Cyclopeptide moroidin inhibits vasculogenic mimicry formed by glioblastoma cells via regulating ß-catenin activation and EMT pathways.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly vascularized malignant brain tumor with poor clinical outcomes. Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formed by aggressive GBM cells is an alternative approach for tumor blood supply and contributes to the failure of anti-angiogenic therapy (AAT). However, there are still a lack of the effective drugs that target VM formation in GBM. In the present study, we evaluate the effects of a plant cyclopeptide moroidin on VM formed by GBM cells and explore its underlying molecular mechanisms. Moroidin evidently suppressed migration, tube formation and expression of α-SMA and metalloproteinase-9 in human GBM cell lines at sub-lethal concentrations. RNA sequencing data suggested the involvement of EMT pathway in the mechanism of moroidin. Exposing GBM cells to moroidin, the expression of EMT marker N-Cadherin and Vimentin decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, moroidin significantly reduced the level of phosphorylated ERK and inhibited the activation ß-catenin. The plant cyclopeptide moroidin inhibited the VM formed by GBM cells by inhibiting ERK/ß-catenin-mediated EMT. Our study indicates a promising application of moroidin as an anti-VM agent to the treatment of GBM.

Synthesis and Bioevaluation of 3-(Arylmethylene)indole Derivatives: Discovery of a Novel ALK Modulator with Antiglioblastoma Activities.

Glioblastoma is the most common brain tumor, with high recurrence and low survival rates. An integrative bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is a promising therapeutic target for glioblastoma. We designed and synthesized a series of 3-(arylmethylene)indole derivatives, which were further evaluated for antiproliferative activity using glioma cell lines. Among them, compound 4a significantly inhibited the viability of glioblastoma cells. With favorable pharmacokinetic characteristics and blood-brain barrier permeability, 4a improved the survival rate and inhibited the growth of orthotopic glioblastoma. The Phospho-Totum system revealed that ALK was a potential target for the antiglioblastoma activity of 4a. Further experiments indicated that 4a might be a novel ALK modulator, which interacted with the extracellular ligand-binding domain of ALK, thus selectively induced ERK-mediated autophagy and apoptosis. Our findings provide an alternative ALK-based targeting strategy and a new drug candidate for glioblastoma therapy.

Divergent projections of the prelimbic cortex mediate autism- and anxiety-like behaviors.

The comorbidity of autism spectrum disorder and anxiety is common, but the underlying circuitry is poorly understood. Here, Tmem74-/- mice showed autism- and anxiety-like behaviors along with increased excitability of pyramidal neurons (PNs) in the prelimbic cortex (PL), which were reversed by Tmem74 re-expression and chemogenetic inhibition in PNs of the PL. To determine the underlying circuitry, we performed conditional deletion of Tmem74 in the PNs of PL of mice, and we found that alterations in the PL projections to fast-spiking interneurons (FSIs) in the dorsal striatum (dSTR) (PLPNs-dSTRFSIs) mediated the hyperexcitability of FSIs and autism-like behaviors and that alterations in the PL projections to the PNs of the basolateral amygdaloid nucleus (BLA) (PLPNs-BLAPNs) mediated the hyperexcitability of PNs and anxiety-like behaviors. However, the two populations of PNs in the PL had different spatial locations, optogenetic manipulations revealed that alterations in the activity in the PL-dSTR or PL-BLA circuits led to autism- or anxiety-like behaviors, respectively. Collectively, these findings highlight that the hyperactivity of the two populations of PNs in the PL mediates autism and anxiety comorbidity through the PL-dSTR and PL-BLA circuits, which may lead to the development of new therapeutics for the autism and anxiety comorbidity.

Phosphorylated protein chip combined with artificial intelligence tools for precise drug screening.

We have developed a protein array system, named "Phospho-Totum", which reproduces the phosphorylation state of a sample on the array. The protein array contains 1471 proteins from 273 known signaling pathways. According to the activation degrees of tyrosine kinases in the sample, the corresponding groups of substrate proteins on the array are phosphorylated under the same conditions. In addition to measuring the phosphorylation levels of the 1471 substrates, we have developed and performed the artificial intelligence-assisted tools to further characterize the phosphorylation state and estimate pathway activation, tyrosine kinase activation, and a list of kinase inhibitors that produce phosphorylation states similar to that of the sample. The Phospho-Totum system, which seamlessly links and interrogates the measurements and analyses, has the potential to not only elucidate pathophysiological mechanisms in diseases by reproducing the phosphorylation state of samples, but also be useful for drug discovery, particularly for screening targeted kinases for potential drug kinase inhibitors.

Inhibition of p38 and ERK1/2 pathways by Sparstolonin B suppresses inflammation-induced melanoma metastasis.

