Journal: International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Article Title: High-Throughput Screen Detects Calcium Signaling Dysfunction in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome

doi: 10.3390/ijms22147327

Figure Lengend Snippet: Ca 2+ transporters localized in MAM.

Article Snippet: VDAC , Voltage-dependent anion-selective channel protein 1 , Rabbit , AVC-001 Alomone Labs..

Techniques:

Journal: Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy

Article Title: Short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase initiates mtDNA demethylation and leakage to fuel antitumor immunity in colorectal cancer

doi: 10.1038/s41392-026-02675-8

Figure Lengend Snippet: ACADS deficiency inhibits mtDNA leakage-mediated Cgas-Sting signaling in a mtDNA channel-dependent manner. a Representative immunofluorescence image showing cytosolic mtDNA foci in MC-38 cells following Acads knockdown (sh- Acads #2) and in control cells (sh- NC ) (scale bar, 5 μm). b Quantification of the mean number of cytosolic mtDNA foci per cell, corresponding to the images shown in ( a ) ( n = 6 per group). c Cytosolic and whole-cell genomic DNA were separately isolated from Acads knockdown (#1, #2) and NC cells. The relative levels of cytosolic mtDNA (targeting the ND1 and D-loop regions) were then quantified via qPCR, with the nuclear gene Tert from the whole-cell genomic DNA used as the internal reference ( n = 4 per group). d Representative immunofluorescence image showing cytosolic mtDNA foci in MC-38 cells following Acads overexpression (OE- Acads ) and in control cells (OE- NC ). e Quantification of the mean number of cytosolic mtDNA foci per cell, corresponding to the images shown in ( d ) ( n = 6 per group). f Cytosolic and whole-cell genomic DNA were separately isolated from OE- Acads and NC cells. The relative levels of cytosolic mtDNA (targeting the ND1 and D-loop regions) were then quantified via qPCR, with the nuclear gene Tert from the whole-cell genomic DNA used as the internal reference. g qPCR showing the relative levels of cytosolic mtDNA, ND1 , in OE- Acads and NC cells following 72 h of treatment with ethidium bromide (EtBr, 2 μM) or vehicle (DMSO) ( n = 4 per group). β-actin was used as the internal reference. h Western blotting showing the protein levels of Cgas-Sting signaling pathway proteins (Cgas, Sting, Tbk1, and Irf3) in Acads -overexpressing (Lv- Acads , OE) and NC cells following 72 h of treatment with EtBr (2 μM) and DMSO. qPCR showing the relative levels of cytosolic mtDNA, ND1 , in MC-38 cells with or without Acads intervention following 24 h of treatment with 200 μM MitoQ ( i , n = 6 per group), 5 μM VBIT4 ( j , n = 4 per group), or 5 μM cyclosporin A (CsA, k , n = 6 per group). Western blotting showing the protein levels of the Cgas-Sting pathway in MC-38 cells with or without Acads overexpression following 24 h of treatment with 5 μM VBIT4 ( l ) or 5 μM CsA ( m ). Representative image ( n ) and histogram of tumor weight ( o ) illustrating the impact of VBIT4 on the progression of subcutaneous tumors established by MC-38 cells with or without Acads overexpression. VBIT4 (20 mg/kg) was administered daily starting on day 5 postinoculation, with a total duration of 5 consecutive days ( n = 5 per group). p , q Western blotting showing the protein levels of Bax, Vdac1, Vdac3, Hsp60, and Phb1 in whole cells (total) and mitochondria (Mito.) in Acads -knockdown (sh- Acads ) or Acads -overexpressing MC-38 cells (Lv- Acads ). r Representative images of flow cytometry analysis (left) and histogram (right) demonstrating the mean fluorescence intensity of TMRM in MC-38 cells with or without Acads knockdown ( n = 3 per group). The data are shown as the means ± SDs; n.s stands for not significant; * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001

