Discovery of Selective Proteolysis-Targeting Chimera Degraders Targeting PTP1B as Long-Term Hypoglycemic Agents.

PTP1B, a promising target for insulin sensitizers in type 2 diabetes treatment, can be effectively degraded using proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC). This approach offers potential for long-acting antidiabetic agents. We report potent bifunctional PROTACs targeting PTP1B through the E3 ubiquitin ligase cereblon. Western blot analysis showed significant PTP1B degradation by PROTACs at concentrations from 5 nM to 5 µM after 48 h. Evaluation of five highly potent PROTACs revealed compound 75 with a longer PEG linker (23 atoms), displaying remarkable degradation activity after 48 and 72 h, with DC50 values of 250 nM and 50 nM, respectively. Compound 75 induced selective degradation of PTP1B, requiring engagement with both the target protein and CRBN E3 ligase, in a ubiquitination and proteasome-dependent manner. It significantly reduced blood glucose AUC0-2h to 29% in an oral glucose tolerance test and activated the IRS-1/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in HepG2 cells, showing promise for long-term antidiabetic therapy.

Design, synthesis, and activity evaluation of novel multitargeted l-tryptophan derivatives with powerful antioxidant activity against Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a multifactorial neurological disease, and the multitarget directed ligand (MTDL) strategy may be an effective approach to delay its progression. Based on this strategy, 27 derivatives of l-tryptophan, 3a-1-3d-1, were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their biological activity. Among them, IC50 (inhibitor concentration resulting in 50% inhibitory activity) values of compounds 3a-18 and 3b-1 were 0.58 and 0.44 µM for human serum butyrylcholinesterase (hBuChE), respectively, and both of them exhibited more than 30-fold selectivity for human serum acetylcholinesterase. Enzyme kinetics studies showed that these two compounds were mixed inhibitors of hBuChE. In addition, these two derivatives possessed extraordinary antioxidant activity in OH radical scavenging and oxygen radical absorption capacity fluorescein assays. Meanwhile, these compounds could also prevent ß-amyloid (Aß) self-aggregation and possessed low toxicity on PC12 and AML12 cells. Molecular modeling studies revealed that these two compounds could interact with the choline binding site, acetyl binding site, and peripheral anionic site to exert submicromolar BuChE inhibitory activity. In the vitro blood-brain barrier permeation assay, compounds 3a-18 and 3b-1 showed enough blood-brain barrier permeability. In drug-likeness prediction, compounds 3a-18 and 3b-1 showed good gastrointestinal absorption and a low risk of human ether-a-go-go-related gene toxicity. Therefore, compounds 3a-18 and 3b-1 are potential multitarget anti-AD lead compounds, which could work as powerful antioxidants with submicromolar selective inhibitory activity for hBuChE as well as prevent Aß self-aggregation.

Exosomal circRNAs as novel potential biomarkers for colorectal adenoma.

Growing evidences have revealed that exosomal miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs play a pleiotropic role in tumor biology. Cell-cell communication mediated by exosomes has been considered to be a key factor in the malignant progression of colorectal cancer. However, the importance of exosome-derived circRNAs in the biological function and clinical significance of colorectal adenoma remains elusive. In this study, we aimed to identify altered circRNA expression profiles in exosomes isolated from plasma of patients with colorectal adenoma using high-throughput sequencing. Exosomes were confirmed by western blotting, transmission electron microscopy, and NanoSight assay. The sequencing data indicated that there are 413 differentially expressed circRNAs including 112 upregulated and 301 downregulated circRNAs in colorectal adenoma patients compared with controls. GO analysis and the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network were performed to predict the potential function of circRNAs, and demonstrate the putative mechanisms in colorectal adenoma. Collectively, our findings revealed that plasma exosomal circRNAs may be a potential noninvasive biomarker for the detection of colorectal adenoma, and provided new insights into colorectal adenoma-carcinoma sequence.

The BMP2 Signaling Axis Promotes Invasive Differentiation of Human Trophoblasts.

