FoxO3 transcription factor promotes autophagy after transient cerebral ischemia/reperfusion

Potential application of natural compounds in ischaemic stroke: Focusing on the mechanisms underlying "lysosomocentric" dysfunction of the autophagy-lysosomal pathway

Ischaemic stroke (IS) is the second leading cause of death and a major cause of disability worldwide. Currently, the clinical management of IS still depends on restoring blood flow via pharmacological thrombolysis or mechanical thrombectomy, with accompanying disadvantages of narrow therapeutic time window and risk of haemorrhagic transformation. Thus, novel pathophysiological mechanisms and targeted therapeutic candidates are urgently needed. The autophagy-lysosomal pathway (ALP), as a dynamic cellular lysosome-based degradative process, has been comprehensively studied in recent decades, including its upstream regulatory mechanisms and its role in mediating neuronal fate after IS. Importantly, increasing evidence has shown that IS can lead to lysosomal dysfunction, such as lysosomal membrane permeabilization, impaired lysosomal acidity, lysosomal storage disorder, and dysfunctional lysosomal ion homeostasis, which are involved in the IS-mediated defects in ALP function. There is tightly regulated crosstalk between transcription factor EB (TFEB), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and lysosomal function, but their relationship remains to be systematically summarized. Notably, a growing body of evidence emphasizes the benefits of naturally derived compounds in the treatment of IS via modulation of ALP function. However, little is known about the roles of natural compounds as modulators of lysosomes in the treatment of IS. Therefore, in this context, we provide an overview of the current understanding of the mechanisms underlying IS-mediated ALP dysfunction, from a lysosomal perspective. We also provide an update on the effect of natural compounds on IS, according to their chemical structural types, in different experimental stroke models, cerebral regions and cell types, with a primary focus on lysosomes and autophagy initiation. This review aims to highlight the therapeutic potential of natural compounds that target lysosomal and ALP function for IS treatment.

What can the common fruit fly teach us about stroke?: lessons learned from the hypoxic tolerant Drosophila melanogaster

Stroke, resulting in hypoxia and glucose deprivation, is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Presently, there are no treatments that reduce neuronal damage and preserve function aside from tissue plasminogen activator administration and rehabilitation therapy. Interestingly, Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly, demonstrates robust hypoxic tolerance, characterized by minimal effects on survival and motor function following systemic hypoxia. Due to its organized brain, conserved neurotransmitter systems, and genetic similarity to humans and other mammals, uncovering the mechanisms of Drosophila's tolerance could be a promising approach for the development of new therapeutics. Interestingly, a key facet of hypoxic tolerance in Drosophila is organism-wide metabolic suppression, a response involving multiple genes and pathways. Specifically, studies have demonstrated that pathways associated with oxidative stress, insulin, hypoxia-inducible factors, NFκB, Wnt, Hippo, and Notch, all potentially contribute to Drosophila hypoxic tolerance. While manipulating the oxidative stress response and insulin signaling pathway has similar outcomes in Drosophila hypoxia and the mammalian middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model of ischemia, effects of Notch pathway manipulation differ between Drosophila and mammals. Additional research is warranted to further explore how other pathways implicated in hypoxic tolerance in Drosophila, such as NFκB, and Hippo, may be utilized to benefit mammalian response to ischemia. Together, these studies demonstrate that exploration of the hypoxic response in Drosophila may lead to new avenues of research for stroke treatment in humans.

