Comparative transcriptomic analysis of vascular endothelial cells after hypoxia/re-oxygenation induction based on microarray technology

Differential angiogenesis of bone and muscle endothelium in aging and inflammatory processes

Different tissues have different endothelial features, however, the implications of this heterogeneity in pathological responses are not clear yet. "Inflamm-aging" has been hypothesized as a possible trigger of diseases, including osteoarthritis (OA) and sarcopenia, often present in the same patient. To highlight a possible contribution of organ-specific endothelial cells (ECs), we compare ECs derived from bone and skeletal muscle of the same OA patients. OA bone ECs show a pro-inflammatory signature and higher angiogenic sprouting as compared to muscle ECs, in control conditions and stimulated with TNFα. Furthermore, growth of muscle but not bone ECs decreases with increasing patient age and systemic inflammation. Overall, our data demonstrate that inflammatory conditions in OA patients differently affect bone and muscle ECs, suggesting that inflammatory processes increase angiogenesis in subchondral bone while associated systemic low-grade inflammation impairs angiogenesis in muscle, possibly highlighting a vascular trigger linking OA and sarcopenia.

TDAG51-Deficiency Podocytes are Protected from High-Glucose-Induced Damage Through Nrf2 Activation via the AKT-GSK-3β Pathway

T cell death-associated gene 51 (TDAG51) has been implicated in the development of various pathological conditions. However, whether TDAG51 plays a role in diabetic renal disease remains unknown. The current work investigated the possible function of TDAG51 in diabetic renal disease using high-glucose (HG)-stimulated podocytes in vitro. The elevation of TDAG51 was observed in podocytes in response to HG exposure and the glomeruli of diabetic mice. The siRNAs targeting TDAG51 were applied to deplete TDAG51 in HG-stimulated podocytes. Crucially, TDAG51 deficiency was sufficient to decrease the apoptosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation caused by HG. Mechanically, the inhibition of TDAG51 was capable of enhancing the activation of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) associated with the upregulation of AKT-glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) pathway. The reduction of AKT abolished the activation of Nrf2 elicited by TDAG51 deficiency. Additionally, the reduction of Nrf2 diminished the anti-HG injury effect elicited by TDAG51 deficiency. Overall, these data demonstrate that TDAG51 deficiency defends against HG-induced podocyte damage through Nrf2 activation by regulating AKT-GSK-3β pathway. This study suggests that TDAG1 may have a potential role in diabetic renal disease by affecting HG-induced podocyte damage.

Autophagy and cancer treatment: four functional forms of autophagy and their therapeutic applications

Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. Drugs play a pivotal role in cancer treatment, but the complex biological processes of cancer cells seriously limit the efficacy of various anticancer drugs. Autophagy, a self-degradative system that maintains cellular homeostasis, universally operates under normal and stress conditions in cancer cells. The roles of autophagy in cancer treatment are still controversial because both stimulation and inhibition of autophagy have been reported to enhance the effects of anticancer drugs. Thus, the important question arises as to whether we should try to strengthen or suppress autophagy during cancer therapy. Currently, autophagy can be divided into four main forms according to its different functions during cancer treatment: cytoprotective (cell survival), cytotoxic (cell death), cytostatic (growth arrest), and nonprotective (no contribution to cell death or survival). In addition, various cell death modes, such as apoptosis, necrosis, ferroptosis, senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, all contribute to the anticancer effects of drugs. The interaction between autophagy and these cell death modes is complex and can lead to anticancer drugs having different or even completely opposite effects on treatment. Therefore, it is important to understand the underlying contexts in which autophagy inhibition or activation will be beneficial or detrimental. That is, appropriate therapeutic strategies should be adopted in light of the different functions of autophagy. This review provides an overview of recent insights into the evolving relationship between autophagy and cancer treatment.