Article Snippet: The membranes were washed with TBST and incubated overnight at 4 °C with primary antibodies, including ACADS (#AP75024, Abcepta, Jiangsu, China), DNMT1 (#NB100-56519AF594, NOVUS), cGAS (Cat#31659, Cell Signaling Technology), p-STING (#PA5-105674, Invitrogen), STING (#A3575, ABclonal), p-TBK1 (#AP1026, ABclonal), TBK1 (#AF8103, Beyotime), p-IRF3 (#4947, Cell Signaling Technology), IRF3 (#4302, Cell Signaling Technology), BAX (#A0207, ABclonal), VDAC1 (#A19707, ABclonal), VDAC3 (#55260-1-AP, Proteintech), HSP60 (#AF0186, Beyotime), PHB1 (#10787-1-AP, Proteintech), Lamin B1 (#ab16048, Abcam), HA (#51064-2-AP, Proteintech), TFAM (#A13552, ABclonal), NRF1 (#12482-1-AP, Proteintech), PGC1α (#66369-1-Ig, Proteintech), Twinkle (#18793-1-AP, Proteintech), POLG (#AP14948B, Abcepta), and β-actin (#66009-1-Ig, Proteintech).

Techniques: Immunofluorescence, Knockdown, Control, Isolation, Over Expression, Western Blot, Flow Cytometry, Fluorescence

Journal: Autophagy

Article Title: Antidepressant drug sertraline modulates AMPK-MTOR signaling-mediated autophagy via targeting mitochondrial VDAC1 protein.

doi: 10.1080/15548627.2020.1841953

Figure Lengend Snippet: Figure 4. Biophysical validation reveals VDAC1 as a new protein target of Sert. (A) The DARTS assay for target validation. VDAC1 protein stability was increased upon Sert (100 μM) treatment in HUVECs lysates. Pronase treatment was conducted for 5, 10, and 20 min. The graph plots the quantification data is shown in (A). n = 3, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. (B) The DARTS assay demonstrated the dose-dependent binding of Sert to VDAC1. Treatment with pronase (5 μg/mL) was conducted for 10 min. The graph plots the quantification data is shown in (B). n = 3, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. (C) In silico docking model of Sert interacting with VDAC1 (human VDAC1, RCSB PDB ID: 2JK4). Sert bound to the VDAC1 between α-helix and β-sheet in the most stable pose and binding motifs were depicted with several high- affinity interactions between Sert and the VDAC1 pocket. Ligands are shown as gray sticks in displayed hydrogen bond surfaces. Bonds are shown as dashed lines color-coded as follows: hydrophobic interactions in orange, electrostatic interaction in purple, and hydrogen bonds in green and sky blue.

Article Snippet: Recombinant VDAC1 plasmid transfection analysis For transient overexpression of VDAC1, MYC-VDAC1 (Origene, RC209949) was purchased.

Techniques: Biomarker Discovery, Binding Assay, In Silico

Journal: Autophagy

Article Title: Antidepressant drug sertraline modulates AMPK-MTOR signaling-mediated autophagy via targeting mitochondrial VDAC1 protein.

doi: 10.1080/15548627.2020.1841953

Figure Lengend Snippet: Figure 5. Biological validation using vdac1-knockout cells reveals that VDAC1 is a biological relevant protein target of Sert. (A) Western blot analysis of the levels of VDAC1, p-MTOR, MTOR, p-AMPK, AMPK, and ACTB in cells after each compound treatment for 30 min in WT MEFs or vdac1-knockout MEFs. The graph plots the quantification data is shown in (A). n = 3, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. (B) MAP1LC3 positive puncta (green) were increased by Sert (5 μM) treatment in WT MEFs, whereas vdac1-knockout MEFs treated with Sert did not induce autophagic vesicles formation. The cells were treated with Sert (5 μM) or Rapa (10 μM) for 24 h in HUVECs. And then, the cells were harvested, followed by treatment with MAP1LC3B (green) antibody for 1 h. Nuclei were stained with DAPI. Images were obtained from confocal microscopy. Quantification of data is shown in (B). Values are means ± SEM; n > 10 cells, ***p < 0.001; scale bar: 10 μm. (C) Autophagic flux evaluation in WT MEFs or vdac1-knockout MEFs using mCherry-GFP MAP1LC3 in the presence of each compound. Representative images of merged channels are shown; scale bar: 10 μm. Pearson coefficient for the colocalization analysis is shown. Quantification of data is shown in (C). Values are means ± SEM; n > 10 cells, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. (D) Effect of Sert treatment on the proliferation of WT MEFs and vdac1-knockout MEFs. All cells were treated with Sert (0–5 μM) for 72 h, and cell growth was measured using an MTT colorimetric assay. N = 3, Values are means ± SEM. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

Article Snippet: Recombinant VDAC1 plasmid transfection analysis For transient overexpression of VDAC1, MYC-VDAC1 (Origene, RC209949) was purchased.

