Matrine Suppresses the ER-positive MCF Cells by Regulating Energy Metabolism and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Signaling Pathway

A review on the mechanisms underlying the antitumor effects of natural products by targeting the endoplasmic reticulum stress apoptosis pathway

Cancer poses a substantial risk to human life and wellbeing as a result of its elevated incidence and fatality rates. Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) is an important pathway that regulates cellular homeostasis. When ERS is under- or overexpressed, it activates the protein kinase R (PKR)-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK)-, inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1)- and activating transcription Factor 6 (ATF6)-related apoptotic pathways to induce apoptosis. Tumor cells and microenvironment are susceptible to ERS, making the modulation of ERS a potential therapeutic approach for treating tumors. The use of natural products to treat tumors has substantially progressed, with various extracts demonstrating antitumor effects. Nevertheless, there are few reports on the effectiveness of natural products in inducing apoptosis by specifically targeting and regulating the ERS pathway. Further investigation and elaboration of its mechanism of action are still needed. This paper examines the antitumor mechanism of action by which natural products exert antitumor effects from the perspective of ERS regulation to provide a theoretical basis and new research directions for tumor therapy.

A newly developed consortium with a highly efficient thiocyanate degradation capacity: A comprehensive investigation of the degradation and detoxification potential

Thiocyanate-containing wastewater harms ecosystems and can cause serious damage to animals and plants, so it is urgent to treat it effectively. In this study, a new efficient thiocyanate-degrading consortium was developed and its degradation characteristics were studied. It was found that up to 154.64 mM thiocyanate could be completely degraded by this consortium over 6 days of incubation, with a maximum degradation rate of 1.53 mM h^-1. High-throughput sequencing analysis showed that Thiobacillus (77.78%) was the predominant thiocyanate-degrading bacterial genus. Plant toxicology tests showed that the germination index of mung bean and rice seeds cultured with media obtained after thiocyanate degradation by the consortium increased by 94% and 84.83%, respectively, compared with the control group without thiocyanate degradation. Cytotoxicity tests showed that thiocyanate without degradation significantly decreased the Neuro-2a cell activity and mitochondrial membrane potential; induced reactive oxygen species generation and apoptosis; increased the cellular Ca²⁺ concentration; and damaged the cell nucleus and DNA. Furthermore, the thiocyanate degradation products produced the consortium were almost totally non-toxic, revealing the same characteristics as those of the control using distilled water. This study shows that the consortium has a high degradation efficiency and detoxification characteristics, as well as great application potential in bioremediation of industrial thiocyanate-containing wastewater.

Research Advances on Matrine

Matrine is an alkaloid extracted from traditional Chinese herbs including Sophora flavescentis, Sophora alopecuroides, Sophora root, etc. It has the dual advantages of traditional Chinese herbs and chemotherapy drugs. It exhibits distinct benefits in preventing and improving chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and tumors. The review introduced recent research progresses on extraction, synthesis and derivatization of Matrine. The summary focused on the latest research advances of Matrine on anti-atherosclerosis, anti-hypertension, anti-ischemia reperfusion injury, anti-arrhythmia, anti-diabetic cardiovascular complications, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterium, anti-virus, which would provide new core structures and new insights for new drug development in related fields.

Metabolic reprogramming by traditional Chinese medicine and its role in effective cancer therapy

