The key biological \"drivers\" that are responsible for reverse left ventricle (LV) remodeling are not well understood. To gain an understanding of the role of the autophagy-lysosome pathway in reverse LV remodeling, we used a pathophysiologically relevant murine model of reversible heart failure, wherein pressure overload by transaortic constriction superimposed on acute coronary artery (myocardial infarction) ligation leads to a heart failure phenotype that is reversible by hemodynamic unloading. Here we show transaortic constriction + myocardial infarction leads to decreased flux through the autophagy-lysosome pathway with the accumulation of damaged proteins and organelles in cardiac myocytes, whereas hemodynamic unloading is associated with restoration of autophagic flux to normal levels with incomplete removal of damaged proteins and organelles in myocytes and reverse LV remodeling, suggesting that restoration of flux is insufficient to completely restore myocardial proteostasis. Enhancing autophagic flux with adeno-associated virus 9-transcription factor EB resulted in more favorable reverse LV remodeling in mice that had undergone hemodynamic unloading, whereas overexpressing transcription factor EB in mice that have not undergone hemodynamic unloading leads to increased mortality, suggesting that the therapeutic outcomes of enhancing autophagic flux will depend on the conditions in which flux is being studied.

UNASSIGNED: Glucocorticoid (GC) is one of frequently used anti-inflammatory agents, but its administration is unfortunately accompanied with bone loss. Although sporadic studies indicated that osteocytes are subject to a series of pathological changes under GC stress, including overexpression of cathepsin K, the definite role of osteocytes in GC-induced bone loss remains largely unclear.
UNASSIGNED: Gene expression of Ctsk and protein levels of cathepsin K were assessed in MLO-Y4 cell lines exposed to dexamethasone (Dex) of different time (0, 12, 24 hours) and dose (0, 10-8 and 10-6 M) courses by RT-qPCR and western blotting, respectively. Confocal imaging and immunostaining were then performed to evaluate the effects of osteocyte-derived cathepsin K on type I collagen in a primary osteocyte ex vivo culture system. MitoTracker Red was used to stain mitochondria for mitochondria morphology assessment and JC-1 assay was employed to evaluate the mitochondria membrane potential in MLO-Y4 cells following Dex treatment. Activation of PINK1-mediated mitophagy was evaluated by immunostaining of the PINK1 protein and CytoID assay. Mdivi-1 was used to inhibit mitophagy and siRNAs were used for the inhibition of Pink1 and Atg5.
UNASSIGNED: GC triggered osteocytes to produce excessive cathepsin K which in turn led to the degradation of type I collagen in the extracellular matrix in a primary osteocyte ex vivo culture system. Meanwhile, GC administration increased mitochondrial fission and membrane depolarization in osteocytes. Further, the activation of PINK1-mediated mitophagy was demonstrated to be responsible for the diminishment of dysfunctional mitochondria in osteocytes. Examination of relationship between mitophagy and cathepsin K production revealed that inhibition of mitophagy via knocking down Pink1 gene abolished the GC-triggered cathepsin K production. Interestingly, GC\'s activation effect towards cathepsin K via mitophagy was found to be independent on the canonical autophagy as this effect was not impeded when inhibiting the canonical autophagy via Atg5 suppression.
UNASSIGNED: GC-induced PINK1-mediated mitophagy substantially modulates the production of cathepsin K in osteocytes, which could be an underlying mechanism by which osteocytes contribute to the extracellular matrix degradation during bone loss.
UNASSIGNED: Findings of the current study indicate a possible role of osteocyte mitophagy in GC-induced bone loss, which provides a potential therapeutic approach to alleviate GC-induced osteoporosis by targeting PINK1-mediated osteocytic mitophagy.

