The objective of this study was to purify cells in the Leydig cell lineage following regeneration after ethane dimethanesulfonate (EDS) treatment and compare their steroidogenic capacity. Regenerated progenitor (RPLCs), immature (RILCs), and adult Leydig cells (RALCs) were isolated from testes 21, 28 and 56 days after EDS treatment respectively. Production rates for androgens including androsterone and 5a-androstane-17b, 3a-diol (DIOL), testosterone and androstenedione were measured in RPLCs, RILCs and RALCs in media after 3-h in vitro culture with 100 ng/ml LH. Steady-state mRNA levels of steroidogenic enzymes and their activities were measured in freshly isolated cells. Compared to adult Leydig cells (ALCs) isolated from normal 90-day-old rat testes, which primarily produce testosterone (69.73%), RPLCs and RILCs primarily produced androsterone (70.21%) and DIOL (69.79%) respectively. Leydig cells isolated from testes 56 days post-EDS showed equivalent capacity of steroidogenesis to ALCs and primarily produced testosterone (72.90%). RPLCs had cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme, 3b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 and 17a-hydroxylase but had almost no detectable 17b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 3 and 11b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 activities, while RILCs had increased 17b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 3 and 11b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 activities. Because RPLCs and RILCs had higher 5a-reductase 1 and 3a-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activities they produced mainly 5a-reduced androgens. Real-time PCR confirmed the similar trends for the expressions of these steroidogenic enzymes. In conclusion, the purified RPLCs, RILCs and RALCs are similar to those of their counterparts during rat pubertal development.

Background Previous study demonstrated that extracellular ATP could promote cell migration and invasion in multiple human cancers. Till now, the pro-invasive mechanisms of ATP and P2RX6, a preferred receptor for ATP, are still poorly studied in RCC. Methods Bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify the differentially expressed genes during RCC different stages. Tissue microarray, IHC staining and survival analysis was respectively used to evaluate potential clinical function. In vitro and in vivo assays were performed to explore the P2RX6 biological effects in RCC progression. Results We found that ATP might increase RCC cells migration and invasion through P2RX6. Mechanism dissection revealed that ATP-P2RX6 might modulate the Ca 2+ -mediated p-ERK1/2/MMP9 signaling to increase the RCC cells migration and invasion. Furthermore, METTL14 implicated m 6 A modification in RCC and down-regulated P2RX6 protein translation. In addition, human clinical survey also indicated the positive correlation of this newly identified signaling in RCC progression and prognosis. Conclusions Our findings revealed that the newly identified ATP-P2RX6-Ca 2+ -p-ERK1/2-MMP9 signaling facilitates RCC cell invasion and metastasis. Targeting this novel signaling pathway with small molecules might help us to develop a new approach to better suppress RCC progression. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13046-019-1223-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Autophagy is an evolutionarily ancient pathway that has been shown to be important in the innate immune defense against several viruses. However, little is known about the regulatory role of autophagy in transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) replication. In this study, we found that TGEV infection increased the number of autophagosome-like double- and single-membrane vesicles in the cytoplasm of host cells, a phenomenon that is known to be related to autophagy. In addition, virus replication was required for the increased amount of the autophagosome marker protein LC3-II. Autophagic flux occurred in TGEV-infected cells, suggesting that TGEV infection triggered a complete autophagic response. When autophagy was pharmacologically inhibited by wortmannin or LY294002, TGEV replication increased. The increase in virus yield via autophagy inhibition was further confirmed by the use of siRNA duplexes, through which three proteins required for autophagy were depleted. Furthermore, TGEV replication was inhibited when autophagy was activated by rapamycin. The antiviral response of autophagy was confirmed by using siRNA to reduce the expression of gene p300, which otherwise inhibits autophagy. Together, the results indicate that TGEV infection activates autophagy and that autophagy then inhibits further TGEV replication.

