Fibrosis is a major complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) which cannot be adequately addressed with pharmacologic therapy. In IBD the treatment of fibrosis usually requires surgical resection of colonic segments and is responsible for 75% of surgical interventions in Crohn’s disease (CD). Pharmacological inhibition of hydroxylases ameliorates inflammation in multiple models of IBD. We hypothesized that hydroxylase inhibition may also impact fibrosis in IBD. To test this, the effect of the hydroxylase inhibitor DMOG was tested using an in vivo model of IBD. Mice given 2.5% dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) in drinking water for 5 days and allowed natural recovery for 14 days, developed inflammation and fibrosis, as shown by higher inflammation score, higher submucosal collagen‐I deposition and increased fibroblast infiltration through the colonic mucosa. Mice treated with intra peritoneal DMOG, exhibited less inflammation and lower collagen accumulation, as well as reduced fibroblast infiltration. To test whether this antifibrotic action was secondary to the anti‐inflammatory effect or due to a direct anti fibrotic action, an in vitro model was used. Fibroblasts were treated with TGF‐β1, the key mediator of healing and fibrosis. DMOG was given to the cells prior to TGF‐β1, and α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) and collagen‐I were analyzed as key fibrosis markers. Both markers were reduced by hydroxylase inhibitors in the presence of TGF‐β1, suggesting a direct antifibrotic action in fibroblasts. Furthermore, this effect was related to a reduced expression of Smad‐3 in human colonic fibroblast, a central effector of the TGF‐β pathway. In conclusion, hydroxylase inhibition reduces fibrosis in vitro and in vivo affecting, at least in part, the TGF‐β pathway. That could be a starting point to search for therapies that can ameliorate fibrosis in this and other diseases. Grant Funding Source : Supported by Science Foundation Ireland
Conjugates formed by antibody adsorption to gold nanoparticles (AuNP) have found extensive utilization in immunoassays due to the high surface area and interesting optical and electronic properties of the nanomaterials. Nevertheless, the mechanism of formation of antibody‐AuNP conjugates and their antigen binding characteristics have not been sufficiently explored in terms of specificity and consequent clinical applicability. Dynamic light scattering and related techniques have been successfully employed to detect antigen binding to antibody‐AuNP complexes. Here, a range of different techniques from the bionanotechnology realm have been applied to obtain a detailed picture of a competitive immunoassay for malaria antigen detection, based on fluorescence‐quenching by AuNPs. Both agarose gel electrophoresis and differential centrifugal sedimentation (DCS) analyses provide binding constants in the same order of magnitude, for antibody binding to AuNP and for antigen binding to antibody‐AuNP conjugates. Both techniques are also able to reveal inhibition of antigen binding in the presence of a major blood plasma protein, transferrin (via competitive binding). DCS is further used to show inhibition of the binding of the antigen in the presence of human plasma, a realistic testing condition, of high relevance to the implementation of immunoassays at the clinical level.
The apical inflammatory cytokine TNF regulates numerous important biological processes including inflammation and cell death, and drives inflammatory diseases. TNF secretion requires TACE (also called ADAM17), which cleaves TNF from its transmembrane tether. The trafficking of TACE to the cell surface, and stimulation of its proteolytic activity, depends on membrane proteins, called iRhoms. To delineate how the TNF/TACE/iRhom axis is regulated, we performed an immunoprecipitation/mass spectrometry screen to identify iRhom-binding proteins. This identified a novel protein, that we name iTAP (iRhom Tail-Associated Protein) that binds to iRhoms, enhancing the cell surface stability of iRhoms and TACE, preventing their degradation in lysosomes. Depleting iTAP in primary human macrophages profoundly impaired TNF production and tissues from iTAP KO mice exhibit a pronounced depletion in active TACE levels. Our work identifies iTAP as a physiological regulator of TNF signalling and a novel target for the control of inflammation.
Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2), a key regulatory enzyme of the prostaglandin/eicosanoid pathway, is an important target for anti-inflammatory therapy. It is highly induced by pro-inflammatory cytokines in a Nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB)-dependent manner. However, the mechanisms determining the amplitude and dynamics of this important pro-inflammatory event are poorly understood. Furthermore, there is significant difference between human and mouse COX2 expression in response to the inflammatory stimulus tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα). Here, we report the presence of a molecular logic AND gate composed of two NFκB response elements (NREs) which controls the expression of human COX2 in a switch-like manner. Combining quantitative kinetic modeling and thermostatistical analysis followed by experimental validation in iterative cycles, we show that the human COX2 expression machinery regulated by NFκB displays features of a logic AND gate. We propose that this provides a digital, noise-filtering mechanism for a tighter control of expression in response to TNFα, such that a threshold level of NFκB activation is required before the promoter becomes active and initiates transcription. This NFκB-regulated AND gate is absent in the mouse COX2 promoter, most likely contributing to its differential graded response in promoter activity and protein expression to TNFα. Our data suggest that the NFκB-regulated AND gate acts as a novel mechanism for controlling the expression of human COX2 to TNFα, and its absence in the mouse COX2 provides the foundation for further studies on understanding species-specific differential gene regulation.
