Nervilifordin F alleviates intestinal ischemia/reperfusion-induced acute lung injury via inhibiting inflammasome and mTOR pathway

Advancements in the study of acute lung injury resulting from intestinal ischemia/reperfusion

Intestinal ischemia/reperfusion is a prevalent pathological process that can result in intestinal dysfunction, bacterial translocation, energy metabolism disturbances, and subsequent harm to distal tissues and organs via the circulatory system. Acute lung injury frequently arises as a complication of intestinal ischemia/reperfusion, exhibiting early onset and a grim prognosis. Without appropriate preventative measures and efficacious interventions, this condition may progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome and elevate mortality rates. Nonetheless, the precise mechanisms and efficacious treatments remain elusive. This paper synthesizes recent research models and pertinent injury evaluation criteria within the realm of acute lung injury induced by intestinal ischemia/reperfusion. The objective is to investigate the roles of pathophysiological mechanisms like oxidative stress, inflammatory response, apoptosis, ferroptosis, and pyroptosis; and to assess the strengths and limitations of current therapeutic approaches for acute lung injury stemming from intestinal ischemia/reperfusion. The goal is to elucidate potential targets for enhancing recovery rates, identify suitable treatment modalities, and offer insights for translating fundamental research into clinical applications.

The Induction Mechanism of Ferroptosis, Necroptosis, and Pyroptosis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Colorectal Cancer, and Intestinal Injury

Cell death includes programmed and nonprogrammed cell death. The former mainly includes ferroptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, autophagy, and apoptosis, while the latter refers to necrosis. Accumulating evidence shows that ferroptosis, necroptosis, and pyroptosis play essential regulatory roles in the development of intestinal diseases. In recent years, the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colorectal cancer (CRC), and intestinal injury induced by intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R), sepsis, and radiation have gradually increased, posing a significant threat to human health. The advancement in targeted therapies for intestinal diseases based on ferroptosis, necroptosis, and pyroptosis provides new strategies for treating intestinal diseases. Herein, we review ferroptosis, necroptosis, and pyroptosis with respect to intestinal disease regulation and highlight the underlying molecular mechanisms for potential therapeutic applications.

Inhibitors of IFN gene stimulators (STING) improve intestinal ischemia-reperfusion-induced acute lung injury by activating AMPK signaling

BACKGROUND

Acute lung injury (ALI) caused by intestinal ischemia-reperfusion is a life-threatening disease. Interferon gene stimulator (STING) is a cytoplasmic DNA sensor that participates in the initiation of the inflammatory response. This study aims to establish whether C-176 (STING inhibitor) improves ALI under intestinal ischemia-reperfusion conditions.

METHODS

To induce ALI, 72 male C57BL/6 mice were subjected to intestinal ischemia for 60 min and reperfusion for 3 h. Through intraperitoneal injection, C-176, a selective STING inhibitor, was injected 30 min before surgical treatment; meanwhile, compound C, an antagonist of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), was administered 30 min after surgery. Based on immunofluorescence and Western blot assays, post-ALI assessments included lung water content (TLW), bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) protein, H&E staining, Masson staining, pulmonary pyroptosis [Gasdermin-D (GSDMD), cleaved caspase-1], and apoptosis (TUNEL, cleaved caspase-3).

RESULTS

C-176 administration significantly attenuated intestinal ischemia-reperfusion-mediated ALI; this effect was reflected by exacerbated TLW and BALF protein, aggravated lung injury score, elevated degree of pulmonary fibrosis, increased TUNEL- and GSDMD-positive cells, and upregulated phospho-AMPK, cleaved caspase-1, cleaved caspase-3 and IFNβ mRNA expression. Moreover, C-176 increased phospho-AMPK under ALI conditions. Nonetheless, compound C partially reversed these beneficial effects.

CONCLUSION

C-176, a selective STING inhibitor, improves intestinal ischemia-reperfusion-mediated ALI, and its underlying mechanism may be associated with AMPK signal activation.

Deciphering the Protein, Modular Connections and Precision Medicine for Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction and Hypertension Based on TMT Quantitative Proteomics and Molecular Docking

Background: Exploring the potential biological relationships between heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and concomitant diseases has been the focus of many studies for the establishment of personalized therapies. Hypertension (HTN) is the most common concomitant disease in HFpEF patients, but the functional connections between HFpEF and HTN are still not fully understood and effective treatment strategies are still lacking.

Methods: In this study, tandem mass tag (TMT) quantitative proteomics was used to identify disease-related proteins and construct disease-related networks. Furthermore, functional enrichment analysis of overlapping network modules was used to determine the functional similarities between HFpEF and HTN. Molecular docking and module analyses were combined to identify therapeutic targets for HFpEF and HTN.