Metabolic reprogramming, characterized by alterations of cellular metabolic patterns, is fundamentally important in supporting the malignant behaviors of cancer cells. It is considered as a promising therapeutic target against cancer. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and its bioactive components have been used in cancer therapy for an extended period, and they are well-known for their multi-target pharmacological functions and fewer side effects. However, the detailed and advanced mechanisms underlying the anticancer activities of TCM remain obscure. In this review, we summarized the critical processes of cancer cell metabolic reprogramming, including glycolysis, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, glutaminolysis, and fatty acid biosynthesis. Moreover, we systemically reviewed the regulatory effects of TCM and its bioactive ingredients on metabolic enzymes and/or signal pathways that may impede cancer progress. A total of 46 kinds of TCMs was reported to exert antitumor effects and/or act as chemosensitizers via regulating metabolic processes of cancer cells, and multiple targets and signaling pathways were revealed to contribute to the metabolic-modulating functions of TCM. In conclusion, TCM has its advantages in ameliorating cancer cell metabolic reprogramming by its poly-pharmacological actions. This review may shed some new light on the explicit recognition of the mechanisms of anticancer actions of TCM, leading to the development of natural antitumor drugs based on reshaping cancer cell metabolism.

Potential therapeutic compounds from traditional Chinese medicine targeting endoplasmic reticulum stress to alleviate rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease which affects about 0.5-1% of people with symptoms that significantly impact a sufferer's lifestyle. The cells involved in propagating RA tend to display pro-inflammatory and cancer-like characteristics. Medical drug treatment is currently the main avenue of RA therapy. However, drug options are limited due to severe side effects, high costs, insufficient disease retardation in a majority of patients, and therapeutic effects possibly subsiding over time. Thus there is a need for new drug therapies. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, a condition due to accumulation of misfolded proteins in the ER, and subsequent cellular responses have been found to be involved in cancer and inflammatory pathologies, including RA. ER stress protein markers and their modulation have therefore been suggested as therapeutic targets, such as GRP78 and CHOP, among others. Some current RA therapeutic drugs have been found to have ER stress-modulating properties. Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) frequently use natural products that affect multiple body and cellular targets, and several medicines and/or their isolated compounds have been found to also have ER stress-modulating capabilities, including TCMs used in RA treatment by Chinese Medicine practitioners. This review encourages, in light of the available information, the study of these RA-treating, ER stress-modulating TCMs as potential new pharmaceutical drugs for use in clinical RA therapy, along with providing a list of other ER stress-modulating TCMs utilized in treatment of cancers, inflammatory diseases and other diseases, that have potential use in RA treatment given similar ER stress-modulating capacity.

The combined usage of Matrine and Osthole inhibited endoplasmic reticulum apoptosis induced by PCV2

Background

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is an important and common DNA virus that infect pig and can cause immunosuppression and induce apoptosis in the infected cells. To escape the host immune system, PCV2 constantly builds up complex mechanisms or mutates genes, and that is why it is difficult to eradicate complex PCV2 infection by relying on vaccines and single compound. At present, there is few literature reports on the effective prevention and treatment of PCV2 infection by a combination of two or more compounds. Previously, we have demonstrated the anti-PCV2 effect of Matrine in vitro, but its mechanism has not been further evaluated. Literatures have proven that Osthole has a variety of pharmacological activities, and we tested the ability of Osthole to inhibit PCV2 replication in cell culture. Therefore, this study explored the synergistic antiviral effect of Matrine combined with Osthole and their synergistic anti-apoptotic mechanism.

Results

Osthole alone had an anti-PCV2 effect, and then its synergistic anti-PCV2 effect of Osthole and Matrine was better than that of Matrine or Osthole alone as demonstrated by qRT-PCR, IFA and Western blotting results. The anti-apoptotic mechanism of these two compounds by inducing the PERK pathway by PCV2 was elucidated through Annexin V-FITC/PI, JC-1 and Western blotting. Matrine and Osthole combination could inhibit the expression of Cap in Cap-transfected PK-15 cells, thus inhibiting Cap-induced PERK apoptosis. Ribavirin was used as a positive control.

Conclusions

The combination of Osthole and Matrine had the synergistic effect of anti-PCV2 infection by directly inhibiting the expression of PCV2 Cap protein. The combination of these two compounds also inhibited PERK apoptosis induced by PCV2 Cap protein, possibly by regulating the level of GRP78. The results formed a base for further studies on the mechanism of anti-PCV2 in vivo using Matrine and Osthole combination and developing new anti-PCV2 compounds with Cap and GRP78 as therapeutic targets.

