1  6235 132 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
2   766  54 CCL5 SUPPRESSES KLOTHO EXPRESSION VIA P-STAT3/DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE1-MEDIATED PROMOTER HYPERMETHYLATION. BACKGROUND: ENHANCED INFLAMMATION AND REDUCED KLOTHO ARE COMMON FEATURES IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD). INFLAMMATION INDUCES DNA HYPERMETHYLATION. THIS STUDY ASSESSED THE PERFORMANCE OF INFLAMMATORY MARKER C-C MOTIF CHEMOKINE 5 (CCL5) IN EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF KLOTHO EXPRESSION. METHODS: FIFTY CKD PATIENTS AND 25 MATCHED CONTROLS WERE ENROLLED, AND SERUM CCL5 LEVEL, SKLOTHO LEVEL, AND DNA METHYLATION WERE EVALUATED IN THESE SUBJECTS. A RENAL INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS (RIF) MODEL WITH CKD WAS INDUCED IN MICE VIA UNILATERAL URETERAL OBSTRUCTION (UUO) IN VIVO AND HUMAN PROXIMAL TUBULAR EPITHELIAL (HK-2) CELLS TREATED WITH CCL5 IN VITRO. 5-AZA-2'-DEOXYCYTIDINE (5-AZA), A DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR WAS GIVEN TO UUO MICE. HEMATOXYLIN AND EOSIN (HE) AND MASSON TRICHROME STAINING WERE ADOPTED TO EVALUATE RENAL PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES. METHYLATION-SPECIFIC PCR WAS PERFORMED TO ASSESS DNA METHYLATION OF KLOTHO PROMOTER IN THE PERIPHERAL BLOOD LEUCOCYTES (PBLS) FROM CKD PATIENTS AND OBSTRUCTIVE KIDNEY FROM UUO MICE. CCL5, KLOTHO, AND DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES (DNMTS) WERE DETERMINED BY ELISAS, IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE, OR WESTERN BLOTTING. HK-2 CELLS WERE EXPOSED TO CCL5 WITH OR WITHOUT 5-AZA AND STATTIC, A P-SIGNAL TRANSDUCER AND ACTIVATOR OF TRANSCRIPTION 3 (STAT3) INHIBITOR, AND EXPRESSIONS OF P-STAT3, DNMT1, AND KLOTHO WERE DETERMINED BY WESTERN BLOTTING. RESULTS: CCL5 UPREGULATION CONCOMITANT WITH KLOTHO DOWNREGULATION IN SERUM AND GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION IN PBLS WERE OBSERVED IN CKD SAMPLES. UUO CONTRIBUTED TO SEVERE RENAL INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS AND ENHANCED EXPRESSIONS OF FIBROTIC MARKERS. MOREOVER, UUO INCREASED THE CCL5 LEVEL, INDUCED KLOTHO PROMOTER METHYLATION, SUPPRESSED KLOTHO LEVEL, ACTIVATED P-STAT3 SIGNALING, AND UPREGULATED DNMT1 LEVEL. A SIMILAR OBSERVATION WAS MADE IN HK-2 CELLS TREATED WITH CCL5. MORE IMPORTANTLY, 5-AZA INHIBITED UUO-INDUCED KLOTHO HYPERMETHYLATION, REVERSED KLOTHO, DOWNREGULATED P-STAT3 EXPRESSIONS, AND AMELIORATED RIF IN VIVO. THE CONSISTENT FINDINGS IN VITRO WERE ALSO OBTAINED IN HK-2 CELLS EXPOSED TO 5-AZA AND STATTIC. CONCLUSION: THE CCL5/P-STAT3/DNMT1 AXIS IS IMPLICATED IN EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF KLOTHO EXPRESSION IN CKD. THIS STUDY PROVIDES NOVEL THERAPEUTIC POSSIBILITIES FOR REVERSAL OF KLOTHO SUPPRESSION BY CKD.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
3  5733  32 SMALL MOLECULES AGAINST THE ORIGIN AND ACTIVATION OF MYOFIBROBLAST FOR RENAL INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS THERAPY. RENAL INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS (RIF) IS A COMMON PATHOLOGICAL RESPONSE IN A BROAD RANGE OF PREVALENT CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASES AND ULTIMATELY LEADS TO RENAL FAILURE AND DEATH. ALTHOUGH RIF CAUSES A HIGH MORBI-MORTALITY WORLDWIDE, EFFECTIVE THERAPEUTIC DRUGS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED. MYOFIBROBLASTS ARE IDENTIFIED AS THE MAIN EFFECTOR DURING THE PROCESS OF RIF. MULTIPLE TYPES OF CELLS, INCLUDING FIBROBLASTS, EPITHELIAL CELLS, ENDOTHELIAL CELLS, MACROPHAGES AND PERICYTES, CONTRIBUTE TO RENAL MYOFIBROBLASTS ORIGIN, AND LOTS OF MEDIATORS, INCLUDING SIGNALING PATHWAYS (TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR-BETA1, MAMMALIAN TARGET OF RAPAMYCIN AND REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES) AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS (HISTONE ACETYLATION, MICRORNA AND LONG NON-CODING RNA) ARE PARTICIPATED IN RENAL MYOFIBROBLASTS ACTIVATION DURING RENAL FIBROGENESIS, SUGGESTING THAT THESE MEDIATORS MAY BE THE PROMISING TARGETS FOR TREATING RIF. IN ADDITION, MANY SMALL MOLECULES SHOW PROFOUND THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS ON RIF BY SUPPRESSING THE ORIGIN AND ACTIVATION OF RENAL MYOFIBROBLASTS. TAKEN TOGETHER, THE REVIEW FOCUSES ON THE MECHANISMS OF THE ORIGIN AND ACTIVATION OF RENAL MYOFIBROBLASTS IN RIF AND THE SMALL MOLECULES AGAINST THEM IMPROVING RIF, WHICH WILL PROVIDE A NEW INSIGHT FOR RIF THERAPY.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
4  3696  26 INFLAMMATORY MACROPHAGE MEMORY IN NONSTEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUG-EXACERBATED RESPIRATORY DISEASE. BACKGROUND: NONSTEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUG-EXACERBATED RESPIRATORY DISEASE (N-ERD) IS A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITION, WHICH IS DRIVEN BY AN ABERRANT ARACHIDONIC ACID METABOLISM. MACROPHAGES ARE MAJOR PRODUCERS OF ARACHIDONIC ACID METABOLITES AND SUBJECT TO METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING, BUT THEY HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED IN N-ERD. