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Jasmonates and phytoprostanes are oxylipins that regulate stress responses and diverse physiological and developmental processes. 12-Oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA) and phytoprostanes are structurally related electrophilic cyclopentenones, which activate similar gene expression profiles that are for the most part different from the action of the cyclopentanone jasmonic acid (JA) and its biologically active amino acid conjugates. Whereas JA–isoleucine signals through binding to COI1, the bZIP transcription factors TGA2, TGA5, and TGA6 are involved in regulation of gene expression in response to phytoprostanes. Here root growth inhibition and target gene expression were compared after treatment with JA, OPDA, or phytoprostanes in mutants of the COI1/MYC2 pathway and in different TGA factor mutants. Inhibition of root growth by phytoprostanes was dependent on COI1 but independent of jasmonate biosynthesis. In contrast, phytoprostane-responsive gene expression was strongly dependent on TGA2, TGA5, and TGA6, but not dependent on COI1, MYC2, TGA1, and TGA4. Different mutant and overexpressing lines were used to determine individual contributions of TGA factors to cyclopentenone-responsive gene expression. Whereas OPDA-induced expression of the cytochrome P450 gene CYP81D11 was primarily regulated by TGA2 and TGA5, the glutathione S-transferase gene GST25 and the OPDA reductase gene OPR1 were regulated by TGA5 and TGA6, but less so by TGA2. These results support the model that phytoprostanes and OPDA regulate differently (i) growth responses, which are COI1 dependent but jasmonate independent; and (ii) lipid stress responses, which are strongly dependent on TGA2, TGA5, and TGA6. Identification of molecular components in cyclopentenone signalling provides an insight into novel oxylipin signal transduction pathways.

Prostaglandins (PGs) are early and key contributors to chronic neurodegenerative diseases. As one important member of classical PGs, PGA1 has been reported to exert potential neuroprotective effects. However, the mechanisms remain unknown. To this end, we are prompted to investigate whether PGA1 is a useful neurological treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD) or not. Using high-throughput sequencing, we found that PGA1 potentially regulates cholesterol metabolism and lipid transport. Interestingly, we further found that short-term administration of PGA1 decreased the levels of the monomeric and oligomeric β-amyloid protein (oAβ) in a cholesterol-dependent manner. In detail, PGA1 activated the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) and ATP-binding cassette subfamily A member 1 (ABCA1) signalling pathways, promoting the efflux of cholesterol and decreasing the intracellular cholesterol levels. Through PPARγ/ABCA1/cholesterol-dependent pathway, PGA1 decreased the expression of presenilin enhancer protein 2 (PEN-2), which is responsible for the production of Aβ. More importantly, long-term administration of PGA1 remarkably decreased the formation of Aβ monomers, oligomers, and fibrils. The actions of PGA1 on the production and deposition of Aβ ultimately improved the cognitive decline of the amyloid precursor protein/presenilin1 (APP/PS1) transgenic mice.

The Mayaro virus (MAYV), which is an arbovirus closely related to the Chikungunya virus, causes a dengue-like acute illness that is endemic to Central and South America. We investigated the anti-MAYV activity of prostaglandin A1 (PGA1), a hormone which exhibits antiviral activity against both ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) viruses. Further, we examined the effects of inducting the stress protein HSP70 following PGA1 treatment. Hep-2 cells infected with MAYV were treated with PGA1 (0.1-6μg/ml) 12h before infection and for different periods post-infection. Inhibition of viral replication inhibition was analyzed via viral titer determination, whereas the effect of PGA1 on viral morphogenesis was examined via transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Autoradiography (with 35S methionine labeling) and western blotting were used to assess the effect of PGA1 treatment on viral and cellular protein synthesis, and on HSP70 induction, respectively. PGA1 strongly reduced viral replication in Hep-2 cells, particularly when added during the early stages of viral replication. Although PGA1 treatment inhibited viral replication by 95% at 24 hours post-infection (hpi), viral structural protein synthesis was inhibited only by 15%. TEM analysis suggested that PGA1 inhibited replication before viral morphogenesis. Western blot and densitometry analyses showed that PGA1 treatment increased HSP70 protein levels, although this was not detectable via autoradiography. PGA1 inhibits MAYV replication in Hep-2 cells at early stages of viral replication, prior to production of viral structural proteins, possibly via HSP70 induction.

Glaucoma therapy-related ocular surface disease (OSD) is a serious pathology with a broad spectrum of insidious clinical presentations and complex pathogenesis that undermines long-term glaucoma care. Preservatives, especially benzalkonium chloride (BAK), contained in topical intraocular pressure-lowering medications frequently cause or aggravate OSD in glaucoma. Management of these patients is challenging, and to date often empirical due to the scarcity of controlled long-term clinical trials. Most of the available data are extracted from case series and retrospective analysis. Preservative-free prostaglandins and prostaglandin/timolol fixed combinations are novel options developed to remove the harmful impact of preservatives, especially BAK, upon ocular tissues. Based on what is currently known on the value of preservative-free antiglaucoma therapies it is tempting to speculate how these new therapies may affect the future medical management of all glaucoma patients. This article provides a comprehensive and critical review of the current literature on preservative-free prostaglandins and preservative-free prostaglandin/timolol fixed combinations.

