{"title":"DNA methyltransferase 1-mediated methylation of midkine regulate myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury via the Notch2/Hes1 axis.","authors":"Wei Liu, Yuqin Wang, Jiayuan Wu, Caihong He, Zhengwei Zhou","doi":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2595011","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2595011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MI/RI) threatens people's lives. Midkine (MDK) has a protective effect against MI/RI. DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) is closely associated with MI/RI. Mouse cardiomyocytes were isolated to establish a model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion. Subsequently, the viability, apoptosis, and inflammatory factors of the cardiomyocytes treated under different conditions were measured. Western blotting was employed to examine the expression of related proteins. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (CHIP) and dual-luciferase reporter gene assays were conducted to verify the relationships among the DNMT1, MDK, and Notch2/Hes1 signaling pathways. The expression of MDK was reduced in the MI/RI cell model, while Notch2/Hes1 was activated. Overexpression of MDK mitigated the injury associated with MI/RI. Methylation modification of DNMT1 downregulated MDK, thereby mediating the Notch2/Hes1 pathway. The methylation modification of DNMT1 on MDK regulated the progression of MI/RI. The methylation modification of MDK by DNMT1 likely downregulates the Notch2/Hes1 pathway, thereby influencing MI/RI.</p>","PeriodicalId":12782,"journal":{"name":"Growth factors","volume":" ","pages":"203-215"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145668199","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Growth factorsPub Date : 2025-10-01Epub Date: 2025-11-30DOI: 10.1080/08977194.2025.2595010
Hong-Fang Ma, Jun Shen
{"title":"Mendelian randomization analyses explore the causal relationship between fibroblast growth factor receptors and hypertrophic scar.","authors":"Hong-Fang Ma, Jun Shen","doi":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2595010","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2595010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>During the formation of hypertrophic scars (HS), there is often a notable abnormal proliferation and differentiation of cells, especially fibroblasts, but it remains ambiguous whether a causal relationship exists between fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) and hypertrophic scar. This study explored the causal impact of FGFR1, FGFR2, FGFR3, and FGFR4 on HS utilizing a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses. The elevated expression of FGFR1 and FGFR 4 emerged as two potential risk factors against HS in the inverse-variance weighted analysis. Conversely, FGFR2 and FGFR3 exhibited no significant causal relationship with hypertrophic scars. Rigorous analyses including assessments of heterogeneity, genetic horizontal pleiotropy, and leave-one-out sensitivity collectively affirmed the stability and reliability of the findings in this study. Taken together, the elevated expression of FGFR1 and FGFR 4 act as two key regulatory factors in preventing the formation of HS and serves as a crucial modulator in impeding scar formation.</p>","PeriodicalId":12782,"journal":{"name":"Growth factors","volume":" ","pages":"193-202"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145648372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Growth factorsPub Date : 2025-08-01Epub Date: 2025-11-24DOI: 10.1080/08977194.2025.2584804
Mana Mitsutani, Hiromi Hano, Mei Yokoyama, Midori Matsushita, Tomomi Fujikawa, Tetsuya Tagami, Kenji Moriyama
{"title":"Growth hormone induces GATA3 gene expression via STAT5B.","authors":"Mana Mitsutani, Hiromi Hano, Mei Yokoyama, Midori Matsushita, Tomomi Fujikawa, Tetsuya Tagami, Kenji Moriyama","doi":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2584804","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2584804","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>GATA proteins have been proposed as regulators of adipogenesis. In particular, GATA2 and GATA3 have been demonstrated to function in preadipocytes, and their behavior in response to extracellular signals allows preadipocytes to transition into adipocytes in mammals. However, few reports have discussed the extracellular stimulators of both GATAs. In this study, we investigated whether growth hormone (GH) acts as an extracellular ligand of both GATAs, with special attention paid to GATA3 expression in adipocytes. GATA3 expression increased at the transcriptional level with STAT5B activation in a dose-dependent manner, and this was reversed by a STAT5-specific inhibitor. Furthermore, we found that the functional STAT5B consensus sequences that function as the binding site in the GATA3 promoter region were located at -117 bp from the transcription starting site. These results suggest that GH induces GATA3 gene expressions via the GHR/JAK/STAT5 pathway to control adipocyte proliferation and differentiation.