Decai Tang,Shuo Zhang,Xiaoxia Shi,Jiafei Wu,Gang Yin,Xiying Tan,Fuyan Liu,Xingdong Wu,Xiangyu Du
Normalizing the disordered tumor vasculature, rather than blocking it, is a novel method for anticancer therapy. Astragali polysaccharide (APS) and curcumin were reported to be active against carcinomas. However, the effect and mechanism of the combination of APS and curcumin on vascular normalization in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was not clear. In the present study, effects of combined APS and curcumin on tumor vascular normalization were evaluated in HepG2 tumor-bearing mice. Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) was performed to observe the morphological structure of tumor vessels in vivo. The microstructure of the tumor vessels was also analyzed through scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, the expression of CD31 and NG2 was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining. Tumor vessels of HepG2 tumor-bearing mice treated with the combination were sparse with uniform growth, morphology rules, and complete vascular walls, which had fewer branches and sprouts. ECs of tumor vessels were arranged regularly and were tightly connected, tending toward normalization. The expression of CD31 was reduced while NG2 was increased significantly by the combination of APS and curcumin. The results indicated that APS and curcumin in combination showed a better effect on inhibiting tumor growth in an orthotopic nude-mouse model of HCC. More important, the combination induced normalization of tumor vascular better than APS or curcumin administration alone, improving the morphological structure of tumor vessels and promoting maturation of tumor vessels. The results of the present study provided a reasonable possibility for combination therapy of APS and curcumin in the treatment of HCC via tumor vascular normalization.
The efficacy of oral probiotics is severely limited due to the low biological activity and poor stability. Adopting advanced packaging technology can effectively enhance the activity of probiotics in harsh environments. In this study, we prepared a gel microsphere using microprocessor-driven injection technology. In the Alginate (Alg)-Zn 2+ system, L. paracasei M11–7 (M11–7) was encapsulated using the oxidized astragalus polysaccharide (OGP) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS), which enhanced its delivery in the gastrointestinal tract. The research results exhibited that the gel microspheres had a size of 0.687 mm and belonged to the category of microgels. The SEM image indicated that the gel microspheres had a dense surface structure, and the encapsulation efficiency of M11–7 reached 91.53 %. The simulated gastrointestinal digestion revealed that after treatment with gastric and intestinal fluids, the live rates of probiotics in gel microspheres reached 91.66 ± 2.35 % and 60.43 ± 2.35 %, respectively. The gel microspheres also had good storage stability and thermal stability. In the intervention of the SHR rat model, gel microspheres loaded with M11–7 can alleviate endothelial dysfunction by lowering blood pressure, inhibiting oxidative stress and restoring the balance of the intestinal microbiota. This study provides ideas for constructing a safe and efficient probiotic loading system and improving the high-value utilization of probiotics.
The decoctions of sunflower ( Helianthus annuus L. HAL) stalk pith have been used to treat advanced cancer, and polysaccharide of sunflower stalk pith (HSPP) was key ingredient of the decoctions. To forage specially structured HSPP with anti-tumor effects and to uncover its mechanisms of anticancer activity, syngeneic mouse model of lung carcinoma metastasis was established and the HSPP was found to contain long-chain fatty acid. Encouragingly, the mean survival of the polysaccharide group (47.3 ± 12.8 d) and its sub-fractions group HSPP-4 (50.7 ± 13.0 d) was significantly increased compared with control group (38.7 ± 12.7 d) or positive control group (41.8 ± 13.4 d), ( n = 20, P < 0.01 vs. the control group or positive control group). Furthermore, the HSPP exerted inhibitory effects on the tumor cells' metastasis. Eventually, it is postulated that the polysaccharide could inhibit tumor proliferation and metastasis by reduction of TNF-α from the macrophage.
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