Disturbance of macrophage-associated lipid metabolism plays a key role in atherosclerosis. Crosstalk between autophagy deficiency and inflammation response in foam cells (FCs) through epigenetic regulation is still poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that in macrophages, oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) leads to abnormal crosstalk between autophagy and inflammation, thereby causing aberrant lipid metabolism mediated through a dysfunctional transcription factor EB (TFEB)-P300-bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) axis. ox-LDL led to macrophage autophagy deficiency along with TFEB cytoplasmic accumulation and increased reactive oxygen species generation. This activated P300 promoted BRD4 binding on the promoter regions of inflammatory genes, consequently contributing to inflammation with atherogenesis. Particularly, ox-LDL activated BRD4-dependent super-enhancer associated with liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) on the regulatory regions of inflammatory genes. Curcumin (Cur) prominently restored FCs autophagy by promoting TFEB nuclear translocation, optimizing lipid catabolism, and reducing inflammation. The consequences of P300 and BRD4 on super-enhancer formation and inflammatory response in FCs could be prevented by Cur. Furthermore, the anti-atherogenesis effect of Cur was inhibited by macrophage-specific Brd4 overexpression or Tfeb knock-out in Apoe knock-out mice via bone marrow transplantation. The findings identify a novel TFEB-P300-BRD4 axis and establish a new epigenetic paradigm by which Cur regulates autophagy, inhibits inflammation, and decreases lipid content.

The immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) targeting on PD-1/PD-L1 has shown remarkable promise in treating cancers. However, the low response rate and frequently observed severe side effects limit its broad benefits. It is partially due to less understanding of the biological regulation of PD-L1. Here, we systematically and comprehensively summarized the regulation of PD-L1 from nuclear chromatin reorganization to extracellular presentation. In PD-L1 and PD-L2 highly expressed cancer cells, a new TAD (topologically associating domain) (chr9: 5,400,000-5,600,000) around CD274 and CD273 was discovered, which includes a reported super-enhancer to drive synchronous transcription of PD-L1 and PD-L2. The re-shaped TAD allows transcription factors such as STAT3 and IRF1 recruit to PD-L1 locus in order to guide the expression of PD-L1. After transcription, the PD-L1 is tightly regulated by miRNAs and RNA-binding proteins via the long 3\'UTR. At translational level, PD-L1 protein and its membrane presentation are tightly regulated by post-translational modification such as glycosylation and ubiquitination. In addition, PD-L1 can be secreted via exosome to systematically inhibit immune response. Therefore, fully dissecting the regulation of PD-L1/PD-L2 and thoroughly detecting PD-L1/PD-L2 as well as their regulatory networks will bring more insights in ICB and ICB-based combinational therapy.

UNASSIGNED: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) act as a regulatory mechanism on a post-transcriptional level by repressing gene transcription/translation and play a central role in the cellular stress response. Osmotic changes occur in a variety of diseases including liver cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy. Changes in cell hydration and alterations of the cellular volume are major regulators of cell function and gene expression. In this study, the modulation of hepatic gene expression in response to hypoosmolarity was studied.
UNASSIGNED: mRNA analyses of normo- and hypoosmotic perfused rat livers by gene expression arrays were used to identify miRNA and their potential target genes associated with cell swelling preceding cell proliferation. Selected miR-141-3p was also investigated in isolated hepatocytes treated with miRNA mimic, cell stretching, and after partial hepatectomy. Inhibitor perfusion studies were performed to unravel signalling pathways responsible for miRNA upregulation.
UNASSIGNED: Using genome-wide transcriptomic analysis, it was shown that hypoosmotic exposure led to differential gene expression in perfused rat liver. Moreover, miR-141-3p was upregulated by hypoosmolarity in perfused rat liver and in primary hepatocytes. In concert with this, miR-141-3p upregulation was prevented after Src-, Erk-, and p38-MAPK inhibition. Furthermore, luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that miR-141-3p targets cyclin dependent kinase 8 (Cdk8) mRNA. Partial hepatectomy transiently upregulated miR-141-3p levels just after the initiation of hepatocyte proliferation, whereas Cdk8 mRNA was downregulated. The mechanical stretching of rat hepatocytes resulted in miR-141-3p upregulation, whereas Cdk8 mRNA tended to decrease. Notably, the overexpression of miR-141-3p inhibited the proliferation of Huh7 cells.
UNASSIGNED: Src-mediated upregulation of miR-141-3p was found in hepatocytes in response to hypoosmotic swelling and mechanical stretching. Because of its antiproliferative function, miR-141-3p may counter-regulate the proliferative effects triggered by these stimuli.
UNASSIGNED: In this study, we identified microRNA 141-3p as an osmosensitive miRNA, which inhibits proliferation during liver cell swelling. Upregulation of microRNA 141-3p, controlled by Src-, Erk-, and p38-MAPK signalling, results in decreased mRNA levels of various genes involved in metabolic processes, macromolecular biosynthesis, and cell cycle progression.