Sanpian decoction ameliorates cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury by regulating SIRT1/ERK/HIF-1α pathway through in silico analysis and experimental validation

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) is a complex pathophysiological process involving multiple factors, and becomes the footstone of rehabilitation after ischemic stroke. Sanpian decoction (SPD) has exhibited protective effects against CIRI, migraine, and other cerebral vascular diseases. However, the underlying mechanisms have not been completely elucidated.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study sought to explore the potential mechanisms underlying the effect of SPD against CIRI.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) were carried out to determine the chemical constituents of SPD. A network pharmacology approach combined with experimental verification was conducted to elucidate SPD's multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway mechanisms in CIRI occurrence. The pharmacodynamics of the decoction was evaluated by establishing the rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R). In vivo and in vitro experiments were carried out, and the therapeutic effects of SPD were performed using 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and Nissl staining. We used terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining and flow cytometry to evaluate cortex apoptosis. The quantification of mRNA and corresponding proteins were performed using real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot respectively.

RESULTS

Our research showed that pretreatment with SPD improved neurological function and inhibited CIRI. Network pharmacology revealed that the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) signaling pathway and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway-mediated apoptosis may be associated with CIRI. In vivo and in vitro experiments, we confirmed that SPD increased cerebral blood flow, improved neural function, and reduced neural apoptosis via up-regulating the expression of sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and down-regulating phospho-extracellular regulated protein kinases (p-ERK)/ERK and HIF-1α levels in CIRI rats.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, the present study systematically revealed the potential targets and signaling pathways of SPD in the treatment of CIRI using in silico prediction and verified the therapeutic effects of SPD against CIRI via ameliorating apoptosis by regulating SIRT1/ERK/HIF-1α.

ErbB4 processing is involved in OGD/R induced neuron injury

OBJECTIVE

Our previous study found that ErbB4 gene expression was changed after oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R). However, the exact role and mechanism of ErbB4 in brain ischemia are largely unknown. In this study, we explored the protective effects of ErbB4 and its possible mechanism after OGD/R.

METHODS

Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury model was established in vitro and in vivo. Cell viability, apoptosis, and ROS production were measured by MTT, TUNEL, and fluorescent probe 2', 7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA). Infarct size was evaluated by TTC. We performed bioinformatics analyses to screen for novel key genes involved in ErbB4 changes. RNA-Seq was used to transcriptome analysis. RNA and protein expression were detected by quantitative RT‒PCR and western bloting.

RESULTS

The expression of 80-kDa ErbB4 decreased after cerebral I/R injury in vitro and in vivo. Co-expression network analysis revealed that ErbB4 expression was correlated with the changes in Adrb1, Adrb2, Ldlr, and Dab2. Quantitative RT‒PCR revealed that the mRNA expression levels of Adrb1, Adrb2, and Dab2 were upregulated, and that of Ldlr was decreased after OGD/R. Activation of ErbB4 expression by neuregulin 1 (NRG1) significantly promoted cell survival, attenuated hippocampal apoptosis, and decreased ROS production after OGD/R. Furthermore, the elimination of ErbB4 using a specific siRNA reversed these beneficial effects.

CONCLUSION

Our data revealed the neuroprotective effects of ErbB4 against OGD/R injury, and the action could be related to changes in the ErbB4 membrane-associated fragment and the expression of Adrb1, Adrb2, Ldlr, and Dab2.

The forkhead box O3 (FOXO3): a key player in the regulation of ischemia and reperfusion injury

Forkhead box O3 is a protein encoded by the FOXO3 gene expressed throughout the body. FOXO3 could play a crucial role in longevity and many other pathologies, such as Alzheimer's disease, glioblastoma, and stroke. This study is a comprehensive review of the expression of FOXO3 under ischemia and reperfusion (IR) and the molecular mechanisms of its regulation and function. We found that the expression level of FOXO3 under ischemia and IR is tissue-specific. Specifically, the expression level of FOXO3 is increased in the lung and intestinal epithelial cells after IR. However, FOXO3 is downregulated in the kidney after IR and in the skeletal muscles following ischemia. Interestingly, both increased and decreased FOXO3 expression have been reported in the brain, liver, and heart following IR. Nevertheless, these contribute to stimulating ischemia and reperfusion injury via the induction of inflammatory response, apoptosis, autophagy, mitophagy, pyroptosis, and oxidative damage. These results suggest that FOXO3 could play protective effects in some organs and detrimental effects in others against IR injury. Most importantly, these findings indicate that controlling FOXO3 expression, genetically or pharmacologically, could contribute to preventing or treating ischemia and reperfusion damage.

