Project description:Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a major microbial mediator for tissue injury and sepsis resulting from Gram-negative bacterial infection. LPS is an external factor that induces robust expression of serum amyloid A (SAA), a major constituent of the acute-phase proteins, but the relationship between SAA expression and LPS-induced tissue injury remains unclear. Here, we report that mice with inducible transgenic expression of human SAA1 are partially protected against inflammatory response and lung injury caused by LPS and cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). In comparison, transgenic SAA1 does not attenuate TNFα-induced lung inflammation and injury. The SAA1 expression level correlates inversely with the endotoxin concentrations in serum and lung tissues since SAA1 binds directly to LPS to form a complex that promotes LPS uptake by macrophages. Disruption of the SAA1-LPS interaction with a SAA1-derived peptide partially reduces the protective effect and exacerbates inflammation. These findings demonstrate that acute-phase SAA provides innate feedback protection against LPS-induced inflammation and tissue injury.
Project description:Serum amyloid A (SAA) proteins SAA1 and SAA2 are prominent acute-phase reactants which circulate in association with the high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) fraction of plasma. Plasma levels of SAA1 and SAA2 increase dramatically, by as much as 1000-fold, within 24 h of tissue injury and then rapidly decrease with cessation of the inflammatory stimulus, suggesting that SAA clearance and/or catabolism is important to the re-establishment of homoeostasis. In this context, aberrant SAA catabolism has long been considered a potential factor in the pathogenesis of reactive amyloidosis. To initiate studies aimed at understanding the differential regulation of SAA metabolism, we have produced 35S-labelled murine SAA1 and SAA2 in Escherichia coli, bound them individually to HDL, and then compared the plasma-clearance characteristics of SAA1 and SAA2 under normal and acute-phase conditions. When bound to normal HDL, SAA2 [half-life (t1/2) = 30 min] was cleared significantly faster than SAA1 (t1/2 = 75 min). Clearance of SAA1 and SAA2 was significantly slower when each was bound to acute-phase HDL as opposed to normal HDL, when clearance rates were determined in acute-phase mice versus normal mice, and when normal HDL was remodelled to contain both recombinant isotypes rather than just one of the isotypes. Thus it appears that an increased amount of SAA on HDL, or possibly the combined presence of both isotypes on HDL, is associated with a prolongation in the plasma half-life of SAA.
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic has established an unparalleled necessity to rapidly find effective treatments for the illness; unfortunately, no specific treatment has been found yet. As this is a new emerging chaotic situation, already existing drugs have been suggested to ameliorate the infection of SARS-CoV-2. The consumption of caffeine has been suggested primarily because it improves exercise performance, reduces fatigue, and increases wakefulness and awareness. Caffeine has been proven to be an effective anti-inflammatory and immunomodulator. In airway smooth muscle, it has bronchodilator effects mainly due to its activity as a phosphodiesterase inhibitor and adenosine receptor antagonist. In addition, a recent published document has suggested the potential antiviral activity of this drug using in silico molecular dynamics and molecular docking; in this regard, caffeine might block the viral entrance into host cells by inhibiting the formation of a receptor-binding domain and the angiotensin-converting enzyme complex and, additionally, might reduce viral replication by the inhibition of the activity of 3-chymotrypsin-like proteases. Here, we discuss how caffeine through certain mechanisms of action could be beneficial in SARS-CoV-2. Nevertheless, further studies are required for validation through in vitro and in vivo models.
Project description:The addition of acute-phase apolipoprotein serum amyloid A (SAA) to cultured aortic smooth-muscle cells caused a decrease in the incorporation of [(14)C]acetate into lipids. Optimal inhibition of lipid biosynthesis was achieved with 2 microM SAA, and the effect was maintained for up to 1 week when SAA was included in the culture medium. Lipid extracts were subjected to TLC and it was determined that the SAA-induced decrease in [(14)C]acetate incorporation into lipids was attributable to decreases in cholesterol, phospholipid and triglyceride levels. The accumulated mass of cholesterol and phospholipid in SAA-treated cultures was significantly less than that of controls, with no change in the accumulated protein. Moreover, SAA had no effect on either protein synthesis or DNA synthesis, suggesting that SAA specifically alters lipid synthesis. By using a peptide corresponding to the cholesterol-binding domain of acute-phase SAA (amino acids 1-18), it was shown that this region of the molecule was as effective as the full-length protein in decreasing lipid synthesis and the accumulation of cholesterol and phospholipid. The implications of these findings for atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease are discussed.
Project description:The glymphatic movement of fluid through the brain powerfully clears metabolic waste. We observed multisensory 40 Hz stimulation promotes the influx of cerebrospinal fluid and the efflux of interstitial fluid in the cortex of the 5XFAD mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, which was associated with increased aquaporin-4 polarization along astrocytic endfeet, dilated meningeal lymphatic vessels, and amyloid accumulation in cervical lymph nodes. Inhibiting glymphatic clearance abolished the removal of amyloid by multisensory 40 Hz stimulation. Using chemogenetic manipulation and a genetically encoded sensor for neuropeptide signaling, we found VIP+ interneurons facilitate glymphatic clearance by regulating arterial pulsatility. Our findings establish novel mechanisms to recruit the glymphatic system to remove brain amyloid.
