Taxifolin attenuates inflammation via suppressing MAPK signal pathway in vitro and in silico analysis.

Objective: Taxifolin is a natural flavonoid compound that can be isolated from onions, grapes, oranges and grapefruit. It also acts as a medicine food homology with extraordinary antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. This study aims to explain the protective effects and potential mechanisms of taxifolin against inflammatory reaction. Methods: Levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1ß and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were assessed in different time after the treatment of taxifolin in RAW264.7 cells induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Subsequently, the mRNA and protein levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and the phosphorylation expression levels of the MAPK signal pathway were also evaluated. A silico analysis was used to explain the binding situation for the investigation of taxifolin and MAPK signal pathway. And then MAPK inhibitors were used to reveal the expression level of iNOS, VEGF, COX-2 and TNF-α in RAW264.7 cells. Results: It was demonstrated that cell inflammatory damage induced by LPS was significantly alleviated after the treatment of taxifolin. Then, the mRNA and protein levels of iNOS, VEGF, COX-2 and TNF-α were reduced and the phosphorylation expression levels of the MAPK signal pathway were down-regulated remarkably as well. In silico analysis, taxifolin could form a relatively stable combination with MAPK signal pathway. MAPK inhibitors showed increasing or decreasing effect in the mRNA levels of iNOS, VEGF, COX-2 and TNF-α, which suggesting that taxifolin down-regulated iNOS, VEGF, COX-2 and TNF-α expressions were not entirely through the MAPK pathway. Conclusion: This finding demonstrated that taxifolin improved the inflammatory responses that partly involved in the phosphorylation expression level of MAPK signal pathway in RAW264.7 cells exposed to acute stress.

Integrated analysis of genes encoding ATP-dependent chromatin remodellers identifies CHD7 as a potential target for colorectal cancer therapy.

BACKGROUND: Genes participating in chromatin organization and regulation are frequently mutated or dysregulated in cancers. ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers (ATPCRs) play a key role in organizing genomic DNA within chromatin, therefore regulating gene expression. The oncogenic role of ATPCRs and the mechanism involved remains unclear. METHODS: We analyzed the genomic and transcriptional aberrations of the genes encoding ATPCRs in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. A series of cellular experiments and mouse tumor-bearing experiments were conducted to reveal the regulatory function of CHD7 on the growth of colorectal cancer cells. RNA-seq and ATAC-seq approaches together with ChIP assays were performed to elucidate the downstream targets and the molecular mechanisms. RESULTS: Our data showed that many ATPCRs represented a high frequency of somatic copy number alterations, widespread somatic mutations, remarkable expression abnormalities, and significant correlation with overall survival, suggesting several somatic driver candidates including chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 7 (CHD7) in colorectal cancer. We experimentally demonstrated that CHD7 promotes the growth of colorectal cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. CHD7 can bind to the promoters of target genes to maintain chromatin accessibility and facilitate transcription. We found that CHD7 knockdown downregulates AK4 expression and activates AMPK phosphorylation, thereby promoting the phosphorylation and stability of p53 and leading to the inhibition of the colorectal cancer growth. Our muti-omics analyses of ATPCRs across large-scale cancer specimens identified potential therapeutic targets and our experimental studies revealed a novel CHD7-AK4-AMPK-p53 axis that plays an oncogenic role in colorectal cancer.

CBX8 Together with SET Facilitates Ovarian Carcinoma Growth and Metastasis by Suppressing the Transcription of SUSD2.

Polycomb group proteins are often dysregulated in cancer, leading to disruption of epigenetic landscapes and acquisition of cancer hallmarks. Chromobox 8 (CBX8) is a core component of canonical polycomb repressive complex 1; however, its role in transcriptional regulation and in ovarian carcinoma progression has not been extensively investigated. In this study, we find that CBX8 is upregulated in ovarian cancer. Overexpression and knockdown approaches show that CBX8 facilitates the growth and migration of CAOV3, A2780, and SKOV3 cells in vitro. Consistently, depletion of CBX8 suppresses the growth and metastasis of ovarian carcinoma in vivo. Mechanistically, RNA-sequencing assays together with functional rescue experiments identify a tumor suppressor, SUSD2, as the functional target of CBX8 in ovarian carcinoma cells. Significantly, FLAG affinity coupled with mass spectrometry discovers that CBX8 interacts with a subunit of inhibitor of acetyltransferases (INHAT), SET, which also promotes the growth and migration of A2780 cells. CBX8 and SET cobind to the promoter of SUSD2 to establish H2AK119ub1 and prevent the acetylation of histone H3, resulting in transcriptional suppression of SUSD2. IMPLICATIONS: Our study uncovers a novel mechanism CBX8 explores to execute gene repression, and provides new therapeutic targets for ovarian carcinoma.

Application of immune checkpoint targets in the anti-tumor novel drugs and traditional Chinese medicine development.

