Effects of isocorynoxeine, from Uncaria, on lower urinary tract dysfunction caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia via antagonism of α1A-adrenoceptors

Advanced researches of traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology of medical Uncariae Ramulus Cum Uncis

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Medical Uncariae Ramulus Cum Uncis consists of Uncaria rhynchophylla (Miq.) Miq. ex Havil, Uncaria macrophylla Wall, Uncaria sinensis (Oliv.) Havil, Uncaria hirsuta Havil, and Uncaria sessilifructus Roxb, which belongs to the species widely used in the genus Uncaria. These species resource widely distributed in China and abroad, and the hook-bearing stem is the primary constituent enrichment site. There are many different forms and architectures of chemicals, depending on the extraction site. Traditional remedies employing URCU had been used widely in antiquity and were first compiled in renowned ancient masterpiece 'Mingyi Bielu ()' written by Hongjing Tao. In modern pharmacological studies, both the total extracts and the phytoconstituents isolated from URCU have been shown to have neuroprotective, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial, and autophagy-enhancer properties.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This review concentrates on the traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and nanomaterials studies of URCU, with a perspective to assist with further research and advance.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The Chinese and English literature studies of this review are based on these database searches including Science Direct, CNKI, Wiley online library, Spring Link, Web of Science, PubMed, Medalink, Google scholar, Elsevier, ACS Publications, iPlant, Missouri Botanical Garden, Plant of the World Online. The pertinent data on URCU was gathered.

RESULTS

Based on the examination of the genus Uncaria, 107 newly marked chemical compositions have been identified from URCU from 2015 to present, including alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, steroids, and others. Pharmacological studies have demonstrated that URCU has a variety of benefits in diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and migraine, due to its neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. According to metabolic and toxicological studies, the dosage, frequency, and interactions of the drugs that occur in vivo are of great significance for determining whether the organic bodies can perform efficacy or produce toxicity. The research on URCU-mediated nanomaterials is expanding and increasing in order to address the inadequacies of conventional Chinese medicine. The alkaloids in URCU have the capability to self-assemble with other classes of components in addition to being biologically active.

CONCLUSION

URCU plants are widely distributed, abundant in chemical constituents, and widely used in both traditional and modern medicine for a variety of pharmacological effects. The utilization of herbal medicines can be raised by assessing the pharmacological distinctions among several species within the same genus and may accelerate the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine. Controlling the concentration of drug administration, monitoring metabolic markers, and inventing novel nanotechnologies are effective strategies for synergistic influence and detoxification to alleviate the main obstacles that toxicity, low bioavailability, and poor permeability. This review can assist further research and advances.

YAP1 Recognizes Inflammatory and Mechanical Cues to Exacerbate Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia via Promoting Cell Survival and Fibrosis

Chronic prostatic inflammation promotes cell survival and fibrosis, leading to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with aggravated urinary symptoms. It is investigated whether yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1), an organ size controller and mechanical transductor, is implicated in inflammation-induced BPH. The correlation between YAP1 expression and fibrosis in human and rat BPH specimens is analyzed. Furthermore, the effects of YAP1 activation on prostatic cell survival and fibrosis, as well as the underlying mechanism, are also studied. As a result, total and nuclear YAP1 expression, along with downstream genes are significantly upregulated in inflammation-associated human and rat specimens. There is a significant positive correlation between YAP1 expression and the severity of fibrosis or clinical performance. YAP1 silencing suppresses cell survival by decreasing cell proliferation and increasing apoptosis, and alleviates fibrosis by reversing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition in prostatic BPH-1 and WPMY-1 cells. Mechanistically, inflammatory stimulus and rigid matrix stiffness synergistically activate the RhoA/ROCK1 pathway to provoke cytoskeleton remodeling, thereby promoting YAP1 activation to exacerbate BPH development. Overall, inflammation-triggered mechanical stiffness reinforcement activates the RhoA/ROCK1/F-actin/YAP1 axis, thereby promoting prostatic cell survival and fibrosis to accelerate BPH progression.

Genus Spatholobus: a comprehensive review on ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology

Edible medicinal plants are important sources for the development of health beneficial products and drugs. Several species of the genus Spatholobus are considered as medicinal and food homologous plants in various Asian countries for the treatment of menstrual pain, anemia, paralysis, arthralgia, etc. Regarding this genus, mounting investigations on different aspects have been conducted; however, a comprehensive review about these findings is yet to be compiled. Herein, we reviewed the up-to-date information on the botanical description, distribution, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology of the Spatholobus species for the first time to support their development potential. Thus far, 175 phytochemicals have been isolated, and flavonoids are the predominant constituents. Furthermore, 141 compounds show the ideal characteristic behavior of a drug-like molecule. Besides, the compounds and crude extracts of this genus have been demonstrated to exert a wide range of in vitro and in vivo bioactivities, such as antitumor activity, antioxidant activity, antiinflammatory activity, antiischemic activity, antimicrobial activity, and neuroprotective activity. Toxicity studies have revealed that Spatholobus species seem to have no apparent toxic effects. Even so, the need for in-depth studies to reveal the scientific connotation of the widely documented traditional actions, the structure-activity relationship of the bioactive compounds, and the systematic toxic reactions are warranted, and also to provide essential evidence for the beneficial use of Spatholobus plants and developing novel health care products and therapeutic drug from this genus.

