Saikosaponin D alleviates cancer cachexia by directly inhibiting STAT3.

Cancer cachexia is a metabolic syndrome that is characterized by progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass, and effective therapeutics have yet to be developed. Saikosaponin D (SSD), a major bioactive component of Radix Bupleuri, exhibits antiinflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-oxidant, anti-viral, and hepatoprotective effects. In this study, we demonstrated that SSD is a promising agent for the treatment of cancer cachexia. SSD could alleviate TCM-induced myotube atrophy and inhibit the expression of E3 ubiquitin ligases muscle RING-finger containing protein-1 (MuRF1) and muscle atrophy Fbox protein (Atrogin-1/MAFbx) in vitro. Moreover, SSD suppressed the progression of cancer cachexia, with significant improvements in the loss of body weight, gastrocnemius muscle, and tibialis anterior muscle mass in vivo. Mechanism investigations demonstrated that SSD could directly bind to STAT3 and specifically inhibit its phosphorylation as well as its transcriptional activity. Overexpression of STAT3 partially abolished the inhibitory effect of SSD on myotube atrophy, indicating that the therapeutic effect of SSD was attributed to STAT3 inhibition. These findings provide novel strategies for treatment of cancer cachexia by targeting STAT3, and SSD may be a promising drug candidate for cancer cachexia.

ARG1 as a promising biomarker for sepsis diagnosis and prognosis: evidence from WGCNA and PPI network.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a life-threatening multi-organ dysfunction caused by the dysregulated host response to infection. Sepsis remains a major global concern with high mortality and morbidity, while management of sepsis patients relies heavily on early recognition and rapid stratification. This study aims to identify the crucial genes and biomarkers for sepsis which could guide clinicians to make rapid diagnosis and prognostication. METHODS: Preliminary analysis of multiple global datasets, including 170 samples from patients with sepsis and 110 healthy control samples, revealed common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in peripheral blood of patients with sepsis. After Gene Oncology (GO) and pathway analysis, the Weighted Gene Correlation Network Analysis (WGCNA) was used to screen for genes most related with clinical diagnosis. Also, the Protein-Protein Interaction Network (PPI Network) was constructed based on the DEGs and the hub genes were found. The results of WGCNA and PPI network were compared and one shared gene was discovered. Then more datasets of 728 experimental samples and 355 control samples were used to prove the diagnostic and prognostic value of this gene. Last, we used real-time PCR to confirm the bioinformatic results. RESULTS: Four hundred forty-four common differentially expressed genes in the blood of sepsis patients from different ethnicities were identified. Fifteen genes most related with clinical diagnosis were found by WGCNA, and 24 hub genes with most node degrees were identified by PPI network. ARG1 turned out to be the unique overlapped gene. Further analysis using more datasets showed that ARG1 was not only sharply up-regulated in sepsis than in healthy controls, but also significantly high-expressed in septic shock than in non-septic shock, significantly high-expressed in severe or lethal sepsis than in uncomplicated sepsis, and significantly high-expressed in non-responders than in responders upon early treatment. These all demonstrate the performance of ARG1 as a key biomarker. Last, the up-regulation of ARG1 in the blood was confirmed experimentally. CONCLUSIONS: We identified crucial genes that may play significant roles in sepsis by WGCNA and PPI network. ARG1 was the only overlapped gene in both results and could be used to make an accurate diagnosis, discriminate the severity and predict the treatment response of sepsis.

Polydatin alleviates DSS- and TNBS-induced colitis by suppressing Th17 cell differentiation via directly inhibiting STAT3.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a non-specific chronic intestinal inflammatory disease, often presenting with abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody stool, anorexia, and body loss. It is difficult to cure completely and a promising treatment is urgently needed. Natural compounds can offer promising chemical agents for treatment of diseases. Polydatin is a natural ingredient extracted from the dried rhizome of Polygonum cuspidatum, which has anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and dementia protection activities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of polydatin on IBD and explore its possible mechanism. We found that polydatin could effectively suppress the differentiation of Th17 cells in vitro, but had no effect on the differentiation of Treg cells. Polydatin significantly alleviated colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) and 2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) in mice, and dramatically decreased the proportion of Th17 cells in spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes. Mechanism investigations revealed that polydatin specifically inhibited signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) phosphorylation by directly binding to STAT3, leading to Th17 cell reduction and thereby alleviating colitis. These findings provide novel insights into the anti-colitis effect of polydatin, which may be a promising drug candidate for the treatment of IBD.

