Uranium induces kidney cells apoptosis via reactive oxygen species generation, endoplasmic reticulum stress and inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling in culture

N-acetylcysteine in Kidney Disease: Molecular Mechanisms, Pharmacokinetics, and Clinical Effectiveness

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has shown beneficial effects in both acute kidney disease and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in preclinical and clinical studies. Different dosage and administration forms of NAC have specific pharmacokinetic properties that determine the temporal pattern of plasma concentrations of NAC and its active metabolites. Especially in acute situations with short-term NAC administration, appropriate NAC and glutathione (GSH) plasma concentrations should be timely ensured. For oral dosage forms, bioavailability needs to be established for the respective NAC formulation. Kidney function influences NAC pharmacokinetics, including a reduction of NAC clearance in advanced CKD. In addition, mechanisms of action underlying beneficial NAC effects depend on kidney function as well as comorbidities, both involving GSH deficiency, alterations in nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-dependent signaling, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and disturbed mitochondrial bioenergetics. This also applies to nonrenal NAC mechanisms. The timing of preventive NAC administration in relation to potential injury is important. NAC administration seems most effective either preceding, or preceding and paralleling conditions that induce tissue damage. Furthermore, studies suggest that very high concentrations of NAC should be avoided because they could exert reductive stress. Delayed administration of NAC might interfere with endogenous repair mechanisms. In conclusion, studies on NAC treatment regimens need to account for both NAC pharmacokinetics and NAC molecular effects. Kidney function of the patient population and pathomechanisms of the kidney disease should guide rational NAC trial design. A targeted trial approach and biomarker-guided protocols could pave the way for the use of NAC in precision medicine.

Biological effect of U(VI) exposure on lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells

In this study, the biological effects of U(VI) exposure on lung epithelial cells were investigated by MTT assay, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, and Western blotting. U(VI)-induced stress triggers oxidative stress in cells, activates MAPK signaling pathways, and promotes inflammation. Additionally, U(VI) causes damage to the cell membrane structure and severe DNA injury, impacting the accuracy of transcription and translation. The results demonstrate that U(VI) exposure significantly inhibits cell proliferation and migration. This is attributed to the disruption of the PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway and the reduction in CyclinD1 expression, leading to a delayed cell cycle, decreased growth rate, mitochondrial damage, and reduced energy metabolism. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying uranium-induced cellular toxicity in lung epithelial cells.

mTORC1 and mTORC2 Co-Protect against Cadmium-Induced Renal Tubular Epithelial Cell Apoptosis and Acute Kidney Injury by Regulating Protein Kinase B

The potential threat of cadmium (Cd)-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) is increasing. In this study, our primary goal was to investigate the individual roles played by mTOR complexes, specifically mTORC1 and mTORC2, in Cd-induced apoptosis in mouse kidney cells. We constructed a mouse model with specific deletion of Raptor/Rictor renal cells. Inhibitors and activators of mTORC1 or mTORC2 were also applied. The effects of protein kinase B (AKT) activation and autophagy were studied. Both mTORC1 and mTORC2 were found to mediate the antiapoptotic mechanism of renal cells by regulating the AKT activity. Inhibition of mTORC1 or mTORC2 exacerbated Cd-induced kidney cell apoptosis, suggesting that both proteins exert antiapoptotic effects under Cd exposure. We further found that the AKT activation plays a key role in mTORC1/TORC2-mediated antiapoptosis, protecting Cd-exposed kidney cells from apoptosis. We also found that mTOR activators inhibited excessive autophagy, alleviated apoptosis, and promoted cell survival. These findings provide new insights into the regulatory mechanisms of mTOR in renal diseases and provide a theoretical basis for the development of novel therapeutic strategies to treat renal injury.

Role of uranium toxicity and uranium-induced oxidative stress in advancing kidney injury and endothelial inflammation in rats

OBJECTIVE

Uranium exposure may cause serious pathological injury to the body, which is attributed to oxidative stress and inflammation. However, the pathogenesis of uranium toxicity has not been clarified. Here, we evaluated the level of oxidative stress to determine the relationship between uranium exposure, nephrotoxic oxidative stress, and endothelial inflammation.

METHODS

Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three experimental groups (U-24h, U-48h, and U-72h) and one control group. The three experimental groups were intraperitoneally injected with 2.0 mg/kg uranyl acetate, and tissue and serum samples were collected after 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively, whereas the control group was intraperitoneally injected with 1.0 ml/kg normal saline and samples were collected after 24 h. Then, we observed changes in the uranium levels and oxidative stress parameters, including the total oxidative state (TOS), total antioxidant state (TAS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) in kidney tissue and serum. We also detected the markers of kidney injury, namely urea (Ure), creatine (Cre), cystatin C (CysC), and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL). The endothelial inflammatory markers, namely C-reactive protein (CRP), lipoprotein phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), and homocysteine (Hcy), were also quantified. Finally, we analyzed the relationship among these parameters.

