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Item Cardiac and Renal Delayed Effects of Acute Radiation Exposure: Organ Differences in Vasculopathy, Inflammation, Senescence and Oxidative Balance(Radiation Research Society, 2019-05) Unthank, Joseph L.; Ortiz, Miguel; Trivedi, Hina; Pelus, Louis M.; Sampson, Carol H.; Sellamuthu, Rajendran; Fisher, Alexa; Chua, Hui Lin; Plett, Artur; Orschel, Christie M.; Cohen, Eric P.; Miller, Steven J.; Surgery, School of MedicineWe have previously shown significant pathology in the heart and kidney of murine hematopoietic-acute radiation syndrome (H-ARS) survivors of 8.7-9.0 Gy total-body irradiation (TBI). The goal of this study was to determine temporal relationships in the development of vasculopathy and the progression of renal and cardiovascular delayed effects of acute radiation exposure (DEARE) at TBI doses less than 9 Gy and to elucidate the potential roles of senescence, inflammation and oxidative stress. Our results show significant loss of endothelial cells in coronary arteries by 4 months post-TBI (8.53 or 8.72 Gy of gamma radiation). This loss precedes renal dysfunction and interstitial fibrosis and progresses to abnormalities in the arterial media and adventitia and loss of coronary arterioles. Major differences in radiation-induced pathobiology exist between the heart and kidney in terms of vasculopathy progression and also in indices of inflammation, senescence and oxidative imbalance. The results of this work suggest a need for different medical countermeasures for multiple targets in different organs and at various times after acute radiation injury to prevent the progression of DEARE.Item The Dynamic Interplay Between Mast Cells, Aging/Cellular Senescence, and Liver Disease(Cognizant Communication Corporation, 2020-11) Kundu, Debjyoti; Kennedy, Lindsey; Meadows, Vik; Baiocchi, Leonardo; Alpini, Gianfranco; Francis, Heather; Medicine, School of MedicineMast cells are key players in acute immune responses that are evidenced by degranulation leading to a heightened allergic response. Activation of mast cells can trigger a number of different pathways contributing to metabolic conditions and disease progression. Aging results in irreversible physiological changes affecting all organs, including the liver. The liver undergoes senescence, changes in protein expression, and cell signaling phenotypes during aging, which regulate disease progression. Cellular senescence contributes to the age-related changes. Unsurprisingly, mast cells also undergo age-related changes in number, localization, and activation throughout their lifetime, which adversely affects the etiology and progression of many physiological conditions including liver diseases. In this review, we discuss the role of mast cells during aging, including features of aging (e.g., senescence) in the context of biliary diseases such as primary biliary cholangitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.Item EML4-ALK induces cellular senescence in mortal normal human cells and promotes anchorage-independent growth in hTERT-transduced normal human cells(BMC, 2021-03-24) Miyanaga, Akihiko; Matsumoto, Masaru; Beck, Jessica A.; Horikawa, Izumi; Oike, Takahiro; Okayama, Hirokazu; Tanaka, Hiromi; Burkett, Sandra S.; Robles, Ana I.; Khan, Mohammed; Lissa, Delphine; Seike, Masahiro; Gemma, Akihiko; Mano, Hiroyuki; Harris, Curtis C.; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of MedicineBackground: Chromosomal inversions involving anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and echinoderm microtubule associated protein like 4 (EML4) generate a fusion protein EML4-ALK in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The understanding of EML4-ALK function can be improved by a functional study using normal human cells. Methods: Here we for the first time conduct such study to examine the effects of EML4-ALK on cell proliferation, cellular senescence, DNA damage, gene expression profiles and transformed phenotypes. Results: The lentiviral expression of EML4-ALK in mortal, normal human fibroblasts caused, through its constitutive ALK kinase activity, an early induction of cellular senescence with accumulated DNA damage, upregulation of p16INK4A and p21WAF1, and senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) activity. In contrast, when EML4-ALK was expressed in normal human fibroblasts transduced with telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), which is activated in the vast majority of NSCLC, the