Eutypellacytosporins A-D, Meroterpenoids from the Arctic Fungus Eutypella sp. D-1.

The Arctic fungus Eutypella sp. D-1, previously found to produce a variety of cytotoxic cyclopropyl-fused and cyclobutyl-fused pimarane diterpenoids when grown in the defined medium, was induced to produce unusual metabolites by growing on solid rice medium. A chemical investigation on the rice medium extract led to the isolation of four new meroterpenoids, eutypellacytosporins A-D (1-4), along with the known biogenetically related compound cytosporin D (5). The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by their detailed spectroscopic analysis and modified Mosher's method. Compounds 1-4 may be formed by the 12,32-ester linkage of two moieties, cytosporin D (5) and decipienolide A or B. All isolated compounds, except 5, showed weak cytotoxicity against DU145, SW1990, Huh7, and PANC-1 cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 4.9 to 17.1 µM.

The Matrine Derivate MASM Inhibits Recruitment of Gr1hi Monocyte and Alleviates Liver Injury.

BACKGROUNDS: (6aS, 10S, 11aR, 11bR, 11cS)-10-methylaminododecahydro-3a, 7a-diaza-benzo (de) anthracene-8-thione (MASM), a novel derivative of matrine, exhibits better anti-inflammatory activity. This study was designed to evaluate the protective effect of MASM on acute and chronic liver injuries and explore the possible mechanisms. METHODS: Acute and chronic liver injury models were established by the CCl4 intraperitoneal injection and the protective effect of MASM was assessed by biochemical and histological examination. The infiltration of different monocyte subsets into the liver was characterized and analyzed by flow cytometry. The in vitro effect of MASM on liver nonparenchymal cells was evaluated by real-time PCR and transwell chemotaxis assays. RESULTS: Administration of MASM markedly attenuated acute liver injury and liver fibrosis induced by CCl4 injection. Meanwhile, the infiltrations of Gr1hi monocytes in injured livers and induced hepatic expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) were greatly inhibited. Cellular experiments demonstrated that MASM not only decreased the expression of MCP-1 but also inhibited its chemotactic activity. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the protective effect of MASM on liver injury could be contributed to the suppression of Gr1hi monocyte infiltration to the liver and the inhibition of MCP-1 production and activity. These findings provide new insights into the protective role of MASM in liver injury.

Libertellenones O-S and Eutypellenones A and B, Pimarane Diterpene Derivatives from the Arctic Fungus Eutypella sp. D-1.

Seven new pimarane-type diterpene derivatives, libertellenones O-S (1-5) and eutypellenones A and B (6 and 7), together with two known compounds (8 and 9), were isolated from the culture of Eutypella sp. D-1 obtained from high-latitude soil of the Arctic. Their structures were elucidated from spectroscopic data, as well as experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) analysis. Structurally, compounds 1-5 possess a cyclopropyl-fused pimarane diterpene moiety, whereas compounds 6 and 7 share an unusual cyclobutyl-fused pimarane diterpene skeleton. Compounds 1-9 exhibited cytotoxicities against HeLa, MCF-7, HCT-116, PANC-1, and SW1990 cells, with IC50 values in the range of 0.3 to 29.4 µM. Compounds 6 and 7 could dose-dependently inhibit the activity of NF-κB and exhibited significantly inhibitory effects on nitric oxide production induced by lipopolysaccharide.

Eutypellenoids A⁻C, New Pimarane Diterpenes from the Arctic Fungus Eutypella sp. D-1.