Matrine: A Promising Natural Product With Various Pharmacological Activities

Matrine is an alkaloid isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine Sophora flavescens Aiton. At present, a large number of studies have proved that matrine has an anticancer effect can inhibit cancer cell proliferation, arrest cell cycle, induce apoptosis, and inhibit cancer cell metastasis. It also has the effect of reversing anticancer drug resistance and reducing the toxicity of anticancer drugs. In addition, studies have reported that matrine has a therapeutic effect on Alzheimer's syndrome, encephalomyelitis, asthma, myocardial ischemia, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, and the like, and its mechanism is mainly related to the inhibition of inflammatory response and apoptosis. Its treatable disease spectrum spans multiple systems such as the nervous system, circulatory system, and immune system. The antidisease effect and mechanism of matrine are diverse, so it has high research value. This review summarizes recent studies on the pharmacological mechanism of matrine, with a view to providing reference for subsequent research.

Anti-Tumor Activities of Bioactive Phytochemicals in Sophora flavescens for Breast Cancer

Patients with breast cancer and breast cancer survivors are frequent users of botanicals and their bioactive phytochemicals. In China, active ingredients in Sophora flavescens like matrine (MT), oxymatrine (OMT), other Sophora flavescens alkaloids and Compound Kushen Injection (CKI) are extensively used for multiple malignant tumors. In vivo and in vitro studies have confirmed that these activities or injection have significant effects on relieving symptoms, alleviating side effects after chemotherapy and improving the quality of life of breast cancer patients, where there is evidence for efficacy. A large number of experimental studies have also revealed that they can inhibit the proliferation, invasion and migration of breast cancer cells according to different mechanisms. This provides promising valuable supportive therapies for prevention, treatment and postoperative recovery of breast cancer. Rigorous clinical research and experimental studies reflect integrative care as it is used in hospital is needed to responsibly move this field forward. This review summarizes an up to date knowledge of the available bioactive phytochemicals, their discovery, current clinical and experimental status.

Matrine suppression of self-renewal was dependent on regulation of LIN28A/Let-7 pathway in breast cancer stem cells

Matrine, a natural product extracted from the root of Sophora flavescens Ait, was the main chemical ingredient of compounds of Kushen injection, which has been widely used for its remarkable anticancer effects for years. The underlying mechanisms for Matrine regulations of human breast cancer stem cells (BrCSCs) are barely known. LIN28, a well-characterized suppressor of Let-7 microRNA biogenesis, playing vital roles in regulations of stem cells' renewal and tumorigenesis. Here we show that the compounds of Kushen injection derived Matrine could suppress the BrCSCs differentiation and self-renewal through downregulating the expression of Lin28A, resulting in the inactivation of Wnt pathway through a Let-7b-dependent way. In opposite to Matrine, Cisplatin treatment increases the ability of tumorsphere formation and the expression of BrCSCs markers, which was partially blocked by either Let-7b overexpression or CCND1 inhibition. Furthermore, Matrine sensitized BrCSCs to cisplatin's suppression of cancer expansion in vitro and in vivo. Our study uncovers the role of the LIN28A/Let-7 in BrCSCs renewal, and more importantly, elucidated a novel mechanism by which Matrine induces breast cancer involution.

Matrine attenuates endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrion dysfunction in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by regulating SERCA pathway

Background

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, which can promote lipid metabolism disorders and steatohepatitis, contributes significantly to the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Calcium (Ca²⁺) homeostasis is considered to play a key role in ER stress. Matrine (Mat) has been applied for the treatment of hepatitis B, but its effect on NAFLD is still unknown, and there is no unified view of Mat on the regulation of ER stress in the previous literature.

Methods

The pharmacological effects were studied in high-fat-diet or methionine–choline-deficient diet induced C57BL/6J mice models and in palmitic acid (PA) induced L02 human liver cell model. Calcium fluorescence experiments, computational virtual docking analysis and biochemical assays were used in identifying the locus of Mat.

