lncRNA Vgll3 Regulates the Activated Proliferation of Mouse Myocardial Fibroblasts through TGF-β3-Related Pathway

Acute exposure to antimony elicits endocrine disturbances, leading to PCOS and ovarian fibrosis in female zebrafish

Antimony (Sb) is an estrogenic metal. Exogenous exposure to Sb can affect estrogen levels and their receptor expression in organisms, exerting estrogen-disrupting effects and even inducing polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which is accompanied by the progression of ovarian fibrosis. To investigate the pathological mechanism of this reproductive damage caused by Sb exposure, we exposed female zebrafish to Sb solution for 18 days for acute toxicity experiments. The results showed that Sb exposure affected the changes of GnRH, FSH, LH, E2 and T levels on the HPG axis, which disrupted the balance of sex steroid hormones in the internal environment of zebrafish and progression of PCOS. Furthermore, Sirius red staining revealed significant fibrosis in the ovarian tissues of Sb-exposed female zebrafish. This study adopted transcriptome sequencing and Western Blotting to explore the mechanisms of action. The biological processes and signaling pathways potentially associated with Sb-induced ovarian fibrosis were predicted by using GO annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, such as ECM receptors, TGF-β/Smad and WNT/β-catenin. The experiment results showed that Sb induced up-regulation of the transcription levels of the pro-fibrotic factors tgf-β3, wnt10a, ctnnb1, and β-catenin protein expression, suggesting the activation of the WNT/β-catenin pathways and TGF-β/Smad. Sb exposure led to up-regulation of ECM-related genes col2a1a, itgb1b.2, lamc1, fn1a and up-regulation of fibrosis markers α-SMA, Fn1a, col4a2 protein expression, Therefore, we hypothesized that Sb exposure activates the TGF-β/Smad and WNT/β-catenin pathways, leading to abnormal ECM deposition and promoting the progression of ovarian fibrosis in zebrafish.

Retracted: lncRNA Vgll3 Regulates the Activated Proliferation of Mouse Myocardial Fibroblasts through TGF-β3-Related Pathway

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1155/2022/2055738.].

Mechanism of action of non-coding RNAs and traditional Chinese medicine in myocardial fibrosis: Focus on the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway

Cardiac fibrosis is a serious public health problem worldwide that is closely linked to progression of many cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and adversely affects both the disease process and clinical prognosis. Numerous studies have shown that the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway plays a key role in the progression of cardiac fibrosis. Therefore, targeted inhibition of the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway may be a therapeutic measure for cardiac fibrosis. Currently, as the investigation on non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) move forward, a variety of ncRNAs targeting TGF-β and its downstream Smad proteins have attracted high attention. Besides, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been widely used in treating the cardiac fibrosis. As more and more molecular mechanisms of natural products, herbal formulas, and proprietary Chinese medicines are revealed, TCM has been proven to act on cardiac fibrosis by modulating multiple targets and signaling pathways, especially the TGF-β/Smad. Therefore, this work summarizes the roles of TGF-β/Smad classical and non-classical signaling pathways in the cardiac fibrosis, and discusses the recent research advances in ncRNAs targeting the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway and TCM against cardiac fibrosis. It is hoped, in this way, to give new insights into the prevention and treatment of cardiac fibrosis.