Pachypodol protects newborn rats from anaesthesia-induced apoptosis in the developing brain by regulating the JNK/ERK pathway

Integrating network pharmacology and experimental verification to reveal the ferroptosis-associated mechanism of Changpu-Yizhi-Wan in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

To explore the pharmacological mechanism of Changpu-Yizhi-Wan (CYW) in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) from the perspective of ferroptosis based on network pharmacology and experimental verification. The Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2.0 (ETCM2.0) database was used to collect the active components of CYW, and the putative targets were predicted in ETCM2.0 and SwissTargetPrediction database. The AD related targets were collected from GeneCards, comparative toxicogenomics database (CTD), Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), DisGeNET and Therapeutic Target Database (TTD), the ferroptosis related targets were collected from FerrDb V2 database, and the common targets of CYW, AD and ferroptosis were calculated by Venny2.1 platform. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis was performed by STRING database, and the active compounds-target network and the PPI network were constructed using Cytoscape software. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Reactome pathway enrichment analysis were performed through DAVID database. RSL3 was used to induce HT22 cells to establish a neuronal ferroptosis cell model, and the inhibitory effect of CYW on neuronal ferroptosis was evaluated by cell viability assay, intracellular iron assay and lipid peroxidation staining. The ferroptosis-associated key protein expressions of Nrf2, SLC7A11, GPX4 and FTH1 were detected by Western blot. A total of 100 candidate compounds were identified from CYW, and 1129 putative targets were obtained. 3924 AD-related targets and 564 ferroptosis-related targets were collected, respectively. There were 78 common targets between them and CYW targets, which were potential targets for CYW to regulate ferroptosis in the treatment of AD. PPI network analysis identified 10 key targets, including TP53, IL6, STAT3, HIF1A, NFE2L2, and others. GO, KEGG and Reactome enrichment analysis showed that 78 potential targets were involved in the regulation of ferroptosis and Nrf2-mediated gene transcription. Molecular docking showed that some active components of CYW had good affinity with Nrf2. In RSL3-induced HT22 cells, CYW significantly improved cell viability, reduced intracellular iron levels and inhibited lipid peroxidation, and improved the protein expression of Nrf2, SLC7A11, GPX4 and FTH1. The pharmacological mechanism of CYW in the treatment of AD may be related to the regulation of Nrf2/SLC7A11/GPX4/FTH1 axis to inhibit neuronal ferroptosis.

Natural pachypodol integrated, lung targeted and inhaled lipid nanomedicine ameliorates acute lung injury via anti-inflammation and repairing lung barrier

Acute lung injury (ALI) or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a high-mortality disease caused by multiple disorders such as COVID-19, influenza, and sepsis. Current therapies mainly rely on the inhalation of nitric oxide or injection of pharmaceutical drugs (e.g., glucocorticoids); however, their toxicity, side effects, or administration routes limit their clinical application. In this study, pachypodol (Pac), a hydrophobic flavonol with anti-inflammatory effects, was extracted from Pogostemon cablin Benth and intercalated in liposomes (Pac@liposome, Pac-lipo) to improve its solubility, biodistribution, and bioavailability, aiming at enhanced ALI/ARDS therapy. Nanosized Pac-lipo was confirmed to have stable physical properties, good biodistribution, and reliable biocompatibility. In vitro tests proved that Pac-lipo has anti-inflammatory property and protective effects on endothelial and epithelial barriers in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced macrophages and endothelial cells, respectively. Further, the roles of Pac-lipo were validated on treating LPS-induced ALI in mice. Pac-lipo showed better effects than did Pac alone on relieving ALI phenotypes: It significantly attenuated lung index, improved pulmonary functions, inhibited cytokine expression such as TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and iNOS in lung tissues, alleviated lung injury shown by HE staining, reduced protein content and total cell number in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and repaired lung epithelial and vascular endothelial barriers. As regards the underlying mechanisms, RNA sequencing results showed that the effects of the drugs were associated with numerous immune- and inflammation-related signaling pathways. Molecular docking and western blotting demonstrated that Pac-lipo inhibited the activation of the TLR4-MyD88-NF-κB/MAPK signaling pathway. Taken together, for the first time, our new drug (Pac-lipo) ameliorates ALI via inhibition of TLR4-MyD88-NF-κB/MAPK pathway-mediated inflammation and disruption of lung barrier. These findings may provide a promising strategy for ALI treatment in the clinic.

Pachypodol attenuates Perfluorooctane sulphonate-induced testicular damage by reducing oxidative stress

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is an endocrine disruptor chemical (EDC) with potentially adverse effects on the male reproductive system. Pachypodol (5,4'-dihydroxy-3,7,3'-trimethoxyflavone) is a promising flavonoid isolated from Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth that shows a broad range of pharmacological properties. However, the potential curative effects of pachypodol on testicular toxicity are not available until now. Therefore, this research was proposed to examine the efficiency of pachypodol against PFOS-induced testicular toxicity in adult male rats. The experiments were conducted on Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 48), which were equally distributed into four groups: control, PFOS (20 mg/kg), PFOS + Pachypodol (20 mg/kg + 10 mg/kg respectively), and Pachypodol (10 mg/kg). After 56 days of treatment, testes were excised by slaughtering rats, weighed, and stored till further analysis. The estimated parameters include biochemical markers, spermatogenic indices, hormonal and histopathological profiles. PFOS exposure disturbed the biochemical profile by altering the antioxidant/oxidant balance. For instance, it decreased the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GSR) while increasing the concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). PFOS intoxication also led to a notable decline in viability, motility, epididymal sperm count, and the number of HOS coiled-tail sperms, whereas the higher level of abnormality in the head, mid-piece, and tail of sperms were observed. Besides, it lowered luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and plasma testosterone. In addition, PFOS exposure led to histopathological damages in testicles. However, pachypodol treatment potently alleviated all the illustrated impairments in testes. Conclusively, our results demonstrate the promising free-radical scavenging activity of pachypodol, a novel phytochemical, against the PFOS-instigated testicular dysfunctions.

Crystal structure of a second modification of Pachypodol, C18H16O7

C18H16O7, monoclinic, P21/c (no. 14), a = 7.3948(3) Å, b = 24.2947(9) Å, c = 17.3201(6) Å, β = 93.063(1)°, V = 3107.2(2) Å3, Z = 4, R gt (F) = 0.0427, wR ref (F 2) = 0.1241, T = 300(2) K.