Techniques: Biomarker Discovery, Knock-Out, Western Blot, Staining, Confocal Microscopy, Colorimetric Assay

Journal: Autophagy

Article Title: Antidepressant drug sertraline modulates AMPK-MTOR signaling-mediated autophagy via targeting mitochondrial VDAC1 protein.

doi: 10.1080/15548627.2020.1841953

Figure Lengend Snippet: Figure 6. Validation of the binding site of Sert on VDAC1 (A) For DARTS assay, vdac1−/- MEF cells were transfected with WT MYC-VDAC1, MYC-VDAC1H184P or MYC- VDAC1S196A vectors at 1500 nM each for 48 h. And then, the cells were harvested, lysed, followed by treatment with (Sert, 100 μM) treatment. Pronase treatment (5 μg/mL) was conducted for 10 min. The graph plots the quantification data is shown in (A). n = 3, *p < 0.05. (B) VDAC1−/- MEF cells were transfected with WT MYC- VDAC1, MYC-VDAC1H184P or MYC-VDAC1S196A vectors at 200 nM each for 24 h. Then, the cells were treated with Sert (5 μM) for an additional 24 h. And then, the cells were harvested, followed by treatment with MYC (red) and MAP1LC3B (green) antibody for 3 h. Nuclei were stained with DAPI. Images were obtained from confocal microscopy. Quantification of data is shown in (B). Values are means ± SEM; n > 10 cells, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001; scale bar: 10 μm.

Article Snippet: Recombinant VDAC1 plasmid transfection analysis For transient overexpression of VDAC1, MYC-VDAC1 (Origene, RC209949) was purchased.

Techniques: Biomarker Discovery, Binding Assay, Transfection, Staining, Confocal Microscopy

Journal: Autophagy

Article Title: Antidepressant drug sertraline modulates AMPK-MTOR signaling-mediated autophagy via targeting mitochondrial VDAC1 protein.

doi: 10.1080/15548627.2020.1841953

Figure Lengend Snippet: Figure 9. VDAC1 is a biologically relevant target protein of Sert-induced biological activity on tauopathy. (A) Western blot analysis of the level of VDAC1, p-MAPT, MAPT, Cleaved MAPT, MAP1LC3, and ACTB in inducible MAPT cells after transfection with si-VDAC1 (100 nM) for 48 h. The graph plots the quantification data is shown in (A). n = 3, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. (B) Degradation of MAPT oligomers was visualized in MAPT-BiFC cells when cells were transfected with si- VDAC1 (100 nM) for 48 h. Scale bar: 20 μm. Quantification of data is shown in (B). Values are means ± SEM; n > 20 cells. ***p < 0.001. (C) Schematic summary of VDAC1-mediated autophagy modulation upon Sert treatment.

Article Snippet: Recombinant VDAC1 plasmid transfection analysis For transient overexpression of VDAC1, MYC-VDAC1 (Origene, RC209949) was purchased.

Techniques: Activity Assay, Western Blot, Transfection

Journal: Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences

Article Title: CCN2/CTGF tip the balance of growth factors towards TGF-β2 in primary open-angle glaucoma

doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1045411

Figure Lengend Snippet: BMP signaling in CCN2/CTGF treated HTM-N cells in vitro . (A, B) Verification of BMP signaling activity in HMT-N cells in vitro . Immunoreactivity of pSmad1/5/8 (green) in HMT-N cells was increased after the treatment with 10 ng/mL BMP-4 (A) and 10 ng/mL BMP-7 (B) . Nuclei were stained with Dapi (blue). n = 3 (C) Western blot analysis of pSmad1/5/8 in the cytoplasmic fraction of HTM-N cells after the treatment with 10 ng/mL BMP-4 or BMP-7 for 1 h. Protein synthesis of pSmad1/5/8 was significantly increased after the treatment with BMP-4 for. (n = 5). GAPDH was used to normalize protein synthesis. Data represented as mean ± SD. Right panel shows a representative Western blot. For statistical analysis unpaired two-tailed t -test was used. (D) Western blot analysis of pSmad1/5/8 in the nuclear fraction of HTM-N cells after the treatment with 10 ng/mL BMP-4 or BMP-7 for 1 h. Protein synthesis of pSmad1/5/8 was significantly increased after 1 h with both treatments (n = 5). LaminB1 was used to normalize protein synthesis. Data represented as mean ± SD. Right panel shows a representative Western blot. For statistical analysis unpaired two-tailed t -test was used. (E) Real-time RT-PCR analysis of Bmp-4 and Bmp-7 after the treatment with 50 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF for 24 h in HMT-N cells. mRNA expression of Bmp-4 and Bmp-7 was significantly reduced after the treatment with CCN2/CTGF ( Bmp-4 : control n = 4, 50 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF n = 3, 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF n = 3; Bmp-7 : control n = 5, 50 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF n = 4, 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF n = 3). mRNA expression was normalized to Gnb2l, and mean value of untreated control cells was set to 1. For statistical analysis the Kruskal–Wallis test was used. (F) Real-time RT-PCR analyses of Smad6 , Smad7 , and Id2 after the treatment with 50 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF for 24 h in HMT-N cells. mRNA expression of Smad6 was significantly increased after the treatment with 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF (n = 6). mRNA expression of Smad7 was significantly increased after the treatment with 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF (control: n = 5, 50 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 5, 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 4). mRNA expression of Id2 was significantly reduced after the treatment with 50 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF (control: n = 5, 50 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 5, 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 4). mRNA expression was normalized to Gnb2l, and mean value of untreated control cells was set to 1. For statistical analysis the Kruskal–Wallis test was used. (G) Western blot analyses of BMP-7 after the treatment with 5 ng/mL, 25 ng/mL, 50 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF for 24 h in HMT-N cells. Protein synthesis of BMP-7 was significantly reduced after the treatment with 50 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF (control: n = 4, 5 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 3, 25 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 3, 50 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 3, 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 3). Mean value of wildtype animals (control) was set to 1. α -Tubulin was used to normalize protein synthesis. For statistical analysis the Kruskal–Wallis test was used. (H) Western blot analysis of pSmad1/5/8 after the treatment with 10 ng/mL BMP-4, 60 ng/mL Noggin and 10 ng/mL BMP-4, and 50 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF and 10 ng/mL BMP-4 in HTM-N cells. pSmad1/5/8 protein synthesis was increased after the treatment with BMP-4 (n = 5), compared to untreated control cells and significantly reduced after the treatment with the combination of Noggin and BMP-4 (n = 5) and the combination of CCN2/CTGF and BMP-4 (n = 5), compared to the treatment with BMP-4 only. Mean value of wildtype animals (control) was set to 1. GAPDH was used to normalize protein synthesis. Data represented as mean ± SD. For statistical analysis the One-way ANOVA test was used. * p ≤ 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

Article Snippet: Specific antibodies were used as follows: rabbit anti-pSmad1/5/8 (1:1,000, Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA, United States; RRID:AB_331671), goat anti-BMP7 (1:500, Santa Cruz Biotechnology; RRID:AB_2227926), goat anti-BMP4 (1:500, Santa Cruz Biotechnology; RRID:AB_2243391), rabbit anti-Gremlin (1:200, Santa Cruz Biotechnology; RRID:AB_2279266), rabbit anti-TGF- β1 (1:200, Promega), rabbit anti- TGF- β2 (1:200; Santa Cruz Biotechnology), rabbit anti-α-Tubulin (1:2500, Rockland; RRID:AB_2612816), rabbit anti-pSmad2 (1:200, Cell Signaling Technology; RRID:AB_390732), rabbit anti-pSmad3 (1:200, Cell Signaling Technology; RRID:AB_2193207), rabbit anti-GAPDH-HRP (1:5,000, Cell Signaling Technology; RRID:AB_1642205), rabbit anti-LaminB1 (1:1,000; Cell signaling Technology; Cat# 13435, RRID:AB_2737428), chicken anti-goat (HRP, 1:2000, Santa Cruz Biotechnology), chicken anti-goat (AP, 1:2000, Santa Cruz Biotechnology), chicken anti-rabbit (HRP, 1:2000 Cell Signaling Technology) and chicken anti-rabbit (AP, 1:2000, Santa Cruz Biotechnology). α -Tubulin, GAPDH and total protein staining with Coomassie were used as loading control to normalize the signal intensity of the Western blots.

