Ferritin heavy chain participated in ameliorating 3-nitropropionic acid-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis of goose follicular granulosa cells

The mechanism of curcumin to protect mouse ovaries from oxidative damage by regulating AMPK/mTOR mediated autophagy

BACKGROUND

Oxidative stress is considered the main cause of granulosa cell apoptosis in ovarian disease. Curcumin has various biological roles, but its potential role in protecting granulosa cells from oxidative damage remains unidentified.

PURPOSE

The study revealed the protective effect of curcumin on granulosa cell survival under oxidative stress, and explored its mode of action.

STUDY DESIGN

The protective effect of curcumin on oxidative stress-induced ovarian cell apoptosis was evaluated in vivo and in vitro, and the role of autophagy and AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway in this process was also demonstrated.

METHODS

First, mice were injected to 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA, 20 mg/kg/day) for 14 consecutive days to establish the ovarian oxidative stress model, at same time, curcumin (50, 100, 200 mg/kg/day) was given orally. Thereafter, functional changes, cell apoptosis, and autophagy in ovarian tissue were evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin staining, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, western blotting, TUNEL assays, and transmission electron microscopy. Finally, oxidative stress model of granulosa cells was established with H2O2in vitro and treated with curcumin. The underlying mechanisms of curcumin to protect the apoptosis under oxidative stress in vitro were determined using western blotting and TUNEL assays.

RESULTS

In our study, after curcumin treatment, the mouse ovarian function disorder under 3-nitropropionic acid-induced oxidative stress recovered significantly, and ovarian cell apoptosis decreased. H2O2 induced granulosa cell apoptosis in vitro, and curcumin antagonized this process. Autophagy contributes to tissue and cell survival under stress. We therefore examined the role of autophagy in this process. According to the in vivo and in vitro results, curcumin restored autophagy under oxidative stress. The autophagy inhibitor (chloroquine) exhibited the same effect as curcumin, whereas the autophagy activator (rapamycin) antagonized the effect of curcumin. In addition, the study found that the AMPK/mTOR pathway plays a crucial role in curcumin- mediated autophagy to protect against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis.

CONCLUSION

Our findings for the first time systematically revealed a new mechanism through which curcumin protects ovarian granulosa cells from oxidative stress-induced damage through AMPK/mTOR-mediated autophagy and suggested that it can be a new therapeutic direction for female ovarian diseases.

Pathway analysis of spermidine anti-oxidative stress and inducing autophagy in granulosa cells of Sichuan white geese

Spermidine, a natural polyamine, has been proven antioxidant function, but its pathway and mechanism of action remain unclear. Based on the oxidative stress model by 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA), the study explored the pathways by spermidine to rescue oxidative stress via autophagic process in goose granulosa cells by RNA-seq and RNA interference. In transcriptional regulation, in addition to KEGG pathways related to cell proliferation and differentiation, lots of KEGG pathways associated with inflammation, metabolism, and signaling were also significantly enriched in 3-NPA vs. 3-NPA + spermidine treatments. Six key genes (JUN, CD44, KITLG, RND2, BMP4 and KALRN) involved in spermidine-mediated anti-oxidative stress were screened. Furthermore, the experimental results showed that spermidine (80 μmol/L) significantly increased autophagic gene expression in goose granulosa cells, while EP300-siRNA or MAP1S-siRNA also significantly increased autophagic process. The autophagic gene expressions were no difference between EP300-siRNA and EP300-siRNA + spermidine treatments, although spermidine significantly increased autophagic process of granulosa cells compared to MAP1S-siRNA alone. In addition, inhibition of mTOR pathway significantly increased autophagic gene expression, which was further enhanced by spermidine in combined with mTOR inhibitor. These results suggest that spermidine can alleviate oxidative stress by inducing autophagy regulated by EP300, MAP1S and mTOR as well as regulating other independent gene expressions in goose granulosa cells.

MESP1-knockdown inhibits the proliferation and epithelial mesenchymal transition of hepatocellular carcinoma and enhances the tumor-suppressive effect of 5-fluorouracil

Primary liver hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most deadly malignancy worldwide,in part, because it is often diagnosed at an advanced stage. Thus, molecular markers are needed to aid in the early diagnosis and treatment of HCC. Expression of abnormal mesoderm posterior-1 (MESP1) promotes tumorigenesis; however,its role in the regulation of HCC proliferation, apoptosis,and invasion is unknown. Here,we analyzed data in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)and Genotype Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases on the pan-cancer expression of MESP1 and its relationship with clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with HCC. The expression of MESP1 was measured in 48 HCC tissues using immunohistochemical staining,and the results were correlated with clinical stage, tumor differentiation, tumor size,and metastasis. MESP1 expression was downregulated using small interfering RNA (siRNA) in the HCC cell lines HepG2 and Hep3B,and cell viability, proliferation,cell cycle, apoptosis,and invasion were analyzed. Finally,we also evaluated the tumor suppression effect of MESP1 downregulation combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) treatment. Our results showed that MESP1 is a pan-oncogene associated with poor prognosis in patients with HCC. siRNA-induced downregulation of MESP1 expression in HepG2 and Hep3B cells exhibited downregulation of β-catenin and GSK3β expression 48h after transfection, along with an increase in apoptosis rate, arrest in the G1-S phase,and a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. Moreover,the expression levels of c-Myc, PARP1, bcl2, Snail1, MMP9, and immune checkpoint genes (TIGIT, CTLA4,LAG3,CD274,and PDCD1) were downregulated, while those of caspase3 and E-cadherin were upregulated. Tumor cells also showed decreased migration ability. Furthermore, siRNA interference of MESP1 expression combined with 5-FU-treatment of HCC cells significantly enhanced the G1-S phase block and apoptosis. MESP1 showed an aberrant high expression in HCC and was associated with poor clinical outcomes; therefore, MESP1 may be a potential target for the diagnosis and treatment of HCC.