Three new pimarane diterpenes, eutypellenoids A⁻C (1⁻3), together with a known compound, eutypenoid C (4), were isolated from the culture extract of Eutypella sp. D-1 derived from the Arctic region. Compounds 1⁻3 possessed an uncommon tetrahydrofuran-fused pimarane diterpene skeleton. The structures of all compounds were determined by detailed spectroscopic analysis, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) analysis, as well as a comparison with the literature data. Antibacterial, antifungal, and cytotoxic activities of these compounds were evaluated. Compound 2 displayed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli with MIC values of 8 and 8 µg/mL, respectively. Additionally, compound 2 showed antifungal activity against Candidaparapsilosis, Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, and Candida tropicalis with MIC values of 8, 8, 16, and 32 µg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, compound 2 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activity against HCT-116 cell line with IC50 value of 3.7 µM.

A novel matrine derivate inhibits differentiated human hepatoma cells and hepatic cancer stem-like cells by suppressing PI3K/AKT signaling pathways.

Matrine is an alkaloid extracted from a Chinese herb Sophora flavescens Ait, which has shown chemopreventive potential against various cancers. In this study, we evaluated the anticancer efficacy of a novel derivative of matrine, (6aS, 10S, 11aR, 11bR, 11cS)-10- methylamino-dodecahydro- 3a,7a-diazabenzo (de) (MASM), against human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and their corresponding sphere cells in vitro and in vivo. Human HCC cell lines (Hep3B and Huh7) were treated with MASM. Cell proliferation was assessed using CCK8 and colony assays; cell apoptosis and cell cycle distributions were examined with flow cytometry. The expression of cell markers and signaling molecules was detected using Western blot and qRT-PCR analyses. A sphere culture technique was used to enrich cancer stem cells (CSC) in Hep3B and Huh7 cells. The in vivo antitumor efficacy of MASM was evaluated in Huh7 cell xenograft model in BALB/c nude mice, which were administered MASM (10 mg·kg-1·d-1, ig) for 3 weeks. After the treatment was completed, tumor were excised and weighed. A portion of tumor tissue was enzymatically dissociated to obtain a single cell suspension for the spheroid formation assays. MASM (2, 10, 20 µmol/L) dose-dependently inhibited the proliferation of HCC cells, and induced apoptosis, which correlated with a reduction in Bcl-2 expression and an increase in PARP cleavage. MASM also induced cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase, which was accompanied by increased p27 and decreased Cyclin D1 expression. Interestingly, MASM (2, 10, and 20 µmol/L) drastically reduced the EpCAM+/CD133+ cell numbers, suppressed the sphere formation, inhibited the expression of stem cell marker genes and promoted the expression of mature hepatocyte markers in the Hep3B and Huh7 spheroids. Additionally, MASM dose-dependently suppressed the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and AKT/GSK3ß/ß-catenin signaling pathways in Hep3B and Huh7 cells. In Huh7 xenograft bearing nude mice, MASM administration significantly inhibited Huh7 xenograft tumor growth and markedly reduced the number of surviving cancer stem-like cells in the tumors. MASM administration also reduced the expression of stem cell markers while increasing the expression of mature hepatocyte markers in the tumor tissues. The novel derivative of matrine, MASM, markedly suppresses HCC tumor growth through multiple mechanisms, and it may be a promising candidate drug for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The Matrine Derivate MASM Prolongs Survival, Attenuates Inflammation, and Reduces Organ Injury in Murine Established Lethal Sepsis.

BACKGROUND: MASM, a novel derivative of matrine, has inhibitory effects on activation of macrophages, dendritic cells, and hepatic stellate cells and binds to ribosomal protein S5 (RPS5). This study was designed to evaluate the effect of MASM on murine-established lethal sepsis and its mechanisms. METHODS: Mouse peritoneal macrophages and RAW264.7 cells that were infected with recombinant lentiviruses encoding shRPS5 were incubated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the absence or presence of MASM in vitro. Endotoxemia induced by LPS injection and sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture was followed by MASM treatment. RESULTS: MASM markedly attenuated LPS-induced release and messenger RNA expression of tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin 6, and NO/inducible NO synthase in murine peritoneal macrophages and RAW264.7 cells. Meanwhile, MASM inhibited LPS-induced activation of nuclear factor κB and MAPK pathways. Consistently, RPS5 suppressed LPS-induced inflammatory responses and at least in part mediated the antiinflammatory effect of MASM in vitro. Remarkably, delayed administration of MASM could significantly reduce mortality in mouse sepsis models, which was associated with the reduction in the inflammatory response, the attenuation in multiple organ injury, and the enhanced bacterial clearance. CONCLUSIONS: MASM could be further explored for the treatments of sepsis, especially for administration later after the onset of sepsis.

