Exosomal miR-301 derived from mesenchymal stem cells protects myocardial infarction by inhibiting myocardial autophagy

BACKGROUND Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a severe disease causing heart failure and sudden death. Studies indicate that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the pathophysiology of AMI. In the present study, we carefully explored the effects of miR-122 on myocardial hypoxia injury and its possible underlying mechanism. MATERIAL AND METHODS miR-122 expression was analyzed in H9c2 cardiomyocytes after being transfected with miR-122 mimic, ASO-miR-122, or negative control. Cell viability and apoptosis were investigated by CCK-8 assays and flow cytometry analysis, respectively. Cell migration was analyzed using wound-healing assays. Western blotting was performed to analyze the expression of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN)/phosphatidylinositol 3-hydroxy kinase (PI3K)/AKT and LC3-II/LC3-I. RESULTS Hypoxia exposure significantly inhibited H9c2 cell viability (P<0.01). miR-122 overexpression promoted the hypoxia-induced H9c2 cell proliferation and migration loss (P<0.05), and cell apoptosis was increased (P<0.05). miR-122 knockdown enhanced cell viability and decreased cell apoptosis (P<0.05). Knockdown of miR-122 enhanced PTEN/PI3K/AKT activation and cell autophagy. Overexpression of miR-122 inhibited the PTEN/PI3K/AKT pathway and cell autophagy pathway. CONCLUSIONS The expression of miR-122 is involved in hypoxia-induced H9c2 cardiomyocyte injury. Knockdown of miR-122 protects H9c2 cells from hypoxia-induced apoptosis and enhances cell viability.

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Knockdown of MicroRNA-122 Protects H9c2 Cardiomyocytes from Hypoxia-Induced Apoptosis and Promotes Autophagy.

Neuropathic pain is a well-known type of chronic pain caused by damage to the nervous system. Autophagy is involved in the development and/or progression of many diseases, including neuropathic pain. Emerging evidence suggests that metformin relieves neuropathic pain in several neuropathic pain models; however, metformin's cellular and molecular mechanism for pain relief remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of metformin on pain relief after spinal nerve ligation (SNL) and its underlying mechanism of autophagy regulation. Behavioural analysis, histological assessment, expression of c-Fos and molecular biological changes, as well as ultrastructural features, were investigated. Our findings showed that the number of autophagosomes and expression of autophagy markers, such as LC3 and beclin1, were increased, while the autophagy substrate protein p62, as well as the ubiquitinated proteins, were accumulated in the ipsilateral spinal cord. However, metformin enhanced the expression of autophagy markers, while it abrogated the abundance of p62 and ubiquitinated proteins. Blockage of autophagy flux by chloroquine partially abolished the apoptosis inhibition and analgesic effects of metformin on SNL. Taken together, these results illustrated that metformin relieved neuropathic pain through autophagy flux stimulation and provided a new direction for metformin drug development to treat neuropathic pain.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jcmm.14033

Metformin relieves neuropathic pain after spinal nerve ligation via autophagy flux stimulation.

Cardiac ubiquitin ligases: Their role in cardiac metabolism, autophagy, cardioprotection and therapeutic potential.

BACKGROUND Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder and it arises when most of the dopaminergic neurons of substantia nigra region die. Several mechanisms have been postulated as the causative event in PD pathology, and neuroinflammation is most crucial among them. MATERIAL AND METHODS We analyzed T-helper 17 (Th17) cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) from 80 PD patients to assess inflammatory processes and to find a cost-effective means to evaluate PD prognosis. RESULTS We found significantly increased numbers of Th17 cells and MDSCs count in peripheral circulation in PD patients compared with controls (p<0.001). A positive correlation was found between Th17 cells and MDSCs in PD patients (r=0.421, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Our results show the effector role of Th17 cells and MDSCs in PD pathology and shows their utility as effective biomarkers for PD diagnosis.

Increased Levels of Pro-Inflammatory and Anti-Inflammatory Cellular Responses in Parkinson's Disease Patients: Search for a Disease Indicator.

BACKGROUND To study the role of Parkin in the regulation of mitochondrial autophagy in the heart by assessing mitochondrial autophagy and changes in Parkin protein expression in rat myocardium after myocardial infarction (MI). MATERIAL AND METHODS Rats were randomly assigned to three groups: control, sham, and MI. Four weeks after induction of MI, ultrasonic examination of the rats was performed to measure left ventricular end systolic diameter (LVESD), left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD), left ventricular ejection fraction (EF), left ventricular fractional shortening (FS), and left ventricular diastolic/systolic volume. Rat myocardium was collected from each group and examined for changes in morphology, size, and amount of mitochondria and autophagosomes by transmission electronic microscopy. A Western blot was performed to analyze the levels of Parkin and the autophagy-related protein LC3. RESULTS Four weeks after MI, cardiac function of the MI rats was impaired compared with the control rats. Both LVESD and LVEDD were elevated in the MI rats (p 0.05). In addition, the levels of the autophagy-related proteins LC3II/LC3I were elevated in the myocardium after MI (p<0.05) and the activity of Parkin was significantly reduced (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Under conditions of chronic MI, mitochondrial dysfunction and disruption of autophagosomal clearance are associated with Parkin expression.

/pdf/parkin-regulates-mitochondrial-autophagy-after-myocardial-1chz5kz3ue.pdf

Yun Jiang

Papers

Parkin Regulates Mitochondrial Autophagy After Myocardial Infarction in Rats.