TY - JOUR A1 - Imeri, Faik A1 - Fallegger, Daniel A1 - Zivkovic, Aleksandra A1 - Schwalm, Stephanie A1 - Enzmann, Gaby A1 - Blankenbach, Kira A1 - Heringdorf, Dagmar Meyer Zu A1 - Homann, Thomas A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Pfeilschifter, Josef A1 - Engelhardt, Britta A1 - Stark, Holger A1 - Huwiler, Andrea T1 - Novel oxazolo-oxazole derivatives of FTY720 reduce endothelial cell permeability, immune cell chemotaxis and symptoms of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice JF - Neuropharmacology N2 - The immunomodulatory FTY720 (fingolimod) is presently approved for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. It is a prodrug that acts by modulating sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor signaling. In this study, we have developed and characterized two novel oxazolo-oxazole derivatives of FTY720, ST-968 and the oxy analog ST-1071, which require no preceding activating phosphorylation, and proved to be active in intact cells and triggered S1P(1) and S1P(3), but not S1P(2), receptor internalization as a result of receptor activation. Functionally, ST-968 and ST-1071 acted similar to FTY720 to abrogate S1P-triggered chemotaxis of mouse splenocytes, mouse T cells and human U937 cells, and reduced TNFa- and LPS-stimulated endothelial cell permeability. The compounds also reduced TNF alpha-induced ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 mRNA expression, but restored TNF alpha-mediated downregulation of PECAM-1 mRNA expression. In an in vivo setting, the application of ST-968 or ST-1071 to mice resulted in a reduction of blood lymphocytes and significantly reduced the clinical symptoms of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in C57BL/6 mice comparable to FTY720 either by prophylactic or therapeutic treatment. In parallel to the reduced clinical symptoms, infiltration of immune cells in the brain was strongly reduced, and in isolated tissues of brain and spinal cord, the mRNA and protein expressions of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, as well as of matrix metalloproteinase-9 were reduced by all compounds, whereas PECAM-1 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase TIMP-1 were upregulated. In summary, the data suggest that these novel butterfly derivatives of FTY720 could have considerable implication for future therapies of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Fingolimod KW - ST-968 KW - ST-1071 KW - Sphingosine 1-phosphate KW - Endothelial cells KW - Permeability KW - Multiple sclerosis Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2014.05.012 SN - 0028-3908 SN - 1873-7064 VL - 85 SP - 314 EP - 327 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Laurenzana, Anna A1 - Cencetti, Francesca A1 - Serrati, Simona A1 - Bruno, Gennaro A1 - Japtok, Lukasz A1 - Bianchini, Francesca A1 - Torre, Eugenio A1 - Fibbi, Gabriella A1 - Del Rosso, Mario A1 - Bruni, Paola A1 - Donati, Chiara T1 - Endothelial sphingosine kinase/SPNS2 axis is critical for vessel-like formation by human mesoangioblasts JF - Journal of molecular medicine N2 - The interaction between endothelial cells and pericytes is crucial for the stabilization of newly formed vessels in angiogenesis. The comprehension of the mechanisms regulating peiicyte recruitment might open therapeutical perspectives on vascular-related pathologies. Sphingosine 1phosphate (SIP) is a bioactive sphingolipid that derives from sphingomyelin catabolism and regulates biological functions in cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation. In this study, we aimed to identify the role of SIP axis in the intercellular communication between human mesenchymal progenitor mesoangioblasts (MAB) and endothelial cells (human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVEC)) in the formation of capillary-like structures. We demonstrated that the SIP biosynthetic pathway brought about by sphingosine kinases (SK) SKI and SK2 as well as spinster homolog 2 (SPNS2) transporter in H-MVEC is crucial for MAB migration measured by Boyden chambers and for the formation and stabilization of capillary-like structures in a 3D Matrigel culture. Moreover, the conditioned medium (CM) harvested from HMVEC, where SKI, 5K2, and SPNS2 were down-regulated, exerted a significantly diminished effect on MAB capillary morphogenesis and migration. Notably, we demonstrated that S I Pi and Si p3 receptors were positively involved in CM-induced capillary-like formation and migration, while S I P2 exerted a negative role on CM-induced migratory action of MAB. Finally, SK inhibition as well as MAB SlPi and S1P3 down-regulation impaired HMVEC-MAB cross-talk significantly reducing in vivo angiogenesis evaluated by Matrigel plug assay. These findings individuate novel targets for the employment of MAB in vascular-related pathologic conditions. KW - Mesoangioblasts KW - Endothelial cells KW - Sphingosine kinase KW - Migration KW - Morphogenesis Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00109-015-1292-0 SN - 0946-2716 SN - 1432-1440 VL - 93 IS - 10 SP - 1145 EP - 1157 PB - Springer CY - New York ER -