Animals ; Humans ; Oxazines ; metabolism ; Phenylpropionates ; metabolism ; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear ; agonists ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Thiazolidinediones ; metabolism ; Transcription Factors ; agonists ; antagonists & inhibitors

Currently, about 300 million people worldwide are affected by asthma. Most of these sufferers inhale immunosuppressants (ie corticosteroids) and beta-adrenergic receptor agonists for their asthma treatment. However, about 5%-10% of patients of asthma have poor response to such treatment. Investigation of kinase signaling pathway and nuclear transcription factor as a target molecule in the treatment of allergic asthma has been the concern of scholars home and abroad. This paper reviewed inhibitors of kinase signaling pathway and nuclear transcription factors for the treatment of asthma.
Animals ; Asthma ; drug therapy ; enzymology ; Humans ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Transcription Factors ; antagonists & inhibitors

Primary neuronal culture is a powerful tool to study neuronal development, aging, and degeneration. However, cultured neurons show signs of cell death after 2 or 3 weeks. Although the mechanism underlying this phenomenon has not been elucidated, several preventive methods have been identified. Here we show that the neuronal loss in primary cortical culture involves calpain activation and subsequent neuronal cell death. Neuronal loss during cultivation showed destruction of neurites and synapses, and a decrease in neuron numbers. micro-Calpain and micro-calpain were initially activated and accumulated by increased RNA expression. This neuronal death exhibited neurodegenerative features, such as conversion of p35 to p25, which is important in the developmental process and in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. But, postnatal and aged rat cortex did not show calpain activation and prolonged processing of p35 to p25, in contrast to the long-term culture of cortical neurons. In addition, the inhibition of calpains by ALLM or ALLN blocked the conversion of p35 to p25, indicating that the calpain activity is essential for the neurodegenerative features of cell death. Taken together, this study shows that the neuronal loss in primary cortical cultures involves neurodegeneration-like cell death through the activation of calpains and the subsequent processing of p35 to p25, but not developmental apoptosis or aging. Our results suggest that the long term primary culture of cortical neurons represent a valuable model of neurodegeneration, such as Alzheimer's disease.
Transcription, Genetic/genetics ; Time Factors ; Rats ; Phosphotransferases/*metabolism ; Neurons/*cytology/*metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; Cell Shape ; Caspases/antagonists & inhibitors/metabolism ; Calpain/antagonists & inhibitors/genetics/*metabolism ; *Apoptosis ; Animals

BACKGROUNDInterleukin-13 (IL-13) is recognized to be a key modulator in the pathogenesis of Th2-induced allergic inflammation. Transcription factors GATA3 and NFAT1 have been both implicated in the regulation of Th2 cytokines. We previously demonstrated the GATA3-NFAT1 association during human T cell activation. However, the function of the GATA3-NFAT1 complex in Th2 cytokines regulation is still unknown. Small interference RNA (siRNA) was constructed to knock down GATA3 expression in Hut-78 cells to investigate the possible role of GATA3-NFAT1 complex in IL-13 transcription.

METHODSCells were stimulated with anti-CD3 plus anti-CD28 antibodies to mimic in vivo antigen-mediated co-stimulation; the expression of IL-13 mRNA was determined by real-time PCR; chromation immunoprecipitation (CHIP) assay was employed to investigate the NFAT1 binding to IL-13 promoter.

RESULTSGATA3 siRNA suppressed the expression of GATA3 both in mRNA and protein levels in Hut-78 cells. The binding of NFAT1 to IL-13 promoter was inhibited by GATA3 siRNA in activated T cells, which was followed by the reduction of IL-13 transcription.

CONCLUSIONGATA3-NFAT1 complex may play an important role in the regulation of IL-13 transcription in human T cells.