BACKGROUND: Cancer related inflammation plays a fatal role in the metastatic process, which can foster tumor growth, angiogenesis and dissemination. Sparstolonin B (SsnB), derived from Chinese medicine of the tubers of Scirpus yagara, is a TLR2 and TLR4 antagonists. It has exhibited multiple activities of anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-obesity and anti-hepatitis. However, whether SsnB is involved in the regulation of inflammation-induced tumor metastasis is not well elucidated. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of SsnB as a treatment of inflammation-induced tumor metastasis and identify the underlying mechanisms of its anti-tumor metastatic activity. METHOD: The anti-tumor metastatic activity in vitro was estimated by MTT, wound-healing assay, matrigel invasion analysis and extracellular matrix adhesion assay. Mice lung metastasis and hepatic metastasis experiments were performed to assess the activities in vivo. Lungs or livers were weighed and the number of metastatic nodules was determined after mice were sacrificed. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the serum, lungs and livers were detected by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Micro-metastasis nodules in lungs or livers were analyzed by histological examination. Immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis were conducted to determine protein expression. RESULT: Herein, SsnB dose-dependently inhibited cell migration and invasion in mouse melanoma B16 cells with or without stimulation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), Pam3csk4 or molecules from damaged tumor cells (DTC-Ms). The expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2 was also significantly abated by SsnB in LPS-modulated B16 cells. And SsnB reduced LPS-activated B16 cells adhesion to extracellular matrix components collagen I and fibronectin in a dose-dependent manner. In vivo, SsnB obviously attenuated LPS-activated pulmonary metastasis in mice by reduction the number of metastatic nodules on the lung surfaces, lung weight and levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 in serums and lungs. Moreover, in experimental hepatic metastasis model mice, SsnB remarkably repressed LPS-stimulated the number of metastatic nodules along with liver weight; and SsnB significantly suppressed LPS-activated increase levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in livers. Immunohistochemistry analysis indicated that SsnB inhibited the expression of TLR4 in livers. Furthermore, SsnB remarkably blocked p38 and ERK1/2 signaling pathway in LPS-induced B16 cells. P38 and ERK1/2 signaling silencing, using BIRB0796 (small molecular inhibitor of p38 MAPK) and PD184352 (inhibitor of MEK1/2 kinases that activate ERK1/2), significantly abated LPS-induced migration and invasion of B16 cells. CONCLUSION: The present study reports a novel use of SsnB in mitigating TLRs ligands-induced melanoma metastasis by inhibition of p38 and ERK1/2 pathway.

Chemical constituents from the tubers of Scirpus yagara and their anti-inflammatory activities.

A new natural compound, dehydrophyllodulcin (1) was isolated from the tubers of Scirpus yagara, together with 11 known compounds. Among them, compounds 2, 5-8, and 10-12 were isolated from this plant for the first time. (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, and 2D NMR data of compound 1 are first reported in this article, though it was synthesized in 1996. The structures of all compounds were determined by comprehensive analyses of their spectroscopic data and compared with literature information. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory effects of compounds 1, 3, 4, 6, and 9 against inflammatory cytokines production in Lipopolysaccharide - or Pam3csk4-stimulated macrophage RAW264.7 cells were evaluated by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. And these compounds significantly inhibited the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6 productions in RAW264.7 cells, with IC50 values less than 20 µM.

Simultaneous HPLC Quantitative Analysis of Nine Bioactive Constituents in Scirpus Yagara Ohwi. (Cyperaceae).

The tuber of Scirpus yagara Ohwi. (Cyperaceae) has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Several chemical constituents isolated from it possess a variety of physiologically activities such as anti-inflammatory, antitumor and antioxidant. A simultaneous high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis was developed and validated for the determination of nine active components in tubers and aerial parts of S. yagara. The analysis was performed on a YMC-Pack ODS-A column (4.6 × 250 mm, 5 µm, 30 nm) with a multilinear gradient mobile phase of water-formic acid (100 : 0.2, v/v) and methanol. The established HPLC method was validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, precision, accuracy, recovery and stability. All analyzed components were detected in the whole tested samples, and the contents of most components in the aerial parts were even higher than those in the tubers. Moreover, the best harvest period was discovered to be November, which is different from the traditional. The method developed was successfully applied for simultaneous qualitative and quantitative analysis of nine active components in S. yagara.

[Influence of integration of fracture treatment and exercise rehabilitation on effectiveness in patients with intertrochanteric fracture of femur].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of the integration of fracture treatment and exercise rehabilitation on the effectiveness in the patients with intertrochanteric fracture of femur. METHODS: Between January 2007 and December 2009, 3 873 patients with intertrochanteric fracture of femur were surgically treated in 56 hospitals. Of them, 1 970 cases were treated with rehabilitation training according to scale of safety assessment of early exercise rehabilitation of patients with fractures (trial group), 1 903 cases were treated with traditional rehabilitation training methods (control group). There was no significant difference in age, gender, fracture type, internal fixation type, or postoperative safety score between 2 groups (P > 0.05). RESULTS: All the patients were followed up 13-49 months (mean, 30.5 months). There was no significant difference in the incidences of bone nonunion, delayed union, and systemic complication between 2 groups (P > 0.05); significant differences were found in the incidences of incision complication, deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremity, and the overall complication between 2 groups (P < 0.05). At 6 and 12 months after operation, the trial group was significantly better than the control group in the recovery of hip motion, curative effectiveness classification, and the excellent and good rate (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The treatment of intertrochanteric fracture of the femur guided by the integration of fracture treatment and exercise rehabilitation can apparently improve the prognosis and reduce the incidence of complications.