Perceptions of touch, temperature, and pain inform us about our bodies’ condition and the world around us, and are critical determinants of our function, self-protection, comfort, and social interactions. This viewpoint provides a perspective on the 2021 Nobel Prize awarded to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their breakthrough discoveries regarding the molecular mechanisms by which we sense and perceive such physically distinct stimuli.
Michael J. Caterina
Vascular calcification (VC) is regarded as an important pathological change lacking effective treatment and associated with high mortality. Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) is a member of Sirtuin family, a class III histone deacetylase and a key epigenetic regulator. SIRT6 has a protective role in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), however the exact role and molecular mechanism of SIRT6 in VC in CKD patients remains unclear. Here, we demonstrated that SIRT6 was significantly downregulated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and in the radial artery tissue of CKD patients with VC. SIRT6-transgenic (SIRT6-Tg) mice showed alleviated VC, while vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs)-specific, SIRT6 knocked down mice showed severe VC, in CKD. SIRT6 suppressed the osteogenic transdifferentiation of VSMCs via regulation of runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2). Co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) and immunoprecipitation (IP) assays confirmed that SIRT6 bound to Runx2. Moreover, Runx2 was deacetylated by SIRT6 and further promoted nuclear export via exportin 1(XPO1), which in turn caused degradation of Runx2 through the ubiquitin-proteasome system. These results demonstrated that SIRT6 prevented VC by suppressing the osteogenic transdifferentiation of VSMCs, and as such targeting SIRT6 may be an appealing therapeutic target for VC in CKD.
Wenxin Li, Weijing Feng, Xiaoyan Su, Dongling Luo, Zhibing Li, Yongqiao Zhou, Yongjun Zhu, Mengbi Zhang, Jie Chen, Baohua Liu, Hui Huang
It is widely recognized that inflammation plays a critical role in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. However, clinical trials targeting cytokines have shown equivocal effects indicating the need for a deeper understanding of the precise role of inflammation and inflammatory cells in heart failure. Leukocytes from human subjects and a rodent model of heart failure were characterized by a marked reduction in expression of KLF2 mRNA. Using a mouse model of Angiotensin II-induced non-ischemic cardiac dysfunction, we showed that neutrophils played an essential role in the pathogenesis and progression of heart failure. Mechanistically, chronic Angiotensin II infusion activated a neutrophil KLF2-NETosis pathway that triggered sporadic thrombosis in small myocardial vessels leading to myocardial hypoxia, cell death, and hypertrophy. Conversely, targeting neutrophils, NETs or thrombosis ameliorated these pathological changes and preserved cardiac dysfunction. KLF2 regulated neutrophil activation in response to Angiotensin II at the molecular level, partly through the crosstalk with HIF1 signaling. Taken together, our data implicate neutrophil-mediated immunothrombotic dysregulation as a critical pathogenic mechanism leading to cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. This neutrophil KLF2-NETosis-thrombosis mechanism underlying chronic heart failure can be exploited for therapeutic gain by therapies targeting neutrophils, NETosis, or thrombosis.
Xinmiao Tang, Peiwei Wang, Rongli Zhang, Ippei Watanabe, Eugene Chang, Vinesh Vinayachandran, Lalitha Nayak, Stephanie Lapping, Sarah Liao, Annmarie Madera, David R. Sweet, Jiemeng Luo, Jinsong Fei, Hyun-Woo Jeong, Ralf H. Adams, Teng Zhang, Xudong Liao, Mukesh K. Jain
BACKGROUND. Antibody-based strategies for COVID-19 have shown promise in prevention and treatment of early disease. COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) has been widely used but results from randomized trials supporting its benefit in hospitalized patients with pneumonia are limited. Here, we assess the efficacy of CCP in severely ill, hospitalized adults with COVID-19 pneumonia. METHODS. We performed a randomized control trial (PennCCP2), in 80 adults hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia, comparing up to 2 units of locally-sourced CCP plus standard care vs. standard care alone. The primary efficacy endpoint was comparison of a clinical severity score. Key secondary outcomes include 14- and 28-day mortality, 14- and 28-day WHO8 score, duration of supplemental oxygenation or mechanical ventilation, respiratory SARS-CoV-2 RNA, and anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. RESULTS. 80 hospitalized adults with confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia were enrolled at median day 6 of symptoms and day 1 of hospitalization; 60% were anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody seronegative. Participants had a median of 3 comorbidities, including risk factors for severe COVID-19 and immunosuppression. CCP treatment was safe and conferred significant benefit by clinical severity score (MED (IQR) 10 (5.5,30) vs. 7 (2.75,12.25), p=0.037) and 28-day mortality (n=10, 26% vs. n=2, 5%; p=0.013). All other pre-specified outcome measures showed weak evidence towards benefit of CCP. CONCLUSIONS. Two units of locally-sourced CCP administered early in hospitalization to majority seronegative participants conferred a significant benefit in clinical severity score and 28-day mortality. Results suggest CCP may benefit select populations, especially those with comorbidities who are treated early. TRIAL REGISTRATION. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04397757 FUNDING. University of Pennsylvania.
