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Matsoukas MT, Panagiotopoulos V, Karageorgos V, Chrousos GP, Venihaki M, Liapakis G. Structural and Functional Insights into CRF Peptides and Their Receptors. BIOLOGY 2024; 13:120. [PMID: 38392338 PMCID: PMC10886364 DOI: 10.3390/biology13020120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Corticotropin-releasing factor or hormone (CRF or CRH) and the urocortins regulate a plethora of physiological functions and are involved in many pathophysiological processes. CRF and urocortins belong to the family of CRF peptides (CRF family), which includes sauvagine, urotensin, and many synthetic peptide and non-peptide CRF analogs. Several of the CRF analogs have shown considerable therapeutic potential in the treatment of various diseases. The CRF peptide family act by interacting with two types of plasma membrane proteins, type 1 (CRF1R) and type 2 (CRF2R), which belong to subfamily B1 of the family B G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). This work describes the structure of CRF peptides and their receptors and the activation mechanism of the latter, which is compared with that of other GPCRs. It also discusses recent structural information that rationalizes the selective binding of various ligands to the two CRF receptor types and the activation of receptors by different agonists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minos-Timotheos Matsoukas
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
| | - Vasilis Panagiotopoulos
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
| | - Vlasios Karageorgos
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
| | - George P Chrousos
- University Research Institute of Maternal and Child Health and Precision Medicine and UNESCO, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Livadias 8, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | - Maria Venihaki
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
| | - George Liapakis
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
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Zhu C, Zhou J, Li T, Mu J, Jin L, Li S. Urocortin participates in LPS-induced apoptosis of THP-1 macrophages via S1P-cPLA2 signaling pathway. Eur J Pharmacol 2020; 887:173559. [PMID: 32949605 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2020.173559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2019] [Revised: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
There is little literature showing the effect of urocortin (UCN) on macrophage apoptosis. The underlying mechanism is also unclear. This work was to investigate the involvement of UCN in the regulation of LPS-induced macrophage apoptosis and hence in the prevention from the atherosclerotic lesion development through targeting PLA2. Flow cytometry analysis showed that cell apoptosis was increased by more than 50% after LPS treatment in human THP-1 macrophage. Lp-PLA2 and cPLA2 were found to mediate LPS-induced macrophage apoptosis and NF-κB differentially influenced the expression of Lp-PLA2 and cPLA2. However, the reverse regulation of the expression of Lp-PLA2 and cPLA2 by NF-κB suggested that NF-κB may not be a key target for regulating macrophage apoptosis. Interestingly, we found that the approximate three folds upregulation of cPLA2 was in line with the induction of S1P formation and cell apoptosis by LPS. Inversely, LPS obviously decreased UCN expression by about 50% and secretion by about 25%. Both the enzyme inhibitor and knockdown expression of cPLA2 could completely abolish LPS-induced cell apoptosis. In addition, suppression of S1P synthesis by Sphk1 inhibitor PF-543 reduced the expression of cPLA2 and cell apoptosis but at the same time restored the normal level of UCN in cell culture supernatant. Furthermore, addition of exogenous UCN also reversed LPS-induced expression of cPLA2 and apoptosis. Taken together, UCN may be the reverse regulator of LPS-S1P-cPLA2-apoptosis pathway, thereby contributing to the prevention from the formation of unstable plaques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Zhu
- Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, PR China.
| | - Jun Zhou
- Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, PR China
| | - Tiantian Li
- Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, PR China
| | - Junyu Mu
- Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, PR China
| | - Lai Jin
- Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, PR China
| | - Shengnan Li
- Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, PR China.