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY SOUGHT TO ELUCIDATE A POTENTIAL METABOLIC AND EPIGENETIC MACROPHAGE REPROGRAMMING IN N-ERD. METHODS: TRANSCRIPTIONAL, METABOLIC, AND LIPID MEDIATOR PROFILES IN MACROPHAGES FROM PATIENTS WITH N-ERD AND HEALTHY CONTROLS WERE ASSESSED BY RNA SEQUENCING, SEAHORSE ASSAYS, AND LC-MS/MS. METABOLITES IN NASAL LINING FLUID, SPUTUM, AND PLASMA FROM PATIENTS WITH N-ERD (N = 15) AND HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS (N = 10) WERE QUANTIFIED BY TARGETED METABOLOMICS ANALYSES. GENOME-WIDE METHYLOMICS WERE DEPLOYED TO DEFINE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS OF MACROPHAGE REPROGRAMMING IN N-ERD. RESULTS: THIS STUDY SHOWS THAT N-ERD MONOCYTES/MACROPHAGES EXHIBIT AN OVERALL REDUCTION IN DNA METHYLATION, ABERRANT METABOLIC PROFILES, AND AN INCREASED EXPRESSION OF CHEMOKINES, INDICATIVE OF A PERSISTENT PROINFLAMMATORY ACTIVATION. DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED REGIONS IN N-ERD MACROPHAGES INCLUDED GENES INVOLVED IN CHEMOKINE SIGNALING AND ACYLCARNITINE METABOLISM. ACYLCARNITINES WERE INCREASED IN MACROPHAGES, SPUTUM, NASAL LINING FLUID, AND PLASMA OF PATIENTS WITH N-ERD. ON INFLAMMATORY CHALLENGE, N-ERD MACROPHAGES PRODUCED INCREASED LEVELS OF ACYLCARNITINES, PROINFLAMMATORY ARACHIDONIC ACID METABOLITES, CYTOKINES, AND CHEMOKINES AS COMPARED TO HEALTHY MACROPHAGES. CONCLUSIONS: TOGETHER, THESE FINDINGS DECIPHER A PROINFLAMMATORY METABOLIC AND EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING OF MACROPHAGES IN N-ERD.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
5  3036  55 GENISTEIN AMELIORATES RENAL FIBROSIS THROUGH REGULATION SNAIL VIA M6A RNA DEMETHYLASE ALKBH5. RENAL TUBULE-INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS IS RELATED TO CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE PROGRESSION AND A TYPICAL FEATURE OF THE AGING KIDNEY. EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS OF FIBROSIS-PRONE GENES REGULATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF RENAL FIBROSIS. AS A KIND OF "EPIGENETIC DIET", SOY ISOFLAVONE GENISTEIN WAS REPORTED TO HAVE RENAL PROTECTIVE ACTION AND EPIGENETIC-MODULATING EFFECTS. HOWEVER, ITS RENAL PROTECTION ROLE AND UNDERLYING MECHANISMS ARE YET TO BE FULLY CLARIFIED. HEREIN, WE SHOWED THAT GENISTEIN EXHIBITS A DEMONSTRABLE ANTI-FIBROTIC EFFECT ON KIDNEY IN VIVO UUO (UNILATERAL URETERAL OCCLUSION) MODEL AND RENAL EPITHELIAL CELLS IN VITRO MODEL. THE MECHANISM IS STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH EPITHELIAL-TO-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION AND M6A RNA DEMETHYLASE ALKBH5. MOUSE FIBROTIC KIDNEYS INDUCED BY UUO EXHIBITED ADVERSE EXPRESSION OF RENAL FIBROSIS-RELATED PROTEINS AND SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN THE TOTAL M6A LEVEL. AS AN ERASER, ALKBH5 SHOWED SEVERER SUPPRESSION IN THE RENAL FIBROSIS PROCESS. HOWEVER, GENISTEIN PRETREATMENT RESTORED ALKBH5 LOSS REMARKABLY AND REDUCED RENAL FIBROSIS, ABNORMAL PROTEIN, AND INFLAMMATORY MARKERS. THE EXAMINATION OF POSSIBLE MECHANISMS REVEALED THAT GENISTEIN PROMOTED ALKBH5 AND MAYBE INDUCED THE LEVEL OF MRNA M6A METHYLATION IN SOME EPITHELIAL-TO-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION-RELATED TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS. WE FOUND SNAIL WAS THE CRITICAL REGULATOR AND CRITICAL FOR THE PROTECTIVE ROLE OF GENISTEIN. TO VERIFY THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ALKBH5 AND SNAIL, WE GENERATED KNOCKDOWN AND OVEREXPRESSION OF ALKBH5 CELLS IN VITRO. ALKBH5 KNOCKDOWN ENHANCED THE MESENCHYMAL PHENOTYPE MARKER ALPHA-SMOOTH MUSCLE ACTIN AND SNAIL EXPRESSION. IN AGREEMENT, OVEREXPRESSION ALKBH5 INCREASED EPITHELIAL ADHESION MOLECULE E-CADHERIN AND REDUCED SNAIL EXPRESSION. IN CONCLUSION, GENISTEIN INCREASED RENAL ALKBH5 EXPRESSION IN UUO-INDUCED RENAL FIBROSIS AND REDUCED RNA M6A LEVELS AND AMELIORATES RENAL DAMAGES.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
6  1632  36 DNMTS ARE INVOLVED IN TGF-BETA1-INDUCED EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITIONS IN AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELLS. CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS (CRS) PATHOGENESIS IS CLOSELY RELATED TO TISSUE REMODELING, INCLUDING EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT). EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS PLAY KEY ROLES IN EMT. DNA METHYLATION, MEDIATED BY DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES (DNMTS), IS AN EPIGENETIC MARKER THAT IS CRITICAL TO EMT. THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER DNMTS WERE INVOLVED IN TGF-BETA1-INDUCED EMT AND ELUCIDATE THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS IN NASAL EPITHELIAL CELLS AND AIR-LIQUID INTERFACE CULTURES. GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION AND DNMT ACTIVITY WERE QUANTIFIED. DNMT EXPRESSION WAS MEASURED USING REAL-TIME PCR (QRT-PCR) IN HUMAN CRS TISSUES. MRNA AND PROTEIN LEVELS OF DNMTS, E-CADHERIN, VIMENTIN, ALPHA-SMA, AND FIBRONECTIN WERE DETERMINED USING RT-PCR AND WESTERN BLOTTING, RESPECTIVELY. DNMT1, DNMT3A, AND DNMT3B GENE EXPRESSION WERE KNOCKED DOWN USING SIRNA TRANSFECTION. MAPK PHOSPHORYLATION AND EMT-RELATED TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR LEVELS WERE DETERMINED USING WESTERN BLOTTING. SIGNALING PATHWAYS WERE ANALYZED USING SPECIFIC INHIBITORS OF MAPK. WE DEMONSTRATED THESE DATA IN PRIMARY NASAL EPITHELIAL CELLS AND AIR-LIQUID INTERFACE CULTURES. GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION, DNMT ACTIVITY, AND DNMT EXPRESSION INCREASED IN CRS TISSUES. DNMT EXPRESSION WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH LUND-MCKAY CT SCORES. TGF-BETA1 DOSE-DEPENDENTLY INDUCED DNMT EXPRESSION. FURTHER, 5-AZA INHIBITED TGF-BETA1-INDUCED DNMT, SNAIL, AND SLUG EXPRESSION RELATED TO EMT, AS WELL AS P38 AND JNK PHOSPHORYLATION IN A549 CELLS AND TGF-BETA1-INDUCED DNMT EXPRESSION AND EMT IN PRIMARY NASAL EPITHELIAL CELLS AND AIR-LIQUID INTERFACE CULTURES. TGF-BETA1-INDUCED DNMT EXPRESSION LEADS TO DNA METHYLATION AND EMT VIA P38, JNK, SNAIL, AND SLUG SIGNALING PATHWAYS. INHIBITION OF DNMT SUPPRESSED THE EMT PROCESS AND THEREFORE IS POTENTIALLY A CRS THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
