Salvianolic Acid B Attenuates Hypertrophic Scar Formation In Vivo and In Vitro.

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic scars (HTSs) are a fibroproliferative disorder that occur following skin injuries. Salvianolic acid B (Sal-B) is an extractant from Salvia miltiorrhiza that has been reported to ameliorate fibrosis in multiple organs. However, the antifibrotic effect on HTSs remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the antifibrotic effect of Sal-B in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: In vitro, hypertrophic scar-derived fibroblasts (HSFs) were isolated from human HTSs and cultured. HSFs were treated with (0, 10, 50, 100 µmol/L) Sal-B. Cell proliferation and migration were evaluated by EdU, wound healing, and transwell assays. The protein and mRNA levels of TGFßI, Smad2, Smad3, α-SMA, COL1, and COL3 were detected by Western blots and real-time PCR. In vivo, tension stretching devices were fixed on incisions for HTS formation. The induced scars were treated with 100 µL of Sal-B/PBS per day according to the concentration of the group and followed up for 7 or 14 days. The scar condition, collagen deposition, and α-SMA expression were analyzed by gross visual examination, H&E, Masson, picrosirius red staining, and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: In vitro, Sal-B inhibited HSF proliferation, migration, and downregulated the expression of TGFßI, Smad2, Smad3, α-SMA, COL1, and COL3 in HSFs. In vivo, 50 and 100 µmol/L Sal-B significantly reduced scar size in gross and cross-sectional observations, with decreased α-SMA expression and collagen deposition in the tension-induced HTS model. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that Sal-B inhibits HSFs proliferation, migration, fibrotic marker expression and attenuates HTS formation in a tension-induced HTS model in vivo. NO LEVEL ASSIGNED: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each submission to which Evidence-Based Medicine rankings are applicable. This excludes Review Articles, Book Reviews, and manuscripts that concern Basic Science, Animal Studies, Cadaver Studies, and Experimental Studies. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Intravesical Administration of Xenogeneic Porcine Urothelial Cells Attenuates Cyclophosphamide-Induced Cystitis in Mice.

The urothelium of the bladder, renal pelvis, ureter and urethra is maintained through the regulated proliferation and differentiation of urothelial stem and progenitor cells. These cells provide a rich source of a novel urothelial cell therapy approach that could be used to protect, regenerate, repair and restore a damaged urothelium. Urothelial injury caused by physical, chemical and microbial stress is the pathological basis of cystitis (bladder inflammation). The loss of urothelial integrity triggers a series of inflammatory events, resulting in pain and hematuria such as hemorrhage cystitis and interstitial cystitis. Here we investigate a novel cell therapy strategy to treat cystitis by protecting the urothelium from detrimental stresses through intravesically instilling porcine urothelial cells (PUCs) into the bladder. Using a chemical-induced urothelial injury mouse model of cyclophosphamide (CPP)-induced hemorrhagic cystitis, we determined how the intravesical instillation of PUCs could protect the urothelium from toxic attack from CPP metabolites. We show that intravesical PUC instillation protected the bladder from toxic chemical attack in mice receiving CPP with reduced inflammation and edema. Compared with the vehicle control mice, the proliferative response to chemical injury and apoptotic cells within the bladder tissues were reduced by intravesical PUC treatment. Furthermore, the urothelium integrity was maintained in the intravesical PUC-treated group. After xenogeneic PUCs were introduced and adhered to the mouse urothelium, immunological rejection responses were observed with increased neutrophil infiltration in the lamina propria and higher immune-related gene expression. Our findings provide an innovative and promising intravesical PUC cell therapy for cystitis with urothelial injury by protecting the urothelium from noxious agents.

Cyclocommunol induces apoptosis in human oral squamous cell carcinoma partially through a Mcl-1-dependent mechanism.

BACKGROUND: Crude extract of breadfruit has been reported to have antitumor activity against various cancer cell lines with unknown mechanism. PURPOSE: This study aims to investigate the proapoptotic effect of cyclocommunol (CYC), a prenylflavonoid from breadfruit, in two oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines, SCC2095 and Ca922. METHODS: The antiproliferative effects of CYC were assessed by MTT assays and PI/annexin V analysis. SCC2095 cells were transiently transfected with Mcl-1 plasmid in overexpression experiment. Other methods used to investigate the mechanism of CYC included Western blotting, acridine orange staining and confocal microscopic visualization. RESULTS: Our results showed that CYC suppressed the viability of SCC2095 and Ca922 with IC50 values at 48 h of 4.2 and 5.0 µM, respectively. This decrease in viability occurred in a caspase-dependent apoptotic manner. In addition, CYC down-regulated the phosphorylation/expression of Akt/mTOR and Mcl-1, accompanied by reactive oxygen species generation, and autophagy induction. Notably, overexpression of Mcl-1 using Mcl-1-tag-myc partially rescued CYC-mediated caspase-3 activation, PARP cleavage, and cytotoxicity. In summary, our study demonstrated the proapoptotic activity of CYC on OSCC, partially through down-regulation of Mcl-1. CONCLUSION: CYC from breadfruit has translational value as a proapoptotic agent for OSCC.

The Genomic Alterations of 5α-Reductases and Their Inhibitor Finasteride's Effect in Bladder Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Since androgens affect urothelial bladder cancer (UBC), we examined whether 5α-reductases (5-AR) have genomic alterations in UBC and whether 5α-reductase inhibitors (5-ARI) affect UBC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cBioPortal was used to analyze genomic alternations of 5-ARs in UBC cancer genomic datasets. Next, we used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research database to conduct a population-based case-control study to investigate the effect of a 5-ARI, finasteride on UBC incidence. We also performed an XTT assay to examine the direct effect of finasteride on UBC cells. RESULTS: We found that 5-AR genomic alternations were observed in 29% of UBC patients and patients with alternations had shorter disease-free survival. Also, the use of finasteride with >180 cDDDs reduced the risk of UBC. Finasteride could directly inhibit UBC cell growth. CONCLUSION: Based on our findings, we concluded that 5-AR could be explored as a therapeutic target for UBC with 5-ARIs.