The Natural Product Osthole Attenuates Yeast Growth by Extensively Suppressing the Gene Expressions of Mitochondrial Respiration Chain

She-Chuang-Si-Wu-Tang Alleviates Inflammation and Itching Symptoms in a Psoriasis Mouse Model by Regulating the Th17/IL-17 Axis via the STAT3/MAPK Pathways

Purpose

Psoriasis is an immune-related disorder characterized by silver scales, epidermis thickness, and itching. She-Chuang-Si-Wu-Tang (SSWT), a traditional Chinese medicine decoction, has been used clinically for 400 years. Although it benefits psoriasis treatment, the mechanism of action is still unclear. This study explores SSWT's molecular mechanism in treating psoriasis through network pharmacology analysis and experiments.

Methods

We identified relevant SSWT and psoriasis targets using network pharmacology and conducted SSWT quality control with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A mouse model of psoriasis was established using imiquimod (IMQ), with the drug administered continuously for seven days, spanning an eight-day period. During the experiment, we observed spontaneous scratching behaviors and assessed the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores. At the conclusion of the experiment, we examined skin tissue pathology under an optical microscope and measured epidermal thickness. Additionally, we used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to measure interleukin (IL)-23, IL-17A, IL-17F, and interferon (IFN)-γ levels in the mice's serum and their mRNA expression in the skin. Western blot analysis was conducted to assess protein levels related to signaling pathways.

Results

Results indicate that SSWT may target IL-17 signaling pathways and T helper (Th) 17 cell differentiation, as predicted by network pharmacology. SSWT significantly improved the PASI and Baker scores, reduced epidermal thickness, and decreased spontaneous scratching in IMQ-induced mice. Additionally, SSWT treatment significantly lowered the concentrations of inflammatory factors in the serum and skin lesions, as well as mRNA expression levels, compared to the IMQ group. Furthermore, SSWT significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of both the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways.

Conclusion

In summary, this study unveiled the potential anti-psoriatic mechanism of SSWT, offering new evidence for its clinical application.

Schizosaccharomyces pombe as a fundamental model for research on mitochondrial gene expression: Progress, achievements and outlooks

Schizosaccharomyces pombe (fission yeast) is an attractive model for mitochondrial research. The organism resembles human cells in terms of mitochondrial inheritance, mitochondrial transport, sugar metabolism, mitogenome structure and dependence of viability on the mitogenome (the petite-negative phenotype). Transcriptions of these genomes produce only a few polycistronic transcripts, which then undergo processing as per the tRNA punctuation model. In general, the machinery for mitochondrial gene expression is structurally and functionally conserved between fission yeast and humans. Furthermore, molecular research on S. pombe is supported by a considerable number of experimental techniques and database resources. Owing to these advantages, fission yeast has significantly contributed to biomedical and fundamental research. Here, we review the current state of knowledge regarding S. pombe mitochondrial gene expression, and emphasise the pertinence of fission yeast as both a model and tool, especially for studies on mitochondrial translation.

Efficacy and mechanism of Baicao Fuyanqing suppository on mixed vaginitis based on 16S rRNA and metabolomics

Background

Mixed vaginitis is the infection of the vagina by at least two different pathogens at the same time, both of which contribute to an abnormal vaginal environment leading to signs and symptoms. Baicao Fuyanqing suppository (BCFYQ) is a Miao ethnomedicine, used to treat various vaginitis. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and possible mechanism of BCFYQ in the treatment of mixed vaginitis based on 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and metabonomics.

Methods

Escherichia coli and Candida albicans were used to establish mixed vaginitis model in SD rats. Three groups of low, medium and high doses (0.18/0.36/0.64 g.kg-1) were established, and administered vaginally once a day for 6 consecutive days. After the last administration, vaginal pH and IL-1β, IL-2, IL-13 and IgA levels were measured, and the vaginal tissue was examined pathologically. In addition, the vaginal flora was characterised by 16S rRNA, and endogenous metabolites in the vaginal tissue were detected by UHPLC-Q-Exactive MS.

