-
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Feb 2023Biothiols, including glutathione (GSH), homocysteine (Hcy) and cysteine (Cys), play crucial roles in various physiological processes. Though an array of fluorescent...
Biothiols, including glutathione (GSH), homocysteine (Hcy) and cysteine (Cys), play crucial roles in various physiological processes. Though an array of fluorescent probes have been designed to visualize biothiols in living organisms, few one-for-all imaging agents for sensing biothiols with fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging capabilities have been reported, since instructions for synchronously enabling and balancing every optical imaging efficacy are deficient. Herein, a new near-infrared thioxanthene-hemicyanine dye (Cy-DNBS) has been constructed for fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging of biothiols in vitro and in vivo. Upon treatment with biothiols, the absorption peak of Cy-DNBS shifted from 592 nm to 726 nm, resulting in a strong NIR absorption as well as a subsequent turn-on PA signal. Meanwhile, the fluorescence intensity increased instantaneously at 762 nm. Then, Cy-DNBS was successfully utilized for imaging endogenous and exogenous biothiols in HepG2 cells and mice. In particular, Cy-DNBS was employed for tracking biothiols upregulation in the liver of mice triggered by S-adenosyl methionine by means of fluorescent and photoacoustic imaging methods. We expect that Cy-DNBS serves as an appealing candidate for deciphering biothiols-related physiological and pathological processes.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Cysteine; Fluorescent Dyes; Spectrometry, Fluorescence; Optical Imaging; Liver; Neoplasms; Glutathione; Homocysteine
PubMed: 36903474
DOI: 10.3390/molecules28052229 -
Cell Death & Disease Mar 2023Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by eczema-like skin lesions, dry skin, severe itching, and recurrent recurrence. The whey...
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by eczema-like skin lesions, dry skin, severe itching, and recurrent recurrence. The whey acidic protein four-disulfide core domain gene WFDC12 is highly expressed in skin tissue and up-regulated in the skin lesions of AD patients, but its role and relevant mechanism in AD pathogenesis have not been studied yet. In this study, we found that the expression of WFDC12 was closely related to clinical symptoms of AD and the severity of AD-like lesions induced by DNFB in transgenic mice. WFDC12-overexpressing in the epidermis might promote the migration of skin-presenting cells to lymph nodes and increase Th cell infiltration. Meanwhile, the number and ratio of immune cells and mRNA levels of cytokines were significantly upregulated in transgenic mice. In addition, we found that ALOX12/15 gene expression was upregulated in the arachidonic acid metabolism pathway, and the corresponding metabolite accumulation was increased. The activity of epidermal serine hydrolase decreased and the accumulation of platelet-activating factor (PAF) increased in the epidermis of transgenic mice. Collectively, our data demonstrate that WFDC12 may contribute to the exacerbation of AD-like symptoms in DNFB-induced mouse model by enhancing arachidonic acid metabolism and PAF accumulation and that WFDC12 may be a potential therapeutic target for human atopic dermatitis.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Humans; Dermatitis, Atopic; Platelet Activating Factor; Arachidonic Acid; Dinitrofluorobenzene; Skin; Proteins; Arachidonate 12-Lipoxygenase
PubMed: 36882395
DOI: 10.1038/s41419-023-05686-3 -
Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences 2023Retinol is widely used in topical skincare products to ameliorate skin aging and treat acne and wrinkles; however, retinol and its derivatives occasionally have adverse...
Retinol is widely used in topical skincare products to ameliorate skin aging and treat acne and wrinkles; however, retinol and its derivatives occasionally have adverse side effects, including the induction of irritant contact dermatitis. Previously, we reported that mead acid (5,8,11-eicosatrienoic acid), an oleic acid metabolite, ameliorated skin inflammation in dinitrofluorobenzene-induced allergic contact hypersensitivity by inhibiting neutrophil infiltration and leukotriene B production by neutrophils. Here, we showed that mead acid also suppresses retinol-induced irritant contact dermatitis. In a murine model, we revealed that mead acid inhibited keratinocyte abnormalities such as keratinocyte hyperproliferation. Consistently, mead acid inhibited p38 MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) phosphorylation, which is an essential signaling pathway in the keratinocyte hyperplasia induced by retinol. These inhibitory effects of mead acid were associated with the prevention of both keratinocyte hyperproliferation and the gene expression of neutrophil chemoattractants, including Cxcl1 and Cxcl2, and they were mediated by a PPAR (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor)-α pathway. Our findings identified the anti-inflammatory effects of mead acid, the use of which can be expected to minimize the risk of adverse side effects associated with topical retinoid application.
