Correlation between progression of atherosclerosis accelerated by emotional stimulation and imbalance of SDF-1/CXCR4 in mice

AIM To observe effects of emotional stimulation on expression of stromal cell-derived factor-1（SDF-1） and CXC chemokine receptor 4 （CXCR4） in plasma, platelets, aortas, hippocampus and bone marrow of apolipoprotein E gene knockout （ApoE^-/-） mice, and to reveal the possible mechanism of the aggravated atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability by emotional stimulation. METHODS Thirty 8-week-old male ApoE^-/- mice were randomly divided into normal control group, high fat group, and emotional stimulation group. Ten 8-week-old inbred C57BL/6J mice served as blank control group. After 12 weeks of intervention, the serum levels of SDF-1 and CXCR4 were investigated by ELISA. The protein levels of SDF-1 and CXCR4 in platelets, aortas, hippocampus and bone marrow were determined by Western blot. The pathological damage of aortas was observed by oil red O staining. RESULTS Compared with blank control group, normal control group and high fat group, the mice subjected to emotional stimulation showed more serious atherosclerosis in aortas detected by oil red O staining, and increased levels of SDF-1 and CXCR4 in the plasma and aortas were also observed （P<0.05）. The results of Western blot showed that the protein levels of SDF-1 and CXCR4 in platelets, aortas and hippocampus were increased in the mice subjected emotional stimulation, but the expression of SDF-1 and CXCR4 in the bone marrow was decreased （P<0.05）. CONCLUSION Imbalance of SDF-1/CXCR4 may be the key target by which emotional stimulation accelerates the progression of atherosclerosis.     

MCP-1/CCR2 signaling pathway mediates alcohol-induced angiogenesis in breast cancer

AIM To investigate the role of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and its receptor CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) in ethanol-promoted breast cancer angiogenesis and the underlying mechanism. METH?ODS: A mouse model of transplanted breast tumor with moderate alcohol consumption was established. The correlations between the expression of MCP-1/CCR2 and the expression of angiogenesis markers [platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)] in tumor tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry. In vitro, a 3D tumor-endothelial co-culture system was established to observe tumor angiogenesis and the role of MCP-1/CCR2 signaling pathway in alcohol-mediated angiogenesis. The cell migration ability was detected to clarify whether MCP-1/CCR2 enhanced cell mobility to form new vessels. RESULTS MCP-1 and CCR2 were both highly expressed in the breast tumor tissues of tumor-bearing mice consuming alcohol, and their expression levels were consistent with the angiogenic markers PECAM-1 and VEGF (P<0.05). The interaction between mouse breast cancer E0771 cells and endothelial cells was observed to promote angiogenesis in the 3D tumor-endothelial co-culture system with or without alcohol stimulation. MCP-1 promoted this kind of tumor angiogenesis, while CCR2 antagonist effectively inhibited the tumor angiogenesis and especially blocked alcohol-induced angiogenesis. Activation of MCP-1/CCR2 signaling pathway enhanced the migration ability of endothelial cells. CONCLUSION The MCP-1/CCR2 signaling pathway plays an important role in promoting the angiogenesis of breast cancer stimulated by alcohol. The mechanism might be that MCP-1 improves the migration of endothelial cells and then promotes angiogenesis.     

Regulatory effect of astragaloside IV on SDF-1α/CXCR4 in EPCs

AIM: To investigate the effects of astragaloside IV (AS-IV) on chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and stromal cell-derived factor 1α (SDF-1α) in endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and its mechanism. METHODS: Rat bone marrow-derived EPCs were cultured in vitro. The proliferation, adhesion, migration, apoptosis and tube formation capacity of EPCs treated with AS-IV and AMD3100, a specific blocker of CXCR4, were observed. The effects of AS-IV on the expression of SDF-1α/CXCR4 at mRNA and protein levels and the protein level of p-CXCR4 in the EPCs were determined. RESULTS: AS-IV significantly enhanced the proliferation, adhesion, migration and tube formation abilities of EPCs, reduced the apoptosis of EPCs, and up-regulated the mRNA and protein expression of SDF-1α and CXCR4 and the p-CXCR4 protein level in the EPCs. On the other hand, AMD3100 blocked the up-regulating effect of AS-IV on the mRNA and protein expression of CXCR4 and the p-CXCR4 protein level in the EPCs, but did not affect the effect of AS-IV on the expression of SDF-1α. CONCLUSION: AS-IV might enhance the biological function of EPCs by regulating the expression of SDF-1α/CXCR in EPCs.     

Expression and functional analysis of chemokine receptor 7 in canine lymphoma cell lines

C-C chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) contributes to cell homing to lymph nodes (LNs). Recent studies reported that CCR7 is also expressed in tumor cells, which correlates with LN metastasis in various cancers. However, the expression of CCR7 in tumor cells is unknown in dogs due to the lack of appropriate antibodies. In the present study, a fusion protein of C-C chemokine ligand 19 (CCL19) was employed as an alternative method to CCR7 antibodies. The fusion CCL19 protein specifically detected CCR7 expressed in canine lymphoma cell lines, which showed active chemotaxis to both canine and mouse ligands. The present study will help further research on the involvement of canine CCR7 in LN metastasis.     

