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Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a major pro-inflammatory cytokine that demonstrates a robust correlation with age and body mass index (BMI) as part of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. IL-6 cytokines also play a crucial role in metabolic homeostasis and regenerative processes primarily via the canonical STAT3 pathway. Thus, selective modulation of IL-6 signaling may offer a unique opportunity for therapeutic interventions. Our recent studies identified a novel non-canonical signaling pathway that involves prolonged activation of SRC family of kinases (SFKs) by IL-6/gp130, where genetic or pharmacological inhibition of this pathway was protective in several acute injury models. This study was designed to assess the effect of a small molecule (R159) that inhibits the non-canonical signaling in a mouse model of multimorbidity induced by chronic inflammation. Aged mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) to exacerbate chronic inflammation and inflammaging-related conditions, and R159 significantly decreased systemic inflammatory responses in adipose tissue and liver. R159 was protective against trabecular bone and articular cartilage loss and markedly prevented neurogenesis decline. Moreover, R159 reduced weight gain induced by HFD and increased physical activity levels. These findings suggest that selective pharmacological inhibition of SFK signaling downstream of IL6/gp130 offers a promising strategy to alleviate systemic chronic inflammation and relevant multimorbidity., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: Denis Evseenko is a co-founder and major stockholder of Carthronix Inc. All other authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a major pro-inflammatory cytokine for which the levels in plasma demonstrate a robust correlation with age and body mass index (BMI) as part of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. IL-6 cytokines also play a crucial role in metabolic homeostasis and regenerative processes, primarily via the canonical STAT3 pathway. Thus, selective modulation of IL-6 signaling may offer a unique opportunity for therapeutic interventions. Recently, we discovered that a non-canonical signaling pathway downstream of tyrosine (Y) 814 within the intracellular domain of gp130, the IL-6 co-receptor, is responsible for the recruitment and activation of SRC family of kinases (SFK). Mice with constitutive genetic inactivation of gp130 Y814 (F814 mice) show accelerated resolution of inflammatory response and superior regenerative outcomes in skin wound healing and posttraumatic models of osteoarthritis. The current study was designed to explore if selective genetic or pharmacological inhibition of the non-canonical gp130-Y814/SFK signaling reduces systemic chronic inflammation and multimorbidity in a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced model of accelerated aging. F814 mice showed significantly reduced inflammatory response to HFD in adipose and liver tissue, with significantly reduced levels of systemic inflammation compared to wild type mice. F814 mice were also protected from HFD-induced bone loss and cartilage degeneration. Pharmacological inhibition of gp130-Y814/SFK in mice on HFD mirrored the effects observed in F814 mice on HFD; furthermore, this pharmacological treatment also demonstrated a marked increase in physical activity levels and protective effects against inflammation-associated suppression of neurogenesis in the brain tissue compared to the control group. These findings suggest that selective inhibition of SFK signaling downstream of gp130 receptor represents a promising strategy to alleviate systemic chronic inflammation. Increased degenerative changes and tissue senescence are inevitable in obese and aged organisms, but we demonstrated that the systemic response and inflammation-associated multi-morbidity can be therapeutically mitigated.

Complex injury and open reconstructive surgeries of the knee often lead to joint dysfunction that may alter the normal biomechanics of the joint. Two major complications that often arise are excessive deposition of fibrotic tissue and acquired heterotopic endochondral ossification. Knee arthrofibrosis is a fibrotic joint disorder where aberrant buildup of scar tissue and adhesions develop around the joint. Heterotopic ossification is ectopic bone formation around the periarticular tissues. Even though arthrofibrosis and heterotopic ossification pose an immense clinical problem, limited studies focus on their cellular and molecular mechanisms. Effective cell-targeted therapeutics are needed, but the cellular origin of both knee disorders remains elusive. Moreover, all the current animal models of knee arthrofibrosis and stiffness are developed in rats and rabbits, limiting genetic experiments that would allow us to explore the contribution of specific cellular targets to these knee pathologies. Here, we present a novel mouse model where surgically induced injury and hyperextension of the knee lead to excessive deposition of disorganized collagen in the meniscus, synovium, and joint capsule in addition to formation of extra-skeletal bone in muscle and soft tissues within the joint capsule. As a functional outcome, arthrofibrosis and acquired heterotopic endochondral ossification coupled with a significant increase in total joint stiffness were observed. By employing this injury model and genetic lineage tracing, we also demonstrate that Gli1+ mesenchymal progenitors proliferate after joint injury and contribute to the pool of fibrotic cells in the synovium and ectopic osteoblasts within the joint capsule. These findings demonstrate that Gli1+ cells are a major cellular contributor to knee arthrofibrosis and acquired heterotopic ossification that manifest after knee injury. Our data demonstrate that genetic manipulation of Gli1+ cells in mice may offer a platform for identification of novel therapeutic targets to prevent knee joint dysfunction after chronic injury., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Magallanes, Liu, Zhang, Ouyang, Mkaratigwa, Bian, Van Handel, Skorka, Petrigliano and Evseenko.)