PubMed: 36825199
DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1097955 -
Breast Cancer (Tokyo, Japan) May 2023The discovery of early warning signs and biomarkers in patients with early breast cancer is crucial for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Dynamic Network...
BACKGROUND
The discovery of early warning signs and biomarkers in patients with early breast cancer is crucial for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Dynamic Network Biomarker (DNB) is an approach based on nonlinear dynamics theory, which we exploited to identify a set of DNB members and their key genes as early warning signals during breast cancer staging progression.
METHODS
First, based on the gene expression profile of breast cancer in the TCGA database, the DNB algorithm was used to calculate the composite index (CI) of each gene cluster in the process of breast cancer anatomical staging. Then we calculated gene modules associated with the clinical phenotype stage based on weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), combined with DNB membership to identify key genes in the network.
RESULTS
We identified a set of gene clusters with the highest CI in Stage II as DNBs, whose roles in related pathways indicate the emergence of a tipping point and impact on breast cancer development. In addition, analysis of the key gene GPRIN1 showed that high expression of GPRIN1 predicts poor prognosis, and related immune analysis showed that GPRIN1 is involved in the development of breast cancer through immune aspects.
CONCLUSION
The discovery of DNBs and the key gene GPRIN1 can provide potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for breast cancer.
Topics: Humans; Female; Breast Neoplasms; Biomarkers; Dinitrofluorobenzene; Gene Expression Profiling; Biomarkers, Tumor
PubMed: 36807044
DOI: 10.1007/s12282-023-01438-5 -
Briefings in Functional Genomics Jul 2023As a dynamical system, complex disease always has a sudden state transition at the tipping point, which is the result of the long-term accumulation of abnormal...
As a dynamical system, complex disease always has a sudden state transition at the tipping point, which is the result of the long-term accumulation of abnormal regulations. This paper proposes a novel approach to detect the early-warning signals of influenza A (H3N2 and H1N1) outbreaks by dysregulated dynamic network biomarkers (dysregulated DNBs) for individuals. The results of cross-validation show that our approach can detect early-warning signals before the symptom appears successfully. Unlike the traditional DNBs, our dysregulated DNBs are anchored and very few, which is essential for disease early diagnosis in clinical practice. Moreover, the genes of dysregulated DNBs are significantly enriched in the influenza-related pathways. The source code of this paper can be freely downloaded from https://github.com/YanhaoHuo/dysregulated-DNBs.git.
Topics: Humans; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype; Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype; Influenza, Human; Biomarkers
PubMed: 36787234
DOI: 10.1093/bfgp/elad006 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2022Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with significant health/economic burdens. Existing therapies are not fully effective, necessitating...
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with significant health/economic burdens. Existing therapies are not fully effective, necessitating development of new approaches for AD management. Here, we report that dietary grape powder (GP) mitigates AD-like symptoms in 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB)-induced AD in NC/NgaTndCrlj mice. Using prevention and intervention protocols, we tested the efficacy of 3% and 5% GP-fortified diet in a 13-weeks study. We found that GP feeding markedly inhibited development and progression of AD-like skin lesions, and caused reduction in i) epidermal thickness, mast cell infiltration, ulceration, excoriation and acanthosis in dorsal skin, ii) spleen weight, extramedullary hematopoiesis and lymph nodes sizes, and iii) ear weight and IgE levels. We also found significant modulations in 15 AD-associated serum cytokines/chemokines. Next, using quantitative global proteomics, we identified 714 proteins. Of these, 68 (normal control) and 21 (5% GP-prevention) were significantly modulated (≥2-fold) vs AD control (DNFB-treated) group, with many GP-modulated proteins reverting to normal levels. Ingenuity pathway analysis of GP-modulated proteins followed by validation using ProteinSimple identified changes in acute phase response signaling (FGA, FGB, FGG, HP, HPX, LRG1). Overall, GP supplementation inhibited DNFB-induced AD in NC/NgaTndCrlj mice in both prevention and intervention trials, and should be explored further.
