Baicalein Attenuates Severe Polymicrobial Sepsis via Alleviating Immune Dysfunction of T Lymphocytes and Inflammation.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of baicalein on polymicrobial sepsis-induced immune dysfunction and organ injury. METHODS: A sepsis model was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats via caecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Specific pathogen free rats were randomly divided into a sham group, CLP group and CLP + baicalein (Bai) group (n=16 each). Rats in the CLP + Bai group were intravenously injected with baicalein (20 mg/kg) at 1 and 10 h after CLP. Survival rate, bacterial load, and organ damage were assessed. Then each group was evaluated at 6, 12, and 24 h to investigate the effect of baicalein on immune cells and inflammatory cytokines in septic rats. RESULTS: Baicalein treatment significantly improved the survival of septic rats, decreased the bacterial burden, and moderated tissue damage (spleen, liver, and lung), as observed by haematoxylin and eosin staining. Septic rats treated with baicalein had strikingly increased proportions of CD3+CD4+ T cells and ratios of CD4+/CD8+ T cells in the peripheral blood and spleen (all P<0.05). Moreover, baicalein treatment decreased the apoptotic rate of whole white blood cells and spleen cells at 24 h after surgery (P<0.05). Baicalein significantly reduced the levels of tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and increased IL-10, and the expression levels of galectin 9 were also raised in the spleen (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Baicalein may be an effective immunomodulator that attenuates overwhelming inflammatory responses in severe abdominal sepsis.

Chrysanthemum indicum ethanolic extract inhibits invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma via regulation of MMP/TIMP balance as therapeutic target.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive cancer with a dismal outcome largely due to metastasis and postsurgical recurrence. Thus, the inhibition of invasion and metastasis is of great importance in its therapies. Medicinal plants or ethnopharmacology used in folklore medicine continue to be an important source of discovery and development of novel or potential therapeutic agents for treatment of cancer. Chrysanthemum indicum, one of the medicinal plants or ethnopharmacology, is being used for treatment of many diseases including cancer. However, this plant molecular mechanisms underlining the anti-metastatic effects have not been well documented. In this study, Chrysanthemum indicum ethanolic extract (CIE) significantly suppressed proliferation and invasion of MHCC97H cells, one of the HCC cell lines with high metastatic potential, in a dose-dependent manner. CIE markedly decreased MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression, increased simultaneously TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 expression further restoring their balance in the cancer cells. The present study indicates that CIE reduced MHCC97H cell metastatic capability, in part at least, through decrease of the MMP expression, simultaneous increase of the TIMP expression, further restoring their balance as therapeutic target in HCC. It is suggested that Chrysanthemum indicum is a potential novel therapeutic medicinal plant for treatment of HCC or cancer invasion and metastasis.