To investigate the localization of clavulones (CV), prostanoids with antitumor activity, in the Okinawan soft coral Clavularia viridis, we developed a method for the isolation of Symbiodinium cells from the coral, i.e., treatment of a coral homogenate with a protease, pronase E, and a detergent, Nonidet P-40. The conditions for the treatment were optimized by monitoring the morphology microscopically and the amount of chlorophyll in the Symbiodinium fraction (SymF) optically. To evaluate the purity of SymF and a Symbiodinium-free coral fraction (CorF), we analyzed them for proteins and lipids using cultivated Symbiodinium as a reference. TLC of lipids revealed that SymF contained a greater amount of glycolipids, whereas CorF comprised mostly phospholipids. SDS-PAGE of proteins in SymF and CorF revealed their distinct profiles. Thus, we could obtain each fraction with high purity; we reached the conclusion that CV and arachidonic acid, their possible precursor, are localized exclusively in the insoluble fraction of host coral cells.

Since the role of prostanoid receptors in intestinal peristalsis is largely unknown, the peristaltic motor effects of some prostaglandin (DP, EP, IP), thromboxane (TP) and leukotriene (LT) receptor agonists and antagonists were investigated. Propulsive peristalsis in fluid‐perfused segments from the guinea‐pig small intestine was triggered by a rise of the intraluminal pressure and recorded via the intraluminal pressure changes associated with the peristaltic waves. Alterations of distension sensitivity were deduced from alterations of the peristaltic pressure threshold and modifications of peristaltic performance were reflected by modifications of the amplitude, maximal acceleration and residual baseline pressure of the peristaltic waves. Four categories of peristaltic motor effects became apparent: a decrease in distension sensitivity and peristaltic performance as induced by the EP1/EP3 receptor agonist sulprostone and the TP receptor agonist U‐46,619 (1–1000 nM); a decrease in distension sensitivity without a major change in peristaltic performance as induced by PGD2 (3–300 nM) and LTD4 (10–100 nM); a decrease in peristaltic performance without a major change in distension sensitivity as induced by PGE1, PGE2 (1–1000 nM) and the EP1/IP receptor agonist iloprost (1–100 nM); and a decrease in peristaltic performance associated with an increase in distension sensitivity as induced by the EP2 receptor agonist butaprost (1–1000 nM). The DP receptor agonist BW‐245C (1–1000 nM) was without effect. The peristaltic motor action of sulprostone remained unchanged by the EP1 receptor antagonist SC‐51,089 (1 μM) and the DP/EP1/EP2 receptor antagonist AH‐6809 (30 μM), whereas that of U‐46,619 and LTD4 was prevented by the TP receptor antagonist SQ‐29,548 (10 μM) and the cysteinyl‐leukotriene1 (cysLT1) receptor antagonist tomelukast (10 μM), respectively. These observations and their pharmacological analysis indicate that activation of EP2, EP3, IP, TP and cysLT1 receptors, but not DP receptors, modulate intestinal peristalsis in a receptor‐selective manner, whereas activation of EP1 seems to be without influence on propulsive peristalsis. In a wider perspective it appears as if the effect of prostanoid receptor agonists to induce diarrhoea is due to their prosecretory but not peristaltic motor action. British Journal of Pharmacology (2002) 137, 1047–1054. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0704958

A peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) ligand, 15-deoxy-Delta(12,14)-prostaglandin J(2) (15d-PGJ(2)), has been reported to possess anti-inflammatory activity in activated monocytes/macrophages. In this study, we investigated the effect of 15d-PGJ(2) on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of chemokine mRNAs, especially macrophage inhibitory protein (MIP)-2 (CXCL2), in mouse peritoneal macrophages. The inhibitory actions of the natural PPARgamma ligands, 15d-PGJ(2) and prostaglandin A1 (PGA1), on the expression of RANTES (regulated upon activation, normal T expressed and secreted; CCL5), MIP-1beta (CCL4), MIP-1alpha (CCL3), IFN-gamma-inducible protein 10 kilodaltons (IP-10; CXCL10) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1; CCL2) mRNA in LPS-treated cells were stronger than those of the synthetic PPARgamma ligands troglitazone and ciglitazone. However, 15d-PGJ(2) enhanced the expression of LPS-induced MIP-2 (CXCL2) mRNA. A specific PPARgamma antagonist (GW9662) had no effect on the inhibitory action of 15d-PGJ(2) and PGA1 in LPS-induced chemokine mRNA expression and on the synergistic action of 15d-PGJ(2) in LPS-induced MIP-2 (CXCL2) expression. Moreover, LPS itself reduced the expression of PPARgamma. Although the synergistic effect of 15d-PGJ(2) on LPS-induced MIP-2 (CXCL2) mRNA expression was remarkable, the production of MIP-2 (CXCL2) in cells treated with 15d-PGJ(2) and LPS did not increase compared to the production in cells treated with LPS alone. The synergistic action of 15d-PGJ(2) on LPS-induced MIP-2 (CXCL2) mRNA expression was dependent on the activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), and 15d-PGJ(2) increased the phosphorylation of p38 and stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (SAPK/JNK) in cells stimulated with LPS. These results suggest that the synergistic effect of 15d-PGJ(2) on LPS-induced MIP-2 (CXCL2) expression is PPARgamma-independent, and is mediated by the p38 and SAPK/JNK pathway in mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways, which activates NF-kappaB. Our data may give more insights into the different mechanisms contrary to the anti-inflammatory effect of 15d-PGJ(2) on the expression of chemokine genes.