RESULTS

TOS (z = 3.949; P < 0.001), OSI (z = 5.576; P < 0.001), Ure (z = 3.559; P < 0.001), Cre (z = 3.476; P < 0.001), CysC (z = 4.052; P < 0.001), NGAL (z = 3.661; P < 0.001), and CRP (z = 5.286; P < 0.001) gradually increased after uranium exposure, whereas TAS (z = -3.823; P < 0.001), tissue U (z = -2.736; P = 0.001), Hcy (z = -2.794; P = 0.005), and Lp-PLA2 (z = -4.515; P < 0.001) gradually decreased. The serum U level showed a V-shape change (z = -1.655; P = 0.094). The uranium levels in the kidney tissue and serum were positively correlated with TOS (r = 0.440 and 0.424; P = 0.005 and 0.007) and OSI (r = 0.389 and 0.449; P = 0.013 and 0.004); however, serum U levels were negatively correlated with TAS (r = -0.349; P = 0.027). Partial correlation analysis revealed that NGAL was closely correlated to tissue U (rpartial = 0.455; P = 0.003), CysC was closely correlated to serum U (rpartial = 0.501; P = 0.001), and Lp-PLA2 was closely correlated to TOS (rpartial = 0.391; P = 0.014), TAS (rpartial = 0.569; P < 0.001), and OSI (rpartial = -0.494; P = 0.001). Pearson correlation analysis indicated that the Hcy levels were negatively correlated with tissue U (r = -0.344; P = 0.030) and positively correlated with TAS (r = 0.396; P = 0.011).

CONCLUSION

The uranium-induced oxidative injury may be mainly reflected in enhanced endothelial inflammation, and the direct chemical toxicity of uranium plays an important role in the process of kidney injury, especially in renal tubular injury. In addition, CysC may be a sensitive marker reflecting the nephrotoxicity of uranium; however, Hcy is not suitable for evaluating short-term endothelial inflammation involving oxidative stress.

Downregulating miR-184 relieves calcium oxalate crystal-mediated renal cell damage via activating the Rap1 signaling pathway

BACKGROUND

Renal calculi are a very prevalent disease with a high incidence. Calcium oxalate (CaOx) is a primary constituent of kidney stones. Our paper probes the regulatory function and mechanism of miR-184 in CaOx-mediated renal cell damage.

METHODS

CaOx was used to treat HK2 cells and human podocytes (HPCs) to simulate kidney cell damage. The qRT-PCR technique checked the profiles of miR-184 and IGF1R. The examination of cell proliferation was conducted employing CCK8. TUNEL staining was used to monitor cell apoptosis. Western blot analysis was used to determine the protein profiles of apoptosis-concerned related proteins (including Mcl1, Bcl-XL, and Caspase-3), the NF-κB, Nrf2/HO-1, and Rap1 signaling pathways. ELISA confirmed the levels of the inflammatory factors IL-6, TNF-α, MCP1, and ICAM1. The targeting relationship between miR-184 and IGF1R was validated by dual luciferase assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay.

RESULTS

Glyoxylate-induced rat kidney stones model and HK2 and HPC cells treated with CaOx demonstrated an increase in the miR-184 profile. Inhibiting miR-184 relieved CaOx-mediated renal cell inflammation, apoptosis and oxidative stress and activated the Rap1 pathway. IGF1R was targeted by miR-184. IGF1R activation by IGF1 attenuated the effects of miR-184 on renal cell damage, and Hippo pathway suppression reversed the inhibitory effect of miR-184 knockdown on renal cell impairment.

CONCLUSIONS

miR-184 downregulation activates the Rap1 signaling pathway to ameliorate renal cell damage mediated by CaOx.

Proteomics analysis of resistance mechanism of Trichoderma harzianum under U(VI) stress

Trichoderma harzianum has a certain resistance to Hexavalent Uranium (U(VI)), but its resistance mechanism is unknown. Based on proteomics sequencing using DIA mode, differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) of Trichoderma harzianum under U(VI) stress were identified. GO enrichment, KEGG annotation analysis and DEPs annotation were performed. The results showed that 8 DEPs, 8 DEPs and 15 DEPs were obtained in the low-dose, medium-dose and high-dose groups, respectively. The functional classification of GO demonstrated that DEPs were associated with 17 molecular functions, 5 biological processes, and 5 cellular components. Furthermore, DEPs were enriched in transport and catabolism, energy metabolism, translation, and signal transduction. These findings showed that Trichoderma harzianum was significantly changed in protein expression and signaling pathway after U(VI) exposure. Therefore, these results have provided Trichoderma harzianum with a theoretical background that can be applied to environmental cleanup.