Results

Compared with the model group, BCFYQ can reduce the vaginal pH of rats, make it close to the normal group and improve the damaged vaginal epithelial tissue. The results of ELISA showed that BCFYQ decreased the levels of IL-1 β and IL-2 and increased the levels of IL-13 and IgA (P<0.05). In addition, BCFYQ may increase the abundance of vaginal flora, especially Lactobacillus. The differential metabolite enrichment pathway suggests that the therapeutic mechanism of BCFYQ is mainly related to lipid metabolism and amino acid metabolism.

Conclusion

Our research shows that BCFYQ has a good therapeutic effect on mixed vaginitis. It repairs the damaged vaginal mucosa by regulating the vaginal flora and lipid metabolism disorders to improve the local immune function of the vagina and inhibit the growth and reproduction of pathogens.

Synthesis of osthol-based botanical fungicides and their antifungal application in crop protection

Plant pathogenic fungi decrease the quality and productivity of plant production. The botanical fungicides have better biocompatibility and rapid biodegradation, little or no cross resistance, and the structural diversity, and thus are beneficial to deal with plant fungal diseases. Osthole has been widely used as the commercial botanical fungicide against powdery mildew in China. In this article, a series of osthole derivatives were synthesized, which respectively contain different substituents on the benzene ring, at the C8-position and pyrone ring. All the target compounds were evaluated in vitro for their antifungal activity against resistant phytopathogenic fungi. Colletotrichum fragariae, Strawberry Botrytis Cinerea, Kiwifruit Botrytis Cinerea, Kiwifruit brown Rots, which are common in fruit fungal diseases. The compound C₄ was identified as the most promising candidate with the EC₅₀ values at 38.7 µg/mL against Colletotrichum Fragariae, 14.5 µg/mL against Strawberry Botrytis Cinerea and 24.3 µg/mL against Kiwifruit Botrytis Cinerea, respectively, whereas the antifungal activity against resistant phytopathogenic fungi. of osthole is too low to be used (EC₅₀ > 400 ppm). The results of mycelial relative conductivity determination, PI uptake and fluorescence spectroscopy indicated that the cell membrane of fungi is the key action site of C₄. Besides, C₄ has the potent inhibitory activity against both of plant and human pathogenic bacteria. Our studies showed that C₄ was worthy for further attention as a promising botanical fungicide candidate in crop protection.

Potent In Vitro Synergism of Fluconazole and Osthole against Fluconazole-Resistant Candida albicans

Osthole is a natural coumarin that exhibits wide biological and pharmacological activities such as neuroprotective, osteogenic, immunomodulation, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we investigated the antifungal effects of osthole in vitro A checkerboard microdilution assay showed that osthole has significant synergistic effect with fluconazole against fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans Similar results were obtained from a growth curve assay. Meanwhile, XTT reduction assay demonstrated the synergism of fluconazole and osthole against C. albicans biofilm formation. Microarray results showed that the expression of genes involved in the oxidation-reduction process, energy metabolism, and transportation changed significantly after the combined treatment with fluconazole and osthole, and further results showed that endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) was significantly increased in the combination group. In conclusion, these results demonstrate the synergism of fluconazole and osthole against fluconazole-resistant C. albicans and indicate that endogenous ROS augmentation might contribute to the synergism of fluconazole and osthole.

Plant-derived antifungal compounds trigger a common transcriptional response

Understanding the mechanism of action of antifungal drugs is vital for better control of mycosis, which kills >1.3 million lives every year thus remains a major health problem worldwide. In this study, we investigate the activities of three different categories of plant-derived antifungal compounds (resveratrol, honokiol and osthole) via transcriptomics and bioinformatics analysis, with the goal of discovering the common Mode-of-Action (MoA) at molecular level. The result shows that a common transcriptional response (72 gene are up-regulated while 10 genes are down-regulated, commonly) are triggered by above representative antifungal compounds in Schizosaccharomyces pombe (S. pombe) yeast. By virtue of gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and gene functional annotation study, we identify that the genes involved in oxidative stress response, sugar metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism and glycolysis are significantly up-regulated, while the genes involved in nucleosome assembly, transcription and RNA processing are down-regulated, by any of these antifungal compounds. These observations demonstrate that the common MoA includes a strengthened anti-oxidative cell adaptation, a faster metabolic rate and a generally suppressed gene transcriptional activity. It implies a genetically encoded common redistribution of intracellular energy flux and molecules synthesis, after the challenging of antifungal compounds.