cDNA array technology has proven to be a powerful way to monitor global changes in gene expression patterns. Here, we present an approach that extends the current utility of cDNA arrays to allow the evaluation of the relative roles of transcription and mRNA turnover in governing gene expression on a global basis, compared with current individual gene-by-gene analyses. This method, which involves comparison of large-scale hybridization patterns generated with steady-state mRNA versus newly transcribed (nuclear run-on) RNA, was used to demonstrate the importance of mRNA turnover in regulating gene expression following several conditions of stress.

Prostaglandin (PG) A , one of cyclopentenone PGs, is known to induce activation of apoptosis in various cancer cells. Although PGA has been reported to cause activation of apoptosis by altering the expression of apoptosis-related genes, the role of p53, one of the most critical pro-apoptotic genes, on PGA -induced apoptosis has not been clarified yet. To address this issue, we compared the apoptosis in HCT116 null cells (HCT116 p53-/-) to that in HCT116 cells containing the wild type gene. Cell death induced by PGA was associated with phosphorylation of histone H2A variant H2AX (H2AX), activation of caspase-3 and cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 in HCT116 cells. Induction of apoptosis in PGA -treated cells was almost completely prevented by pretreatment with a pan-caspase inhibitor, z-VAD-Fmk, or an inhibitor of protein synthesis, cycloheximide. While PGA induced apoptosis in HCT116 cells, phosphorylation of p53 and transcriptional induction of p53-target genes such as , , , , and occurred. Besides, pretreatment of pifithrin-α (PFT-α), a chemical inhibitor of p53's transcriptional activity, interfered with the induction of apoptosis in PGA -treated HCT116 cells. Pretreatment of NU7441, a small molecule inhibitor of DNA-activated protein kinase (DNA-PK) suppressed PGA -induced phosphorylation of p53 and apoptosis as well. Moreover, among target genes of p53, knockdown of expression by RNA interference, suppressed PGA -induced apoptosis. In the meanwhile, in HCT116 p53-/- cells, PGA induced apoptosis in delayed time points and with less potency. Delayed apoptosis by PGA in HCT116 p53-/- cells was also associated with phosphorylation of H2AX but was not inhibited by either PFT- or NU7441. Collectively, these results suggest the following. PGA may induce p53-dependent apoptosis in which DNA-PK activates p53, and DR5, a transcriptional target of p53, plays a pivotal role in HCT116 cells. In contrast to apoptosis in HCT116 cells, PGA may induce apoptosis in a fashion of less potency, which is independent of p53 and DNA-PK in HCT116 p53-/- cells.

Transcriptional factor EB (TFEB), a master regulator of autophagy and lysosomal biogenesis, is generally regarded as a pro-survival factor. Here, we identify that besides its effect on autophagy induction, TFEB exerts a pro-apoptotic effect in response to the cyclopentenone prostaglandin 15-deoxy-∆- 12,14 -prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2). Specifically, 15d-PGJ2 promotes TFEB translocation from the cytoplasm into the nucleus to induce autophagy and lysosome biogenesis via reactive oxygen species (ROS) production rather than mTORC1 inactivation. Surprisingly, TFEB promotes rather than inhibits apoptosis in response to 15d-PGJ2. Mechanistically, ROS-mediated TFEB translocation into the nucleus transcriptionally upregulates the expression of ATF4, which is required for apoptosis elicited by 15d-PGJ2. Additionally, inhibition of TFEB activation by ROS scavenger N-acetyl cysteine or inhibition of protein synthesis by cycloheximide effectively compromises ATF4 upregulation and apoptosis in response to 15d-PGJ2. Collectively, these results indicate that ROS-induced TFEB activation exerts a novel role in promoting apoptosis besides its role in regulating autophagy in response to 15d-PGJ2. This work not only evidences how TFEB is activated by 15d-PGJ2, but also unveils a previously unexplored role of ROS-dependent activation of TFEB in modulating cell apoptosis in response to 15d-PGJ2.