[Role of NLRP3 inflammasome in prevention and treatment of cognitive impairment-related diseases and traditional Chinese medicine intervention: a review].

Alzheimer's disease(AD), vascular dementia(VD), and traumatic brain injury(TBI) are more common cognitive impairment diseases characterized by high disability and mortality rates, imposing a heavy burden on individuals and their families. Although AD, VD, and TBI have different specific mechanisms, their pathogenesis is closely related to the nucleotide-binding oligome-rization domain-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3). The NLRP3 inflammasome is involved in neuroinflammatory responses, mediating microglial polarization, regulating the reduction of amyloid ß-protein(Aß) deposition, neurofibrillary tangles(NFTs) formation, autophagy regulation, and maintaining brain homeostasis, and synaptic stability, thereby contributing to the development of AD, VD, and TBI. Previous studies have shown that traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) can alleviate neuroinflammation, promote microglial polarization towards the M2 phenotype, reduce Aß deposition and NFTs formation, regulate autophagy, and maintain brain homeostasis by intervening in NLRP3 inflammasome, hence exerting a role in preventing and treating cognitive impairment-related diseases, reducing psychological and economic pressure on patients, and improving their quality of life. Therefore, this article elucidated the role of NLRP3 inflammasome in AD, VS, and TBI, and provided a detailed summary of the latest research results on TCM intervention in NLRP3 inflammasome for the prevention and treatment of these diseases, aiming to inherit the essence of TCM and provide references and foundations for clinical prevention and treatment of cognitive impairment-related diseases with TCM. Meanwhile, this also offers insights and directions for further research in TCM for the prevention and treatment of cognitive impairment-related diseases.

Roles of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in adipogenic differentiation potential of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway controls differentiation of various cells by regulating the expression of target genes. beta-Catenin plays a central role in Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway. To investigate the molecular mechanisms of fate determination in adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AMSCs), we investigated effects of Wnt3a and beta-catenin, two key members of the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling, in adipogenic differentiation of porcine AMSCs. We demonstrated that Wnt3a protein can inhibit the adipogenic differentiation of porcine AMSCs in vitro culture. By stabilization of cytoplasmic beta-catenin with continuous treatment by LiCl, the adipogenic differentiation of AMSCs was also suppressed and the osteogenesis was stimulated. In contrast, a loss of beta-catenin in AMSCs enhanced the adipogenic differentiation and rescued LiCl-induced anti-adipogenesis. In addition, the mutual activation of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-alpha (C/EBPalpha) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma) were repressed in the presence of Wnt3a or LiCl, but increased in the gene silencing of beta-catenin. Taken together, our study indicated that Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway inhibited the adipogenic differentiation potential and alter the cell fate from adipocytes to osteoblasts.

All-trans retinoic acid shifts rosiglitazone-induced adipogenic differentiation to osteogenic differentiation in mouse embryonic fibroblasts.

Rosiglitazone (RSG) is a potent drug used in the treatment of insulin resistance; however, it is associated with marked skeletal toxicity. RSG-induced osteoporosis may contribute to the promotion of adipogenic differentiation at the expense of osteogenic differentiation in bone marrow stromal cells. The aim of this study was to investigate whether RSG-induced bone toxicity can be reversed by combined treatment with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA). We examined different osteogenic markers in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) following treatment with RSG, ATRA, or RSG and ATRA in combination. We examined the effects of RSG and/or ATRA on ectopic bone formation, and dissected the possible molecular mechanisms underlying this process. We found that ATRA or RSG both induced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in the MEFs, and that the ATRA-induced ALP activity was enhanced by RSG and vice versa. However, only the combination of RSG and ATRA increased the expression of osteopontin and osteocalcin, promoted matrix mineralization, and induced ectopic ossification in MEFs. Mechanistically, we found that the osteogenic differentiation induced by the combination of RSG and ATRA may be mediated partly by suppressing RSG-induced adipogenic differentiation and activating bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)/Smad signaling. On the whole, our findings demonstrate that RSG in combination with ATRA promotes the commitment of MEFs to the osteoblast lineage. Thus, the combination of these two agents may prove to be a promising and novel therapeutic regimen for insulin resistance without skeletal toxicity. It may also be a better strategy with which to prevent RSG-induced osteoporosis.

Beta-catenin protein utilized by Tumour necrosis factor-alpha in porcine preadipocytes to suppress differentiation.

The Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway alters adipocyte differentiation by inhibiting adipogenic gene expression. beta-catenin plays a central role in the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway. In this study, we revealed that tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a potential negative regulator of adipocyte differentiation, inhibits porcine adipogenesis through activation of the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway. Under the optimal concentration of TNF-alpha, the intracellular beta-catenin protein was stabilized. Thus, the intracellular lipid accumulation of porcine preadipocyte was suppressed and the expression of important adipocyte marker genes, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma) and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-alpha (C/EBPalpha), were inhibited. However, a loss of beta-catenin in porcine preadipocytes enhanced the adipogenic differentiation and attenuated TNF-alpha induced anti-adipogenesis. Taken together, this study indicated that TNF-alpha inhibits adipogenesis through stabilization of beta-catenin protein in porcine preadipocytes.