Activation of the Akt/FoxO3 signaling pathway enhances oxidative stress-induced autophagy and alleviates brain damage in a rat model of ischemic stroke

Autophagy has been implicated in stroke. Our previous study showed that the FoxO3 transcription factor promotes autophagy after transient cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). However, whether the Akt/FoxO3 signaling pathway plays a regulatory role in autophagy in cerebral I/R-induced oxidative stress injury is still unclear. The present study aims to investigate the effects of the Akt/FoxO3 signaling pathway on autophagy activation and neuronal injury in vitro and in vivo. By employing LY294002 or insulin to regulate the Akt/FoxO3 signaling pathway, we found that insulin pretreatment increased cell viability, decreased reactive oxygen species production, and enhanced the expression of antiapoptotic and autophagy-related proteins following H₂O₂ injury in HT22 cells. In addition, insulin significantly decreased neurological deficit scores and infarct volume and increased the expression of antiapoptotic and autophagy-related proteins following I/R injury in rats. However, LY294002 showed the opposite effects under these conditions. Altogether, these results indicate that Akt/FoxO3 signaling pathway activation inhibited oxidative stress-mediated cell death through activation of autophagy. Our study supports a critical role for the Akt/FoxO3 signaling pathway in autophagy activation in stroke.

Role of FOXO3a Transcription Factor in the Regulation of Liver Oxidative Injury

Oxidative stress has been identified as a key mechanism in liver damage caused by various chemicals. The transcription factor FOXO3a has emerged as a critical regulator of redox imbalance. Multiple post-translational changes and epigenetic processes closely regulate the activity of FOXO3a, resulting in synergistic or competing impacts on its subcellular localization, stability, protein-protein interactions, DNA binding affinity, and transcriptional programs. Depending on the chemical nature and subcellular context, the oxidative-stress-mediated activation of FOXO3a can induce multiple transcriptional programs that play crucial roles in oxidative injury to the liver by chemicals. Here, we mainly review the role of FOXO3a in coordinating programs of genes that are essential for cellular homeostasis, with an emphasis on exploring the regulatory mechanisms and potential application of FOXO3a as a therapeutic target to prevent and treat liver oxidative injury.

Bioinformatic analysis and clinical diagnostic value of hsa_circ_0004099 in acute ischemic stroke

This study investigates the expression and effect of hsa_circ_0004099 in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). We conducted a case-controlled study that included 40 patients with AIS within 24 hours and 40 healthy subjects during the same period as a control group. Differentially expressed circular RNAs (circRNAs) were obtained using GEO2R, and the expression of hsa_circ_0004099 was verified using RT-PCR. Correlation analysis of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) disease severity score and ischemic time with hsa_circ_0004099 expression levels was also performed. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of hsa_circ_0004099 was constructed, and bioinformatic analysis of hsa_circ_0004099 was performed. NIHSS scores negatively correlated with hsa_circ_0004099 levels (P<0.001, r = -0.7053), whereas infarct time was negatively correlated with hsa_circ_0004099 levels (P<0.001, r = -0.5130); hsa_circ_0004099 could benefit clinical diagnosis (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.923 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.8680-0.9904]). Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that hsa_circ_0004099 was enriched in several cancer pathways, which were collectively enriched in four genes namely TCF7L2, NRAS, CTNNB1, and KRAS. Eight core proteins were screened using a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network namely SMAD4, HIF1A, CTNNB1, CDKN1B, CDK6, FOXO3, KRAS, and NRAS. hsa_circ_0004099 is a potential clinical diagnostic marker. In addition, the possible role of hsa_circ_0004099 in the pathogenesis of AIS was analyzed using bioinformatics, which provided a new potential molecular target for AIS treatment.