Quercetin and hyperoside (QH) in combination (1:1 ratio) have previously been shown to inhibit the growth of human leukemia cells. Here, we investigated the anticancer activity of the same mixture in 786-O renal cancer cells. QH decreased the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by up to 2.25-fold and increased the antioxidant capacity by up to 3-fold in 786-O cells (3.8-60 μg/ml), whereas IC50 values for viability were 18.2, 18.7 and 11.8 μg/ml, respectively. QH also induced caspase-3 cleavage (2-fold) and increased PARP cleavage. Specificity protein (Sp) transcription factors are overexpressed in cancer cells and regulate genes required for cell proliferation, survival and angiogenesis. QH treatment decreased the expression of Sp1, Sp3 and Sp4 mRNA and this was accompanied by decreased protein expression. Moreover, expression of the Sp-dependent anti-apoptotic survival gene survivin was also significantly reduced, both at the mRNA and protein levels. QH decreased microRNA-27a (miR-27a) and induced the zinc finger protein ZBTB10, an Sp-repressor, suggesting that interactions between QH and the miR-27a-ZBTB10 axis play a role in Sp downregulation. This was confirmed by transfection of cells with a specific mimic for miR-27a, which partially reversed the effects of QH. These findings are consistent with previous studies on botanical anticancer agents in colon cancer cells.

PurposeAlthough microRNAs (miRNAs) were revealed as crucial modulators in tumor metastasis and target therapy, our understanding of their roles in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) and Sunitinib treatment was limited. Here we sought to identify human miRNAs that acted as key regulators in renal cancer metastasis and Sunitinib treatment.Experimental designWe focused on 2 published microarray data to select out our anchored miRNA and then explored the roles of miR-452-5p both in vitro and in vivo, which was downregulated after Sunitinib treatment while upregulated in metastasis renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tissues.ResultsHere, we discovered that treating with Sunitinib, the targeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), inhibited renal cancer cell migration and invasion via attenuating the expression of miR-452-5p. The novel identified miR-452-5p was upregulated and associated with poor prognosis in RCC. Preclinical studies using multiple RCC cells and xenografts model illustrated that miR-452-5p could promote RCC cell migration and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, P65 could directly bind to the miR-452-5p promoter and thus transcriptionally induce miR-452-5p expression, which led to post-transcriptionally abrogate SMAD4 expression, thus inhibition of its downstream gene SMAD7.ConclusionOur study presented a road map for targeting this newly identified miR-452-5p and its SMAD4/SMAD7 signals pathway, which imparted a new potential therapeutic strategy for mRCC treatment.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12943-018-0906-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a worldwide-distributed alphacoronavirus, but the pathogenesis of PEDV infection is not fully characterized. During virus infection, type I interferon (IFN) is a key mediator of innate antiviral responses. Most coronaviruses develop some strategy for at least partially circumventing the IFN response by limiting the production of IFN and by delaying the activation of the IFN response. However, the molecular mechanisms by which PEDV antagonizes the antiviral effects of interferon have not been fully characterized. Especially, how PEDV impacts IFN signaling components has yet to be elucidated. In this study, we observed that PEDV was relatively resistant to treatment with type I IFN. Western blot analysis showed that STAT1 expression was markedly reduced in PEDV-infected cells and that this reduction was not due to inhibition of STAT1 transcription. STAT1 downregulation was blocked by a proteasome inhibitor but not by an autophagy inhibitor, strongly implicating the ubiquitin-proteasome targeting degradation system. Since PEDV infection-induced STAT1 degradation was evident in cells pretreated with the general tyrosine kinase inhibitor, we conclude that STAT1 degradation is independent of the IFN signaling pathway. Furthermore, we report that PEDV-induced STAT1 degradation inhibits IFN-␣ signal transduction pathways. Pharmacological inhibition of STAT1 degradation rescued the ability of the host to suppress virus replication. Collectively, these data show that PEDV is capable of subverting the type I interferon response by inducing STAT1 degradation. IMPORTANCEIn this study, we show that PEDV is resistant to the antiviral effect of IFN. The molecular mechanism is the degradation of STAT1 by PEDV infection in a proteasome-dependent manner. This PEDV infection-induced STAT1 degradation contributes to PEDV replication. Our findings reveal a new mechanism evolved by PEDV to circumvent the host antiviral response. P orcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is an enveloped, positive-stranded RNA virus in the genus Alphacoronavirus, family Coronaviridae, order Nidovirales (1, 2). PEDV is the causative agent of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), an acute, highly contagious, and devastating viral enteric disease with a high mortality rate in suckling piglets. Since PED was first reported in England in 1971 (3), the disease has broken out frequently in many pig-producing countries (4-9). Despite the availability of vaccines, outbreaks continue to increase and pose problems for the swine industry, as well as public health concerns (10-12).During viral infection, the innate immune response is often activated, leading to the induction of type I interferon (IFN-I), or alpha/beta interferon (IFN-␣/␤). IFN-␣/␤ is a potent cytokine of critical importance in controlling viral infections and priming adaptive immune responses (13). The biological activities of IFN-I are initiated by the binding of IFN-␣/␤ to its cognate receptors on the cell surface (14, 15). The binding of IFN-I to its rec...