</p>","PeriodicalId":12782,"journal":{"name":"Growth factors","volume":" ","pages":"178-191"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145587056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Growth factorsPub Date : 2025-08-01Epub Date: 2025-07-22DOI: 10.1080/08977194.2025.2533773
Xiangtian Liu, Yuqi Song, Weikun Tian, Liping Ye, Dongxiao Li, Meifeng Li, Xinghan Tian, Xiaoli Li
{"title":"VEGF ameliorates acute kidney injury by suppressing ferroptosis through activation of the ERK1/2-NRF2 pathway.","authors":"Xiangtian Liu, Yuqi Song, Weikun Tian, Liping Ye, Dongxiao Li, Meifeng Li, Xinghan Tian, Xiaoli Li","doi":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2533773","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2533773","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a crucial role in maintaining renal homeostasis. However, the precise impact of VEGF on ferroptosis in acute kidney injury (AKI) remains incompletely understood. This study aims to investigate the effects of VEGF on ferroptosis in the model of AKI and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. We used C57BL mice and HK-2 cells to construct sepsis-associated AKI models. We assessed renal function, cell viability, and tissue levels of iron, malondialdehyde (MDA), and glutathione (GSH) in mice. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential, and electron microscopy-detected cellular changes were also measured. Western blotting analyzed key ferroptosis-related proteins (SLC7A11, GPX4) and components of the ERK1/2-NRF2-GPX4 pathway. VEGF treatment significantly reduced oxidative stress by lowering ROS and MDA levels while increasing GSH. Additionally, VEGF165 activated the ERK1/2-NRF2 pathway, mitigating ferroptosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":12782,"journal":{"name":"Growth factors","volume":" ","pages":"155-165"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144690038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Growth factorsPub Date : 2025-08-01Epub Date: 2025-07-31DOI: 10.1080/08977194.2025.2539128
Alexander W Venanzi, Gabrielle A Albano, Paola E Parrales, Abigail S Hackam
{"title":"Activation of the non-canonical Wnt5a signaling pathway following optic nerve injury induces time-dependent changes in pro- and anti-inflammatory gene expression.","authors":"Alexander W Venanzi, Gabrielle A Albano, Paola E Parrales, Abigail S Hackam","doi":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2539128","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2539128","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Optic nerve (ON) injury leads to retinal ganglion cell (RGC) degeneration and axonal atrophy. Wnt ligands are embryonic growth factors that regulate cellular differentiation and survival. We recently demonstrated that canonical and non-canonical Wnt signaling induces RGC survival and axonal regrowth after optic nerve crush (ONC) injury in mouse. Here, we investigated whether the non-canonical Wnt5a ligand induces pro-regenerative inflammation after ONC. Mice were intravitreally injected with Wnt5a or saline during ONC and retina tissue was collected for QPCR and immunofluorescence. We demonstrated that expression of arginase 1, a marker of anti-inflammatory microglia, was upregulated by Wnt5a in injured retinas, whereas iNOS, a marker of neurotoxic microglia, was suppressed. Wnt5a also induced time-dependent changes in pro-inflammatory genes Gal3, TNFα, P2RY12 and IL-6 and the anti-inflammatory gene IL-27. These results indicate that Wnt5a is an immunomodulatory ligand in the retina after ONC injury.</p>","PeriodicalId":12782,"journal":{"name":"Growth factors","volume":" ","pages":"166-177"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144753160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Growth factorsPub Date : 2025-05-01Epub Date: 2025-07-02DOI: 10.1080/08977194.2025.2521071
Yunyun Wu, Weili Zhao