Embryo implantation and trophoblast invasion are principal limiting factors of pregnancy establishment. Aberrant embryo development or improper trophoblast differentiation and invasion may lead to various unfavorable pregnancy-related outcomes, including early pregnancy loss (EPL). Our clinical data show that the serum BMP2 levels were significantly increased during the first trimester of pregnancy and that the serum and BMP2 expression levels were lower in women with EPL than in women with normal early pregnancies. Moreover, we observed that BMP2 was expressed in oocytes and trophoblast cells of cleaved embryos and blastocysts prior to implantation in both humans and mice. Exogenous BMP2 promoted embryonic development by enhancing blastocyst formation and hatching in mice. LncRNA NR026833.1 was upregulated by BMP2 and promoted SNAIL expression by competitively binding to miR-502-5p. SNAIL induced MMP2 expression and promoted cell invasion in primary extravillous trophoblast cells. BMP2 promotes the invasive differentiation of mouse trophoblast stem cells by downregulating the expression of TS cell marker and upregulating the expression of trophoblast giant cell marker and labyrinthine/spongiotrophoblast marker. Our findings provide significant insights into the regulatory roles of BMP2 in the development of the placenta, which may give us a framework to explore new therapeutic strategies to pregnancy-related complications.

ALKBH2 inhibition alleviates malignancy in colorectal cancer by regulating BMI1-mediated activation of NF-κB pathway.

BACKGROUND: The alkB homolog 2, alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase (ALKBH2) gene is involved in DNA repair and is expressed in different types of malignancies. However, the role of ALKBH2 in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the potential mechanism of ALKBH2 and its function in CRC. METHODS: The expression levels of ALKBH2 in CRC tissues and cells were determined by qRT-PCR. Following that, the role of ALKBH2 in cell proliferation, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in CRC cells (Caco-2 and LOVO) were assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), transwell assays, and Western blotting, respectively. The effect of ALKBH2 on B cell-specific Moloney murine leukemia virus integration site 1 (BMI1) and downstream NF-κB pathway was determined by Western blotting and luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS: The expression of ALKBH2 was significantly upregulated both in CRC tissues and cells. Further experiments demonstrated that reduction of ALKBH2 suppressed Caco-2 and LOVO cell proliferation and invasion. Moreover, ALKBH2 knockdown also suppressed EMT, which increased E-cadherin expression and reduced N-cadherin expression. Besides, ALKBH2 silencing inhibited BMI1 expression and reduced nuclear accumulation of the NF-κB p65 protein, as well as the luciferase activity of NF-κB p65. Upregulation of BMI1 reversed the effect of ALKBH2 knockdown on the proliferation and invasion in CRC cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that suppression of ALKBH2 alleviates malignancy in CRC by regulating BMI1-mediated activation of NF-κB pathway. ALKBH2 may serve as a potential treatment target for human CRC.

Association between APE1 ASP148GLU and colorectal cancer risk: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is recognized as one of the most common cancer globally. The association between CRC and apurinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) Asp148Glu polymorphism remains unclear; thus, this meta-analysis aimed to explore whether APE1 Asp148Glu polymorphism is related to CRC risk. METHODS: Embase, PubMed, Cochrane library, CNKI and Wanfang databases were subject to a systematic search until April, 17, 2020 to evaluate the effect of APE1 Asp148Glu polymorphism on CRC risk. The associated strength was used to evaluate with odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between Asp148Glu polymorphism and CRC risk. Subgroup analyses were also performed. RESULTS: In total, 11 articles including 8,136 subjects (3,836 cases and 4,300 controls) were included. Five genetic models were analyzed, including the additive model (G vs. T), the heterozygote comparison (TG vs. TT), the homozygote comparison (GG vs. TT), the dominant model (TG+GG vs. TT), and the recessive model (GG vs. TG+TT). In these models, T refers to thymine and G refers to guanine. The APE1 Asp148Glu polymorphism in heterozygote comparison [OR (95%CI) = 1.36 (1.05, 1.75), P=0.019] and dominant model [OR (95%CI) =1.31 (1.07, 1.61), P=0.010] significantly increased CRC risk. No significant association was seen for the additive model [OR (95%CI) = 1.14 (1.00, 1.31), P=0.057], recessive model [OR (95%CI) = 0.97 (0.71, 1.31), P=0.826] or in homozygote comparison [OR (95%CI) = 1.15 (0.88, 1.52), P=0.309]. Moreover, CRC risk indicated a remarkable association with APE1 Asp148Glu polymorphism in the PCR-RFLP additive model, homozygote comparison and recessive model (PG) may be a potential risk factor for CRC.

Enantioselective dearomative [3+2] annulation of 5-amino-isoxazoles with quinone monoimines.

The first enantioselective dearomative [3+2] annulation of 5-amino-isoxazoles with quinone monoimines was realized using a chiral phosphoric acid as catalyst. Various novel (bridged) isoxazoline fused dihydrobenzofurans bearing two continuous quaternary stereocenters were achieved in moderate to good yields (up to 94%) with moderate to good enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee). The absolute configurations of two products were assigned by X-ray crystal structural analyses and a plausible reaction mechanism was proposed.