Katharine J. Bar, Pamela A. Shaw, Grace H. Choi, Nicole Aqui, Andrew Fesnak, Jasper B. Yang, Haideliza Soto-Calderon, Lizette Grajales, Julie Starr, Michelle Andronov, Miranda Mastellone, Chigozie Amonu, Geoff Feret, Maureen DeMarshall, Marie Buchanan, Maria Caturla, James Gordon, Alan Wanicur, M. Alexandra Monroy, Felicity Mampe, Emily Lindemuth, Sigrid Gouma, Anne M. Mullin, Holly Barilla, Anastasiya Pronina, Leah Irwin, Raeann Thomas, Risa A. Eichinger, Faye Demuth, Eline T. Luning Prak, Jose L. Pascual, William R. Short, Michal A. Elovitz, Jillian Baron, Nuala J. Meyer, Kathleen O. Degnan, Ian Frank, Scott E. Hensley, Donald L. Siegel, Pablo Tebas
Bitter taste receptors (TAS2R) serve as warning sensors in the lingual system against ingestion of potential poisonous food. Here, we investigated the functional role of TAS2Rs in the human gut and focused on their potential to trigger an additional host defense pathway in the intestine. Human jejunal crypts, especially from obese subjects, responded to bitter agonists by inducing the release of antimicrobial peptides (α-defensin 5 and REG3A) but also regulated the expression of other innate immune factors (mucins, chemokines) that affected E. coli growth. The effect of aloin on E. coli growth and on the release of the mucus glycoprotein CLCA1, identified via proteomics, was affected by TAS2R43 amino acid/deletion polymorphisms and thus confirmed a role for TAS2R43. RNA sequencing uncovered that denatonium benzoate induced an NRF2-mediated nutrient stress response and an unfolded protein response that increased the expression of the mitokine GDF15 but also ADM2 and the LDLR, genes that are involved in anorectic signaling and lipid homeostasis. To conclude, TAS2Rs in the intestine provide a promising target for treating diseases that involve disturbances in the innate immune system and in body weight control. Polymorphisms in TAS2Rs may be valuable genetic markers to predict therapeutic responses.
Kathrin I. Liszt, Qiaoling Wang, Mona Farhadipour, Anneleen Segers, Theo Thijs, Linda Nys, Ellen Deleus, Bart Van der Schueren, Christopher Gerner, Benjamin Neuditschko, Laurens J. Ceulemans, Matthias Lannoo, Jan Tack, Inge Depoortere
Early initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in acute HIV infection (AHI) is effective in limiting seeding of the HIV viral reservoir, but little is known about how the resultant decreased antigen load affects long-term antibody development after ART. We report here that Env-specific plasma antibody levels and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) increased during the first 24 weeks of ART and correlated with antibody levels persisting after 48 weeks of ART. Participants treated in AHI stage 1 had lower Env-specific antibodies levels and ADCC activity on ART than those treated later. Importantly, participants who initiated ART after peak viremia in AHI developed elevated cross-clade ADCC responses detectable one year after ART initiation even though clinically undetectable viremia was reached by 24 weeks. These data suggest that there is more germinal center activity in the later stages of AHI and that antibody development continues in the absence of detectable viremia during the first year of suppressive ART. Development of therapeutic interventions that can enhance earlier development of germinal centers in AHI and antibodies after ART initiation could provide important protection against the viral reservoir that is seeded in early treated individuals.
