In Vitro Metabolism of Auriculasin and Its Inhibitory Effects on Human Cytochrome P450 and UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase Enzymes

Auriculasin induces mitochondrial oxidative stress and drives ferroptosis by inhibiting PI3K/Akt pathway in non-small cell lung cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for the majority of cases of lung cancer with poor outcomes. Auriculasin is a prenylated isoflavone abundant in the root of F. philippinensis with multiple pharmacological effects, including anticancer role. However, its roles in NSCLC remain largely unknown. NSCLC A549 cells were treated with auriculasin in vitro, and used to induce xenograft models. Cell viability was detected via CCK-8 assay. Mitochondrial oxidative stress was analyzed by JC-1 staining, ROS staining, and levels of MDA, SOD and GSH. Ferroptosis was assessed via iron content, and levels of ACSL4, PTGS2, FSP1 and GPX4. The phosphorylation levels of PI3K and Akt were measured by western blot. Auriculasin reduced NSCLC cell viability. Auriculasin promoted mitochondrial oxidative stress by reducing mitochondrial membrane potential, SOD and GSH levels, and enhancing ROS and MDA contents. In addition, auriculasin induced ferroptosis via increasing iron, ACSL4 and PTGS3 levels, and decreasing FSP1 and GPX4 levels. Furthermore, the potential targets of auriculasin in NSCLC were enriched in PI3K/Akt signaling. Auriculasin blunted PI3K/Akt pathway activation by blocking the phosphorylation. Activated PI3K/Akt signaling by activator 740Y-P reversed the effects of auriculasin on mitochondrial oxidative stress and ferroptosis. Finally, auriculasin reduced NSCLC cell growth in xenograft models. Auriculasin facilitates mitochondrial oxidative stress and induces ferroptosis through inhibiting PI3K/Akt pathway in NSCLC.

Mechanism and application of ferroptosis in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignant tumor in the world. CRC has high morbidity and mortality rates and it is a serious threat to human health. Ferroptosis is a unique form of iron-dependent oxidative cell death that is usually accompanied by iron accumulation and lipid peroxidation. Ferroptosis has attracted worldwide attention since it was first proposed. It plays an important role in the development of a variety of diseases, such as tumors, ischemia/reperfusion injury, nervous system diseases, and kidney damage, and it may serve as a new therapeutic target. This article reviews the mechanism of ferroptosis and the possibility to target ferroptosis pathways in CRC, providing new ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of CRC.

In vitro differences in toddalolactone metabolism in various species and its effect on cytochrome P450 expression

CONTEXT

Toddalolactone, the main component of Toddalia asiatica (L.) Lam. (Rutaceae), has anticancer, antihypertension, anti-inflammatory, and antifungal activities.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the metabolic characteristics of toddalolactone.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Toddalolactone metabolic stabilities were investigated by incubating toddalolactone (20 μM) with liver microsomes from humans, rabbits, mice, rats, dogs, minipigs, and monkeys for 0, 30, 60, and 90 min. The CYP isoforms involved in toddalolactone metabolism were characterized based on chemical inhibition studies and screening assays. The effects of toddalolactone (0, 10, and 50 µM) on CYP1A1 and CYP3A5 protein expression were investigated by immunoblotting. After injecting toddalolactone (10 mg/kg), in vivo pharmacokinetic profiles using six Sprague-Dawley rats were investigated by taking 9-time points, including 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 h.

RESULTS

Monkeys showed the greatest metabolic capacity in CYP-mediated and UGT-mediated reaction systems with short half-lives (T_1/2) of 245 and 66 min, respectively, while T_1/2 of humans in two reaction systems were 673 and 83 min, respectively. CYP1A1 and CYP3A5 were the major CYP isoforms involved in toddalolactone biotransformation. Induction of CYP1A1 protein expression by 50 μM toddalolactone was approximately 50% greater than that of the control (0 μM). Peak plasma concentration (C_max) for toddalolactone was 0.42 μg/mL, and T_max occurred at 0.25 h post-dosing. The elimination t_1/2 was 1.05 h, and the AUC_0-t was 0.46 μg/mL/h.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings demonstrated the significant species differences of toddalolactone metabolic profiles, which will promote appropriate species selection in further toddalolactone studies.

Species Difference in the Metabolism of Mulberrin in Vitro and Its Inhibitory Effect on Cytochrome P450 and UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase Enzymes

This study aimed to evaluate the interspecies difference in metabolism of mulberrin and examine the interaction between mulberrin and CYP enzymes or recombinant human uridine 5'-diphosphate (UDP)-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) enzymes. Liver microsomes from human (HLMs), Beagle dog (DLMs), minipig (PLMs), monkey (MLMs), rabbit (RLMs), rat (RAMs), and mouse (MIMs) were used to investigate metabolic diversity among different species. Additionally, recombinant human supersomes were used to confirm that metabolic enzymes are involved in the biotransformation of mulberrin. We also evaluated the influence of mulberrin on protein expression by Western blot analysis. Mulberrin metabolism showed significant interspecies differences. We found four and two metabolites in phase I and II reaction systems, respectively. In phase I metabolism profiles of mulberrin for HLMs, PLMs and MLMs conformed to the classic Michaelis-Menten kinetics, RAMs and MIMs followed biphasic kinetics; phase II reaction of mulberrin in HLMs, DLMs, PLMs, MLMs, RLMs, RAMs and MIMs followed biphasic kinetics. UGT1A1 were the major CYP isoforms responsible for the metabolism of mulberrin. Mulberrin showed potent inhibitory effects against CYP3A4, CYP2C9, CYP2E1, UGT1A1, UGT1A3 and UGT2B7 with IC₅₀ values of 54.21, 9.93, 39.12, 3.84, 2.01, 16.36 µM, respectively. According to Western blot analysis, mulberrin can upregulate the protein expression of CYP2C19, and downregulate the expression levels of CYP3A5 and CYP2C9 in HepG2 cells as concentration increased. The interspecies comparisons can help find other species with metabolic pathways similar to those in humans for future in vivo studies.