AnimalTFDB 4.0: a comprehensive animal transcription factor database updated with variation and expression annotations

Transcription factors (TFs) are proteins that interact with specific DNA sequences to regulate gene expression and play crucial roles in all kinds of biological processes. To keep up with new data and provide a more comprehensive resource for TF research, we updated the Animal Transcription Factor Database (AnimalTFDB) to version 4.0 (http://bioinfo.life.hust.edu.cn/AnimalTFDB4/) with up-to-date data and functions. We refined the TF family rules and prediction pipeline to predict TFs in genome-wide protein sequences from Ensembl. As a result, we predicted 274 633 TF genes and 150 726 transcription cofactor genes in AnimalTFDB 4.0 in 183 animal genomes, which are 86 more species than AnimalTFDB 3.0. Besides double data volume, we also added the following new annotations and functions to the database: (i) variations (including mutations) on TF genes in various human cancers and other diseases; (ii) predicted post-translational modification sites (including phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation and ubiquitination sites) on TFs in 8 species; (iii) TF regulation in autophagy; (iv) comprehensive TF expression annotation for 38 species; (v) exact and batch search functions allow users to search AnimalTFDB flexibly. AnimalTFDB 4.0 is a useful resource for studying TF and transcription regulation, which contains comprehensive annotation and classification of TFs and transcription cofactors.

Structural and Pharmacological Network Analysis of miRNAs Involved in Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Systematic Review

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is among the main causes of mortality worldwide. A rapid and opportune diagnosis is crucial to improve a patient’s outcomes; despite the current advanced image technologies for diagnosis, their implementation is challenging. MicroRNAs have been recognized as useful as biomarkers since they are specific and stable for characterization of AIS. However, there is still a lack of consensus over the primary miRNAs implicated in AIS. Here, we performed a systematic review of the literature covering from 2015–2021 regarding miRNAs expression during AIS and built structural networks to analyze and identify the most common miRNAs expressed during AIS and shared pathways, genes, and compounds that seem to influence their expression. We identified two sets of miRNAs: on one side, a set that was independent of geographical location and tissue (miR-124, miR-107, miR-221, miR-223, miR-140, miR-151a, miR-181a, miR-320b, and miR-484); and on the other side, a set that was connected (hubs) in biological networks (miR-27b-3p, miR-26b-5p, miR-124-3p, miR-570-3p, miR-19a-3p, miR-101-3p and miR-25-3p), which altered FOXO3, FOXO4, and EP300 genes. Interestingly, such genes are involved in cell death, FOXO-mediated transcription, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling pathways. Finally, our pharmacological network analysis depicted a set of toxicants and drugs related to AIS for the first time.

Longevity Factor FOXO3: A Key Regulator in Aging-Related Vascular Diseases

Forkhead box O3 (FOXO3) has been proposed as a homeostasis regulator, capable of integrating multiple upstream signaling pathways that are sensitive to environmental changes and counteracting their adverse effects due to external changes, such as oxidative stress, metabolic stress and growth factor deprivation. FOXO3 polymorphisms are associated with extreme human longevity. Intriguingly, longevity-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in human FOXO3 correlate with lower-than-average morbidity from cardiovascular diseases in long-lived people. Emerging evidence indicates that FOXO3 plays a critical role in vascular aging. FOXO3 inactivation is implicated in several aging-related vascular diseases. In experimental studies, FOXO3-engineered human ESC-derived vascular cells improve vascular homeostasis and delay vascular aging. The purpose of this review is to explore how FOXO3 regulates vascular aging and its crucial role in aging-related vascular diseases.

