1  1997 115 EPIGENETIC AND INFLAMMATORY EVENTS IN EXPERIMENTAL PERIODONTITIS FOLLOWING SYSTEMIC MICROBIAL CHALLENGE. AIM: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE INFLAMMATORY AND EPIGENETIC FEATURES FOLLOWING INDUCTION OF ORAL AND GUT DYSBIOSIS IN EXPERIMENTAL PERIODONTITIS IN ORDER TO EXAMINE THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN ORAL AND SYSTEMIC INFECTION. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PERIODONTITIS WAS INDUCED IN 6- TO 8-WEEK-OLD C57BL/6 MICE BY (A) LIGATURE PLACEMENT (LIG GROUP) (ORAL CHALLENGE); (B) P. GINGIVALIS GAVAGE (PG GROUP) (SYSTEMIC CHALLENGE); AND (C) THE COMBINATION OF THE TWO MODELS ORAL AND SYSTEMIC CHALLENGE (PG + LIG). THE DURATION OF THE EXPERIMENT WAS 60 DAYS, AND THE ANIMALS WERE THEN SACRIFICED FOR ANALYSES. ALVEOLAR BONE LOSS WAS ASSESSED, AND A MULTIPLEX IMMUNOASSAY WAS PERFORMED. MAXILLAE AND GUT TISSUES WERE IMMUNOSTAINED FOR DNMT3B (DE NOVO METHYLATION MARKER), B AND T LYMPHOCYTE ATTENUATOR (BTLA) AND IL-18R1 (INFLAMMATION MARKERS). RESULTS: PG AND PG + LIG GROUPS EXHIBITED HIGHER BONE LOSS WHEN COMPARED TO SHAM. BAFF, VEGF, RANKL, RANTES AND IP-10 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER WITH PG GAVAGE. LIKEWISE, DNMT3B WAS OVEREXPRESSED IN BOTH GUT AND MAXILLA AFTER THE PG ADMINISTRATION. THE SAME PATTERN WAS OBSERVED FOR BTLA AND IL-18R1 IN GUT TISSUES. CONCLUSIONS: THE SYSTEMIC MICROBIAL CHALLENGE EITHER ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WITH LOCAL CHALLENGE LEADS TO DISTINCT PATTERNS OF INFLAMMATORY AND EPIGENETIC FEATURES WHEN COMPARED TO SIMPLY LOCALLY INDUCED EXPERIMENTAL PERIODONTITIS.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
2  6217  23 THE JAK INHIBITOR TOFACITINIB INHIBITS STRUCTURAL DAMAGE IN OSTEOARTHRITIS BY MODULATING JAK1/TNF-ALPHA/IL-6 SIGNALING THROUGH MIR-149-5P. BACKGROUND: OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA), A COMMON ARTICULAR BONE DEGENERATIVE DISEASE, IS EXACERBATED BY PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE SIGNALING. MOUNTING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT EPIGENETIC MODIFIERS, NAMELY MICRORNAS (MIRS), ARE DYSREGULATED IN ARTICULAR CHONDROCYTES (ACS) DURING OA. METHODS: AN INITIAL DATABASE SEARCH LED TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF MIR-149-5P, WHICH WAS DOWNREGULATED IN CLINICAL OA SAMPLES AND CONTRIBUTED TO CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, BY INCREASING TNF-ALPHA/IL-6 SIGNALING WITHIN THE SYNOVIUM, AND OA PROGRESSION. RESULTS: WE OVEREXPRESSED MIR-149-5P IN THE HUMAN CHONDROCYTE CELL LINES C20A4 AND C28/I2 TO EXAMINE ITS ROLE IN CHONDROCYTE HYPERTROPHY AND OSTEOCLASTOGENESIS AND FOUND A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN IL-6 EXPRESSION, AN INCREASE IN SOX9 EXPRESSION, AND A REDUCTION IN CHONDROCYTE HYPERTROPHY. WE EVALUATED THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS OF TOFACITINIB (JAK INHIBITOR) BY SUPPRESSING INFLAMMATION AND RESTORING MIR-149-5P EXPRESSION. TOFACITINIB-TREATED C20A4 AND C28/I2 CELLS HAD A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER EXPRESSION OF JAK/IL-6/TNF-ALPHA AND AN INCREASED LEVEL OF MIR-149-5P. NOTABLY, TOFACITINIB TREATMENT REDUCED AC HYPERTROPHY AND SECRETION OF RANKL AND IL-6. FINALLY, AN OA MOUSE MODEL WAS USED TO EVALUATE THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF TOFACITINIB. INTRA-ARTICULAR INJECTION OF TOFACITINIB SIGNIFICANTLY LOWERED ARTHRITIS SCORES AND BONE DEGRADATION IN TREATED MICE COMPARED WITH THEIR CONTROL COUNTERPARTS. CONCLUSION: WE SHOW FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT TOFACITINIB SUPPRESSES THE EXPRESSION LEVEL OF JAK1/TNF-ALPHA/IL-6 BY UPREGULATING MIR-149-5P LEVEL. OUR FINDINGS REVEALED THE FUNCTIONAL ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PROINFLAMMATORY JAK1/TNF-ALPHA/IL-6 SIGNALING AND ACS DEVELOPMENT AND HIGHLIGHT THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF TOFACITINIB IN OA.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
3   703  23 BTLA EXPRESSION IN CLL: EPIGENETIC REGULATION AND IMPACT ON CLL B CELL PROLIFERATION AND ABILITY TO IL-4 PRODUCTION. IN OUR PREVIOUS STUDY, WHILE CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CLL) CASES SHOWED HIGHER LEVELS OF B AND T LYMPHOCYTE ATTENUATOR (BTLA) MRNA COMPARED TO CONTROLS, LOWER BTLA PROTEIN EXPRESSION WAS OBSERVED IN CASES COMPARED TO CONTROLS. HENCE WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT MICRO RNA (MIR) 155-5P REGULATES BTLA EXPRESSION IN CLL. IN LINE WITH EARLIER DATA, EXPRESSION OF BTLA MRNA AND MIR-155-5P IS ELEVATED IN CLL (P = 0.034 AND P = 0.0006, RESPECTIVELY) AS WELL AS IN MEC-1 CELL LINE (P = 0.009 AND 0.016, RESPECTIVELY). INHIBITION OF MIR-155-5P PARTIALLY RESTORED BTLA PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN CLL PATIENTS (P = 0.01) AND IN MEC-1 CELL LINES (P = 0.058). ADDITIONALLY, WE AIMED TO EVALUATE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BTLA DEFICIENCY IN CLL CELLS ON PROLIFERATION AND IL-4 PRODUCTION OF B CELLS. WE FOUND THAT SECRETION OF IL-4 IS NOT DEPENDENT ON BTLA EXPRESSION, SINCE FRACTIONS OF BTLA POSITIVE AND BTLA NEGATIVE B CELLS EXPRESSING INTRACELLULAR IL-4 WERE SIMILAR IN CLL PATIENTS AND CONTROLS. WE DEMONSTRATED THAT IN CONTROLS THE FRACTION OF PROLIFERATING CELLS IS LOWER IN BTLA POSITIVE THAN IN BTLA NEGATIVE B CELLS (P = 0.059), WHICH WAS NOT OBSERVED IN CLL. HOWEVER, THE FREQUENCY OF BTLA POSITIVE KI67+ B CELLS IN CLL WAS HIGHER COMPARED TO CORRESPONDING CELLS FROM CONTROLS (P = 0.055) WHILE THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE EXAMINED GROUPS REGARDING FREQUENCY OF BTLA NEGATIVE KI67+ B CELLS. OUR STUDIES SUGGEST THAT MIR-155-5P IS INVOLVED IN BTLA DEFICIENCY, AFFECTING PROLIFERATION OF CLL B CELLS, WHICH MAY BE ONE OF THE MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR CLL PATHOGENESIS.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
