Lim, B. J. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2020

Inhibition of lysyl oxidase-like 2 ameliorates folic acid-induced renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis

Tubulointerstitial fibrosis is characterized by accumulation of the extracellular matrix in the interstitium. Lysyl oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2), a member of the lysyl oxidase family, is known for promoting cancer metastasis, invasion, and stromal fibrosis in various organs. Our previous study demonstrated expression of LOXL2 in kidney podocytes and tubular epithelial cells, and the association between elevated LOXL2 and tubulointerstitial fibrosis. The present study evaluated the effect of LOXL2 inhibition using an inhibitory monoclonal antibody (AB0023) on tubulointerstitial fibrosis in a folic acid-induced tubulointerstitial fibrosis mouse model. We also evaluated the association of LOXL2 with epithelial-mesenchymal transformation related molecules in vitro using HK-2 cells. Our data demonstrate that AB0023 prevented the progression of tubulointerstitial fibrosis significantly, as determined by trichrome and picro-sirius red staining, as well as the total collagen assay. The mean expression of phosphorylated Smad2 and Smad4 was lower in the AB0023-treated group although it was not statistically significant. Following transforming growth factor-{beta} (TGF-{beta}) challenge, LOXL2-deficient HK-2 cells exhibited significantly lower expression of the mesenchymal markers vimentin and fibronectin than control HK-2 cells. In conclusion, LOXL2 inhibition ameliorates renal fibrosis through the TGF-{beta}/Smad signalling pathway.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2019

Targetable Tetrazine-Based Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Agents for Biological Systems

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) has shown great promise as a tool to enhance the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals of proteins in the cellular environment. As the sensitivity increases, the ability to select and efficiently polarize a specific macromolecule over the cellular background has become desirable. Here, we address this need and present a tetrazine-based DNP polarization agent that can be targeted selectively to proteins containing the unnatural amino acid (UAA) norbornene-lysine. The UAA can be introduced efficiently by genetic means in the cellular milieu. Our approach is bio-orthogonal and easily adaptable to any protein of interest. We illustrate the scope of our methodology and investigate the DNP polarization transfer mechanisms in several biological systems. Our results present the first molecular view of the complex polarization transfer pathways in targeted DNP and ultimately pave the way to selective DNP-enhanced NMR spectroscopy in both bacterial and mammalian cells.

biophysics↗