Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine
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2022
·Vol. 29
·期 3
·244-252
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IF 2.626
Wang Yuan-chun,Hui Jian-rong,Xiao Gang,Ma Qiao-lin
Objective To investigate the mechanism of the effect of Astragalus membranaceus ( A. membranaceus ) on lung adenocarcinoma at the molecular level to elucidate the specific targets according to the network pharmacology approach. Methods The active components of A. membranaceus and their potential targets were collected from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database. Lung adenocarcinoma-associated genes were acquired based on GeneCards, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), PharmGKB, and Therapeutic Targets databases. The PI3K/AKT signaling pathway-related genes were obtained using Reactome portal. Networks of “ingredient-target” and “ingredient-target-pathway-disease” were constructed using the Cytoscape3.6.0 software. The relationships among targets were analyzed according protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Finally, molecular docking was applied to construct the binding conformation between active ingredients and core targets. Cell counting kit 8 (CCK8) and Western blot assays were performed to determine the mechanism of the key ingredient of A. membranaceus . Results A total of 20 active components and their 329 targets, and 7,501 lung adenocarcinoma-related genes and 130 PI3K/AKT signaling pathway-related genes were obtained. According to Venn diagram and PPI network analysis, 2 mainly active ingredients, including kaempferol and quercetin, and 6 core targets, including TP53, MAPK1, EGF, AKT1, ERBB2, and EGFR, were identified. The two important active ingredients of A. membranaceus , kaempferol and quercetin, exert the therapeutic effect in lung adenocarcinoma partly by acting on the 6 core targets (TP53, MAPK1, EGF, AKT1, ERBB2, and EGFR) of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Expressions of potential targets in lung adenocarcinoma and normal samples were analyzed by using UALCAN portal and found that ERBB2 was overexpressed in lung adenocarcinoma tissues and upregulation of it correlated with clinicopathological characteristics. Finally, quercetin repressed viabilities of lung adenocarcinoma cells by targeting ERBB2 on PI3K/AKT signaling confirmed by CCK8 and Western blot. Conclusion Our finding unraveled that an active ingredient of A. membranaceus , quercetin, significantly inhibited the lung adenocarcinoma cells proliferation by repressing ERBB2 level and inactivating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.
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Food & Function
·
2020
·Vol. 11
·期 11
·9535-9546
·
IF 4.171
Na Deng,Ruixue Guo,Bisheng Zheng,Tong Li,Rui Hai Liu
The effects of whole grain highland barley (WGH) with rich phenolics on glucose metabolism, the insulin pathway, and microRNA (miRNA) expression in db/db mice were explored in the present study. Supplementation with WGH decreased the levels of blood glucose, glycosylated serum protein (GSP), insulin, and inflammatory cytokines in db/db mice. Furthermore, WGH administration triggered a remarkable amelioration of glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. The hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCK) activities and the G6PC, PEPCK, and forkhead transcription factor 1 (FOXO1) mRNA levels in the WGH-treated group were also reduced. Moreover, WGH promoted the glycogen storage in the liver via up-regulating the activities of hexokinase (HK) and glycogen synthase (GS) and the phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) protein, while down-regulating the GSK3β mRNA level. The protein expression of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), the phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt), and the mRNA levels of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1), PI3K and Akt were also up-regulated by WGH treatment. Moreover, WGH significantly augmented the expression of miRNA-26a and miRNA-451, but reduced those of miRNA-126a and miRNA-29a. These results demonstrated that WGH exhibits a hypoglycemic effect through regulating the IRS-1/PI3K/Akt pathway and related miRNAs, further modulating the expression of G6PC, PEPCK, and FOXO1 mRNAs and p-GSK3β protein, thus inhibiting hepatic gluconeogenesis, improving glycogen synthesis and alleviating insulin resistance. Therefore, this study suggested WGH as an effective candidate to ameliorate the hyperglycemia of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