Project description:Amyloid-β (Aβ) toxicity is considered to be companioned by Tau phosphorylation in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The clinical AD therapy is usually subjected to low blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration and complex interaction mechanisms between Aβ and phosphorylated Tau. A "Drug-Carrier" synergy therapy is herein designed to simultaneously target Aβ and Tau-associated pathways for AD treatment. To imitate natural nanoparticle configuration, the endogenous apolipoprotein A-I and its mimicking peptide 4F fused angiopep-2 (Ang) are sequentially grafted onto lipid nanocomposite (APLN), providing liberty of BBB crossing and microglia targeted Aβ clearance. For synergy treatment, methylene blue (MB) is further assembled into APLN (APLN/MB) for Tau aggregation inhibition. After intravenous administration, the optimized density (5 wt%) of Ang ligands dramatically enhances APLN/MB intracerebral shuttling and accumulation, which is 2.15-fold higher than that Ang absent-modification. The site-specific release of MB collaborates APLN to promote Aβ capture for microglia endocytosis clearance and reduce p-Tau level by 25.31% in AD pathogenesis. In AD-Aβ-Tau bearing mouse models, APLN/MB can relieve AD symptoms, rescue neuron viability and cognitive functions. Collectively, it is confirmed that "Drug-Carrier" synergy therapy of APLN/MB is a promising approach in the development of AD treatments.
Project description:Conventional approaches for antiparasitic drug discovery center upon discovering selective agents that adversely impact parasites with minimal host side effects. Here, we show that agents with a broad polypharmacology, often considered 'dirtier' drugs, can have unique efficacy if they combine deleterious effects on the parasite with beneficial actions in the host. This principle is evidenced through a screen for drugs to treat schistosomiasis, a parasitic flatworm disease that impacts over 230 million people. A target-based screen of a Schistosoma serotoninergic G protein coupled receptor yielded the potent agonist, ergotamine, which disrupted worm movement. In vivo, ergotamine decreased mortality, parasite load and intestinal egg counts but also uniquely reduced organ pathology through engagement of host GPCRs that repressed hepatic stellate cell activation, inflammatory damage and fibrosis. The unique ability of ergotamine to engage both host and parasite GPCRs evidences a future strategy for anthelmintic drug design that coalesces deleterious antiparasitic activity with beneficial host effects.
Project description:Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a plasma protein that transports lipids during inflammation. To explore SAA solution conformations and lipid-binding mechanism, we used hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry, lipoprotein reconstitution, amino acid sequence analysis, and molecular dynamics simulations. Solution conformations of lipid-bound and lipid-free mSAA1 at pH~7.4 agreed in details with the crystal structures but also showed important differences. The results revealed that amphipathic α-helices h1 and h3 comprise a lipid-binding site that is partially pre-formed in solution, is stabilized upon binding lipids, and shows lipid-induced folding of h3. This site sequesters apolar ligands via a concave hydrophobic surface in SAA oligomers. The largely disordered/dynamic C-terminal region is conjectured to mediate the promiscuous binding of other ligands. The h1-h2 linker region is predicted to form an unexpected β-hairpin that may represent an early amyloidogenic intermediate. The results help establish structural underpinnings for understanding SAA interactions with its key functional ligands, its evolutional conservation, and its transition to amyloid.
Project description:Amyloid-β pathology is associated with greater tau pathology and facilitates tau propagation from the medial temporal lobe to the neocortex, where tau is closely associated with local neurodegeneration. The degree of the involvement of amyloid-β versus existing tau pathology in tau propagation and neurodegeneration has not been fully elucidated in human studies. Careful quantification of these effects can inform the development and timing of therapeutic interventions. We conducted causal mediation analyses to investigate the relative contributions of amyloid-β and existing tau to tau propagation and neurodegeneration in two longitudinal studies of individuals without dementia: the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (N = 103, age range 57-96) and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (N = 122, age range 56-92). As proxies of neurodegeneration, we investigated cerebral blood flow, glucose metabolism, and regional volume. We first confirmed that amyloid-β moderates the association between tau in the entorhinal cortex and in the inferior temporal gyrus, a neocortical region exhibiting early tau pathology (amyloid group × entorhinal tau interaction term β = 0.488, standard error [SE] = 0.126, P < 0.001 in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging; β = 0.619, SE = 0.145, P < 0.001 in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative). In causal mediation analyses accounting for this facilitating effect of amyloid, amyloid positivity had a statistically significant direct effect on inferior temporal tau as well as an indirect effect via entorhinal tau (average direct effect =0.47, P < 0.001 and average causal mediation effect =0.44, P = 0.0028 in Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging; average direct effect =0.43, P = 0.004 and average causal mediation effect =0.267, P = 0.0088 in Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative). Entorhinal tau mediated up to 48% of the total effect of amyloid on inferior temporal tau. Higher inferior temporal tau was associated with lower colocalized cerebral blood flow, glucose metabolism, and regional volume, whereas amyloid had only an indirect effect on these measures via tau, implying tau as the primary driver of neurodegeneration (amyloid-cerebral blood flow average causal mediation effect =-0.28, P = 0.021 in Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging; amyloid-volume average causal mediation effect =-0.24, P < 0.001 in Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative). Our findings suggest targeting amyloid or medial temporal lobe tau might slow down neocortical spread of tau and subsequent neurodegeneration, but a combination therapy may yield better outcomes.