4  4298  21 MICRORNA-146A GOVERNS FIBROBLAST ACTIVATION AND JOINT PATHOLOGY IN ARTHRITIS. SYNOVIAL FIBROBLASTS ARE KEY CELLS ORCHESTRATING THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IN ARTHRITIS. HERE WE DEMONSTRATE THAT LOSS OF MIR-146A, A KEY EPIGENETIC REGULATOR OF THE INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSE, LEADS TO INCREASED JOINT DESTRUCTION IN A TNF-DRIVEN MODEL OF ARTHRITIS BY SPECIFICALLY REGULATING THE BEHAVIOR OF SYNOVIAL FIBROBLASTS. ABSENCE OF MIR-146A IN SYNOVIAL FIBROBLASTS DISPLAY A HIGHLY DEREGULATED GENE EXPRESSION PATTERN AND ENHANCED PROLIFERATION IN VITRO AND IN VIVO. DEFICIENCY OF MIR-146A INDUCES DEREGULATION OF TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR (TNF) RECEPTOR ASSOCIATED FACTOR 6 (TRAF6) IN SYNOVIAL FIBROBLASTS, LEADING TO INCREASED PROLIFERATION. IN ADDITION, LOSS OF MIR-146A SHIFTS THE METABOLIC STATE OF FIBROBLASTS TOWARDS GLYCOLYSIS AND AUGMENTS THE ABILITY OF SYNOVIAL FIBROBLASTS TO SUPPORT THE GENERATION OF OSTEOCLASTS BY CONTROLLING THE BALANCE OF OSTEOCLASTOGENIC REGULATORY FACTORS RECEPTOR ACTIVATOR OF NF-KAPPAB LIGAND (RANKL) AND OSTEOPROTEGERIN (OPG). BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION EXPERIMENTS CONFIRMED THE IMPORTANCE OF MIR-146A IN THE RADIORESISTANT MESENCHYMAL COMPARTMENT FOR THE CONTROL OF ARTHRITIS SEVERITY, IN PARTICULAR FOR INFLAMMATORY JOINT DESTRUCTION. THIS STUDY THEREFORE IDENTIFIES MICRORNA-146A AS AN IMPORTANT LOCAL EPIGENETIC REGULATOR OF THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IN ARTHRITIS. IT IS A CENTRAL ELEMENT OF AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FEEDBACK LOOP IN RESIDENT SYNOVIAL FIBROBLASTS, WHO ARE ORCHESTRATING THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IN CHRONIC ARTHRITIS. MIR-146A RESTRICTS THEIR ACTIVATION, THEREBY PREVENTING EXCESSIVE TISSUE DAMAGE DURING ARTHRITIS.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
5  6085  23 THE EFFECTS OF ACARBOSE ON CHEMOKINE AND CYTOKINE PRODUCTION IN HUMAN MONOCYTIC THP-1 CELLS. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: CHRONIC INFLAMMATION INDUCED BY PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES AND CHEMOKINES IS POSTULATED TO BE INVOLVED IN INSULIN RESISTANCE AND BETA-CELL DYSFUNCTION IN TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS (T2DM). ACARBOSE, THE ALPHA-GLUCOSIDASE INHIBITOR, IS AN ORAL ANTIDIABETIC DRUG FOR T2DM. ACARBOSE SUPPRESSES INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE PRODUCTION IN PATIENTS WITH T2DM, THOUGH THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS ARE UNCLEAR. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, WE AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS AND THE EXACT MECHANISMS OF ACARBOSE IN HUMAN MONOCYTIC THP-1 CELLS. METHODS: THP-1 CELLS WERE PRETREATED WITH ACARBOSE AND THEN STIMULATED WITH LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE (LPS). THE LEVELS OF TH1-RELATED CHEMOKINES, INCLUDING INTERFERON-GAMMA-INDUCIBLE PROTEIN-10 (IP-10), MONOCYTE CHEMOATTRACTANT PROTEIN-1 (MCP-1), TH2-RELATED CHEMOKINE MACROPHAGE-DERIVED CHEMOKINE (MDC), AND PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA), WERE DETERMINED BY ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY. INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING PATHWAYS WERE EXPLORED BY WESTERN BLOT ANALYSIS AND USING A CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ASSAY. RESULTS: ACARBOSE SUPPRESSED THE LEVELS OF IP-10, MCP-1, MDC, AND TNF-ALPHA AND DOWNREGULATED PHOSPHORYLATION OF P38, C-JUN N-TERMINAL KINASE (JNK), EXTRACELLULAR SIGNAL-REGULATED KINASE (ERK), AND NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPA B-P65 (NF-KAPPAB-P65) IN LPS-STIMULATED THP-1 CELLS. ACARBOSE SUPPRESSED LPS-INDUCED ACETYLATION OF HISTONES H3 (H3) AND H4 IN THE IP-10 AND MCP-1 PROMOTER REGIONS. THESE FINDINGS REVEALED THE SUPPRESSIVE EFFECTS OF ACARBOSE ON IP-10, MCP-1, MDC, AND TNF-ALPHA PRODUCTION IN THP-1 CELLS VIA, AT LEAST PARTIALLY, THE P38, JNK, ERK, AND NF-KAPPAB-P65 PATHWAYS, AS WELL AS THROUGH EPIGENETIC REGULATION VIA HISTONE H3 AND H4 ACETYLATION. CONCLUSION: OUR STUDY POINTS TO THE THERAPEUTIC ANTI-INFLAMMATORY POTENTIAL OF ACARBOSE.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