Techniques: In Vitro, Activity Assay, Staining, Western Blot, Two Tailed Test, Quantitative RT-PCR, Expressing

Journal: Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences

Article Title: CCN2/CTGF tip the balance of growth factors towards TGF-β2 in primary open-angle glaucoma

doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1045411

Figure Lengend Snippet: TGF-β signaling in CCN2/CTGF treated HTM-N cells in vitro and in βB1-CTGF1 mice in vivo . (A) Real-time RT-PCR analyses of Tgf-b1 , Tgf-b2 and Ccn2/Ctgf in HTM-N cells after the treatment with 5 ng/mL, 50 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF for 24 h. mRNA expression of Tgf-b1 was significantly increased after the treatment with 50 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF (control: n = 8, 5 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 8, 50 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 6, 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 3). Tgf-b2 mRNA was significantly enhanced after the treatment with 50 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF (control: n = 5, 5 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 5, 50 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 5, 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 5). mRNA expression of Ccn2/Ctgf was significantly increased after the treatment with 5 ng/mL and 50 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF (control: n = 6, 5 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 6, 50 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 5, 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 6). mRNA expression was normalized to Gnb2l, and mean value of untreated control cells was set to 1. For statistical analysis the Kruskal–Wallis test was used. (B) Western blot analysis of TGF-β1 and TGF-β2 in HTM-N cells after the treatment with 5 ng/mL, 50 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF for 24 h. Protein synthesis of TGF-β1 was significantly increased after the treatment with 50 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF (n = 4). The protein synthesis of TGF-β2 was significantly enhanced after the treatment with 50 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF (control: n = 6, 5 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 8, 50 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 6, 100 ng/mL CCN2/CTGF: n = 5). Right panel shows representative Western Blots for the proteins. Mean value of untreated control cells was set at 1. α -Tubulin was used to normalize protein synthesis. For statistical analysis the Kruskal–Wallis test was used. (C) Real-time RT-PCR analysis of Tgf-b1 and Tgf-b2 in the anterior eye segment of 2-month-old βB1-CTGF1 mice and wildtype littermates. mRNA expression of Tgf-b2 was significantly increased in βB1-CTGF mice, compared to wildtype littermates ( Tgf-b1 : WT: n = 8, TG: n = 6; Tgf-b2 : WT: n = 19, TG: n = 19). For statistical analysis the Mann-Whitney test was used. mRNA expression was normalized to Gnb2l, and mean value of untreated control cells was set to 1. (D) Western blot analysis of TGF-β2 in the anterior eye segment of 2-month-old βB1-CTGF mice and wildtype littermates. Protein synthesis of TGF-β2 was significantly increased in βB1-CTGF1 mice, compared to wildtype littermates (TGF-β2: WT: n = 6, TG: n = 6). Right panel shows a representative Western blot. α -Tubulin was used to normalize protein synthesis. For statistical analysis the Mann-Whitney test was used. (E) Immunohistochemical staining of TGF-β2 (red) in the anterior chamber of 2-month-old βB1-CTGF1 mice and wildtype littermates. Immunoreactivity of TGF-β2 was increased in the TM of βB1-CTGF mice1, in comparison to wildtype mice. Nuclei were stained with Dapi (blue). n = 5 (F) Western blot analysis of the phosphorylation of Smad2 and Smad3. Protein synthesis of pSmad2 and pSmad3 was significantly increased in βB1-CTGF mice, compared to wildtype littermates (pSMAD2: WT: n = 6, TG: n = 6; pSmad3: WT: n = 7, TG: n = 7). Right panel shows representative Western Blots for both proteins. α -Tubulin was used to normalize protein synthesis. For statistical analysis the Mann-Whitney test was used. (G) Immunohistochemical staining of pSmad2 (red) in the anterior chamber angle of 2-month-old βB1-CTGF1 mice and wildtype littermates. Immunoreactivity of pSmad2 is increased in the TM of βB1-CTGF1 mice, in comparison to wildtype mice. Nuclei were stained with Dapi (blue). Data represented as mean ± SD. CB: ciliary body, I: iris, C: cornea, TM: trabecular meshwork. n = 5. * p ≤ 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

