PUMA mediates ER stress-induced apoptosis in portal hypertensive gastropathy

Mucosal apoptosis has been demonstrated to be an essential pathological feature in portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG). p53-upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) was identified as a BH3-only Bcl-2 family protein that has an essential role in apoptosis induced by a variety of stimuli, including endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. However, whether PUMA is involved in mucosal apoptosis in PHG remains unclear, and whether PUMA induces PHG by mediating ER stress remains unknown. The aim of the study is to investigate whether PUMA is involved in PHG by mediating ER stress apoptotic signaling. To identify whether PUMA is involved in PHG by mediating ER stress, gastric mucosal injury and apoptosis were studied in both PHG patients and PHG animal models using PUMA knockout (PUMA-KO) and PUMA wild-type (PUMA-WT) mice. The induction of PUMA expression and ER stress signaling were investigated, and the mechanisms of PUMA-mediated apoptosis were analyzed. GES-1 and SGC7901 cell lines were used to further identify whether PUMA-mediated apoptosis was induced by ER stress in vitro. Epithelial apoptosis and PUMA were markedly induced in the gastric mucosa of PHG patients and mouse PHG models. ER stress had a potent role in the induction of PUMA and apoptosis in PHG models, and the apoptosis was obviously attenuated in PUMA-KO mice. Although the targeted deletion of PUMA did not affect ER stress, mitochondrial apoptotic signaling was downregulated in mice. Meanwhile, PUMA knockdown significantly ameliorated ER stress-induced mitochondria-dependent apoptosis in vitro. These results indicate that PUMA mediates ER stress-induced mucosal epithelial apoptosis through the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in PHG, and that PUMA is a potentially therapeutic target for PHG.