Bioactive compound reveals a novel function for ribosomal protein S5 in hepatic stellate cell activation and hepatic fibrosis.

UNLABELLED: Liver fibrosis and its endstage, cirrhosis, represent a major public health problem worldwide. Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is a central event in hepatic fibrosis. However, the proteins that control HSC activation are incompletely understood. Here we show that (6aS, 10S, 11aR, 11bR, 11cS)-10-methylamino-dodecahydro-3a, 7a-diaza-benzo [de]anthracene-8-thione (MASM) exhibits potent inhibitory activity against liver fibrosis in vitro and in vivo associated with the reduction of Akt phosphorylation. Furthermore, ribosomal protein S5 (RPS5) was identified as a direct target of MASM, which stabilized RPS5 in cultured HSCs and in the liver of experimental animals after dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) or bile duct ligation (BDL). Functional studies revealed that RPS5 could prevent HSC activation. RPS5 overexpression in HSCs resulted in Akt dephosphorylation at both Ser473 and Thr308, and led to subsequent dephosphorylation of GSK3ß or P70S6K. Progression of DMN- and BDL-induced hepatic fibrosis was aggravated by Rps5 knockdown and alleviated by RPS5 overexpression, which correlated with the modulation of Akt phosphorylation and HSC number in the fibrotic livers. Moreover, RPS5 was substantially reduced in the transdifferentiated HSCs, experimental fibrotic livers, and human cirrhosis samples. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that RPS5 is implicated in hepatic fibrogenesis and may represent a promising target for potential therapeutic intervention in liver fibrotic diseases.

[An automatic extraction algorithm for individual tree crown projection area and volume based on 3D point cloud data].

Tree crown projection area and crown volume are the important parameters for the estimation of biomass, tridimensional green biomass and other forestry science applications. Using conventional measurements of tree crown projection area and crown volume will produce a large area of errors in the view of practical situations referring to complicated tree crown structures or different morphological characteristics. However, it is difficult to measure and validate their accuracy through conventional measurement methods. In view of practical problems which include complicated tree crown structure, different morphological characteristics, so as to implement the objective that tree crown projection and crown volume can be extracted by computer program automatically. This paper proposes an automatic untouched measurement based on terrestrial three-dimensional laser scanner named FARO Photon120 using plane scattered data point convex hull algorithm and slice segmentation and accumulation algorithm to calculate the tree crown projection area. It is exploited on VC+6.0 and Matlab7.0. The experiments are exploited on 22 common tree species of Beijing, China. The results show that the correlation coefficient of the crown projection between Av calculated by new method and conventional method A4 reaches 0.964 (p<0.01); and the correlation coefficient of tree crown volume between V(VC) derived from new method and V(C) by the formula of a regular body is 0.960 (p<0.001). The results also show that the average of V(C) is smaller than that of V(VC) at the rate of 8.03%, and the average of A4 is larger than that of A(V) at the rate of 25.5%. Assumed Av and V(VC) as ture values, the deviations of the new method could be attributed to irregularity of the crowns' silhouettes. Different morphological characteristics of tree crown led to measurement error in forest simple plot survey. Based on the results, the paper proposes that: (1) the use of eight-point or sixteen-point projection with fixed angles to estimate crown projections, and (2) different regular volume formula to simulate crown volume according to the tree crown shapes. Based on the high-resolution 3D LIDAR point cloud data of individual tree, tree crown structure was reconstructed at a high rate of speed with high accuracy, and crown projection and volume of individual tree were extracted by this automatical untouched method, which can provide a reference for tree crown structure studies and be worth to popularize in the field of precision forestry.

[Research on living tree volume forecast based on PSO embedding SVM].