Analysis of the molecular nature associated with microsatellite status in colon cancer identifies clinical implications for immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Microsatellite instability in colon cancer implies favorable therapeutic outcomes after checkpoint blockade immunotherapy. However, the molecular nature of microsatellite instability is not well elucidated. METHODS: We examined the immune microenvironment of colon cancer using assessments of the bulk transcriptome and the single-cell transcriptome focusing on molecular nature of microsatellite stability (MSS) and microsatellite instability (MSI) in colorectal cancer from a public database. The association of the mutation pattern and microsatellite status was analyzed by a random forest algorithm in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and validated by our in-house dataset (39 tumor mutational burden (TMB)-low MSS colon cancer, 10 TMB-high MSS colon cancer, 15 MSI colon cancer). A prognostic model was constructed to predict the survival potential and stratify microsatellite status by a neural network. RESULTS: Despite the hostile CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL)/Th1 microenvironment in MSI colon cancer, a high percentage of exhausted CD8+ T cells and upregulated expression of immune checkpoints were identified in MSI colon cancer at the single-cell level, indicating the potential neutralizing effect of cytotoxic T-cell activity by exhausted T-cell status. A more homogeneous highly expressed pattern of PD1 was observed in CD8+ T cells from MSI colon cancer; however, a small subgroup of CD8+ T cells with high expression of checkpoint molecules was identified in MSS patients. A random forest algorithm predicted important mutations that were associated with MSI status in the TCGA colon cancer cohort, and our in-house cohort validated higher frequencies of BRAF, ARID1A, RNF43, and KM2B mutations in MSI colon cancer. A robust microsatellite status-related gene signature was built to predict the prognosis and differentiate between MSI and MSS tumors. A neural network using the expression profile of the microsatellite status-related gene signature was constructed. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the accuracy rate of neural network, reaching 100%. CONCLUSION: Our analysis unraveled the difference in the molecular nature and genomic variance in MSI and MSS colon cancer. The microsatellite status-related gene signature is better at predicting the prognosis of patients with colon cancer and response to the combination of immune checkpoint inhibitor-based immunotherapy and anti-VEGF therapy.

Synthesis of chiral [2,3]-fused indolines through enantioselective dearomatization inverse-electron-demand Diels-Alder reaction/oxidation of indoles with 2-(2-nitrovinyl)-1,4-benzoquinone.

Enantioselective dearomatization inverse-electron-demand Diels-Alder reaction/oxidation of indoles with 2-(2-nitrovinyl)-1,4-benzoquinone was realised using a chiral bisoxazoline/zinc complex as a catalyst. This transformation allowed for the synthesis of enantioenriched six-membered [2,3]-fused indolines (up to 99% yield and 88% ee).

[Effect of acupuncture intervention on neurological function, cerebral microglia activation and secondary nerve damage in traumatic brain injury rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupuncture on activities of microglia in traumatic brain injury (TBI) rats. METHODS: Fifty-four male SD rats were randomly and equally divided into normal control, model and acupuncture groups according to the random number table (n＝18 rats in each group). The TBI model was established by using a free fall brain injury striking device after exposing the local cranial bone (to induce the left parietal cerebral contusion). Acupoints "Baihui" (GV20), "Shuigou" (GV26), "Fengfu" (GV16), "Yamen" (GV15) and bilateral "Hegu" (LII4) were stimulated intensively by twirling the filiform needles with force at a range of >360° and a frequency of 160－180 cycles/min for 10 sec in every acupoint, once every 5 min during the 15 minutes' needle retaining. The treatment was given once every day for successive 14 days. The rats of the normal and model groups were grabbed and fixed with the same procedure. The behavioral changes were tested using modified neurological severity score (mNSS). The histopathological changes of the injured cerebral cortex tissues were observed by using hematoxylin-eosin (H.E.) staining, and the fluorescence intensity of Iba-1 (marker of microglia) positive products in the surrounding tissue of the cerebral focus was displayed by immunofluorescence staining, and the contents of neuron specific enolate (NSE) and neurite outgrowth inhibitor-A (Nogo-A) in serum (indicating a secondary nerve damage) were assayed by ELISA. RESULTS: The mNSS scores were significantly increased on day 1, 3, 7 and 14 in the model group in comparison with the normal group (P<0.01) and considerably decreased at the 4 time-points after acupuncture intervention relevant to the model group (P<0.05, P<0.01). H．E. staining showed that modeling induced pathological changes such as the excursion of cell nucleus, cellular swel-ling, vacuole-like change, neuron death, karyopyknosis dissolution, and proliferation of fibrous tissue were relatively milder in the acupuncture group. The average fluorescence intensity values of Iba-1-positive products, serum NSE and Nogo-A contents on day 3, 7 and 14 were significantly higher in the model group than in the normal group (P<0.05, P<0.01), and notably down-regulated in the acupuncture group than in the model group (P<0.05, P<0.01, except Nogo-A on day 3). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture intervention may accelerate neurological function recovery in TBI rats, which is closely related to its effects in inhibiting the activation of microglia and secondary nerve damage.

