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Xu YL, Li XJ, Cai W, Yu WY, Chen J, Lee Q, Choi YJ, Wu F, Lou YJ, Ying HZ, Yu CH, Wu QF. Diosmetin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside from Pogostemonis Herba alleviated SARS-CoV-2-induced pneumonia by reshaping macrophage polarization and limiting viral replication. JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY 2024; 336:118704. [PMID: 39182703 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2024.118704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2024] [Revised: 08/04/2024] [Accepted: 08/16/2024] [Indexed: 08/27/2024]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Viral pneumonia is the leading cause of death after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Despite effective at early stage, long-term treatment with glucocorticoids can lead to a variety of adverse effects and limited benefits. The Chinese traditional herb Pogostemonis Herba is the aerial part of Pogostemon Cablin (Blanco) Benth., which has potent antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects. It was used widely for treating various throat and respiratory diseases, including COVID-19, viral infection, cough, allergic asthma, acute lung injury and lung cancer. AIM OF THE STUDY To investigate the antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects of chemical compounds from Pogostemonis Herba in SARS-CoV-2-infected hACE2-overexpressing mouse macrophage RAW264.7 cells and hACE2 transgenic mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS The hACE2-overexpressing RAW264.7 cells were exposed with SARS-CoV-2. The cell viability was detected by CCK8 assay and cell apoptotic rate was by flow cytometric assay. The expressions of macrophage M1 phenotype markers (TNF-α and IL-6) and M2 markers (IL-10 and Arg-1) as well as the viral loads were detected by qPCR. The mice were inoculated intranasally with SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant to induce viral pneumonia. The levels of macrophages, neutrophils, and T cells in the lung tissues of infected mice were analyzed by full spectrum flow cytometry. The expressions of key proteins were detected by Western blot assay. RESULTS Diosmetin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (DG) presented the strongest anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. Intervention with DG at the concentrations of 0.625-2.5 μM not only reduced the viral replication, cell apoptosis, and the productions of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α) in SARS-CoV-2-infected RAW264.7 cells, but also reversed macrophage polarity from M1 to M2 phenotype. Furthermore, treatment with DG (25-100 mg/kg) alleviated acute lung injury, and reduced macrophage infiltration in SARS-COV-2-infected mice. Mechanistically, DG inhibited SARS-COV-2 gene expression and HK3 translation via targeting YTHDF1, resulting in the inactivation of glycolysis-mediated NF-κB pathway. CONCLUSIONS DG exerted the potent antiviral and anti-inflammatory activities. It reduced pneumonia in SARS-COV-2-infected mice via inhibiting the viral replication and accelerating M2 macrophage polarization via targeting YTHDF1, indicating its potential for COVID-19 treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun-Lu Xu
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310053, China
| | - Xue-Jian Li
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Animal and Safety Evaluation, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310013, China; Hangzhou Institute of Medicine, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, 310018, China
| | - Wei Cai
- College of Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang Pharmaceutical University, Ningbo, 315500, China
| | - Wen-Ying Yu
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Animal and Safety Evaluation, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310013, China
| | - Jing Chen
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310053, China
| | - Qin Lee
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Animal and Safety Evaluation, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310013, China; Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Gachon University, Incheon, 21999, Republic of Korea
| | - Yong-Jun Choi
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Gachon University, Incheon, 21999, Republic of Korea
| | - Fang Wu
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Animal and Safety Evaluation, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310013, China
| | - Ying-Jun Lou
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Animal and Safety Evaluation, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310013, China
| | - Hua-Zhong Ying
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Animal and Safety Evaluation, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310013, China
| | - Chen-Huan Yu
- Hangzhou Institute of Medicine, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, 310018, China.
| | - Qiao-Feng Wu
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310053, China.