In order to establish volume model,living trees have to be fallen and be divided into many sections, which is a kind of destructive experiment. So hundreds of thousands of trees have been fallen down each year in China. To solve this problem, a new method called living tree volume accurate measurement without falling tree was proposed in the present paper. In the method, new measuring methods and calculation ways are used by using photoelectric theodolite and auxiliary artificial measurement. The diameter at breast height and diameter at ground was measured manually, and diameters at other heights were obtained by photoelectric theodolite. Tree volume and height of each tree was calculated by a special software that was programmed by the authors. Zhonglin aspens No. 107 were selected as experiment object, and 400 data records were obtained. Based on these data, a nonlinear intelligent living tree volume prediction model with Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm based on support vector machines (PSO-SVM) was established. Three hundred data records including tree height and diameter at breast height were randomly selected form a total of 400 data records as input data, tree volume as output data, using PSO-SVM tool box of Matlab7.11, thus a tree volume model was obtained. One hundred data records were used to test the volume model. The results show that the complex correlation coefficient (R2) between predicted and measured values is 0. 91, which is 2% higher than the value calculated by classic Spurr binary volume model, and the mean absolute error rates were reduced by 0.44%. Compared with Spurr binary volume model, PSO-SVM model has self-learning and self-adaption ability,moreover, with the characteristics of high prediction accuracy, fast learning speed,and a small sample size requirement, PSO-SVM model with well prospect is worth popularization and application.

Discovery of petroselinic acid with in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity by targeting fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of invasive fungal diseases (IFDs), represented by Candida albicans infection, is increasing year by year. However, clinically available antifungal drugs are very limited and encounter challenges such as limited efficacy, drug resistance, high toxicity, and exorbitant cost. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new antifungal drugs. PURPOSE: This study aims to find new antifungal compounds from plants, preferably those with good activity and low toxicity, and reveal their antifungal targets. METHODS: In vitro antifungal activities of compounds were investigated using broth microdilution method, spot assay, hyphal growth assay and biofilm formation assay. Synergistic effects were assessed using broth microdilution checkerboard technique. In vivo antifungal activities were evaluated using Galleria mellonella and murine candidiasis models. Cytotoxicity of compounds was investigated using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8). Discovery and validation of antifungal targets of compounds were conducted by using monoallelic knockout library of C. albicans, haploinsufficiency profiling (HIP), thermal shift assay (TSA), enzyme inhibitory effect assay, molecular docking, and in vitro and in vivo antifungal studies. RESULTS: 814 plant products were screened, among which petroselinic acid (PeAc) was found as an antifungal molecule. As a rare fatty acid isolated from coriander (Coriandrum sativum), carrot (Daucus carota) and other plants of the Apiaceae family, PeAc had not previously been found to have antifungal effects. In this study, PeAc was revealed to inhibit the growth of various pathogenic fungi, exhibited synergistic effects with fluconazole (FLC), inhibited the formation of C. albicans hyphae and biofilms, and showed antifungal effects in vivo. PeAc was less toxic to mammalian cells. Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (Fba1p) was identified as a target of PeAc by using HIP, TSA, enzyme inhibitory effect assay and molecular docking methods. PeAc exerted antifungal effects more effectively on fba1Δ/FBA1 than wild-type (WT) strain both in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: PeAc is an effective and low toxic antifungal compound. The target of PeAc is Fba1p. Fba1p is a promising target for antifungal drug development.

ANXA3 as a novel biomarker for sepsis diagnosis: Evidence from integrative WGCNA analysis.

Sepsis is a dysregulated immune response to infection that comes with multiple organ dysfunction and high mortality. The management of sepsis relies heavily on early recognition and diagnosis, but current diagnostic methods have limitations in timeliness, sensitivity, and discriminability. This study aims to discover novel biomarkers for sepsis diagnosis. Four datasets from different regions were analyzed using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and genes with high Gene Significance values across these datasets were overlapped. Finally, two genes, CD177 and ANXA3, were identified. ANXA3 was validated as a potential sepsis biomarker by checking multiple datasets and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Curve Analysis. Of note, ANXA3 could distinguish not only between adult and child sepsis patients and healthy controls, but also between septic shock and cardiogenic shock. Moreover, a murine sepsis model was established and the results showed that the transcription of ANXA3 in peripheral blood of septic mice was significantly higher than that of healthy controls, while Escherichia coli infection alone did not significantly increase the transcription level of this gene. Subsequent studies of sepsis in mice revealed that the predictive effect of Anxa3 on sepsis could be observed as early as 6 h post-modeling. Interestingly, ANXA3 expression was predominantly up-regulated in myeloid cells, up-regulated in spleen, down-regulated in lung, and not detected in liver after sepsis modeling. Taken together, this study provides a way for the discovery of biomarkers and finds that ANXA3 may be a novel diagnostic biomarker for sepsis.