Cells, Cultured ; GATA3 Transcription Factor ; antagonists & inhibitors ; genetics ; Humans ; Interleukin-13 ; genetics ; NFATC Transcription Factors ; metabolism ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics ; T-Lymphocytes ; metabolism ; Transfection

Pax6 and its Drosophila homolog Eyeless (Ey) play essential roles during eye development. Ey/Pax6 contains two distinct DNA binding domains, a Paired domain (PD) and a Homeodomain (HD). While Ey/Pax6 PD is required for the expression of key regulators of retinal development, relatively little is known about the HD-dependent Ey function. In this study, we used the UAS/GAL4 system to determine the functions of different Ey domains on cell growth and on retinal development. We showed that Ey can promote cell growth, which requires the HD but not the PD. In contrast, the ability of Ey to activate Ato expression and induce ectopic eye formation requires the PD but not the HD. Interestingly, deletion of the HD enhanced Ey-dependent ectopic eye induction while overexpression of the HD only Ey forms antagonizes ectopic eye induction. These studies revealed a novel function of Ey HD on cell growth and a novel antagonistic effect of Ey HD on Ey PD-dependent eye induction. We further show the third helix of the Ey HD can directly interact with the RED subdomain in Ey PD and that deletion of the HD increased the binding of Ey PD to its target. These results suggest that the direct interaction between the HD and the PD potentially mediates their antagonistic effects. Since different Ey splicing forms are expressed in overlapping regions during normal development, we speculate that the expression ratios of the different Ey splice forms potentially contribute to the regulation of growth and differentiation of these tissues.
Animals ; Animals, Genetically Modified ; metabolism ; Binding Sites ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; metabolism ; Drosophila ; metabolism ; Drosophila Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Enhancer Elements, Genetic ; Eye Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Homeodomain Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; PAX6 Transcription Factor ; Paired Box Transcription Factors ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Protein Structure, Tertiary ; Repressor Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Retina ; cytology ; metabolism ; Wings, Animal ; growth & development

The stem cell leukemia (SCL) gene is a new oncogene related with leukemogenesis. To explore the effects of antisense oligonucleotides of SCL on leukemic cells, SCL antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides (AS-PS-ODN) were used to treat K562 and CEM leukemic cell lines to observe the effects on proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and SCL mRNA expression in the cells. The results showed that incubation of K562 or CEM cells with AS-PS-ODN at different concentrations led to inhibition of cell proliferation, and the inhibitory effects varied with the incubation time. The positive rate of benzidine staining in K562 cells increased significantly after the inhibition with AS-PS-ODN, compared with S-PS-ODN treatment. The characteristics of apoptosis were observed in K562 cells treated with AS-PS-ODN, but not in CEM cells. Expression of SCL mRNA in K562 and CEM cells and SIL-SCL mRNA in CEM cells decreased after incubation of AS-PS-ODN. It is concluded that SCL AS-PS-ODN inhibits specifically the proliferation of K562 and CEM cells, also decreases the level of SCL and SIL-SCL mRNA expression. AS-PS-ODN enhances erythroid differentiation and induces premature apoptosis in K562 cells.
Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors ; Cell Division ; drug effects ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; physiology ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Oligonucleotides, Antisense ; pharmacology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; physiology ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; T-Cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia Protein 1 ; Transcription Factors ; antagonists & inhibitors ; physiology

A growing body of evidence suggests that p300 histone acetyltransferase plays important roles in cancer cell differentiation and proliferation. Here, we employed structure-based hierarchical virtual screening method to identify novel lead compounds of p300 histone acetyltransferase. From a screening library containing approximate 100 000 diverse druglike compounds, 33 compounds were chosen for experimental testing and one compound, 4-acetyl-2-methyl-N-morpholino-3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[b][1, 4]thiazine-7-sulfonamide (17), showed as micromolar inhibitor. Based on its predicted binding pose, we investigated its binding characteristics by designing two series of structural modifications. The obtained structure-activity relationship results are consistent with the predicted binding model. We expect that the identified novel p300 histone acetyltransferase inhibitors will serve as starting points for further development of more potent and specific histone acetyltransferase inhibitors.
Drug Design ; Enzyme Inhibitors ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; Molecular Structure ; Morpholines ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; Structure-Activity Relationship ; Sulfonamides ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; p300-CBP Transcription Factors ; antagonists & inhibitors ; chemistry

