Stem cells play a crucial role in maintaining tissue regenerative capacity and homeostasis. However, mechanisms associated with stem cell senescence require further investigation. In this study, we conducted a proteomic analysis of human dental pulp stem cells (HDPSCs) obtained from individuals of various ages. Our findings showed that the expression of NUP62 was decreased in aged HDPSCs. We discovered that NUP62 alleviated senescence-associated phenotypes and enhanced differentiation potential both in vitro and in vivo. Conversely, the knocking down of NUP62 expression aggravated the senescence-associated phenotypes and impaired the proliferation and migration capacity of HDPSCs. Through RNA-sequence and decoding the epigenomic landscapes remodeled induced by NUP62 overexpression, we found that NUP62 helps alleviate senescence in HDPSCs by enhancing the nuclear transport of the transcription factor E2F1. This, in turn, stimulates the transcription of the epigenetic enzyme NSD2. Finally, the overexpression of NUP62 influences the H3K36me2 and H3K36me3 modifications of anti-aging genes (HMGA1, HMGA2, and SIRT6). Our results demonstrated that NUP62 regulates the fate of HDPSCs via NSD2-dependent epigenetic reprogramming.
Humans ; Dental Pulp/cytology* ; Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins/genetics* ; Cellular Senescence/genetics* ; Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Differentiation ; Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase/metabolism* ; Cells, Cultured ; Cellular Reprogramming ; Cell Movement ; Proteomics

Pulmonary hypertension(PH)is a serious cardiovascular condition that significantly impacts pa-tients'quality of life.Currently available clinical medications lack selectivity for pulmonary blood vessels,often produce substantial side effects,and are prohibitively expensive.Therefore,it is crucial to explore the mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of PH and to develop new,effective treatments.Ubiquitination is a key form of protein post-transla-tional modification in which specific E3 enzymes recognize substrate proteins and induce ubiquitination,leading to chang-es in their activity or stability.During the onset of PH,the activities of ubiquitin ligases and deubiquitinases undergo vari-ous changes,resulting in altered ubiquitination levels of different proteins.These variations primarily influence the degra-dation rates of substrate proteins within cells,thereby regulating essential physiological processes.Proteasomes play a vi-tal role in the degradation of ubiquitinated proteins,and inhibitors targeting these complexes have been developed,demon-strating therapeutic efficacy in experimental settings of PH.However,their low specificity presents significant challenges for practical applications.In this context,we summarize the relevant mechanisms of ubiquitination regulation in the onset of PH and highlight its practical significance for future therapeutic strategies.

Pulmonary hypertension(PH)is a serious cardiovascular condition that significantly impacts pa-tients'quality of life.Currently available clinical medications lack selectivity for pulmonary blood vessels,often produce substantial side effects,and are prohibitively expensive.Therefore,it is crucial to explore the mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of PH and to develop new,effective treatments.Ubiquitination is a key form of protein post-transla-tional modification in which specific E3 enzymes recognize substrate proteins and induce ubiquitination,leading to chang-es in their activity or stability.During the onset of PH,the activities of ubiquitin ligases and deubiquitinases undergo vari-ous changes,resulting in altered ubiquitination levels of different proteins.These variations primarily influence the degra-dation rates of substrate proteins within cells,thereby regulating essential physiological processes.Proteasomes play a vi-tal role in the degradation of ubiquitinated proteins,and inhibitors targeting these complexes have been developed,demon-strating therapeutic efficacy in experimental settings of PH.However,their low specificity presents significant challenges for practical applications.In this context,we summarize the relevant mechanisms of ubiquitination regulation in the onset of PH and highlight its practical significance for future therapeutic strategies.

