• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• 제63권4호
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• pp.854-863
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• 2021

Weaning induces physiological changes in intestinal development that affect pigs' growth performance and susceptibility to disease. As a posttranscriptional regulator, microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate cellular homeostasis during intestinal development. We performed small RNA expression profiling in the small intestine of piglets before weaning (BW), 1 week after weaning (1W), and 2 weeks after weaning (2W) to identify weaning-associated differentially expressed miRNAs. We identified 38 differentially expressed miRNAs with varying expression levels among BW, 1W, and 2W. Then, we classified expression patterns of the identified miRNAs into four types. ssc-miR-196a and ssc-miR-451 represent pattern 1, which had an increased expression at 1W and a decreased expression at 2W. ssc-miR-499-5p represents pattern 2, which had an increased expression at 1W and a stable expression at 2W. ssc-miR-7135-3p and ssc-miR-144 represent pattern 3, which had a stable expression at 1W and a decreased expression at 2W. Eleven miRNAs (ssc-miR-542-3p, ssc-miR-214, ssc-miR-758, ssc-miR-4331, ssc-miR-105-1, ssc-miR-1285, ssc-miR-10a-5p, ssc-miR-4332, ssc-miR-503, ssc-miR-6782-3p, and ssc-miR-424-5p) represent pattern 4, which had a decreased expression at 1W and a stable expression at 2W. Moreover, we identified 133 candidate targets for miR-196a using a target prediction database. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses revealed that the target genes were associated with 19 biological processes, 4 cellular components, 8 molecular functions, and 7 KEGG pathways, including anterior/posterior pattern specification as well as the cancer, PI3K-Akt, MAPK, GnRH, and neurotrophin signaling pathways. These findings suggest that miRNAs regulate the development of the small intestine during the weaning process in piglets by anterior/posterior pattern specification as well as the cancer, PI3K-Akt, MAPK, GnRH, and neurotrophin signaling pathways.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제29권3호
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• pp.273-281
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• 2021

Severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Signaling pathways that are essential for virus production have potential as therapeutic targets against COVID-19. In this study, we investigated cellular responses in two cell lines, Vero and Calu-3, upon SARS-CoV-2 infection and evaluated the effects of pathway-specific inhibitors on virus production. SARS-CoV-2 infection induced dephosphorylation of STAT1 and STAT3, high virus production, and apoptosis in Vero cells. However, in Calu-3 cells, SARS-CoV-2 infection induced long-lasting phosphorylation of STAT1 and STAT3, low virus production, and no prominent apoptosis. Inhibitors that target STAT3 phosphorylation and dimerization reduced SARS-CoV-2 production in Calu-3 cells, but not in Vero cells. These results suggest a necessity to evaluate cellular consequences upon SARS-CoV-2 infection using various model cell lines to find out more appropriate cells recapitulating relevant responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제43권4호
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• pp.223-230
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• 2018

Exosomes are Nano-sized lipid vesicles secreted from mammalian cells containing diverse cellular materials such as proteins, lipids, and nucleotides. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that in saliva, exosomes and their contents such as microRNAs (miRNAs) mediate numerous cellular responses upon delivery to recipient cells. The objective of this study was to characterize the different expression profile of exosomal miRNAs in saliva samples, periodically isolated from a single periodontitis patient. Unstimulated saliva was collected from a single patient over time periods for managing periodontitis. MicroRNAs extracted from each phase were investigated for the expression of exosomal miRNAs. Salivary exosomal miRNAs were analyzed using Affymetrix miRNA arrays and prediction of target genes and pathways for its different expression performed using DIANA-mirPath, a web-based, computational tool. Following the delivery of miRNA mimics (hsa-miR-4487, -4532, and -7108-5p) into human gingival fibroblasts, the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and activation of the MAPK pathway were evaluated through RT-PCR and western blotting. In each phase, 13 and 43 miRNAs were found to be differently expressed $({\mid}FC{\mid}{\geq}2)$. Among these, hsa-miR-4487 $({\mid}FC{\mid}=9.292005)$ and has-miR-4532 $({\mid}FC{\mid}=18.322697)$ were highly up-regulated in the clinically severe phase, whereas hsa-miR-7108-5p $({\mid}FC{\mid}=12.20601)$ was strongly up-regulated in the clinically mild phase. In addition, the overexpression of miRNA mimics in human gingival fibroblasts resulted in a significant induction of IL-6 mRNA expression and p38 phosphorylation. The findings of this study established alterations in salivary exosomal miRNAs which are dependent on the severity of periodontitis and may act as potential candidates for the treatment of oral inflammatory diseases.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.302-310
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• 2019

