Inhibition of Adipogenic Differentiation of Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells by a Phytoestrogen Diarylheptanoid from Curcuma comosa

Association between triglycerides and remnant cholesterol levels and spine bone mineral density in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

BACKGROUND

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a serious, progressive neuromuscular condition that predominantly impacts male individuals, marked by progressive muscle weakness resulting from mutations in the dystrophin gene (DMD) encoding dystrophin. DMD is a primary muscle disorder that often presents with secondary abnormalities in lipid metabolism and decreased bone mineral density. Although disturbances in circulating lipid profiles and skeletal health have been observed in individuals with DMD, their relationship remains underexplored.This study aimed to investigate the potential association between lipid metabolic disturbances and spinal bone mineral density in patients with DMD by combining clinical lipid levels and bone density with transcriptomic pathway analysis of DMD muscle tissue.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis was performed on 219 genetically confirmed DMD patients and 99 age-matched healthy controls. Healthy controls with a family history of genetic disorders were excluded. Clinical data included lipid profiles (triglycerides [TGs], remnant cholesterol [RC]); bone mineral density of the lumbar spine was evaluated using Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA); and corticosteroid use, including treatment status, dose, and duration. Patients were stratified by corticosteroid exposure. Restricted cubic splines and multivariable regression models were applied to explore potential relationships between lipid parameters and bone mineral density. Bioinformatic analyses were performed on RNA sequencing data from muscle biopsy samples from patients with DMD (GSE38417 dataset) and an independent validation cohort (GSE6011 dataset), focusing on pathways related to lipid metabolism and osteoclast differentiation.

RESULTS

Patients with DMD had higher TG, RC, and apolipoprotein B (ApoB) levels and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels than healthy controls (P < 0.05). Elevated TG and RC levels were associated with reduced spine bone mineral density, independent of corticosteroid use. The bioinformatic analyses identified key pathways, including sphingolipid metabolism and osteoclast differentiation, as well as hub genes such as FCGR2B, C1QA, which are involved in lipid regulation and bone remodeling.

CONCLUSIONS

Lipid abnormalities, particularly elevated TG and RC levels, were significantly associated with lower bone mineral density in patients with DMD. These findings suggest that lipid abnormalities are involved in bone health impairment in DMD, warranting further studies to confirm the association.

Obesity and lipid metabolism in the development of osteoporosis (Review)

Osteoporosis is a common bone metabolic disease that causes a heavy social burden and seriously threatens life. Improving osteogenic capacity is necessary to correct bone mass loss in the treatment of osteoporosis. Osteoblasts are derived from the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, a process that opposes adipogenic differentiation. The peroxisome proliferator‑activated receptor γ and Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathways mediate the mutual regulation of osteogenesis and adipogenesis. Lipid substances play an important role in the occurrence and development of osteoporosis. The content and proportion of lipids modulate the activity of immunocytes, mainly macrophages, and the secretion of inflammatory factors, such as IL‑1, IL‑6 and TNF‑α. These inflammatory effectors increase the activity and promote the differentiation of osteoclasts, which leads to bone imbalance and stronger bone resorption. Obesity also decreases the activity of antioxidases and leads to oxidative stress, thereby inhibiting osteogenesis. The present review starts by examining the bidirectional differentiation of BM‑MSCs, describes in detail the mechanism by which lipids affect bone metabolism, and discusses the regulatory role of inflammation and oxidative stress in this process. The review concludes that a reasonable adjustment of the content and proportion of lipids, and the alleviation of inflammatory storms and oxidative damage induced by lipid imbalances, will improve bone mass and treat osteoporosis.

Monaspin B, a Novel Cyclohexyl-furan from Cocultivation of Monascus purpureus and Aspergillus oryzae, Exhibits Potent Antileukemic Activity

Natural products are a rich resource for the discovery of innovative drugs. Microbial cocultivation enables discovery of novel natural products through tandem enzymatic catalysis between different fungi. In this study, Monascus purpureus, as a food fermentation strain capable of producing abundant natural products, was chosen as an example of a cocultivation pair strain. Cocultivation screening revealed that M. purpureus and Aspergillus oryzae led to the production of two novel cyclohexyl-furans, Monaspins A and B. Optimization of the cocultivation mode and media enhanced the production of Monaspins A and B to 1.2 and 0.8 mg/L, respectively. Monaspins A and B were structurally elucidated by HR-ESI-MS and NMR. Furthermore, Monaspin B displayed potent antiproliferative activity against the leukemic HL-60 cell line by inducing apoptosis, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 160 nM. Moreover, in a mouse leukemia model, Monaspin B exhibited a promising in vivo antileukemic effect by reducing white blood cell, lymphocyte, and neutrophil counts. Collectively, these results indicate that Monaspin B is a promising candidate agent for leukemia therapy.

