γ- 分泌酶抑制剂对糖基化终产物作用下心肌微血管 内皮细胞的影响

目的:探讨Notch信号特异性阻断剂γ-分泌酶抑制剂(DAPT)对AGEs作用下的心肌微血管内皮细胞的增殖、迁移、管样结构的影响。方法:SD大鼠心肌微血管内皮细胞体外分离培养后,以不同浓度DAPT(0.25、0.5、1.0、5.0、10μmol/L)干预200mg/LAGEs作用下的CMECs24h,或者与DAPT(5μmol/L)孵育不同时间(24h、48h、72h、96h、120h),采用MTT比色法检测细胞的增值能力;用Transwell法检测细胞的迁移能力;用毛细血管管样结构形成实验检测DAPT对血管新生的影响。结果:DAPT显著抑制AGEs作用下的心肌微血管内皮细胞的存活,同时浓度越高、时间越长,其抑制效果越明显。结论:DAPT通过阻断Notch信号通路,能抑制AGEs作用下的心肌微血管内皮细胞的增殖及血管新生,促进细胞凋亡。     

In vitro evaluation of 5-arylidene-2-thioxo-4-thiazolidinones active as aldose reductase inhibitors

2-Thioxo-4-thiazolidinone derivatives were evaluated as aldose reductase inhibitors (ARIs) and most of them exhibited good or excellent in vitro efficacy. Out of the tested compounds, most N-unsubstituted analogues were found to possess inhibitory effects at low micromolar doses and two of them exhibited higher potency than sorbinil, used as a reference drug. The insertion of an acetic chain on N-3 of the thiazolidinone scaffold led to analogues with submicromolar affinity for ALR2 and IC₅₀ values very similar to that of epalrestat, the only ARI currently used in therapy.     

Controversial behavior of aminoguanidine in the presence of either reducing sugars or soluble glycated bovine serum albumin

The elucidation of the controversial inhibitory effect of aminoguanidine (AG) on the cross-linking and fluorescent advanced glycation end products (AGEs) formation during long-term in vitro glycation of type I collagen with 250 mM reducing sugars or 0.5 mg/ml soluble glycated bovine serum albumin (AGE-BSA) was researched.Chromatographic and SDS–PAGE analyses revealed the formation of aggregates during collagen glycation. AG at all concentrations (5–80 mM) prevented the cross-linking of collagen peptides with monosaccharides but an increase in fluorescence with a maximum value at 10 mM AG was noticed. In the presence of AGE-BSA, AG prevented the cross-linking process and decreased the fluorescence levels in a concentration-dependent manner.Our results suggest that AG is an efficient inhibitor of collagen cross-linking and the highest increase in fluorescence due to reducing sugars and AG can be explained by the competition between guanidine group of AG and arginine residues of some protein-bound dideoxyosones, which could form fluorescent compounds.     

Cartilage tissue engineering: Molecular control of chondrocyte differentiation for proper cartilage matrix reconstruction

Background

Articular cartilage defects are a veritable therapeutic problem because therapeutic options are very scarce. Due to the poor self-regeneration capacity of cartilage, minor cartilage defects often lead to osteoarthritis. Several surgical strategies have been developed to repair damaged cartilage. Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) gives encouraging results, but this cell-based therapy involves a step of chondrocyte expansion in a monolayer, which results in the loss in the differentiated phenotype. Thus, despite improvement in the quality of life for patients, reconstructed cartilage is in fact fibrocartilage. Successful ACI, according to the particular physiology of chondrocytes in vitro, requires active and phenotypically stabilized chondrocytes.

Scope of review

This review describes the unique physiology of cartilage, with the factors involved in its formation, stabilization and degradation. Then, we focus on some of the most recent advances in cell therapy and tissue engineering that open up interesting perspectives for maintaining or obtaining the chondrogenic character of cells in order to treat cartilage lesions.

Major conclusions

Current research involves the use of chondrocytes or progenitor stem cells, associated with “smart” biomaterials and growth factors. Other influential factors, such as cell sources, oxygen pressure and mechanical strain are considered, as are recent developments in gene therapy to control the chondrocyte differentiation/dedifferentiation process.

General significance

This review provides new information on the mechanisms regulating the state of differentiation of chondrocytes and the chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells that will lead to the development of new restorative cell therapy approaches in humans. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Matrix-mediated cell behaviour and properties.     

miR-375在AGEs介导糖尿病血管损伤细胞中的生物学功能

目的：探讨miR-375在血管损伤细胞中的表达及生物学功能。方法：利用基因克隆技术构建miR-375表达载体;然后将miR-375表达质粒转染至血管损伤细胞中,同时分别设立Huvec12对照组,血管损伤细胞组,血管损伤抑制组,Huvec12转染miR-375组。24h后收集细胞,在mRNA和蛋白水平检测Mtpn、NFκB、profilin1、sICAM1的表达,经荧光染色观察细胞F-actin的变化,再用流式细胞仪检测细胞凋亡。结果：血管损伤细胞中过表达miR-375后,在mRNA和蛋白水平靶基因Mtpn下降,NFκB的表达活性下降,使糖尿病血管病变的标志profilin1下调;F-actin表达恢复;细胞粘附因子（sICAM1）表达下降,细胞凋亡减少。结论：初步证明miR-375可以抑制AGEs介导的糖尿病血管细胞损伤的发生,可能成为糖尿病血管损伤并发症基因治疗的靶点。     

