14 research outputs found
Reactive Oxygen Species Hydrogen Peroxide Mediates Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Reactivation from Latency
Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) establishes a latent
infection in the host following an acute infection. Reactivation from latency
contributes to the development of KSHV-induced malignancies, which include
Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), the most common cancer in untreated AIDS patients,
primary effusion lymphoma and multicentric Castleman's disease. However,
the physiological cues that trigger KSHV reactivation remain unclear. Here, we
show that the reactive oxygen species (ROS) hydrogen peroxide
(H2O2) induces KSHV reactivation from latency through
both autocrine and paracrine signaling. Furthermore, KSHV spontaneous lytic
replication, and KSHV reactivation from latency induced by oxidative stress,
hypoxia, and proinflammatory and proangiogenic cytokines are mediated by
H2O2. Mechanistically, H2O2
induction of KSHV reactivation depends on the activation of mitogen-activated
protein kinase ERK1/2, JNK, and p38 pathways. Significantly,
H2O2 scavengers N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), catalase
and glutathione inhibit KSHV lytic replication in culture. In a mouse model of
KSHV-induced lymphoma, NAC effectively inhibits KSHV lytic replication and
significantly prolongs the lifespan of the mice. These results directly relate
KSHV reactivation to oxidative stress and inflammation, which are physiological
hallmarks of KS patients. The discovery of this novel mechanism of KSHV
reactivation indicates that antioxidants and anti-inflammation drugs could be
promising preventive and therapeutic agents for effectively targeting KSHV
replication and KSHV-related malignancies
Genetic Enhancement Perspectives and Prospects for Grain Nutrients Density
Diet-induced micronutrient malnutrition continues to be a major challenge globally,
especially in the developing world. With the ever-increasing population, it
becomes a daunting task to feed millions of mouths with nutritious food. It is time
to reorient agricultural systems to produce quality food to supply the calorie and
nutrient requirements needed by the human body. Biofortification is the process
of improving micronutrients density by genetic means. It is cheaper and sustainable
and complements well with the nutrient supplementation and fortification—
the short-term strategies that are currently deployed to address the micronutrient
malnutrition. Sorghum is one of the important food crops globally, adapted to
semi-arid tropics, and there is increased awareness on its nutritional importance.
Further, there is great opportunity to improve sorghum for nutritional quality.
This chapter deals about the genetic enhancement perspectives and prospects for
improving the nutritional quality with main emphasis on grain micronutrient
density in sorghum
Transforming Growth Factor-β1 (TGF-β1) Driven Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is Accentuated by Tumour Necrosis Factor α (TNFα) via Crosstalk Between the SMAD and NF-κB Pathways
Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process by which an epithelial cell alters its phenotype to that of a mesenchymal cell and plays a critical role in embryonic development, tumour invasion and metastasis and tissue fibrosis. Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) continues to be regarded as the key growth factor involved in driving EMT however recently tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) has been demonstrated to accentuate TGF-β1 driven EMT. In this study we investigate how various signalling pathways contribute to this accentuated effect. A549 cells were treated with TGF-β1 (10 ng/ml), TNFα (20 ng/ml) or a combination of both for 72 h and EMT assessed. The effect of selective inhibition of the SMAD, MAPK and NF-κB pathways on EMT was assessed. A549 cells treated with TGF-β1 downregulate the expression of epithelial markers, increase the expression of mesenchymal markers, secrete matrix-metalloproteinases and become invasive. Significantly, TGF-β1 driven EMT is accentuated by co-treatment with TNFα. SMAD 3 inhibition attenuated TGF-β1 driven EMT but has no effect on the accentuation effect of TNFα. However, inhibiting IKKβ blocked both TGF-β1 driven EMT and the accentuating action of TNFα. Inhibiting p38 and ERK signalling had no effect on EMT. TNFα accentuates TGF-β1 driven EMT in A549 cells via a SMAD 2/3 independent mechanism involving the NF-κB pathway independent of p38 and ERK 1/2 activation