{"title":"Knockdown of USP7 alleviates atherosclerosis in ApoE-deficient mice by regulating EZH2 expression.","authors":"Yu Zhang, Yanchun Zhang","doi":"10.1515/biol-2022-0929","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic vascular disease associated with lipid accumulation. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of AS is essential. Ubiquitin-specific protease 7 (USP7) is a deubiquitination enzyme involved in various cellular processes, including lipid metabolism. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the role of USP7 in AS progression and its underlying mechanism using ApoE-deficient mice. We found that USP7 ablation improved the morphological characteristics of AS in these mice. USP7 knockdown reduced inflammation, evidenced by decreases in inflammatory markers IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β by 35, 40, and 38%, respectively (<i>p</i> < 0.01). Additionally, USP7 depletion reduced oxidative stress, indicated by a 30% reduction in malondialdehyde levels and increases in superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase levels by 25 and 28%, respectively (<i>p</i> < 0.01). Moreover, USP7 knockdown blocked lipid accumulation in aortic tissue cells. Mechanistically, USP7 knockdown inhibited enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2) expression, thereby suppressing AS progression. In conclusion, USP7 depletion alleviated AS progression in ApoE-deficient mice by targeting EZH2 expression. USP7 may serve as a therapeutic target for AS.</p>","PeriodicalId":19605,"journal":{"name":"Open Life Sciences","volume":"19 1","pages":"20220929"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11416069/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Open Life Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1515/biol-2022-0929","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic vascular disease associated with lipid accumulation. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of AS is essential. Ubiquitin-specific protease 7 (USP7) is a deubiquitination enzyme involved in various cellular processes, including lipid metabolism. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the role of USP7 in AS progression and its underlying mechanism using ApoE-deficient mice. We found that USP7 ablation improved the morphological characteristics of AS in these mice. USP7 knockdown reduced inflammation, evidenced by decreases in inflammatory markers IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β by 35, 40, and 38%, respectively (p < 0.01). Additionally, USP7 depletion reduced oxidative stress, indicated by a 30% reduction in malondialdehyde levels and increases in superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase levels by 25 and 28%, respectively (p < 0.01). Moreover, USP7 knockdown blocked lipid accumulation in aortic tissue cells. Mechanistically, USP7 knockdown inhibited enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2) expression, thereby suppressing AS progression. In conclusion, USP7 depletion alleviated AS progression in ApoE-deficient mice by targeting EZH2 expression. USP7 may serve as a therapeutic target for AS.
期刊介绍:
Open Life Sciences (previously Central European Journal of Biology) is a fast growing peer-reviewed journal, devoted to scholarly research in all areas of life sciences, such as molecular biology, plant science, biotechnology, cell biology, biochemistry, biophysics, microbiology and virology, ecology, differentiation and development, genetics and many others. Open Life Sciences assures top quality of published data through critical peer review and editorial involvement throughout the whole publication process. Thanks to the Open Access model of publishing, it also offers unrestricted access to published articles for all users.