scholarly journals Therapeutic Benefit of Galectin-1: Beyond Membrane Repair, a Multifaceted Approach to LGMD2B

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3210
Author(s):  
Mary L. Vallecillo-Zúniga ◽  
Peter Daniel Poulson ◽  
Jacob S. Luddington ◽  
Christian J. Arnold ◽  
Matthew Rathgeber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Therapeutic Benefit ◽  
Muscle Membrane ◽  
Inflammation Markers ◽  
Membrane Repair ◽  
Similar Reduction ◽  
Functional Movement ◽  
Multifaceted Approach ◽  
Effective Form ◽  
Response Testing

Two of the main pathologies characterizing dysferlinopathies are disrupted muscle membrane repair and chronic inflammation, which lead to symptoms of muscle weakness and wasting. Here, we used recombinant human Galectin-1 (rHsGal-1) as a therapeutic for LGMD2B mouse and human models. Various redox and multimerization states of Gal-1 show that rHsGal-1 is the most effective form in both increasing muscle repair and decreasing inflammation, due to its monomer-dimer equilibrium. Dose-response testing shows an effective 25-fold safety profile between 0.54 and 13.5 mg/kg rHsGal-1 in Bla/J mice. Mice treated weekly with rHsGal-1 showed downregulation of canonical NF-κB inflammation markers, decreased muscle fat deposition, upregulated anti-inflammatory cytokines, increased membrane repair, and increased functional movement compared to non-treated mice. Gal-1 treatment also resulted in a positive self-upregulation loop of increased endogenous Gal-1 expression independent of NF-κB activation. A similar reduction in disease pathologies in patient-derived human cells demonstrates the therapeutic potential of Gal-1 in LGMD2B patients.

scholarly journals COVID-19—The Potential Beneficial Therapeutic Effects of Spironolactone during SARS-CoV-2 Infection

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kotfis ◽  
Kacper Lechowicz ◽  
Sylwester Drożdżal ◽  
Paulina Niedźwiedzka-Rystwej ◽  
Tomasz K. Wojdacz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pulmonary Fibrosis ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Severe Pneumonia ◽  
Therapeutic Benefit ◽  
World Health ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Infection ◽  
Dual Action ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Transmembrane Serine Protease

In March 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). The clinical course of the disease is unpredictable but may lead to severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and pneumonia leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). It has been shown that pulmonary fibrosis may be one of the major long-term complications of COVID-19. In animal models, the use of spironolactone was proven to be an important drug in the prevention of pulmonary fibrosis. Through its dual action as a mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonist and an androgenic inhibitor, spironolactone can provide significant benefits concerning COVID-19 infection. The primary effect of spironolactone in reducing pulmonary edema may also be beneficial in COVID-19 ARDS. Spironolactone is a well-known, widely used and safe anti-hypertensive and antiandrogenic medication. It has potassium-sparing diuretic action by antagonizing mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs). Spironolactone and potassium canrenoate, exerting combined pleiotropic action, may provide a therapeutic benefit to patients with COVID-19 pneumonia through antiandrogen, MR blocking, antifibrotic and anti-hyperinflammatory action. It has been proposed that spironolactone may prevent acute lung injury in COVID-19 infection due to its pleiotropic effects with favorable renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) and ACE2 expression, reduction in transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) activity and antiandrogenic action, and therefore it may prove to act as additional protection for patients at highest risk of severe pneumonia. Future prospective clinical trials are warranted to evaluate its therapeutic potential.

scholarly journals Plasma membrane integrity in health and disease: significance and therapeutic potential

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina Dias ◽  
Jesper Nylandsted
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Calcium Influx ◽  
Membrane Integrity ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Membrane Repair ◽  
Plasma Membrane Integrity ◽  
Repair Mechanisms ◽  
And Function

AbstractMaintenance of plasma membrane integrity is essential for normal cell viability and function. Thus, robust membrane repair mechanisms have evolved to counteract the eminent threat of a torn plasma membrane. Different repair mechanisms and the bio-physical parameters required for efficient repair are now emerging from different research groups. However, less is known about when these mechanisms come into play. This review focuses on the existence of membrane disruptions and repair mechanisms in both physiological and pathological conditions, and across multiple cell types, albeit to different degrees. Fundamentally, irrespective of the source of membrane disruption, aberrant calcium influx is the common stimulus that activates the membrane repair response. Inadequate repair responses can tip the balance between physiology and pathology, highlighting the significance of plasma membrane integrity. For example, an over-activated repair response can promote cancer invasion, while the inability to efficiently repair membrane can drive neurodegeneration and muscular dystrophies. The interdisciplinary view explored here emphasises the widespread potential of targeting plasma membrane repair mechanisms for therapeutic purposes.