7  2349  40 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX PRODUCTION IN NASAL POLYP-DERIVED FIBROBLASTS. BACKGROUND: NASAL POLYPOSIS IS A MULTI-FACTORIAL DISEASE ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITION OF THE PARANASAL SINUSES. MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) ACCUMULATION ARE INVOLVED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF NASAL POLYPOSIS. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF TRICHOSTATIN A (TSA), A HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) INHIBITOR, ON TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR (TGF)-BETA1-INDUCED MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND ECM ACCUMULATION IN NASAL POLYP-DERIVED FIBROBLASTS (NPDFS). METHODS: NASAL POLYP-DERIVED FIBROBLASTS WERE ISOLATED FROM NASAL POLYPS OF PATIENTS WHO HAVE CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS WITH NASAL POLYP. TSA WAS TREATED IN TGF-BETA1-INDUCED NPDFS. EXPRESSION LEVELS OF HDAC2, ALPHA-SMOOTH MUSCLE ACTIN (SMA), TGF-BETA1, COLLAGEN TYPE I, ACETYLATED HISTONE H3, ACETYLATED HISTONE H4, PHOSPHORYLATED SMAD2/3 AND SMAD7 WERE DETERMINED BY RT-PCR, WESTERN BLOT AND/OR IMMUNOFLUORESCENT STAINING. THE TOTAL COLLAGEN AMOUNT PRODUCTION WAS ANALYSED BY SIRCOL SOLUBLE COLLAGEN ASSAY AND CONTRACTILE ACTIVITY WAS MEASURED BY COLLAGEN GEL CONTRACTION ASSAY. HDAC2 INHIBITION BY TSA OR HDAC2 SILENCING WAS ESTABLISHED BY RT-PCR AND WESTERN BLOT. THE EPIGENETIC EFFECT ON ALPHA-SMA GENE INACTIVATION WAS EXAMINED BY CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ASSAY. PROLIFERATION WAS DETERMINED BY KI67-POSITIVE CELL STAINING AND CYTOTOXICITY WAS ASSESSED BY 3-(4,5- DIMETHYLTHIAZOL-2YL)-2,5-DIPHENYL-2H-TETRAZOLIUM BROMIDE (MTT) ASSAY. RESULTS: THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF HDAC2, ALPHA-SMA AND TGF-BETA1 WERE INCREASED IN NASAL POLYP TISSUES COMPARED TO NORMAL INFERIOR TURBINATE TISSUES. TSA AND HDAC2 SILENCING INHIBITED EXPRESSION LEVELS ALPHA-SMA, COLLAGEN AND HDAC2. TSA INDUCED HYPERACETYLATION OF HISTONE AND SUPPRESSED OPENING OF ALPHA-SMA GENE PROMOTER IN TGF-BETA1-INDUCED NPDFS. TSA INHIBITED TGF-BETA1-INDUCED SMAD 2/3 AND RESCUED TGF-BETA1-SUPPRESSED SMAD7 SIGNALLING PATHWAY. FINALLY, TSA BLOCKED PROLIFERATION IN TGF-BETA1-INDUCED NPDFS AND HAS NO CYTOTOXIC EFFECT IN NPDFS. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT HDAC INHIBITION IS ASSOCIATED WITH MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND EXTRACELLUAR MATRIX ACCUMULATION IN NASAL POLYPOSIS. TSA MAY BE USEFUL AS AN INHIBITOR OF NASAL POLYP GROWTH, AND THUS HAS POTENTIAL TO BE USED AS A NOVEL TREATMENT OPTION FOR NASAL POLYPOSIS.	2012	
                                                                                                                                                                    
8  6298  36 THE PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF ZEBULARINE, AN INHIBITOR OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE, ON RENAL TUBULOINTERSTITIAL INFLAMMATION AND FIBROSIS. RENAL FIBROSIS, THE FINAL PATHWAY OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE, IS CAUSED BY GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. ALTHOUGH DNA METHYLATION HAS DRAWN ATTENTION AS A DEVELOPING MECHANISM OF RENAL FIBROSIS, ITS CONTRIBUTION TO RENAL FIBROSIS HAS NOT BEEN CLARIFIED. TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE, THE EFFECT OF ZEBULARINE, A DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR, ON RENAL INFLAMMATION AND FIBROSIS IN THE MURINE UNILATERAL URETERAL OBSTRUCTION (UUO) MODEL WAS ANALYZED. ZEBULARINE SIGNIFICANTLY ATTENUATED RENAL TUBULOINTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS AND INFLAMMATION. ZEBULARINE DECREASED TRICHROME, ALPHA-SMOOTH MUSCLE ACTIN, COLLAGEN IV, AND TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR-BETA1 STAINING BY 56.2%. 21.3%, 30.3%, AND 29.9%, RESPECTIVELY, AT 3 DAYS, AND BY 54.6%, 41.9%, 45.9%, AND 61.7%, RESPECTIVELY, AT 7 DAYS AFTER UUO. ZEBULARINE DOWNREGULATED MRNA EXPRESSION LEVELS OF MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASE (MMP)-2, MMP-9, FIBRONECTIN, AND SNAIL1 BY 48.6%. 