{"title":"Insulin-like growth factor 1 and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3 in central precocious puberty: a systematic review and meta-analysis.","authors":"Yunyun Wu, Weili Zhao","doi":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2521071","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2521071","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To identify distinct patterns of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) in girls with central precocious puberty (CPP), and to compare IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels in patients with CPP and precocious thelarche (PT).</p><p><p>A literature search of PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases was done to identify observational studies. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of the studies. Pooled weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported.</p><p><p>Fourteen studies were included. As opposed to age-matched or similar-aged pre-pubertal girls, patients with CPP had significantly higher levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3. CPP was associated with higher levels of IGF-1 approaching statistical significance but similar levels of IGFBP-3 compared to PT.</p><p><p>Distinct hormonal patterns, such as elevated IGF-1 and IGFBP-3, were identified in patients with CPP, suggesting a potential diagnostic value of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels.</p>","PeriodicalId":12782,"journal":{"name":"Growth factors","volume":" ","pages":"97-105"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144540014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Growth factorsPub Date : 2025-05-01Epub Date: 2025-06-19DOI: 10.1080/08977194.2025.2522803
Yan Zhou, Ni Yao, Jing-Wen Zheng, Zi-Yao Wang, Li-Hong Wan, Yan Kang
{"title":"Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor: a potential diagnostic marker in human sepsis-associated lung injury.","authors":"Yan Zhou, Ni Yao, Jing-Wen Zheng, Zi-Yao Wang, Li-Hong Wan, Yan Kang","doi":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2522803","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2522803","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) commonly considered as the first step in the sepsis cascade. To evaluate the diagnostic value and potential mechanism of serum MANF in sepsis-associated lung injury (SALI), 15 adult SALI patients and 15 age- and sex-matched SIRS patients were enrolled to measure serum MANF levels by sandwich enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay and the laboratory indexes including C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were collected. MANF and IL-6 levels showed significant differences between groups (P < 0.05), and the area under the curve (AUC) values of MANF and IL-6 were 0.822 and 0.815. The combination of MANF with IL-6 exhibited improved predictive accuracy for SALI. Furthermore, we found that there is a protein interaction network between MANF and all of these overlap targets between ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) and SALI by bioinformatics analysis. MANF could be a promising biomarker for the differential diagnosis of SALI and SIRS.</p>","PeriodicalId":12782,"journal":{"name":"Growth factors","volume":" ","pages":"119-126"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144333005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Growth factorsPub Date : 2025-05-01Epub Date: 2025-06-17DOI: 10.1080/08977194.2025.2516463
Michael M Halford, Michael Y He, Nancy Amin, Sophie Paquet-Fifield, Marc G Achen, Elizabeth Vincan, Steven A Stacker
{"title":"An endothelial cell competition assay for determinants of the response to targeted anti-angiogenics.","authors":"Michael M Halford, Michael Y He, Nancy Amin, Sophie Paquet-Fifield, Marc G Achen, Elizabeth Vincan, Steven A Stacker","doi":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2516463","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2516463","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Anti-angiogenics, inhibitors of pathological blood vessel growth, are an important class of targeted agent for the treatment of common cancers and ocular conditions. However, efficacy is compromised by the absence of biomarkers to guide patient selection or inform the management of resistance. We describe an assay for modified endothelial cell (EC) responses to the VEGF-A-neutralizing monoclonal antibody bevacizumab as part of a biomarker discovery program. ECs are transduced by lentivector expressing an experimental or non-silencing shRNA, each co-expressed with a different fluorescent protein. A 1:1 mixed cell population is then cultured with bevacizumab or control antibody under VEGF-A-dependent conditions. A normalized ratio of surviving cells, obtained by flow cytometry analysis, reflects EC resistance or sensitization to bevacizumab mediated by the experimental shRNA. With reagents prepared, the protocol takes 10 days and rigorously quantifies the impact of gene perturbation on the EC response to bevacizumab or other targeted anti-angiogenics.</p>","PeriodicalId":12782,"journal":{"name":"Growth factors","volume":" ","pages":"127-153"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144316735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Growth factorsPub Date : 2025-05-01Epub Date: 2025-05-02DOI: 10.1080/08977194.2025.2499634