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EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
·
2019
·
IF 3.17
Jihang Dai,Yu Sun,Duoyun Chen,Yaxin Zhang,Lianqi Yan,Xiaolei Li,Jingcheng Wang
Fibroblasts excessive proliferation was considered as a decisive reason for epidural fibrosis , which was known as a serious complication of lumbar laminectomy. As a traditional Chinese medicine , triptolide (TP) was used to be proved effective in preventing several fibrosis scar formation diseases. However, little is known about the effect of TP on preventing epidural fibrosis and its possible mechanism. Here, we performed in vitro and in vivo experiments to detect the possible mechanism of TP in preventing epidural fibrosis. In vitro, the effect of TP on impacting fibroblasts proliferation activities was detected by CCK-8, cell cycle assay and EdU incorporation assay. Also, the expressions of cell proliferation protein markers and the expressions of p-PI3K, p-AKT, p-mTOR were detect by Western blot . Besides, the effect of TP on inducing fibroblast apoptosis and autophagy was tested by Western blots, flow cytometry, TUNEL staining , Transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis and LC3 immunofluorescent staining. The results suggested that TP could suppress the activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Meanwhile, TP could inhibit fibroblast proliferation and induce fibroblast apoptosis as well as autophagy, which was known as two cellular self-destructions. Furthermore, we speculated the possible molecular pathway, through which that TP could inhibit fibroblast proliferation, induce fibroblast apoptosis and autophagy. We used PI3-kinase activator (740Y-P) to activate the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling. Activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway increase the proliferation of fibroblasts and suppressed the autophagy and apoptosis induced by TP. In vivo, we built epidural fibrosis models in rats and locally applied TP of various concentrations. Hematoxylin–eosin (HE) and Masson's trichrome were used to detect the effect of TP on reducing epidural fibrosis. And the results showed that TP could significantly reduce the surgery-induced epidural fibrosis. In conclusion, the results above shown that TP could reduce epidural fibrosis formation, and the potential mechanism might through inhibiting fibroblast proliferation and stimulating apoptosis and autophagy via suppressing PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. It might provide a novel thought for reducing surgery-induced epidural fibrosis.
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NAUNYN-SCHMIEDEBERGS ARCHIVES OF PHARMACOLOGY
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2020
·Vol. 393
·期 9
·1739-1752
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IF 2.05
Song Lin,Yao Lifen,Zhang Limei,Piao Zhongyuan,Lu Yichan
Autophagy, a lysosomal degradative pathway, is crucial for the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Schizandrol A (SchA) shows multiple pharmacological effects. However, the potential effects and mechanisms of SchA on amyloid-β (Aβ)-induced autophagy remain unclear. In this study, differentiated SH-SY5Y cells or primary hippocampal neurons were pretreated with SchA (2 μg/ml) for 1 h before subjected to Aβ 1–42 (10 μM) for 24 h to test its effects on cell viability, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and autophagy. Then an mTOR inhibitor (rapamycin) and a PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) were employed to explore the role of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. The results showed that SchA significantly inhibited Aβ 1–42 -triggered reduction of viable cells, increases of apoptotic cell number and pro-apoptotic protein expressions, as well as alterations of oxidative stress markers. In addition, the increases of LC3-II/LC3-I and Beclin-1 and decrease of p62 were suppressed by SchA. At the molecular level, we found that the inactivation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway was ameliorated by SchA. Inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway deteriorated the protective effects of SchA against Aβ 1–42 -induced autophagy activation, cell death, and apoptosis. In conclusion, we demonstrate that SchA attenuates Aβ 1–42 -induced autophagy through activating PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. SchA may be a novel drug for the prevention and treatment of AD.
