Epithelial-mesenchymal transition in the lacrimal gland morphogenesis, damage and repair

Inhibition of hsa_circ_0003314 contributes to trophoblast cell migration and invasion and inhibits pyroptosis in preeclampsia

Inflammation is a key contributor to the development of preeclampsia. Recent studies suggest that circular RNAs (circRNAs) may serve as potential therapeutic targets for this disease, though their specific functions remain incompletely understood. In this study, we investigated the role of hsa_circ_0003314 in preeclampsia pathogenesis. The interaction between hsa_circ_0003314 and microRNA (miR)-1827 was validated using RNA pull-down and luciferase reporter assays, while the binding of miR-1827 to the 3'-UTR of caspase-5 was confirmed by RNA immunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter assays. Pyroptotic cells were quantified by flow cytometry based on the percentage of caspase-1/propidium iodide (PI) double-positive cells. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to measure interleukin (IL)-1β concentrations in the culture supernatant. The migration and invasion abilities of HTR-8/SVneo cells were evaluated using Transwell assays. We found that hsa_circ_0003314 expression was upregulated in HTR-8/SVneo cells subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) treatment. Silencing hsa_circ_0003314 enhanced cell migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), while reducing the expression of pyroptosis-related proteins, GSDMD-N and HMGB1. The proportion of pyroptotic cells was significantly decreased upon hsa_circ_0003314 knockdown in H/R-treated cells. Mechanistically, hsa_circ_0003314 functions as a molecular sponge for miR-1827, thereby regulating caspase-5 expression. Notably, caspase-5 overexpression rescued the effects of hsa_circ_0003314 knockdown, restoring pyroptosis markers and suppressing the enhanced migratory and invasive behavior of HTR-8/SVneo cells. In conclusion, silencing hsa_circ_0003314 promotes migration, invasion, and EMT in H/R-treated HTR-8/SVneo cells by inhibiting caspase-5-mediated pyroptosis through the sequestration of miR-1827. These findings identify hsa_circ_0003314 as a promising therapeutic target in the treatment of preeclampsia.

Quantitative Changes in the Proteome of Chronically Inflamed Lacrimal Glands From a Sjögren's Disease Animal Model

Purpose

The lacrimal gland (LG) is the major source of aqueous tears, and insufficient LG secretion leads to aqueous-deficient dry eye (ADDE) disease. To provide a foundational description of LG's protein expression patterns, we prepared protein extracts of LGs from a wild-type and an ADDE mouse model and analyzed the proteome by quantitative mass spectrometry.

Methods

LGs were isolated from an ADDE mouse model, male non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice and control wild-type BALB/c mice (n = 6 each). Protein samples were prepared in urea-based lysis buffer and protein concentrations determined by the BCA method. The equivalent of 200 µg protein were tryptically digested and analyzed by nanoflow liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Proteins were identified and quantified using the PEAKS X bioinformatics suite. Downstream differential protein expression analysis was performed using the MS-DAP R package. Selected significantly differentially expressed and detected proteins were subjected to spatial expression analysis using immunohistochemistry.

Results

Cumulatively, the LC-MS/MS-based proteomics analyses of the murine LG samples identified a total of 31,932 peptide sequences resulting in 2617 protein identifications at a 1% false discovery rate at the peptide and protein level. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis revealed a separation of NOD and BALB/c samples. Overall, protein diversity was consistently higher in NOD samples. After applying global peptide filter criteria and peptide-to-protein rollup, 1750 remaining proteins were subjected to differential expression analysis using the MSqRob algorithm, which identified 580 proteins with statistically significant expression differences. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD060937. At the cellular level, the up- and downregulation of select proteins were confirmed by immunohistochemistry.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that chronic inflammation leads to significant alterations in the LG proteome. Ongoing studies aim to identify potentially unique, inflammation-induced proteins that could be amenable to pharmacological modulation.

Bioengineered Salivary Gland Microtissues─A Review of 3D Cellular Models and their Applications

Salivary glands (SGs) play a vital role in maintaining oral health through the production and release of saliva. Injury to SGs can lead to gland hypofunction and a decrease in saliva secretion manifesting as xerostomia. While symptomatic treatments for xerostomia exist, effective permanent solutions are still lacking, emphasizing the need for innovative approaches. Significant progress has been made in the field of three-dimensional (3D) SG bioengineering for applications in gland regeneration. This has been achieved through a major focus on cell culture techniques, including soluble cues and biomaterial components of the 3D niche. Cells derived from both adult and embryonic SGs have highlighted key in vitro characteristics of SG 3D models. While still in its first decade of exploration, SG spheroids and organoids have so far served as crucial tools to study SG pathophysiology. This review, based on a literature search over the past decade, covers the importance of SG cell types in the realm of their isolation, sourcing, and culture conditions that modulate the 3D microenvironment. We discuss different biomaterials employed for SG culture and the current advances made in bioengineering SG models using them. The success of these 3D cellular models are further evaluated in the context of their applications in organ transplantation and in vitro disease modeling.