71.4%, 31.8%, AND 42.4%, RESPECTIVELY, AT 7 DAYS AFTER UUO. ZEBULARINE ALSO SUPPRESSED THE ACTIVATION OF NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB (NF-KAPPAB) AND THE EXPRESSION OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, INCLUDING TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA, INTERLEUKIN (IL)-1BETA, AND IL-6, BY 69.8%, 74.9%, AND 69.6%, RESPECTIVELY, IN OBSTRUCTED KIDNEYS. FURTHERMORE, INHIBITING DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE BUTTRESSED THE NUCLEAR EXPRESSION OF NUCLEAR FACTOR (ERYTHROID-DERIVED 2)-LIKE FACTOR 2, WHICH UPREGULATED DOWNSTREAM EFFECTORS SUCH AS CATALASE (1.838-FOLD INCREASE AT 7 DAYS, P < 0.01), SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE 1 (1.494-FOLD INCREASE AT 7 DAYS, P < 0.05), AND NAD(P)H: QUINONE OXIDOREDUATE-1 (1.376-FOLD INCREASE AT 7 DAYS, P < 0.05) IN OBSTRUCTED KIDNEYS. COLLECTIVELY, THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT INHIBITING DNA METHYLATION RESTORES THE DISRUPTED BALANCE BETWEEN PRO-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PATHWAYS TO ALLEVIATE RENAL INFLAMMATION AND FIBROSIS. THEREFORE, THESE RESULTS HIGHLIGHT THE POSSIBILITY OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES AS THERAPEUTIC TARGETS FOR TREATING RENAL INFLAMMATION AND FIBROSIS.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
9  5994  42 TGFBETA-INCURRED EPIGENETIC ABERRATIONS OF MIRNA AND DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE SUPPRESS KLOTHO AND POTENTIATE RENAL FIBROSIS. RENAL FIBROSIS IS A COMMON PATHOLOGICAL FEATURE OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASES (CKD) AND ITS DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION ARE SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED BY EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS SUCH AS ABERRANT MIRNA AND DNA METHYLATION. KLOTHO IS AN ANTI-AGING AND ANTI-FIBROTIC PROTEIN AND ITS EARLY DECLINE AFTER RENAL INJURY IS REPORTEDLY ASSOCIATED WITH ABERRANT DNA METHYLATION. HOWEVER, THE KEY UPSTREAM PATHOLOGICAL MEDIATORS AND THE MOLECULAR CASCADE LEADING TO EPIGENETIC KLOTHO SUPPRESSION ARE NOT EXCLUSIVELY ESTABLISHED. HERE WE INVESTIGATE THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISM OF KLOTHO DEFICIENCY AND ITS FUNCTIONAL RELEVANCE IN RENAL FIBROGENESIS. FIBROTIC KIDNEYS INDUCED BY UNILATERAL URETERAL OCCLUSION (UUO) DISPLAYED MARKED KLOTHO SUPPRESSION AND THE PROMOTER HYPERMETHYLATION. THESE ABNORMALITIES WERE LIKELY DUE TO DEREGULATED TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR-BETA (TGFBETA) SINCE TGFBETA ALONE CAUSED THE SIMILAR EPIGENETIC ABERRATIONS IN CULTURED RENAL CELLS AND TGFBETA BLOCKADE PREVENTED THE ALTERATIONS IN UUO KIDNEY. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT TGFBETA ENHANCED DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE (DNMT) 1 AND DNMT3A VIA INHIBITING MIR-152 AND MIR-30A IN BOTH RENAL CELLS AND FIBROTIC KIDNEYS. ACCORDINGLY THE BLOCKADE OF EITHER TGFBETA SIGNALING OR DNMT1/3A ACTIVITIES SIGNIFICANTLY RECOVERED THE KLOTHO LOSS AND ATTENUATED PRO-FIBROTIC PROTEIN EXPRESSION AND RENAL FIBROSIS. MOREOVER, KLOTHO KNOCKDOWN BY RNA INTERFERENCES ABOLISHED THE ANTI-FIBROTIC EFFECTS OF DNMT INHIBITION IN BOTH TGFBETA-TREATED RENAL CELL AND UUO KIDNEY, INDICATING THAT TGFBETA-MEDIATED MIR-152/30A INHIBITIONS, DNMT1/3A ABERRATIONS AND SUBSEQUENT KLOTHO LOSS CONSTITUTE A CRITICAL REGULATORY LOOP THAT ELIMINATES KLOTHO'S ANTI-FIBROTIC ACTIVITIES AND POTENTIATES RENAL FIBROGENESIS. THUS, OUR STUDY ELABORATES A NOVEL EPIGENETIC CASCADE OF RENAL FIBROGENESIS AND REVEALS THE POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS FOR TREATING THE RENAL FIBROSIS-ASSOCIATED KIDNEY DISEASES.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
10  4362  43 MIR?152 REGULATES TGF?BETA1?INDUCED EPITHELIAL?MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION BY TARGETING HPIP IN TUBULAR EPITHELIAL CELLS. RENAL FIBROSIS IS A COMMON PATHOLOGICAL FEATURE OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASES, AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION ARE INFLUENCED BY EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS INCLUDING ABERRANT MICRORNA (MIRNA OR MIR) EXPRESSION. MIRNAS HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO MODULATE THE AGGRESSIVENESS OF VARIOUS CANCERS AND HAVE EMERGED AS POSSIBLE THERAPEUTIC AGENTS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF RENAL FIBROSIS. TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR BETA1 (TGF?BETA1)?INDUCED EPITHELIAL?MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT) OF TUBULAR EPITHELIAL CELLS SERVES A ROLE IN THE INITIATION AND PROGRESSION OF RENAL FIBROSIS. FURTHERMORE, RECENT RESULTS INDICATED THAT THE PROGRESSION OF EMT IS REVERSIBLE. THE PRESENT STUDY AIMED TO CLARIFY THE ROLE OF MIR?152 IN EMT OF THE TUBULAR EPITHELIAL CELL LINE HK?2, STIMULATED BY TGF?BETA1, USING IN VITRO TRANSFECTION WITH A MIR?152 MIMIC AND TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM OF MIR?152 ACTIVITY. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, MIR?152 EXPRESSION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED IN TGF?BETA1?TREATED HK?2 CELLS, ACCOMPANIED BY AN INCREASED EXPRESSION OF HEMATOPOIETIC PRE?B?CELL LEUKEMIA TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR (PBX)?INTERACTING PROTEIN (HPIP). ADDITIONALLY, MIR?152 OVEREXPRESSION INHIBITED TGF?BETA1?INDUCED EMT AND SUPPRESSED HPIP EXPRESSION BY DIRECTLY TARGETING THE 3' UNTRANSLATED REGION OF HPIP IN HK?2 CELLS. FURTHERMORE, UPREGULATION OF HPIP REVERSED MIR?152?MEDIATED INHIBITORY EFFECTS ON THE EMT. COLLECTIVELY, THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT DOWNREGULATION OF MIR?152 INITIATES THE DEDIFFERENTIATION OF RENAL TUBULES AND PROGRESSION OF RENAL FIBROSIS, WHICH MAY PROVIDE IMPORTANT TARGETS FOR PREVENTION STRATEGIES OF RENAL FIBROSIS.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
