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Endothelial progenitor cell (EPC)-based stem cell therapy is a promising therapeutic strategy for vascular diseases. However, continuous in vitro expansion for clinical studies induces the loss of EPC functionality due to aging. In this study, we investigated the effects of StemRegenin-1 (SR-1), an antagonist of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), on replicative senescence in EPCs. We found that SR-1 maintained the expression of EPC surface markers, including stem cell markers, such as CD34, c-Kit, and CXCR4. Moreover, SR-1 long-term-treated EPCs preserved their characteristics. Subsequently, we demonstrated that SR-1 showed that aging phenotypes were reduced through senescence-associated phenotypes, such as β-galactosidase activity, SMP30, p21, p53, and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). SR-1 treatment also increased the proliferation, migration, and tube-forming capacity of senescent EPCs. SR-1 inhibited the AhR-mediated cytochrome P450 (CYP)1A1 expression, reactive-oxygen species (ROS) production, and DNA damage under oxidative stress conditions in EPCs. Furthermore, as a result of CYP1A1-induced ROS inhibition, it was found that accumulated intracellular ROS were decreased in senescent EPCs. Finally, an in vivo Matrigel plug assay demonstrated drastically enhanced blood vessel formation via SR-1-treated EPCs. In summary, our results suggest that SR-1 contributes to the protection of EPCs against cellular senescence.

This study investigated the protective effect of glutathione (GSH), an antioxidant drug, against doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiotoxicity. Human cardiac progenitor cells (hCPCs) treated with DOX (250 to 500 nM) showed increased viability and reduced ROS generation and apoptosis with GSH treatment (0.1 to 1 mM) for 24 h. In contrast to the 500 nM DOX group, pERK levels were restored in the group co-treated with GSH and suppression of ERK signaling improved hCPCs’ survival. Similarly to the previous results, the reduced potency of hCPCs in the 100 nM DOX group, which did not affect cell viability, was ameliorated by co-treatment with GSH (0.1 to 1 mM). Furthermore, GSH was protected against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity in the in vivo model (DOX 20 mg/kg, GSH 100 mg/kg). These results suggest that GSH is a potential therapeutic strategy for DOX-induced cardiotoxicity, which performs its function via ROS reduction and pERK signal regulation.

Abstract The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway efficiently regulates the energy state of cells and maintains tissue homeostasis. Dysregulation of the mTOR pathway has been implicated in several human diseases. Rapamycin is a specific inhibitor of mTOR and pharmacological inhibition of mTOR with rapamycin promote cardiac cell generation from the differentiation of mouse and human embryonic stem cells. These studies strongly implicate a role of sustained mTOR activity in the differentiating functions of embryonic stem cells; however, they do not directly address the required effect for sustained mTOR activity in human cardiac progenitor cells. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of mTOR inhibition by rapamycin on the cellular function of human cardiac progenitor cells and discovered that treatment with rapamycin markedly attenuated replicative cell senescence in human cardiac progenitor cells (hCPCs) and promoted their cellular functions. Furthermore, rapamycin not only inhibited mTOR signaling but also influenced signaling pathways, including STAT3 and PIM1, in hCPCs. Therefore, these data reveal a crucial function for rapamycin in senescent hCPCs and provide clinical strategies based on chronic mTOR activity.

There was an error in representative images of the tube formation in Figure 4b in the original publication [...]

Anterior gradient protein 2 homolog (AGR2), an endoplasmic reticulum protein, is secreted in the tumor microenvironment. AGR2 is a member of the disulfide isomerase family, is highly expressed in multiple cancers, and promotes cancer metastasis. In this study, we found that etravirine, which is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, could induce AGR2 degradation via autophagy. Moreover, etravirine diminished proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Moreover, in an orthotopic xenograft mouse model, the combination of etravirine and paclitaxel significantly suppressed cancer progression and metastasis. This drug may be a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Women and men share similar diseases; however, women have unique issues, including gynecologic diseases and diseases related to menstruation, menopause, and post menopause. In recent decades, scientists paid more attention to natural products and their derivatives because of their good tolerability and effectiveness in disease prevention and treatment. Olive oil is an essential component in the Mediterranean diet, a diet well known for its protective impact on human well-being. Investigation of the active components in olive oil, such as oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol, showed positive effects in various diseases. Their effects have been clarified in many suggested mechanisms and have shown promising results in animal and human studies, especially in breast cancer, ovarian cancer, postmenopausal osteoporosis, and other disorders. This review summarizes the current evidence of the role of olives and olive polyphenols in women’s health issues and their potential implications in the treatment and prevention of health problems in women.

