The Mechanisms of Yu Ping Feng San in Tracking the Cisplatin-Resistance by Regulating ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter and Glutathione S-Transferase in Lung Cancer Cells.

Cisplatin is one of the first line anti-cancer drugs prescribed for treatment of solid tumors; however, the chemotherapeutic drug resistance is still a major obstacle of cisplatin in treating cancers. Yu Ping Feng San (YPFS), a well-known ancient Chinese herbal combination formula consisting of Astragali Radix, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Saposhnikoviae Radix, is prescribed as a herbal decoction to treat immune disorders in clinic. To understand the fast-onset action of YPFS as an anti-cancer drug to fight against the drug resistance of cisplatin, we provided detailed analyses of intracellular cisplatin accumulation, cell viability, and expressions and activities of ATP-binding cassette transporters and glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) in YPFS-treated lung cancer cell lines. In cultured A549 or its cisplatin-resistance A549/DDP cells, application of YPFS increased accumulation of intracellular cisplatin, resulting in lower cell viability. In parallel, the activities and expressions of ATP-binding cassette transporters and GSTs were down-regulated in the presence of YPFS. The expression of p65 subunit of NF-κB complex was reduced by treating the cultures with YPFS, leading to a high ratio of Bax/Bcl-2, i.e. increasing the rate of cell death. Prim-O-glucosylcimifugin, one of the abundant ingredients in YPFS, modulated the activity of GSTs, and then elevated cisplatin accumulation, resulting in increased cell apoptosis. The present result supports the notion of YPFS in reversing drug resistance of cisplatin in lung cancer cells by elevating of intracellular cisplatin, and the underlying mechanism may be down regulating the activities and expressions of ATP-binding cassette transporters and GSTs.

Flavonoids from Radix Astragali induce the expression of erythropoietin in cultured cells: a signaling mediated via the accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α.

Radix Astragali (RA) is commonly used as a health food supplement to reinforce the body vital energy. Flavonoids, including formononetin, ononin, calycosin, and calycosin-7-O-ß-d-glucoside, are considered to be the major active ingredients within RA. Here, we provided different lines of evidence that the RA flavonoids stimulated the expression of erythropoietin (EPO), the central regulator of red blood cell mass, in cultured human embryonic kidney fibroblasts (HEK293T). A plasmid containing hypoxia response element (HRE), a critical regulator for EPO transcription, was tagged upstream of a firefly luciferase gene, namely, pHRE-Luc, which was being transfected into fibroblasts. The application of RA flavonoids onto the transfected cells induced the transcriptional activity of HRE. To account for the transcriptional activation after the treatment of flavonoids, the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) was markedly increased: The increase was in both mRNA and protein levels. In addition, the degradation of HIF-1α was reduced under the effect of flavonoids. The regulation of HIF-1α therefore could account for the activation of EPO expression mediated by the RA flavonoids. The current results therefore reveal the function of this herb in enhancing hematopoietic functions.

BOP: a basic phenylalanine-rich oligo-peptide located on the surface of glycolate oxidase influences its pI values.

Glycolate oxidase (GO) consists of identical subunits and therefore should show one definite pI value, but the isolated GO exhibited a range of pIs. This study investigated the underlying cause of this phenomenon. GO was purified and showed a molecular weight of 40 kDa by SDS-PAGE. Elution behavior on DEAE-cellulose chromatography and cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis indicated that the purified GO was highly basic (pI>10.0). Repeated IEF and cIEF analysis showed that the pI of the purified GO was in the range of 10.0-3.25, either in a smear form or as distinct bands. 2-DE analysis showed that the 40 kDa subunit of GO displayed variable pIs from 9.6 to 3.65. It was likely that the purified GO was actually a complex consisted of GO and an unknown protein. CE-SDS, SDS-cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis and amino acid compositions indicated that the unknown protein was a highly basic polymer (BP) consisting of basic and phenylalanine-rich oligo-peptide (BOP). Many BOPs are located on the surface of the acidic GO via ionic and hydrophobic interactions and formed GO-BOP complex (GC), resulting in a highly basic GC although GO itself was acidic. This hypothesis was further supported by the facts that anti-GC serum failed to recognize GO, and GC showed a peak at 257 nm although GO has few phenylalanine residues. Irregular and incomplete disassociation between GO and BOP was observed in IEF and cIEF, resulting in various intermediates with different ratios of GO/BOP, which could be the reason for the range of pIs observed for GO.