6   428  20 ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF MIODESIN: MODULATION OF INFLAMMATORY MARKERS AND EPIGENETIC EVIDENCE. PURPOSE: TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF A COMBINED HERBAL MEDICINE MIODESIN ON THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE OF KEY CELLS INVOLVED IN THE ACUTE AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY PROCESSES AS WELL AS THE POSSIBLE EPIGENETIC INVOLVEMENT. METHODS: AFTER THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE IC(50) DOSE, THE CHONDROCYTE, KERATINOCYTE, AND MACROPHAGE CELL LINES WERE PRETREATED FOR 2 HOURS WITH MIODESIN (200 MUG/ML) AND STIMULATED WITH LPS (1 MUG/ML) FOR 24 HOURS. THE SUPERNATANT WAS USED TO MEASURE THE LEVELS OF CYTOKINES (IL-1BETA, IL-6, IL-8, AND TNF-ALPHA) AND CHEMOKINES (CCL2, CCL3, AND CCL5), AND THE CELLS WERE USED TO EXTRACT THE MRNA FOR THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR (NF-KAPPABETA), INFLAMMATORY ENZYMES (COX-1, COX-2, PLA2, AND INOS), AND CHEMOKINES (CCL2, CCL3, AND CCL5). RESULTS: MIODESIN INHIBITED THE RELEASE OF LPS-INDUCED CYTOKINES (IL-1BETA, IL-6, IL-8, AND TNF-ALPHA; P < 0.01) AND CHEMOKINES (CCL2, CCL3, AND CCL5; P < 0.01) AND THE EXPRESSION OF THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR (NF-KAPPABETA; P < 0.01), INFLAMMATORY ENZYMES (COX-1, COX-2, PLA2, INOS; P < 0.01), AND CHEMOKINES (CCL2, CCL3, AND CCL5; P < 0.01). IN ADDITION, THE EVALUATION OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISM REVEALED THAT MIODESIN DID NOT INDUCE CHANGES IN DNA METHYLATION, ASSURING THE GENETIC SAFENESS OF THE COMPOUND IN TERMS OF THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE. CONCLUSIONS: MIODESIN PRESENTS ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES, INHIBITING HYPERACTIVATION OF CHONDROCYTES, KERATINOCYTES, AND MACROPHAGES, INVOLVING EPIGENETICS IN SUCH EFFECTS.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
7  4993  17 PENTOXIFYLLINE-INDUCED PROTEIN EXPRESSION CHANGE IN RAW 264.7 CELLS AS DETERMINED BY IMMUNOPRECIPITATION-BASED HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY. ALTHOUGH PENTOXIFYLLINE (PTX) WAS IDENTIFIED AS A COMPETITIVE NON-SELECTIVE PHOSPHODIESTERASE INHIBITOR, ITS PHARMACOLOGICAL EFFECT HAS NOT BEEN CLEARLY ELUCIDATED. THE PRESENT STUDY EXPLORED THE EFFECT OF LOW DOSE 10 MUG/ML PTX (THERAPEUTIC DOSE) COMPARED TO HIGH DOSE 300 MUG/ML PTX (EXPERIMENTAL DOSE) IN RAW 264.7 CELLS THROUGH IMMUNOPRECIPITATION-BASED HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY (IP-HPLC), IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY, AND WESTERN BLOT. 10 MUG/ML PTX INCREASED THE EXPRESSION OF PROLIFERATION (KI-67, PCNA, CYCLIN D2, CDC25A), EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION (KDM4D, PCAF, HMGB1), PROTEIN TRANSLATION (DOHH, DHPS, EIF5A1), RAS SIGNALING (KRAS, PAKT1/2/3, PI3K), NFKB SIGNALING (NFKB, GADD45, P38), PROTECTION (HSP70, SOD1, GSTO1/2), SURVIVAL (PAKT1/2/3, SP1, SIRTUIN 6), NEUROMUSCULAR DIFFERENTIATION (NSEGAMMA, MYOSIN-1A, DESMIN), OSTEOBLASTIC DIFFERENTIATION (BMP2, RUNX2, OSTERIX), ACUTE INFLAMMATION (TNFALPHA, IL-1, CXCR4), INNATE IMMUNITY (BETA-DEFENSIN 1, LACTOFERRIN, TLR-3, -4), CELL-MEDIATED IMMUNITY (CD4, CD8, CD80), WHILE DECREASED THE EXPRESSION OF ER STRESS (EIF2ALPHA, EIF2AK3, ATF6ALPHA), FIBROSIS (FGF2, CTGF, COLLAGEN 3A1), AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION (CD68, MMP-2, -3, COX2) VERSUS THE UNTREATED CONTROLS. THE ACTIVATION OF PROLIFERATION BY 10 MUG/ML PTX WAS ALSO SUPPORTED BY THE INCREASE OF CMYC-MAX HETERODIMER AND BETA-CATENIN-TCF1 COMPLEX IN DOUBLE IP-HPLC. 10 MUG/ML PTX ENHANCED FAS-MEDIATED APOPTOSIS BUT DIMINISHED P53-MEDIATED APOPTOSIS, AND DOWNREGULATED MANY ANGIOGENESIS PROTEINS (ANGIOGENIN, VEGF-A, AND FLT4), BUT UPREGULATED HIF1ALPHA, VEGFR2, AND CMG2 REACTIVELY. WHEREAS, 300 MUG/ML PTX CONSISTENTLY DECREASED PROLIFERATION, EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION, RAS AND NFKB SIGNALING, NEUROMUSCULAR AND OSTEOBLASTIC DIFFERENTIATION, BUT INCREASED APOPTOSIS, ER STRESS, AND FIBROSIS COMPARED TO 10 MUG/ML PTX. THESE DATA SUGGEST PTX HAS DIFFERENT BIOLOGICAL EFFECT ON RWA 264.7 CELLS DEPENDING ON THE CONCENTRATION OF 10 MUG/ML AND 300 MUG/ML PTX. THE LOW DOSE 10 MUG/ML PTX ENHANCED RAS/NFKB SIGNALING, PROLIFERATION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND INFLAMMATION, PARTICULARLY, IT STIMULATED NEUROMUSCULAR AND OSTEOBLASTIC DIFFERENTIATION, INNATE IMMUNITY, AND CELL-MEDIATED IMMUNITY, BUT ATTENUATED ER STRESS, FIBROSIS, ANGIOGENESIS, AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, WHILE THE HIGH DOSE 300 MUG/ML PTX WAS FOUND TO ALLEVIATE THE 10 MUG/ML PTX-INDUCED BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS, RESULTED IN THE SUPPRESSION OF RAS/NFKB SIGNALING, PROLIFERATION, NEUROMUSCULAR AND OSTEOBLASTIC DIFFERENTIATION, AND INFLAMMATION.	2022	