Roxarsone inhibits hepatic stellate cell activation and ameliorates liver fibrosis by blocking TGF-ß1/Smad signaling pathway.

Hepatic fibrosis is a pathological change caused by chronic liver injury and self-repair, and it is the inevitable stage of the development of chronic liver disease to cirrhosis or even liver cancer. Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is a core event in the development of liver fibrosis and blockage of the activation of HSCs has been shown to alleviate liver fibrosis. Roxarsone, an organoarsenic additive, with antibiotic effect, growth promotion and improving feed efficiency, is widely used in livestock and animal production. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of Roxarsone on liver fibrosis and explore the possible mechanism. We found that Roxarsone could inhibit transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) induced the activation of HSCs and weaken the migration ability. Moreover, Roxarsone administration significantly ameliorated CCl4-induced liver fibrosis in mice with improvement of liver function and decreases of deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM). Mechanism investigations revealed that Roxarsone specifically inhibited the activation of TGF-ß1/Smad signaling pathway, but had no effect on MAPK and PI3K/AKT pathways. These results suggest that Roxarsone has a protective effect on liver fibrosis which provides a new candidate for the treatment of liver fibrosis.

Citropten alleviates acute and recurrent colitis via blockage of NF-κB and JAK/STAT3 pathways.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, which is characterized by inflammation, with many symptoms including diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloody stool, and weight loss. It is difficult to completely cure and promising therapeutic drug candidates are urgently needed. Citropten, a coumarin-like compound found in traditional Chinese medicine such as Finger Citron Fruit, notopterygium root and citrus peel, has been shown to inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells, protect against depression and suppress the production of inflammatory mediators. In this study, we demonstrated that citropten could alleviate dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced acute and recurrent colitis in mice, with significant improvement in body weight loss, disease activity index, shortened colon length and histological changes. Moreover, citropten dramatically decreased the production of pro-inflammatory mediators in colon tissues and effectively suppressed the proportion of Th17 cells in spleen. Mechanism investigations revealed that citropten significantly inhibited the activation of NF-κB and JAK/STAT3 signaling pathways, thus leading to decreased inflammation, Th17 cells and alleviative colitis. These findings provide novel insights into the anti-colitis effect of citropten, which may be a promising drug candidate for treatment of IBD.

Protective Effect of a Novel RIPK1 Inhibitor, Compound 4-155, in Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and Sepsis.

Excessive inflammatory response is a critical pathogenic factor for the tissue damage and organ failure caused by systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis. In recent years, drugs targeting RIPK1 have proved to be an effective anti-inflammatory strategy. In this study, we identified a novel anti-inflammatory lead compound 4-155 that selectively targets RIPK1. Compound 4-155 significantly inhibited necroptosis of cells, and its activity is about 10 times higher than the widely studied Nec-1 s. The anti-necroptosis effect of 4-155 was mainly dependent on the inhibition of phosphorylation of RIPK1, RIPK3, and MLKL. In addition, we demonstrated that 4-155 specifically binds RIPK1 by drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS), immunoprecipitation, kinase assay, and immunofluorescence microscopy. More importantly, compound 4-155 could inhibit excessive inflammation in vivo by blocking RIPK1-mediated necroptosis and not influence the activation of MAPK and NF-κB, which is more potential for the subsequent drug development. Compound 4-155 effectively protected mice from TNF-induced SIRS and sepsis. Using different doses, we found that 6 mg/kg oral administration of compound 4-155 could increase the survival rate of SIRS mice from 0 to 90%, and the anti-inflammatory effect of 4-155 in vivo was significantly stronger than Nec-1 s at the same dose. Consistently, 4-155 significantly reduced serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6) and protected the liver and kidney from excessive inflammatory damages. Taken together, our results suggested that compound 4-155 could inhibit excessive inflammation in vivo by blocking RIPK1-mediated necroptosis, providing a new lead compound for the treatment of SIRS and sepsis.