scholarly journals Membrane blebbing as an assessment of functional rescue of dysferlin-deficient human myotubes via nonsense suppression

2010 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 901-905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bingjing Wang ◽  
Zhaohui Yang ◽  
Becky K. Brisson ◽  
Huisheng Feng ◽  
Zhiqian Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Stop Codon ◽  
Premature Stop Codon ◽  
Nonsense Suppression ◽  
Muscle Membrane ◽  
Membrane Repair ◽  
Vitro Assay ◽  
Membrane Blebbing ◽  
Human Myotubes

Mutations that result in the loss of the protein dysferlin result in defective muscle membrane repair and cause either a form of limb girdle muscular dystrophy (type 2B) or Miyoshi myopathy. Most patients are compound heterozygotes, often carrying one allele with a nonsense mutation. Using dysferlin-deficient mouse and human myocytes, we demonstrated that membrane blebbing in skeletal muscle myotubes in response to hypotonic shock requires dysferlin. Based on this, we developed an in vitro assay to assess rescue of dysferlin function in skeletal muscle myotubes. This blebbing assay may be useful for drug discovery/validation for dysferlin deficiency. With this assay, we demonstrate that the nonsense suppression drug, ataluren (PTC124), is able to induce read-through of the premature stop codon in a patient with a R1905X mutation in dysferlin and produce sufficient functional dysferlin (∼15% of normal levels) to rescue myotube membrane blebbing. Thus ataluren is a potential therapeutic for dysferlin-deficient patients harboring nonsense mutations.

scholarly journals Fer1L5, a Dysferlin Homologue Present in Vesicles and Involved in C2C12 Myoblast Fusion and Membrane Repair

Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 386
Author(s):  
R. Usha Kalyani ◽  
K. Perinbam ◽  
P. Jeyanthi ◽  
Naif Abdullah Al-Dhabi ◽  
Mariadhas Valan Arasu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Myoblast Fusion ◽  
C2c12 Cells ◽  
Muscle Membrane ◽  
C2c12 Myoblast ◽  
Related Protein ◽  
Membrane Repair ◽  
Ionic Detergent ◽  
Biochemical Fractionation ◽  
Two Stages

Fer1L5 is a dysferlin and myoferlin related protein, which has been predicted to have a role in vesicle trafficking and muscle membrane fusion events. Mutations in dysferlin and otoferlin genes cause heredity diseases: muscular dystrophy and deafness in humans, respectively. Dysferlin is implicated in membrane repair. Myoferlin has a role in myogenesis. In this study, we investigated the role of the Fer1L5 protein during myoblast fusion and membrane repair. To study the functions of Fer1L5 we used confocal microscopy, biochemical fractionation, Western blot analysis and multiphoton laser wounding assay. By immunolabelling, Fer1L5 was detected in vesicular structures. By biochemical fractionation Fer1L5 was observed in low density vesicles. Our studies show that the membranes of Fer1L5 vesicles are non-resistant to non-ionic detergent. Partial co-staining of Fer1L5 with other two ferlin vesicles, respectively, was observed. Fer1L5 expression was highly detected at the fusion sites of two apposed C2C12 myoblast membranes and its expression level gradually increased at D2 and reached a maximum at day 4 before decreasing during further differentiation. Our studies showed that Fer1L5 has fusion defects during myoblast fusion and impaired membrane repair when the C2C12 cultures were incubated with inhibitory Fer1L5 antibodies. In C2C12 cells Fer1L5 vesicles are involved in two stages, the fusion of myoblasts and the formation of large myotubes. Fer1L5 also plays a role in membrane repair.

scholarly journals Natural Flavonol, Myricetin, Enhances the Function and Survival of Cryopreserved Hepatocytes In Vitro and In Vivo

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (24) ◽  
pp. 6123
Author(s):  
Changhao Cui ◽  
Shin Enosawa ◽  
Hitomi Matsunari ◽  
Hiroshi Nagashima ◽  
Akihiro Umezawa
Keyword(s):  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Parenchymal Cell ◽  
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency ◽  
Therapeutic Benefit ◽  
Human Albumin ◽  
Ammonia Removal ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
Specific Gene