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), the causative agent of porcine epidemic diarrhea, has caused huge economic losses in pig-producing countries. Although PEDV was long believed to replicate in the intestinal epithelium by using aminopeptidase N as a receptor, the mechanisms of PEDV infection are not fully characterized. In this study, we found that PEDV infection of epithelial cells results in disruption of the tight junctional distribution of occludin to its intracellular location. Overexpression of occludin in target cells makes them more susceptible to PEDV infection, whereas ablation of occludin expression by use of small interfering RNA (siRNA) in target cells significantly reduces their susceptibility to virus infection. However, the results observed with occludin siRNA indicate that occludin is not required for virus attachment. We conclude that occludin plays an essential role in PEDV infection at the postbinding stages. Furthermore, we observed that macropinocytosis inhibitors blocked occludin internalization and virus entry, indicating that virus entry and occludin internalization are closely coupled. However, the macropinocytosis inhibitors could not impede virus replication once the virus had entered host cells. This suggests that occludin internalization by macropinocytosis or a macropinocytosis-like process is involved in the virus entry events. Immunofluorescence confocal microscopy showed that PEDV was trapped at cellular junctional regions upon macropinocytosis inhibitor treatment, indicating that occludin may serve as a scaffold in the vicinity of virus entry. Collectively, these data show that occludin plays an essential role in PEDV infection during late entry events. Our observation may provide novel insights into PEDV infection and related pathogenesis.IMPORTANCE Tight junctions are highly specialized membrane domains whose main function is to attach adjacent cells to each other, thereby forming intercellular seals. Here we investigate, for the first time, the role of the tight junction protein occludin in PEDV infection. We observed that PEDV infection induced the internalization of occludin. By using genetic modification methods, we demonstrate that occludin plays an essential role in PEDV infection. Moreover, PEDV entry and occludin internalization seem to be closely coupled. Our findings reveal a new mechanism of PEDV infection.KEYWORDS PEDV, occludin, tight junction C oronaviruses are a group of positive-strand RNA viruses belonging to the family Coronaviridae in the order Nidovirales. They are broadly distributed among mammalian and avian species, and they cause acute and persistent infections. In most cases, coronaviruses are generally associated with significant respiratory and/or intestinal tract diseases (1, 2). Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) has been identified as the etiologic agent of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), and it causes diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration in infected swine (3, 4). Outbreaks of PED have occurred frequently in

BackgroundReactive oxygen species play important roles in renal calcium crystallization. In this study, we examined the effects of catechin, which have been shown to have antioxidant properties on the renal calcium crystallization.MethodsIn the vitro experiment, the changes of the mitochondrial membrane potential, expression of superoxide dismutase (SOD), 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), cytochrome c, and cleaved caspase 3 were measured to show the effects of catechin treatment on the NRK-52E cells induced by calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM). In the vivo study, Sprague–Dawley rats were administered 1% ethylene glycol (EG) to generate a rat kidney stone model and then treated with catechin (2.5 and 10 mg/kg/day) for 14 days. The urine and serum variables were dected on 7 and 14 days after EG administration. The expression of cytochrome c, cleaved caspase 3, SOD, osteopontin (OPN), malondialdehyde (MDA), 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in kidney were measured. Furthermore, the mitochondrial microstructure in the kidney was also examined by transmission electron microscopy.ResultsCatechin treatment could prevent the changes in mitochondrial membrane potential and expression of SOD, 4-HNE, cytochrome c, and cleaved caspase 3 in NRK-52E cells induced by the COM. For the in vivo experiments, the EG administration induced renal calcium crystallization was also prevented by the catechin. The expression of SOD, OPN, MDA, OPN and 8-OHdG, were increased after EG administration and this increase was diminished by catechin. Moreover, catechin also prevented EG induced mitochondrial collapse in rat.ConclusionsCatechin has preventive effects on renal calcium crystallization both in vivo and in vitro, and provide a potential therapeutic treatment for this disease.