The integrity of lysosomes is of vital importance to survival of tumor cells. We demonstrated that LW-218, a synthetic flavonoid, induced rapid lysosomal enlargement accompanied with lysosomal membrane permeabilization in hematological malignancy. LW-218-induced lysosomal damage and lysosome-dependent cell death were mediated by cathepsin D, as the lysosomal damage and cell apoptosis could be suppressed by depletion of cathepsin D or lysosome alkalization agents, which can alter the activity of cathepsins. Lysophagy, was initiated for cell self-rescue after LW-218 treatment and correlated with calcium release and nuclei translocation of transcription factor EB. LW-218 treatment enhanced the expression of autophagy-related genes which could be inhibited by intracellular calcium chelator. Sustained exposure to LW-218 exhausted the lysosomal capacity so as to repress the normal autophagy. LW-218-induced enlargement and damage of lysosomes were triggered by abnormal cholesterol deposition on lysosome membrane which caused by interaction between LW-218 and NPC intracellular cholesterol transporter 1. Moreover, LW-218 inhibited the leukemia cell growth in vivo. Thus, the necessary impact of integral lysosomal function in cell rescue and death were illustrated.

Parkinson\'s disease (PD), known as one of the most universal neurodegenerative diseases, is a serious threat to the health of the elderly. The current treatment has been demonstrated to relieve symptoms, and the discovery of new small-molecule compounds has been regarded as a promising strategy. Of note, the homeostasis of the autolysosome pathway (ALP) is closely associated with PD, and impaired autophagy may cause the death of neurons and thereby accelerating the progress of PD. Thus, pharmacological targeting autophagy with small-molecule compounds has been drawn a rising attention so far. In this review, we focus on summarizing several autophagy-associated targets, such as AMPK, mTORC1, ULK1, IMPase, LRRK2, beclin-1, TFEB, GCase, ERRα, C-Abelson, and as well as their relevant small-molecule compounds in PD models, which will shed light on a clue on exploiting more potential targeted small-molecule drugs tracking PD treatment in the near future.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) has been recognized as a severe complication of diabetes mellitus and a dominant pathogeny of end-stage kidney disease, which causes serious health problems and great financial burden to human society worldwide. Conventional strategies, such as renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockade, blood glucose level control, and bodyweight reduction, may not achieve satisfactory outcomes in many clinical practices for DN management. Notably, due to the multi-target function, Chinese medicine possesses promising clinical benefits as primary or alternative therapies for DN treatment. Increasing studies have emphasized identifying bioactive compounds and molecular mechanisms of reno-protective effects of Chinese medicines. Signaling pathways involved in glucose/lipid metabolism regulation, antioxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-fibrosis, and podocyte protection have been identified as crucial mechanisms of action. Herein, we summarize the clinical efficacies of Chinese medicines and their bioactive components in treating and managing DN after reviewing the results demonstrated in clinical trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses, with a thorough discussion on the relative underlying mechanisms and molecular targets reported in animal and cellular experiments. We aim to provide comprehensive insights into the protective effects of Chinese medicines against DN.

Stroke is considered a leading cause of mortality and neurological disability, which puts a huge burden on individuals and the community. To date, effective therapy for stroke has been limited by its complex pathological mechanisms. Autophagy refers to an intracellular degrading process with the involvement of lysosomes. Autophagy plays a critical role in maintaining the homeostasis and survival of cells by eliminating damaged or non-essential cellular constituents. Increasing evidence support that autophagy protects neuronal cells from ischemic injury. However, under certain circumstances, autophagy activation induces cell death and aggravates ischemic brain injury. Diverse naturally derived compounds have been found to modulate autophagy and exert neuroprotection against stroke. In the present work, we have reviewed recent advances in naturally derived compounds that regulate autophagy and discussed their potential application in stroke treatment.

Gene therapy is rapidly emerging as a powerful therapeutic strategy for a wide range of neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer\'s disease (AD), Parkinson\'s disease (PD) and Huntington\'s disease (HD). Some early clinical trials have failed to achieve satisfactory therapeutic effects. Efforts to enhance effectiveness are now concentrating on three major fields: identification of new vectors, novel therapeutic targets, and reliable of delivery routes for transgenes. These approaches are being assessed closely in preclinical and clinical trials, which may ultimately provide powerful treatments for patients. Here, we discuss advances and challenges of gene therapy for neurodegenerative disorders, highlighting promising technologies, targets, and future prospects.