Supramolecular helix of an oligomeric azapeptide building block containing four ß-turn structures.

Oligomers of benzoylalanine-based amidothioureas containing four ß-turn structures spaced by meta-substituted benzenes were shown to undergo assembly in dilute CH3CN solution into supramolecular helices of enhanced supramolecular helicity, whereas those spaced by para-substituted benzene spacer(s) or those spaced by meta-substituted benzenes but with one or two ß-turns exhibit a substantially decreased tendency of assembling.

SNHG16/miR-205/HDAC5 is involved in the progression of renal fibrosis.

Renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) represents an irreversible and progressive pathological manifestation of chronic renal disease, which ultimately leads to end-stage renal disease. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been suggested to be involved in the progression of RIF. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 (SNHG16), a member of lncRNAs, has been found to be involved in the progression of pulmonary fibrosis. This paper first researched the effect of SNHG16 on renal fibrosis. We established a unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO)-induced mouse RIF model by ligation of the left ureter to evaluate the biological function of SNHG16 in RIF. As a result, SNHG16 was upregulated in UUO-induced renal fibrotic tissues. Knockdown of SNHG16 inhibited RIF and reduced alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), fibronectin, and college IV expression. miR-205 was a target of SNHG16, and downregulated in UUO-induced renal fibrotic tissues. Inhibition of miR-205 promoted RIF and increased the expression of α-SMA, college IV, and fibronectin. Overexpression of SNHG16 promoted the UUO-induced RIF, but miR-205 abrogated this effect of SNHG16. Histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) showed high expression in UUO-induced renal fibrotic tissues. Knockdown of HDAC5 significantly reduced α-SMA, fibronectin, and college IV expression in renal tissues of UUO-induced mice. Inhibition of miR-205 promoted HDAC5 expression, but knockdown of SNHG16 inhibited HDAC5 expression in renal tissues of UUO-induced mice. In conclusion, SHNG16 is highly expressed in renal fibrotic tissues of UUO-induced mice. Knockdown of SHNG16 may prevent UUO-induced RIF by indirectly upregulating HDAC5 via targeting miR-205. SHNG16 may be novel target for treating renal fibrosis.

Echinacoside protects adenine-induced uremic rats from sciatic nerve damage by up-regulating α-Klotho.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the therapeutic effect of Echinacoside on uremia-induced sciatic nerve injury and explore the specific molecular mechanism and role of α-Klotho. METHODS: SD rats were given continuous gavage of adenine to prepare a uremia-induced sciatic nerve injury model. The model was given either Echinacoside or α-Klotho by gavage. Histopathological changes of kidney and sciatic nerve were detected by H&E staining. The changes of creatinine, urea nitrogen, and urine protein were detected by biochemical detection. The changes of IL-1ß and IL-18 were detected by ELISA. Nerve activity-related indicators were detected by biochemical detection. Changes in related mRNA and protein expression were detected by qPCR and western blot. RESULTS: Creatinine, urea nitrogen, urine protein, and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the model group were significantly increased and inhibited by Echinacoside and α-Klotho treatment with Echinacoside dose-dependence. Meanwhile, the activities of ATP concentration, potassium adenosine triphosphate (Na+, K+ ATPase), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) showed opposite trends. CONCLUSIONS: Echinacoside can significantly relieve uremia-induced sciatic nerve injury in rats. Its specific molecular mechanism is related to the inhibition of the classical cellular pyroptosis pathway, which is likely achieved by promoting α-Klotho expression.

WISP3 prevents fibroblast-myofibroblast transdifferentiation in NRK-49F cells.

CCN family, a group of six extracellular matrix-associated proteins, plays an important role in fibrosis. WISP3 has addressed as a pro-fibrotic molecule in the development of human lung fibrosis. However, whether WISP3 involved in the activation and proliferation of renal fibroblast, and ultimately inhibited fibroblast-myofibroblast transdifferentiation remained unknown. Herein, we found that down-regulated WISP3 was involved in the fibrogenesis of rat renal NRK-49F cells induced by transforming growth (TGF-ß1), which was further confirmed in a rat renal fibrosis induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). In the present study, we aimed to investigate the roles of WISP3 in NRK-49F fibroblast-myofibroblast transdifferentiation, and the underlying mechanism. Results showed that after TGF-ß1 treatment, significant increased cell proliferation, and up-regulated expressions of TGF-ß1, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), vimentin, as well as increased concentrations of collagen types I (COL I), collagen types III (COL III) and hydroxyproline in cell culture supernatant were observed, demonstrating a successful establishment of fibroblast-myofibroblast transdifferentiation of NRK-49F cells. Besides, siRNA-WISP3 remarkably promoted the fibrogenesis of NRK-49F cells with or without TGF-ß1 treatment, and increased mRNA levels of Axin, demonstrating that activating WNT signaling pathway was the underlying mechanism. However, lentivirus-mediated WISP3 overexpression exerted an opposite effect, protecting NRK-49F cells from transdifferentiation, and decreasing mRNA levels of Axin. In conclusion, the WISP3 played an anti-fibrotic role in NRK-49F cells, and WNT signaling pathway was the potential mechanism. WISP3 was an anti-fibrotic factor in fibroblast-myofibroblast transdifferentiation, and may be used as a possible target for prevention and treatment of human renal fibrosis.