Depletion of SMN protein in mesenchymal progenitors impairs the development of bone and neuromuscular junction in spinal muscular atrophy.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neuromuscular disorder characterized by the deficiency of the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein, which leads to motor neuron dysfunction and muscle atrophy. In addition to the requirement for SMN in motor neurons, recent studies suggest that SMN deficiency in peripheral tissues plays a key role in the pathogenesis of SMA. Using limb mesenchymal progenitor cell (MPC)-specific SMN-depleted mouse models, we reveal that SMN reduction in limb MPCs causes defects in the development of bone and neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Specifically, these mice exhibited impaired growth plate homeostasis and reduced insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling from chondrocytes, rather than from the liver. Furthermore, the reduction of SMN in fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) resulted in abnormal NMJ maturation, altered release of neurotransmitters, and NMJ morphological defects. Transplantation of healthy FAPs rescued the morphological deterioration. Our findings highlight the significance of mesenchymal SMN in neuromusculoskeletal pathogenesis of SMA and provide insights into potential therapeutic strategies targeting mesenchymal cells for the treatment of SMA.

Gossypetin Prevents the Progression of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis by Regulating Oxidative Stress and AMP-Activated Protein Kinase.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a severe liver metabolic disorder, however, there are still no effective and safe drugs for its treatment. Previous clinical trials used various therapeutic approaches to target individual pathologic mechanisms, but these approaches were unsuccessful because of the complex pathologic causes of NASH. Combinatory therapy in which two or more drugs are administered simultaneously to patients with NASH, however, carries the risk of side effects associated with each individual drug. To solve this problem, we identified gossypetin as an effective dual-targeting agent that activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and decreases oxidative stress. Administration of gossypetin decreased hepatic steatosis, lobular inflammation and liver fibrosis in the liver tissue of mice with choline-deficient high-fat diet and methionine-choline deficient diet (MCD) diet-induced NASH. Gossypetin functioned directly as an antioxidant agent, decreasing hydrogen peroxide and palmitate-induced oxidative stress in the AML12 cells and liver tissue of MCD diet-fed mice without regulating the antioxidant response factors. In addition, gossypetin acted as a novel AMPK activator by binding to the allosteric drug and metabolite site, which stabilizes the activated structure of AMPK. Our findings demonstrate that gossypetin has the potential to serve as a novel therapeutic agent for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease /NASH. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This study demonstrates that gossypetin has preventive effect to progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) as a novel AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activator and antioxidants. Our findings indicate that simultaneous activation of AMPK and oxidative stress using gossypetin has the potential to serve as a novel therapeutic approach for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease /NASH patients.

ZKSCAN3 Facilitates Liver Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer Associated with CEA-expressing Tumor.

AIM: Zinc finger with KRAB and SCAN domain 3 (ZKSCAN3) is overexpressed in invasive colorectal cancer (CRC) cells and regulates the expression of several genes favoring tumor progression, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and integrin ß4. We evaluated the association of ZKSCAN3 and colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CLM) to determine whether it is related to invasive signaling pathways. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The ratios of expression by primary tumor to normal tissue and metastatic tumor to normal tissue were compared between ZKSCAN3-overexpressing and underexpressing primary tumor groups. RESULTS: In terms of CLM, the ZKSCAN3 overexpression was positively correlated with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), VEGF, and AKT expression. The protein-expression analysis showed that ZKSCAN-specific siRNA knockdown reduced CEA expression in LoVo and LS174T CRC cells. Matrigel invasion by ZKSCAN3-overexpressing HCT116 cells was increased when examined on CEA-coated filters compared with phosphate-buffered saline-treated controls. Additionally, matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) expression was greater in cells with reference allele (GG) than substitution allele (CC) for ZKSCAN3 rs733743 (p=0.032). ZKSCAN3 protein expression of the high serum CEA group was increased in hepatic metastatic tissue compared with the primary tumor tissue, while in the group with normal serum CEA it decreased or was similar. Reference ZKSCAN3 alleles were correlated with male dominance, a family history of malignancy, high serum CEA concentration and stage IV CRC in 450 patients with sporadic CRC. In conclusion, ZKSCAN3 appears to promote colorectal tumor progression and invasion. ZKSCAN3 may facilitate hepatic metastasis of CRC associated with CEA particularly in cases with CEA-producing tumor.

Physicochemical properties of heme iron products in the Korean market.

Since absorption efficacy of heme iron (HI) is critically dependent on its solubility in aqueous solution, we investigated the physicochemical properties of two HI products available in the Korean market. The two HI products did not differ in ingredients and color. However, HI polypeptide (HIP), produced in Korea, was fairly soluble over a wide pH range in water-based solutions, whereas HI imported from Japan was insoluble except in strong acid and base solutions. Analysis using an ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer showed that the chromophore of HIP was shifted to the red compared with that of HI. Fourier transform-infrared analysis revealed that HIP contained mainly amide (NH) groups, while HI largely contained amine (NH(2)) groups. With regard to constituents, between HIP and HI, their major components were different from each other according to their ratio of fronts obtained by thin-layer chromatography. These results suggest that determination of solubility should be included in the quality control process of HI products.