Radiolytic Cyclization Products of Phloridzin as Potent Anti‐Glycation Agents

The current research examined for radiolytic structure modification and improved bioefficacy of phloridzin by γ‐ray, subsequent to a 50 kGy irradiation dose. Structures of the unusual degraded products phlorocyclin, isophlorocyclin, and radiophlorisin were determined spectroscopically, by detailed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS). Additionally, absolute configuration of the novel cyclized phlorocyclin and isophlorocyclin were proposed by circular dichroism (CD) spectrum analysis. Among the compounds tested, phlorocyclin and isophlorocyclin exhibit potent antidiabetic complication capacities toward advanced glycation end products (AGEs) formation inhibition assay, with IC₅₀ values of 9.1±0.5 and 13.8±0.7 μM, respectively. Furthermore, the predominantly formed products phlorocyclin and isophlorocyclin exerted significantly enhanced DPPH radical scavenging activity compared to the parent phloridzin. These results indicate that γ‐ray mediated cyclization of phloridzin exerts a positive influence on the bioactivity.     

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) inhibits advanced glycation end product (AGE)-induced C-reactive protein expression in hepatoma cells by suppressing Rac-1 activation

Serum levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are associated with an acute phase reactant, C-reactive proteins (CRP) in diabetic patients. However, whether AGEs could directly stimulate hepatic CRP production remains to be elucidated. We found here that AGEs upregulated CRP mRNA levels in cultured Hep3B cells via Rac-1 activation, which was blocked by pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF). Our present study suggests that AGEs are one of the potent inducers of CRP and that PEDF may work as an anti-inflammatory agent against AGEs in the liver.     

Aminoguanidine normalizes ET-1-induced aortic contraction in type 2 diabetic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats by suppressing Jab1-mediated increase in ET(A)-receptor expression

Circulating levels of endothelin (ET)-1 are increased in the diabetic state, as is endogenous ET(A)-receptor-mediated vasoconstriction. However, the responsible mechanisms remain unknown. We hypothesized that ET-1-induced vasoconstriction is augmented in type 2 diabetes with hyperglycemia through an increment in advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). So, we investigated whether treatment with aminoguanidine (AG), an inhibitor of AGEs, would normalize the ET-1-induced contraction induced by ET-1 in strips of thoracic aortas isolated from OLETF rats at the chronic stage of diabetes. In such aortas (vs. those from age-matched genetic control LETO rats): (1) the ET-1-induced contraction was enhanced, (2) the levels of HIF1α/ECE1/plasma ET-1 and plasma CML-AGEs were increased, (3) the ET-1-stimulated ERK phosphorylation mediated by ET(A)-R was increased, (4) the expression level of Jab1-modified ET(A)-R protein was reduced, and (5) the expression level of O-GlcNAcylated ET(A)-R protein was increased. Aortas isolated from such OLETF rats that had been treated with AG (50mg/kg/day for 10 weeks) exhibited reduced ET-1-induced contraction, suppressed ET-1-stimulated ERK phosphorylation accompanied by down-regulation of ET(A)-R, and increased modification of ET(A)-R by Jab1. Such AG-treated rats exhibited normalized plasma ET-1 and CML-AGE levels, and their aortas exhibited decreased HIF1α/ECE1 expression. However, such AG treatment did not alter the elevated levels of plasma glucose or insulin, or systolic blood pressure seen in OLETF rats. These data from the OLETF model suggest that within the timescale studied here, AG normalizes ET-1-induced aortic contraction by suppressing ET(A)-R/ERK activities and/or by normalizing the imbalance between Jab1 and O-GlcNAc in type 2 diabetes.     

Angiotensin II augments advanced glycation end product-induced pericyte apoptosis through RAGE overexpression

Advanced glycation end product (AGE)-their receptor (RAGE) and angiotensin II (AII) are implicated in diabetic retinopathy. However, a crosstalk between the two is not fully understood. In vivo, AGE injection stimulated RAGE expression in the eye of spontaneously hypertensive rats, which was blocked by an AII-type 1 receptor blocker, telmisartan. In vitro, AII-type 1 receptor-mediated reactive oxygen species generation elicited RAGE gene expression in pericytes through NF-kappaB activation. Further, AII augmented AGE-induced pericyte apoptosis, the earliest hallmark of diabetic retinopathy. Our present study may implicate a crosstalk between AGE-RAGE system and AII in diabetic retinopathy.     

Glycated proteins can enhance photooxidative stress in aged and diabetic lenses

This study intends to clarify the ability of different carbonyl-containing lens metabolites to form advanced glycation end products, which possess photosensitizer activity and to investigate whether these modified proteins could be implicated in lens photodamage. Calf lens protein was experimentally glycated with either methylglyoxal, glyoxal, ascorbic acid, or fructose to obtain models of aged and diabetic cataractous lenses. Being exposed to 200 J/cm 2 UVA radiation the model glycated proteins produced 2-3-fold more singlet oxygen compared to the unmodified protein and the superoxide radical formation was 30-80% higher than by the native protein. Ascorbylated proteins demonstrated the highest photosensitizer activity. Biological responses of glycation-related photosensitizers were studied on cultured lens epithelial cells irradiated with 40 J/cm 2 UVA. Tissue culture studies revealed a significant increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in the culture medium of lens epithelial cells after irradiation and treatment with glycated proteins. Lens proteins had a protective effect against UVA induced cytotoxicity, however, this protective effect decreased with the increasing photosensitizer activity of experimentally glycated proteins. The documented glycation-related photosensitization could explain the accelerated pathogenic changes in human lens at advanced age and under diabetic conditions.