11  4260  47 METTL3-MEDIATED M6A MODIFICATION OF SIRT1 MRNA INHIBITS PROGRESSION OF ENDOMETRIOSIS BY CELLULAR SENESCENCE ENHANCING. BACKGROUND: ENDOMETRIOSIS (EMS), THE ECTOPIC PLANTING OF FUNCTIONAL ENDOMETRIUM OUTSIDE OF THE UTERUS, IS A LEADING CAUSE OF INFERTILITY AND PELVIC PAIN. AS A FUNDAMENTAL MRNA MODIFICATION, N6-METHYLADENOSINE (M6A) PARTICIPATES IN VARIOUS PATHOLOGICAL PROCESSES. HOWEVER, THE ROLE OF M6A RNA MODIFICATION IN ENDOMETRIOSIS REMAINS UNCLEAR. THE PRESENT STUDY EXPLORES METTL3-MEDIATED M6A MODIFICATION AND THE MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN ENDOMETRIOSIS. METHODS: THE DOMINANT M6A REGULATORS IN EMS WERE ANALYSED USING RT?PCR. CANDIDATE TARGETS AND POSSIBLE MECHANISMS OF METTL3 WERE ASSESSED BY M6A-MRNA EPITRANSCRIPTOMIC MICROARRAY AND RNA SEQUENCING. A PRIMARY ESCS MODEL WAS EMPLOYED TO VERIFY THE EFFECT OF METTL3 ON M6A MODIFICATION OF SIRT1 MRNA, AND THE MECHANISM WAS ELUCIDATED BY RT?PCR, WESTERN BLOTTING, MERIP, AND RIP ASSAYS. CCK-8 VIABILITY ASSAYS, TRANSWELL INVASION ASSAYS, EDU PROLIFERATION ASSAYS, WOUND HEALING MIGRATION ASSAYS, AND SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED BETA-GALACTOSIDASE STAINING WERE PERFORMED TO ILLUMINATE THE POTENTIAL BIOLOGICAL MECHANISM OF METTL3 AND SIRT1 IN ESCS IN VITRO. AN IN VIVO PGRCRE/ + METTL3 -/- FEMALE HOMOZYGOUS MOUSE MODEL AND A NUDE MOUSE XENOGRAFT MODEL WERE EMPLOYED TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE THE PHYSIOLOGIC CONSEQUENCES OF METTL3-MEDIATED M6A ALTERATION ON EMS. RESULTS: OUR DATA SHOW THAT DECREASED METTL3 EXPRESSION SIGNIFICANTLY DOWNREGULATES M6A RNA METHYLATION LEVELS IN ESCS. SILENCING M6A MODIFICATIONS MEDIATED BY METTL3 ACCELERATES ESCS VIABILITY, PROLIFERATION, MIGRATION, AND INVASION IN VITRO. THE M6A READER PROTEIN YTHDF2 BINDS TO M6A MODIFICATIONS TO INDUCE THE DEGRADATION OF SIRT1 MRNA. SIRT1/FOXO3A SIGNALLING PATHWAY ACTIVATION IS SUBSEQUENTLY INHIBITED, PROMOTING THE CELLULAR SENESCENCE OF ESCS AND INHIBITING THE ECTOPIC IMPLANTATION OF ESCS IN VITRO AND IN VIVO. CONCLUSIONS: OUR FINDINGS DEMONSTRATE THAT METTL3-MEDIATED M6A METHYLATION EPIGENETICALLY REGULATES THE ECTOPIC IMPLANTATION OF ESCS, RESULTING IN THE PROGRESSION OF ENDOMETRIOSIS. OUR STUDY ESTABLISHES METTL3-YTHDF2-SIRT1/FOXO3A AS A CRITICAL AXIS AND POTENTIAL MECHANISM IN ENDOMETRIOSIS.	2023	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
12  4001  57 LOSS OF MEN1 LEADS TO RENAL FIBROSIS AND DECREASES HGF-ADAMTS5 PATHWAY ACTIVITY VIA AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM. BACKGROUND: RENAL FIBROSIS IS A SERIOUS CONDITION THAT RESULTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASES. THE MEN1 GENE IS AN EPIGENETIC REGULATOR THAT ENCODES THE MENIN PROTEIN AND ITS ROLE IN KIDNEY TISSUE REMAINS UNCLEAR. METHODS: KIDNEY HISTOLOGY WAS EXAMINED ON PARAFFIN SECTIONS STAINED WITH HEMATOXYLIN-EOSIN STAINING. MASSON'S TRICHROME STAINING AND SIRIUS RED STAINING WERE USED TO ANALYZE RENAL FIBROSIS. GENE AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION WERE DETERMINED BY QUANTITATIVE REAL-TIME PCR (QPCR) AND WESTERN BLOT, RESPECTIVELY. IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY STAINING IN THE KIDNEY TISSUES FROM MICE OR PATIENTS WAS USED TO EVALUATE PROTEIN LEVELS. FLOW CYTOMETRY WAS USED TO ANALYZE THE CELL CYCLE DISTRIBUTIONS AND APOPTOSIS. RNA-SEQUENCING WAS PERFORMED FOR DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION GENES IN THE KIDNEY TISSUES OF THE MEN1F/F AND MEN1?/? MICE. CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION SEQUENCING (CHIP-SEQ) WAS CARRIED OUT FOR IDENTIFICATION OF MENIN- AND H3K4ME3-ENRICHED REGIONS WITHIN THE WHOLE GENOME IN THE MOUSE KIDNEY TISSUE. CHIP-QPCR ASSAYS WERE PERFORMED FOR OCCUPANCY OF MENIN AND H3K4ME3 AT THE GENE PROMOTER REGIONS. LUCIFERASE REPORTER ASSAY WAS USED TO DETECT THE PROMOTER ACTIVITY. THE EXACERBATED UNILATERAL URETERAL OBSTRUCTION (UUO) MODELS IN THE MEN1F/F AND MEN1?/? MICE WERE USED TO ASSESS THE PHARMACOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF RH-HGF ON RENAL FIBROSIS. RESULTS: THE EXPRESSION OF MEN1 IS REDUCE IN KIDNEY TISSUES OF FIBROTIC MOUSE AND HUMAN DIABETIC PATIENTS AND TREATMENT WITH FIBROTIC FACTOR RESULTS IN THE DOWNREGULATION OF MEN1 EXPRESSION IN RENAL TUBULAR EPITHELIAL CELLS (RTECS). DISRUPTION OF MEN1 IN RTECS LEADS TO HIGH EXPRESSION OF ALPHA-SMA AND COLLAGEN 1, WHEREAS MEN1 OVEREXPRESSION RESTRAINS EPITHELIAL-TO-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT) INDUCED BY TGF-BETA TREATMENT. CONDITIONAL KNOCKOUT OF MEN1 RESULTED IN CHRONIC RENAL FIBROSIS AND UUO-INDUCED TUBULOINTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS (TIF), WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASED INDUCTION OF EMT, G2/M ARREST AND JNK SIGNALING. MECHANISTICALLY, MENIN RECRUITS AND INCREASES H3K4ME3 AT THE PROMOTER REGIONS OF HEPATOCYTE GROWTH FACTOR (HGF) AND A DISINTEGRIN AND METALLOPROTEINASE WITH THROMBOSPONDIN MOTIFS 5 (ADAMTS5) GENES AND ENHANCES THEIR TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVATION. IN THE UUO MICE MODEL, EXOGENOUS HGF RESTORED THE EXPRESSION OF ADAMTS5 AND AMELIORATED RENAL FIBROSIS INDUCED BY MEN1 DEFICIENCY. CONCLUSIONS: THESE FINDINGS DEMONSTRATE THAT MEN1 IS AN ESSENTIAL ANTIFIBROTIC FACTOR IN RENAL FIBROGENESIS AND COULD BE A POTENTIAL TARGET FOR ANTIFIBROTIC THERAPY.	2022	

