House dust mite-induced autophagy affects airway epithelial barrier function through β-catenin-Snail signaling pathway
10.3969/j.issn.1006-5725.2025.09.006
- VernacularTitle:屋尘螨诱导的自噬通过β-catenin-Snail信号通路影响气道上皮屏障功能
- Author:
Ziling ZENG
1
;
Xing WANG
;
Hongmei TANG
;
Zhibin WANG
;
Ning MA
;
Yuejiao LI
;
Xiaoyun WANG
;
Xiefang YUAN
;
Guofeng XU
;
Qiaoqiao WANG
;
Wen ZHANG
;
Jiayao DUAN
;
Yun ZHANG
Author Information
1. 西南医科大学附属医院炎症与变态反应实验室,(四川 泸州 646000);西南医科大学附属医院呼吸与危重症医学科(四川 泸州 646000)
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
house dust mite;
cellular autophagy;
human bronchial epithelial cells;
tight junctions
- From:
The Journal of Practical Medicine
2025;41(9):1309-1318
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To investigate the mechanism of autophagy induced by House dust mites(HDM)on airway epithelial tight junction through β-catenin-Snail signaling pathway.Methods Human bronchial epithelial cells(16HBE)were stimulated with HDM at different time points(0,3,6,12,24,48 h)and different concen-trations(0,40,100,200 μg/mL)to screen the appropriate stimulation concentration and stimulation time.16HBE cells were treated with oxidative stress inhibitor N-acetylcysteine(NAC),autophagy inhibitor 3-methylad-enine(3-MA),HDM,and their combinations.Cells were transfected with mCherry-EGFP-LC3B,Beclin-1-siRNA,and ATG14-siRNA lentivirus and then stimulated with NAC and HDM.Immunofluorescence was used to detect the expression levels of autophagy-related protein LC3B,tight junction-related proteins Occludin,and ZO-1 in airway epithelial cells.The level of reactive oxygen species(ROS)was detected by using DCFH-DA in each group.The protein expression levels of Occludin,ZO-1,LC3B,Beclin-1,ATG5,ATG14,P62,Snail,β-catenin and p-β-catenin were detected by Western blot method.Results Immunofluorescence results showed that compared with the control group,200 μg/mL HDM stimulation induced cellular autophagy,increased the expression level of LC3B protein,and promoted the level of ROS,all with statistical significances(all P<0.05).Compared with the HDM group,the HDM+3-MA,HDM+ATG14-si,and HDM+Beclin-1-si groupsall showed significantincreases in the expression levels of tight junction-related proteins Occludin and ZO-1(P<0.05).The HDM+NAC group demonstrated significant decreases both in the level of ROS andin the expression level of LC3B protein.Western blot results revealed that compared with HDM,3-MA and autophagy protein low-expression beads(Beclin-1-si,ATG14-si)attenuated HDM-induced cellular autophagy(P<0.05),inhibited HDM-induced upregulation of Snail and p-β-catenin expression,and improved HDM-induced decreases in Occludin and ZO-1(P<0.05).Moreover,compared with the HDM group,the NAC+HDM group exhibited significant decreases both in the conversion of LC3BⅠ to LC3BⅡ(P<0.001)in the protein levels of Snail,p-β-catenin,Beclin-1 and ATG14(P<0.01),but significant increases in the protein levels of Occludin and ZO-1(P<0.05).Conclusion HDM affects the tight connections between airway epithelial cells by inducing autophagy,which may be attributed to the β-catenin-Snail signaling pathway.
