Effects of cordycepin on microtubules of cultured mammalian cells

Anti-hepatocarcinoma effect of cordycepin against NDEA-induced hepatocellular carcinomas via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR and Nrf2/HO-1/NF-κB pathway in mice

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of cordycepin (CA) on N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA)-induced hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) and explore its potential mechanisms. Mice were randomly assigned to four groups: control group, NDEA group, NDEA+CA (20mg/kg) group, NDEA+CA (40mg/kg) group. The animal of each group were given NDEA (100ppm) in drinking water. One hour later, CA, which was dissolved in PBS, were intragastrically administered for continuous seven days. The results showed that CA reduced the activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in liver and serum. CA also reduced the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA), and stored the activity of superoxygen dehydrogenises (SOD) in serum. CA could obviously attenuate the hepatic pathological alteration. Furthermore, CA effectively inhibited the phosphorylations of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase(PI3K), protein kinase B (Akt), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). In conclusion, our research suggested that CA exhibited protective effects on NDEA-induced hepatocellular carcinomas via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.

Effects of cordycepin on the microglia-overactivation-induced impairments of growth and development of hippocampal cultured neurons

Microglial cells are normally activated in response to brain injury or immunological stimuli to protect central nervous system (CNS). However, over-activation of microglia conversely amplifies the inflammatory effects and mediates cellular degeneration, leading to the death of neurons. Recently, cordycepin, an active component found in Cordyceps militarisa known as a rare Chinese caterpillar fungus, has been reported as an effective drug for treating inflammatory diseases and cancer via unclear mechanisms. In this study, we attempted to identify the anti-inflammatory role of cordycepin and its protective effects on the impairments of neural growth and development induced by microglial over-activation. The results indicate that cordycepin could attenuate the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced microglial activation, evidenced by the dramatically reduced release of TNF-α and IL-1β, as well as the down-regulation of mRNA levels of iNOS and COX-2 after cordycepin treatment. Besides, cordycepin reversed the LPS-induced activation of NF-κB pathway, resulting in anti-inflammatory effects. Furthermore, by employing the conditioned medium (CM), we found cordycepin was able to recover the impairments of neural growth and development in the primary hippocampal neurons cultured in LPS-CM, including cell viability, growth cone extension, neurite sprouting and outgrowth as well as spinogenesis. This study expands our knowledge of the anti-inflammatory function of cordycepin and paves the way for the biomedical applications of cordycepin in the therapies of neural injuries.

Prevention of disuse osteoporosis in rats by Cordyceps sinensis extract

Cordyceps sinensis has been known as a traditional medicine in China, and C. sinensis plus strontium could prevent osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats. The present study shows that daily oral administration of C. sinensis at higher doses in adult hind limb suspension rats can prevent disuse-induced bone loss and deterioration of trabecular microarchitecture.

INTRODUCTION

Cordyceps sinensis induces estradiol production and prevents osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats. This study was to examine whether C. sinensis can prevent disuse-induced osteoporosis.

METHODS

Rats were randomly divided into six groups, and five groups were treated with hind limb suspension (HLS). One HLS group received alendronate (2.0 mg/kg/day) orally, and to the three other HLS groups to each group, a different amount of C. sinensis (100, 300, and 500 mg/kg/day) was orally administered for 8 weeks before and after HLS. The remaining HLS group was set as a control without treatment. Each group consisted of 10 males and females. The body weights, biochemical parameters in serum and urine, bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC), mechanical testing, and bone microarchitecture were examined.

RESULTS

Treatments with higher C. sinensis dosage (300 and 500 mg/kg/day) or alendronate had a positive effect on body weights, mechanical strength, BMD, and BMC compared to the other HLS groups. C. sinensis decreased markers of bone turnover dose dependently and increased the osteocalcin levels in HLS rats. The result of micro-CT analysis from the L4 vertebra showed that C. sinensis (500 mg/kg) significantly prevented the reduction of the bone volume fraction, connectivity density, trabeculae number, and thickness as well as improved the trabeculae separation and structure model index in HLS rats.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study demonstrates that administration of C. sinensis at higher doses over an 8-week period can prevent the disuse osteoporosis in rats. It implies that C. sinensis might be an alternative therapy for prevention of disuse-induced osteoporosis also in humans.