Deoxynivalenol induces endoplasmic reticulum stress-associated apoptosis via the IRE1/JNK/CHOP pathway in porcine alveolar macrophage 3D4/21 cells

The interplay between cell apoptosis and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has garnered increasing attention. Nevertheless, the precise involvement of the unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling in the apoptosis of porcine macrophage cells induced by Deoxynivalenol (DON) remains enigmatic. In this study, we revealed that exposure to 2 μM DON resulted in a substantial decline in cell viability, concomitant with the initiation of cell apoptosis and the halting of the G1 phase cell cycle in the porcine alveolar macrophage line 3D4/21. Transcriptomic analysis of DON-exposed cells showed distinct expression patterns in 3104 genes, with notable upregulation of ER stress-related genes, including IRE1, CHOP, XBP1 and JNK. Our subsequent validation via qPCR and Western blot analyses confirmed the attenuation of GRP78 and BCL-2, coupled with the upregulation of IRE1, CHOP, JNK, p-JNK, and Bax in DON-induced cells, indicating the instigation of ER stress-associated apoptosis by DON. The addition of 5 mM 4-phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA), an ER stress inhibitor, decreased levels of CHOP, IRE1, JNK, p-JNK, and Bax, while increasing levels of GRP78 and Bcl-2, suggesting that 4-PBA alleviated DON-induced ER stress and apoptosis. Overall, our findings provide new insights into DON-induced ER stress via the IRE1/JNK/CHOP pathway, leading to subsequent cellular apoptosis.

Depleted uranium induces thyroid damage through activation of ER stress via the thrombospondin 1-PERK pathway

Depleted uranium (DU) can cause damage to the body, but its effects on the thyroid are unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the DU-induced thyroid damage and its potential mechanism in order to find new targets for detoxification after DU poisoning. A model of acute exposure to DU was constructed in rats. It was observed that DU accumulated in the thyroid, induced thyroid structure disorder and cell apoptosis, and decreased the serum T4 and FT4 levels. Gene screening showed that thrombospondin 1 (TSP-1) was a sensitive gene of DU, and the expression of TSP-1 decreased with the increase of DU exposure dose and time. TSP-1 knockout mice exposed to DU had more severe thyroid damage and lower serum FT4 and T4 levels than wild-type mice. Inhibiting the expression of TSP-1 in FRTL-5 cells aggravated DU-induced apoptosis, while exogenous TSP-1 protein alleviated the decreased viability in FRTL-5 cells caused by DU. It was suggested that DU may caused thyroid damage by down-regulating TSP-1. It was also found that DU increased the expressions of PERK, CHOP, and Caspase-3, and 4-Phenylbutyric (4-PBA) alleviated the DU-induced FRTL-5 cell viability decline and the decrease levels of rat serum FT4 and T4 caused by DU. After DU exposure, the PERK expression was further up-regulated in TSP-1 knockout mice, and the increased expression of PERK was alleviated in TSP-1 over-expressed cells, as well as the increased expression of CHOP and Caspase-3. Further verification showed that inhibition of PERK expression could reduce the DU-induced increased expression of CHOP and Caspase-3. These findings shed light on the mechanism that DU may activate ER stress via the TSP 1-PERK pathway, thereby leading to thyroid damage, and suggest that TSP-1 may be a potential therapeutic target for DU-induced thyroid damage.

Molecular mechanism and diagnostic marker investigation of endoplasmic reticulum stress on periodontitis

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to reveal the biological function of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)-related genes (ERSGs) in periodontitis, and provide potential ERS diagnostic markers for clinical therapy of periodontitis.

METHODS

The differentially expressed ERSGs (DE-ERSGs) were reveled based on periodontitis-related microarray dataset in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and 295 ERS in previous study, followed by a protein-protein interaction network construction. Then, the subtypes of periodontitis were explored, followed by validation with immune cell infiltration and gene set enrichment. Two machine learning algorithms were used to reveal potential ERS diagnostic markers of periodontitis. The diagnostic effect, target drug and immune correlation of these markers were further evaluated. Finally, a microRNA(miRNA)-gene interaction network was constructed.

