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Qu R, Zhang W, Ma Z, Ma Q, Chen M, Lan T, Zhou L, Hu X. Glaucocalyxin A attenuates carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis and improves the associated gut microbiota imbalance. Chem Biol Drug Des 2023; 102:51-64. [PMID: 37060267 DOI: 10.1111/cbdd.14241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/16/2023]
Abstract
Liver fibrosis refers to the pathophysiological process of dysplasia on the connective tissue of the liver, caused by a variety of pathogenic factors. Glaucocalyxin A (GLA) has anticoagulation, antibacterial, anti-inflammation, antioxidant and antitumour properties. However, whether GLA ameliorates liver fibrosis or not is still unclear. In this study, a liver fibrosis model was established using male C57BL/6 mice. The mice were treated with 5 and 10 mg/kg GLA via intraperitoneal injection, respectively. The ones that were treated with 5 mg/kg OCA were used as the positive control group. The levels of liver function, liver fibrosis biomarkers and liver pathological changes were then evaluated. We also explored the effects of GLA on inflammatory response and liver cell apoptosis. In addition, we investigated the gut microbiota mechanisms of GLA on liver fibrosis. The results from this study that GLA could significantly decrease the level of liver function (AST, ALT, TBA) and liver fibrosis (HA, LN, PC-III, IV-C). On the other hand, a significant decrease in inflammation levels (IL-1β, TNF-α) were also noted. GLA also improves CCl4-induced pathological liver injuries and collagen deposition, in addition to decreasing apoptosis levels. In addition, an increase in the ratio of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes in liver disease was also observed. GLA also improves the gut microbiota. In conclusion, GLA attenuates CCl4-induced liver fibrosis and improves the associated gut microbiota imbalance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ru Qu
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wang Zhang
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhuang Ma
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qianwen Ma
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mingju Chen
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Tian Lan
- Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lin Zhou
- School of Life Sciences, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xuguang Hu
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China
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Stojanovic D, Stojanovic M, Milenkovic J, Velickov A, Ignjatovic A, Milojkovic M. The Multi-Faceted Nature of Renalase for Mitochondrial Dysfunction Improvement in Cardiac Disease. Cells 2023; 12:1607. [PMID: 37371077 DOI: 10.3390/cells12121607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The cellular mechanisms and signaling network that guide the cardiac disease pathophysiology are inextricably intertwined, which explains the current scarcity of effective therapy and to date remains the greatest challenge in state-of-the-art cardiovascular medicine. Accordingly, a novel concept has emerged in which cardiomyocytes are the centerpiece of therapeutic targeting, with dysregulated mitochondria as a critical point of intervention. Mitochondrial dysfunction pluralism seeks a multi-faceted molecule, such as renalase, to simultaneously combat the pathophysiologic heterogeneity of mitochondria-induced cardiomyocyte injury. This review provides some original perspectives and, for the first time, discusses the functionality spectrum of renalase for mitochondrial dysfunction improvement within cardiac disease, including its ability to preserve mitochondrial integrity and dynamics by suppressing mitochondrial ΔΨm collapse; overall ATP content amelioration; a rise of mtDNA copy numbers; upregulation of mitochondrial genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation and cellular vitality promotion; mitochondrial fission inhibition; NAD+ supplementation; sirtuin upregulation; and anti-oxidant, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory traits. If verified that renalase, due to its multi-faceted nature, behaves like the "guardian of mitochondria" by thwarting pernicious mitochondrial dysfunction effects and exerting therapeutic potential to target mitochondrial abnormalities in failing hearts, it may provide large-scale benefits for cardiac disease patients, regardless of the underlying causes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dijana Stojanovic
- Department of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis, 18000 Nis, Serbia
| | - Miodrag Stojanovic
- Department of Medical Statistics and Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis, 18000 Nis, Serbia
- Center of Informatics and Biostatistics in Healthcare, Institute for Public Health, 18000 Nis, Serbia
| | - Jelena Milenkovic
- Department of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis, 18000 Nis, Serbia
| | - Aleksandra Velickov
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis, 18000 Nis, Serbia
| | - Aleksandra Ignjatovic
- Department of Medical Statistics and Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis, 18000 Nis, Serbia
- Center of Informatics and Biostatistics in Healthcare, Institute for Public Health, 18000 Nis, Serbia
| | - Maja Milojkovic
- Department of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis, 18000 Nis, Serbia
