Mizoribine-mediated apoptotic signaling pathway in human T-Cell line

The immunosuppressive agent mizoribine monophosphate is an inhibitor of the human RNA capping enzyme

Mizoribine monophosphate (MZP) is a specific inhibitor of the cellular inosine-5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), the enzyme catalyzing the rate-limiting step of de novo guanine nucleotide biosynthesis. MZP is a highly potent antagonistic inhibitor of IMPDH that blocks the proliferation of T and B lymphocytes that use the de novo pathway of guanine nucleotide synthesis almost exclusively. In the present study, we investigated the ability of MZP to directly inhibit the human RNA capping enzyme (HCE), a protein harboring both RNA 5′-triphosphatase and RNA guanylyltransferase activities. HCE is involved in the synthesis of the cap structure found at the 5′ end of eukaryotic mRNAs, which is critical for the splicing of the cap-proximal intron, the transport of mRNAs from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, and for both the stability and translation of mRNAs. Our biochemical studies provide the first insight that MZP can inhibit the formation of the RNA cap structure catalyzed by HCE. In the presence of MZP, the RNA 5′-triphosphatase activity appears to be relatively unaffected while the RNA guanylyltransferase activity is inhibited, indicating that the RNA guanylyltransferase activity is the main target of MZP inhibition. Kinetic studies reveal that MZP is a non-competitive inhibitor that likely targets an allosteric site on HCE. Mizoribine also impairs mRNA capping in living cells, which could account for the global mechanism of action of this therapeutic agent. Together, our study clearly demonstrates that mizoribine monophosphate inhibits the human RNA guanylyltransferase in vitro and impair mRNA capping in cellulo.

The effects of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs on osteoclastogenesis and bone destruction in rheumatoid arthritis

Finding the means to ameliorate and prevent bone destruction as well as control inflammation is an urgent issue in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Recently, it has been demonstrated that osteoclastogenesis plays an important role in the bone destruction and pathogenesis of RA. Here, we review the effects of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMRAD) on the amelioration of bone destruction and osteoclastogenesis.

Mizoribine may suppress bone erosion in patients with rheumatoid arthritis by inhibiting osteoclastogenesis

Mizoribine is a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) that is used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. However, clinical use of the drug is restricted to a few Asian countries due to a lack of comprehensive evidence on its effectiveness. The inhibitory effect of the drug on human osteoclastogenesis was investigated in the hopes of providing some clear evidence. Mizoribine was found to inhibit in vitro osteoclastogenesis in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the size of the pit area was closely related to the number of osteoclasts in a bone resorption assay. However, mizoribine did not affect the phosphorylation of MAP kinase (p38, JNK, ERK), the degradation of IkappaBalpha, or receptor activator of NF-kappaB ligand (RANKL) expression in fibroblast-like synoviocytes stimulated with IL-1beta. These results suggested that mizoribine may partially suppress osteoclastogenesis, leading to progressive bone erosion by inhibiting the growth or the signaling pathway of precursor cells to form osteoclasts rather than fibroblast-like synoviocytes.