Phosphoproteomics identifies potential downstream targets of the integrin α2β1 inhibitor BTT-3033 in prostate stromal cells

Background

Integrin α2β1 inhibitor BTT-3033 (1-(4-fluorophenyl)-N-methyl-N-[4[[(phenylamino)carbonyl]amino]phenyl]-1H-pyrazole-4-sulfonamide) was recently reported to inhibit neurogenic and thromboxane A2-induced human prostate smooth muscle contraction, and thus represents a target with a different inhibition spectrum than that of α1-blockers in benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) treatments. Clarifying the underlying mechanisms of the inhibition effects will provide insights into the role of integrin α2β1 in prostate contraction and enable new intracellular targets for smooth muscle contraction to be explored.

Methods

ProteomeHD was used to predict and enrich the top co-regulated proteins of integrin α2 (ITGA2). A phosphoproteomic analysis was conducted on human prostate stromal cells (WPMY-1) treated with 1 or 10 µM of BTT-3033 or solvent for controls. A clustering analysis was conducted to identify the intracellular targets that were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner. Gene ontology (GO) and annotation enrichments were conducted to examine any functional alterations and identify possible downstream targets. A Kinase-substrate enrichment analysis (KSEA) was conducted to identify kinases-substrate relationships.

Results

Enrichments of the actin cytoskeleton and guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) signaling were predicted from the co-regulated proteins with ITGA2. LIM domain kinases, including LIM domain and actin-binding 1 (LIMA1), zyxin (ZYX), and thyroid receptor-interacting protein 6 (TRIP6), which are functionally associated with focal adhesions and the cytoskeleton, were present in the clusters with dose-dependent phosphorylation inhibition pattern. 15 substrates were dose-dependently inhibited according to the KSEA, including polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), and GTPases signaling proteins, such as disheveled segment polarity protein 2 (DVL2).

Conclusions

In this study, we proposed that the mechanisms underlying the contractile and proliferative effects of integrin α2β1 are the LIM domain kinases, including the ZYX family, and substrates, including PLK1 and DVL2.

Pharmacokinetics of isocorynoxeine in rat plasma after intraperitoneal administration by UPLC–MS/MS

Isocorynoxeine is one of the main alkaloids in Chinese medicinal herbs, and has pharmacological activities such as antihypertensive, sedative, anticonvulsant, and neuronal protection. It is an effective component of Uncaria for the treatment of hypertension. In this study, we used a fast and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) to detect isocorynoxeine in rat plasma and investigated its pharmacokinetics in rats. Six rats were given isocorynoxeine (15 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration. Blood (100 μL) was withdrawn from the caudal vein at 5 and 30 min and 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24 h after administration. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a UPLC BEH C18 column using a mobile phase of acetonitrile–0.1% formic acid with gradient elution. Electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode with positive ionization was applied. Intra-day and inter-day precisions (relative standard deviation, %RSD) of isocorynoxeine in rat plasma were lower than 12%. The method was successfully applied in the pharmacokinetics of isocorynoxeine in rats after intraperitoneal administration. The t1/2 of isocorynoxeine is 4.9 ± 2.1 h, which indicates quick elimination.

Recent research progress of Uncaria spp. based on alkaloids: phytochemistry, pharmacology and structural chemistry

Medicinal plants are well-known in affording clinically useful agents, with rich medicinal values by combining with disease targets through various mechanisms. Plant secondary metabolites as lead compounds lay the foundation for the discovery and development of new drugs in disease treatment. Genus Uncaria from Rubiaceae family is a significant plant source of active alkaloids, with anti-hypertensive, sedative, anti-Alzheimer's disease, anti-drug addiction and anti-inflammatory effects. This review summarizes and discuss the research progress of Uncaria based on alkaloids in the past 15 years, mainly in the past 5 years, including biosynthesis, phytochemistry, pharmacology and structural chemistry. Among, focusing on representative compounds rhynchophylline and isorhynchophylline, the pharmacological activities surrounding the central nervous system and cardiovascular system are described in detail. On the basis of case studies, this article provides a brief overview of the synthesis and analogues of representative compounds types. In summary, this review provides an early basis for further searching for new targets and activities, discussing the mechanisms of pharmacological activity and studying the structure-activity relationships of active molecules.