Effect of acupuncture on the TLR2/4-NF-κB signalling pathway in a rat model of traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of acupuncture on the TLR2/4-NF-κB signalling pathway in the cortex of Sprague-Dawley rats following traumatic brain injury (TBI), and investigate the possible mechanism underlying the effects of acupuncture on scar repair. METHODS: TBI was established using Feeney's free-falling epidural percussion model. In total, 108 rats were randomly divided into a normal group (n=18), untreated TBI model group (TBI group, n=36) and manual acupuncture-treated TBI group (TBI+MA, n=36). Each group of rats was subdivided into three time groups: 3-day (3d), 7-day (7d) and 14-day (14d). No treatment was given to rats in the normal and TBI groups. The TBI+MA group received manual acupuncture at GV20, GV26, GV16 through GV15, and bilateral LI4. mRNA expression of TLR2, TLR4, NF-κB and protein in the rat cortices was quantified using real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and Western blot analyses. RESULTS: The modified neurological severity score (mNSS) scores of the TBI+MA group were improved compared with baseline scores 12 hours after modelling, and improved at 7d and 14d compared with the TBI group (P<0.05), while the score of the TBI group did not improve until 14d compared to baseline. mRNA and protein expression of TLR2, TLR4 and NF-κB in the TBI group were higher than the normal group at 3d (P<0.05), reached a peak at 7d, then began to decrease at 14d. mRNA and protein expression of TLR2, TLR4 and NF-κB were higher in the TBI+MA group compared with the TBI group at 3d (P<0.05), were significantly down-regulated at 7d (P<0.01), and decreased to normal levels at 14d. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture has a bidirectional regulatory effect on the TLR2/4-NF-κB signalling pathway-related genes TLR2, TLR4 and NF-κB in the TBI rat cortex, promoting their expression in the early stage and inhibiting it in the later stage.

Genome-wide CRISPR screen reveals SGOL1 as a druggable target of sorafenib-treated hepatocellular carcinoma.

The genome-wide clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) screen is a powerful tool used to identify therapeutic targets that can be harnessed for cancer treatment. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of genome-wide CRISPR screening to identify druggable genes associated with sorafenib-treated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A genome-scale CRISPR knockout (GeCKO v2) library containing 123,411 single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) was used to identify loss-of-function mutations conferring sorafenib resistance upon HCC cells. Resistance gene screens identified SGOL1 as an indicator of prognosis of patients treated with sorafenib. Of the 19,050 genes tested, the knockout screen identified inhibition of SGOL1 expression as the most-effective genetic suppressor of sorafenib activity. Analysis of the survival of 210 patients with HCC after hepatic resection revealed that high SGOL1 expression shortened overall survival (P = 0.021). Further, matched pairs analysis of the TCGA database revealed that SGOL1 is differentially expressed. When we used a lentivirus Cas9 vector to determine the effect of targeting SGOL1 with a specific sgRNA in HCC cells, we found that SGOL1 expression was efficiently inhibited and that loss of SGOL1 was associated with sorafenib resistance. Further, loss of SGOL1 from HCC cell decreased the cytotoxicity of sorafenib in vivo. We conclude that the CRISPR screen is a powerful tool for therapeutic target analysis of sorafenib treatment and that SGOL1 serves as a druggable target for HCC treated with sorafenib and an indicator of prognosis.

Over Expression of Long Non-Coding RNA PANDA Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Inhibiting Senescence Associated Inflammatory Factor IL8.