13  5850  45 SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID (SAHA) REDUCES FIBROSIS MARKERS AND DEACTIVATES HUMAN STELLATE CELLS VIA THE EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT). HEPATIC FIBROSIS IS KNOWN AS THE ACCUMULATION OF CONNECTIVE TISSUE SECONDARY TO CHRONIC DAMAGE TO THE LIVER. EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT) CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN LIVER FIBROGENESIS WAS SHOWN WITH IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY AND PCR-BASED STUDIES. SUBEROYLANILIDE HYDROXAMIC ACID (SAHA), A SYNTHETIC COMPOUND APPROVED AS A HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR (HDAC) BY THE FDA TO TREAT CUTANEOUS T-CELL LYMPHOMA IS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR THE TREATMENT OF LUNG AND RENAL FIBROSIS. EXPERIMENTAL MODELING FOR HEPATIC FIBROSIS CAN BE CONSTRUCTED WITH AN LX2 CELL LINE ISOLATED FROM HUMAN HEPATIC STELLATE CELLS (HSCS). IN THIS STUDY, WE AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE MODULATION OF SAHA IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF LIVER FIBROSIS BY DETECTING THE LEVELS OF PROTEINS; (E-CADHERIN (E-CAD), N-CADHERIN (N-CAD), VIMENTIN (VIM), AND GENES; E-CAD, N-CAD, VIM, TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR-BETA (TGF-BETA), ALPHA-SMOOTH MUSCLE ACTIN (ALPHA-SMA), TYPE 1 COLLAGEN (COL1A1), TYPE 3 COLLAGEN (COL3A1)) THAT PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN EMT WITH THE LX2 CELL LINE. WE ALSO EVALUATED THE ACTION OF SAHA WITH CELL PROLIFERATION, CLONOGENIC, AND MIGRATION ASSAY. CELL PROLIFERATION WAS PERFORMED BY FLOW CYTOMETRY. ALL THE PROTEIN LEVELS WERE DETERMINED BY WESTERN BLOT ANALYSIS, AND GENE EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE MEASURED BY REAL-TIME PCR. OUR STUDY OBSERVED THAT SAHA TREATMENT DECREASED CELL VIABILITY, COLONY FORMATION AND MIGRATION IN LX2 CELLS. WE FOUND THAT SAHA INCREASED E-CAD EXPRESSION LEVEL, WHILE IT DECREASED N-CAD, VIM, COL1A1, COL3A1, ALPHA-SMA TGF-BETA GENES EXPRESSION LEVELS. SAHA DECREASED THE LEVEL OF E-CAD, N-CAD, AND VIM PROTEIN LEVELS. WE THOUGHT THAT SAHA POSSESSES POTENT ANTIFIBROTIC AND ANTI-EMT PROPERTIES IN LX2.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
14  5764  40 SORAFENIB ATTENUATES FIBROTIC HEPATIC INJURY THROUGH MEDIATING LYSINE CROTONYLATION. BACKGROUND: LIVER FIBROSIS IS AN INDEPENDENT CONTRIBUTOR OF CHRONIC LIVER DISEASES, AND REGRESSING LIVER FIBROSIS IS CONSIDERED A POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGET FOR CHRONIC LIVER DISEASES. WE AIMED TO EXPLORE THE EFFECTS AND MECHANISM OF SORAFENIB IN LIVER FIBROSIS. METHODS: MALE SPRAGUE DAWLEY (SD) RATS WERE SUBJECTED TO SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTION OF CARBON TETRACHLORIDE (CCL(4)) FOR 8 WEEKS TO INDUCE LIVER FIBROSIS AND THEN TREATED WITH SORAFENIB. THE DEGREE OF LIVER FIBROSIS WAS ANALYZED BY HEMATOXYLIN-EOSIN (H&E) STAINING, MASSON STAINING, AND PICROSIRIUS RED (PSR) STAINING. SERUM BIOCHEMICAL INDEXES WERE DETECTED BY FULLY AUTOMATIC BIOCHEMICAL ANALYZER OR ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY (ELISA). QUANTITATIVE REAL-TIME POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (QRT-PCR) WAS PERFORMED TO DETECT THE EXPRESSION OF PRO-FIBROTIC GENES. IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STAINING AND WESTERN BLOTTING WERE CARRIED OUT TO EVALUATE THE LEVELS OF LYSINE CROTONYLATION. RESULTS: LIVER INDEX WAS REDUCED WITH ORAL SORAFENIB IN CCL(4)-INDUCED RATS. SERUM LIVER FUNCTION (ALANINE AMINOTRANSFERASE (ALT), ASPARTATE AMINOTRANSFERASE (AST), AND TOTAL BILIRUBIN (TBIL)) AND FIBROSIS INDICATORS (TYPE III PROCOLLAGEN (PC-III), HYALURONIC ACID (HA), AND LAMININ (LN)) WERE ATTENUATED WITH SORAFENIB TREATMENT. SORAFENIB IMPROVED THE HEPATIC STRUCTURE AND FIBROTIC PROGRESSION. THE EXPRESSION OF FIBROSIS-RELATED GENES WAS REMARKELY REDUCED WITH SORAFENIB TREATMENT. MEANWHILE, SORAFENIB INHIBITED ALPHA-SMA AND COLLAGEN I CUMULATION INDUCED BY CCL(4) INJECTION. BESIDES, PROTEIN LYSINE CROTONYLATION ESPECIALLY THE CROTONYLATED H2BK12 (H2BK12CR) AND CROTONYLATED H3K18 (H3K18CR) WERE REVERSED BY SORAFENIB, WHICH WERE DECREASED IN RESPONSE TO CCL(4) TREATMENT. SPEARMAN CORRELATION ANALYSIS SHOWN LYSINE CROTONYLATION EXPRESSION WAS NEGATIVELY CORRELATED WITH SERUM FIBROTIC INDICATORS. CONVERSELY, CROTONYLATION-REGULATED ENZYMES, WHICH NEGATIVELY REGULATE PROTEIN CROTONYLATION, WERE INCREASED IN RESPONSE TO CCL(4) TREATMENT, WHILE SORAFENIB REDUCED THEIR EXPRESSION. CONCLUSION: SORAFENIB EXERTS SIGNIFICANT ANTI-FIBROTIC EFFECTS THROUGH MEDIATING CROTONYLATION-REGULATED ENZYMES AND PROTEIN CROTONYLATION IN FIBROTIC RATS.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