Results

The results showed that Mat-treated mice were more resistant to steatosis in the liver than vehicle-treated mice and that Mat significantly reduced hepatic inflammation, lipid peroxides. The beneficial effect of Mat was associated with suppressing ER stress and restoring mitochondrial dysfunction. Additionally, Mat decreased the PA-induced lipid accumulation, ER stress and cytosolic calcium level ([Ca²⁺]_c) in hepatocyte cell lines in low and middle dose. However, the high dose Mat did not show satisfactory results in cell model. Calcium fluorescence experiments showed that Mat was able to regulate [Ca²⁺]_c. By computational virtual docking analysis and biochemical assays, Mat was shown to influence [Ca²⁺]_c via direct inhibition of SERCA.

Conclusions

The results showed that the bi-directional regulation of Mat to endoplasmic reticulum at different doses was based on the inhibition of SERCA. In addition, the results also provide a theoretical basis for Mat as a potential therapeutic strategy in NAFLD/NASH.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12967-018-1685-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Matrine Inhibits Neuroblastoma Cell Proliferation and Migration by Enhancing Tribbles 3 Expression

Neuroblastoma is a major contributor of cancer-specific mortality. Although remarkable enhancement has been achieved in the treatment of neuroblastoma in patients with early stage disease, limited progress has been made in the treatment of patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. Thus, innovative approaches are required to achieve further improvements in neuroblastoma patient survival outcomes. The major alkaloid obtained from Sophora flavescens Ait, matrine, has been shown to counteract malignancy in various kinds of cancers. In the current study, we evaluated the effects of matrine on the migration and proliferation of neuroblastoma cells. Cell cycle analysis coupled with Transwell and wound healing experiments showed that matrine triggers G₂/M cell cycle arrest and suppresses neuroblastoma migration. This effect of matrine is due to upregulation of TRB3 expression followed by inhibition of the PI3K/AKT activation. Consistent with the in vitro data, growth of xenograft cancer was also suppressed by matrine. Our results indicate that matrine inhibits neuroblastoma cell proliferation and migration by enhancing TRB3 expression, suggesting that matrine may serve as a promising agent for the treatment of neuroblastoma.

Scutellarin Inhibits Proliferation, Invasion, and Tumorigenicity in Human Breast Cancer Cells by Regulating HIPPO-YAP Signaling Pathway

BACKGROUND The present study aimed to investigate the effects of Scutellarin on proliferation, invasion and tumorigenicity in human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells and its associated molecular mechanisms. MATERIAL AND METHODS The MCF-7 cells were cultured with varies of concentrations of Scutellarin in vitro. The proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis of MCF-7 cells were studied via CCK-8 assay, transwell assay, and flow cytometry. In vivo expression of the HIPPO pathway key proteins YAP and p-YAP of MCF-7 cells were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS The inhibition rates of Scutellarin-treated MCF-7 cells were 40.1%, 58.7%, and 70.6% for 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively. The MCF-7 cell proliferation was significantly inhibited by Scutellarin. Treating MCF-7 cells with Scutellarin led to invasion inhibition. The rates apoptotic cells were between 12.4±1.9% and 23.9±2.1% in 40-120 µM Scutellarin-administrated groups, which had a significant rise compared with the control group (7.8±1.9%, P<0.05). Scutellarin significantly inhibited MCF-7 xenograft tumor growth. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the inhibition of tumor growth in Scutellarin-treated mice was associated with increased p-YAP and decreased YAP expression in vivo. CONCLUSIONS Scutellarin-treated breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells had significantly inhibited growth and induced apoptosis, which is associated with induction of autophagy through regulation of the HIPPO-YAP signaling pathway, providing support to the clinical use of Scutellarin-based medication to achieve optimized outcome in patients with breast carcinoma.