Abstract The hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is a key regulator of the cellular response to hypoxia which promotes oxygen delivery and metabolic adaptation to oxygen deprivation. However, the degree and duration of HIF-1α expression in hypoxia must be carefully balanced within cells in order to avoid unwanted side effects associated with excessive activity. The expression of HIF-1α mRNA is suppressed in prolonged hypoxia, suggesting that the control of HIF1A gene transcription is tightly regulated by negative feedback mechanisms. Little is known about the resolution of the HIF-1α protein response and the suppression of HIF-1α mRNA in prolonged hypoxia. Here, we demonstrate that the Repressor Element 1-Silencing Transcription factor (REST) binds to the HIF-1α promoter in a hypoxia-dependent manner. Knockdown of REST using RNAi increases the expression of HIF-1α mRNA, protein and transcriptional activity. Furthermore REST knockdown increases glucose consumption and lactate production in a HIF-1α- (but not HIF-2α-) dependent manner. Finally, REST promotes the resolution of HIF-1α protein expression in prolonged hypoxia. In conclusion, we hypothesize that REST represses transcription of HIF-1α in prolonged hypoxia, thus contributing to the resolution of the HIF-1α response.
The Reproducibility Project: Cancer Biology seeks to address growing concerns about reproducibility in scientific research by conducting replications of selected experiments from a number of high-profile papers in the field of cancer biology. The papers, which were published between 2010 and 2012, were selected on the basis of citations and Altmetric scores (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib4">Errington et al., 2014</xref>). This Registered Report describes the proposed replication plan of key experiments from “COT drives resistance to RAF inhibition through MAPK pathway reactivation” by Johannessen and colleagues, published in Nature in 2010 (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib10">Johannessen et al., 2010</xref>). The key experiments to be replicated are those reported in Figures 3B, 3D-E, 3I, and 4E-F. In Figures 3B, D-E, RPMI-7951 and OUMS023 cells were reported to exhibit robust ERK/MEK activity concomitant with reduced growth sensitivity in the presence of the BRAF inhibitor PLX4720. MAP3K8 (COT/TPL2) directly regulated MEK/ERK phosphorylation, as the treatment of RPMI-7951 cells with a MAP3K8 kinase inhibitor resulted in a dose-dependent suppression of MEK/ERK activity (Figure 3I). In contrast, MAP3K8-deficient A375 cells remained sensitive to BRAF inhibition, exhibiting reduced growth and MEK/ERK activity during inhibitor treatment. To determine if RAF and MEK inhibitors together can overcome single-agent resistance, MAP3K8-expressing A375 cells treated with PLX4720 along with MEK inhibitors significantly inhibited both cell viability and ERK activation compared to treatment with PLX4720 alone, as reported in Figures 4E-F. The Reproducibility Project: Cancer Biology is collaboration between the Center for Open Science and Science Exchange and the results of the replications will be published in eLife.
Cell surface metalloproteases coordinate signaling during development, tissue homeostasis, and disease. TACE (TNF-α-converting enzyme), is responsible for cleavage ("shedding") of membrane-tethered signaling molecules, including the cytokine TNF, and activating ligands of the EGFR. The trafficking of TACE within the secretory pathway requires its binding to iRhom2, which mediates the exit of TACE from the endoplasmic reticulum. An important, but mechanistically unclear, feature of TACE biology is its ability to be stimulated rapidly on the cell surface by numerous inflammatory and growth-promoting agents. Here, we report a role for iRhom2 in TACE stimulation on the cell surface. TACE shedding stimuli trigger MAP kinase-dependent phosphorylation of iRhom2 N-terminal cytoplasmic tail. This recruits 14-3-3 proteins, enforcing the dissociation of TACE from complexes with iRhom2, promoting the cleavage of TACE substrates. Our data reveal that iRhom2 controls multiple aspects of TACE biology, including stimulated shedding on the cell surface.
Obesity is the result of positive energy balance. It can be caused by excessive energy consumption but also by decreased energy dissipation, which occurs under several conditions including when the development or activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) is impaired. Here we evaluated whether iRhom2, the essential cofactor for the Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF) sheddase ADAM17/TACE, plays a role in the pathophysiology of metabolic syndrome.We challenged WT versus iRhom2 KO mice to positive energy balance by chronic exposure to a high fat diet and then compared their metabolic phenotypes. We also carried out ex vivo assays with primary and immortalized mouse brown adipocytes to establish the autonomy of the effect of loss of iRhom2 on thermogenesis and respiration.Deletion of iRhom2 protected mice from weight gain, dyslipidemia, adipose tissue inflammation, and hepatic steatosis and improved insulin sensitivity when challenged by a high fat diet. Crucially, the loss of iRhom2 promotes thermogenesis via BAT activation and beige adipocyte recruitment, enabling iRhom2 KO mice to dissipate excess energy more efficiently than WT animals. This effect on enhanced thermogenesis is cell-autonomous in brown adipocytes as iRhom2 KOs exhibit elevated UCP1 levels and increased mitochondrial proton leak.Our data suggest that iRhom2 is a negative regulator of thermogenesis and plays a role in the control of adipose tissue homeostasis during metabolic disease.
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