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are specialized cells in circulating blood, well known for their ability to form new vascular structures. Aging and various ailments such as diabetes, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease make EPCs vulnerable to decreasing in number, which affects their migration, proliferation and angiogenesis. Myocardial ischemia is also linked to a reduced number of EPCs and their endothelial functional role, which hinders proper blood circulation to the myocardium. The current study shows that an aminopyrimidine derivative compound (CHIR99021) induces the inhibition of GSK-3β in cultured late EPCs. GSK-3β inhibition subsequently inhibits mTOR by blocking the phosphorylation of TSC2 and lysosomal localization of mTOR. Furthermore, suppression of GSK-3β activity considerably increased lysosomal activation and autophagy. The activation of lysosomes and autophagy by GSK-3β inhibition not only prevented replicative senescence of the late EPCs but also directed their migration, proliferation and angiogenesis. To conclude, our results demonstrate that lysosome activation and autophagy play a crucial role in blocking the replicative senescence of EPCs and in increasing their endothelial function. Thus, the findings provide an insight towards the treatment of ischemia-associated cardiovascular diseases based on the role of late EPCs.

Cross talks between the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), sympathetic nervous system, and vascular homeostasis are tightly coordinated in hypertension. Angiotensin II (Ang II), a key factor in RAS, when abnormally activated, affects the number and bioactivity of circulating human endothelial progenitor cells (hEPCs) in hypertensive patients. In this study, we investigated how the augmentation of Ang II regulates adrenergic receptor-mediated signaling and angiogenic bioactivities of hEPCs. Interestingly, the short-term treatment of hEPCs with Ang II drastically attenuated the expression of beta-2 adrenergic receptor (ADRB2), but did not alter the expression of beta-1 adrenergic receptor (ADRB1) and Ang II type 1 receptor (AT1R). EPC functional assay clearly demonstrated that the treatment with ADRB2 agonists significantly increased EPC bioactivities including cell proliferation, migration, and tube formation abilities. However, EPC bioactivities were decreased dramatically when treated with Ang II. Importantly, the attenuation of EPC bioactivities by Ang II was restored by treatment with an AT1R antagonist (telmisartan; TERT). We found that AT1R binds to ADRB2 in physiological conditions, but this binding is significantly decreased in the presence of Ang II. Furthermore, TERT, an Ang II-AT1R interaction blocker, restored the interaction between AT1R and ADRB2, suggesting that Ang II might induce the dysfunction of EPCs via downregulation of ADRB2, and an AT1R blocker could prevent Ang II-mediated ADRB2 depletion in EPCs. Taken together, our report provides novel insights into potential therapeutic approaches for hypertension-related cardiovascular diseases.

The primary cause of death among chronic diseases worldwide is ischemic cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke and myocardial infarction. Recent evidence indicates that adult stem cell therapies involving cardiovascular regeneration represent promising strategies to treat cardiovascular diseases. Owing to their immunomodulatory properties and vascular repair capabilities, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are strong candidate therapeutic stem cells for use in cardiovascular regeneration. However, major limitations must be overcome, including their very low survival rate in ischemic lesion. Various attempts have been made to improve the poor survival and longevity of engrafted MSCs. In order to develop novel therapeutic strategies, it is necessary to first identify stem cell modulators for intracellular signal triggering or niche activation. One promising therapeutic strategy is the priming of therapeutic MSCs with stem cell modulators before transplantation. Another is a tissue engineering-based therapeutic strategy involving a cell scaffold, a cell-protein-scaffold architecture made of biomaterials such as ECM or hydrogel, and cell patch- and 3D printing-based tissue engineering. This review focuses on the current clinical applications of MSCs for treating cardiovascular diseases and highlights several therapeutic strategies for promoting the therapeutic efficacy of MSCs in vitro or in vivo from cell priming to tissue engineering strategies, for use in cardiovascular regeneration.

The purpose of the present study is to improve the endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) activation, proliferation, and angiogenesis using enzyme-aided extraction of fucoidan by amyloglucosidase (EAEF-AMG). Enzyme-aided extraction of fucoidan by AMG (EAEF-AMG) significantly increased EPC proliferation by reducing the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decreasing apoptosis. Notably, EAEF-AMG treated EPCs repressed the colocalization of TSC2/LAMP1 and promoted perinuclear localization of mTOR/LAMP1 and mTOR/Rheb. Moreover, EAEF-AMG enhanced EPC functionalities, including tube formation, cell migration, and wound healing via regulation of AKT/Rheb signaling. Our data provided cell priming protocols to enhance therapeutic applications of EPCs using bioactive compounds for the treatment of CVD.

Cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) are resident stem cells present in a small portion of ischemic hearts and function in repairing the damaged heart tissue. Intense oxidative stress impairs cell metabolism thereby decreasing cell viability. Protecting CPCs from undergoing cellular apoptosis during oxidative stress is crucial in optimizing CPC-based therapy. Histochrome (sodium salt of echinochrome A—a common sea urchin pigment) is an antioxidant drug that has been clinically used as a pharmacologic agent for ischemia/reperfusion injury in Russia. However, the mechanistic effect of histochrome on CPCs has never been reported. We investigated the protective effect of histochrome pretreatment on human CPCs (hCPCs) against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative stress. Annexin V/7-aminoactinomycin D (7-AAD) assay revealed that histochrome-treated CPCs showed significant protective effects against H2O2-induced cell death. The anti-apoptotic proteins B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and Bcl-xL were significantly upregulated, whereas the pro-apoptotic proteins BCL2-associated X (Bax), H2O2-induced cleaved caspase-3, and the DNA damage marker, phosphorylated histone (γH2A.X) foci, were significantly downregulated upon histochrome treatment of hCPCs in vitro. Further, prolonged incubation with histochrome alleviated the replicative cellular senescence of hCPCs. In conclusion, we report the protective effect of histochrome against oxidative stress and present the use of a potent and bio-safe cell priming agent as a potential therapeutic strategy in patient-derived hCPCs to treat heart disease.

The levels of organic acids representing metabolic pathway end products are important indicators of physiological status, and may be associated with metabolic changes in cancer. The aim of this study is to investigate the levels of organic acids in cancerous and normal tissues from gastric cancer patients and to confirm the role of metabolic alterations in gastric carcinogenesis. Organic acids in normal and cancerous tissues from forty-five patients with gastric adenocarcinoma were investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in selected ion monitoring mode as methoxime/tert-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives. We analysed the significant differences in the levels of organic acids in normal and cancer tissues and investigated the correlation of these levels in cancer tissues with clinicopathological features. The levels of Krebs cycle components, including α-ketoglutaric acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, malic acid and oxaloacetic acid, were significantly increased in cancer tissues compared to normal tissues. In addition, the levels of glycolytic products, including pyruvic acid and lactic acid, as well as the levels of ketone bodies, including 3-hydroxybutyric acid, were also significantly increased in cancer tissues compared to normal tissues. The levels of ketone bodies in cancer tissues with differentiated histology and in intestinal-type cancer tissues were significantly increased. The organic acid profiling analysis described here may be a generally useful clinical tool for understanding the complexity of metabolic events in gastric adenocarcinoma, and organic acids may have potential as metabolic markers for the future discovery of diagnostic and therapeutic modalities.

This study assessed the effects of Coprinus comatus cap (CCC) on adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and the effects of CCC on the development of diet-induced obesity in rats. Here, we showed that the CCC has an inhibitory effect on the adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells, resulting in a significant decrease in lipid accumulation through the downregulation of several adipocyte specific-transcription factors, including CCAAT/enhancer binding protein β, C/EBPδ, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). Moreover, treatment with CCC during adipocyte differentiation induced a significant down-regulation of PPARγ and adipogenic target genes, including adipocyte protein 2, lipoprotein lipase, and adiponectin. Interestingly, the CCC treatment of the 3T3-L1 adipocytes suppressed the insulin-stimulated Akt and GSK3β phosphorylation, and these effects were stronger in the presence of an inhibitor of Akt phosphorylation, LY294002, suggesting that CCC inhibited adipocyte differentiation through the down-regulation of Akt signaling. In the animal study, CCC administration significantly reduced the body weight and adipose tissue weight of rats fed a high fat diet (HFD) and attenuated lipid accumulation in the adipose tissues of the HFD-induced obese rats. The size of the adipocyte in the epididymal fat of the CCC fed rats was significantly smaller than in the HFD rats. CCC treatment significantly reduced the total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the serum of HFD rats. These results strongly indicated that the CCC-mediated decrease in body weight was due to a reduction in adipose tissue mass. The expression level of PPARγ and phospho-Akt was significantly lower in the CCC-treated HFD rats than that in the HFD obesity rats. These results suggested that CCC inhibited adipocyte differentiation by the down-regulation of major transcription factor involved in the adipogenesis pathway including PPARγ through the regulation of the Akt pathway in 3T3-L1 cells and HFD adipose tissue.