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Wang Y, Bai L, Wen J, Zhang F, Gu S, Wang F, Yin J, Wang N. Cardiac-specific renalase overexpression alleviates CKD-induced pathological cardiac remodeling in mice. Front Cardiovasc Med 2022; 9:1061146. [PMID: 36588579 PMCID: PMC9798007 DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.1061146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction CKD-induced pathological cardiac remodeling is characterized by myocardial hypertrophy and cardiac fibrosis. The available therapeutic options are limited, it is thus urgently needed to identify novel therapeutic targets. Renalase (RNLS) is a newly discovered protein secreted by the kidney and was found beneficial in many renal diseases. But whether it exerts protective effects on cardiac remodeling in CKD remains unclear. Methods RNLS knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice were both used to build CKD models and the adeno-associated virus (AAV9) system was used to overexpress RNLS cardiac specifically. Echocardiography was performed to detect cardiac structural changes every 6 weeks until 18 weeks post-surgery. High throughput sequencing was performed to understand the underlying mechanisms and the effects of RNLS on cardiac fibroblasts were validated in vitro. Results Knockout of RNLS aggravated cardiac remodeling in CKD, while RNLS cardiac-specific overexpression significantly reduced left ventricular hypertrophy and cardiac fibrosis induced by CKD. The following RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that RNLS significantly downregulated the extracellular matrix (ECM) receptor interaction pathway, ECM organization, and several ECM-related proteins. GSEA results showed RNLS significantly downregulated several profibrotic biological processes of cardiac fibroblasts which were upregulated by CKD, including fibroblast proliferation, leukocyte migration, antigen presentation, cytokine production, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In vitro, we validated that RNLS reduced the primary cardiac fibroblast proliferation and α-SMA expression stimulated by TGF-β. Conclusion In this study, we examined the cardioprotective role of RNLS in CKD-induced cardiac remodeling. RNLS may be a potential therapeutic factor that exerts an anti-fibrotic effect in pathological cardiac remodeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Wang
- Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Linnan Bai
- Department of Nephrology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiejun Wen
- Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Fangfei Zhang
- Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Sijie Gu
- Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Feng Wang
- Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianyong Yin
- Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China,*Correspondence: Jianyong Yin,
| | - Niansong Wang
- Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China,Niansong Wang,
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Stojanovic D, Stojanovic M, Milenkovic J, Velickov A, Ignjatovic A, Milojkovic M, Sturza A. Renalase Challenges the Oxidative Stress and Fibroproliferative Response in COVID-19. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity 2022; 2022:1-27. [PMID: 36132227 PMCID: PMC9484957 DOI: 10.1155/2022/4032704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Revised: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The hallmark of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pathophysiology was reported to be an inappropriate and uncontrolled immune response, evidenced by activated macrophages, and a robust surge of proinflammatory cytokines, followed by the release of reactive oxygen species, that synergistically result in acute respiratory distress syndrome, fibroproliferative lung response, and possibly even death. For these reasons, all identified risk factors and pathophysiological processes of COVID-19, which are feasible for the prevention and treatment, should be addressed in a timely manner. Accordingly, the evolving anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic therapy for severe COVID-19 and hindering post-COVID-19 fibrosis development should be comprehensively investigated. Experimental evidence indicates that renalase, a novel amino-oxidase, derived from the kidneys, exhibits remarkable organ protection, robustly addressing the most powerful pathways of cell trauma: inflammation and oxidative stress, necrosis, and apoptosis. As demonstrated, systemic renalase administration also significantly alleviates experimentally induced organ fibrosis and prevents adverse remodeling. The recognition that renalase exerts cytoprotection via sirtuins activation, by raising their NAD+ levels, provides a “proof of principle” for renalase being a biologically impressive molecule that favors cell protection and survival and maybe involved in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. This premise supports the rationale that renalase's timely supplementation may prove valuable for pathologic conditions, such as cytokine storm and related acute respiratory distress syndrome. Therefore, the aim for this review is to acknowledge the scientific rationale for renalase employment in the experimental model of COVID-19, targeting the acute phase mechanisms and halting fibrosis progression, based on its proposed molecular pathways. Novel therapies for COVID-19 seek to exploit renalase's multiple and distinctive cytoprotective mechanisms; therefore, this review should be acknowledged as the thorough groundwork for subsequent research of renalase's employment in the experimental models of COVID-19.
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