Melanoma cells have been shown to respond to BRAF inhibitors; however, intrinsic and acquired resistance limits their clinical application. In this study, we performed RNA-Seq analysis with BRAF inhibitor-sensitive (A375P) and -resistant (A375P/Mdr with acquired resistance and SK-MEL-2 with intrinsic resistance) melanoma cell lines, to reveal the genes and pathways potentially involved in intrinsic and acquired resistance to BRAF inhibitors. A total of 546 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 239 up-regulated and 307 down-regulated genes, were identified in both intrinsic and acquired resistant cells. Gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed that the top 10 biological processes associated with these genes included angiogenesis, immune response, cell adhesion, antigen processing and presentation, extracellular matrix organization, osteoblast differentiation, collagen catabolic process, viral entry into host cell, cell migration, and positive regulation of protein kinase B signaling. In addition, using the PAN-THER GO classification system, we showed that the highest enriched GOs targeted by the 546 DEGs were responses to cellular processes (ontology: biological process), binding (ontology: molecular function), and cell subcellular localization (ontology: cellular component). Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) network analysis showed a network that was common to two BRAF inhibitorresistant cells. Taken together, the present study may provide a useful platform to further reveal biological processes associated with BRAF inhibitor resistance, and present areas for therapeutic tool development to overcome BRAF inhibitor resistance.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제44권1호
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• pp.13-25
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• 2021

Apoptosis and compensatory proliferation, two intertwined cellular processes essential for both development and adult homeostasis, are often initiated by the mis-regulation of centrosomal proteins, damaged DNA, and defects in mitosis. Fly Anastral spindle 3 (Ana3) is a member of the pericentriolar matrix proteins and known as a key component of centriolar cohesion and basal body formation. We report here that ana3m19 is a suppressor of lethality induced by the overexpression of Sol narae (Sona), a metalloprotease in a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin motif (ADAMTS) family. ana3m19 has a nonsense mutation that truncates the highly conserved carboxyl terminal region containing multiple Armadillo repeats. Lethality induced by Sona overexpression was completely rescued by knockdown of Ana3, and the small and malformed wing and hinge phenotype induced by the knockdown of Ana3 was also normalized by Sona overexpression, establishing a mutually positive genetic interaction between ana3 and sona. p35 inhibited apoptosis and rescued the small wing and hinge phenotype induced by knockdown of ana3. Furthermore, overexpression of Ana3 increased the survival rate of irradiated flies and reduced the number of dying cells, demonstrating that Ana3 actively promotes cell survival. Knockdown of Ana3 decreased the levels of both intra- and extracellular Sona in wing discs, while overexpression of Ana3 in S2 cells dramatically increased the levels of both cytoplasmic and exosomal Sona due to the stabilization of Sona in the lysosomal degradation pathway. We propose that one of the main functions of Ana3 is to stabilize Sona for cell survival and proliferation.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제46권2호
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• pp.266-274
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• 2022

Colon cancer, the third most frequent occurred cancer, has high mortality and extremely poor prognosis. Ginsenoside, the active components of traditional Chinese herbal medicine Panax ginseng, exerts antitumor effect in various cancers, including colon cancer. However, the detailed molecular mechanism of Ginsenoside in the tumor suppression have not been fully elucidated. Here, we chose the representative ginsenoside Rg3 and reported for the first time that Rg3 induces mitophagy in human colon cancer cells, which is responsible for its anticancer effect. Rg3 treatment leads to mitochondria damage and the formation of mitophagosome; when autophagy is inhibited, the clearance of damaged mitochondria can be reversed. Next, our results showed that Rg3 treatment activates the PINK1-Parkin signaling pathway and recruits Parkin and ubiquitin proteins to mitochondria to induce mitophagy. GO analysis of Parkin targets showed that Parkin interacts with a large number of mitochondrial proteins and regulates the molecular function of mitochondria. The cellular energy metabolism enzyme GAPDH is validated as a novel substrate of Parkin, which is ubiquitinated by Parkin. Moreover, GAPDH participates in the Rg3-induced mitophagy and regulates the translocation of Parkin to mitochondria. Functionally, Rg3 exerts the inhibitory effect through regulating the nonglycolytic activity of GAPDH, which could be associated with the cellular oxidative stress. Thus, our results revealed GAPDH ubiquitination by Parkin as a crucial mechanism for mitophagy induction that contributes to the tumor-suppressive function of ginsenoside, which could be a novel treatment strategy for colon cancer.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제45권4호
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• pp.257-272
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• 2022