To improve the therapeutic potential of hepatocyte transplantation, the effects of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4 (MKK4) inhibitor, myricetin (3,3′,4′,5,5′,7-hexahydroxylflavone) were examined using porcine and human hepatocytes in vitro and in vivo. Hepatocytes were cultured, showing the typical morphology of hepatic parenchymal cell under 1–10 µmol/L of myricetin, keeping hepatocyte specific gene expression, and ammonia removal activity. After injecting the hepatocytes into neonatal Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mouse livers, cell colony formation was found at 10–15 weeks after transplantation. The human albumin levels in the sera of engrafted mice were significantly higher in the recipients of myricetin-treated cells than non-treated cells, corresponding to the size of the colonies. In terms of therapeutic efficacy, the injection of myricetin-treated hepatocytes significantly prolonged the survival of ornithine transcarbamylase-deficient SCID mice from 32 days (non-transplant control) to 54 days. Biochemically, the phosphorylation of MKK4 was inhibited in the myricetin-treated hepatocytes. These findings suggest that myricetin has a potentially therapeutic benefit that regulates hepatocyte function and survival, thereby treating liver failure.

scholarly journals MG53 Preserves Neuromuscular Junction Integrity and Alleviates ALS Disease Progression

Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1522
Author(s):  
Jianxun Yi ◽  
Ang Li ◽  
Xuejun Li ◽  
Kiho Park ◽  
Xinyu Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Progression ◽  
Neuromuscular Junctions ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Diaphragm Muscle ◽  
Muscle Membrane ◽  
Membrane Repair ◽  
Plasma Membrane Repair ◽  
Als Patients ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Increased Susceptibility

Respiratory failure from progressive respiratory muscle weakness is the most common cause of death in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Defects in neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) and progressive NMJ loss occur at early stages, thus stabilizing and preserving NMJs represents a potential therapeutic strategy to slow ALS disease progression. Here we demonstrate that NMJ damage is repaired by MG53, an intrinsic muscle protein involved in plasma membrane repair. Compromised diaphragm muscle membrane repair and NMJ integrity are early pathological events in ALS. Diaphragm muscles from ALS mouse models show increased susceptibility to injury and intracellular MG53 aggregation, which is also a hallmark of human muscle samples from ALS patients. We show that systemic administration of recombinant human MG53 protein in ALS mice protects against injury to diaphragm muscle, preserves NMJ integrity, and slows ALS disease progression. As MG53 is present in circulation in rodents and humans under physiological conditions, our findings provide proof-of-concept data supporting MG53 as a potentially safe and effective therapy to mitigate ALS progression.

scholarly journals Proteasome Inhibitors Reduce Thrombospondin-1 Release in Human Dysferlin-Deficient Myotubes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Fernández-Simón ◽  
Cinta Lleixà ◽  
Xavier Suarez-Calvet ◽  
Jordi Diaz-Manera ◽  
Isabel Illa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin D3 ◽  
Transmembrane Protein ◽  
Proteasome Inhibitors ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
Muscle Membrane ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Missense Mutations ◽  
Membrane Repair ◽  
Thrombospondin 1 ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome

Abstract Background: Dysferlin is a type-II transmembrane protein and the causative gene of dysferlinopathies, which are characterized by absence or marked reduction in dysferlin protein and muscle weakness. Dysferlin is implicated in vesicle fusion, trafficking, and membrane repair. The muscle biopsy of patients with dysferlinopathy is characterized by the presence of inflammatory infiltrates. Release of thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) by dysferlin deficient muscle has been reported as a possible factor of the inflammation observed in the muscle of both human and mouse models of dysferlinopathy. It has also been reported that treatment with vitamin D3 enhances dysferlin expression. The ubiquitin-proteasome system recognizes and removes proteins that fail to fold or assemble properly and previous studies suggest that its inhibition could have a therapeutic implication in muscle dystrophies. Here we assessed whether inhibition of the ubiquitin proteasome system prevented degradation of dysferlin in immortalized myoblasts from a patient carrying two missense mutationsMethods: Dysferlin deficient myotubes were treated with EB1089, a vitamin D3 analog, oprozomib and ixazomib to assess proteasome inhibition. Western blot was performed to analyze the effect of the different treatments on the recovery of dysferlin and myogenin expression. TSP-1 was quantified using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay to analyze the effect of these drugs on its release.A membrane repair assay was designed to assess the ability of treated myotubes to recover after membrane injury. Data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA test followed by by Tukey post hoc test and analysis of variance. Ap≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results : Treatment with proteasome inhibitors and EB1089 resulted in a slight increase of dysferlin expression which was accompanied by a low increase of myogenin expression. Also, EB1089 and proteasome inhibitors reduced the release of TSP-1 in myotubes from a dysferlinopathy patient. However, the increase of dysferlin had no effect on the repair of muscle membrane after injury. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the ubiquitin-proteasome system might not be the main mechanism of mutant dysferlin degradation. However, its inhibition could help to improve muscle inflammation by reducing TSP-1 release.

