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Renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a major cause of acute kidney injury, yet its mechanisms remain unclear, and effective treatments are lacking. We previously showed that the Sigma-1 receptor (S1R) agonist fluvoxamine protects against IRI and IRI-induced graft injury during transplantation. Here, we developed a novel compound, ‘VCC904125’, with potent S1R affinity and minimal blood-brain barrier penetration to mitigate renal IRI without psychoactive side effects. Mice were treated with VCC904125 before clamping the left renal pedicles, followed by contralateral nephrectomy. VCC904125 markedly alleviated BUN and serum creatinine levels, KIM-1 and NGAL expression, and structural damage at both 24 and 48 h after reperfusion. S1R activation by VCC904125 targets key pathways underlying IRI, including apoptosis and inflammation. VCC904125 treatment impeded the apoptotic p53-Bax pathway and influenced CaMKII-NF-κB signaling, resulting in diminished proinflammatory cytokine expression. In the ex vivo model, kidneys were perfused and stored in an HTK preservation solution supplemented with VCC904125 to simulate cold storage conditions before transplantation. VCC904125 ameliorated structural injury profoundly after cold ischemia. Taken together, S1R activation by VCC904125 decreases renal IRI via ameliorating apoptotic and inflammatory pathways. These results highlight the therapeutic promise of S1R activation in mitigating cold and warm ischemia and improving transplant outcomes.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Mitochondrial dysfunction and significant changes in metabolic pathways accompany cancer development and are responsible for maintaining the tumor microenvironment. Normal mitochondria can trigger intrinsic apoptosis by releasing cytochrome c into the cytosol. The survival of malignant cells highly depends on the suppression of this function. We validated that A250, a highly purified fraction of fermented wheat germ extract (FWGE), increases the carbon flux into the mitochondria, the expression of key elements of the Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). The increased respiratory chain activity is related to the mitochondria’s ability to release cytochrome c into the cytosol, which triggers the apoptotic cascade. The 68% tumor growth inhibitory effect observed in the murine melanoma study is related to this effect, as proteomic analysis validated similar changes in mitochondrial protein levels in the isolated tumor tissue samples. Blood count data indicated that this effect was not accompanied by general toxicity. This study is significant, as it shows that a highly concentrated form of FWGE is an effective agent that increases normal mitochondrial functionality. The lack of hepatotoxic and general toxic effects makes A250 an excellent candidate targeting mitochondria function in cancer therapy.

Purine bases and their bioisosteric analogs are widely used as building blocks in combinatorial chemistry. Recently a great number of fused pyrimidine derivatives became known as potential drug molecules against various types of proliferative diseases, caused by over-expression of protein kinases [1]. One of the most important compound

Primary open-angle glaucoma remains a global issue, lacking a definitive treatment. Increased intraocular pressure (IOP) is considered the primary risk factor of the disease and it can be caused by fibrotic-like changes in the trabecular meshwork (TM) such as increased tissue stiffness and outflow resistance. Previously, we demonstrated that the sigma-1 receptor (S1R) agonist fluvoxamine (FLU) has anti-fibrotic properties in the kidney and lung. In this study, the localization of the S1R in TM cells was determined, and the anti-fibrotic efficacy of FLU was examined in both mouse and human TM cells. Treatment with FLU reduced the F-actin rearrangement, inhibited cell proliferation and migration induced by the platelet-derived growth factor and decreased the levels of fibrotic proteins. The protective role of the S1R in fibrosis was confirmed by a more pronounced increase in alpha smooth muscle actin and F-actin bundle and clump formation in primary mouse S1R knockout TM cells. Furthermore, FLU demonstrated its protective effects by increasing the production of nitric oxide and facilitating the degradation of the extracellular matrix through the elevation of cathepsin K. These findings suggest that the S1R could be a novel target for the development of anti-fibrotic drugs and offer a new therapeutic approach for glaucoma.