Results: Seven common differentially expressed proteins (co-DEPs) and eight overlapping modules were identified in HFpEF and HTN. The common biological processes between HFpEF and HTN were mainly related to energy metabolism. Myocardial contraction, energy metabolism, apoptosis, oxidative stress, immune response, and cardiac hypertrophy were all closely associated with HFpEF and HTN. Epinephrine, sulfadimethoxine, chloroform, and prednisolone acetate were best matched with the co-DEPs by molecular docking analyses.

Conclusion: Myocardial contraction, energy metabolism, apoptosis, oxidative stress, immune response, and cardiac hypertrophy were the main functional connections between HFpEF and HTN. Epinephrine, sulfadimethoxine, chloroform, and prednisolone acetate could potentially be effective for the treatment of HTN and HFpEF.

Machine learning enables discovery of Gentianine targeting TLR4/NF-κB pathway to repair ischemic stroke injury

Inflammatory response is believed to accelerate the development of stroke injury. Gentianine, an alkaloid isolated from Gentiana Scabra Bunge, shows effectiveness in anti-inflammation. In this study, the effect of Gentianine on transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) induced mouse model in vivo and further related mechanism in LPS-injuried microglia BV-2 cells in vitro were explored. Effect of Gentianine on tMCAO mouse demonstrated that Gentianine significantly ameliorated tMCAO induced ischemic injury by decreasing brain infarct volume and increasing the neurological score and upper limb muscle strength. Meanwhile, Gentianine significantly decreased the release of serum inflammatory cytokines. Machine learning enables that Gentianine might had anti-ischemic stroke effect through the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. This was verified in vivo and in vitro. Gentianine significantly decrease the TLR4 and Iba-1 expression in vivo. These results also verified in BV-2 cells. Gentianine significantly decreased TLR4, MyD88 and NF-κB expression, as well as NO production and inflammatory cytokines release. Gentianine co-treatment with TLR4 inhibitor, further decreased TLR4, MyD88 and NF-κB expression, NO production, as well as the inflammatory cytokines. Taken together, Gentianine could be used as a potential anti-ischemic stroke agent by suppressing inflammatory responses via TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. This study is expected to provide an integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine solution to find potential anti-ischemic stroke compounds based on machine learning.

The Interplay between Autophagy and NLRP3 Inflammasome in Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is characterized by a limited blood supply to organs, followed by the restoration of blood flow and reoxygenation. In addition to ischemia, blood flow recovery can also lead to very harmful injury, especially inflammatory injury. Autophagy refers to the transport of cellular materials to the lysosomes for degradation, leading to the conversion of cellular components and offering energy and macromolecular precursors. It can maintain the balance of synthesis, decomposition and reuse of the intracellular components, and participate in many physiological processes and diseases. Inflammasomes are a kind of protein complex. Under physiological and pathological conditions, as the cellular innate immune signal receptors, inflammasomes sense pathogens to trigger an inflammatory response. TheNLRP3 inflammasome is the most deeply studied inflammasome and is composed of NLRP3, the adaptor apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (ASC) and pro-caspase-1. Its activation triggers the cleavage of pro-interleukin (IL)-1β and pro-IL-18 mediated by caspase-1 and promotes a further inflammatory process. Studies have shown that autophagy and the NLRP3 inflammasome play an important role in the process of I/R injury, but the relevant mechanisms have not been fully explained, especially how the interaction between autophagy and the NLRP3 inflammasome participates in I/R injury, which remains to be further studied. Therefore, we reviewed the recent studies about the interplay between autophagy and the NLRP3 inflammasome in I/R injury and analyzed the mechanisms to provide the theoretical references for further research in the future.

Cellular Signal Transduction Pathways Involved in Acute Lung Injury Induced by Intestinal Ischemia-Reperfusion

Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (II/R) injury is a common type of tissue and organ injury, secondary to intestinal and mesenteric vascular diseases. II/R is characterized by a high incidence rate and mortality. In the II/R process, intestinal barrier function is impaired and bacterial translocation leads to excessive reactive oxygen species, inflammatory cytokine release, and even apoptosis. A large number of inflammatory mediators and oxidative factors are released into the circulation, leading to severe systemic inflammation and multiple organ failure of the lung, liver, and kidney. Acute lung injury (ALI) is the most common complication, which gradually develops into acute respiratory distress syndrome and is the main cause of its high mortality. This review summarizes the signal transduction pathways and key molecules in the pathophysiological process of ALI induced by II/R injury and provides a new therapeutic basis for further exploration of the molecular mechanisms of ALI induced by II/R injury. In particular, this article will focus on the biomarkers involved in II/R-induced ALI.