Alternative Methods as Tools for Obesity Research: In Vitro and In Silico Approaches

The study of adipogenesis is essential for understanding and treating obesity, a multifactorial problem related to body fat accumulation that leads to several life-threatening diseases, becoming one of the most critical public health problems worldwide. In this review, we propose to provide the highlights of the adipogenesis study based on in vitro differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). We list in silico methods, such as molecular docking for identification of molecular targets, and in vitro approaches, from 2D, more straightforward and applied for screening large libraries of substances, to more representative physiological models, such as 3D and bioprinting models. We also describe the development of physiological models based on microfluidic systems applied to investigate adipogenesis in vitro. We intend to identify the main alternative models for adipogenesis evaluation, contributing to the direction of preclinical research in obesity. Future directions indicate the association of in silico and in vitro techniques to bring a clear picture of alternative methods based on adipogenesis as a tool for obesity research.

Lowering of lysophosphatidylcholines in ovariectomized rats by Curcuma comosa

Decline of ovarian function in menopausal women increases metabolic disease risk. Curcuma comosa extract and its major compound, (3R)-1,7-diphenyl-(4E,6E)-4,6-heptadien-3-ol (DPHD), improved estrogen-deficient ovariectomized (OVX) rat metabolic disturbances. However, information on their effects on metabolites is limited. Here, we investigated the impacts of C. comosa ethanol extract and DPHD on 12-week-old OVX rat metabolic disturbances, emphasizing the less hydrophobic metabolites. Metabolomics analysis of OVX rat serum showed a marked increase compared to sham-operated rat (SHAM) in levels of lysophosphatidylcholines (lysoPCs), particularly lysoPC (18:0) and lysoPC (16:0), and of arachidonic acid (AA), metabolites associated with inflammation. OVX rat elevated lysoPCs and AA levels reverted to SHAM levels following treatments with C. comosa ethanol extract and DPHD. Overall, our studies demonstrate the effect of C. comosa extract in ameliorating the metabolic disturbances caused by ovariectomy, and the elevated levels of bioactive lipid metabolites, lysoPCs and AA, may serve as potential biomarkers of menopausal metabolic disturbances.

Metabolic and Epigenetic Regulation by Estrogen in Adipocytes

Sex hormones contribute to differences between males and females in body fat distribution and associated disease risk. Higher concentrations of estrogens are associated with a more gynoid body shape and with more fat storage on hips and thighs rather than in visceral depots. Estrogen-mediated protection against visceral adiposity is shown in post-menopausal women with lower levels of estrogens and the reduction in central body fat observed after treatment with hormone-replacement therapy. Estrogen exerts its physiological effects via the estrogen receptors (ERα, ERβ and GPR30) in target cells, including adipocytes. Studies in mice indicate that estrogen protects against adipose inflammation and fibrosis also before the onset of obesity. The mechanisms involved in estrogen-dependent body fat distribution are incompletely understood, but involve, e.g., increased mTOR signaling and suppression of autophagy and adipogenesis/lipid storage. Estrogen plays a key role in epigenetic regulation of adipogenic genes by interacting with enzymes that remodel DNA methylation and histone tail post-translational modifications. However, more studies are needed to map the differential epigenetic effects of ER in different adipocyte subtypes, including those in subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissues. We here review recent discoveries of ER-mediated transcriptional and epigenetic regulation in adipocytes, which may explain sexual dimorphisms in body fat distribution and obesity-related disease risk.

Ex vivo expansion and functional activity preservation of adult hematopoietic stem cells by a diarylheptanoid from Curcuma comosa

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs, CD34+ cells) have shown therapeutic efficacy for transplantation in various hematological disorders. However, a large quantity of HSCs is required for transplantation. Therefore, strategies to increase HSC numbers and preserve HSC functions through ex vivo culture are critically required. Here, we report that expansion medium supplemented with ASPP 049, a diarylheptanoid isolated from Curcuma comosa, and a cocktail of cytokines markedly increased numbers of adult CD34+ cells. Interestingly, phenotypically defined primitive HSCs (CD34+CD38-CD90+) were significantly increased under ASPP 049 treatment relative to control. ASPP 049 treatment also improved two functional properties of HSCs, as evidenced by an increased number of CD34+CD38- cells in secondary culture (self-renewal) and the growth of colony-forming units as assessed by colony formation assay (multilineage differentiation). Transplantation of cultured CD34+ cells into immunodeficient mice demonstrated the long-term reconstitution and differentiation ability of ASPP 049-expanded cells. RNA sequencing and KEGG analysis revealed that Hippo signaling was the most likely pathway involved in the effects of ASPP 049. These results suggest that ASPP 049 improved ex vivo expansion and functional preservation of expanded HSCs. Our findings provide a rationale for the use of ASPP 049 to grow HSCs prior to hematological disease treatment.