cerulenin and Inflammation

This study aimed to understand the role of IL-10 secreted from bone marrow (BM) in a mouse model of pancreatic fibrosis. The severity of cerulein-induced inflammation, fibrosis, and the frequency of BM-derived myofibroblasts were evaluated in the pancreas of mice receiving either a wild-type (WT) BM or an IL-10 knockout (KO) BM transplantation. The area of collagen deposition increased significantly in the 3 weeks after cerulein cessation in mice with an IL-10 KO BM transplant (13.7 ± 0.6% and 18.4 ± 1.1%, p < 0.05), but no further increase was seen in WT BM recipients over this time. The percentage of BM-derived myofibroblasts also increased in the pancreas of the IL-10 KO BM recipients after cessation of cerulein (6.7 ± 1.1% and 11.9 ± 1.3%, p < 0.05), while this figure fell in WT BM recipients after cerulein withdrawal. Furthermore, macrophages were more numerous in the IL-10 KO BM recipients than the WT BM recipients after cerulein cessation (23.2 ± 2.3 versus 15.3 ± 1.7 per HPF, p < 0.05). In conclusion, the degree of fibrosis, inflammatory cell infiltration, and the number of BM-derived myofibroblasts were significantly different between IL-10 KO BM and WT BM transplanted mice, highlighting a likely role of IL-10 in pancreatitis.

Topics: Animals; Bone Marrow Transplantation; Cerulenin; Collagen; Fibrosis; Humans; Inflammation; Interleukin-10; Mice; Mice, Knockout; Myofibroblasts; Pancreas

Endothelial dysfunction is a well documented evidence for the onset of atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases. Lipids disorder is among the main risk factors for endothelial dysfunction in these diseases. Steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), one of the cholesterol transporters, plays an important role in the maintenance of intracellular lipid homeostasis. However, the effect of StAR on endothelial dysfunction is not well understood. Palmitic acid (PA) has been shown to decrease eNOS activity and induce inflammation, both are the causes of endothelial dysfunction, in an endothelial cell culture model.. StAR gene was introduced into primary rat aortic endothelial cells by adenovirus infection. Real-time PCR and Western blotting were performed to determine the relative genes and proteins expression level to elucidate the underlying mechanism. The free fatty acid and cholesterol quantification kits were used to detect total cellular free fatty acid and cholesterol. The levels of inflammatory factors and nitric oxide were determined by ELISA and classic Griess reagent methods respectively.. We successfully overexpressed StAR in primary rat aortic endothelial cells. Following StAR overexpression, mRNA levels of IL-1β, TNFα, IL6 and VCAM-1 and protein levels of IL-1β, , TNFα and IL-6 in culture supernatant were significantly decreased, which duing to blocke NFκB nuclear translocation and activation. Moreover, StAR overexpression attenuated the PA-induced reduction of nitric oxide bioavailability by protecting the bioactivity of pAkt/peNOS/NO pathway. Furthermore, the key genes involved in lipid metabolism were greatly reduced following StAR overexpression. In order to investigate the underlying mechanism, cerulenin and lovastatin, the inhibitor of fatty acid and cholesterol synthase, were added prior to PA treatment. The results showed that both cerulenin and lovastatin had a similar effect as StAR overexpression. On the other hand, the role of StAR was inhibited when siRNA was introduced to reduce StAR expression.. Our results showed that StAR attenuated lipid synthesis and uptake as well as PA-induced inflammation and reduction in NO bioavailability in aortic endothelial cells. StAR can ameliorate endothelial dysfunction induced by PA via reducing the intracellular lipid levels.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Aorta, Thoracic; Biological Availability; Blotting, Western; Cells, Cultured; Cerulenin; Cholesterol; Endothelial Cells; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Fatty Acid Synthesis Inhibitors; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; Inflammation; Inflammation Mediators; Interleukin-1beta; Interleukin-6; Lovastatin; Male; NF-kappa B; Nitric Oxide; Palmitic Acid; Phosphoproteins; Rats; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA Interference; RNA, Messenger; Time Factors; Transfection; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; Up-Regulation; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1