力,使用流式细胞术检测细胞凋亡水平,western blot检测细胞自噬标记蛋白(Beclin1)的表达水平。结果:(1)高糖溶液刺激内皮细胞24 h后,细胞生长活力为正常组的55.0%(P0.01),自噬标记蛋白Beclin1的表达水平明显增加,凋亡水平为正常组的2.0倍;(2)与高糖组相比,RAPA组细胞生长活力明显增加,Beclin1的表达明显升高(P0.01),凋亡水平为高糖组的70.1%;(3)与高糖组相比,3-MA组细胞生长活力明显减少,Beclin1的表达明显降低(P0.01),凋亡水平为高糖组的1.42倍。结论:细胞自噬可能对高糖诱导的人冠状动脉内皮细胞具有凋亡保护作用。     

Retinoic Acid Prevents Disruption of Blood-Spinal Cord Barrier by Inducing Autophagic Flux After Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) induces the disruption of the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB), which leads to infiltration of blood cells, inflammatory responses and neuronal cell death, with subsequent development of spinal cord secondary damage. Recent reports pointed to an important role of retinoic acid (RA), the active metabolite of the vitamin A, in the induction of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) during human and mouse development, however, it is unknown whether RA plays a role in maintaining BSCB integrity under the pathological conditions such as SCI. In this study, we investigated the BSCB protective role of RA both in vivo and in vitro and demonstrated that autophagy are involved in the BSCB protective effect of RA. Our data show that RA attenuated BSCB permeability and also attenuated the loss of tight junction molecules such as P120, β-catenin, Occludin and Claudin5 after injury in vivo as well as in brain microvascular endothelial cells. In addition, RA administration improved functional recovery of the rat model of trauma. We also found that RA could significantly increase the expression of LC3-II and decrease the expression of p62 both in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, combining RA with the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) partially abolished its protective effect on the BSCB and exacerbated the loss of tight junctions. Together, our studies indicate that RA improved functional recovery in part by the prevention of BSCB disruption via the activation of autophagic flux after SCI.