15  3889  44 KLOTHO RECOVERY BY GENISTEIN VIA PROMOTER HISTONE ACETYLATION AND DNA DEMETHYLATION MITIGATES RENAL FIBROSIS IN MICE. RENAL FIBROSIS IS A COMMON HISTOMORPHOLOGICAL FEATURE OF RENAL AGING AND CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASES OF ALL ETIOLOGIES, AND ITS INITIATION AND PROGRESSION ARE SUBSTANTIALLY INFLUENCED BY ABERRANT EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS OF FIBROSIS-SUSCEPTIBLE GENES, YET WITHOUT EFFECTIVE THERAPY. "EPIGENETIC DIETS" EXHIBIT TISSUE-PROTECTIVE AND EPIGENETIC-MODULATING PROPERTIES; HOWEVER, THEIR ANTI-RENAL FIBROSIS FUNCTIONS AND THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS ARE LESS UNDERSTOOD. IN THIS STUDY, WE SHOW THAT GENISTEIN, A PHYTOESTROGENIC ISOFLAVONE ENRICHED IN DIETARY SOY PRODUCTS, EXHIBITS IMPRESSIVE ANTI-RENAL FIBROSIS ACTIVITIES BY RECOVERING EPIGENETIC LOSS OF KLOTHO, A KIDNEY-ENRICHED ANTI-AGING AND FIBROSIS-SUPPRESSING PROTEIN. MOUSE FIBROTIC KIDNEYS INDUCED BY UUO (UNILATERAL URETERAL OCCLUSION) DISPLAYED SEVERER KLOTHO SUPPRESSION AND ADVERSE EXPRESSION OF RENAL FIBROSIS-ASSOCIATED PROTEINS, BUT GENISTEIN ADMINISTRATION MARKEDLY RECOVERED THE KLOTHO LOSS AND ATTENUATED RENAL FIBROSIS AND THE PROTEIN EXPRESSION ABNORMALITIES. THE EXAMINATION OF POSSIBLE CAUSES OF THE KLOTHO RECOVERY REVEALED THAT GENISTEIN SIMULTANEOUSLY INHIBITED HISTONE 3 DEACETYLATION OF KLOTHO PROMOTER AND NORMALIZED THE PROMOTER DNA HYPERMETHYLATION BY SUPPRESSING ELEVATED DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE DNMT1 AND DNMT3A. MORE IMPORTANTLY, GENISTEIN'S ANTI-RENAL FIBROSIS EFFECTS ON THE RENAL FIBROTIC LESIONS AND THE ABNORMAL EXPRESSIONS OF FIBROSIS-ASSOCIATED PROTEINS WERE ABROGATED WHEN KLOTHO IS KNOCKDOWN BY RNA INTERFERENCES IN UUO MICE. THUS, OUR RESULTS IDENTIFY KLOTHO RESTORATION VIA EPIGENETIC HISTONE ACETYLATION AND DNA DEMETHYLATION AS A CRITICAL MECHANISM OF GENISTEIN'S ANTI-FIBROSIS FUNCTION AND SHED NEW LIGHTS ON THE POTENTIALS OF EPIGENETIC DIETS IN PREVENTING OR TREATING AGING OR RENAL FIBROSIS-ASSOCIATED KIDNEY DISEASES. KEY MESSAGES: GENISTEIN PREVENTS RENAL FIBROSIS AND THE ASSOCIATED KLOTHO SUPPRESSION IN UUO MICE. GENISTEIN UPREGULATES KLOTHO IN PART BY REVERSING THE PROMOTER HISTONE 3 HYPOACETYLATION. GENISTEIN ALSO PRESERVES KLOTHO VIA RELIEVING KLOTHO PROMOTER HYPERMETHYLATION. GENISTEIN DEMETHYLATES KLOTHO PROMOTER BY INHIBITING ABERRANT DNMT1/3A EXPRESSION. GENISTEIN RESTORATION OF KLOTHO IS ESSENTIAL FOR ITS ANTI-RENAL FIBROSIS FUNCTION.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
16   428  32 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	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
17  1826  39 EFFECTS OF HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR ON EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX PRODUCTION IN HUMAN NASAL POLYP ORGAN CULTURES. BACKGROUND: NASAL POLYPOSIS IS ASSOCIATED WITH A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITION OF THE SINONASAL MUCOSA AND INVOLVES MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) ACCUMULATION. EPIGENETIC MODULATION BY HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) INHIBITORS INCLUDING TRICHOSTATIN A (TSA) HAS BEEN REPORTED TO HAVE INHIBITORY EFFECTS ON MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION IN LUNG AND RENAL FIBROBLASTS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE INHIBITORY EFFECT OF TSA ON MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND ECM PRODUCTION IN NASAL POLYP ORGAN CULTURES. METHODS: NASAL POLYP TISSUES FROM 18 PATIENTS WERE ACQUIRED DURING ENDOSCOPIC SINUS SURGERY. AFTER ORGAN CULTURE, NASAL POLYPS WERE STIMULATED WITH TGF-BETA1 AND THEN TREATED WITH TSA. ALPHA-SMOOTH MUSCLE ACTIN (ALPHA-SMA), FIBRONECTIN, AND COLLAGEN TYPE I EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE EXAMINED BY REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION-POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR), REAL-TIME PCR, WESTERN BLOT, AND IMMUNOFLUORESCENT STAINING. HDAC2, HDAC4, AND ACETYLATED H4 EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE ASSAYED BY WESTERN BLOT. CYTOTOXICITY WAS ANALYZED BY THE TERMINAL DEOXYNUCLEOTIDYL TRANSFERASE BIOTIN-DUTP NICK END LABELING ASSAY. RESULTS: THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF ALPHA-SMA, FIBRONECTIN, AND COLLAGEN TYPE 1 WERE INCREASED IN NASAL POLYP AFTER TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR (TGF) BETA1 TREATMENT. TSA-INHIBITED TGF-BETA1 INDUCED THESE GENE AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION LEVELS. FURTHERMORE, TSA SUPPRESSED PROTEIN EXPRESSION LEVELS OF HDAC2 AND HDAC4. HOWEVER, TSA INDUCED HYPERACETYLATION OF HISTONES H4. TREATMENT WITH TGF-BETA1 WITH OR WITHOUT TSA DID NOT HAVE CYTOTOXIC EFFECT. CONCLUSION: THESE FINDINGS PROVIDE NOVEL INSIGHTS INTO THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION IN MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND ECM PRODUCTION OF NASAL POLYP. TSA COULD BE A CANDIDATE OF A THERAPEUTIC AGENT FOR REVERSING THE TGF-BETA1-INDUCED ECM SYNTHESIS THAT LEADS TO NASAL POLYP DEVELOPMENT.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