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MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY
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2023
·
IF 5.1
Guo Xiying,Lei Min,Ma Guandi,Ouyang Changhan,Yang Xiaosong,Liu Chao,Chen Qingjie,Liu Xiufen
Clinical and epidemiological research shows that people with diabetes mellitus frequently experience diabetic cognitive impairment. Schisandrin A (SchA), one of the lignans found in the dried fruit of Schisandra chinensis, has a variety of pharmacological effects on immune system control, apoptosis suppression, anti-oxidation and anti-inflammation. The goal of the current investigation was to clarify the probable neuro-protective effects of SchA against streptozotocin-induced diabetes deficiencies of the spatial learning and memory in rats. The outcomes show that SchA therapy effectively improved impaired glucose tolerance, fasting blood glucose level and serum insulin level in diabetic rats. Additionally, in the Morris water maze test, diabetic rats showed deficits in spatial learning and memory that were ameliorated by SchA treatment. Moreover, giving diabetic rats SchA reduced damage to the hippocampus structure and increased the production of synaptic proteins. Further research revealed that SchA therapy reduced diabetic-induced hippocampus neuron damage and the generation of Aβ, as demonstrated by the upregulated phosphorylation levels of insulin signaling pathway connected proteins and by the decreased expression levels of inflammatory-related factors. Collectively, these results suggested that SchA could improve diabetes-related impairments in spatial learning and memory, presumably by reducing inflammatory responses and regulating the insulin signaling system.
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Biomed Research International
·
2019
·
IF 2.197
Hao Lu,Hui Yao,Rong Zou,Xiwen Chen,Hanlin Xu
Renal inflammation can result in renal injury. Uric acid (UA) is the final product of purine metabolism in humans and because of the lack of urate oxidase, UA may accumulate in tissues, including kidney, causing inflammation. Galangin was isolated from a traditional Chinese medicine plant and possesses several beneficial effects, working as an anti-oxidant, anti-mutagenic, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-viral agent. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the molecular mechanism of galangin in the attenuation of UA induced renal inflammation in normal rat kidney epithelial cells NRK-52E. Our findings suggested that galangin treatment efficiently protected NRK-52E cells against UA induced renal inflammation by decreasing tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-18, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and nitric oxide (NO) release, and it inhibited nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-18 mRNA expression. In addition, galangin was not exerting any cytotoxicity at the concentrations that were effective against inflammation as assessed by CCK8 assay. Moreover, western blotting showed that galangin treatment effectively inhibited nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) and nucleotide-binding domain- (NOD-) like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) signaling pathway activation. Taken together, these findings suggested that galangin plays a pivotal role in renal inflammation by suppressing inflammatory responses, which might be closely associated with the inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome, NF-κB and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway activation.
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CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY
·
2018
·Vol. 46
·期 4
·389-397
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IF 2.092
Hao Yuan,Hongyan Zhao,Jiafeng Wang,Hong Zhang,Lihua Hong,He Li,Hongze Che,Zhimin Zhang
Summary Pulpitis suppressed the level of let-7c-5p that promotes osteogenesis and bone formation by repressing HMGA2. In the current study, the function of let-7c-5p in the inflammation and osteogenesis in dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) was explored. The level of let-7c-5p in DPSCs was up-regulated, and the cells were subjected to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce inflammation. The effect of let-7c-5p on cell proliferation potential, osteogenic differentiation potential, and activity of HMGA2/PI3K/Akt pathway was detected. The administration of LPS suppressed the cell proliferation of DPSCs and suppressed calcium deposition, activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and levels of OCN, OPN, OSX, MSX2, and RUNX2 in inflamed DPSCs. The impaired osteogenic differentiation of inflamed DPSCs was associated with the increased levels of HMGA2, p-PI3K, and p-Akt. In let-7c-5p-overexpressed inflamed DPSCs, the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation potential of DPSCs were restored, and the activation of HMGA2/PI3K/Akt signalling was inhibited. In rat pulpitis models, the injection of let-7c-5p agomir restored the osteogenic differentiation potential of dental pulp cells and inhibited HMGA2/PI3K/Akt signalling. The findings demonstrated the anti-inflammation and pro-osteogenesis effect of let-7c-5p during the attack of pulpitis, which depended on the inhibition of HMGA2/PI3K/Akt signalling.
