ACS Chemical Biology
·
2024
·
IF 3.5
Xiaorui Shi,Chong Hu,Liangli Fan,Bin Guo,Jingyu Zhang,Chu Tang,Fu Wang
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a significant role in tumor progression, and regulating miRNA expression with small molecules may offer a new approach to cancer therapy. Among them, miRNA-20b has been found to be dysregulated in several cancers, including nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Herein, an in silico high-throughput computer screen was conducted to identify small molecules that downregulate miR-20b using the three-dimensional structure of the Dicer binding site on pre-miR-20b. Among 1058 small molecule compounds, Methotrexate (MTX), was discovered to be a potential miR-20b-specific inhibitor, which has been found to suppress miR-20b by specifically blocking Dicer processing in p53 wild-type A549 NSCLC cells but not in H1299 cells with p53 depletion. MTX effectively inhibited the proliferation, survival, migration, and invasion of A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the treatment of MTX up-regulated the expression of miR-20b target genes PTEN, STAT3, and HIF1α. Notably, MTX also significantly inhibited tumor growth in a mouse xenograft tumor model of NSCLC, with no observed tissue toxicity. Our findings indicate that MTX may have a novel role as an established drug in p53 wild-type NSCLC tumor therapy by down-regulating miR-20b expression. These findings are expected to provide preclinical evidence for miR-20b-targeting NSCLC therapeutic strategies.
研究领域:
肿瘤学
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分子生物学
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药理学
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癌症治疗
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产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
BMC GASTROENTEROLOGY
·
2026
·Vol. 26
·期 1
·120
·
IF 3.2
Teng Xiao,Sheng Shanfeng,Pan Mingyuan,Li Yuyang,Li Zheng
Background Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is a critical gastrointestinal disorder associated with high mortality. Dysregulated ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death, is recognized as a pivotal mechanism driving SAP progression. Although Homoplantaginin (Homo) exhibits notable anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, its specific role in modulating ferroptosis during SAP remains unclear. Objective To investigate whether Homo alleviates SAP by inhibiting ferroptosis via the circDNMT3B/miR-20b-5p/SLC7A11 axis. Methods C57BL/6 mice ( n = 10 per group) were randomly allocated into nine groups, including normal control, SAP model, and various intervention groups involving Homo treatment, circDNMT3B knockdown, and miR-20b-5p inhibition. SAP was induced via caerulein and LPS injections. Assessments included histopathological evaluation, serum analysis (amylase, cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, IL-18), measurement of ferroptosis markers (MDA, GSH, tissue iron), Western blotting for ferroptosis-related proteins (ACSL4, COX-2, SLC7A11, GPX4), and qRT-PCR for gene expression. The targeting relationship between miR-20b-5p and SLC7A11 was validated by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Results SAP mice demonstrated severe pancreatic injury and hallmarks of ferroptosis, including elevated inflammation, iron accumulation, increased ACSL4/COX-2 expression, and upregulation of miR-20b-5p, alongside suppressed SLC7A11 and GPX4. Homo treatment significantly mitigated pancreatic damage and reversed these ferroptosis-related changes. CircDNMT3B knockdown exacerbated SAP severity and attenuated the protective effect of Homo, indicating its dependence on circDNMT3B. Furthermore, the detrimental effects of circDNMT3B knockdown were partially rescued by concurrent inhibition of miR-20b-5p, suggesting that miR-20b-5p acts downstream of circDNMT3B within the protective pathway mediated by Homo. The dual-luciferase assay confirmed miR-20b-5p directly targets SLC7A11. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that Homo protects against SAP primarily by suppressing ferroptosis. Mechanistically, Homo upregulates circDNMT3B, which sequesters miR-20b-5p, thereby relieving its repression of SLC7A11, which in turn supports the GPX4-mediated antioxidant defense. These findings elucidate a novel molecular pathway in SAP-associated ferroptosis and highlight the circDNMT3B/miR-20b-5p/SLC7A11 axis as a promising therapeutic target.
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DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY
·
2023
·
IF 5.4
Chuiyang Zheng,Huan Nie,Maoxing Pan,Wen Fan,Dajin Pi,Zheng Liang,Dongdong Liu,Fengzhen Wang,Qinhe Yang,Yupei Zhang
Ethnopharmacological relevance Chaihu Shugan powder (CSP) plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) through a variety of biological mechanisms. However, whether the mechanism involves microRNA (miRNA) regulation remains unknown. Aim of the study To investigate the effects of CSP on the miRNA expression profile of rats with NAFLD induced by high-fat diet (HFD), and to explore the mechanism of CSP in the treatment of NAFLD. Methods NAFLD rat models were established by an 8-week HFD. The therapeutic effects of CSP on NAFLD were evaluated by physiological, biochemical and pathological analysis and hepatic surface microcirculation perfusion test. MicroRNA sequencing was used to study the effect of CSP on the miRNA expression profile of NAFLD rats, and the target genes of differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs were predicted for further function enrichment analysis. Next, targets of CSP and NAFLD were collected by a network pharmacological approach, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) analysis were performed for the common target genes of CSP, NAFLD and DE miRNAs, and the expression levels of key genes and proteins were verified by quantitative Real-time PCR and Western blot . Finally, a network among formula-herb-compound-miRNA-target-biological processes-disease was established to explained the complex regulation mechanism of CSP on NAFLD. Results The results showed that CSP significantly improved liver lipid accumulation, serum lipid and transaminase levels and liver surface microcirculation disturbance in HFD-induced NAFLD rats. The intervention of CSP reversed the high expression of 15 miRNAs in liver tissues induced by HFD, including miR-34a-5p, miR-146a-5p, miR-20b-5p and miR-142-3p. The results of pathway and functional enrichment analysis showed that, CSP might play an anti-NAFLD role via regulating DE miRNAs related to fatty acid metabolic process. Combined with the network pharmacological analysis, it was found that the DE miRNAs might affected the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway in the treatment of NAFLD by CSP. Molecular biology experiments have conformed the decreased the gene and protein levels of acetyl-CoA carboxylase alpha (ACACA), fatty acid synthase (FASN) and other fatty acid biosynthesis related enzymes on NAFLD rats after intervention of CSP. Conclusions CSP can significantly reduce hepatic lipid accumulation of NAFLD rat model induced by HFD, and its mechanism may be through the action of 15 miRNAs such as miR-34a-5p, miR-146a-5p, miR-20b-5p and miR-142-3p. Reduce the gene and protein expression levels of ACACA, FASN and other fatty acid biosynthesis related enzymes, thus reducing fatty acid biosynthesis. Based on an epigenetic perspective, this study explains the key anti-NAFLD mechanism of CSP via combination of microRNA sequencing and network pharmacological analysis, providing a new reference for the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine .
研究领域:
药理学
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分子生物学
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中医药
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表观遗传学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）