Julie L. Mitchell, Justin Pollara, Kenneth Dietze, R. Whitney Edwards, Junsuke Nohara, Kombo F. N'guessan, Michelle Zemil, Supranee Buranapraditkun, Hiroshi Takata, Yifan Li, Roshell Muir, Eugene Kroon, Suteeraporn Pinyakorn, Shalini Jha, Sopark Manasnayakorn, Suthat Chottanapund, Pattarawat Thantiworasit, Peeriya Prueksakaew, Nisakorn Ratnaratorn, Bessara Nuntapinit, Lawrence Fox, Sodsai Tovanabutra, Dominic Paquin-Proulx, Lindsay Wieczorek, Victoria R. Polonis, Frank Maldarelli, Elias K. Haddad, Praphan Phanuphak, Carlo P. Sacdalan, Morgane Rolland, Nittaya Phanuphak, Jintanat Ananworanich, Sandhya Vasan, Guido Ferrari, Lydie Trautmann
Altered redox biology challenges all cells, with compensatory responses often determining a cell’s fate. When 15 lipoxygenase-1 (15LO1), a lipid peroxidizing enzyme abundant in asthmatic human airway epithelial cells (HAECs), binds phosphatidylethanolamine binding protein-1 (PEBP1), hydroperoxy-phospholipids, which drive ferroptotic cell death, are generated. Peroxidases, including glutathione peroxidase-4 (GPX4), metabolize hydroperoxy-phospholipids to hydroxy derivatives to prevent ferroptotic death, but consume reduced glutathione (GSH). The cystine transporter, SLC7A11, critically restores/maintains intracellular GSH. We hypothesized high 15LO1-PEBP1-GPX4 activity drives abnormal asthmatic redox biology, evidenced by lower bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and intraepithelial cell GSH:oxidized GSH (GSSG), to enhance Type-2 (T2) inflammatory responses. GSH, GSSG (enzymatic assays), 15LO1, GPX4, SLC7A11 and T2 biomarkers (western blot and RNAseq) were measured in asthmatic and healthy control (HC) cells/fluids, with siRNA knockdown as appropriate. GSSG was higher and GSH:GSSG lower in asthmatic compared to HC BAL fluid, while intracellular GSH was lower in asthma. In vitro, T2 cytokine (IL-13) induced 15LO1 generated hydroperoxy-phospholipids, which lowered intracellular GSH and increased extracellular GSSG. Lowering GSH further by inhibiting SLC7A11 enhanced T2 inflammatory protein expression and ferroptosis. Ex vivo, redox imbalances corresponded to 15LO1 and SLC7A11 expression, T2 biomarkers and worsened clinical outcomes. Thus, 15LO1 pathway-induced redox biology perturbations worsen T2 inflammation and asthma control, supporting15LO1 as a therapeutic target.
Tadao Nagasaki, Alexander J. Schuyler, Jinming Zhao, Svetlana N. Samovich, Kazuhiro Yamada, Yanhan Deng, Scott P. Ginebaugh, Stephanie A. Christenson, Prescott G. Woodruff, John V. Fahy, John B. Trudeau, Detcho Stoyanovsky, Anuradha Ray, Yulia Y. Tyurina, Valerian E. Kagan, Sally E. Wenzel
Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) induces blood leukocytosis, which correlates inversely with patient survival. The molecular mechanisms leading to leukocytosis in the infarcted heart, remain poorly understood. Using an AMI mouse model, we identified gasdermin D (GSDMD) in activated leukocytes early in AMI. We demonstrated that GSDMD is required for enhanced early mobilization of neutrophils to the infarcted heart. Loss of GSDMD resulted in attenuated IL-1β release from neutrophils and subsequent decreased neutrophils and monocytes in the infarcted heart. Knockout of GSDMD in mice significantly reduced infarct size, improved cardiac function, and increased survival post AMI. Through a series of bone marrow transplantation studies and leukocytes depletion experiments, we further clarified that excessive bone marrow derived and GSDMD-dependent early neutrophil production and mobilization (24 hours post AMI), contributed to the detrimental immunopathology after AMI. Pharmacological inhibition of GSDMD also conferred cardioprotection post AMI, through reduction of scar size and enhancement of heart function. Our study provides new mechanistic insights into molecular regulation of neutrophil generation and mobilization after AMI, and supports GSDMD as a new target for improved ventricular remodeling and reduced heart failure after AMI.