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JOURNAL OF TRACE ELEMENTS IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY
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2019
·
IF 2.895
Yiming Li,Guanhui Chen,Yi He,Xiliu Zhang,Binghui Zeng,Chao Wang,Chen Yi,Dongsheng Yu
Background Patients with metabolic bone diseases often have high risk of titanium implant failure due to compromised bone regeneration ability. Clinical evidence indicates that the poor osteogenic ability is partly because of excessive oxidative stress. To date, specific treatments for these patients are urgently needed. Ebselen, a non-toxic organoselenium compound, is reported to be a potent antioxidant agent. In this study, we hypothesized that ebselen exerted protective effects on osteogenic differentiation of bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) under oxidative stress. Methods BMSCs were isolated from SD rats, and their morphology and multiple differentiation abilities were characterized. Proliferation rates of BMSCs treated with different concentrations of ebselen were analyzed. Then BMSCs were pretreated by hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), after which ebselen at different concentrations (0, 1, 5, 10 μM) was added, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, mineralization and osteogenic-related protein levels were evaluated and an optimum concentration of ebselen was selected. Subsequently, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and the role of the PI3K/AKT pathway were also investigated. Results Ebselen within a proper range could promote the proliferation of BMSCs. H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative stress suppressed osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, which was verified by the decrease in ALP activity, calcium deposition, Runx2 and β-catenin expression. However, ebselen could alleviate osteogenic dysfunction of BMSCs. We also observed that ebselen reduced ROS accumulation in H 2 O 2 -pretreated BMSCs. Moreover, the pro-osteogenic effects afforded by ebselen were almost abolished by the Akt inhibitor. Conclusion We concluded that ebselen could attenuate osteogenic dysfunction of BMSCs induced by H 2 O 2 through an antioxidant effect and the activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway, suggesting that ebselen has a potential therapeutic effect for patients with metabolic bone diseases.
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PATHOLOGY RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
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2019
·
IF 1.794
Lifeng Ma,Liang Zhang,Ai Guo,Lijun C. Liu,Fei Yu,Naicheng Diao,Chongyang Xu,Difan Wang
Novel long non-coding RNA Fer-1-like protein 4 (FER1L4) has been identified as a tumor suppressor in endometrial carcinoma , ovarian cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma . However, the function of FER1L4 in osteosarcoma has not been clear. The aim of the research was to explore the effects of FER1L4 in osteosarcoma. Results showed that FER1L4 was observed to be lowly expressed in osteosarcoma cell lines (US-O2, MG-63 and SaOS-2 cells), especially MG63 cells. Besides, overexpression of FER1L4 remarkably repressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of MG63 cells. FER1L4-induced apoptotic cell death leaded to the activation of caspase-3 and Bax/Bcl2. Moreover, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was tremendously suppressed by increased FER1L4, evidences were the increased E-cadherin and reduced vimentin and fibronectin . Blocking FER1L4 expression by sh-FER1L4 treatment increased the expression of SOX9 , CD44 , ALDH1, Nanog and Oct4, indicating that FER1L4 could effectively decrease cell stemness in osteosarcoma. Furthermore, the protein levels of p-AKT and p-PI3K were remarkably suppressed when FER1L4 was knocked down. In conclusion, the study indicated that FER1L4 acted as a tumor suppressor in osteosarcoma via activating PI3K/AKT pathway may be a new prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for osteosarcoma intervention.
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
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2018
·
IF 3.909
Wan Li,Zheng-Nan Cai,Shomaila Mehmood,Ya Wang,Wen-Juan Pan,Wen-Na Zhang,Yong-Ming Lu,Yan Chen
Oxidative stress is considered to involve cell death in severe pulmonary diseases like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Polysaccharide FMP-1 from Morchella esculenta can exert significant antioxidant activity. However, its effects on alveolar epithelial cells remain unperceived. Herein, the effects of FMP-1 against H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative damage in human alveolar epithelial A549 cells were investigated. FMP-1 could inhibit H 2 O 2 -induced cytochrome C and Caspase-3 release to prevent cell apoptosis via attenuation of MDA and ROS levels, and enhancement the enzymatic activities of SOD and T-AOC. Furthermore, the underlying molecular mechanisms were clarified. The phosphorylation of AKT and the nuclear translocation of Nrf2 were observed to be promoted by FMP-1 as well as the level of HO-1. These findings suggested that FMP-1 attenuate cellular oxidative stress through PI3K/AKT pathway, and FMP-1 could be explored as natural potential antioxidants to lower oxidative stress relevant to the progression of IPF.