8  6657  17 UPREGULATED KAT7 IN SYNOVIAL FIBROBLASTS PROMOTES TH17 CELL DIFFERENTIATION AND INFILTRATION IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) IS A CHRONIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE INVOLVING MULTIPLE CELLULAR PARTICIPANTS, OF WHICH SYNOVIAL FIBROBLASTS (SFS) ARE TIGHTLY CONNECTED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION OF RA. HERE, WE PROVIDE EVIDENCE CONFIRMING THAT KAT7, AN H4-SPECIFIC HISTONE ACETYLASE, IS UPREGULATED IN SFS OF RA PATIENTS, WHICH IS AT LEAST ATTRIBUTED TO THE STIMULATION BY RA-ASSOCIATED PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, SUCH AS TNF-ALPHA, IL-1BETA OR IFN-GAMMA. IN ADDITION, KAT7 OVEREXPRESSION IN CULTURED HUMAN FIBROBLAST-LIKE SYNOVIOCYTES (HFLSS) INDUCES IL-6 AND TGF-BETA EXPRESSION THROUGH AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM, AND IN VITRO T HELPER 17 (TH17) CELL POLARIZATION CULTURED IN THESE SUPERNATANTS SHOWS PROMOTED CELL DIFFERENTIATION. MOREOVER, KAT7 OVEREXPRESSION IN HFLSS INDUCES CCL20 EXPRESSION VIA P44/42 MAPK PATHWAY, WHEREBY PROMOTING TH17 CELL MIGRATION. THESE TWO ACTIVITIES OF KAT7 IN RA SFS INDICATE ITS POTENTIAL ROLES IN ACCELERATING RA PATHOLOGY. OVERALL, THESE RESULTS DEMONSTRATE SOME CONNECTIONS BETWEEN KAT7 UPREGULATED IN RA SFS AND RA PROGRESSION AND PRESENT THE INHIBITION OF KAT7 ACTIVITY AS A NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGET FOR INTERFERING RA DISEASE.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
9  4697  28 NF-KAPPAB UPREGULATION THROUGH EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF LDOC1 DRIVES TUMOR BIOLOGY AND SPECIFIC IMMUNOPHENOTYPE IN GROUP A EPENDYMOMA. BACKGROUND: INFLAMMATION HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A HALLMARK OF HIGH-RISK GROUP A (GPA) EPENDYMOMA (EPN). CHRONIC INTERLEUKIN (IL)-6 SECRETION FROM GPA TUMORS DRIVES AN IMMUNE SUPPRESSIVE PHENOTYPE BY POLARIZING INFILTRATING MONOCYTES. THIS STUDY DETERMINES THE MECHANISM BY WHICH IL-6 IS DYSREGULATED IN GPA EPN. METHODS: TWENTY PEDIATRIC GPA AND 21 PEDIATRIC GROUP B (GPB) EPN HAD GENE SET ENRICHMENT ANALYSIS FOR MSIGDB HALLMARK GENE SETS PERFORMED. PROTEIN AND RNA FROM PATIENTS AND CELL LINES WERE USED TO VALIDATE TRANSCRIPTOMIC FINDINGS. GPA CELL LINES 811 AND 928 WERE USED FOR IN VITRO EXPERIMENTS PERFORMED IN THIS STUDY. RESULTS: THE NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB (NF-KAPPAB) PATHWAY IS A MASTER REGULATOR OF IL-6 AND A SIGNALING PATHWAY ENRICHED IN GPA COMPARED WITH GPB EPN. KNOCKDOWN OF NF-KAPPAB LED TO SIGNIFICANT DOWNREGULATION OF IL-6 IN 811 AND 928. NF-KAPPAB ACTIVATION WAS INDEPENDENT OF TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA) STIMULATION IN BOTH CELL LINES, SUGGESTING THAT NF-KAPPAB HYPERACTIVATION IS MEDIATED THROUGH AN ALTERNATIVE MECHANISM. LEUCINE ZIPPER DOWNREGULATED IN CANCER 1 (LDOC1) IS A KNOWN TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSOR OF NF-KAPPAB. IN MANY CANCERS, LDOC1 PROMOTER IS METHYLATED, WHICH INHIBITS GENE TRANSCRIPTION. WE FOUND DECREASED LDOC1 GENE EXPRESSION IN GPA COMPARED WITH GPB EPN, AND IN OTHER PEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMORS. EPN CELLS TREATED WITH 5AZA-DC, DEMETHYLATED LDOC1 REGULATORY REGIONS, UPREGULATED LDOC1 EXPRESSION, AND CONCOMITANTLY DECREASED IL-6 SECRETION. STABLE KNOCKDOWN OF LDOC1 IN EPN CELL LINES RESULTED IN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN GENE TRANSCRIPTION OF V-REL AVIAN RETICULOENDOTHELIOSIS VIRAL ONCOGENE HOMOLOG A, WHICH CORRELATED TO AN INCREASE IN NF-KAPPAB TARGET GENES. CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF LDOC1 IN GPA EPN REGULATES TUMOR BIOLOGY AND DRIVES INFLAMMATORY IMMUNE PHENOTYPE.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
10  5868  22 SUPPRESSIVE EFFECTS OF METFORMIN ON T-HELPER 1-RELATED CHEMOKINES EXPRESSION IN THE HUMAN MONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA CELL LINE THP-1. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: TYPE 1 AND TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS (DM) ARE CHRONIC T-CELL-MEDIATED INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. METFORMIN IS A WIDELY USED DRUG FOR TYPE 2 DM THAT REDUCES THE NEED FOR INSULIN IN TYPE 1 DM. HOWEVER, WHETHER METFORMIN HAS AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECT FOR TREATING DM IS UNKNOWN. WE INVESTIGATED THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY MECHANISM OF METFORMIN IN THE HUMAN MONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA CELL LINE THP-1. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE HUMAN MONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA CELL LINE THP-1 WAS PRETREATED WITH METFORMIN AND STIMULATED WITH LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE (LPS). THE PRODUCTION OF T-HELPER (TH)-1-RELATED CHEMOKINES INCLUDING INTERFERON-GAMMA-INDUCED PROTEIN-10 (IP-10) AND MONOCYTE CHEMOATTRACTANT PROTEIN-1 (MCP-1), TH2-RELATED CHEMOKINE MACROPHAGE-DERIVED CHEMOKINE, AND THE PROINFLAMMATORY CHEMOKINE TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA WAS MEASURED USING ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY. INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING PATHWAYS WERE INVESTIGATED USING WESTERN BLOT ANALYSIS AND CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ASSAY. RESULTS: METFORMIN SUPPRESSED LPS-INDUCED IP-10 AND MCP-1 PRODUCTION AS WELL AS LPS-INDUCED PHOSPHORYLATION OF C-JUN N-TERMINAL KINASE (JNK), P38, EXTRACELLULAR SIGNAL-REGULATED KINASE (ERK), AND NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPA B (NF-KAPPAB). MOREOVER, METFORMIN SUPPRESSED LPS-INDUCED ACETYLATION OF HISTONES H3 AND H4 AT THE IP-10 PROMOTER. CONCLUSIONS: METFORMIN SUPPRESSED THE PRODUCTION OF TH1-RELATED CHEMOKINES IP-10 AND MCP-1 IN THP-1 CELLS. SUPPRESSIVE EFFECTS OF METFORMIN ON IP-10 PRODUCTION MIGHT BE ATTRIBUTED AT LEAST PARTIALLY TO THE JNK, P38, ERK, AND NF-KAPPAB PATHWAYS AS WELL AS TO EPIGENETIC REGULATION THROUGH THE ACETYLATION OF HISTONES H3 AND H4. THESE RESULTS INDICATED THE THERAPEUTIC ANTI-INFLAMMATORY POTENTIAL OF METFORMIN.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
