Abstract
Background Disruptor of telomeric silencing 1-like (Dot1l) plays a vital role in biological processes as a well-known methyltransferase. However, its role in herpes simplex virus type 1- (HSV-1-) infected keratitis remains unclear. Methods In vitro and in vivo models were assessed to investigate the role of Dot1l in HSV-1 induced keratitis. C57BL/6 mice corneas were infected with HSV-1 for different days, with or without Dot1l inhibitor, to demonstrate the regulation of Dot1l in herpes simplex keratitis (HSK). Human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells were cultured and infected with HSV-1 to identify the molecular mechanisms involved. Results In this study, we found that Dot1l was positively related to HSK. Inhibition of Dot1l with EPZ004777 (EPZ) alleviated corneal injury, including oxidative stress and inflammation in vivo. Similarly, the inhibition of Dot1l with either EPZ or small interfering RNA (siRNA) showed an inhibitory effect on HSV-1-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in HCE cells. Moreover, our study revealed that the expression of p38 MAPK was elevated after HSV-1 infection in HCE cells, and the inhibition of Dot1l could reduce the increased expression of p38 MAPK induced by HSV-1 infection in vivo and in vitro. Conclusion Our results demonstrated that the inhibition of Dot1l alleviated corneal oxidative stress and inflammation by inhibiting ROS production through the p38 MAPK pathway in HSK. These findings indicated that Dot1l might be a valuable therapeutic target for HSK.
Highlights
Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a highly prevalent virus [1] among the population
The results suggested that SOD activity (Figure 1(e)) continued to decrease and MDA content (Figure 1(f)), and H2O2 production (Figure 1(g)) continued to increase in the course of herpes simplex keratitis (HSK) progressed
These results indicated that Disruptor of telomeric silencing 1-like (Dot1l) expression and oxidative stress were related to the progression of HSK
Summary
Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a highly prevalent virus [1] among the population. C57BL/6 mice corneas were infected with HSV-1 for different days, with or without Dot1l inhibitor, to demonstrate the regulation of Dot1l in herpes simplex keratitis (HSK). Inhibition of Dot1l with EPZ004777 (EPZ) alleviated corneal injury, including oxidative stress and inflammation in vivo. The inhibition of Dot1l with either EPZ or small interfering RNA (siRNA) showed an inhibitory effect on HSV-1-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in HCE cells. Our results demonstrated that the inhibition of Dot1l alleviated corneal oxidative stress and inflammation by inhibiting ROS production through the p38 MAPK pathway in HSK. These findings indicated that Dot1l might be a valuable therapeutic target for HSK
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