Hypoxia Tolerant Species: The Wisdom of Nature Translated into Targets for Stroke Therapy

Human neurons rapidly die after ischemia and current therapies for stroke management are limited to restoration of blood flow to prevent further brain damage. Thrombolytics and mechanical thrombectomy are the available reperfusion treatments, but most of the patients remain untreated. Neuroprotective therapies focused on treating the pathogenic cascade of the disease have widely failed. However, many animal species demonstrate that neurons can survive the lack of oxygen for extended periods of time. Here, we reviewed the physiological and molecular pathways inherent to tolerant species that have been described to contribute to hypoxia tolerance. Among them, Foxo3 and Eif5A were reported to mediate anoxic survival in Drosophila and Caenorhabditis elegans, respectively, and those results were confirmed in experimental models of stroke. In humans however, the multiple mechanisms involved in brain cell death after a stroke causes translation difficulties to arise making necessary a timely and coordinated control of the pathological changes. We propose here that, if we were able to plagiarize such natural hypoxia tolerance through drugs combined in a pharmacological cocktail it would open new therapeutic opportunities for stroke and likely, for other hypoxic conditions.

Interleukin-18 accelerates cardiac inflammation and dysfunction during ischemia/reperfusion injury by transcriptional activation of CXCL16

Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion(I/R) injury elicits an inflammatory response that drives tissue damage and cardiac remodeling. The trafficking and recruitment of inflammatory cells are controlled by C-X-C motif chemokine ligands and their receptors. CXCL16, a hallmark of acute coronary syndromes, is responsible for the recruitment of macrophages, monocytes and T lymphocytes. However, its role in cardiac I/R injury remains poorly characterized. Here we reported that CXCL16-mediated cardiac infiltration of CD11b⁺Ly6C⁺ cells played a crucial role in IL-18-induced myocardial inflammation, apoptosis and left ventricular(LV) dysfunction during I/R. Treatment with CXCL16 shRNA attenuated I/R-induced cardiac injury, LV remodeling and cardiac inflammation by reducing the recruitment of inflammatory cells and the release of TNFα, IL-17 and IFN-γ in the heart. We found that I/R-mediated NLRP3/IL-18 signaling pathway triggered CXCL16 transcription in cardiac vascular endothelial cells(VECs). Two binding sites of FOXO3 were found at the promoter region of CXCL16. By luciferase report assay and ChIP analysis, we confirmed that FOXO3 was responsible for endothelial CXCL16 transcription. A pronounced reduction of CXCL16 was observed in FOXO3 siRNA pretreated-VECs. Further experiments revealed that IL-18 activated FOXO3 by promoting the phosphorylation of STAT3 but not STAT4. An interaction between FOXO3 and STAT3 enhanced the transcription of CXCL16 induced by FOXO3. Treatment with Anakinra or Stattic either effectively inhibited IL-18-mediated nuclear import of FOXO3 and CXCL16 transcription. Our findings suggested that IL-18 accelerated I/R-induced cardiac damage and dysfunction through activating CXCL-16 and CXCL16-mediated cardiac infiltration of the CD11b⁺Ly6C⁺ cells. CXCL16 might be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of I/R-related ischemic heart diseases.

Quercetin prevents isoprenaline-induced myocardial fibrosis by promoting autophagy via regulating miR-223-3p/FOXO3

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the common arrhythmias. Myocardial fibrosis (MF) is closely related to atrial remodeling and leads to AF. MF is the main cause of cardiovascular diseases and a pathological basis of AF. Thus, the underlying mechanism in MF and AF development should be fully elucidated for AF therapeutic innovation. Autophagy is a highly conserved lysosomal degradation pathway, and the relationship between autophagy and MF has been previously shown. Moreover, research reported that quercetin (Que) could ameliorate MF. The current study aimed to explore the mechanism of Que in MF. The results in this study showed that in clinical AF patients and in aged rats, miR-223-3p was high-expressed, while FOXO3 and autophagy pathway related proteins, such as ATG7, p62/SQSTM1 and the ratio of LC3B-II/LC3B-I were significantly inhibited. In vivo and in vitro studies, we found that Que can effectively inhibit the expression of miR-223-3p in AF model cells and rats myocardial tissues, and meanwhile enhance the expression of FOXO3 and activate the autophagy pathway, and significantly inhibit myocardial fibrosis, and improve myocardial remodeling in atrial fibrillation. All in all, in this study, we found that Que prevents isoprenaline-induced MF by increasing autophagy via regulating miR-223-3p/FOXO3.