cells showed accelerated proliferation and acquired anchorage-independent growth ability in soft-agar medium, without accumulated DNA damage, chromosome aberration, nor p53 mutation. EML4-ALK induced the phosphorylation of STAT3 in both mortal and hTERT-transduced cells, but RNA sequencing analysis suggested that the different signaling pathways contributed to the different phenotypic outcomes in these cells. While EML4-ALK also induced anchorage-independent growth in hTERT-immortalized human bronchial epithelial cells in vitro, the expression of EML4-ALK alone did not cause detectable in vivo tumorigenicity in immunodeficient mice. Conclusions: Our data indicate that the expression of hTERT is critical for EML4-ALK to manifest its in vitro transforming activity in human cells. This study provides the isogenic pairs of human cells with and without EML4-ALK expression.Item Hepatic senescence, the good and the bad(Baishideng Publishing Group, 2019-09-14) Huda, Nazmul; Liu, Gang; Hong, Honghai; Yan, Shengmin; Khambu, Bilon; Yin, Xiao-Ming; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of MedicineGradual alterations of cell's physiology and functions due to age or exposure to various stresses lead to the conversion of normal cells to senescent cells. Once becoming senescent, the cell stops dividing permanently but remains metabolically active. Cellular senescence does not have a single marker but is characterized mainly by a combination of multiple markers, such as, morphological changes, expression of cell cycle inhibitors, senescence associated β-galactosidase activity, and changes in nuclear membrane. When cells in an organ become senescent, the entire organism can be affected. This may occur through the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). SASP may exert beneficial or harmful effects on the microenvironment of tissues. Research on senescence has become a very exciting field in cell biology since the link between age-related diseases, including cancer, and senescence has been established. The loss of regenerative and homeostatic capacity of the liver over the age is somehow connected to cellular senescence. The major contributors of senescence properties in the liver are hepatocytes and cholangiocytes. Senescent cells in the liver have been implicated in the etiology of chronic liver diseases including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma and in the interference of liver regeneration. This review summarizes recently reported findings in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of senescence and its relationship with liver diseases.Item Knockdown of vimentin reduces mesenchymal phenotype of cholangiocytes in the Mdr2-/- mouse model of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC)(Elsevier, 2019-10) Zhou, Tianhao; Kyritsi, Konstantina; Wu, Nan; Francis, Heather; Yang, Zhihong; Chen, Lixian; O'Brien, April; Kennedy, Lindsey; Ceci, Ludovica; Meadows, Vik; Kusumanchi, Praveen; Wu, Chaodong; Baiocchi, Leonardo; Skill, Nicholas J.; Saxena, Romil; Sybenga, Amelia; Xie, Linglin; Liangpunsakul, Suthat; Meng, Fanyin; Alpini, Gianfranco; Glaser, Shannon; Medicine, School of MedicineBACKGROUND: Cholangiocytes are the target cells of cholangiopathies including primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Vimentin is an intermediate filament protein that has been found in various types of mesenchymal cells. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of vimentin in the progression of biliary damage/liver fibrosis and whether there is a mesenchymal phenotype of cholangiocytes in the Mdr2-/- model of PSC. METHODS: In vivo studies were performed in 12 wk. Mdr2-/- male mice with or without vimentin Vivo-Morpholino treatment and their corresponding control groups. Liver specimens from human PSC patients, human intrahepatic biliary epithelial cells (HIBEpiC) and human hepatic stellate cell lines (HHSteCs) were used to measure changes in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). FINDINGS: There was increased mesenchymal phenotype of cholangiocytes in Mdr2-/- mice, which was reduced by treatment of vimentin Vivo-Morpholino. Concomitant with reduced vimentin expression, there was decreased liver damage, ductular reaction, biliary senescence, liver fibrosis and TGF-β1 secretion in Mdr2-/- mice treated with vimentin Vivo-Morpholino. Human PSC patients and derived cell lines had increased expression of vimentin and other mesenchymal markers compared to healthy controls and