Article Snippet: Specific antibodies were used as follows: rabbit anti-pSmad1/5/8 (1:1,000, Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA, United States; RRID:AB_331671), goat anti-BMP7 (1:500, Santa Cruz Biotechnology; RRID:AB_2227926), goat anti-BMP4 (1:500, Santa Cruz Biotechnology; RRID:AB_2243391), rabbit anti-Gremlin (1:200, Santa Cruz Biotechnology; RRID:AB_2279266), rabbit anti-TGF- β1 (1:200, Promega), rabbit anti- TGF- β2 (1:200; Santa Cruz Biotechnology), rabbit anti-α-Tubulin (1:2500, Rockland; RRID:AB_2612816), rabbit anti-pSmad2 (1:200, Cell Signaling Technology; RRID:AB_390732), rabbit anti-pSmad3 (1:200, Cell Signaling Technology; RRID:AB_2193207), rabbit anti-GAPDH-HRP (1:5,000, Cell Signaling Technology; RRID:AB_1642205), rabbit anti-LaminB1 (1:1,000; Cell signaling Technology; Cat# 13435, RRID:AB_2737428), chicken anti-goat (HRP, 1:2000, Santa Cruz Biotechnology), chicken anti-goat (AP, 1:2000, Santa Cruz Biotechnology), chicken anti-rabbit (HRP, 1:2000 Cell Signaling Technology) and chicken anti-rabbit (AP, 1:2000, Santa Cruz Biotechnology). α -Tubulin, GAPDH and total protein staining with Coomassie were used as loading control to normalize the signal intensity of the Western blots.

Techniques: In Vitro, In Vivo, Quantitative RT-PCR, Expressing, Western Blot, MANN-WHITNEY, Immunohistochemical staining, Staining

Journal: Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences

Article Title: CCN2/CTGF tip the balance of growth factors towards TGF-β2 in primary open-angle glaucoma

doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1045411

Figure Lengend Snippet: CCN2/CTGF induced TGF-β signaling activation is mediated via the Erk- and RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway. (A) Real-time RT-PCR analysis of Tgf-b1 , Tgf-b2 and Ccn2/Ctgf in HTM-N cells after the inhibition of the Erk-pathway. After treatment with CCN2/CTGF expression of Tgf-b1 , Tgf-b2 , and Ccn2/Ctgf was significantly higher than in DMSO treated control cells. Combined treatment with the Mek1/2 inhibitor and CCN2/CTGF did not lead to changes in expression compared to DMSO treated control cells, but the upregulation was significantly inhibited compared to cells treated with CCN2/CTGF only. Tgf-b2 and Ccn2/Ctgf mRNA expression was significantly reduced after the treatment with the Mek1/2 inhibitor only, compared to DMSO treated control cells (n ≥ 4; # p ≤ .05, ## p < 0.01 to DMSO control; * p ≤ 0.05, ** p < 0.01 to CCN2/CTGF treatment only). (B) Western blot analysis of TGF-β1 in HTMN-cells after the inhibition of the Erk-pathway. After the treatment with CCN2/CTGF protein synthesis of TGF-β1 is significantly increased compared to DMSO treated control cells. Combined treatment with the Mek1/2 inhibitor and CCN2/CTGF did not lead to changes in protein synthesis compared to DMSO treated control cells, but the upregulation was significantly blocked compared to cells treated with CCN2/CTGF only (n ≥ 4, # p ≤ 0.05 to DMSO control; * p ≤ 0.05 to CCN2/CTGF treatment only). Right panel shows a representative Western blot. Mean value of untreated control cells was set at 1. α -Tubulin was used to normalize protein synthesis. (C) Western blot analysis of TGF-β2 in HTMN-cells after the inhibition of the Erk-pathway. After the treatment with CCN2/CTGF protein synthesis of TGF-β2 is significantly increased compared to DMSO treated control cells. Combined treatment with the Mek1/2 inhibitor and CCN2/CTGF did not lead to changes in protein synthesis compared to DMSO treated control cells, but the upregulation was significantly blocked compared to cells treated with CCN2/CTGF only (n = 4, # p ≤ 0.05 to DMSO control; * p ≤ 0.05 to CCN2/CTGF treatment only). Total protein stained with Coomassie was used to normalize protein synthesis. Data represented as mean ± SD. Right panel shows a representative Western blot. (D) Real-time RT-PCR analyses of Tgf-b1 , Tgf-b2 , and Ccn2/Ctgf in HTM-N cells after the inhibition of the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway. After treatment with CCN2/CTGF expression of Tgf-b1 , Tgf-b2 , and Ccn2/Ctgf was significantly higher than in DMSO treated control cells. Combined treatment with Fasudil and CCN2/CTGF did not lead to changes in expression compared to DMSO treated control cells, but the upregulation was significantly inhibited compared to cells treated with CCN2/CTGF only. Tgf-b2 and Ccn2/Ctgf mRNA expression was significantly reduced after the treatment with the Fasudil only, compared to DMSO treated control cells (n ≥ 5; # p ≤ 0.05, ## p < 0.01 to DMSO control; * p ≤ 0.05, ** p < 0.01 to CCN2/CTGF treatment only). (E) Western blot analysis of TGF-β1 in HTMN-cells after the inhibition of the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway. After the treatment with CCN2/CTGF protein synthesis of TGF-β1 is significantly increased compared to DMSO treated control cells. Combined treatment with Fasudil and CCN2/CTGF did not lead to changes in protein synthesis compared to DMSO treated control cells, but the upregulation was significantly blocked compared to cells treated with CCN2/CTGF only (n = 3, # p ≤ 0.05 to DMSO control; ** p < 0.01 to CCN2/CTGF treatment only). Right panel shows a representative Western blot. Mean value of untreated control cells was set to1. α -Tubulin was used to normalize protein synthesis. (F) Western blot analysis of TGF-β2 in HTMN-cells after the inhibition of the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway. After the treatment with CCN2/CTGF protein synthesis of TGF-β2 was significantly increased compared to DMSO treated control cells. Combined treatment with Fasudil and CCN2/CTGF did not lead to changes in protein synthesis compared to DMSO treated control cells, but the upregulation was significantly blocked compared to cells treated with CCN2/CTGF only (n = 7, ## p < 0.01 to DMSO control; * p ≤ 0.05, ** p < 0.01 to CCN2/CTGF treatment only). Total protein stained with Coomassie was used to normalize protein synthesis. Data represented as mean ± SD. Right panel shows a representative Western blot. Dotted line indicates the control group treated with the solvent of the inhibitor for the appropriate experiment. For statistical analysis a one-way ANOVA was performed.

Article Snippet: Specific antibodies were used as follows: rabbit anti-pSmad1/5/8 (1:1,000, Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA, United States; RRID:AB_331671), goat anti-BMP7 (1:500, Santa Cruz Biotechnology; RRID:AB_2227926), goat anti-BMP4 (1:500, Santa Cruz Biotechnology; RRID:AB_2243391), rabbit anti-Gremlin (1:200, Santa Cruz Biotechnology; RRID:AB_2279266), rabbit anti-TGF- β1 (1:200, Promega), rabbit anti- TGF- β2 (1:200; Santa Cruz Biotechnology), rabbit anti-α-Tubulin (1:2500, Rockland; RRID:AB_2612816), rabbit anti-pSmad2 (1:200, Cell Signaling Technology; RRID:AB_390732), rabbit anti-pSmad3 (1:200, Cell Signaling Technology; RRID:AB_2193207), rabbit anti-GAPDH-HRP (1:5,000, Cell Signaling Technology; RRID:AB_1642205), rabbit anti-LaminB1 (1:1,000; Cell signaling Technology; Cat# 13435, RRID:AB_2737428), chicken anti-goat (HRP, 1:2000, Santa Cruz Biotechnology), chicken anti-goat (AP, 1:2000, Santa Cruz Biotechnology), chicken anti-rabbit (HRP, 1:2000 Cell Signaling Technology) and chicken anti-rabbit (AP, 1:2000, Santa Cruz Biotechnology). α -Tubulin, GAPDH and total protein staining with Coomassie were used as loading control to normalize the signal intensity of the Western blots.