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Corsetti G, Yuan Z, Romano C, Chen-Scarabelli C, Fanzani A, Pasini E, Dioguardi FS, Onorati F, Linardi D, Knight R, Patel H, Faggian G, Saravolatz L, Scarabelli TM. Urocortin Induces Phosphorylation of Distinct Residues of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) via Different Signaling Pathways. Med Sci Monit Basic Res 2019; 25:139-152. [PMID: 31073117 PMCID: PMC6532558 DOI: 10.12659/msmbr.914611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Urocortin (Ucn) is a member of the hypothalamic corticotrophin-releasing factor family and has been shown to reduce cell death in the heart caused by ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor known to function as a pro-survival and anti-apoptotic factor, whose activation depends on a variety of cytokines, including IL-6. A recent study demonstrated that urocortin induced IL-6 release from cardiomyocytes in a CRF-R2-dependent manner, suggesting a possible link between CRF-R2 stimulation and STAT3 activation. MATERIAL AND METHODS Experimental work was carried out in HL-1 cardiac myocytes exposed to serum starvation for 16-24 h. RESULTS Ucn stimulation led to IL-6 expression and release from mouse atrial HL-1 cardiomyocytes. Ucn treatment led to rapid phosphorylation of JAK2, which was blocked by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide or the JAK inhibitor AG490. Urocortin treatment induced STAT3 phosphorylation at Y705 and S727 through transactivation of JAK2 in an IL-6-dependent manner, but had no effect on STAT1 activity. Kinase inhibition experiments revealed that urocortin induces STAT3 S727 phosphorylation through ERK1/2 and Y705 phosphorylation through Src tyrosine kinase. In line with this finding, urocortin failed to induce phosphorylation of Y705 residue in SYF cells bearing null mutation of Src, while phosphorylation of S727 residue was unchanged. CONCLUSIONS Here, we have shown that Ucn induces activation of STAT3 through diverging signaling pathways. Full understanding of these signaling pathways will help fully exploit the cardioprotective properties of endogenous and exogenous Ucn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Corsetti
- Division of Human Anatomy and Physiopathology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Zhaokan Yuan
- Center for Heart and Vessel Preclinical Studies, Department of Internal Medicine, St. John Hospital and Medical Center, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Claudia Romano
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Carol Chen-Scarabelli
- Center for Heart and Vessel Preclinical Studies, Department of Internal Medicine, St. John Hospital and Medical Center, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Alessandro Fanzani
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Evasio Pasini
- Scientific Clinical Institutes Maugeri, Cardiac Rehabilitation Lumezzane Institute, Brescia, Italy
| | | | - Francesco Onorati
- Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Verona University Hospital, Verona, Italy
| | - Daniele Linardi
- Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Verona University Hospital, Verona, Italy
| | - Richard Knight
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Toxicology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Hemang Patel
- Department of Internal Medicine, General Medical Education, Ascension St. John Hospital, Detroit, MI, USA.,Department of Internal Medicine, Wayne State University - School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Giuseppe Faggian
- Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Verona University Hospital, Verona, Italy
| | - Louis Saravolatz
- Department of Medicine, Ascension St John Hospital and Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Tiziano M Scarabelli
- Center for Heart and Vessel Preclinical Studies, Department of Internal Medicine, St. John Hospital and Medical Center, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
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Saul D, Geisberg LK, Gehle T, Hoffmann DB, Tezval M, Sehmisch S, Komrakova M. Changes in Musculoskeletal System and Metabolism in Osteoporotic Rats Treated With Urocortin. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2019; 10:400. [PMID: 31293517 PMCID: PMC6601316 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2019.00400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2019] [Accepted: 06/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective: In aging population, postmenopausal osteoporosis and decline of musculoskeletal function, referred to as "frailty syndrome" lead to loss of bone and muscle, causing falls, and fall-related injuries. To limit the impact of this portentous duo, simultaneous treatment of both is needed. Urocortin (UCN) has been reported to improve osteoporotic bone properties while its effect on muscle has not been addressed yet. Design and Methods: We aimed to investigate the effect of urocortin in vivo on skeletal muscle structure in osteopenic rats. Sixty Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: four were ovariectomized (OVX) and one underwent sham operation (SHAM). One ovariectomized group was left untreated (OVX), while one was treated with urocortin s.c. in 3 μg/kg body weight (bw) (OVX+UCN low), one with 30 μg/kg (OVX+UCN high), while one group was treated with estradiol orally (OVX+E: 0.2 mg/kg bw), each for 35 days. Mm. gastrocnemius, longissimus, and soleus were isolated and capillary density as well as diameters of type I and II fibers were measured. In addition, we examined the effect of UCN on tibia using biomechanical, micro-CT and ashing analysis and investigated the blood serum. Results: We demonstrated a positive effect of UCN on M. soleus, in which fiber diameter was positively influenced. The biomechanical and structural parameters of bone were not changed in UCN treated rats. The higher cholesterol, glucose and triglyceride levels in the "UCN high" group raise concern about this treatment. Conclusions: Our results portray urocortin as a substance that can be assessed for future therapeutic treatments of estrogen deficiency. New and Noteworthy: Urocortin has a positive effect on M. soleus (diameter). Urocortin raises serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Bone tissue was not affected by UCN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominik Saul
- Department of Trauma, Orthopedics and Reconstructive Surgery, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Laura Katharina Geisberg
- Department of Trauma, Orthopedics and Reconstructive Surgery, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Torben Gehle
- Department of Trauma, Orthopedics and Reconstructive Surgery, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Daniel Bernd Hoffmann
- Department of Trauma, Orthopedics and Reconstructive Surgery, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Mohammad Tezval
- Klinik für Unfallchirurgie, Sporttraumatologie und Handchirurgie, Klinikum Vest, Recklinghausen, Germany
| | - Stephan Sehmisch
- Department of Trauma, Orthopedics and Reconstructive Surgery, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Marina Komrakova
- Department of Trauma, Orthopedics and Reconstructive Surgery, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- *Correspondence: Marina Komrakova ; orcid.org/0000-0002-6225-4378
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