Topics: Mice; Animals; Dermatitis, Atopic; Vitis; Dinitrofluorobenzene; Skin Diseases; Diet
PubMed: 36741360
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1051472 -
Inhibition of Mast Cell Degranulation in Atopic Dermatitis by Celastrol through Suppressing MRGPRX2.Disease Markers 2023Atopic dermatitis is a common dermatological disease, and mast cell degranulation is believed to be related with the progression of atopic dermatitis. Mas-related G...
BACKGROUND
Atopic dermatitis is a common dermatological disease, and mast cell degranulation is believed to be related with the progression of atopic dermatitis. Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor-X2 (MRGPRX2), and calcium release-activated calcium channel protein 1-2 (ORAI-1, ORAI-2) are involved in mast cell degranulation. Celastrol is an active monomer of Tripterygium wilfordii, and it presents an antiatopic role.
METHODS
2,4-Dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) and compound 48/80 (C 48/80) were used to establish a slow and acute scratching animal model, respectively. Hematoxylin-eosin and toluidine blue staining was used to investigate tissue injury. Inflammatory factor concentration was measured with ELISA. The expression of MRGPRX2, ORAI-1, and ORAI-2 was detected with immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. Gene expression profiling and microRNA array were performed to investigate gene differential expression.
RESULTS
Celastrol greatly inhibited atopic dermatitis-related tissues injury, mast cell production, histamine release, scratching level, inflammatory factor expression, and activation of MRGPRX2/ORAI axis in the DNFB-induced atopic dermatitis model. The influence of Celastrol on atopic dermatitis was remarkably reversed by overexpression of MRGPRX2.
CONCLUSION
We found that the improvements of atopic dermatitis caused by Celastrol were reversed by treatment with MRGPRX2, indicating that Celastrol might affect atopic dermatitis through MRGPRX2. This study might provide a novel thought for the prevention and treatment of atopic dermatitis by regulating MRGPRX2.
Topics: Animals; Dermatitis, Atopic; Cell Degranulation; Mast Cells; Dinitrofluorobenzene; Receptors, Neuropeptide; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
PubMed: 36712922
DOI: 10.1155/2023/9049256 -
Toxicological Sciences : An Official... Feb 2023Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, inflammatory cutaneous disorder. Obesity is associated with increased prevalence and severity of AD for reasons that remain poorly...
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, inflammatory cutaneous disorder. Obesity is associated with increased prevalence and severity of AD for reasons that remain poorly understood. Myricetin, a dietary flavonoid found in fruits and vegetables, is known to have anti-inflammatory effects, but its role in AD is unclear. Thus, we investigated the effects of obesity on exacerbation AD lesions and evaluated the effects of myricetin on obese AD. Mice were fed normal diet (ND) or high-fat diet, and then 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene was used to induce AD-like lesions. We found that obesity exacerbated AD lesions, and myricetin topical administration ameliorated symptoms and skin lesions of obsess AD mice, such as dermatitis scores, scratching behavior, epidermal thickness, and mast cell infiltration. In addition, myricetin reduced the levels of immunoglobulin E and histamine, inhibited the infiltration of CD4+T cells, and modulated the expression of Th1, Th2, Th17, and Th22 cytokines and pro-inflammatory factors (CCL17, CCL22, IL-1β, and TGF-β). Moreover, myricetin restored impaired barrier function by reducing transepidermal water loss, increasing lamellar body secretion, as well as upregulating the mRNA and protein expression of filaggrin. Western blot results showed that significantly increased levels of phosphorylated IκB and NF-κB p65 was observed in the obese AD mice compared with the AD mice fed ND, whereas the myricetin could downregulated the phosphorylations of IκB and NF-κB, and inhibited mRNA expression of iNOS and COX2. Taken together, our results suggest that myricetin treatment exhibits potentially protective effects against the obeseassociated AD by inhibiting inflammatory response and restoring skin barrier function.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Cytokines; Dermatitis, Atopic; Dinitrofluorobenzene; Flavonoids; NF-kappa B; RNA, Messenger; Skin; Filaggrin Proteins
PubMed: 36575998
DOI: 10.1093/toxsci/kfac138 -
International Journal of Molecular... Dec 2022Herein, we developed a dual-activated prodrug, BTC, that contains three functional components: a glutathione (GSH)-responsive BODIPY-based photosensitizer with a...