RESULTS

A total of 34 DE-ERSGs were revealed between periodontitis samples and control, followed by two subtypes investigated. There was a significant difference of ERS score, immune infiltration and Hallmark enrichment between two subtypes. Then, totally 7 ERS diagnostic markers including FCGR2B, XBP1, EDEM2, ATP2A3, ERLEC1, HYOU1 and YOD1 were explored, and the v the time-dependent ROC analysis showed a reliable result. In addition, a drug-gene network was constructed with 4 up-regulated ERS diagnostic markers and 24 drugs. Finally, based on 32 interactions, 5 diagnostic markers and 20 miRNAs, a miRNA-target network was constructed.

CONCLUSIONS

Up-regulated miR-671-5p might take part in the progression of periodontitis via stimulating the expression of ATP2A3. ERSGs including XBP1 and FCGR2B might be novel diagnostic marker for periodontitis.

Enhancement of Human Epidermal Cell Defense against UVB Damage by Fermentation of Passiflora edulis Sims Peel with Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The processing of Passiflora edulis Sims results in large amounts of wasted peel resources and environmental pollution. In order to improve the utilisation of natural plant resources and economic benefits, this study uses Saccharomyces cerevisiae to ferment Passiflora edulis Sims peel to obtain Passiflora edulis Sims peel fermentation broth (PF). The content of active substances in unfermented Passiflora edulis Sims peel water extract (PW) and PF is then determined, as well as their in vitro antioxidant capacity. The protective effects of PF and PW on UVB-induced skin inflammation and skin barrier damage in human immortalised epidermal keratinocytes (HaCaT) cells (including cell viability, ROS, HO-1, NQO1, IL-1β, IL-8, TNF-α, KLK-7, FLG, AQP3 and Caspase 14 levels) are investigated. Studies have shown that PF enhances the content of active substances more effectively compared to PW, showing a superior ability to scavenge free radical scavenging and antioxidants. PW and PF can effectively scavenge excess intracellular ROS, reduce the cellular secretion of pro-inflammatory factors, regulate the content of skin barrier-related proteins and possibly respond to UVB-induced cell damage by inhibiting the activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling pathway. Studies have shown that both PW and PF are safe and non-irritating, with PF exploiting the efficacy of Passiflora edulis Sims peel more significantly, providing a superior process for the utilisation of Passiflora edulis Sims waste. At the same time, PF can be developed and used as a functional protective agent against ultraviolet damage to the skin, thereby increasing the value of the use of Passiflora edulis Sims waste.

Role of Reactive Oxygen Species in Aging and Age-Related Diseases: A Review

Research on the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the aging process has advanced significantly over the last two decades. In light of recent findings, ROS takes part in the aging process of cells along with contributing to various physiological signaling pathways. Antioxidants being cells' natural defense mechanism against ROS-mediated alteration, play an imperative role to maintain intracellular ROS homeostasis. Although the complete understanding of the ROS regulated aging process is yet to be fully comprehended, current insights into various sources of cellular ROS and their correlation with the aging process and age-related diseases are portrayed in this review. In addition, results on the effect of antioxidants on ROS homeostasis and the aging process as well as their advances in clinical trials are also discussed in detail. The future perspective in ROS-antioxidant dynamics on antiaging research is also marshaled to provide future directions for ROS-mediated antiaging research fields.

The Role of Ferroptosis in the Damage of Human Proximal Tubule Epithelial Cells Caused by Perfluorooctane Sulfonate

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is a typical persistent organic pollutant and environmental endocrine disruptor that has been shown to be associated with the development of many diseases; it poses a considerable threat to the ecological environment and to human health. PFOS is known to cause damage to renal cells; however, studies of PFOS-induced ferroptosis in cells have not been reported. We used the CCK-8 method to detect cell viability, flow cytometry and immunofluorescence methods to detect ROS levels and Western blot to detect ferroptosis, endoplasmic reticulum stress, antioxidant and apoptosis-related proteins. In our study, we found that PFOS could induce the onset of ferroptosis in HK-2 cells with decreased GPx4 expression and elevated ACSL4 and FTH1 expression, which are hallmarks for the development of ferroptosis. In addition, PFOS-induced ferroptosis in HK-2 cells could be reversed by Fer-1. We also found that endoplasmic reticulum stress and its mediated apoptotic mechanism and P53-mediated antioxidant mechanism are involved in the toxic damage of cells by PFOS. In this paper, we demonstrated for the first time that PFOS can induce ferroptosis in HK-2 cells. In addition, we preliminarily explored other mechanisms of cytotoxic damage by PFOS, which provides a new idea to study the toxicity of PFOS as well as the damage to the kidney and its mechanism.