FGF1ΔHBS ameliorates chronic kidney disease via PI3K/AKT mediated suppression of oxidative stress and inflammation.

Currently, there is a lack of effective therapeutic approaches to the treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD) with irreversible deterioration of renal function. This study aimed to investigate the ability of mutant FGF1 (FGF1ΔHBS, which has reduced mitogenic activity) to alleviate CKD and to study its associated mechanisms. We found that FGF1ΔHBS exhibited much weaker mitogenic activity than wild-type FGF1 (FGF1WT) in renal tissues. RNA-seq analysis revealed that FGF1ΔHBS inhibited oxidative stress and inflammatory signals in mouse podocytes challenged with high glucose. These antioxidative stress and anti-inflammatory activities of FGF1ΔHBS prevented CKD in two mouse models: a diabetic nephropathy model and an adriamycin-induced nephropathy model. Further mechanistic analyses suggested that the inhibitory effects of FGF1ΔHBS on oxidative stress and inflammation were mediated by activation of the GSK-3ß/Nrf2 pathway and inhibition of the ASK1/JNK signaling pathway, respectively. An in-depth study demonstrated that both pathways are under control of PI3K/AKT signaling activated by FGF1ΔHBS. This finding expands the potential uses of FGF1ΔHBS for the treatment of various kinds of CKD associated with oxidative stress and inflammation.

Correction to: Isoliquiritigenin Provides Protection and Attenuates Oxidative Stress-Induced Injuries via the Nrf2-ARE Signaling Pathway After Traumatic Brain Injury.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The Fluorescence Immunoassays text written in Materials and Methods section and Fig. 1i, j is incorrect. In Fig. 1j, the images corresponding to Sham and TBI + ILG are incorrect. In Fig. 1i the figure caption "TBI + EDA" are incorrect. The corrected text and Fig. 1i, j are given below.

Isoliquiritigenin Provides Protection and Attenuates Oxidative Stress-Induced Injuries via the Nrf2-ARE Signaling Pathway After Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health and medical problem worldwide. Oxidative stress plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of TBI. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), an important factor in the cellular defense against oxidative stress, is activated following TBI. In this study, the protective effects of Isoliquiritigenin (ILG), a promising antioxidant stress drug, was evaluated as a protective agent against TBI. In a mouse model of controlled cortical impact Injury, we found that the ILG administration reduced the Garcia neuroscore, injury histopathology, brain water content, cerebral vascular permeability, the expression of cleaved caspase3, aquaporin-4, glial fibrillary acidic protein and the increased the expression of neurofilament light chain protein, indicating the protective effects against TBI in vivo. ILG treatment after TBI also restored the oxidative stress and promoted the Nrf2 protein transfer from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. We then used Nrf2-/- mice to test the protective effect of Nrf2 during ILG treatment of TBI. Our findings indicated that Nrf2-/- mice had greater brain injury and oxidative stress than wild-type (WT) mice and ILG was less effective at inhibiting oxidative stress and repairing the brain injury than in the WT mice. In vitro studies in SY5Y cells under oxygen glucose deprivation/re-oxygenation stimulation yielded results that were consistent with those obtained in vivo showing that ILG promotes Nrf2 protein transfer from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that Nrf2 is an important protective factor against TBI-induced injuries, which indicates that the protective effects of ILG are mediated by inhibiting oxidative stress after TBI via a mechanism that involves the promotion of Nrf2 protein transfer from the cytoplasm to the nucleus.