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Zhang N, Yang P, Li Y, Ouyang Q, Hou F, Zhu G, Zhang B, Huang J, Jia J, Xu A. Serum Iron Overload Activates the SMAD Pathway and Hepcidin Expression of Hepatocytes via SMURF1. J Clin Transl Hepatol 2024; 12:227-235. [PMID: 38426189 PMCID: PMC10899870 DOI: 10.14218/jcth.2023.00440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Background and Aims Liver iron overload can induce hepatic expression of bone morphogenic protein (BMP) 6 and activate the BMP/SMAD pathway. However, serum iron overload can also activate SMAD but does not induce BMP6 expression. Therefore, the mechanisms through which serum iron overload activates the BMP/SMAD pathway remain unclear. This study aimed to clarify the role of SMURF1 in serum iron overload and the BMP/SMAD pathway. Methods A cell model of serum iron overload was established by treating hepatocytes with 2 mg/mL of holo-transferrin (Holo-Tf). A serum iron overload mouse model and a liver iron overload mouse model were established by intraperitoneally injecting 10 mg of Holo-Tf into C57BL/6 mice and administering a high-iron diet for 1 week followed by a low-iron diet for 2 days. Western blotting and real-time PCR were performed to evaluate the activation of the BMP/SMAD pathway and the expression of hepcidin. Results Holo-Tf augmented the sensitivity and responsiveness of hepatocytes to BMP6. The E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase SMURF1 mediated Holo-Tf-induced SMAD1/5 activation and hepcidin expression; specifically, SMURF1 expression dramatically decreased when the serum iron concentration was increased. Additionally, the expression of SMURF1 substrates, which are important molecules involved in the transduction of BMP/SMAD signaling, was significantly upregulated. Furthermore, in vivo analyses confirmed that SMURF1 specifically regulated the BMP/SMAD pathway during serum iron overload. Conclusions SMURF1 can specifically regulate the BMP/SMAD pathway by augmenting the responsiveness of hepatocytes to BMPs during serum iron overload.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ning Zhang
- Experimental and Translational Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- Department of Gastroenterology, Beijing Shunyi Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Pengyao Yang
- Experimental and Translational Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Yanmeng Li
- Experimental and Translational Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Qin Ouyang
- Experimental and Translational Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Fei Hou
- Department of Critical Liver Diseases, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Guixin Zhu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Protein Science, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Bei Zhang
- Experimental and Translational Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Jian Huang
- Experimental and Translational Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Jidong Jia
- Liver Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Anjian Xu
- Experimental and Translational Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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Chuecos MA, Lagor WR. Liver directed adeno-associated viral vectors to treat metabolic disease. J Inherit Metab Dis 2024; 47:22-40. [PMID: 37254440 PMCID: PMC10687323 DOI: 10.1002/jimd.12637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The liver is the metabolic center of the body and an ideal target for gene therapy of inherited metabolic disorders (IMDs). Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors can deliver transgenes to the liver with high efficiency and specificity and a favorable safety profile. Recombinant AAV vectors contain only the transgene cassette, and their payload is converted to non-integrating circular double-stranded DNA episomes, which can provide stable expression from months to years. Insights from cellular studies and preclinical animal models have provided valuable information about AAV capsid serotypes with a high liver tropism. These vectors have been applied successfully in the clinic, particularly in trials for hemophilia, resulting in the first approved liver-directed gene therapy. Lessons from ongoing clinical trials have identified key factors affecting efficacy and safety that were not readily apparent in animal models. Circumventing pre-existing neutralizing antibodies to the AAV capsid, and mitigating adaptive immune responses to transduced cells are critical to achieving therapeutic benefit. Combining the high efficiency of AAV delivery with genome editing is a promising path to achieve more precise control of gene expression. The primary safety concern for liver gene therapy with AAV continues to be the small risk of tumorigenesis from rare vector integrations. Hepatotoxicity is a key consideration in the safety of neuromuscular gene therapies which are applied at substantially higher doses. The current knowledge base and toolkit for AAV is well developed, and poised to correct some of the most severe IMDs with liver-directed gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel A. Chuecos
- Department of Integrative Physiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA
- Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA
| | - William R. Lagor
- Department of Integrative Physiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA
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Kim HJ, Jung H, Kim S, Seo JK, Kee JM. Identification of a Target Site for Covalent Inhibition of Protein Phosphohistidine Phosphatase 1. ACS Med Chem Lett 2022; 13:1911-1915. [DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.2c00450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Hyeong Jun Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea
| | - Hoyoung Jung
- Department of Chemistry, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea
| | - Soyeon Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea
| | - Jeong Kon Seo
- UNIST Central Research Facilities (UCRF), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea
- Graduate School of Semiconductor Materials and Devices Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea
| | - Jung-Min Kee
- Department of Chemistry, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea
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Bu FT, Jia PC, Zhu Y, Yang YR, Meng HW, Bi YH, Huang C, Li J. Emerging therapeutic potential of adeno-associated virus-mediated gene therapy in liver fibrosis. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2022; 26:191-206. [PMID: 35859692 PMCID: PMC9271983 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2022.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Liver fibrosis is a wound-healing response that results from various chronic damages. If the causes of damage are not removed or effective treatments are not given in a timely manner, it will progress to cirrhosis, even liver cancer. Currently, there are no specific medical therapies for liver fibrosis. Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated gene therapy, one of the frontiers of modern medicine, has gained more attention in many fields due to its high safety profile, low immunogenicity, long-term efficacy in mediating gene expression, and increasingly known tropism. Notably, increasing evidence suggests a promising therapeutic potential for AAV-mediated gene therapy in different liver fibrosis models, which helps to correct abnormally changed target genes in the process of fibrosis and improve liver fibrosis at the molecular level. Moreover, the addition of cell-specific promoters to the genome of recombinant AAV helps to limit gene expression in specific cells, thereby producing better therapeutic efficacy in liver fibrosis. However, animal models are considered to be powerless predictive of tissue tropism, immunogenicity, and genotoxic risks in humans. Thus, AAV-mediated gene therapy will face many challenges. This review systemically summarizes the recent advances of AAV-mediated gene therapy in liver fibrosis, especially focusing on cellular and molecular mechanisms of transferred genes, and presents prospective challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang-Tian Bu
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Institute of Innovative Drugs, School of Pharmacy, Anhui Medical University, 81 Mei Shan Road, Hefei, Anhui Province 230032, China.,Institute for Liver Diseases of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Peng-Cheng Jia
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Institute of Innovative Drugs, School of Pharmacy, Anhui Medical University, 81 Mei Shan Road, Hefei, Anhui Province 230032, China.,Institute for Liver Diseases of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Yan Zhu
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Ya-Ru Yang
- The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Hong-Wu Meng
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Institute of Innovative Drugs, School of Pharmacy, Anhui Medical University, 81 Mei Shan Road, Hefei, Anhui Province 230032, China.,Institute for Liver Diseases of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Yi-Hui Bi
- The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Cheng Huang
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Institute of Innovative Drugs, School of Pharmacy, Anhui Medical University, 81 Mei Shan Road, Hefei, Anhui Province 230032, China.,Institute for Liver Diseases of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Jun Li
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Institute of Innovative Drugs, School of Pharmacy, Anhui Medical University, 81 Mei Shan Road, Hefei, Anhui Province 230032, China.,Institute for Liver Diseases of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
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