Metabolism of gartanin in liver microsomes and its modulating effects on cytochrome P450s

Gartanin, a compound found in mangosteen, has various pharmacological activities, including anticancer, anti-inflammation, and antioxidation.In the present study, we reported differences of gartanin metabolism among species and the effect of gartanin on cytochrome P450 (CYP) activities and protein expression.We found significant difference in gartanin metabolism among species, where rabbits and humans had similar metabolic characteristics. Five CYP-catalysed metabolites and three glucuronosyltransferase (UGT)-catalysed metabolites were identified by LC-MS/MS. Hydroxylation was the major metabolic pathway. Gartanin exhibited mixed inhibition on CYP1A2 activity with IC₅₀ and K_i values of 1.48 and 3.71 μM, respectively. In addition, gartanin down-regulated the protein expressions of CYP2C9 and CYP2D6 and up-regulated the protein expression of CYP2D6. The present study supports the pharmacological and toxicological research of gartanin.

Obese rats intervened with Rhizoma coptidis revealed differential gene expression and microbiota by serum metabolomics

Background

Integrating systems biology is an approach for investigating metabolic diseases in humans. However, few studies use this approach to investigate the mechanism by which Rhizoma coptidis (RC) reduces the effect of lipids and glucose on high-fat induced obesity in rats.

Methods

Twenty-four specific pathogen-free (SPF) male Sprague–Dawley rats (80 ± 10 g) were used in this study. Serum metabolomics were detected by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. Liver tissue and cecum feces were used for RNA-Seq technology and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, respectively.

Results

We identified nine potential biomarkers, which are differential metabolites in the Control, Model and RC groups, including linoleic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, arachidonic acid, stearic acid, and L-Alloisoleucine (p < 0.01). The liver tissue gene expression profile indicated the circadian rhythm pathway was significantly affected by RC (Q ≤ 0.05). A total of 149 and 39 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), which were highly associated with biochemical indicators and potential biomarkers in the cecum samples (FDR ≤ 0.05), respectively, were identified.

Conclusion

This work provides information to better understand the mechanism of the effect of RC intervention on hyperlipidemia and hypoglycemic effects in obese rats. The present study demonstrates that integrating systems biology may be a powerful tool to reveal the complexity of metabolic diseases in rats intervened by traditional Chinese medicine.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12906-021-03382-3.

Preparation of a Sensor Based on Biomass Porous Carbon/Covalent-Organic Frame Composites for Pesticide Residues Detection

In this work, a covalent-organic framework with high carbon and nitrogen content microstructures (named COF-LZU1), assisted by 3D nitrogen-containing kenaf stem composites (represented as COF-LZU1/3D-KSCs), was constructed. Moreover, it was utilized for immobilizing acetylcholinesterase (AChE) for identifying trichlorfon, a commonly applied organophosphorus (OP) pesticide. The development of COF-LZU1/3D-KSC was affirmed by SEM, PXRD, and EDXS. The findings confirmed that COF-LZU1 microstructures were uniformly developed on 3D-KSC holes using a one-step synthesis approach, which can substantially enhance the effective surface area. Also, the COF-LZU1/3D-KSC composite contains not only the nitrogen element in COF-LZU1 but also the nitrogen element in 3D-KSC, which will greatly improve the biocompatibility of the material. The AChE/COF-LZU1/3D-KSC integrated electrode was fabricated by directly fixing a large amount of AChE on the composite. At the same time, the integrated electrode had good detection efficiency for trichlorfon. Improved stabilization, a wide-linear-range (0.2–19 ng/mL), and a lower detection limit (0.067 ng/mL) have been displayed by the sensor. Therefore, this sensor can be used as an important platform for the on-site detection of OP residue.

An In Vitro Study for Evaluating Permeability and Metabolism of Kurarinone

Kurarinone is a major component found in the dried roots of Sophora flavescens Ait. that participates in vital pharmacological activities. Recombinant CYP450 supersomes and liver microsomes were used to study the metabolic profiles of kurarinone and its inhibitory actions against cytochrome P450 (CYP) and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) enzymes. 100 μM of kurarinone strongly inhibited more than 90% of UGT1A1, UGT1A6, CYP1A2, and CYP2C9. CYP1A2 and CYP2D6 played important roles in catalyzing the biotransformation of kurarinone. Moreover, metabolism of kurarinone considerably differs among species, and metabolic characteristics were similar between monkey and human. Kurarinone demonstrated moderate permeability at values of pH 4.0 and 7.4. Our findings offer a clearer idea to understand the pharmacological and toxicological mechanisms of kurarinone.