Effect of magnetic resonance imaging in liver metastases.

This letter to the editor is a commentary on a study titled "Liver metastases: The role of magnetic resonance imaging." Exploring a noninvasive imaging evaluation system for the biological behavior of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the key to achieving precise diagnosis and treatment and improving prognosis. This review summarizes the role of magnetic resonance imaging in the detection and evaluation of liver metastases, describes its main imaging features, and focuses on the added value of the latest imaging tools (such as T1 weighted in phase imaging, T1 weighted out of phase imaging; diffusion-weighted imaging, T2 weighted imaging). In this study, I investigated the necessity and benefits of gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid for HCC diagnostic testing and prognostic evaluation.

Dolominol a and B, two new neolignans from Dolomiaea souliei (Franch.) C.Shih.

Two new neolignans, dolominol A (1) and dolominol B (2), together with 12 known lignans, erythro-(7S,8R)-guaiacyl-glycerol-ß-O-4'-dihydroconiferyl ether (3), threo-(7R,​8R)-1-​(4-​hydroxy-​3-​methoxyphenyl)​-​2-{4-[(E)-​3-​hydroxy-​1-​propen​yl)​]-​2-​methoxyphenoxy}-1,​3-​propanediol (4), (-)-dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (5), (-)-massoniresinol (6), vladinol D (7), syringaresinol (8), prinsepiol (9), medioresinol (10), (+)-pinoresinol (11), 2α-guaicyl-4-oxo-6α-catechyl-3,7-dioxabicyclo [3.3.0]octane (12), cycloolivil (13), isolariciresinol (14) were isolated from Dolomiaea souliei (Franch.) C.Shih. Their structures were determined by UV, CD, HR-ESI-TOFMS, 1 D and 2 D NMR experiments. Their hepatoprotective effect against LPS-induced L-02 cells injury was also studied. Result revealed that compound 4 showed best protective effect on LPS-induced L-02 cells.

Antiprostate Cancer Activity of Ineupatolide Isolated from Carpesium cernuum L.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the antiprostate cancer effects and mechanism of ineupatolide (T-21), a natural product isolated from the Compositae plant Carpesium cernuum L., on PC-3 human prostate cancer cells. METHODS: The effect of T-21 on the proliferation of PC-3 cells was detected by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, cell migration, and invasion experiments; the morphology of cell apoptosis was observed by Hoechst-propidium iodide staining; the effects of T-21 on PC-3 cell apoptosis and the cell cycle were evaluated by flow cytometry; and the effect of T-21 on the expression levels of phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-AKT), AKT, X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (xlAP), procaspase-3, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) in PC-3 cells was measured by western blotting. RESULTS: T-21 significantly inhibited the proliferation of cells, and its half-maximal inhibitory concentrations at 12, 24, and 48 h were 38.46 ± 1.01, 24.63 ± 0.70, and 7.36 ± 0.58 µM, respectively. T-21 may promote cell apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner and block the cell cycle in the G2 and S phases. In addition, T-21 significantly reduced the protein expression levels of p-AKT, AKT, xlAP, procaspase-3, and PARP. CONCLUSION: T-21 exhibits antiproliferation effects on PC-3 cells by promoting apoptosis and arresting the cell cycle in the G2 and S phases. The possible mechanism underlying its potential therapeutic effects against prostate cancer is related to the AKT/xlAP pathway.

The hepatoprotective effects of Sedum sarmentosum extract and its isolated major constituent through Nrf2 activation and NF-κB inhibition.

BACKGROUND: Sedum sarmentosum, which is recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, has been applied clinically to treat liver and gallbladder diseases. PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the hepatoprotective effect of S. sarmentosum less polar extract (SSE) against ANIT-induced liver injury in rats, and the protective activity and mechanism of one major constituent isolated from this extract on D-GalN-induced human hepatic QSG7701 cell damage. METHODS: Rats were divided into groups and then administrated intragastrically with SSE at doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg for 7 days. They were modeled in the experiments with ANIT (70 mg/kg) to induce liver injury after the sixth day administration. The levels of serum biochemical markers ALT, AST, ALP, GGT/γ-GT, DBiL, TBiL, ALB, TP, and bile flow rate, as well as the histopathology of the liver tissue were used as indices of liver damage and measured. The inflammatory response and oxidative stress were thought to be key contributors to ANIT-induced liver injury in rats. Therefore, the inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-4) and oxidative stress (ROS, SOD, GSH-PX) were measured in the serum and liver homogenates, respectively. Next, phytochemical research was performed to produce the main component, and the isolated compound was evaluated for its hepatoprotective activity against QSG7701 cell injured by D-GalN through the measurement of cell viabilities, ALT, AST, IL-1ß, TNF-α, IL-6, ROS, GSH-PX and SOD productions. Furthermore, the protein expression of the Nrf2 and NF-κB pathways were analyzed by western blotting. RESULTS: SSE had an obvious effect on the decreases of ALT, AST, ALP, GGT/γ-GT, DBiL and TBiL levels, the increases of ALB and TP levels in serum, and the ANIT-induced deceleration in bile flow for liver injury. Meanwhile, SSE pretreatment alleviated ANIT-induced liver pathological injuries exhibited by HE stain of the liver. Moreover, SSE significantly suppressed levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IFN-γ, and elevated level of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-4 in serum. SSE also attenuated oxidative stress by reducing ROS level and by enhancing antioxidative enzymes (SOD and GSH-PX) activities after ANIT administration in liver tissue. Further, the major compound shown in HPLC was isolated from SSE. Its structure was identified by the spectroscopic data analysis and comparison with literature values. The principal constituent had potent protective effect on D-GalN-induced QSG7701 cells damage in a dose dependent manner with survival rates of 58.2% and 69.5% at 10 µM and 20 µM, respectively. Its cytoprotective effect was associated with the reduction of ALT, AST, IL-1ß, TNF-α, IL-6 and ROS levels, and the elevation of GSH-PX and SOD productions in QSG7701 cells induced by D-GalN. Western blotting showed that this compound enhanced the expression of Nrf2, HO1, NQO1 and GCLC, and inhibited D-GalN-induced IκBα and NF-κB p65 phosphorylation. CONCLUSIONS: Current study showed that SSE treatment exerted a protective effect on ANIT-induced liver injury. The main compound δ-amyrone isolated from the extract was characterized as the effective component with hepatoprotective activity by promoting Nrf2 antioxidant defense and suppressing NF-κB inflammatory response.

[Herpetolide C:one new 7H-dibenzo[c,e]oxepin-5-one from Herpetospermum caudigerum].

The chemical constituents of Herpetospermum caudigerum were investigated using chromatographic methods, including silica gel column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 and semi-preparative HPLC. Four compounds were isolated and their structures were elucidated by spectral data and physicochemical properties, which were identified as 2,11-dimethoxy-3,9-dihydroxy-7 H-dibenzo[c,e]oxepin-5-one (1),7,8'-didehydroherpetotriol(2), herpetotrio l(3) and kaempferitrin (4). Among those, compound 1 is one new 7H-dibenzo[c,e]oxepin-5-one, named as herpetolide C.