It has been reported that long non-coding RNA PANDA was disregulated in varieties types of tumor, but its expression level and biological role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains contradictory. We detected PANDA expression in two independent cohorts (48 HCC patients following liver transplantation and 84 HCC patients following liver resection), and found that PANDA was down-regulated in HCC. Thereafter we explored its function in cancer biology by inversing its low expression. Surprisingly, overexpression of PANDA promoted HCC proliferation and carcinogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, PANDA repressed transcriptional activity of senescence associated inflammatory factor IL8, which leaded to inhibition of cellular senescence. Therefore, our research help to better understand the complex role of PANDA in HCC, and suggest more thoughtful strategies should be applied before it can be treated as a potential therapeutic target.

KCTD11 inhibits growth and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma through activating Hippo signaling.

A lack of effective prognostic biomarkers and molecular targets is a serious problem in hepatocellular carcinoma. KCTD11, reported as a tumor suppressor, are still not well understood. In this study, KCTD11 was found low-expressed in HCC tissues and cell lines. The HCC patients with low expression of KCTD11 suggested shorter overall survival. We found KCTD11 inhibiting cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo, by activating p21 and repressing cycle related proteins. KCTD11 also inhibited cell adhesion by decreasing CTGF and CLDN1. We found CTGF binding COL3A1 in HCCLM3, which might lead to reduction of COL3A1 expression. KCTD11 also inhibited cell migration and invasion in HCC, by repressing MMPs and EMT. We found the tumor suppression function of KCTD11 was at least partly through activating Hippo pathway in HCC. Base on the enhanced Hippo pathway, KCTD11 could activate p21 by stabilizing p53 or promoting the MST1/ GSK3ß/p21 signaling in HCC. Overall, these results suggest that KCTD11 works as a tumor suppressor and owns prognostic and therapeutic potentials in HCC.

Expression and Critical Role of Interleukin Enhancer Binding Factor 2 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Interleukin enhancer binding factor 2 (ILF2), a transcription factor, regulates cell growth by inhibiting the stabilization of mRNA. Currently, its role has gained recognition as a factor in the tumorigenic process. However, until now, little has been known about the detailed role ILF2 plays in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we investigated the expression levels of ILF2 in HCC tissue with Western blot and immunohistochemical assays. To examine the effect of ILF2 on liver cancer cell growth and apoptosis, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting ILF2 were recombined to create lentiviral overexpression vectors. Our results showed higher expression levels of ILF2 mRNA and ILF2 protein in HCC tissue compared with matched peritumoral tissue. Expression of ILF2 may regulate cell growth and apoptosis in liver cancer cells via regulation of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2 related ovarian killer (Bok), Bcl-2-associated X protein (BAX), and cellular inhibitor of apoptosis 1 (cIAP1). Moreover, we inoculated nude mice with liver cancer cells to investigate the effect of ILF2 on tumorigenesis in vivo. As expected, a rapid growth was observed in cancer cells inoculated with a lentiviral vector coding Flag-ILF2 (Lenti-ILF2) compared with the control cells. Hence, these results promote a better understanding of ILF2's potential role as a therapeutic target in HCC.

TAZ regulates cell proliferation and sensitivity to vitamin D3 in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

The transcriptional coactivator with PDZ binding motif (TAZ) is reported as one of the nuclear effectors of Hippo-related pathways. TAZ is found overexpressed in many primary tumors and could regulate many biological processes. However, little is known about the role of TAZ in Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). In this study, we found that TAZ is expressed more in ICC tissues than in peritumoral tissue, and a robust expression of TAZ is correlated with a lower overall survival rate of ICC patients after hepatectomy. TAZ knockdown results in an increase in cell apoptosis, a promotion of cell-cycle arrest and a decrease in tumor size and weight in vivo through an increased expression of p53. Vitamin D3 can also inhibit cell proliferation by promoting p53 expression in ICC cells. A reduction in TAZ can also enhance the sensitivity of tumor cells to vitamin D by regulating the p53/CYP24A1 pathway. In conclusion, TAZ is associated with the proliferation and drug-resistance of ICC cells, and could be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of ICC.

Downregulation of Peptidylprolyl isomerase A promotes cell death and enhances doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Peptidylprolyl isomerase A (PPIA) is a peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase that is known to play a critical role in the development of many human cancers. However, the precise biological function of PPIA in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains largely unclear. In this study, lentiviral overexpression vectors and small interfering RNA knockdown methods were employed to investigate the biological effects of PPIA in HCC. PPIA levels in HCC tissues and peritumoral tissues were detected by real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Our results indicate that PPIA levels were significantly higher in the HCC tissues compared to the matched peritumoral tissues. Moreover, PPIA expression was significantly associated with tumor size in these tissues. Interestingly, serum PPIA (sPPIA) levels were significantly higher in healthy controls compared to the HCC patients. Knockdown or overexpression of PPIA was shown to downregulate and upregulate cell growth, respectively. Moreover, PPIA siRNA knockdown appears to promote doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in HCC cells, altering the expression of downstream apoptotic factors. In summary, our results indicate that PPIA may play a pivotal role in HCC by regulating cell growth and could serve as a novel marker and therapeutic molecular target for HCC patients.