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INTERNATIONAL IMMUNOPHARMACOLOGY
·
2018
·
IF 3.118
Yan-dan Zhou,Jin-gang Hou,Wei Liu,Shen Ren,Ying-ping Wang,Rui Zhang,Chen Chen,Zi Wang,Wei Li
Although ginsenoside Rg3 was isolated as a major component of Korea red ginseng and confirmed to exert potential hepatoprotective effect on acetaminophen (APAP)-induced liver injury via induction of glutathione S-transferase (GST) in vitro, the in vivo hepatoprotective effect of Rg3 and the underlying molecular mechanism of action remain unclear. The current study was aimed to explore whether 20( R )-Ginsenoside Rg3 (20( R )-Rg3) could alleviate acetaminophen-induced liver injury in mice and to determine the involvement of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway . Our findings demonstrated that a single injection of APAP (250 mg/kg) increased the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β); such increases were attenuated by pretreatment of mice with 20( R )-Rg3 for seven days. The depletion of glutathione (GSH), generation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and the over expression of cytochrome P450 E1 (CYP2E1) and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) caused by APAP exposure were also inhibited by 20( R )-Rg3 pretreatment. Moreover, 20( R )-Rg3 pretreatment significantly alleviated APAP-induced apoptosis , necrosis, and inflammatory infiltration in liver tissues. Importantly, 20( R )-Rg3 effectively attenuated APAP-induced liver injury in part via activating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In summary, 20( R )-Rg3 exerted liver protection against APAP-caused hepatotoxicity evidenced by inhibition of oxidative stress and inflammatory response, alleviation of hepatocellular necrosis and apoptosis via activation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, showing potential as a novel therapeutic agent to prevent liver damage.
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Molecular Medicine Reports
·
2016
·Vol. 14
·期 1
·904-910
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IF 1.559
Liandi Xie,Yang Wu,Zongjing Fan,Yang Liu,Jixiang Zeng
In the present study, the mechanisms associated with the Astragalus polysaccharide (APS)-mediated protection of human cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (HCMEC) against hypoxia/reoxygenation (HR) injury were investigated. Pretreatment of HCMECs with APS at various concentrations was performed prior to Na2S2O4-induced HR injury. Subsequently, cell viability and apoptosis were measured by MTT and Hoechst assays, respectively. The viability of HCMECs was reduced by Na2S2O4 and apoptosis was enhanced; however, cell viability was observed to be increased by APS via inhibition of apoptosis. Additionally, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), Ca2+, nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (AKT), B‑cell lymphoma‑2 (Bcl‑2), Bcl‑2 associated X protein (Bax) and caspase‑3 were measured using detection kits or western blot analysis. In HCMECs with HR injury, the levels of ROS and Ca2+, MDA and Bax expression levels, and the activity of caspase‑3 were elevated. By contrast, the level of NO, the protein expression levels of SOD, Bcl‑2 and PI3K, and the phosphorylation of AKT were decreased. However, compared with the HR group, the effects of HR injury were significantly reduced by APS, with APS providing a protective effect on HCMECs, particularly at higher doses. The current study concluded that APS protects HCMECs from Na2S2O4‑induced HR injury by reducing the levels of ROS, Ca2+, MDA and Bax, inhibiting the activity of caspase‑3, and enhancing the levels of NO, SOD, Bcl‑2, PI3K and phosphorylated AKT. These results may provide an insight into the clinical application of APS and novel therapeutic strategies for HR injury.
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