Huaier improves the efficacy of anti-PD-L1 Ab in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma by regulating tumor immune microenvironment

Huaier inhibits cholangiocarcinoma cells through the twist1/FBP1/Wnt/β-catenin axis

BACKGROUND

Although Huaier granules can be used as prospective anti-cholangiocarcinoma drugs, the mechanism of action of Huaier granules in cholangiocarcinoma is not clear. The anti-cholangiocarcinoma effect of Huaier granules was validated in cell line research. In vitro experiments were conducted to investigate the signalling pathways affected by Huaier in CCA cells.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Real-time quantitative PCR (RT‒qPCR) and Western blot analysis were performed to analyse gene expression in CCA cells. MTT assays, scratch tests, and Transwell assays were used to explore the effects on the proliferation and metastasis of CCA cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were performed to reveal the potential underlying mechanisms involved. Twist1 was upregulated in human CCA tissues. In addition, its expression levels were negatively related to FBP1 expression levels. Mechanistically, Twist1 can bind to the region of the FBP1 promoter to reduce its expression. Huaier plays an indispensable role in suppressing Twist1 expression to inhibit the Twist1/FBP1/Wnt/β-catenin axis. Then, we verified the effect of Huaier in vitro.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggested that Huaier granules were capable of inhibiting CCA development through regulating the Twist1/FBP1/Wnt/β-catenin signalling axis and provided a novel orientation for the development of novel anti-CCA drugs.

Long-term oral administration of Huaier granules improves survival outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma patients within Milan criteria following microwave ablation: a propensity score matching and stabilized inverse probability weighting analysis

Objective

This study aimed to elucidate the therapeutic effects of Huaier granules on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within the Milan criteria in patients who underwent microwave ablation (MWA).

Materials and methods

A total of 228 patients were included, with 97 in the Huaier group and 131 in the control group. We evaluated progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and extrahepatic metastasis survival (EMS) using Kaplan-Meier (KM) curves with a log-rank test. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and Stabilized Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (IPTW) were performed to minimize selection and confounding biases.

Results

Following PSM, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year PFS rates in the Huaier and control groups were 83.5% vs 70.7%, 57.7% vs 42.6%, and 43.6% vs 31.9% (p = 0.030), respectively. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were 98.9% vs 95.6%, 83.9% vs 72.3%, and 72.2% vs 53.7% (p = 0.023), respectively. The corresponding 1-, 3-, and 5-year EMS rates were 98.9% vs 93.4%, 91.7% vs 83.7%, and 91.7% vs 78.5% (p = 0.039), respectively. Stabilized IPTW analysis of KM curves yielded results similar to those of the PSM analysis. Additionally, administering Huaier granules for at least 6 months significantly improved PFS and OS.

Conclusion

Huaier granules can reduce the risk of recurrence and improve the OS of patients with HCC within the Milan criteria following MWA. Administering Huaier granules for over 6 months proved beneficial.

Network pharmacology and experimental validation to study the potential mechanism of Tongguanteng injection in regulating apoptosis in osteosarcoma

OBJECTIVE

The main objectives of this study were to identify the active components of Tongguanteng injection (TGT) and investigate the preclinical efficacy and mechanism of TGT on osteosarcoma using a combination of network pharmacology and experimental validation.

METHODS

To identify the active constituents and targets of TGT against osteosarcoma using network pharmacology, we constructed a network consisting of an 'active ingredient-disease-target-pathway' and a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. The target organ network was utilized to investigate the distribution of core targets in tissues. Afterwards, the core targets underwent Gene ontology (GO) functional enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses. The binding energy between receptors and ligands was compared using molecular docking. In addition, SwissADME was employed to forecast the pharmacokinetic characteristics of the substances. Finally, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), cell proliferation assay, morphological analysis, apoptosis assay, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) detection, and Western blotting were utilized to confirm the potential mechanisms of TGT treatment in osteosarcoma cell lines 143B and SAOS2.

RESULTS

A total of 54 chemical constituents of TGT and 71 targets associated with osteosarcoma were acquired. Through the molecular docking technology, Tenacigenin B, Marsdekoiside, Taraxasterol, Tenacissoside G, Tenacissoside L, and Tenacissoside J were identified as the primary active components of TGT among the various compounds. Analysis of target organs suggests that TGT may play an anti-osteosarcoma role through immune regulation. The GO and KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that TGT could trigger osteosarcoma cell apoptosis by inhibiting the HIF-1 signalling pathway and modulating PD-1 expression and the PD-1 checkpoint pathway in cancer. SwissADME database predicted that Tenacigenin B and Taraxasterol had the best drug-likeness. In vitro studies also demonstrated that TGT suppressed the activity and induced alterations in the morphology of osteosarcoma cells. It decreased MMP levels, triggered apoptosis by increasing Bax expression and Caspase-3 activity, and decreased Bcl-2 expression, thereby exerting an anti-osteosarcoma effect. In the meantime, RT-PCR tests demonstrated that TGT could control immune response against tumors and hinder the proliferation and spread of cancerous cells by impacting the levels of critical factors, including JUN, HSP90AA1, HDAC1, and CDK1.

CONCLUSION

The study accurately anticipated the active components, targets, and pathways of TGT in the management of osteosarcoma. The molecular mechanism of TGT-induced apoptosis in osteosarcoma cells was demonstrated by in vitro experiments. These results provide theoretical and technical support for TGT as a clinical adjuvant drug for osteosarcoma.