HIBEpiC, respectively. In vitro silencing of vimentin in HIBEpiC suppressed TGF-β1-induced EMT and fibrotic reaction. HHSteCs had decreased fibrotic reaction and increased cellular senescence after stimulation with cholangiocyte supernatant with reduced vimentin levels. INTERPRETATION: Our study demonstrated that knockdown of vimentin reduces mesenchymal phenotype of cholangiocytes, which leads to decreased biliary senescence and liver fibrosis. Inhibition of vimentin may be a key therapeutic target in the treatment of cholangiopathies including PSC. FUND: National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards, VA Merit awards.Item Kynurenine Inhibits Autophagy and Promotes Senescence in Aged Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Through the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Pathway(Elsevier, 2020-02) Kondrikov, Dmitry; Elmansi, Ahmed; Bragg, Robert Tailor; Mobley, Tanner; Barrett, Thomas; Eisa, Nada; Kondrikova, Galina; Schoeinlein, Patricia; Aguilar-Perez, Alexandra; Shi, Xing-Ming; Fulzele, Sadanand; McGee Lawrence, Meghan; Hamrick, Mark; Isales, Carlos; Hill, William; Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of MedicineOsteoporosis is an age-related deterioration in bone health that is, at least in part, a stem cell disease. The different mechanisms and signaling pathways that change with age and contribute to the development of osteoporosis are being identified. One key upstream mechanism that appears to target a number of osteogenic pathways with age is kynurenine, a tryptophan metabolite and an endogenous Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonist. The AhR signaling pathway has been reported to promote aging phenotypes across species and in different tissues. We previously found that kynurenine accumulates with age in the plasma and various tissues including bone and induces bone loss and osteoporosis in mice. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are responsible for osteogenesis, adipogenesis, and overall bone regeneration. In the present study, we investigated the effect of kynurenine on BMSCs, with a focus on autophagy and senescence as two cellular processes that control BMSCs proliferation and differentiation capacity. We found that physiological levels of kynurenine (10 and 100 μM) disrupted autophagic flux as evidenced by the reduction of LC3B-II, and autophagolysosomal production, as well as a significant increase of p62 protein level. Additionally, Kynurenine also induced a senescent phenotype in BMSCs as shown by the increased expression of several senescence markers including senescence associated β-galactosidase in BMSCs. Additionally, western blotting reveals that levels of p21, another marker of senescence, also increased in kynurenine-treated BMSCs, while senescent-associated aggregation of nuclear H3K9me3 also showed a significant increase in response to kynurenine treatment. To validate that these effects are in fact due to AhR signaling pathway, we utilized two known AhR antagonists: CH-223191, and 3’,4’-Dimethoxyflavone to try to block AhR signaling and rescue kynurenine/AhR mediated effects. Indeed, AhR inhibition restored kynurenine-suppressed autophagy levels as shown by levels of LC3B-II, p62 and autophagolysosomal formation demonstrating a rescuing of autophagic flux. Furthermore, inhibition of AhR signaling prevented the kynurenine-induced increase in senescence associated β-galactosidase and p21 levels, as well as blocking aggregation of nuclear H3K9me3. Taken together, our results suggest that kynurenine inhibits autophagy and induces senescence in BMSCs via AhR signaling, and that this may be a novel target to prevent or reduce age-associated bone loss and osteoporosis.Item Magnetic separation of peripheral nerve-resident cells underscores key molecular features of human Schwann cells and fibroblasts: an immunochemical and transcriptomics approach(Nature Publishing Group, 2020-10-28) Peng, Kaiwen; Sant, David; Andersen, Natalia; Silvera, Risset; Camarena, Vladimir; Piñero, Gonzalo; Graham, Regina; Khan, Aisha; Xu, Xiao-Ming; Wang, Gaofeng; Monje, Paula V.; Neurological Surgery, School of MedicineNerve-derived human Schwann cell (SC) cultures are irreplaceable models for basic and translational research but their use can be limited due to the risk of fibroblast overgrowth. Fibroblasts are an ill-defined population consisting of highly proliferative cells that, contrary to human SCs, do not undergo senescence in culture. We initiated this study by