In vitro inhibition of lipopolysaccharide and mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette Guérin-induced inflammatory cytokines and in vivo protection from D-galactosamine/LPS -mediated liver injury by the medicinal plant Sclerocarya birrea.

Sclerocarya birrea is a medicinal plant used for the treatment of inflammatory- and bacterial-related diseases. The present study investigated in vitro and in vivo the effects of the stem bark methanol extract of S. birrea. Nitrite, TNF, IL-1beta, IL-6 and IL-12p40 production by bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) pre-incubated with or without S. birrea, and stimulated with Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or infected with live Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) was evaluated. S. birrea extract inhibited, in a concentration-dependent manner, nitrite, TNF, IL-1beta, IL-6 and IL-12p40 production by BMDM stimulated with LPS or infected with live BCG. The iNOS expression was reduced by S. birrea after stimulation of BMDM with LPS. In addition, S. birrea inhibited the nuclear factor kB (NF-kB) activation by both LPS and BCG. The effects of the plant extract were also evaluated in an in vivo model of liver injury induced by D-galactosamine/LPS (D-GalN/LPS) administration in mice. S. birrea limited D-GalN/LPS-liver injury as assessed by a reduction in transaminases and TNF, IL-1beta, IL-6 serum levels, and translocation of NF-kB to the nucleus. Taken together, our data indicate that stem bark methanol extract of S. birrea possesses anti-inflammatory properties by inhibiting NF-kB activation and cytokine release induced by inflammatory or infectious stimuli.

Downregulation of ceramide synthase-6 during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition reduces plasma membrane fluidity and cancer cell motility.

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) promotes cell motility, which is important for the metastasis of malignant cells, and blocks CD95-mediated apoptotic signaling triggered by immune cells and chemotherapeutic regimens. CD95L, the cognate ligand of CD95, can be cleaved by metalloproteases and released as a soluble molecule (cl-CD95L). Unlike transmembrane CD95L, cl-CD95L does not induce apoptosis but triggers cell motility. Electron paramagnetic resonance was used to show that EMT and cl-CD95L treatment both led to augmentation of plasma membrane fluidity that was instrumental in inducing cell migration. Compaction of the plasma membrane is modulated, among other factors, by the ratio of certain lipids such as sphingolipids in the membrane. An integrative analysis of gene expression in NCI tumor cell lines revealed that expression of ceramide synthase-6 (CerS6) decreased during EMT. Furthermore, pharmacological and genetic approaches established that modulation of CerS6 expression/activity in cancer cells altered the level of C16-ceramide, which in turn influenced plasma membrane fluidity and cell motility. Therefore, this study identifies CerS6 as a novel EMT-regulated gene that has a pivotal role in the regulation of cell migration.