BackgroundHesperidin is a flavonoid with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune modulatory activities. Photoaging is a consequence of chronic exposure to the sun and ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of hesperidin against photoaging of dorsal skin in hairless mice.MethodsHairless male mice (6-week-old) were divided into three groups (n = 7): control, UVB-treated vehicle, and UVB-treated hesperidin groups. UVB-irradiated mice from hesperidin group were orally administered 0.1 mL of water containing 100 mg/kg body weight per day hesperidin.ResultsThe mean length and depth of wrinkles in the UVB-treated hesperidin group significantly improved after the oral administration of hesperidin, which significantly inhibited the increase in epidermal thickness and epidermal hypertrophy (P < 0.05). UVB irradiation of mice induced epidermal barrier dysfunction including an increase in the transepidermal water loss (TEWL); however, hesperidin decreased the TEWL. UVB irradiation increased the expression of MMP-9 and pro-inflammatory cytokines whereas UVB-treated hesperidin group showed reduced expression. These results indicate that hesperidin showed anti-photoaging activity in the UVB-irradiated hairless mice. In conclusion, hesperidin inhibited the UVB-induced increase in skin thickness, wrinkle formation, and collagen fiber loss in male hairless mice.ConclusionsThese results suggest that hesperidin shows potent anti-photoaging activity by regulating MMP-9 expression through the suppression of MAPK-dependent signaling pathways.

TREM2 (triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells) is involved in the development of malignancies. However, the function of TREM2 in colorectal cancer has not been clearly elucidated. Here, we investigated TREM2 function for the first time in colorectal epithelial cancer cells and demonstrated that TREM2 is a novel tumor suppressor in colorectal carcinoma. Blockade of TREM2 significantly promoted the proliferation of HT29 colorectal carcinoma cells by regulating cell cycle-related factors, such as p53 phosphorylation and p21 and cyclin D1 protein levels. HT29 cell migration was also increased by TREM2 inhibition via MMP9 (matrix metalloproteinase 9) expression upregulation. Furthermore, we found that the tumor suppressor effects of TREM2 were associated with Wnt/β-catenin and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling. Importantly, the effect of TREM2 in the suppression of tumor development was demonstrated by in vivo and in vitro assays, as well as in human colon cancer patient tissue arrays. Overall, our results identify TREM2 as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for colorectal cancer.

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SummaryTranscriptional regulation performs a central role in Notch1 signaling by recombining binding protein Suppressor of Hairless (RBP-Jk) -a signaling pathway that is widely involved in determination of cell fate. Our earlier work demonstrated the possible regulation of the Notch1-RBP-Jk pathway through protein degradation of RBP-Jk; however, the potential regulator for the degradation of RBP-Jk remains to be determined. Here, we report that the expression of endogenous and exogenous RBP-Jk was increased significantly in cells treated with proteasome-and lysosome-specific inhibitors. The effects of these inhibitors on RBP-Jk occurred in a dose-and timedependent manner. The level of RBP-Jk protein was higher in presenilin-2 (PS2)-knockout cells than in presenilin-1 (PS1)-knockout cells. Furthermore, the level of RBP-Jk was decreased by expression of PS2 in PS1 and PS2 double-knockout cells. We also found that PS1-knockout cells treated with a specific inhibitor of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase d (MAPK) had significantly increased levels of RBP-Jk. p38 MAPK phosphorylates RBP-Jk at Thr339 by physical binding, which subsequently induces the degradation and ubiquitylation of the RBP-Jk protein. Collectively, our results indicate that PS2 modulates the degradation of RBP-Jk through phosphorylation by p38 MAPK.

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The Notch1 receptor is a crucial controller of cell fate decisions, and is also a key regulator of cell growth and differentiation in a variety of contexts. In this study, we have demonstrated that the APP intracellular domain (AICD) attenuates Notch1 signaling by accelerated degradation of the Notch1 intracellular domain (Notch1-IC) and RBP-Jk, through different degradation pathways. AICD suppresses Notch1 transcriptional activity by the dissociation of the Notch1-IC–RBP-Jk complex after processing by γ-secretase. Notch1-IC is capable of forming a trimeric complex with Fbw7 and AICD, and AICD enhances the protein degradation of Notch1-IC through an Fbw7-dependent proteasomal pathway. AICD downregulates the levels of RBP-Jk protein through the lysosomal pathway. AICD-mediated degradation is involved in the preferential degradation of non-phosphorylated RBP-Jk. Collectively, our results demonstrate that AICD functions as a negative regulator in Notch1 signaling through the promotion of Notch1-IC and RBP-Jk protein degradation.

The AKT signaling pathway plays critical roles in the resolution of inflammation. However, the underlying mechanisms of anti-inflammatory regulation and signal coordination remain unclear. Here, we report that anti-inflammatory AKT signaling is coordinated by glutamyl-prolyl-tRNA synthetase 1 (EPRS1). Upon inflammatory activation, AKT specifically phosphorylates Ser999 of EPRS1 in the cytoplasmic multi-tRNA synthetase complex, inducing release of EPRS1. EPRS1 compartmentalizes AKT to early endosomes via selective binding to the endosomal membrane lipid phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate and assembles an AKT signaling complex specific for anti-inflammatory activity. These events promote AKT activation-mediated GSK3β phosphorylation, which increase anti-inflammatory cytokine production. EPRS1-deficient macrophages do not assemble the early endosomal complex and consequently exacerbate inflammation, decreasing the survival of EPRS1-deficient mice undergoing septic shock and ulcerative colitis. Collectively, our findings show that the housekeeping protein EPRS1 acts as a mediator of inflammatory homeostasis by coordinating compartment-specific AKT signaling.

Cochlodinium polykrikoides is a red-tide forming dinoflagellate that causes significant worldwide impacts on aquaculture industries and the marine ecosystem. There have been extensive studies on managing and preventing C. polykrikoides blooms, but it has been difficult to identify an effective method to control the bloom development. There is also limited genome information on the molecular mechanisms involved in its various ecophysiology and metabolism processes. Thus, comprehensive genome information is required to better understand harmful algal blooms caused by C. polykrikoides. We estimated the C. polykrikoides genome size using flow cytometry, with detection of the fluorescence of DNA stained with propidium iodide (PI). The nuclear genome size of C. polykrikoides was 100.97 Gb, as calculated by comparing its mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) to the MFI of Mus musculus, which is 2.8 Gb. The exceptionally large genome size of C. polykrikoides might indicate its complex physiological and metabolic characteristics. Our optimized protocol for estimating the nuclear genome size of a dinoflagellate using flow cytometry with PI can be applied in studies of other marine organisms.