Kai Jiang, Zizhuo Tu, Kun Chen, Yue Xu, Feng Chen, Sheng Xu, Tingting Shi, Jie Qian, Lan Shen, John Hwa, Dandan Wang, Yaozu Xiang
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) imposes a strong and independent risk for peripheral artery disease (PAD). While solutes retained in CKD patients (uremic solutes) inflict vascular damage, their role in PAD remain elusive. Here, we show that the dietary tryptophan-derived uremic solute including indoxyl sulfate (IS) and Kynurenine (Kyn), at concentrations corresponding to CKD patients suppressed β-catenin in several cell-types including microvascular endothelial cells (EC), inhibiting Wnt activity and proangiogenic Wnt targets in ECs. Mechanistic probing revealed that these uremic solutes downregulated β-catenin, dependent on serine 33 in its degron motif and through Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AHR). Hindlimb ischemia in adenine-induced CKD and IS solute-specific mice models showed diminished β-catenin and VEGF-A in the capillaries and reduced capillary density, which correlated inversely with blood levels of IS and Kyn and AHR activity in ECs. An AHR inhibitor treatment normalized post-ischemic angiogenic response in CKD mice to a non-CKD level. In a prospective cohort of PAD patients, plasma levels of tryptophan metabolites and plasma’s AHR-inducing activity in ECs significantly increased the risk of future adverse limb events. This work uncovers tryptophan metabolites-AHR-β-catenin axis as a mediator of microvascular rarefaction in CKD patients and demonstrates its targetability for PAD in CKD models.
Nkiruka V. Arinze, Wenqing Yin, Saran Lotfollahzadeh, Marc Arthur Napoleon, Sean Richards, Joshua A. Walker, Mostafa Belghasem, Jonathan D. Ravid, Mohamed Hassan Kamel, Stephen A. Whelan, Norman Lee, Jeffrey J. Siracuse, Stephan Anderson, Alik Farber, David Sherr, Jean Francis, Naomi M. Hamburg, Nader Rahimi, Vipul C. Chitalia
Severe glomerular injury ultimately leads to tubulointerstitial fibrosis which determines patient outcome, but the immunological molecules connecting these two processes remain unresolved. The present study addressed whether V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA), constitutively expressed in kidney macrophages, plays a protective role in tubulointerstitial fibrotic transformation after acute antibody-mediated glomerulonephritis. After acute glomerular injury using nephrotoxic serum, tubules in the VISTA-deficient (Vsir–/–) kidney suffered more damage than in wild type kidneys. When interstitial immune cells were examined, the contact frequency of macrophages with infiltrated T cells increased, and the immunometabolic features of T cells changed to high oxidative phosphorylation and fatty acid metabolism and overproduction of interferon-γ. The Vsir–/– parenchymal tissue cells responded to this altered milieu of interstitial immune cells as more interleukin-9 was produced, which augmented tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Blocking antibodies against interferon-γ and interleukin-9 protected the above pathological process in VISTA-depleted conditions. In human samples with acute glomerular injury (e.g., anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody vasculitis), high VISTA expression in tubulointerstitial immune cells was associated with low tubulointerstitial fibrosis and good prognosis. Therefore, VISTA is a sentinel protein expressed in kidney macrophages that prevents tubulointerstitial fibrosis via the interferon-γ-interleukin-9 axis after acute antibody-mediated glomerular injury.
Min-Gang Kim, Donghwan Yun, Chae Lin Kang, Minki Hong, Juhyeon Hwang, Kyung Chul Moon, Chang Wook Jeong, Cheol Kwak, Dong Ki Kim, Kook-Hwan Oh, Kwon Wook Joo, Yon Su Kim, Dong-Sup Lee, Seung Seok Han
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