Lyophilization is a cost-effective method for biological specimen preservation but detailed tissue-specific reference protocols are still lacking. Moreover, data are limited on the long-term stability of proteins and nucleic acids in lyophilized samples.Here, we offer lyophilization protocols for various rat and mouse tissues (kidney, heart, liver, lung, aorta, and skin) coupled with technical hints for optimal sample preparation. We demonstrate that lyophilized samples stored at 4 °C for 20 months can yield protein and RNA of similar quantity and quality to −80 °C storage, while phosphorylated proteins are preserved as well. Freeze-dried and subsequently pulverized samples can provide more consistent, more reliable data especially when investigating focal injuries, such as fibrosis. We developed a protocol for the concentration of biological solutions and achieved 20-times concentration in human peritoneal dialysis effluent solution which enables the previously unattainable detection of proteins in these samples. We established a method for water removal as well as accurate water content measurement of fecal samples, which can be valuable for gut metabolome analysis.Taken together, lyophilization is a valuable tool for the preservation of biological samples with many advantages. We aim to draw attention to the wide range of possibilities offered by freeze drying in pre-clinical or basic research.

Efforts to repeat the success of pioneering molecularly targeted cancer drugs, such as trastuzumab, for particular patient populations have been hampered by factors such as a lack of correlation between the molecular markers used to select patients for treatment and the drug response. This article highlights lessons learned from the development of drugs targeting members of the epidermal growth factor receptor family, and discusses strategies to decrease the risk of failure in clinical trials by more effectively integrating molecular diagnostics into anticancer drug discovery and development. In the 1990s, the breast cancer drug trastuzumab (Herceptin; Genentech/Roche) — an antibody specific for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2; also known as ERBB2) — was approved based on trials in which HER2 expression levels were used to select patients in clinical trials. This provided support for analogous efforts for drugs that target the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). However, the development of these drugs, such as cetuximab (Erbitux; Bristol–Myers Squibb/Lilly) and gefitinib (Iressa; AstraZeneca), has revealed that EGFR expression is an insufficient and unreliable biomarker to select patients for EGFR-targeted therapies in both lung and colon cancer. Indeed, evidence on patient populations that are likely to respond to such therapies, on the basis of specific mutations in proteins of the targeted pathway, has only recently been clinically validated and incorporated into some of the drug labels. This article highlights lessons learned from the development of the first drugs targeting the EGFR family and discusses strategies to decrease the risk of failure in clinical development by more effectively integrating molecular diagnostics into anticancer drug discovery.

Tissue fibrosis is characterized by chronic fibroblast activation and consequently excessive accumulation of collagen-rich extracellular matrix. In vitro microplate-based assays are essential to investigate the underlying mechanism and the effect of antifibrotic drugs. In this study, in the absence of a gold-standard method, we optimized a simple, cost-effective, Sirius Red-based colorimetric measurement to determine the collagen production of fibroblasts grown on 96-well tissue culture plates. Based on our findings, the use of a serum-free medium is recommended to avoid aspecific signals, while ascorbate supplementation increases the collagen production of fibroblasts. The cell-associated collagens can be quantified by Sirius Red staining in acidic conditions followed by alkaline elution. Immature collagens can be precipitated from the culture medium by acidic Sirius Red solution, and after subsequent centrifugation and washing steps, their amount can be also measured. Increased attention has been paid to optimizing the assay procedure, including incubation time, temperature, and solution concentrations. The resulting assay shows high linearity and sensitivity and could serve as a useful tool in fibrosis-related basic research as well as in preclinical drug screening.

Collective cell migration is crucial in various biological processes, including tumor progression and metastasis. The widely used scratch assay (wound healing assay) has limitations in throughput, reproducibility, and data analysis. To overcome these challenges, we previously developed the Transient Agarose Spot (TAS) assay, which enhanced assay precision and reproducibility. In this study, we present an improved microplate-based TAS assay. By using a microplate reader, we automated data acquisition, enabling the detection of cell migration in a 96-well plate format with greater throughput and accuracy. The new method applies Hoechst staining to label viable cells, providing a stable signal for kinetic analysis without compromising cell viability. We validated this approach with fluorophore-expressing cancer cells and demonstrated its ability to monitor dose-dependent effects of fetal bovine serum on cell migration. Additionally, we applied the microplate-based TAS assay to assess the anti-migratory effects of kinase inhibitors and mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) on lung cancer cells. The assay accurately quantified migration inhibition and revealed the concentration-dependent effects of EVs, highlighting their potential as therapeutic agents. This microplate-based TAS assay provides a scalable, efficient, and cost-effective platform for high-throughput screening of cell migration and drug discovery, offering a robust alternative to traditional microscopy-based methods.