This study was purposed to investigate the effect of bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) inhibitor GSK525762A on the proliferation and apoptosis of chronic myeloid leukemia blast crisis KU812 cells and its mechanism. KU812 cells were treated with different concentrations of GSK525762A (100, 250, 500, 1 000, 2 500 and 5000 nmol/L) and the inhibitory effects of drug on KU812 cell proliferation after 48 and 72 hours were detected by using CCK-8 assay. KU812 cells were treated with 3 different concentrations of GSK525762A (1.0, 2.5 and 5 µmol/L) and the cell apoptosis after 72 hours were assayed by using flow cytometry. KU812 cells were treated with DMSO and 2.5 µmol/L GSK525762A, and the mRNA levels of C-MYC, BCL-2, CDK6, BCL-xL, BAK and BAX were determined by using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The results showed that GSK525762A could significantly inhibit the proliferation of KU812 cells and the inhibitory effect on KU812 cell proliferation was dependent on the dose-course and time-course of GSK525762A treatment. GSK525762A treatment could induce apoptosis of KU812 cells in a dose-dependent manner. After GSK525762A treatment, the mRNA levels of proliferation-promoting genes ( C-MYC and CDK6) and pro-survival genes ( BCL-2 and BCL-xL) decreased, while the transcription level of pro-apoptosis genes BAK and BAX increased, as compared to that of the control group. It is concluded that GSK525762A can inhibit the proliferation of KU812 cells and induce cell apoptosis possibly through depressing the transcription of C-MYC, BCL-2, CDK6 and BCL-xL gene, and down-regulating BAK and BAX transcription.
Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Benzodiazepines ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; Nuclear Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; Transcription Factors ; antagonists & inhibitors

OBJECTIVETo investigate the molecular mechanism of action of BET bromodomain inhibitor JQ1 in treating airway remodeling in asthmatic mice.

METHODSA total of 24 mice were randomly divided into control group, ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma group (OVA group), and JQ1 intervention group (JQ1+OVA group), with 8 mice in each group. OVA sensitization/challenge was performed to establish a mouse model of asthma. At 1 hour before challenge, the mice in the JQ1+OVA group were given intraperitoneal injection of JQ1 solution (50 μg/g). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue samples were collected at 24 hours after the last challenge, and the total number of cells and percentage of eosinophils in BALF were calculated. Pathological staining was performed to observe histopathological changes in lung tissue. RT-PCR and Western blot were used to measure the mRNA and protein expression of E-cadherin and vimentin during epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

RESULTSCompared with the control group, the OVA group had marked infiltration of inflammatory cells in the airway, thickening of the airway wall, increased secretion of mucus, and increases in the total number of cells and percentage of eosinophils in BALF (P<0.01). Compared with the OVA group, the JQ1+OVA group had significantly alleviated airway inflammatory response and significant reductions in the total number of cells and percentage of eosinophils in BALF (P<0.01). Compared with the control group, the OVA group had significant reductions in the mRNA and protein expression of E-cadherin and significant increases in the mRNA and protein expression of vimentin (P<0.01); compared with the OVA group, the JQ1+OVA group had significant increases in the mRNA and protein expression of E-cadherin and significant reductions in the mRNA and protein expression of vimentin (P<0.01); there were no significant differences in these indices between the JQ1+OVA group and the control group (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSMice with OVA-induced asthma have airway remodeling during EMT. BET bromodomain inhibitor JQ1 can reduce airway inflammation, inhibit EMT, and alleviate airway remodeling, which provides a new direction for the treatment of asthma.

Airway Remodeling ; drug effects ; Animals ; Asthma ; drug therapy ; Azepines ; pharmacology ; Cadherins ; analysis ; genetics ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Female ; Mice ; Nuclear Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Ovalbumin ; immunology ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Transcription Factors ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Triazoles ; pharmacology ; Vimentin ; analysis ; genetics

Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathway is one of the downstream pathways of cytokine signaling transduction. It regulates cell development, differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis and so on. The pathway is not only involved in the regulation of normal physiological processes, but also significant in the development of tumors, especially in hematologic malignancies. In recent years, with the further research of JAK/STAT signaling pathway, it has been found that the pathway also plays a key role in the development of solid tumors. Here we reviewed the research advances of JAK/STAT signaling pathway in lung cancer, especially the mechanisms of development, metastasis and drug resistance, and the application of inhibitors which targeting JAK/STAT signaling pathway in the treatment of lung cancer.
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Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Biomedical Research ; methods ; trends ; Humans ; Janus Kinases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; STAT Transcription Factors ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction