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Elbaset MA, Mohamed BMSA, Hessin A, Abd El‐Rahman SS, Esatbeyoglu T, Afifi SM, Fayed HM. Nrf2/HO-1, NF-κB and PI3K/Akt signalling pathways decipher the therapeutic mechanism of pitavastatin in early phase liver fibrosis in rats. J Cell Mol Med 2024; 28:e18116. [PMID: 38214394 PMCID: PMC10844702 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.18116] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2023] [Revised: 12/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Liver fibrosis is a common chronic hepatic disease. This study aimed to investigate the effect of pitavastatin (Pit) against thioacetamide (TAA)-induced liver fibrosis. Rats were divided into four groups: (1) control group; (2) TAA group (100 mg/kg, i.p.) three times weekly for 2 weeks; (3 and 4) TAA/Pit-treated group, in which Pit was administered orally (0.4 and 0.8 mg/kg/day) for 2 weeks following TAA injections. TAA caused liver damage manifested by elevated serum transaminases, reduced albumin and histological alterations. Hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) was increased, and glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were decreased in TAA-administered rats. TAA upregulated the inflammatory markers NF-κB, NF-κB p65, TNF-α and IL-6. Treatment with Pit ameliorated serum transaminases, elevated serum albumin and prevented histopathological changes in TAA-intoxicated rats. Pit suppressed MDA, NF-κB, NF-κB p65, the inflammatory cytokines and PI3K mRNA in TAA-intoxicated rats. In addition, Pit enhanced hepatic antioxidants and boosted the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) mRNA. Moreover, immunohistological studies supported the ability of Pit to reduce liver fibrosis via suppressing p-AKT expression. In conclusion, Pit effectively prevents TAA-induced liver fibrosis by attenuating oxidative stress and the inflammatory response. The hepatoprotective efficacy of Pit was associated with the upregulation of Nrf2/HO-1 and downregulation of NF-κB and PI3K/Akt signalling pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marawan A. Elbaset
- Department of PharmacologyMedical Research and Clinical Studies Institute, National Research CentreGizaEgypt
| | - Bassim M. S. A. Mohamed
- Department of PharmacologyMedical Research and Clinical Studies Institute, National Research CentreGizaEgypt
| | - Alyaa Hessin
- Department of PharmacologyMedical Research and Clinical Studies Institute, National Research CentreGizaEgypt
| | | | - Tuba Esatbeyoglu
- Department of Molecular Food Chemistry and Food Development, Institute of Food Science and Human NutritionGottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University HannoverHannoverGermany
| | - Sherif M. Afifi
- Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of PharmacyUniversity of Sadat CitySadat CityEgypt
| | - Hany M. Fayed
- Department of PharmacologyMedical Research and Clinical Studies Institute, National Research CentreGizaEgypt
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Elbaset MA, Mohamed BMSA, Moustafa PE, Esatbeyoglu T, Afifi SM, Hessin AF, Abdelrahman SS, Fayed HM. Renoprotective Effect of Pitavastatin against TAA-Induced Renal Injury: Involvement of the miR-93/PTEN/AKT/mTOR Pathway. Adv Pharmacol Pharm Sci 2024; 2024:6681873. [PMID: 38293706 PMCID: PMC10827367 DOI: 10.1155/2024/6681873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 12/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
This research investigated if pitavastatin (Pita) might protect rats' kidneys against thioacetamide (TAA). By altering the PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway, pitavastatin may boost kidney antioxidant capacity and minimize oxidative damage. Statins have several benefits, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory characteristics. The principal hypothesis of this study was that Pita can regulate the miR-93/PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathways, which is thought to be responsible for its renoprotective effects. The experiment divided male rats into four groups. Group 1 included untreated rats as the control. Group 2 included rats which received TAA (100 mg/kg intraperitoneally thrice a week for two weeks) to destroy their kidneys. Groups 3 and 4 included rats which received Pita orally at 0.4 and 0.8 mg/kg for 14 days after TAA injections. Renal injury increased BUN, creatinine, and MDA levels and decreased glutathione (GSH) levels. Pitavastatin prevented these alterations. TAA decreased PTEN and increased miR-93, Akt, p-Akt, mTOR, and Stat3 in the kidneys. Pitavastatin also regulated the associated culprit pathway, miR-93/PTEN/Akt/mTOR. In addition, TAA induced adverse effects on the kidney tissue, which were significantly ameliorated by pitavastatin treatment. The findings suggest that pitavastatin can attenuate renal injury, likely by regulating the miR-93/PTEN/Akt/mTOR pathway. This modulation of the pathway appears to contribute to the protective effects of pitavastatin against TAA-induced renal injury, adding to the growing evidence of the pleiotropic benefits of statins in renal health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marawan A. Elbaset
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt
| | - Bassim M. S. A. Mohamed
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt
| | - Passant E. Moustafa
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt
| | - Tuba Esatbeyoglu
- Department of Molecular Food Chemistry and Food Development, Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, Hannover 30167, Germany
| | - Sherif M. Afifi
- Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sadat City, Sadat City 32897, Egypt
| | - Alyaa F. Hessin
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt
| | - Sahar S. Abdelrahman
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
| | - Hany M. Fayed
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt
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Awad H, Ajalik R, Alenchery R, Linares I, Wright T, Miller B, McGrath J. Human tendon-on-a-chip for modeling vascular inflammatory fibrosis. Res Sq 2023:rs.3.rs-3722255. [PMID: 38168335 PMCID: PMC10760304 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3722255/v1] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Understanding vascular inflammation and myofibroblast crosstalk is critical to developing therapies for fibrotic diseases. Here we report the development of a novel human Tendon-on-a-Chip (hToC) to model this crosstalk in peritendinous adhesions, a debilitating fibrotic condition affecting flexor tendon, which currently lacks biological therapies. The hToC enables cellular and paracrine interactions between a vascular compartment harboring endothelial cells and monocytes with a tissue hydrogel compartment containing tendon fibroblasts and macrophages. We find that the hToC replicates in vivo inflammatory and fibrotic phenotypes in preclinical and clinical samples, including myofibroblast differentiation and tissue contraction, excessive ECM deposition, and inflammatory cytokines secretion. We further show that the fibrotic phenotypes are driven by the transmigration of monocytes from the vascular to the tissue compartments of the chip. We demonstrate significant overlap in fibrotic transcriptional signatures in the hToC with human tenolysis samples, including mTOR signaling, a regulatory nexus of fibrosis across various organs. Treatment with rapamycin suppressed the fibrotic phenotype on the hToC, which validates the hToC as a preclinical alternative for investigating fibrosis and testing therapeutics.
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