Protective effects of berberine hydrochloride on DSS-induced ulcerative colitis in rats.

Strobilanthes cusia (Nees) Kuntze is a Chinese herbal medicine used in the treatment of respiratory virus infections. The methanol extract of S. cusia leaf contains chemical components such as β-sitosterol, indirubin, tryptanthrin, betulin, indigodole A, and indigodole B that have diverse biological activities. However, the antiviral action of S. cusia leaf and its components against human coronavirus remains to be elucidated. Human coronavirus NL63 infection is frequent among immunocompromised individuals, young children, and in the elderly. This study investigated the anti-Human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63) activity of the methanol extract of S. cusia leaf and its major components. The methanol extract of S. cusia leaf effectively inhibited the cytopathic effect (CPE) and virus yield (IC50 = 0.64 μg/mL) in HCoV-NL63-infected cells. Moreover, this extract potently inhibited the HCoV-NL63 infection in a concentration-dependent manner. Among the six components identified in the methanol extract of S. cusia leaf, tryptanthrin and indigodole B (5aR-ethyltryptanthrin) exhibited potent antiviral activity in reducing the CPE and progeny virus production. The IC50 values against virus yield were 1.52 μM and 2.60 μM for tryptanthrin and indigodole B, respectively. Different modes of time-of-addition/removal assay indicated that tryptanthrin prevented the early and late stages of HCoV-NL63 replication, particularly by blocking viral RNA genome synthesis and papain-like protease 2 activity. Notably, tryptanthrin (IC50 = 0.06 μM) and indigodole B (IC50 = 2.09 μM) exhibited strong virucidal activity as well. This study identified tryptanthrin as the key active component of S. cusia leaf methanol extract that acted against HCoV-NL63 in a cell-type independent manner. The results specify that tryptanthrin possesses antiviral potential against HCoV-NL63 infection.

https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/10/3/366/pdf

Antiviral Action of Tryptanthrin Isolated from Strobilanthes cusia Leaf against Human Coronavirus NL63.

Objectives The correlations between long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and diverse mammal diseases have been clarified by many researches, but the cognition about bovine mastitis-related lncRNAs remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the potential role of lncRNA X-inactive specific transcript (XIST) in the inflammatory response of bovine mammary epithelial cells. Materials and methods Two inflammatory bovine mammary alveolar cell-T (MAC-T) models were established by infecting the cells with Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines were measured, and the proliferation, viability and apoptosis of the inflammatory cells were evaluated after XIST was knocked down by an siRNA. The relationship among XIST, NF-κB pathway and NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome was investigated using an inhibitor of NF-κB signal pathway. Results The expression of XIST was abnormally increased in bovine mastitic tissues and inflammatory MAC-T cells. Silencing of XIST significantly increased the expression of E. coli or S. aureus-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines. Additionally, knockdown of XIST could inhibit cell proliferation, suppress cell viability and promote cell apoptosis under inflammatory conditions. Furthermore, XIST inhibited E. coli or S. aureus-induced NF-κB phosphorylation and the production of NLRP3 inflammasome. Conclusions The expression of XIST was promoted by activated NF-κB pathway and, in turn, XIST generated a negative feedback loop to regulate NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome pathway for mediating the process of inflammation.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/cpr.12525

LncRNA XIST mediates bovine mammary epithelial cell inflammatory response via NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome pathway

Pyroptosis belongs to a novel inflammatory programmed cell death pathway, with the possible prognosis of endometrial cancer related to the terminal protein GSDMD. Hydrogen exerts a biphasic effect on cancer by promoting tumor cell death and protecting normal cells, which might initiate GSDMD pathway-mediated pyroptosis. We performed immunohistochemical staining and western immunoblotting analysis to observe expression of NLRP3, caspase-1, and GSDMD in human and xenograft mice endometrial cancer tissue and cell lines. We investigated treatment with hydrogen could boost ROS accumulation in endometrial cancer cells by intracellular and mitochondrial sources. GSDMD shRNA lentivirus was used to transfect endometrial cancer cells to investigate the function of GSDMD protein in pyroptosis. Propidium iodide (PI) staining, TUNEL assay, measurement of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and IL-1β ELISA were used to analysis pyroptosis between hydrogen-supplemented or normal culture medium. We conducted in vivo human endometrial tumor xenograft mice model to observe anti-tumor effect in hydrogen supplementation. We observed overexpression of NLRP3, caspase-1, and GSDMD in human endometrial cancer and cell lines by IHC and western immunoblotting. Hydrogen pretreatment upregulated ROS and the expression of pyroptosis-related proteins, and increased the number of PI- and TUNEL-positive cells, as well as the release of LDH and IL-1β, however, GSDMD depletion reduced their release. We further demonstrated that hydrogen supplementation in mice was sufficient for the anti-tumor effect to inhibit xenograft volume and weight of endometrial tumors, as mice subjected to hydrogen-rich water displayed decreased radiance. Tumor tissue sections in the HRW groups presented moderate-to-strong positive expression of NLRP3, caspase-1 and GSDMD. Hydrogen attenuated tumor volume and weight in a xenograft mouse model though the pyroptotic pathway. This study extended our original analysis of the ability of hydrogen to stimulate NLRP3 inflammasome/GSDMD activation in pyroptosis and revealed possible mechanism (s) for improvement of anti-tumor effects in the clinical management of endometrial cancer.