Exploring the Regulatory Mechanism of Hedysarum Multijugum Maxim.-Chuanxiong Rhizoma Compound on HIF-VEGF Pathway and Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury's Biological Network Based on Systematic Pharmacology

Background: Clinical research found that Hedysarum Multijugum Maxim.-Chuanxiong Rhizoma Compound (HCC) has definite curative effect on cerebral ischemic diseases, such as ischemic stroke and cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIR). However, its mechanism for treating cerebral ischemia is still not fully explained.

Methods: The traditional Chinese medicine related database were utilized to obtain the components of HCC. The Pharmmapper were used to predict HCC’s potential targets. The CIR genes were obtained from Genecards and OMIM and the protein-protein interaction (PPI) data of HCC’s targets and IS genes were obtained from String database. After that, the DAVID platform was applied for Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and pathway enrichment analysis. Finally, a series of animal experiments were carried out to further explore the mechanism of HCC intervention in CIR.

Results: The prediction results of systematic pharmacology showed that HCC can regulate CIR-related targets (such as AKT1, MAPK1, CASP3, EGFR), biological processes (such as angiogenesis, neuronal axonal injury, blood coagulation, calcium homeostasis) and signaling pathways (such as HIF-1, VEGF, Ras, FoxO signaling). The experiments showed that HCC can improve the neurological deficit score, decrease the volume of cerebral infarction and up-regulate the expression of HIF-1α/VEGF and VEGFR protein and mRNA (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: HCC may play a therapeutic role by regulating CIR-related targets, biological processes and signaling pathways found on this study.

Identification of key microRNAs and the underlying molecular mechanism in spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats

Spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury (SCII) is a pathological process with severe complications such as paraplegia and paralysis. Aberrant miRNA expression is involved in the development of SCII. Differences in the experimenters, filtering conditions, control selection, and sequencing platform may lead to different miRNA expression results. This study systematically analyzes the available SCII miRNA expression data to explore the key differently expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) and the underlying molecular mechanism in SCII. A systematic bioinformatics analysis was performed on 23 representative rat SCII miRNA datasets from PubMed. The target genes of key DEmiRNAs were predicted on miRDB. The DAVID and TFactS databases were utilized for functional enrichment and transcription factor binding analyses. In this study, 19 key DEmiRNAs involved in SCII were identified, 9 of which were upregulated (miR-144-3p, miR-3568, miR-204, miR-30c, miR-34c-3p, miR-155-3p, miR-200b, miR-463, and miR-760-5p) and 10 downregulated (miR-28-5p, miR-21-5p, miR-702-3p, miR-291a-3p, miR-199a-3p, miR-352, miR-743b-3p, miR-125b-2-3p, miR-129-1-3p, and miR-136). KEGG enrichment analysis on the target genes of the upregulated DEmiRNAs revealed that the involved pathways were mainly the cGMP-PKG and cAMP signaling pathways. KEGG enrichment analysis on the target genes of the downregulated DEmiRNAs revealed that the involved pathways were mainly the Chemokine and MAPK signaling pathways. GO enrichment analysis indicated that the target genes of the upregulated DEmiRNAs were markedly enriched in biological processes such as brain development and the positive regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter. Target genes of the downregulated DEmiRNAs were mainly enriched in biological processes such as intracellular signal transduction and negative regulation of cell proliferation. According to the transcription factor analysis, the four transcription factors, including SP1, GLI1, GLI2, and FOXO3, had important regulatory effects on the target genes of the key DEmiRNAs. Among the upregulated DEmiRNAs, miR-3568 was especially interesting. While SCII causes severe neurological deficits of lower extremities, the anti-miRNA oligonucleotides (AMOs) of miR-3568 improve neurological function. Cleaved caspase-3 and Bax was markedly upregulated in SCII comparing to the sham group, and miR-3568 AMO reduced the upregulation. Bcl-2 expression levels showed a opposite trend as cleaved caspase-3. The expression of GATA6, GATA4, and RBPJ decreased after SCII and miR-3568 AMO attenuated this upregulation. In conclusion, 19 significant DEmiRNAs in the pathogenesis of SCII were identified, and the underlying molecular mechanisms were validated. The DEmiRNAs could serve as potential intervention targets for SCII. Moreover, inhibition of miR-3568 preserved hind limb function after SCII by reducing apoptosis, possibly through regulating GATA6, GATA4, and RBPJ in SCII.

