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Xie Y, Luo Z, Peng W, Liu Y, Yuan F, Xu J, Sun Y, Lu H, Wu T, Jiang L, Hu J. Inhibition of UTX/KDM6A improves recovery of spinal cord injury by attenuating BSCB permeability and macrophage infiltration through the MLCK/p-MLC pathway. J Neuroinflammation 2023; 20:259. [PMID: 37951955 PMCID: PMC10638785 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-023-02936-1] [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: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) can prompt an immediate disruption to the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB). Restoring the integrity of this barrier is vital for the recovery of neurological function post-SCI. The UTX protein, a histone demethylase, has been shown in previous research to promote vascular regeneration and neurological recovery in mice with SCI. However, it is unclear whether UTX knockout could facilitate the recovery of the BSCB by reducing its permeability. In this study, we systematically studied BSCB disruption and permeability at different time points after SCI and found that conditional UTX deletion in endothelial cells (ECs) can reduce BSCB permeability, decrease inflammatory cell infiltration and ROS production, and improve neurological function recovery after SCI. Subsequently, we used RNA sequencing and ChIP-qPCR to confirm that conditional UTX knockout in ECs can down-regulate expression of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), which specifically mediates myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation and is involved in actin contraction, cell retraction, and tight junctions (TJs) protein integrity. Moreover, we found that MLCK overexpression can increase the ratio of p-MLC/MLC, further break TJs, and exacerbate BSCB deterioration. Overall, our findings indicate that UTX knockout could inhibit the MLCK/p-MLC pathway, resulting in decreased BSCB permeability, and ultimately promoting neurological recovery in mice. These results suggest that UTX is a promising new target for treating SCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong Xie
- Department of Spine Surgery and Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Injury, Aging and Regenerative Medicine of Hunan Province, Changsha, China
- Hunan Engineering Research Center of Sports and Health, Changsha, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Zixiang Luo
- Department of Spine Surgery and Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Injury, Aging and Regenerative Medicine of Hunan Province, Changsha, China
- Hunan Engineering Research Center of Sports and Health, Changsha, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Wei Peng
- Department of Spine Surgery and Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Injury, Aging and Regenerative Medicine of Hunan Province, Changsha, China
- Hunan Engineering Research Center of Sports and Health, Changsha, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Yudong Liu
- Department of Spine Surgery and Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Injury, Aging and Regenerative Medicine of Hunan Province, Changsha, China
- Hunan Engineering Research Center of Sports and Health, Changsha, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Feifei Yuan
- Department of Spine Surgery and Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Injury, Aging and Regenerative Medicine of Hunan Province, Changsha, China
- Hunan Engineering Research Center of Sports and Health, Changsha, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Jiaqi Xu
- Department of Spine Surgery and Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Injury, Aging and Regenerative Medicine of Hunan Province, Changsha, China
- Hunan Engineering Research Center of Sports and Health, Changsha, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Yi Sun
- Department of Spine Surgery and Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Injury, Aging and Regenerative Medicine of Hunan Province, Changsha, China
- Hunan Engineering Research Center of Sports and Health, Changsha, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Hongbin Lu
- Department of Sports Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Injury, Aging and Regenerative Medicine of Hunan Province, Changsha, China
- Hunan Engineering Research Center of Sports and Health, Changsha, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Tianding Wu
- Department of Spine Surgery and Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
- Key Laboratory of Organ Injury, Aging and Regenerative Medicine of Hunan Province, Changsha, China.
- Hunan Engineering Research Center of Sports and Health, Changsha, China.
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
| | - Liyuan Jiang
- Department of Spine Surgery and Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
- Key Laboratory of Organ Injury, Aging and Regenerative Medicine of Hunan Province, Changsha, China.
- Hunan Engineering Research Center of Sports and Health, Changsha, China.
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
| | - Jianzhong Hu
- Department of Spine Surgery and Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
- Key Laboratory of Organ Injury, Aging and Regenerative Medicine of Hunan Province, Changsha, China.
- Hunan Engineering Research Center of Sports and Health, Changsha, China.
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
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Liu P, Rojo de la Vega M, Sammani S, Mascarenhas JB, Kerins M, Dodson M, Sun X, Wang T, Ooi A, Garcia JGN, Zhang DD. RPA1 binding to NRF2 switches ARE-dependent transcriptional activation to ARE-NRE-dependent repression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E10352-E10361. [PMID: 30309964 PMCID: PMC6217430 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1812125115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [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] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
NRF2 regulates cellular redox homeostasis, metabolic balance, and proteostasis by forming a dimer with small musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma proteins (sMAFs) and binding to antioxidant response elements (AREs) to activate target gene transcription. In contrast, NRF2-ARE-dependent transcriptional repression is unreported. Here, we describe NRF2-mediated gene repression via a specific seven-nucleotide sequence flanking the ARE, which we term the NRF2-replication protein A1 (RPA1) element (NRE). Mechanistically, RPA1 competes with sMAF for NRF2 binding, followed by interaction of NRF2-RPA1 with the ARE-NRE and eduction of promoter activity. Genome-wide in silico and RNA-seq analyses revealed this NRF2-RPA1-ARE-NRE complex mediates negative regulation of many genes with diverse functions, indicating that this mechanism is a fundamental cellular process. Notably, repression of MYLK, which encodes the nonmuscle myosin light chain kinase, by the NRF2-RPA1-ARE-NRE complex disrupts vascular integrity in preclinical inflammatory lung injury models, illustrating the translational significance of NRF2-mediated transcriptional repression. Our findings reveal a gene-suppressive function of NRF2 and a subset of negatively regulated NRF2 target genes, underscoring the broad impact of NRF2 in physiological and pathological settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengfei Liu
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
| | | | - Saad Sammani
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
| | - Joseph B Mascarenhas
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
| | - Michael Kerins
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
| | - Matthew Dodson
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
| | - Xiaoguang Sun
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
| | - Ting Wang
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
| | - Aikseng Ooi
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
| | - Joe G N Garcia
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721;
| | - Donna D Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721;
- The University of Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
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