scholarly journals MG53 preserves neuromuscular junction integrity and alleviates ALS disease progression

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianxun Yi ◽  
Ang Li ◽  
Xuejun Li ◽  
Ki Ho Park ◽  
Xinyu Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Progression ◽  
Neuromuscular Junctions ◽  
Muscle Protein ◽  
Diaphragm Muscle ◽  
Muscle Membrane ◽  
Membrane Repair ◽  
Plasma Membrane Repair ◽  
Als Patients ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Increased Susceptibility

AbstractRespiratory failure from progressive respiratory muscle weakness is the most common cause of death in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Defects in neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) and progressive NMJ loss occur at early stages, thus stabilizing and preserving NMJs represents a potential therapeutic strategy to slow ALS disease progression. Here we demonstrate that NMJ damage is repaired by MG53, an intrinsic muscle protein involved in plasma membrane repair. Compromised diaphragm muscle membrane repair and NMJ integrity are early pathological findings in ALS. Diaphragm muscles from ALS mouse models show increased susceptibility to injury and intracellular MG53 aggregation, which is also a hallmark of human muscle samples from ALS patients. We show that systemic administration of recombinant human MG53 protein (rhMG53) in ALS mice protects against injury to diaphragm muscle, preserves NMJ integrity, and slows ALS disease progression. As MG53 is present in circulation in rodents and humans under physiological conditions, our findings provide proof-of-concept data supporting MG53 as a potentially safe and effective therapy to mitigate ALS progression.

Eficácia polissonográfica de um aparelho intraoral semiflexível em pacientes apneicos resistentes ao CPAP – estudo preliminar

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (52) ◽  
pp. 88-95
Author(s):  
Marcelo de Melo Quintela ◽  
Leticia Cristina Cidreira Boaro ◽  
William Cunha Brandt ◽  
Márcia Hiromi Tanaka ◽  
Caio Vinicius Gonçalvez Roman Torres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Sleep Apnea Syndrome ◽  
Therapeutic Benefit ◽  
Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽  
Similar Reduction ◽  
Inappropriate Use ◽  
Obstructive Sleep ◽  
Apnea Syndrome ◽  
Post Hoc

INTRODUCTION: Intraoral appliances (IOA) are indicated for treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) even in patients with poor adherence to CPAP. Polysomnography with IOA may confirm therapeutic benefit. METHODS: Polysomnographic results of a semiflexible IOA in patients under inadequate use of CPAP were compared by a retrospective pilot study including 17 patients (11 men and 6 women) aged 53.7 +- 7.8 years, BMI of 27.05 +- 4.1kg/m2 and basal apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 35.0 +- 19.8/h. Confirmed the inappropriate use or refusal of CPAP, the patients received a semiflexible propulsion device (AQUALITY) and, after complete titration, new polysomnographies were compared to baseline and CPAP registers. ANOVA was used for repeated and post-hoc Bonferroni measurements (p <0.05). RESULTS: There was a similar reduction in AHI with OA (7.7 +- 1.7/h) and CPAP (6.1 +- 1.6/h), both compared to baseline (p <0.001). The O2 desaturation index was reduced with IOA (2.4 +- 0.6 h) and CPAP (1.3 +- 0.6/h), both compared to baseline (15.7 +- 3.8) (p <0.001). Awakening rates were also minimized with IOA (7.2 +- 1.9/h) and CPAP (4.2 +- 0.7/h), both compared to baseline (18.9 +- 5.3) (p <0.001). Sleep efficiency was higher with IOA compared to CPAP (87,2 +- 2,1 x 75,6 +- 3,9) (p <0.05). CONCLUSION: Treatment with the selected device resulted in improved polysomnographic records in this sample and may be indicated as an alternative to CPAP in undertreated patients.

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