Gypenoside L inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting the SREBP2-HMGCS1 axis and enhancing immune response.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor that occurs in the liver, with a high degree of malignancy and relatively poor prognosis. Gypenoside L has inhibitory effects on liver cancer cells. However, its mechanism of action is still unclear. This study aims to investigate the inhibitory effects of gypenoside L on HCC in vitro and in vivo, and explore its potential mechanisms. The results showed that gypenoside L reduced the cholesterol and triglyceride content in HepG2 and Huh-7 cells, inhibited cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis, arrested cell cycle at G0/G1 phase, promoted cell apoptosis. Mechanistically, it targeted the transcription factor SREPB2 to inhibit the expression of HMGCS1 protein and inhibited the downstream proteins HMGCR and MVK, thereby regulating the mevalonate (MVA) pathway. Overexpression HMGCS1 led to significant alterations in the cholesterol metabolism pathway of HCC, which mediated HCC cell proliferation and conferred resistance to the therapeutic effect of gypenoside L. In vivo, gypenoside L effectively suppressed HCC growth in tumor-bearing mice by reducing cholesterol production, exhibiting favorable safety profiles and minimal toxic side effects. Gypenoside L modulated cholesterol homeostasis, enhanced expression of inflammatory factors by regulating MHC I pathway-related proteins to augment anticancer immune responses. Clinical samples from HCC patients also exhibited high expression levels of MVA pathway-related genes in tumor tissues. These findings highlight gypenoside L as a promising agent for targeting cholesterol metabolism in HCC while emphasizing the effectiveness of regulating the SREBP2-HMGCS1 axis as a therapeutic strategy.

Protective effect of Laminaria japonica with probiotics on murine colitis.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronically relapsing inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. Most IBD treatments are unsatisfactory; therefore, various dietary supplements have emerged as promising interventions. Laminaria japonica (LJ) is an edible seaweed used to regulate digestive symptoms. Probiotics have been reported to improve digestive problems and their simultaneous administration with seaweeds has been shown to produce synergistic therapeutic effects. Here, we investigated the effect of LJ combination with probiotics on dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis model in mice. Aqueous LJ extracts (LJE) at doses from 100 to 300 mg/kg and probiotics at a dose of 300 mg/kg were orally administered for 7 days. Body weight, colon length, histological score, macroscopic damage, and the levels of cytokines IFN- γ , IL-1 ß , IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 (P40), IL-12 (P70), IL-17, and TNF- α were assessed. LJE alone caused a significant improvement of colitis signs such as colon length, histological score, and IL-1 ß and IL-6 production. LJE and probiotics demonstrated a synergistic effect by the histological score and levels of IL-1 ß , IL-6, and IL-12 (P40) but not IFN- γ , IL-10, and IL-12 (P70). In conclusion, LJE was effective in inducing protection against colitis in mice and acted synergistically with probiotics.