A Brief Review of Nutraceutical Ingredients in Gastrointestinal Disorders: Evidence and Suggestions.

The dietary effect on gut health has long been recognized through the empirical practice of soothing gastric discomfort with certain types of food, and recently the correlation between specific diets with lower incidences of several gastrointestinal diseases has been revealed. Ingredients from those considered beneficial foods have been isolated and studied, and some of them have already been put into the supplement market. In this review, we focus on latest studies of these food-derived ingredients for their proposed preventive and therapeutic roles in gastrointestinal disorders, with the attempt of drawing evidence-based suggestions on consuming these products.

Isotetrandrine Reduces Astrocyte Cytotoxicity in Neuromyelitis Optica by Blocking the Binding of NMO-IgG to Aquaporin 4.

OBJECTIVE: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a severe neurological demyelinating autoimmune disease that affects the optic nerves and spinal cord with no cure and no FDA-approved therapy. Research over the last decade revealed that the binding of NMO-IgG to the water channel protein astrocyte aquaporin 4 (AQP4) might be the primary cause of NMO pathogenesis. The purpose of this study was to identify potential blockers of NMO-IgG and AQP4 binding. METHODS: We developed a two-step screening platform consisting of a reporter cell-based high-throughput screen assay and a cell viability-based assay. Purified NMO-IgG from NMO patient serum and transfected Chinese hamster lung fibroblast V79 cells stably expressing human M23-AQP4 were used for primary screening of 40,000 small molecule fractions from 500 traditional Chinese herbs. RESULTS: Thirty-six positive fractions were identified, of which 3 active fractions (at 50 µg/ml) were found to be from the same Chinese traditional herb Mahonia japonica (Thunb.). A bioactivity-guided method based on a primary screening assay for blocking activity led to the isolation of an active single natural compound, isotetrandrine, from the 3 fractions. Our immunofluorescence staining results showed that isotetrandrine can block NMO-IgG binding to AQP4 without affecting the expression and function of AQP4. It can also inhibit NMO-IgG binding to astrocyte AQP4 in NMO patient sera and block NMO-IgG-dependent complement-mediated cytotoxicity with the IC50 at ∼3 µM. CONCLUSIONS: The present study developed a cell-based high-throughput screen to identify small molecule inhibitors for NMO-IgG and AQP4 binding, and suggests a potential therapeutic value of isotetrandrine in NMO.

An Engineered Arginase FC Protein Inhibits Tumor Growth In Vitro and In Vivo.

Arginine is a semiessential amino acid required for the growth of melanoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, and the enzymatic removal of arginine by pegylated arginine deiminase (ADI) or arginase is being tested clinically. Here, we report a genetically engineered arginase FC fusion protein exhibiting a prolonged half-life and enhanced efficacy. The use of this enzyme to treat different tumor lines both inhibited cell proliferation and impaired cellular migration in vitro and in vivo. Our data reinforce the hypothesis that nutritional depletion is a key strategy for cancer treatment.

Alantolactone inhibits growth of K562/adriamycin cells by downregulating Bcr/Abl and P-glycoprotein expression.

Alantolactone, a sesquiterpene lactone containing an α-methylene-γ-lactone group, is the active component of Inula helenium (Compositae), a traditional Chinese medicinal herb. It has been reported that alantolactone has the capacity to inhibit tumor cell growth through induction of apoptosis. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of alantolactone in the adriamycin (ADR)-resistant human erythroleukemia cell line K562/ADR, and provide evidence that it might function as a potent therapeutic agent in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients with Bcr/Abl and the multidrug-resistance phenotype. Our results showed that alantolactone significantly inhibited K562/ADR cell growth by downregulating Bcr/Abl and P-glycoprotein expression. Alantolactone also induced apoptosis via modulation of protein levels of Bcl-2 family members, caspase activation, poly ADP ribose polymerase cleavage, and cytochrome C release. We also observed that alantolactone induced cell-cycle arrest in the G2/M phase, downregulated cyclin B1 and cyclin-dependent protein kinase 1, and upregulated the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21. Together, these results demonstrate that alantolactone may be a potent therapeutic agent against CML, and a potential Bcr/Abl inhibitor.