Immune checkpoints are the crucial regulators of immune system and play essential roles in maintaining self-tolerance, preventing autoimmune responses, and minimizing tissue damage by regulating the duration and intensity of the immune response. Furthermore, immune checkpoints are usually overexpressed in cancer cells or noninvasive cells in tumor tissues and are capable of suppressing the antitumor response. Based on substantial physiological analyses as well as preclinical and clinical studies, checkpoint molecules have been evaluated as potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of multiple types of cancers. In the last few years, extensive evidence has supported the immunoregulatory effects of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). The main advantage of TCMs and natural medicine is that they usually contain multiple active components, which can act on multiple targets at the same time, resulting in additive or synergistic effects. The strong immune regulation function of traditional Chinese medicine on immune checkpoints has also been of great interest. For example, Astragalus membranaceus polysaccharides can induce anti-PD-1 antibody responses in animals, and these antibodies can overcome the exhaustion of immune cells under tumor immune evasion. Furthermore, many other TCM molecules could also be novel and effective drug candidates for the treatment of cancers. Therefore, it is essential to assess the application of immune checkpoints in the development of new drugs and TCMs. In this review, we focus on research progress in the field of immune checkpoints based on three topics: (1) immune checkpoint targets and pathways, (2) development of novel immune checkpoint-based drugs, and (3) application of immune checkpoints in the development of TCMs.

Clinicopathological significance of miR-101-3p and c-myc mRNA expression in diffused large B-cell lymphoma.

MiR-101-3p has been suggested to be implicated in the pathogenesis of lymphoma, however little is known regarding clinicopathological significance of its expression in diffused large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). In contrast, although c-myc has been extensively studied in DLBCL, no direct evidence concerning clinicopathological significance has been well established, either. Given this, in our present study, to understand the significance of both miR-101-3p and c-myc expression on mRNA level in DLBCL, real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect the expression of miR-101-3p and c-myc on mRNA level in 100 cases of DLBCL samples. Association between expression of miR-101-3p and c-myc and clinicopathological variables available was statistically analyzed using Cross-Table test. It was shown that only significant association was observed between miR-101-3p expression and histopathological subtype and therapeutic regimen, no significant relationship was found with other clinicopathological variables. As for c-myc expression, only significant association was found with gender, IPI, and activity of LDH in serum; No significant relations were found with other clinicopathological variables. Together, our study presents the direct evidence regarding clinicopathological significance of miR-101-3p and c-myc expression in DLBCL, which warrants further confirmation in different cohorts with larger sample sizes.

NLRC5 promotes cell proliferation via regulating the AKT/VEGF-A signaling pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma.

NLRC5, a newly found member of the NLR family and the largest member of nucleotide-binding, has been reported to regulate immune responses and is associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated the mechanisms and signaling pathways of NLRC5 in HCC progression. Increased expression of NLRC5, vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) were found in human HCC tissue. There was a positive correlation between NLRC5 and VEGF-A expression and cell proliferation were enhanced in NLRC5-overexpressing HepG2 cells, but inhibited in cells with NLRC5 silencing treatment. Interestingly, we found that up-regulation of NLRC5 also coordinated the activation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. An AKT inhibitor LY294002 blocked VEGF-A expression and AKT phosphorylation in HepG2 cells and NLRC5-overexpressing HepG2 cells. These results demonstrate that NLRC5 promotes HCC progression via the AKT/VEGF-A signaling pathway.

Cryptolepine derivative-6h inhibits liver fibrosis in TGF-ß1-induced HSC-T6 cells by targeting the Shh pathway.

Liver fibrosis is a worldwide problem with a significant morbidity and mortality. Cryptolepis sanguinolenta (family Periplocaceae) is widely used in West African countries for the treatment of malaria, as well as for some other diseases. However, the role of C. sanguinolenta in hepatic fibrosis is still unknown. It has been reported that Methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) had a high expression in liver fibrosis and played a central role in its pathobiology. Interestingly, we found that a cryptolepine derivative (HZ-6h) could inhibit liver fibrosis by reducing MeCP2 expression, as evidenced by the dramatic downregulation of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and type I collagen alpha-1 (Col1α1) in protein levels in vitro. Meanwhile, we also found that HZ-6h could reduce the cell viability and promote apoptosis of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) treated with transforming growth factor beta 1(TGF-ß1). Then, we investigated the potential molecular mechanisms and found that HZ-6h blocked Shh signaling in HSC-T6 cells, resulting in the decreased protein expression of Patched-1 (PTCH-1), Sonic hedgehog (Shh), and glioma-associated oncogene homolog 1 (GLI1). In short, these results indicate that HZ-6h inhibits liver fibrosis by downregulating MeCP2 through the Shh pathway in TGF-ß1-induced HSC-T6 cells.