Piperlongumine regulates epigenetic modulation and alleviates psoriasis-like skin inflammation via inhibition of hyperproliferation and inflammation

Cell Death Dis. 2020 Jan 10;11(1):21. doi: 10.1038/s41419-019-2212-y.

Abstract

Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin disease, where chronic immune responses due to exaggerated cytokine signaling, abnormal differentiation, and evasion of keratinocytes apoptosis plays a crucial role in mediating abnormal keratinocytes hyperproliferation. From the therapeutic perspective, the molecules with strong anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory properties could have tremendous relevance. In this study, we demonstrated that piperlongumine (PPL) treatment effectively abrogated the hyperproliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes by inducing ROS-mediated late apoptosis with loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. Besides, the arrest of cell cycle was found at Sub-G1 phase as a result of DNA fragmentation. Molecularly, inhibition of STAT3 and Akt signaling was observed with a decrease in proliferative markers such as PCNA, ki67, and Cyclin D1 along with anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein expression. Keratin 17 is a critical regulator of keratinocyte differentiation, and it was found to be downregulated with PPL significantly. Furthermore, prominent anti-inflammatory effects were observed by inhibition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/Imiquimod (IMQ)-induced p65 NF-κB signaling cascade and strongly inhibited the production of cytokine storm involved in psoriasis-like skin inflammation, thus led to the restoration of normal epidermal architecture with reduction of epidermal hyperplasia and splenomegaly. In addition, PPL epigenetically inhibited histone-modifying enzymes, which include histone deacetylases (HDACs) of class I (HDAC1-4) and class II (HDAC6) evaluated by immunoblotting and HDAC enzyme assay kit. In addition, our results show that PPL effectively inhibits the nuclear translocation of p65 and a histone modulator HDAC3, thus sequestered in the cytoplasm of macrophages. Furthermore, PPL effectively enhanced the protein-protein interactions of HDAC3 and p65 with IκBα, which was disrupted by LPS stimulation and were evaluated by Co-IP and molecular modeling. Collectively, our findings indicate that piperlongumine may serve as an anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory agent and could serve as a potential therapeutic option in treating psoriasis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Chemokines / metabolism
  • Dioxolanes / pharmacology
  • Dioxolanes / therapeutic use*
  • Epidermis / pathology
  • Epigenesis, Genetic* / drug effects
  • HaCaT Cells
  • Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Histone Deacetylases / metabolism
  • Histones / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Imiquimod / adverse effects
  • Inflammation / drug therapy*
  • Inflammation / genetics
  • Keratin-17 / metabolism
  • Keratinocytes / drug effects
  • Keratinocytes / pathology
  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Models, Biological
  • Phosphorylation / drug effects
  • Protein Binding / drug effects
  • Psoriasis / chemically induced
  • Psoriasis / drug therapy*
  • Psoriasis / genetics*
  • Psoriasis / pathology
  • RAW 264.7 Cells
  • STAT3 Transcription Factor / metabolism
  • Skin / pathology*

Substances

  • Chemokines
  • Dioxolanes
  • Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors
  • Histones
  • Keratin-17
  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • STAT3 Transcription Factor
  • Histone Deacetylases
  • histone deacetylase 3
  • piperlongumine
  • Imiquimod