In addition to inducing apoptosis, caspase inhibition contributes to necroptosis and/or autophagy depending on the cell type and cellular context. In macrophages, necroptosis can be induced by co-treatment with Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands (lipopolysaccharide [LPS] for TLR4 and polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid [poly I:C] for TLR3) and a cell-permeable pan-caspase inhibitor zVAD. Here, we elucidated the signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms of cell death. We showed that LPS/zVAD- and poly I:C/zVAD-induced cell death in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) was inhibited by receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIP1) inhibitor necrostatin-1 and autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine. Electron microscopic images displayed autophagosome/autolysosomes, and immunoblotting data revealed increased LC3II expression. Although zVAD did not affect LPS- or poly I:C-induced activation of IKK, JNK, and p38, it enhanced IRF3 and STAT1 activation as well as type I interferon (IFN) expression. In addition, zVAD inhibited ERK and Akt phosphorylation induced by LPS and poly I:C. Of note, zVAD-induced enhancement of the IRF3/IFN/STAT1 axis was abolished by necrostatin-1, while zVAD-induced inhibition of ERK and Akt was not. Our data further support the involvement of autocrine IFNs action in reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent necroptosis, LPS/zVAD-elicited ROS production was inhibited by necrostatin-1, neutralizing antibody of IFN receptor (IFNR) and JAK inhibitor AZD1480. Accordingly, both cell death and ROS production induced by TLR ligands plus zVAD were abrogated in STAT1 knockout macrophages. We conclude that enhanced TRIF-RIP1-dependent autocrine action of IFNβ, rather than inhibition of ERK or Akt, is involved in TLRs/zVAD-induced autophagic and necroptotic cell death via the JAK/STAT1/ROS pathway.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제45권6호
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• pp.403-412
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• 2022

Hypoxia leads to significant cellular stress that has diverse pathological consequences such as cardiovascular diseases and cancers. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are one of regulators of the adaptive pathway in hypoxia. We identified a hypoxia-induced miRNA, miR-34c, that was significantly upregulated in hypoxic human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and in murine blood vessels on day 3 of hindlimb ischemia (HLI). miR-34c directly inhibited BCL2 expression, acting as a toggle switch between apoptosis and autophagy in vitro and in vivo. BCL2 repression by miR-34c activated autophagy, which was evaluated by the expression of LC3-II. Overexpression of miR-34c inhibited apoptosis in HUVEC as well as in a murine model of HLI, and increased cell viability in HUVEC. Importantly, the number of viable cells in the blood vessels following HLI was increased by miR-34c overexpression. Collectively, our findings show that miR-34c plays a protective role in hypoxia, suggesting a novel therapeutic target for hypoxic and ischemic diseases in the blood vessels.

• 대한본초학회지
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.1-8
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• 2020

Objectives : This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of Corni Fructus, the dried fruits of Cornus officinalis Sieb., on unilateral common carotid artery occlusion (UCCAO) in mouse model. Methods : The Corni Fructus used in the experiment was extracted with anhydrous methanol, then filtered and freeze-dried. C57BL/6 mice used in the experiments were conducted left UCCAO surgery to set up UCCAO rodent model for mice. The mice were divided into five groups for evaluate the effect of methanol extract of Corni Fructus (COM) on UCCAO induced ischemic brain injury. The expression levels of nitric oxide in cerebrum and serum, body weight change were measured. To determine the effect of UCCAO and COM administration on brain neurons, morphological changes of the cerebrum through a microscope was conducted. And western blot was performed to confirm the underlying mechanism of neuroprotective effect of COM administration. Results : COM administered UCCAO groups (CO50, CO150, and CO500) had no significant effects on nitric oxide production in ipsilateral hemisphere proteins and sera. The CO500, 500 mg/kg COM administration, attenuated UCCAO-induced p38 inflammatory signaling pathway and inflammatory mediators such as iNOS and COX-2. The CO500 group showed resilient morphological changes of hippocampus neuronal cells about brain damage caused by decreased flow of blood. These group also showed decreased inflammation and cellular stress response in neuronal cells. Conclusions : From these results, COM has a neuroprotective property via moderating inflammatory factors and cellular stress inducing factors in brain cells.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제46권1호
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• pp.79-90
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• 2022

Background: Herbal medicines are popular approaches to capably prevent and treat obesity and its related diseases. Excessive exposure to dietary lipids causes oxidative stress and inflammation, which possibly induces cellular senescence and contribute the damaging effects in brain. The potential roles of selective enhanced ginsenoside in regulating high fat diet (HFD)-induced brain damage remain unknown. Methods: The protection function of Ginsenoside F1-enhanced mixture (SGB121) was evaluated by in vivo and in vitro experiments. Human primary astrocytes and SH-SY5Y cells were treated with palmitic acid conjugated Bovine Serum Albumin, and the effects of SGB121 were determined by MTT and lipid uptake assays. For in vivo tests, C57BL/6J mice were fed with high fat diet for 3 months with or without SGB121 administration. Thereafter, immunohistochemistry, western blot, PCR and ELISA assays were conducted with brain tissues. Results and conclusion: SGB121 selectively suppressed HFD-induced oxidative stress and cellular senescence in brain, and reduced subsequent inflammation responses manifested by abrogated secretion of IL-6, IL-1β and TNFα via NF-κB signaling pathway. Interestingly, SGB121 protects against HFD-induced damage by improving mitophagy and endoplasmic reticulum-stress associated autophagy flux and inhibiting apoptosis. In addition, SGB121 regulates lipid uptake and accumulation by FATP4 and PPARα. SGB121 significantly abates excessively phosphorylated tau protein in the cortex and GFAP activation in corpus callosum. Together, our results suggest that SGB121 is able to favor the resistance of brain to HFD-induced damage, therefore provide explicit evidence of the potential to be a functional food.