Nourishing Yin traditional Chinese medicine: potential role in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a common and frequently occurring disease in contemporary society, has become a global health threat. However, current mainstream methods of prevention and treatment, mainly including oral hypoglycemic drugs and insulin injections, do not fundamentally block the progression of T2DM. Therefore, it is imperative to find new ways to prevent and treat diabetes. Traditional Chinese medicine is characterized by multiple components, pathways, and targets with mild and long-lasting effects. Pharmacological studies have shown that nourishing yin traditional Chinese medicine (NYTCM) can play a positive role in the treatment of T2DM by regulating pathways such as the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/serine-threonine kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase, nuclear factor-kappa B, and other pathways to stimulate insulin secretion, protect and repair pancreatic ß cells, alleviate insulin resistance, ameliorate disordered glucose and lipid metabolism, mitigate oxidative stress, inhibit inflammatory responses, and regulate the intestinal flora. The pharmacologic activity, mechanisms, safety, and toxicity of NYTCM in the treatment of T2DM are also reviewed in this manuscript.

SLIT2/ROBO1 axis contributes to the Warburg effect in osteosarcoma through activation of SRC/ERK/c-MYC/PFKFB2 pathway.

Cellular metabolic reprogramming is the main characteristic of cancer cells and identification of targets using this metabolic pattern is extremely important to treat cancers, such as osteosarcoma (OS). In this study, SLIT2 and ROBO1 were upregulated in OS, and higher expression of ROBO1 was associated with worse overall survival rate. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that the SLIT2/ROBO1 axis promotes proliferation, inhibits apoptosis, and contributes to the Warburg effect in OS cells. Mechanistically, the SLIT2/ROBO1 axis exerted cancer-promoting effects on OS via activation of the SRC/ERK/c-MYC/PFKFB2 pathway. Taken together, the findings reveal a previously unappreciated function of SLIT2/ROBO1 signaling in OS, which is intertwined with metabolic alterations that promote cancer progression. Targeting the SLIT2/ROBO1 axis may be a potential therapeutic approach for patients with OS.

Andrographolide protects against LPS-induced acute lung injury by inactivation of NF-κB.

BACKGROUND: Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) is a central transcriptional factor and a pleiotropic regulator of many genes involved in acute lung injury. Andrographolide is found in the plant of Andrographis paniculata and widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, exhibiting potently anti-inflammatory property by inhibiting NF-κB activity. The purpose of our investigation was designed to reveal the effect of andrographolide on various aspects of LPS induced inflammation in vivo and in vitro. METHODS AND RESULTS: In vivo, BALB/C mice were subjected to LPS injection with or without andrographolide treatments to induce ALI model. In vitro, MLE-12 cells were stimulated with LPS in the presence and absence of andrographolide. In vivo, pulmonary inflammation, pulmonary edema, ultrastructure changes of type II alveolar epithelial cells, MPO activity, total cells, neutrophils, macrophages, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1ß in BALF, along with the expression of VCAM-1 and VEGF were dose-dependently attenuated by andrographolide. Meanwhile, in vitro, the expression of VCAM-1 and VEGF was also reduced by andrographolide. Moreover, our data showed that andrographolide significantly inhibited the ratios of phospho-IKKß/total IKKß, phospho-IκBα/total IκBα and phospho-NF-κB p65/total NF-κB p65, and NF-κB p65 DNA binding activities, both in vivo and in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that andrographolide dose-dependently suppressed the severity of LPS-induced ALI, more likely by virtue of andrographolide-mediated NF-κB inhibition at the level of IKKß activation. These results suggest andrographolide may be considered as an effective and safe drug for the potential treatment of ALI.

[Complete nucleotide sequence of a human coxsackievirus B3 strain A103/KM/09 isolated in Yunnan province, 2009].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the genetic characterization of the complete genome from a human coxsackievirus B3 strain A103/KM/09 isolated in Yunnan province, 2009. METHODS: By using RT-PCR, all the eight fragments which containing about 1000 nucleotides and covering full viral genome, were sequenced. By using Mega 5.05,Geneious, RDP 3 and SimPlot 3.5.1 software, sequences were aligned with other enterovirus reference sequences. Phylogenetic and recombination analysis were also carried out. RESULTS: The A103/KM/09 isolate genome showed 7389 nucleotides in length , encoding for 2185 amino acids. In the complete genome, the homology of nucleotide and amino acid among the seven coxsackievirus B3 isolates were 81.0%-88.0% and 95.7%-98.0%, respectively. There appeared 81.0% and 95.7% homology when compared with that of Nancy prototype strain. Results from the Phylogenetic analysis showed that the coxsackievirus B3 formed five distinct clades, I-V. Nucleotide divergence rates between clades were 16.2%-24.3% . The A103/KM/09 strain belonged to clade V. Clade V was further divided into four sub-clades,A-D. The nucleotide divergence between sub-clades was 4.3%-11.4%. Putative recombinant event for A103/ KM/09 was detected. CONCLUSION: All coxsackievirus B3 isolates could be divided into five clades, with A103/KM/09 strain belonged to Clade V-D. Evolution of coxsackievirus B3 had occurred in China.