Ye Kuang, Yuxiang Zhao, Zeyu Miao, Yang Xu, Qing Yang
{"title":"Oxaloacetate stimulates phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor receptor in epithelial cells in vitro.","authors":"Ye Kuang, Yuxiang Zhao, Zeyu Miao, Yang Xu, Qing Yang","doi":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2499634","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2499634","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Oxaloacetate (OA) is a pivotal endogenous metabolite. Within our investigation, we ascertained that OA functions as an agonist for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a key protagonist in the genesis of diverse tumours. We substantiated that escalating concentrations of OA initially enhanced the cellular viability of several cancer cells, followed by subsequent attenuation, which is similar to the effect of EGF. Furthermore, the protein phosphorylation profile in HepG2 cells exposed to OA closely paralleled that induced by epidermal growth factor (EGF). Additional findings underscored the capability of OA to induce the generation of EGFR dimers. Finally, our observations revealed that OA governs the activation of AKT and Erk, the typical downstream signalling proteins of EGFR. We postulate that the endogenous metabolite OA can function as either an agonist or inhibitor of EGFR at specific concentrations to modulate tumour proliferation, and provide new insights into the regulation of EGFR activation.</p>","PeriodicalId":12782,"journal":{"name":"Growth factors","volume":" ","pages":"106-118"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143963924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Growth factorsPub Date : 2025-05-01Epub Date: 2025-05-21DOI: 10.1080/08977194.2025.2508723
Anjali Patel, B Rajgopal, Manisha Jaiswal
{"title":"Various strategies to induce beta cell neogenesis: a comprehensive review for unravelling the potential future therapy for curing diabetes.","authors":"Anjali Patel, B Rajgopal, Manisha Jaiswal","doi":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2508723","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08977194.2025.2508723","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pancreatic endocrine cells are categorized in to 5 types (alpha, beta, delta, pancreatic polypeptide cells and epsilon), which expresses glucagon, insulin, somatostatin, pancreatic polypeptide, and ghrelin, respectively. Several studies including lineage tracing in Ins2<sup>Akita</sup> diabetic mice have been done to investigate the identities of pancreatic endocrine cells which concludes, alpha cells have enormous plasticity, which enables them to be reprogrammed by specific transcription factors into insulin secreting beta like cells. Gene therapy has provided the beneficial outcome. Pdx1, MaFA and PAX4 (the transcription factors) in alpha cells can be over expressed which results in reprogramming the targeted alpha cells into beta cells. This trans-differentiation may be induced by infusing an adeno-associated virus (AAV) loaded with distinct transcription factors in the duct of pancreas. Several researches have demonstrated the successful restoration of enhanced insulin secretion in diabetes induced mice. Additionally ductal neurogenin3 (Ngn3), Sglt2 inhibitors, Igfbp1, GLP1 and several clinical and non-clinical agents has been postulated as a basis of beta cell neogenesis. Alpha cell owing to its high plasticity, on prolonged exposure to GABA reprogrammed into beta-like cell due to downregulation of Arx expression by GABA. The various approaches for beta cell neogenesis open a new window towards the establishment of novel gene therapy accession to treat diabetes. However, broad studies are still needed to improve and optimize this treatment methodology. The potentiality of endogenous pancreatic alpha cell to beta cell conversion methods and its outcomes are invigorating. This accomplishment is presently being under trial in non-human primates.</p>","PeriodicalId":12782,"journal":{"name":"Growth factors","volume":" ","pages":"69-96"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144119525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}