Deciphering the pharmacological mechanisms of Fraxini Cortex for ulcerative colitis treatment based on network pharmacology and in vivo studies.

BACKGROUND: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a common type of inflammatory bowel disease. Due to the elusive pathogenesis, safe and effective treatment strategies are still lacking. Fraxini Cortex (FC) has been widely used as a medicinal herb to treat some diseases. However, the pharmacological mechanisms of FC for UC treatment are still unclear. METHODS: An integrated platform combining network pharmacology and experimental studies was introduced to decipher the mechanism of FC against UC. The active compounds, therapeutic targets, and the molecular mechanism of action were acquired by network pharmacology, and the interaction between the compounds and target proteins were verified by molecular docking. Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis model was employed to assess the therapeutic effect of FC on UC, and validate the molecular mechanisms of action predicted by network pharmacology. RESULTS: A total of 20 bioactive compounds were retrieved, and 115 targets were predicted by using the online databases. Ursolic acid, fraxetin, beta-sitosterol, and esculetin were identified as the main active compounds of FC against UC. PPI network analysis identified 28 FC-UC hub genes that were mainly enriched in the IL-17 signaling pathway, the TNF signaling pathway, and pathways in cancer. Molecular docking confirmed that the active compounds had high binding affinities to the predicted target proteins. GEO dataset analysis showed that these target genes were highly expressed in the UC clinical samples compared with that in the healthy controls. Experimental studies showed that FC alleviated DSS-induced colitis symptoms, reduced inflammatory cytokines release, and suppressed the expression levels of IL1ß, COX2, MMP3, IL-17 and RORγt in colon tissues. CONCLUSION: FC exhibits anti-UC properties through regulating multi-targets and multi-pathways with multi-components. In vivo results demonstrated that FC alleviated DSS-induced colitis.

Systematic analyses on the potential immune and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of Shufeng Jiedu Capsule against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-caused pneumonia.

The outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-caused pneumonia (Coronavirus disease -19, COVID-19), has resulted in a global health emergency. However, there is no vaccine or effective antiviral treatment against the newly emerged coronavirus and identifying the available therapeutics as soon as possible is critical for the response to the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Shufeng Jiedu Capsule (SFJDC), a well-known prescription of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in China, has been widely used in treating upper respiratory tract infections and acute lung injury, owing to its immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects. Despite the definite evidence of effective use of SFJDC in the diagnosis and treatment of pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2, the underlying action mechanism remains unknown. Currently, a systematic study integrated with absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) evaluation, target prediction, network construction and functional bioinformatics analyses is proposed to illustrate the potential immune and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of SFJDC against SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, to further validate the reliability of the interactions and binding affinities between drugs and targets, docking, Molecular dynamics Simulations (MD) simulations and Molecular Mechanics/Poisson-Boltzmann Surface Area approach (MM-PBSA) calculations were carried out. The results demonstrate that SFJDC regulates the immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory related targets on multiple pathways through its active ingredients, showing the potential anti-novel coronavirus effect. Overall, the work can provide a better understanding of the therapeutic mechanism of SFJDC for treating SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia from multi-scale perspectives, and may also offer a valuable clue for developing novel pharmaceutical strategies to control the current coronavirus.

Verapamil enhances the sensitivity of oxaliplatin to tumor cells by influencing the PARP pathway.

PARP is a DNA damage-modifying enzyme present in most eukaryotic cells. In this study, reverse docking showed that verapamil (Vera), which can effectively bind PARP1/2, could significantly inhibit PARP1/2 activity inside and outside the system. Moreover, it could enhance the sensitivity of oxaliplatin to low-expression P-glycoprotein (P-gP) tumor cells and strengthen its apoptosis-inducing effect on tumor cells under the reverse drug resistance concentration of tumor cells. Vera, which can reverse chemotherapy resistance of tumor cells, showed no simple correlations with oxaliplatin drug resistance or P-gP expression and could enhance the anti-tumor effect of platinum chemotherapeutic agents by influencing the PARP pathway.

Upregulation of Ubiquitin Carboxyl-Terminal Hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) Mediates the Reversal Effect of Verapamil on Chemo-Resistance to Adriamycin of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the role of ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) in the reversal effect of verapamil (VER) on chemo-resistance to Adriamycin (ADM) in treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIAL AND METHODS HCC cell lines SMMC-7721 and BEL-7402 were used as model cell lines. High-throughput transcriptome sequencing based on Illumina technology was used to screen whether UCHL1 mediated the reversal effect of VER on chemo-resistance. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to determine the expression level of UCHL1 mRNA in HCC cells, and western blot analysis was performed to examine the protein expression of UCHL1 protein in HCC cells. Immunohistochemistry assay was performed to determine the protein expression of UCHL1 in tissue samples from patients presenting with either positive or negative responses to the reversal therapeutic regimen of VER. Moreover, cell models with UCHL1 knockdown and overexpression were established to examine the reversal effect of VER on chemo-resistance to ADM in HCC cells. Cell apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry following Annexin V-PI staining. RESULTS The expression levels of UCHL1 genes correlated with the level of apoptosis induced by ADM+VER. Overexpression of UCHL1 genes promoted apoptosis in cells treated with VER+ADM. UCHL1 knockdown using siRNA weakened the effect of ADM+VER, indicating that ADM+VER promotes HCC cell apoptosis and that UCHL1 genes participate in VER-mediated promotion in tumor cell apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS Upregulation of UCHL1 enhanced the reversal effect of VER on chemo-resistance to ADM and promoted cell apoptosis. The underlying mechanism of the function of UCHL1 and the signaling pathway involved in its effect are to be investigated in our future research.

CDKN2B is critical for verapamil-mediated reversal of doxorubicin resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma.

In this study, we explored the function and mechanism of CDKN2B genes in verapamil (VER)-induced reversal of resistance to doxorubicin (ADM) chemotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We examined 4 HCC cell lines and found that the expression levels of CDKN2B genes correlated with the level of apoptosis induced by ADM+VER. Overexpression of CDKN2B genes promoted apoptosis in cells treated with VER+ADM. CDKN2B knockdown using siRNA weakened the effect of ADM+VER, indicating that ADM+VER promotes HCC cell apoptosis and that CDKN2B genes participate in VER-mediated promotion in tumor cell apoptosis. Future research will further explore the functional mechanism, and the associated signal transduction pathways via which CDKN2B affects HCC drug resistance.