Cordycepin is an Immunoregulatory Active Ingredient of Cordyceps sinensis

We have reported that cordycepin, an adenosine derivative from the fungus Cordyceps, increased interleukin (IL)-10 expression, decreased IL-2 expression and suppressed T lymphocyte activity. In the present study, we further characterized the regulatory effects of cordycepin on human immune cells. Moreover, a traditional Chinese drug, Cordyceps sinensis (CS) that contains cordycepin, was also investigated. Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) was used to determine the concentrations of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, TNF-α and IFN-γ in culture of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The results showed that both cordycepin and CS up-regulated IL-10, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α; at the same time, they suppressed phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced production of IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IFN-γ and IL-12. As compared to cordycepin, CS displayed its regulatory effects on IL-2 and IL-10 in a similar dose-dependent manner even with higher efficiency. The binding activity of transcription factors in a human monocytic cell line THP-1 was tested by the trans-AM method, and a higher binding activity of SP1 and SP3 was observed in cordycepin or CS treated cells compared to the control. These results led to the opinion that cordycepin and CS pleiotropically affected the actions of immune cells and cytokine network in a similar fashion. Cordycepin could be an important immunoregulatory active ingredient in Cordyceps sinensis. In addition, CS may contain substances which possess synergism with cordycepin, as CS showed a higher efficiency in the production of IL-10 and IL-2 than cordycepin. However, merits of these effects in pharmacology and clinical medicine have yet to be proven and the precise mechanism of these immune regulatory actions should be researched.

Pharmacokinetics of adenosine and cordycepin, a bioactive constituent of Cordyceps sinensis in rat

Cordycepin is a bioactive constituent of Cordyceps sinensis that has been shown to regulate homeostatic function. As an adenosine analogue, it is possible cordycepin goes through a similar metabolic pathway to that of adenosine. To investigate this hypothesis, a sensitive liquid chromatography with photodiode-array detector (HPLC-PDA) coupled to a microdialysis sampling system was developed to monitor cordycepin and adenosine in rat blood and liver. Other endogenous nucleosides were simultaneously measured to further understand the downstream metabolic pathway. The experiments were divided into six parallel groups for drug administration: (1) normal saline vehicle, (2) adenosine, (3) cordycepin, (4) normal saline + erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine (EHNA; a potent adenosine deaminase inhibitor), (5) adenosine + EHNA, and (6) cordycepin + EHNA. The pharmacokinetic results suggest that the levels of both adenosine and cordycepin decreased rapidly in blood around 30 min after drug administration. When adenosine was given, the concentrations of adenosine metabolites, hypoxanthinosine and hypoxanthine, increased in rat blood. This phenomenon was inhibited by EHNA pretreatment. An unidentified peak was observed in the blood and liver samples after cordycepin administration. The decline of this unidentified peak paralleled the decreased of the concentration of cordycepin, and it was not observed in the presence of the adenosine deaminase inhibitor. It is concluded that adenosine and cordycepin had short elimination half-lives and high rates of clearance and their biotransformation was suppressed by EHNA.

Role of Cordycepin and Adenosine on the Phenotypic Switch of Macrophages via Induced Anti-inflammatory Cytokines

Background

Chronic low grade inflammation is closely linked to type II diabetes, obesity, and atherosclerosis. Macrophages play a key role in the regulation of pro- or anti-inflammatory actions at the lesion sites of disease. Components of cordyceps militaris, cordycepin and adenosine, have been used for the modulation of inflammatory diseases. The effects of cordycepin in the modulation of macrophages have yet to be elucidated. We investigated the effects of cordycepin and adenosine on the morphological changes of macrophages under the inflammatory condition of LPS and an anti-inflammatory condition involving high concentrations of adenosine.

Methods

We confirmed the mRNA levels of the M1/M2 cytokine genes through RT-PCR and morphological change.

Results

LPS-activated macrophages returned to their inactivated original shape, i.e., they looked like naïve macrophages, through the treatment with high concentrations of cordycepin (40 µg/ml). LPS and adenosine activated macrophages also returned to their original inactivated shapes after cordycepin treatment; however, at relatively higher levels of cordycepin than adenosine. This change did not occur with relatively low concentrations of cordycepin. Adenosine down-regulated the gene expression of M1 cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α) and chemokines (CX3CR1, RANTES), as well as cordycepin. Additionally, M2 cytokines (IL-10, IL-1ra, TGF-β) were up-regulated by both cordycepin and adenosine.