performing an exhaustive immunological and functional characterization of adult nerve-derived human SCs and fibroblasts to reveal their properties and optimize a protocol of magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) to separate them effectively both as viable and biologically competent cells. We next used immunofluorescence microscopy imaging, flow cytometry analysis and next generation RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to unambiguously characterize the post-MACS cell products. High resolution transcriptome profiling revealed the identity of key lineage-specific transcripts and the clearly distinct neural crest and mesenchymal origin of human SCs and fibroblasts, respectively. Our analysis underscored a progenitor- or stem cell-like molecular phenotype in SCs and fibroblasts and the heterogeneity of the fibroblast populations. In addition, pathway analysis of RNA-seq data highlighted putative bidirectional networks of fibroblast-to-SC signaling that predict a complementary, yet seemingly independent contribution of SCs and fibroblasts to nerve regeneration. In sum, combining MACS with immunochemical and transcriptomics approaches provides an ideal workflow to exhaustively assess the identity, the stage of differentiation and functional features of highly purified cells from human peripheral nerve tissues.Item Osteoblast suppression in multiple myeloma bone disease(Elsevier, 2018-09-15) Adamik, Juraj; Galson, Deborah L.; Roodman, G. David; Medicine, School of MedicineMultiple myeloma (MM) is the most frequent cancer to involve the skeleton with patients developing osteolytic bone lesions due to hyperactivation of osteoclasts and suppression of BMSCs differentiation into functional osteoblasts. Although new therapies for MM have greatly improved survival, MM remains incurable for most patients. Despite the major advances in current anti-MM and anti-resorptive treatments that can significantly improve osteolytic bone lysis, many bone lesions can persist even after therapeutic remission of active disease. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) from MM patients are phenotypically distinct from their healthy counterparts and the mechanisms associated with the long-term osteogenic suppression are largely unknown. In this review we will highlight recent results of transcriptomic profiling studies that provide new insights into the establishment and maintenance of the persistent pathological alterations in MM-BMSCs that occur in MM. We will we discuss the role of genomic instabilities and senescence in propagating the chronically suppressed state and pro-inflammatory phenotype associated with MM-BMSCs. Lastly we describe the role of epigenetic-based mechanisms in regulating osteogenic gene expression to establish and maintain the pro-longed suppression of MM-BMSC differentiation into functional OBs.Item Urolithin A augments angiogenic pathways in skeletal muscle by bolstering NAD+ and SIRT1(NPG, 2020-11-11) Ghosh, Nandini; Das, Amitava; Biswas, Nirupam; Gnyawali, Surya; Singh, Kanhaiya; Gorain, Mahadeo; Polcyn, Carly; Khanna, Savita; Roy, Sashwati; Sen, Chandan K.; Surgery, School of MedicineUrolithin A (UA) is a natural compound that is known to improve muscle function. In this work we sought to evaluate the effect of UA on muscle angiogenesis and identify the underlying molecular mechanisms. C57BL/6 mice were administered with UA (10 mg/body weight) for 12–16 weeks. ATP levels and NAD+ levels were measured using in vivo 31P NMR and HPLC, respectively. UA significantly increased ATP and NAD+ levels in mice skeletal muscle. Unbiased transcriptomics analysis followed by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) revealed upregulation of angiogenic pathways upon UA supplementation in murine muscle. The expression of the differentially regulated genes were validated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Angiogenic markers such as VEGFA and CDH5 which were blunted in skeletal muscles of 28 week old mice were found to be upregulated upon UA supplementation. Such augmentation of skeletal muscle vascularization was found to be bolstered via Silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1-alpha (PGC-1α) pathway. Inhibition of SIRT1 by selisistat EX527 blunted UA-induced angiogenic markers in C2C12 cells. Thus this work provides maiden evidence demonstrating that UA supplementation bolsters skeletal muscle ATP and NAD+ levels causing upregulated angiogenic pathways via a SIRT1-PGC-1α pathway.