11  6741  12 WHERE TO STAND WITH STROMAL CELLS AND CHRONIC SYNOVITIS IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS? THE SYNOVIUM EXERCISES ITS MAIN FUNCTION IN JOINT HOMEOSTASIS THROUGH THE SECRETION OF FACTORS (SUCH AS LUBRICIN AND HYALURONIC ACID) THAT ARE CRITICAL FOR THE JOINT LUBRICATION AND FUNCTION. THE MAIN SYNOVIUM CELL COMPONENTS ARE FIBROBLAST-LIKE SYNOVIOCYTES, MESENCHYMAL STROMAL/STEM CELLS AND MACROPHAGE-LIKE SYNOVIAL CELLS. IN THE SYNOVIUM, CELLS OF MESENCHYMAL ORIGIN MODULATE LOCAL INFLAMMATION AND FIBROSIS, AND INTERACT WITH DIFFERENT FIBROBLAST SUBTYPES AND WITH RESIDENT MACROPHAGES. IN PATHOLOGIC CONDITIONS, SUCH AS RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, FIBROBLAST-LIKE SYNOVIOCYTES PROLIFERATE ABNORMALLY, RECRUIT MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS FROM SUBCHONDRAL BONE MARROW, AND INFLUENCE IMMUNE CELL ACTIVITY THROUGH EPIGENETIC AND METABOLIC ADAPTATIONS. THE RESULTING SYNOVIAL HYPERPLASIA LEADS TO SECONDARY CARTILAGE DESTRUCTION, JOINT SWELLING, AND PAIN. IN THE PRESENT REVIEW, WE SUMMARIZE RECENT FINDINGS ON THE MOLECULAR SIGNATURE AND THE ROLES OF STROMAL CELLS DURING SYNOVIAL PANNUS FORMATION AND RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS PROGRESSION.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
12  1777  25 EDIBLE BLUE-GREEN ALGAE REDUCE THE PRODUCTION OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES BY INHIBITING NF-KAPPAB PATHWAY IN MACROPHAGES AND SPLENOCYTES. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CONTRIBUTES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PATHOLOGICAL DISORDERS INCLUDING INSULIN RESISTANCE AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS. IDENTIFICATION OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY NATURAL PRODUCTS CAN PREVENT THE INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. METHODS: ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS OF BLUE-GREEN ALGAE (BGA), I.E., NOSTOC COMMUNE VAR. SPHAEROIDES KUTZING (NO) AND SPIRULINA PLATENSIS (SP), WERE COMPARED IN RAW 264.7 AND MOUSE BONE MARROW-DERIVED MACROPHAGES (BMM) AS WELL AS SPLENOCYTES FROM APOLIPOPROTEIN E KNOCKOUT (APOE(-/-)) MICE FED BGA. RESULTS: WHEN MACROPHAGES PRETREATED WITH 100MUG/ML NO LIPID EXTRACT (NOE) OR SP LIPID EXTRACT (SPE) WERE ACTIVATED BY LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE (LPS), EXPRESSION AND SECRETION OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, SUCH AS TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA (TNFALPHA), INTERLEUKIN 1BETA (IL-1BETA), AND IL-6, WERE SIGNIFICANTLY REPRESSED. NOE AND SPE ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY REPRESSED THE EXPRESSION OF TNFALPHA AND IL-1BETA IN BMM. LPS-INDUCED SECRETION OF IL-6 WAS LOWER IN SPLENOCYTES FROM APOE(-/-) FED AN ATHEROGENIC DIET CONTAINING 5% NO OR SP FOR 12WEEKS. IN RAW 264.7 MACROPHAGES, NOE AND SPE MARKEDLY DECREASED NUCLEAR TRANSLOCATION OF NF-KAPPAB. THE DEGREE OF REPRESSION OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY GENE EXPRESSION BY ALGAL EXTRACTS WAS MUCH STRONGER THAN THAT OF SN50, AN INHIBITOR OF NF-KAPPAB NUCLEAR TRANSLOCATION. TRICHOSTATIN A, A PAN HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR, INCREASED BASAL EXPRESSION OF IL-1BETA AND ATTENUATED THE REPRESSION OF THE GENE EXPRESSION BY SPE. SPE SIGNIFICANTLY DOWN-REGULATED MRNA ABUNDANCE OF 11 HDAC ISOFORMS, CONSEQUENTLY INCREASING ACETYLATED HISTONE 3 LEVELS. CONCLUSION: NOE AND SPE REPRESS PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE EXPRESSION AND SECRETION IN MACROPHAGES AND SPLENOCYTES VIA INHIBITION OF NF-KAPPAB PATHWAY. HISTONE ACETYLATION STATE IS LIKELY INVOLVED IN THE INHIBITION. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: THIS STUDY UNDERSCORES NATURAL PRODUCTS CAN EXERT ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS BY EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS SUCH AS HISTONE ACETYLATION.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