[Expression and significance of Nrf2/ARE pathway ralated factors in the HepG2 cell model of steatosis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore a new method of establishing HepG2 cell model of steatosis and observe the expression and significance of nuclear factor erythroid-2p45-related factor 2(Nrf2)/antioxidative response element (ARE) pathway related factors in HepG2 cells of steatosis. METHODS: HepG2 cells were induced with DMEM containing 25% fetal bovine serum, 0.1% MCT/LCT Fat Emulsion and 0.1 mmol/L free fatty acid (FFA) at different stages and the control group cells were cultured with normal DMEM medium. After the cell models were successfully established, lipid droplets in cytoplasm were observed with Oil Red 0 staining, and the triglyceride (TG) accumulation in HepG2 cells were tested by biochemical assay. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentration were detected by flow cytometry. Nitric oxide (NO), superoxide dismutase(SOD), malonyldialdehyde(MDA) and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px) were tested by biological reagent kit, while the protein expression of nuclear factor erythroid-2p45-related factor 2(Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase-1(NQO1) were analyzed by Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with that in the control group, red cytoplasmic lipid droplets were visible in model group; TG,ROS, NO, MDA concentration (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) and the protein expression of Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO1 (P < 0.05, P < 0.01)were significantly higher in model group, while SOD, GSH-Px concentration reduced significantly (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The in vitro cell model of steatosis and oxidative stress was successfully established. The activation of Nrf2/ARE pathway related factors maybe relevant to the overreaction of oxidative stress in HepG2 cells of steatosis.

Effects of acupuncture on cortical expression of Wnt3a, ß-catenin and Sox2 in a rat model of traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of acupuncture treatment on the expression of Wnt/ß-catenin signalling pathway-related genes (Wnt3a, ß-catenin and Sox2) in the injured cerebral cortex of rats with traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: A controlled impact model of TBI was established using Feeney's free-drop method. Seventy-eight Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the following three groups: a normal group (n=18) that was left untreated; a model group (n=30) that received no treatment after TBI; and an acupuncture group (n=30) that received acupuncture (at LI4, GV20, GV26 and GV16) after TBI. Rats in each group were randomly and equally divided into 3-day, 7-day and 14-day subgroups according to the duration of therapy. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to measure mRNA expression of Wnt3a, ß-catenin and Sox2. Western blots were performed to determine the expression levels of WNT3a, ß-Catenin and SOX2. RESULTS: Wnt3a mRNA was upregulated in the 7-day and 14-day acupuncture subgroups compared with the corresponding model subgroups (p<0.05). ß-catenin expression was significantly increased in the 7-day and 14-day acupuncture subgroups compared with the corresponding model subgroups (p<0.01). In the 3-day and 7-day acupuncture subgroups, Sox2 expression was significantly higher than that in the normal and model groups (p<0.01 each). The levels of WNT3a, ß-catenin and SOX2 were generally consistent with the corresponding mRNA levels. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture exerts a regulatory effect on the Wnt/ß-catenin signalling pathway, which may in turn influence the proliferation and differentiation of endogenous neural stem cells.

(-)-Meptazinol-melatonin hybrids as novel dual inhibitors of cholinesterases and amyloid-ß aggregation with high antioxidant potency for Alzheimer's therapy.

The multifactorial pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) implicates that multi-target-directed ligands (MTDLs) intervention may represent a promising therapy for AD. Amyloid-ß (Aß) aggregation and oxidative stress, two prominent neuropathological hallmarks in patients, play crucial roles in the neurotoxic cascade of this disease. In the present study, a series of novel (-)-meptazinol-melatonin hybrids were designed, synthesized and biologically characterized as potential MTDLs against AD. Among them, hybrids 7-7c displayed higher dual inhibitory potency toward cholinesterases (ChEs) and better oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) than the parental drugs. Furthermore, compound 7c could effectively inhibit Aß self-aggregation, showed favorable safety and the blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability. Therefore, 7c may serve as a valuable candidate that is worthy of further investigations in the treatment of AD.