/pdf/hydrogen-inhibits-endometrial-cancer-growth-via-a-ros-nlrp3-4xbxspv22l.pdf

Hydrogen inhibits endometrial cancer growth via a ROS/NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD-mediated pyroptotic pathway

Anti-inflammatory effects of Aureusidin in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages via suppressing NF-κB and activating ROS- and MAPKs-dependent Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathways.

Indirubin plays an important role in the treatment of many chronic diseases and exhibits strong anti-inflammatory activity. However, the molecular mode of action during mastitis prophylaxis remains poorly understood. In this study, a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mastitis mouse model showed that indirubin attenuated histopathological changes in the mammary gland, local tissue necrosis, and neutrophil infiltration. Moreover, indirubin significantly downregulated the production of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). We explored the mechanism whereby indirubin exerts protective effects against LPS-induced inflammation of mouse mammary epithelial cells (MMECs). The addition of different concentrations of indirubin before exposure of cells to LPS for 1 h significantly attenuated inflammation and reduced the concentrations of the three inflammatory cytokines in a dose-dependent manner. Indirubin downregulated LPS-induced cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression, inhibited phosphorylation of the LPS-induced nuclear transcription factor-kappa B (NF-kB) P65 protein and its inhibitor IkBα of the NF-kB signaling pathway. Furthermore, indirubin suppressed phosphorylation of P38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal pathways. Thus, indirubin effectively suppressed LPS-induced inflammation via TLR4 abrogation mediated by the NF-kB and MAPK signaling pathways and may be useful for mastitis prophylaxis.

Indirubin Inhibits LPS-Induced Inflammation via TLR4 Abrogation Mediated by the NF-kB and MAPK Signaling Pathways.

Indirubin is a Chinese medicine extracted from indigo and known to be effective for treating chronic myelogenous leukemia, neoplasia, and inflammatory disease. This study evaluated the in vivo anti-inflammatory activity of indirubin in a lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced mouse mastitis model. The indirubin mechanism and targets were evaluated in vitro in mouse mammary epithelial cells. In the mouse model, indirubin significantly attenuated the severity of inflammatory lesions, edema, inflammatory hyperemia, milk stasis and local tissue necrosis, and neutrophil infiltration. Indirubin significantly decreased myeloperoxidase activity and downregulated the production of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and IL-6 caused by LPS. In vitro, indirubin inhibited LPS-stimulated expression of proinflammatory cytokines in a dose-dependent manner. It also downregulated LPS-induced toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression and inhibited phosphorylation of LPS-induced nuclear transcription factor-kappa B (NF-κB) P65 protein and inhibitor of kappa B. In addition to its effect on the NF-κB signaling pathway, indirubin suppressed the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling by inhibiting phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), P38, and c-jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK). Indirubin improved LPS-induced mouse mastitis by suppressing TLR4 and downstream NF-κB and MAPK pathway inflammatory signals and might be a potential treatment of mastitis and other inflammatory diseases.

/pdf/indirubin-treatment-of-lipopolysaccharide-induced-mastitis-4bjwek93mx.pdf

Indirubin Treatment of Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Mastitis in a Mouse Model and Activity in Mouse Mammary Epithelial Cells.

Diflubenzuron is an insecticide that serves as a chitin inhibitor to restrict the growth of many harmful larvae, including mosquito larvae, cotton bollworm and flies. The residue of diflubenzuron is often detected in aquaculture, but its potential toxicity to aquatic organisms is still obscure. In this study, zebrafish embryos (from 6 h to 96 h post-fertilization, hpf) were exposed to different concentrations of diflubenzuron (0, 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 mg/L), and the morphologic changes, mortality rate, hatchability rate and average heart rate were calculated. Diflubenzuron exposure increased the distance between the venous sinus and bulbar artery (SV-BA), inhibited proliferation of myocardial cells and damaged vascular development. In addition, diflubenzuron exposure also induced contents of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and inhibited the activity of antioxidants, including SOD (superoxide dismutase) and CAT (catalase). Moreover, acridine orange (AO) staining showed that diflubenzuron exposure increased the apoptotic cells in the heart. Q-PCR also indicated that diflubenzuron exposure promoted the expression of apoptosis-related genes (bax, bcl2, p53, caspase3 and caspase9). However, the expression of some heart-related genes were inhibited. The oxidative stress-induced apoptosis damaged the cardiac development of zebrafish embryos. Therefore, diflubenzuron exposure induced severe cardiotoxicity in zebrafish embryos. The results contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the safety use of diflubenzuron.

/pdf/diflubenzuron-induces-cardiotoxicity-in-zebrafish-embryos-1j7kw7cu.pdf

Jin-lun Lai

Papers

Indirubin Inhibits LPS-Induced Inflammation via TLR4 Abrogation Mediated by the NF-kB and MAPK Signaling Pathways.

Indirubin Treatment of Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Mastitis in a Mouse Model and Activity in Mouse Mammary Epithelial Cells.

Diflubenzuron Induces Cardiotoxicity in Zebrafish Embryos