13  2384  20 EPIGENETIC REGULATOR UHRF1 ORCHESTRATES PROINFLAMMATORY GENE EXPRESSION IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS IN A SUPPRESSIVE MANNER. RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) IS CHARACTERIZED BY CHRONIC SYNOVIAL INFLAMMATION WITH ABERRANT EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, EVENTUALLY LEADING TO JOINT DESTRUCTION. HOWEVER, THE EPIGENETIC REGULATORY MECHANISMS UNDERLYING RA PATHOGENESIS REMAIN LARGELY UNKNOWN. HERE, WE SHOWED THAT UBIQUITIN-LIKE CONTAINING PHD AND RING FINGER DOMAINS 1 (UHRF1) IS A CENTRAL EPIGENETIC REGULATOR THAT ORCHESTRATES MULTIPLE PATHOGENESES IN RA IN A SUPPRESSIVE MANNER. UHRF1 EXPRESSION WAS REMARKABLY UPREGULATED IN SYNOVIAL FIBROBLASTS (SFS) FROM ARTHRITIS MODEL MICE AND PATIENTS WITH RA. MICE WITH SF-SPECIFIC UHRF1 CONDITIONAL KNOCKOUT SHOWED MORE SEVERE ARTHRITIC PHENOTYPES THAN LITTERMATE CONTROLS. UHRF1-DEFICIENT SFS ALSO EXHIBITED ENHANCED APOPTOSIS RESISTANCE AND UPREGULATED EXPRESSION OF SEVERAL CYTOKINES, INCLUDING CCL20. IN PATIENTS WITH RA, DAS28, CRP, AND TH17 ACCUMULATION AND APOPTOSIS RESISTANCE WERE NEGATIVELY CORRELATED WITH UHRF1 EXPRESSION IN SYNOVIUM. FINALLY, RYUVIDINE ADMINISTRATION STABILIZED UHRF1 AMELIORATED ARTHRITIS PATHOGENESES IN A MOUSE MODEL OF RA. THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATED THAT UHRF1 EXPRESSED IN RA SFS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO NEGATIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISMS THAT SUPPRESS MULTIPLE PATHOGENIC EVENTS IN ARTHRITIS, SUGGESTING THAT TARGETING UHRF1 COULD BE ONE OF THE THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES FOR RA.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
14  2784  18 EZH2 PROMOTES EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX DEGRADATION VIA NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB (NF-KAPPAB) AND P38 SIGNALING PATHWAYS IN PULPITIS. PULPITIS IS A COMPLICATED CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY PROCESS WHICH CAN BE IN A DYNAMIC BALANCE BETWEEN DAMAGE AND REPAIR. THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX PLAYS AN IMPORTANT REGULATORY ROLE IN WOUND HEALING AND TISSUE REPAIR. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXPLORE THE ROLE OF THE EPIGENETIC MARK, ENHANCER OF ZESTE HOMOLOG 2 (EZH2) ON THE DEGRADATION OF EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX DURING PULPITIS. QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION WAS USED TO ASSESS THE EXPRESSION OF MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASES (MMPS) AND TYPE I COLLAGEN IN HUMAN DENTAL PULP CELLS (HDPCS) UPON EZH2 AND EI1 (EZH2 INHIBITOR) STIMULATION. THE MECHANISM OF EZH2 AFFECTING EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX WAS EXPLORED THROUGH QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION AND WESTERN BLOT. A RAT MODEL OF DENTAL PULP INFLAMMATION WAS ESTABLISHED, AND THE EXPRESSION OF TYPE I COLLAGEN IN DENTAL PULP UNDER EZH2 STIMULATION WAS DETECTED BY IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STAINING. EZH2 UPREGULATED THE EXPRESSION OF MMP-1, MMP-3, MMP-8, AND MMP-10 AND DECREASED THE PRODUCTION OF TYPE I COLLAGEN IN HDPCS, WHILE EI1 HAD THE OPPOSITE EFFECT. EZH2 ACTIVATED THE NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPA B (NF-KAPPAB) AND P38 SIGNALING PATHWAYS IN HDPCS, THE INHIBITION OF WHICH REVERSED THE INDUCTION OF MMPS AND THE SUPPRESSION OF TYPE I COLLAGEN. EZH2 CAN DOWNREGULATE THE TYPE I COLLAGEN LEVELS IN AN EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF DENTAL PULPITIS IN RATS. EZH2 PROMOTES EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX DEGRADATION VIA NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB (NF-KAPPAB) AND P38 SIGNALING PATHWAYS IN PULPITIS. EZH2 CAN DECREASE THE TYPE I COLLAGEN LEVELS IN VIVO AND IN VITRO.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
15  6549  17 TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR BETA INHIBITS MUC5AC EXPRESSION BY SMAD3/HDAC2 COMPLEX FORMATION AND NF-KAPPAB DEACETYLATION AT K310 IN NCI-H292 CELLS. AIRWAY MUCUS SECRETION IS AN ESSENTIAL INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSE FOR HOST PROTECTION. HOWEVER, OVERPRODUCTION AND HYPERSECRETION OF MUCUS, MAINLY COMPOSED OF THE GEL- FORMING MUC5AC PROTEIN, ARE SIGNIFICANT RISK FACTORS FOR PATIENTS WITH ASTHMA AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD). THE TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR BETA (TGFBETA) SIGNALING PATHWAY NEGATIVELY REGULATES MUC5AC EXPRESSION; HOWEVER, THE UNDERLYING MOLECULAR MECHANISM IS NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD. HERE, WE SHOWED THAT TGFBETA SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES THE EXPRESSION OF MUC5AC MRNA AND ITS PROTEIN IN NCI-H292 CELLS, A HUMAN MUCOEPIDERMOID CARCINOMA CELL LINE. THIS REDUCED MUC5AC EXPRESSION WAS RESTORED BY A TGFBETA RECEPTOR INHIBITOR (SB431542), BUT NOT BY THE INHIBITION OF NF-KAPPAB (BAY11-7082 OR TRIPTOLIDE) OR PI3K (LY294002) ACTIVITIES. TGFBETA-ACTIVATED SMAD3 DOSE-DEPENDENTLY BOUND TO MUC5AC PROMOTER. NOTABLY, TGFBETA-ACTIVATED SMAD3 RECRUITED HDAC2 AND FACILITATED NUCLEAR TRANSLOCATION OF HDAC2, THEREBY INDUCING THE DEACETYLATION OF NF-KAPPAB AT K310, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR A REDUCTION IN NF-KAPPAB TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVITY. BOTH TGFBETA-INDUCED NUCLEAR TRANSLOCATION OF SMAD3/HDAC2 AND DEACETYLATION OF NF-KAPPAB AT K310 WERE SUPPRESSED BY A SMAD3 INHIBITOR (SIS3). THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE TGFBETA-ACTIVATED SMAD3/HDAC2 COMPLEX IS AN ESSENTIAL NEGATIVE REGULATOR FOR MUC5AC EXPRESSION AND AN EPIGENETIC REGULATOR FOR NF-KAPPAB ACETYLATION. THEREFORE, THESE RESULTS COLLECTIVELY SUGGEST THAT MODULATION OF THE TGFBETA1/SMAD3/HDAC2/NF-KAPPAB PATHWAY AXIS CAN BE A PROMISING WAY TO IMPROVE LUNG FUNCTION AS A TREATMENT STRATEGY FOR ASTHMA AND COPD.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