The Dawn of Mitophagy: What Do We Know by Now?

Mitochondria are essential organelles for healthy eukaryotic cells. They produce energyrich phosphate bond molecules (ATP) through oxidative phosphorylation using ionic gradients. The presence of mitophagy pathways in healthy cells enhances cell protection during mitochondrial damage. The PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1)/Parkin-dependent pathway is the most studied for mitophage. In addition, there are other mechanisms leading to mitophagy (FKBP8, NIX, BNIP3, FUNDC1, BCL2L13). Each of these provides tethering of a mitochondrion to an autophagy apparatus via the interaction between receptor proteins (Optineurin, p62, NDP52, NBR1) or the proteins of the outer mitochondrial membrane with ATG9-like proteins (LC3A, LC3B, GABARAP, GABARAPL1, GATE16). Another pathogenesis of mitochondrial damage is mitochondrial depolarization. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) antioxidant responsive elements (AREs) along with antioxidant genes, including pro-autophagic genes, are all involved in mitochondrial depolarization. On the other hand, mammalian Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (mTORC1) and AMP-dependent kinase (AMPK) are the major regulatory factors modulating mitophagy at the post-translational level. Protein-protein interactions are involved in controlling other mitophagy processes. The objective of the present review is to analyze research findings regarding the main pathways of mitophagy induction, recruitment of the autophagy machinery, and their regulations at the levels of transcription, post-translational modification and protein-protein interaction that appeared to be the main target during the development and maturation of neurodegenerative disorders.

Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transcription Factors in Cardiovascular Pathology

Transcription factors as multifaceted modulators of gene expression that play a central role in cell proliferation, differentiation, lineage commitment, and disease progression. They interact among themselves and create complex spatiotemporal gene regulatory networks that modulate hematopoiesis, cardiogenesis, and conditional differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells into cells of cardiovascular lineage. Additionally, bone marrow-derived stem cells potentially contribute to the cardiovascular cell population and have shown potential as a therapeutic approach to treat cardiovascular diseases. However, the underlying regulatory mechanisms are currently debatable. This review focuses on some key transcription factors and associated epigenetic modifications that modulate the maintenance and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells and cardiac progenitor cells. In addition to this, we aim to summarize different potential clinical therapeutic approaches in cardiac regeneration therapy and recent discoveries in stem cell-based transplantation.

MicroRNAs and Long Noncoding RNAs in Coronary Artery Disease: New and Potential Therapeutic Targets

Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), including long noncoding RNAs and microRNAs, play an important role in coronary artery disease onset and progression. The ability of ncRNAs to simultaneously regulate many target genes allows them to modulate various key processes involved in atherosclerosis, including lipid metabolism, smooth muscle cell proliferation, autophagy, and foam cell formation. This review focuses on the therapeutic potential of the most important ncRNAs in coronary artery disease. Moreover, various other promising microRNAs and long noncoding RNAs that attract substantial scientific interest as potential therapeutic targets in coronary artery disease and merit further investigation are presented.