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Liu Z, Zhao C, Yu H, Zhang R, Xue X, Jiang Z, Ge Z, Xu Y, Zhang W, Lin L, Chen Z. MCP-3 as a prognostic biomarker for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome: a longitudinal cytokine profile study. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1379114. [PMID: 38812521 PMCID: PMC11134196 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1379114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is characterized by a high mortality rate and is associated with immune dysregulation. Cytokine storms may play an important role in adverse disease regression, this study aimed to assess the validity of MCP-3 in predicting adverse outcomes in SFTS patients and to investigate the longitudinal cytokine profile in SFTS patients. Methods The prospective study was conducted at Yantai Qishan Hospital from May to November 2022. We collected clinical data and serial blood samples during hospitalization, patients with SFTS were divided into survival and non-survival groups based on the clinical prognosis. Results The levels of serum 48 cytokines were measured using Luminex assays. Compared to healthy controls, SFTS patients exhibited higher levels of most cytokines. The non-survival group had significantly higher levels of 32 cytokines compared to the survival group. Among these cytokines, MCP-3 was ranked as the most significant variable by the random forest (RF) model in predicting the poor prognosis of SFTS patients. Additionally, we validated the predictive effects of MCP-3 through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis with an AUC of 0.882 (95% CI, 0.787-0.978, P <0.001), and the clinical applicability of MCP-3 was assessed favorably based on decision curve analysis (DCA). The Spearman correlation analysis indicated that the level of MCP-3 was positively correlated with ALT, AST, LDH, α-HBDH, APTT, D-dimer, and viral load (P<0.01). Discussion For the first time, our study identified and validated that MCP-3 could serve as a meaningful biomarker for predicting the fatal outcome of SFTS patients. The longitudinal cytokine profile analyzed that abnormally increased cytokines were associated with the poor prognosis of SFTS patients. Our study provides new insights into exploring the pathogenesis of cytokines with organ damage and leading to adverse effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zishuai Liu
- National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Chenxi Zhao
- National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Hong Yu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Yantai Qishan Hospital, Yantai, Shandong, China
| | - Rongling Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoyu Xue
- National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhouling Jiang
- National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Ziruo Ge
- National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Yanli Xu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Yantai Qishan Hospital, Yantai, Shandong, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Ling Lin
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Yantai Qishan Hospital, Yantai, Shandong, China
| | - Zhihai Chen
- National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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Edalat F, Khakpour N, Heli H, Letafati A, Ramezani A, Hosseini SY, Moattari A. Immunological mechanisms of the nucleocapsid protein in COVID-19. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3711. [PMID: 38355695 PMCID: PMC10867304 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53906-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The emergence of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19), resulting from Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has left an indelible mark on a global scale, causing countless infections and fatalities. This investigation delves into the role of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein within the HEK293 cells, shedding light on its influence over apoptosis, interferon signaling, and cytokines production. The N gene was amplified, inserted into the pAdTrack-CMV vector, and then transfected to the HEK293 cells. Changes in the expression of IRF3, IRF7, IFN-β, BAK, BAX, and BCL-2 genes were evaluated. The levels of proinflammatory cytokines of IL-6, IL-12, IL-1β, and TNF-α were also determined. The N protein exhibited an anti-apoptotic effect by modulating critical genes associated with apoptosis, including BAK, BAX, and BCL-2. This effect potentially prolonged the survival of infected cells. The N protein also played a role in immune evasion by suppressing the interferon pathway, evidenced by the downregulation of essential interferon regulatory factors of IRF3 and IRF7, and IFN-β expression. The N protein expression led to a substantial increase in the production of proinflammatory cytokines of IL-6, IL-12, IL-1β, and TNF-α. The N protein emerged as a versatile factor and was exerted over apoptosis, interferon signaling, and cytokine production. These findings carry potential implications for the development of targeted therapies to combat COVID-19 and mitigate its global health impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fahime Edalat
- Department of Bacteriology and Virology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Niloofar Khakpour
- Department of Bacteriology and Virology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Hossein Heli
- Nanomedicine and Nanobiology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Arash Letafati
- Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Amin Ramezani
- Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Seyed Younes Hosseini
- Department of Bacteriology and Virology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Afagh Moattari
- Department of Bacteriology and Virology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
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