Cryptotanshinone ameliorates dextran sulfate sodium-induced murine acute and chronic ulcerative colitis via suppressing STAT3 activation and Th17 cell differentiation.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronically relapsing inflammatory disease in the intestinal tract. Current unsatisfactory treatments prompt people to seek for alternative therapies and drug candidates. Cryptotanshinone (CTS), a diterpene quinoneextractedfromthe roots ofSalviamiltiorrhiza, has recently been shown to inhibit acute colitis by reducing pro-inflammatory mediators. However, whether CTS can protect against chronic UC and its effect on T lymphocytes remain unknown. In this study, CTS (20, 60 mg/kg) showed potent inhibitory activity against dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced acute UC, as determined by weight loss, disease activity, colon length and histology. Similarly, in a model of DSS-induced chronic colitis, the administration of CTS prevented the disease progression with longer colon length, lower histological scores, and less expression of fibrosis-related collagen and α-smooth muscle actin in the colon. CTS also reduced the proportion of CD4+IL-17A+ Th17 cells in spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes of mice with acute or chronic colitis. However, CTS at 20 mg/kg had no effect on regulatory T cells (Tregs). In addition, CTS reduced the phosphorylation of signal transduction and transcription activator 3 (STAT3) in DSS-treated colon tissue. Further study showed that CTS concentration-dependently suppressed the differentiation of naïve CD4+ T cells into Th17 cells. CTS could not inhibit the activation and proliferation of T lymphocytes or attenuate the secretion of cytokines including IL-10, IL-2, IL-6 and IFN-γ, but could inhibit the production of IL-17A and TNF-α in Con A-stimulated splenocytes. CTS suppressed IL-6-induced phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of STAT3. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that CTS alleviated acute and chronic UC by suppressing STAT3 activation and Th17 cell differentiation, suggesting that it may be a promising candidate drug for the treatment of UC.

The matrine derivate MASM inhibits astrocyte reactivity and alleviates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice.

Astrocytes (AST) play an important role in the pathogenesis of neurological disorders, and their activation is involved in the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). (6aS, 10S, 11aR, 11bR, 11cS)-10-methylaminododecahydro-3a, 7a-diaza-benzo (de) anthracene-8-thione (MASM), a novel derivative of matrine, exhibits vast pharmacological activities, such as anti-tumor, anti-fibrosis and immune regulation. In this study, we demonstrate that MASM is a promising agent for the treatment of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). MASM not only inhibited inflammatory responses in LPS-stimulated astrocytes, but also suppressed the formation of reactive A1 astrocyte and maintained astrocytic functions, including the ability to promote synapse formation and phagocytose synapses and myelin debris. Importantly, MASM could significantly alleviate the development of EAE, with significant inhibition of inflammation, demyelination, axon loss and the body weight loss. Meanwhile, MASM also inhibited the activation of astrocytes and improved the function of BBB in vivo. These findings provide novel insights into the protective effect of MASM on EAE, which may be a promising drug candidate for treatment of EAE.

Nanomedicine strategies for sustained, controlled, and targeted treatment of cancer stem cells of the digestive system.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) constitute a small proportion of the cancer cells that have self-renewal capacity and tumor-initiating ability. They have been identified in a variety of tumors, including tumors of the digestive system. CSCs exhibit some unique characteristics, which are responsible for cancer metastasis and recurrence. Consequently, the development of effective therapeutic strategies against CSCs plays a key role in increasing the efficacy of cancer therapy. Several potential approaches to target CSCs of the digestive system have been explored, including targeting CSC surface markers and signaling pathways, inducing the differentiation of CSCs, altering the tumor microenvironment or niche, and inhibiting ATP-driven efflux transporters. However, conventional therapies may not successfully eradicate CSCs owing to various problems, including poor solubility, stability, rapid clearance, poor cellular uptake, and unacceptable cytotoxicity. Nanomedicine strategies, which include drug, gene, targeted, and combinational delivery, could solve these problems and significantly improve the therapeutic index. This review briefly summarizes the ongoing development of strategies and nanomedicine-based therapies against CSCs of the digestive system.