Conclusion

Based on these observations, both cordycepin and adenosine regulated the phenotypic switch on macrophages and suggested that cordycepin and adenosine may potentially be used as immunomodulatory agents in the treatment of inflammatory disease.

Analysis of cellular morphology, adhesion, and proliferation on uncoated and differently coated PVC tubes used in extracorporeal circulation (ECC)

The biggest challenge to improve extracorporeal circulation (ECC) circuits lays on avoiding platelet adhesion to their surfaces, because this contributes to thrombus formation, resulting in the activation of blood coagulation. One approach to minimize this effect is to improve the biocompatibility of ECC circuits by modifying their surfaces. This can be achieved by coating them with heparin or phospholipids. The present study investigated the adhesion and morphology characteristics of fibroblastic and blood cells cultured on uncoated poly (vinyl) chloride PVC tubes as well as on heparin, phosphatidylcholine (DMPC), and phosphatidylethanolamine (DMPE) -coated tubing. The results showed the importance of uniform coating regardless of the substance used, because the coatings cover the grooves on PVC surfaces, which favor cell adhesion. The comparison among the three different coatings showed the best biocompatibility results for the PVC tubes coated with heparin, followed by the coating with DMPE and with DMPC. For all coated tubes, cells did not spread on the PVC surfaces and, consequently, did not adhere to their surfaces, increasing the overall biocompatibility of PVC tubes. However, possible DMPE's alkylation, caused by sterilization, resulted in increased material hydrophobicity, which explains the decrease in fibroblastic adhesion. Furthermore, sterilization of DMPC-PVC improves its hydrophilic character, also decreasing adhesion. Based on these results, coating PVC with the phospholipids DMPC and DMPE seems to be a promising technique to improve the biocompatibility of PVC tubes, and is worthy of further investigation.

Effect of cordycepin on interleukin-10 production of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells

Therapeutic options for controlling autoimmune diseases are still very limited. Interleukin-10 has been reported to be a promising approach to therapeutic intervention. In the search for a drug which results in the selective upregulation of interleukin-10, we investigated the immunoregulative effects of cordycepin. We have measured interleukin-10 and interleukin-2 secretion of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells that were incubated with cordycepin and assessed the influence of cordycepin on the expression of interleukin-10 mRNA, the proliferative response and the expression of surface markers on T lymphocytes. In addition, the subsets of interleukin-10-secreting cells, the influence of anti-interleukin-10 neutralizing antibody and cytotoxicity of cordycepin were evaluated. Our results suggest that cordycepin has a significantly upregulative effect on interleukin-10 production and interleukin-10 mRNA expression. Interleukin-10-producing cells included in CD4+, CD8+, CD19+, CD56+ and CD14+ cells. At the same time, cordycepin inhibited phytohaemagglutinin-induced interleukin-2 production and proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. A restricted T lymphocyte activation was also reflected by a reduced expression of the surface markers CD25, CD45RO, CD54, CD71 and HLA DR. Anti-interleukin-10 neutralizing antibody could not completely block the suppressive effect of cordycepin on production of interleukin-2. Cordycepin in the effective concentration presented slight cytotoxicity but did not increase apoptosis. These results indicate that cordycepin exerts immunoregulative effects. Further research on it may provide an approach for the development of novel immunomodulatory drugs which directly alter the secretion of cytokines.

Growth inhibitors against tumor cells in Cordyceps sinensis other than cordycepin and polysaccharides

Cordyceps sinensis is a parasitic fungus that has been used as a Chinese medicine for a long time. In the present study, inhibitory effects of crude methanolic extracts of C. sinensis fruiting bodies on various tumor cell lines were demonstrated. The crude methanolic extracts were fractionated into 15 fractions by silica gel column chromatography. Two of the 15 fractions (CS-36-39 and CS-48-51) significantly inhibited the growth of K562, Vero, Wish, Calu-1, and Raji tumor cell lines. The inhibitory activities were not due to the polysaccharides, which have been removed in the extracting process. The polarities of these two fractions indicated that they were different from that of cordycepin. Therefore, it is suggested that tumor cell growth inhibitors, other than cordycepin and polysaccharides, are contained in C. sinensis.