16  5332  20 PYRUVATE DEHYDROGENASE KINASE 1 AND 2 DEFICIENCY REDUCES HIGH-FAT DIET-INDUCED HYPERTROPHIC OBESITY AND INHIBITS THE DIFFERENTIATION OF PREADIPOCYTES INTO MATURE ADIPOCYTES. OBESITY IS NOW RECOGNIZED AS A DISEASE. THIS STUDY REVEALED A NOVEL ROLE FOR PYRUVATE DEHYDROGENASE KINASE (PDK) IN DIET-INDUCED HYPERTROPHIC OBESITY. MICE WITH GLOBAL OR ADIPOSE TISSUE-SPECIFIC PDK2 DEFICIENCY WERE PROTECTED AGAINST DIET-INDUCED OBESITY. THE WEIGHT OF ADIPOSE TISSUES AND THE SIZE OF ADIPOCYTES WERE REDUCED. ADIPOCYTE-SPECIFIC PDK2 DEFICIENCY SLIGHTLY INCREASED INSULIN SENSITIVITY IN HFD-FED MICE. IN STUDIES WITH 3T3-L1 PREADIPOCYTES, PDK2 AND PDK1 EXPRESSION WAS STRONGLY INCREASED DURING ADIPOGENESIS. EVIDENCE WAS FOUND FOR EPIGENETIC INDUCTION OF BOTH PDK1 AND PDK2. GAIN- AND LOSS-OF-FUNCTION STUDIES WITH 3T3-L1 CELLS REVEALED A CRITICAL ROLE FOR PDK1/2 IN ADIPOCYTE DIFFERENTIATION AND LIPID ACCUMULATION. PDK1/2 INDUCTION DURING DIFFERENTIATION WAS ALSO ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASED EXPRESSION OF HYPOXIA-INDUCIBLE FACTOR-1ALPHA (HIF1ALPHA) AND ENHANCED LACTATE PRODUCTION, BOTH OF WHICH WERE ABSENT IN THE CONTEXT OF PDK1/2 DEFICIENCY. EXOGENOUS LACTATE SUPPLEMENTATION INCREASED THE STABILITY OF HIF1ALPHA AND PROMOTED ADIPOGENESIS. PDK1/2 OVEREXPRESSION-MEDIATED ADIPOGENESIS WAS ABOLISHED BY HIF1ALPHA INHIBITION, SUGGESTING A ROLE FOR THE PDK-LACTATE-HIF1ALPHA AXIS DURING ADIPOGENESIS. IN HUMAN ADIPOSE TISSUE, THE EXPRESSION OF PDK1/2 WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH THAT OF THE ADIPOGENIC MARKER PPARGAMMA AND INVERSELY CORRELATED WITH OBESITY. SIMILARLY, PDK1/2 EXPRESSION IN MOUSE ADIPOSE TISSUE WAS DECREASED BY CHRONIC HIGH-FAT DIET FEEDING. WE CONCLUDE THAT PDK1 AND 2 ARE NOVEL REGULATORS OF ADIPOGENESIS THAT PLAY CRITICAL ROLES IN OBESITY.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
17  5611  22 S100A8 AND S100A12 PROTEINS AS BIOMARKERS OF HIGH DISEASE ACTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS THAT CAN BE REGULATED BY EPIGENETIC DRUGS. RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) IS AN AUTOIMMUNE CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE THAT IS STILL NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD IN TERMS OF ITS PATHOGENESIS AND PRESENTS DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC CHALLENGES. MONOCYTES ARE KEY PLAYERS IN INITIATING AND MAINTAINING INFLAMMATION THROUGH THE PRODUCTION OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES AND S100 PROTEINS IN RA. THIS STUDY AIMED TO TEST A SPECIFIC DNA METHYLATION INHIBITOR (RG108) AND ACTIVATOR (BUDESONIDE) IN THE REGULATION OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS-ESPECIALLY THE S100 PROTEINS. WE ALSO SEARCHED FOR NEW BIOMARKERS OF HIGH DISEASE ACTIVITY IN RA PATIENTS. RNA SEQUENCING ANALYSIS OF HEALTHY CONTROLS (HCS) AND RA MONOCYTES WAS PERFORMED. GENES SUCH AS THE S100 FAMILY, TNF, AND IL-8 WERE VALIDATED BY QRT-PCR FOLLOWING DNA-METHYLATION-TARGETED DRUG TREATMENT IN A MONOCYTIC THP-1 CELL LINE. THE CONCENTRATIONS OF THE S100A8, S100A11, AND S100A12 PROTEINS IN THE SERA AND SYNOVIAL FLUIDS OF RA PATIENTS WERE TESTED AND CORRELATED WITH CLINICAL PARAMETERS. WE DEMONSTRATED THAT RA MONOCYTES HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED LEVELS OF S100A8, S100A9, S100A11, S100A12, MYD88, JAK3, AND IQGAP1 AND DECREASED LEVELS OF IL10RA AND TGIF1 TRANSCRIPTS. IN ADDITION, STIMULATION OF THP-1 CELLS WITH BUDESONIDE STATISTICALLY REDUCED THE EXPRESSION OF THE S100 FAMILY, IL-8, AND TNF GENES. IN CONTRAST, THP-1 CELLS TREATED WITH RG108 HAD INCREASED LEVELS OF THE S100 FAMILY AND TNF GENES. WE ALSO REVEALED A SIGNIFICANT UPREGULATION OF S100A8, S100A11, AND S100A12 IN RA PATIENTS, ESPECIALLY IN EARLY RA COMPARED TO HC SERA. IN ADDITION, PROTEIN LEVELS OF S100A8, S100A11, AND S100A12 IN RA SYNOVIAL FLUIDS COMPARED TO HC SERA WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED. OVERALL, OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT THE S100A8 AND S100A12 PROTEINS ARE STRONGLY ELEVATED DURING ONGOING INFLAMMATION, SO THEY COULD BE USED AS A BETTER BIOMARKER OF DISEASE ACTIVITY THAN CRP. INTERESTINGLY, EPIGENETIC DRUGS CAN REGULATE THESE S100 PROTEINS, SUGGESTING THEIR POTENTIAL USE IN TARGETING RA INFLAMMATION.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
