Hepatoprotection of emodin and Polygonum multiflorum against CCl(4)-induced liver injury.

CONTEXT: Polygonum multiflorum is known as a medicinal plant. It has been used as a folk medicine which showed antioxidative property. OBJECTIVE: Protective effects of the water extracts (w/v:1/10) from fresh P. multiflorum (WEP) on carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced liver damage in rats were investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CCl(4) was used for inducing liver damage of SD rats, and WEP and emodin were fed for eight consecutive weeks. RESULTS: We found that emodin levels in fresh WEP was higher than that in ripening WEP. Rats were administered WEP and emodin, the main active compound, for 56 consecutive days. WEP significantly lowered the serum levels of hepatic enzyme markers, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and reduced the generation of malonaldehyde. Treatment with WEP recovered glutathione S-transferase and catalase activity in rats as compared to treatment with CCl(4) alone. In addition, serum tumor necrosis factor-α, an inflammatory marker, was found to decrease in rats treated with WEP. In histopathological evaluation, fatty degeneration and necrosis were found to be significantly decreased in the CCl(4) plus WEP treatment group. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: WEP may be effective in attenuating liver damage by reducing lipid peroxidation as well as by positively modulating inflammation.

Long noncoding RNA DLEU2 drives the malignant behaviors of thyroid cancer through mediating the miR-205-5p/TNFAIP8 axis.

OBJECTIVE: Considering the plight in thyroid cancer therapy, we aimed to find novel therapeutic targets from a molecular perspective. METHODS: Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot assay were carried out to determine RNA and protein expression. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay, flow cytometry, transwell migration assay and aerobic glycolysis analysis were performed to analyze cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and aerobic glycolysis of thyroid cancer cells. MiRcode and Starbase software were used to search the downstream genes of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) deleted in lymphocytic leukemia 2 (DLEU2) and microRNA-205-5p (miR-205-5p), and the intermolecular combination was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay. The in vivo role of DLEU2 in tumor growth was verified using the murine xenograft model. RESULTS: DLEU2 and tumor necrosis factor-α-induced protein 8 (TNFAIP8) were highly expressed in thyroid cancer tissues and cell lines. DLEU2 and TNRAIP8 promoted the proliferation, migration and aerobic glycolysis and restrained the apoptosis of thyroid cancer cells. DLEU2/miR-205-5p/TNFAIP8 signaling axis was identified in thyroid cancer cells. TNFAIP8 overexpression largely rescued the malignant phenotypes in DLEU2-silenced thyroid cancer cells. DLEU2 positively regulated TNFAIP8 expression by acting as miR-205-5p sponge in thyroid cancer cells. DLEU2 silencing blocked the growth of xenograft tumors in vivo. CONCLUSION: lncRNA DLEU2 exerted a pro-tumor role to promote proliferation, migration and aerobic glycolysis while repressing the apoptosis of thyroid cancer cells via miR-205-5p/TNFAIP8 axis.