Lithothamnion muelleri Controls Inflammatory Responses,Target Organ Injury and Lethality Associated with Graft-versus-Host Disease in Mice

Lithothamnion muelleri (Hapalidiaceae) is a marine red alga, which is a member of a group of algae with anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and immunomodulatory properties. The present study evaluated the effects of treatment with Lithothamnion muelleri extract (LM) in a model of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), using a model of adoptive splenocyte transfer from C57BL/6 donors into B6D2F1 recipient mice. Mice treated with LM showed reduced clinical signs of disease and mortality when compared with untreated mice. LM-treated mice had reduced tissue injury, less bacterial translocation, and decreased levels of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines (interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2), chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 3 (CCL3) and chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5 (CCL5)). The polysaccharide-rich fraction derived from LM could inhibit leukocyte rolling and adhesion in intestinal venules, as assessed by intravital microscopy. LM treatment did not impair the beneficial effects of graft-versus-leukaemia (GVL). Altogether, our studies suggest that treatment with Lithothamnion muelleri has a potential therapeutic application in GVHD treatment.     

斑点叉尾趋化因子SCYA126基因及其可变剪接

通过探针杂交筛选斑点叉尾(Ictalurus punctatus)BAC基因组文库,利用引物步移的方法对阳性克隆BAC047 K12进行序列测定,得到2 815 bp的SCYA126基因组序列。序列分析表明,SCYA126基因由2个外显子和1个内含子组成;外显子拼接的序列与SCYA126cDNA序列完全一致,编码92个氨基酸,在N端含有2个相邻的半胱氨酸(CC)和2个不相邻的半胱氨酸,为典型的CC趋化因子亚家族成员;其上游调控序列包含TATA框启动子序列和一些与免疫相关的转录因子结合位点。另外,根据与GenBank接收号为BM029630的EST序列的比较分析,发现SCYA126基因组中的内含子没有被剪接,导致翻译后可能产生N端部分缺失的SCYA126蛋白。在胰脏和肝脏中确认了高表达的包含内含子的mRNA的存在,而且其表达量要明显高于正常剪接的SCYA126mRNA。[中国水产科学,2007,14(1):1-7]     

Roles of atypical chemokine receptors in progression and metastasis of tumor

Chemokines and their receptors have been implicated mostly in tumor progression and metastasis. Atypical chemokine receptors (ACKRs) comprise a group of 7-transmembrane domain proteins structurally similar to G protein-coupled receptors. However, ACKRs do not induce classical signaling via the typical G protein-mediated pathways. ACKRs efficiently internalize the cognate chemokine ligands and act as scavengers instead. ACJRs are composed of at least 3 members of chemokine receptors:Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC, also known as ACKR1), D6 (also known as ACKR2) and ChemoCentryx chemokine receptor (CCX-CKR, also known as ACKR4). These receptors bind to and/or internalize their chemoattractant ligands without activating signal transduction cascades leading to cell migration. In this review, we summarize the recent progress regarding the roles of ACKRs in the progression and metastasis of tumor.     

羊痘病毒G蛋白偶联趋化因子受体基因序列分析及其在鉴别病毒种属上的作用

为明确G蛋白偶联趋化因子受体(GpCR)基因在羊痘病毒种属鉴别中的作用,本实验对3株绵羊痘病毒(SPV)和2株山羊痘病毒(GPV)弱毒疫苗株的GpCR进行了克隆测序,并与GenBank中登录的21个羊痘病毒属成员相关序列进行了比对。核酸同源性分析表明SPV不同毒株之间同源性达到99.5%～99.8%;GPV之间同源性达到98.8%～99.8%;GenBank上公布的疙瘩皮肤病病毒(LSDV)之间同源性达到100%。而GPV、SPV和皮肤疙瘩病毒两两比对的同源性仅达到94.2%～95.9%。对GpCR的系统进化树分析可以看出GPV、SPV和LSDV分别位于不同的进化分枝上,而GPV与LSDV具有更近的亲缘关系。GpCR基因在鉴别GPV属和流行病学分析中具有重要价值。     

玉米赤霉烯酮对趋化因子诱导的小鼠T细胞迁移效应和黏附与迁移相关蛋白表达的影响

为揭示玉米赤霉烯酮(ZEA)免疫毒性机理,通过体外试验研究了ZEA对趋化因子诱导的小鼠T细胞迁移效应的影响,以及这一过程中与细胞黏附与迁移相关蛋白的变化。以ConA作为T细胞活化剂,以不同浓度ZEA(0、10、20、40μmol/L)染毒处理细胞后,Transwell法检测T细胞分别在CCL19、CCL21作用下的迁移效应,以及利用流式细胞术检测迁移后CD4、CD8阳性T细胞所占比例。激光共聚焦显微镜拍摄细胞穿膜形态,Western blot检测T细胞迁移及细胞黏附相关蛋白的表达。结果显示,ZEA可以分别降低CCL19和CCL21趋化的T细胞的迁移指数并扰乱迁移后CD4、CD8阳性T细胞之间的比例。此外,ZEA可以不同程度地抑制CCL19和CCL21介导的T细胞穿膜效应。Western blot结果显示,20、40μmol/L的ZEA作用可下调T细胞迁移及细胞黏附相关蛋白的表达。结果表明,ZEA可以抑制趋化因子介导的T细胞迁移效应,在这一过程中,黏附蛋白及迁移蛋白的表达均受到抑制,提示ZEA可能通过抑制T细胞运动过程中黏附及迁移这两个环节,进而影响T细胞的免疫应答,从而发挥免疫抑制作用。