18  1335  24 DERMAL FIBROBLASTS CULTURED FROM DONORS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS RETAIN AN EPIGENETIC MEMORY ASSOCIATED WITH POOR WOUND HEALING RESPONSES. THE PREVALENCE OF TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS (T2DM) IS ESCALATING GLOBALLY. PATIENTS SUFFER FROM MULTIPLE COMPLICATIONS INCLUDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC WOUNDS THAT CAN LEAD TO AMPUTATION. THESE WOUNDS ARE CHARACTERISED BY AN INFLAMMATORY ENVIRONMENT INCLUDING ELEVATED TUMOUR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA). DERMAL FIBROBLASTS (DF) ARE CRITICAL FOR EFFECTIVE WOUND HEALING, SO WE SOUGHT TO ESTABLISH WHETHER THERE WERE ANY DIFFERENCES IN DF CULTURED FROM T2DM DONORS OR THOSE WITHOUT DIABETES (ND-DF). ND- AND T2DM-DF WHEN CULTURED SIMILARLY IN VITRO SECRETED COMPARABLE CONCENTRATIONS OF TNF-ALPHA. FUNCTIONALLY, PRE-TREATMENT WITH TNF-ALPHA REDUCED THE PROLIFERATION OF ND-DF AND TRANSIENTLY ALTERED ND-DF MORPHOLOGY; HOWEVER, T2DM-DF WERE RESISTANT TO THESE TNF-ALPHA INDUCED CHANGES. IN CONTRAST, TNF-ALPHA INHIBITED ND- AND T2DM-DF MIGRATION AND MATRIX METALLOPROTEASE EXPRESSION TO THE SAME DEGREE, ALTHOUGH T2DM-DF EXPRESSED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER LEVELS OF TISSUE INHIBITOR OF METALLOPROTEASES (TIMP)-2. FINALLY, TNF-ALPHA SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE SECRETION OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES (INCLUDING CCL2, CXCL1 AND SERPINE1) IN ND-DF, WHILST THIS EFFECT IN T2DM-DF WAS BLUNTED, PRESUMABLY DUE TO THE TENDENCY TO HIGHER BASELINE PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE EXPRESSION OBSERVED IN THIS CELL TYPE. COLLECTIVELY, THESE DATA DEMONSTRATE THAT T2DM-DF EXHIBIT A SELECTIVE LOSS OF RESPONSIVENESS TO TNF-ALPHA, PARTICULARLY REGARDING PROLIFERATIVE AND SECRETORY FUNCTIONS. THIS HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANT PHENOTYPIC CHANGES IN T2DM-DF THAT MAY EXPLAIN THE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CHRONIC WOUNDS IN THESE PATIENTS.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
19  6111  17 THE EPIGENETIC ARCHITECTURE AT GENE PROMOTERS DETERMINES CELL TYPE-SPECIFIC LPS TOLERANCE. SYNOVIAL FIBROBLASTS (SF) DRIVE INFLAMMATION AND JOINT DESTRUCTION IN CHRONIC ARTHRITIS. HERE WE SHOW THAT SF POSSESS A DISTINCT TYPE OF LPS TOLERANCE COMPARED TO MACROPHAGES AND OTHER TYPES OF FIBROBLASTS. IN SF AND DERMAL FIBROBLASTS, GENES THAT WERE NON-TOLERIZABLE AFTER REPEATED LPS STIMULATION INCLUDED PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, CHEMOKINES AND MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASES, WHEREAS ANTI-VIRAL GENES WERE TOLERIZABLE. IN MACROPHAGES, ALL MEASURED GENES WERE TOLERIZABLE, WHEREAS IN GINGIVAL AND FORESKIN FIBROBLASTS THESE GENES WERE NON-TOLERIZABLE. REPEATED STIMULATION OF SF WITH LPS RESULTED IN LOSS OF ACTIVATING HISTONE MARKS ONLY IN PROMOTERS OF TOLERIZABLE GENES. THE EPIGENETIC LANDSCAPE AT PROMOTERS OF TOLERIZABLE GENES WAS SIMILAR IN UNSTIMULATED SF AND MONOCYTES, WHEREAS THE BASAL CONFIGURATION OF HISTONE MARKS PROFOUNDLY DIFFERED IN GENES THAT WERE NON-TOLERIZABLE IN SF ONLY. OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT THE EPIGENETIC CONFIGURATION AT GENE PROMOTERS REGULATES CELL-SPECIFIC LPS-INDUCED RESPONSES AND PRIMES SF TO SUSTAIN THEIR INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IN CHRONIC ARTHRITIS.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
20  6235  25 THE M(6)A DEMETHYLASE FTO PROMOTES RENAL EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION BY REDUCING THE M(6)A MODIFICATION OF LNCRNA GAS5. BACKGROUND: RENAL INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS (RIF) IS THE MAIN PATHOLOGICAL CHANGE OF A VARIETY OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASES (CKD). EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS OF FIBROSIS-PRONE GENES REGULATE RIF PROGRESSION. THIS STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE LONG NON-CODING RNA (LNCRNA) N6-METHYLADENOSINE (M(6)A) MODIFICATION AND ITS ROLE IN REGULATING RIF PROGRESSION. METHODS: UNILATERAL URETERAL OCCLUSION (UUO) WAS EMPLOYED TO CONSTRUCT THE RIF IN VIVO MODEL; AND TGF-BETA1-TREATED HK-2 AND HKC-8 CELLS WERE USED FOR IN VITRO EXPERIMENTS. THE MRNA AND PROTEIN EXPRESSIONS WERE ASSESSED USING QRT-PCR AND WESTERN BLOT. THE PROLIFERATION AND MIGRATION WERE EVALUATED BY EDU ASSAY AND TRANSWELL ASSAY, RESPECTIVELY. IN ADDITION, LEVELS OF INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES WERE DETERMINED BY ELISA ASSAY AND QRT-PCR. MOREOVER, LNCRNA GAS5 M(6)A LEVEL WAS DETECTED USING ME-RIP ASSAY. HE AND MASSON STAINING WERE EMPLOYED TO EVALUATE FIBROTIC LESIONS OF THE KIDNEY. RESULTS: FTO EXPRESSION WAS ELEVATED IN HK-2 AND HKC-8 CELLS AFTER TGF-BETA1 TREATMENT AND MOUSE KIDNEY TISSUE FOLLOWING UUO, AND LNCRNA GAS5 WAS DOWNREGULATED. LNCRNA GAS5 OVEREXPRESSION OR FTO SILENCING SUPPRESSED TGF-BETA1-INDUCED THE INCREASE OF EMT-RELATED PROTEINS (VIMENTIN, SNAIL AND N-CADHERIN) AND INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES (IL-6, IL-1BETA AND TNF-ALPHA) LEVELS IN HK-2 CELLS. FTO SUPPRESSED LNCRNA GAS5 EXPRESSION BY REDUCING THE M6A MODIFICATION OF LNCRNA GAS5. ADDITIONALLY, FTO KNOCKDOWN COULD SUPPRESS EMT PROCESS AND INFLAMMATION RESPONSE INDUCED BY TGF-BETA1 AND UUO IN VITRO AND IN VIVO. AS EXPECTED, FTO KNOCKDOWN ABROGATED THE PROMOTION EFFECTS OF LNCRNA GAS5 SILENCING ON TGF-BETA1-INDUCED EMT PROCESS AND INFLAMMATION RESPONSE IN HK-2 AND HKC-8 CELLS. CONCLUSION: FTO PROMOTED EMT PROCESS AND INFLAMMATION RESPONSE THROUGH REDUCING THE M(6)A MODIFICATION OF LNCRNA GAS5.	2022