Herein, we developed a dual-activated prodrug, BTC, that contains three functional components: a glutathione (GSH)-responsive BODIPY-based photosensitizer with a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) effect between BODIPY and the 2,4-dinitrobenzenesulfonate (DNBS) group, and an ROS-responsive thioketal linker connecting BODIPY and the chemotherapeutic agent camptothecin (CPT). Interestingly, CPT displayed low toxicity because the active site of CPT was modified by the BODIPY-based macrocycle. Additionally, BTC was encapsulated with the amphiphilic polymer DSPE-mPEG to improve drug solubility and tumor selectivity. The resulting nano-prodrug passively targeted tumor cells through enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effects, and then the photosensitizing ability of the BODIPY dye was restored by removing the DNBS group with the high concentration of GSH in tumor cells. Light-triggered ROS from activated BODIPY can not only induce apoptosis or necrosis of tumor cells but also sever the thioketal linker to release CPT, achieving the combination treatment of selective photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy. The antitumor activity of the prodrug has been demonstrated in mouse mammary carcinoma 4T1 and human breast cancer MCF-7 cell lines and 4T1 tumor-bearing mice.
Topics: Humans; Mice; Animals; Female; Prodrugs; Breast Neoplasms; Reactive Oxygen Species; Nanoparticles; Photochemotherapy; Photosensitizing Agents; Cell Line, Tumor
PubMed: 36555298
DOI: 10.3390/ijms232415656 -
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology Jun 2023Regulatory T cells (Tregs) express CD73, an ectonucleotidase that converts adenosine (Ado) monophosphate to Ado, which has been shown to suppress immune reactions. To...
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) express CD73, an ectonucleotidase that converts adenosine (Ado) monophosphate to Ado, which has been shown to suppress immune reactions. To investigate the role(s) of CD73 Tregs during the induction of tolerance, we used a 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene‒driven contact hypersensitivity model, in which tolerance can be induced by pretreating wild type mice with 2,4-dinitrothiocyanobenzene. CD73-deficient mice were unable to acquire tolerance. Likewise, transfer of CD73 Tregs failed to suppress 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene‒induced ear swelling in wild type mice, whereas transfer of wild type‒derived Tregs into CD73 mice re-established tolerance. This indicates a crucial role of CD73 Tregs for skin-induced tolerance. Furthermore, we found that 2,4-dinitrothiocyanobenzene induces more activated CD73 tissue-homing Tregs (marked by Ki-67, CTLA4, CCR4, CD103, CCR6, and CD49b expression) in draining lymph nodes and blood, eventually accumulating in the skin. The application of anti-CD73 antibodies that block CD73-derived Ado production as well as the injection of Ado deaminase, which degrades Ado in tissues, abrogated tolerance induction. Thus, our data indicate that CD73 Ado-producing Tregs are crucial for the regulation of contact hypersensitivity reactions and tolerance induction in the skin and that manipulating the function(s) of CD73 in tissues may offer a tool to influence autoimmunity and inflammation in vivo.
Topics: Mice; Animals; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory; Adenosine; Dinitrofluorobenzene; Dermatitis, Allergic Contact; Immune Tolerance; 5'-Nucleotidase
PubMed: 36539031
DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2022.12.003