18  1675  38 DRP1-MEDIATED MITOCHONDRIAL FISSION PROMOTES RENAL FIBROBLAST ACTIVATION AND FIBROGENESIS. EXCESSIVE MITOCHONDRIAL FISSION ACTS AS A PRO-PROLIFERATIVE MARKER IN SOME CANCERS AND ORGAN FIBROSIS; ITS POTENTIAL ROLE IN RENAL FIBROBLAST ACTIVATION AND FIBROGENESIS HAS NEVER BEEN INVESTIGATED. HERE, WE SHOWED MORE PRONOUNCED FRAGMENTED MITOCHONDRIA IN FIBROTIC THAN IN NON-FIBROTIC RENAL FIBROBLAST IN HUMANS AND MICE. IN A MOUSE MODEL OF OBSTRUCTIVE NEPHROPATHY, PHOSPHORYLATION OF DRP1 AT SERINE 616 (P-DRP1S616) AND ACETYLATION OF H3K27(H3K27AC) WAS INCREASED IN FIBROTIC KIDNEYS; PHARMACOLOGICAL INHIBITION OF MITOCHONDRIAL FISSION BY MDIVI-1 SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED H3K27AC LEVELS, FIBROBLASTS ACCUMULATION, AND INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS. MOREOVER, MDIVI-1 TREATMENT WAS ABLE TO ATTENUATE THE ESTABLISHED RENAL FIBROSIS. IN CULTURED RENAL INTERSTITIAL FIBROBLASTS, TARGETING DRP1 USING PHARMACOLOGICAL INHIBITOR OR SIRNA SUPPRESSED TGF-BETA1-ELICITED CELL ACTIVATION AND PROLIFERATION, AS EVIDENCED BY INHIBITING EXPRESSION OF ALPHA-SMOOTH MUSCLE ACTIN (ALPHA-SMA) AND COLLAGEN I, AS WELL AS BY REDUCING DNA SYNTHESIS. IN CONTRAST, DRP1 DELETION ENHANCED CELL APOPTOSIS, ALONG WITH DECREASED MITOCHONDRIAL FRAGMENTATION, MTROS ELEVATION, AND GLYCOLYTIC SHIFT UPON TGF-BETA1 STIMULATION. IN DRP1 DELETION FIBROBLASTS, RE-EXPRESSION OF WILD-TYPE DRP1 RATHER THAN DRP1S616A MUTANT RESTORES THE REDUCTION OF TGF-BETA-INDUCED-DRP1 PHOSPHORYLATION, H3K27AC, AND CELL ACTIVATION. MOREOVER, TGF-BETA1 TREATMENT INCREASED THE ENRICHMENT OF H3K27AC AT THE PROMOTERS OF ALPHA-SMA AND PCNA, WHICH WAS REVERSED IN DRP1-KNOCKDOWN FIBROBLASTS CO-TRANSFECTED WITH EMPTY VECTOR OR DRP1S616A, BUT NOT WILD-TYPE DRP1. COLLECTIVELY, OUR RESULTS IMPLY THAT INHIBITING P-DRP1S616-MEDIATED MITOCHONDRIAL FISSION ATTENUATES FIBROBLAST ACTIVATION AND PROLIFERATION IN RENAL FIBROSIS THROUGH EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF FIBROSIS-RELATED GENES TRANSCRIPTION AND MAY SERVE AS A THERAPEUTIC TARGET FOR RETARDING PROGRESSION OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
19   594  36 BET PROTEIN INHIBITOR JQ1 MODULATES MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION AND OXIDATIVE STRESS INDUCED BY CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. AMONG THE MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE PROGRESSION OF KIDNEY DISEASE, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION HAS SPECIAL RELEVANCE. EPIGENETIC DRUGS SUCH AS INHIBITORS OF EXTRA-TERMINAL DOMAIN PROTEINS (IBET) HAVE SHOWN BENEFICIAL EFFECTS IN EXPERIMENTAL KIDNEY DISEASE, MAINLY BY INHIBITING PROLIFERATIVE AND INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES. THE IMPACT OF IBET ON MITOCHONDRIAL DAMAGE WAS EXPLORED IN IN VITRO STUDIES IN RENAL CELLS STIMULATED WITH TGF-BETA1 AND IN VIVO IN MURINE UNILATERAL URETERAL OBSTRUCTION (UUO) MODEL OF PROGRESSIVE KIDNEY DAMAGE. IN VITRO, JQ1 PRETREATMENT PREVENTED THE TGF-BETA1-INDUCED DOWNREGULATION OF COMPONENTS OF THE OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION CHAIN (OXPHOS), SUCH AS CYTOCHROME C AND CV-ATP5A IN HUMAN PROXIMAL TUBULAR CELLS. IN ADDITION, JQ1 ALSO PREVENTED THE ALTERED MITOCHONDRIAL DYNAMICS BY AVOIDING THE INCREASE IN THE DRP-1 FISSION FACTOR. IN UUO MODEL, RENAL GENE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF CYTOCHROME C AND CV-ATP5A AS WELL AS PROTEIN LEVELS OF CYTOCHROME C WERE REDUCED THESE CHANGES WERE PREVENTED BY JQ1 ADMINISTRATION. IN ADDITION, JQ1 DECREASED PROTEIN LEVELS OF THE DRP1 FISSION PROTEIN AND INCREASED THE OPA-1 FUSION PROTEIN, RESTORING MITOCHONDRIAL DYNAMICS. MITOCHONDRIA ALSO PARTICIPATE IN THE MAINTENANCE OF REDOX BALANCE. JQ1 RESTORED THE GENE EXPRESSION OF ANTIOXIDANT PROTEINS, SUCH AS CATALASE AND HEME OXYGENASE 1 IN TGF-BETA1-STIMULATED HUMAN PROXIMAL TUBULAR CELLS AND IN MURINE OBSTRUCTED KIDNEYS. INDEED, IN TUBULAR CELLS, JQ1 DECREASED ROS PRODUCTION INDUCED BY STIMULATION WITH TGF-BETA1, AS EVALUATED BY MITOSOXTM. IBETS, SUCH AS JQ1, IMPROVE MITOCHONDRIAL DYNAMICS, FUNCTIONALITY, AND OXIDATIVE STRESS IN KIDNEY DISEASE.	2023	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
20  5504  34 RHEIN REVERSAL OF DNA HYPERMETHYLATION-ASSOCIATED KLOTHO SUPPRESSION AMELIORATES RENAL FIBROSIS IN MICE. RENAL FIBROSIS IS THE HALLMARK OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASES (CKD) AND ITS DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION ARE SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED BY EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. RHEIN, A PLANT-DERIVED ANTHRAQUINONE, DISPLAYS STRONG ANTI-FIBROSIS PROPERTIES, BUT ITS PROTECTIVE MODE OF ACTION REMAINS INCOMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD. HERE WE EXPLORE THE MECHANISM OF RHEIN ANTI-RENAL FIBROSIS BY INVESTIGATING ITS REGULATION OF KLOTHO, A KNOWN RENAL ANTI-FIBROTIC PROTEIN WHOSE SUPPRESSION AFTER RENAL INJURY REPORTEDLY INVOLVES ABERRANT DNA METHYLATION. WE REPORT THAT RHEIN IS AN IMPRESSIVE UP-REGULATOR OF KLOTHO AND IT MARKEDLY REVERSED KLOTHO DOWN-REGULATION IN UNILATERAL URETERAL OCCLUSION-INDUCED FIBROTIC KIDNEY. FURTHER EXAMINATIONS REVEALED THAT KLOTHO LOSS IN FIBROTIC KIDNEY IS ASSOCIATED WITH KLOTHO PROMOTER HYPERMETHYLATION DUE TO ABERRANT METHYLTRANSFERASE 1 AND 3A EXPRESSIONS. HOWEVER, RHEIN SIGNIFICANTLY CORRECTED ALL THESE EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS AND SUBSEQUENTLY ALLEVIATED PRO-FIBROTIC PROTEIN EXPRESSION AND RENAL FIBROSIS, WHEREAS KLOTHO KNOCKDOWN VIA RNA INTERFERENCES LARGELY ABROGATED THE ANTI-RENAL FIBROTIC EFFECTS OF RHEIN, SUGGESTING THAT RHEIN EPIGENETIC REVERSAL OF KLOTHO LOSS REPRESENTS A CRITICAL MODE OF ACTION THAT CONFERS RHEIN'S ANTI- RENAL FIBROTIC FUNCTIONS. ALTOGETHER OUR STUDIES UNCOVER A NOVEL HYPOMETHYLATING CHARACTER OF RHEIN IN PREVENTING KLOTHO LOSS AND RENAL FIBROSIS, AND DEMONSTRATE THE EFFICACY OF KLOTHO-TARGETED EPIGENETIC INTERVENTION IN POTENTIAL TREATMENT OF RENAL FIBROSIS-ASSOCIATED KIDNEY DISEASES.	2016