Regulation of PINX1 expression ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury and alleviates cell senescence during the convalescent phase through affecting the telomerase activity.

PIN2/TERF1-interacting telomerase inhibitor 1 (PINX1) is necessary for telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) elements to bind at telomeres and non-telomere sites. We aimed to investigate the role of PINX1 and TERT in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lung injury during acute stage and convalescent phase. Lung injury rat model was induced, and the expression of PINX1 and TERT in serum and lung tissues was examined using RT-qPCR on day 0 (D0), D3, and D14, respectively. The pathologic changes of lung tissues on D3 and D14 were detected using hematoxylin and eosin staining after TERT overexpression, PINX1 overexpression, or PINX1 silencing in lung injury rats. Results revealed that TERT was persistently reduced on D3 and D14, while PINX1 was decreased on D3 but increased on D14. TERT overexpression and PINX1 silencing led to the most serious lung damage, the highest levels of inflammatory factors and apoptosis on D3, while the best recovery was observed on D14. Simultaneously, PINX1 overexpression presented the opposite effects at acute stage and convalescent phase. Co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) assay verified the connection between PINX1 and TERT. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that regulation of PINX1 expression ameliorates lung injury and alleviates cell senescence during the convalescent phase through affecting the telomerase activity.

17ß-estradiol inhibits human umbilical vascular endothelial cell senescence by regulating autophagy via p53.

Vascular endothelial cell (VEC) senescence is an initiating factor in numerous cardiovascular diseases. Recent studies showed that 17ß-estradiol (17ß-E2), an estrogen with numerous biological activities such as inhibition of atherosclerosis, protects VECs from senescence. However, the effects of 17ß-E2 on human umbilical VECs (HUVECs) remain unknown. This study investigated the anti-senescent effect of 17ß-E2 on HUVECs and explored the underlying mechanism with respect to autophagy and p53 activity. First, rapamycin and 3-methyladenine were used to clarify the relationship between autophagy and senescence in HUVECs, and an inverse relationship was demonstrated. Next, the effect of 17ß-E2 on H2O2-induced senescence of HUVECs was examined. Increased autophagy induced by 17ß-E2 inhibited H2O2-induced senescence of HUVECs, increased cell viability, and maintained HUVEC morphology. 17ß-E2 pre-treatment also decreased cell cycle arrest, decreased the dephosphorylation of Rb, decreased the production of ET-1, and increased the production of NO. Most importantly, 17ß-E2 pre-treatment increased autophagy by activating p53 and its downstream effector p53-upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA). Overall, our data indicate the critical role of autophagy in the anti-senescent effect of 17ß-E2 on HUVECs.

The time course of emotional picture processing: an event-related potential study using a rapid serial visual presentation paradigm.

The present study recorded event-related potentials using rapid serial visual presentation paradigm to explore the time course of emotionally charged pictures. Participants completed a dual-target task as quickly and accurately as possible, in which they were asked to judge the gender of the person depicted (task 1) and the valence (positive, neutral, or negative) of the given picture (task 2). The results showed that the amplitudes of the P2 component were larger for emotional pictures than they were for neutral pictures, and this finding represents brain processes that distinguish emotional stimuli from non-emotional stimuli. Furthermore, positive, neutral, and negative pictures elicited late positive potentials with different amplitudes, implying that the differences between emotions are recognized. Additionally, the time course for emotional picture processing was consistent with the latter two stages of a three-stage model derived from studies on emotional facial expression processing and emotional adjective processing. The results of the present study indicate that in the three-stage model of emotion processing, the middle and late stages are more universal and stable, and thus occur at similar time points when using different stimuli (faces, words, or scenes).