Techniques: Activation Assay, Quantitative RT-PCR, Inhibition, Expressing, Western Blot, Staining

Journal: Frontiers in Neurology

Article Title: Effect of electroacupuncture on hippocampal protein lactylation in a rat model of vascular dementia

doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1629474

Figure Lengend Snippet: KEGG pathway clustering analysis of different comparison groups, the PPI network of differentially lactylated proteins in the pathways of interest, and verification of Vdac3 protein lactylation modifications. (A) Heatmap of lactylation sites for 12 key proteins. Each row represents a differentially modification site; each column represents a sample. Red indicates a high-level modification, blue indicates a low-level modification, and grey indicates sites that cannot be quantified in the corresponding samples. (B) The horizontal axis depicts different comparison groups, whereas the vertical axis indicates the enriched KEGG pathways. The colored blocks represent the functional descriptions of differentially expressed modified proteins enriched in each comparison group. Blue signifies high enrichment significance, whereas blue-white signifies low enrichment significance. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001. (C) PPI network of differentially lactylated proteins involved in the 4-VO group and sham group in the five pathways of interest. (D) PPI network in the 4-VO group and 4-VO + EA group. The color of the outer circle indicates the corresponding KEGG pathway of the protein, whereas the shape within the circle denotes the upregulation or downregulation of the modification sites contained within the protein. A diamond shape signifies proteins with upregulated modification sites, a downward arrow indicates proteins with downregulated modification sites, and a circle signifies proteins with upregulated and downregulated modification sites. The red box indicates the Vdac3 protein. (E) The IP experiment verified the lactylation modification level of Vdac3. (F) Quantification was performed using ImageJ software, and the values are expressed as the mean with the corresponding standard error from three replicate experiments ( n = 3, compared with the sham group, ## p < 0.01; compared with the 4-VO group, ** p < 0.01). 4-VO, four-vessel occlusion; EA, electroacupuncture; KEGG, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes; PPI, protein–protein interaction; IP, immunoprecipitation; Vdac3, mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channel protein3.

Article Snippet: One milliliter of total protein extract was pre-cleared with 40 μL of protein A/G agarose beads by rotation at 4 °C for 1 h. Subsequently, the supernatant was incubated with 5 μL of Vdac3 antibody (A04802-2, BosterBio, China) overnight at 4 °C with rotation.

Techniques: Comparison, Modification, Functional Assay, Software, Immunoprecipitation

Journal: Frontiers in Neurology

Article Title: Effect of electroacupuncture on hippocampal protein lactylation in a rat model of vascular dementia

doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1629474

Figure Lengend Snippet: Analysis of lactylation site motifs in different groups and representative mass spectra of key proteins. (A) A heatmap of amino acids adjacent to lysine lactylation sites, with a green/red scale (−5 to 5) indicating the frequency of amino acid detection; red indicates high frequency; green indicates low frequency. The height ratio of amino acid abbreviation letters at specific positions reflects motif characteristics, with a % difference greater than 0 indicating a higher frequency of that amino acid at that position compared to the background, and less than 0 indicating a lower frequency. (B) Four conserved motif sites of lysine. (C) Sequence motif map of lactylation modification, 10 amino acids upstream and downstream of the modification site were selected, and the vertical axis indicates the difference between the proportion of the various amino acids at the same site in the experimental data set and the reference background, that is, percentage difference (%difference). The height ratio of amino acid abbreviation letters at specific positions represents the motif characteristics, and a %difference greater than 0 indicates that the frequency of the amino acid at this position is higher than the background. Values lower than 0 indicate that the frequency of the amino acid at this position is lower than the background. (D–F) The lactylation site of Vdac3 was identified by mass spectrometry. PPI, protein–protein interaction; 4-VO, four-vessel occlusion; EA, electroacupuncture.

Article Snippet: One milliliter of total protein extract was pre-cleared with 40 μL of protein A/G agarose beads by rotation at 4 °C for 1 h. Subsequently, the supernatant was incubated with 5 μL of Vdac3 antibody (A04802-2, BosterBio, China) overnight at 4 °C with rotation.

Techniques: Sequencing, Modification, Mass Spectrometry