Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most common and serious complication of diabetes mellitus. Shionone (SH), an important triterpenoid compound in the root extract of Aster, might exert a protective effect in DN mice and high glucose cultivated glomerular podocytes. The current study aimed to unravel the underlying mechanism by which SH mitigates DN. We postulate that SH stimulates the expression of sestrin-2 (SESN2), a pivotal stress-inducible protein in the anti-inflammasome machinery. Methods: We utilized high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin (55 mg/kg intraperitoneal) for DN mice model, and high glucose (30 mM, 48 hours) cultured glomerular podocytes for DN cell model to evaluate the effect of SH. We also preformed experimentation on SESN2 deficiency models (SESN2 knockout mice and SESN2 siRNA in cells) to further prove our hypothesis. Results: The results demonstrated that SH effectively suppressed glomerular fibrosis, induced adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation, and inhibited NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) activation. Furthermore, our findings revealed that SH exerted its anti-inflammatory effect through Sesn2-dependent nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) nuclear translocation and subsequent activation of its downstream target heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Conclusion In summary, our findings suggest that SH serves as a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of DN-related glomerular fibrosis. SH enhances the expression of SESN2, attenuates α-smooth muscle actin accumulation, and suppresses NLRP3-related inflammation through the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most common and serious complication of diabetes mellitus. Shionone (SH), an important triterpenoid compound in the root extract of Aster, might exert a protective effect in DN mice and high glucose cultivated glomerular podocytes. The current study aimed to unravel the underlying mechanism by which SH mitigates DN. We postulate that SH stimulates the expression of sestrin-2 (SESN2), a pivotal stress-inducible protein in the anti-inflammasome machinery. Methods: We utilized high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin (55 mg/kg intraperitoneal) for DN mice model, and high glucose (30 mM, 48 hours) cultured glomerular podocytes for DN cell model to evaluate the effect of SH. We also preformed experimentation on SESN2 deficiency models (SESN2 knockout mice and SESN2 siRNA in cells) to further prove our hypothesis. Results: The results demonstrated that SH effectively suppressed glomerular fibrosis, induced adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation, and inhibited NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) activation. Furthermore, our findings revealed that SH exerted its anti-inflammatory effect through Sesn2-dependent nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) nuclear translocation and subsequent activation of its downstream target heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Conclusion In summary, our findings suggest that SH serves as a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of DN-related glomerular fibrosis. SH enhances the expression of SESN2, attenuates α-smooth muscle actin accumulation, and suppresses NLRP3-related inflammation through the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most common and serious complication of diabetes mellitus. Shionone (SH), an important triterpenoid compound in the root extract of Aster, might exert a protective effect in DN mice and high glucose cultivated glomerular podocytes. The current study aimed to unravel the underlying mechanism by which SH mitigates DN. We postulate that SH stimulates the expression of sestrin-2 (SESN2), a pivotal stress-inducible protein in the anti-inflammasome machinery. Methods: We utilized high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin (55 mg/kg intraperitoneal) for DN mice model, and high glucose (30 mM, 48 hours) cultured glomerular podocytes for DN cell model to evaluate the effect of SH. We also preformed experimentation on SESN2 deficiency models (SESN2 knockout mice and SESN2 siRNA in cells) to further prove our hypothesis. Results: The results demonstrated that SH effectively suppressed glomerular fibrosis, induced adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation, and inhibited NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) activation. Furthermore, our findings revealed that SH exerted its anti-inflammatory effect through Sesn2-dependent nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) nuclear translocation and subsequent activation of its downstream target heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Conclusion In summary, our findings suggest that SH serves as a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of DN-related glomerular fibrosis. SH enhances the expression of SESN2, attenuates α-smooth muscle actin accumulation, and suppresses NLRP3-related inflammation through the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most common and serious complication of diabetes mellitus. Shionone (SH), an important triterpenoid compound in the root extract of Aster, might exert a protective effect in DN mice and high glucose cultivated glomerular podocytes. The current study aimed to unravel the underlying mechanism by which SH mitigates DN. We postulate that SH stimulates the expression of sestrin-2 (SESN2), a pivotal stress-inducible protein in the anti-inflammasome machinery. Methods: We utilized high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin (55 mg/kg intraperitoneal) for DN mice model, and high glucose (30 mM, 48 hours) cultured glomerular podocytes for DN cell model to evaluate the effect of SH. We also preformed experimentation on SESN2 deficiency models (SESN2 knockout mice and SESN2 siRNA in cells) to further prove our hypothesis. Results: The results demonstrated that SH effectively suppressed glomerular fibrosis, induced adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation, and inhibited NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) activation. Furthermore, our findings revealed that SH exerted its anti-inflammatory effect through Sesn2-dependent nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) nuclear translocation and subsequent activation of its downstream target heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Conclusion In summary, our findings suggest that SH serves as a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of DN-related glomerular fibrosis. SH enhances the expression of SESN2, attenuates α-smooth muscle actin accumulation, and suppresses NLRP3-related inflammation through the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Image 1.

AIM:To investigate the effects of mitogen-inducible gene 6(MIG6)overexpression on palmitic acid(PA)-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress-associated steatosis in hepatocytes.METHODS:A mouse model of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis was established by feeding twenty C57BL/6J mice a high-fat diet for 26 weeks.The mice were ran-domly divided into two groups:normal diet control group and high-fat diet group,and their livers were retained for subse-quent experiments.The PA was used to induce lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells and AML12 cells,and the cells were di-vided into two groups:BSA(10%BSA)group and PA(500 μmol/L PA)group.The MIG6 overexpression was induced by transfecting HepG2 and AML12 cells with human and mouse MIG6 overexpression plasmids,respectively.The cells were divided into four groups according to their different treatment conditions:(1)negatiive+BSA group(transfected with nega-tive control plasmid+10%BSA);(2)MIG6+BSA group(transfected with MIG6 overexpression plasmid+10%BSA);(3)negative+PA group(transfected with negative control plasmid+500 μmol/L PA);(4)MIG6+PA group(transfected with MIG6 overexpression plasmid+500 μmol/L PA).Lipid accumulation in hepatocytes was assessed by oil red O staining,and RT-qPCR was used to detect the mRNA expression level of MIG6 in liver tissues.The protein levels of MIG6,lipid synthesis-related molecules fatty acid synthase(FASN)and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1(SREBP1),and endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins glucose regulated protein 78(GRP78)and C/EBP homologous protein(CHOP)in hepatocytes were detected using Western blot.RESULTS:High-fat diet increased the triglyceride content in the liver tissue of C57BL/6J mice induced lipid accumulation in hepatocytes and suppressed the mRNA expression level of MIG6(P<0.01).PA intervention increased the protein levels of lipid synthesis-related molecules such as FASN and SREBP1,and endoplasmic reticulum stress markers GRP78 and CHOP in hepatocytes,but inhibited MIG6 protein levels(P<0.01).We transfected hepatocytes with MIG6 overexpression plasmid,which significantly increased MIG6 protein levels,decreased GRP78 and CHOP protein levels in hepatocytes(P<0.01),significantly attenuated PA-induced lipid accumulation in hepatocytes,and down-regulated FASN and SREBP1 protein levels(P<0.01).These results indicate that MIG6 overexpression inhibited PA-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress and attenuated lipid accumulation in hepato-cytes.CONCLUSION:Overexpression of MIG6 inhibits lipid accumulation in hepatocytes by suppressing endoplasmic reticulum stress.