AIM:To investigate the effects of sodium hydrosulfide(NaHS)on hexokinase 2(HK2)-nucleo-tide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3)-gasdermin D(GSDMD)pathway and pyroptosis in-duced by lung ischemia/reperfusion(I/R)in rats.METHODS:Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 6 groups:control group,control+NaHS group,I/R group,low-dose NaHS+I/R(L+I/R)group,medium-dose NaHS+I/R(M+I/R)group,and high-dose NaHS+I/R(H+I/R)group,with 6 rats in each group.The NaHS was administered via intraperi-toneal injection at 1.5 mL,30 min before modeling.The left lung tissues were collected 30 min after ischemia and 1 h af-ter reperfusion,and the wet/dry weight ratio and total lung water content were recorded.Hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining was used to examine lung tissue morphological changes.The levels of malondialdehyde(MDA),myeloperoxidase(MPO)and lactate in lung tissues were measured with test kits.ELISA was employed to determine the levels of interleukin-1β(IL-1β)and IL-18.The expression of glycolysis-and pyroptosis-related indicators was analyzed by Western blot,qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining.RESULTS:Compared with control group,the rats in NaHS group showed no signifi-cant differences in all laboratory tests(P>0.05).The rats in I/R group exhibited significant lung injury,oxidative stress,increased lactate level,and up-regulated glycolysis and pyroptosis(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Compared with I/R group,the indicators in L+I/R group showed a downward trend(P<0.01)or no difference(P>0.05),while those in M+I/R group dis-played a significant reduction(P<0.05 or P<0.01).However,the indexes in H+I/R group exhibited no significant dif-ferences in these tests(all P>0.05).CONCLUSION:A moderate dose(56 μmol·L-1·kg-1)of NaHS mitigated the oc-currence of pyroptosis by inhibiting the HK2-NLRP3-GSDMD pathway,thus contributing to the attenuation of lung I/R in-jury in rats.

Objective To explore the effects of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) on the acute lung injury and the activation of Nrf2 pathway after Paraquat (PQ) induced lung injury.Methods Fortyeight adult male SD rats with lung injury induced by PQ were randomly (random number) divided into control group and PDTC group.Three animals were sacrificed at every 1-week interval,7d,14d and 21 days after PQ intoxication,and the lungs of rats were removed for acute lung injury score after HE staining,and for lung fibrosis assessment after Masson staining,and the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the lung tissue homogenate were assayed and the phosphorylation of Nrf2 (nuclear-E2-related factor 2) was detected by Weston blot.The mean values of detected variables between two groups were compared by t test,and survival curve was tested by Wilcoxon (Gehan) test.Results The intoxication symptoms of rats were obvious,and 4 rats in control group and 9 rats in PDTC group survived until 21days.The survival time of animals in PDTC group was longer than that in control group (Wilcoxon (Gehan) =10.17023,P =0.001).The levels of MDA in control group were higher than those in PDTC group,while the levels of GSH in control group were lower than those in PDTC group.The levels of phosphorylation of Nrf2 in PDTC group were higher than those in control group at 1-week intervals,1-week:(0.32±0.04) vs.(0.23±0.05),P=0.003; 2-week:(0.62±0.06) vs.(0.33±0.03),P＜0.001; 3-week:(0.61 ±0.04) vs.(0.33±0.05),P＜0.001.The acute lung injury (ALI) scores in PDTC group were lower than those in control group,1-week:(5 ± 0.95) vs.(8 ± 1.23),P =0.002 ; 2-week:(9±1.18) vs.(11±1.02),P=0.019; 3-week:(11±1.33) vs.(12±1.42),P=0.002.The percentages of lung fibrosis at 1-week intervals after PQ intoxication were (40.87 ± 7.25) ％,(43.38 ±5.71)％ and (45.91 ± 3.97)％ in control group,and they were higher than those in PDTC group (32.92±2.34)％,(33.45 ±3.04)％ and (35.27 ±3.81)％ in PDTC group,P=0.017,0.001 and 0.001 respectively.Conclusions Attenuation of acute lung injury and lung fibrosis,and prolongation of survival time of SD rats by PDTC were associated with activation of Nrf2 pathway.

Objective: To analyze the ability of Chinese characters reading and characteristics of alexia among patients with mild, moderate and severe Alzheimer's Disease(AD). Methods: Chinese characters reading test was performed in 20 normal controls(average MMSE total score is 27.7), 20 mild AD(average MMSE is 21.2),20 moderate AD(average MMSE is 15.2) and 20 severe AD(average MMSE is 6.9). Chinese characters reading test consists of 22 mark-symbol characters, 17 phonetic symbol characters and 17 meaning-symbol characters. Results: No significant difference were found in scores of Chinese characters reading test among normal controls, patients with mild, moderate AD group. Compared with moderate AD, severe AD showed manifest decline for scores of phonetic symbol characters and meaning-symbol characters reading. There wasn't significant different visual paralexia among 4 groups. Surface alexia occurred at early stage of AD and advanced at late stage of AD. These wrong reading were seen frequently in meaning-symbol characters. Deep alexia occurred only at late stage of AD. Compound words phanomenon is the major class of deep alexia. Conclusion: Ability of Chinese characters reading was helpful to estimate premorbid intelligence of the patients with dementia. There are different classes of alexia between Chinese and western languages.