Trametenolic Acid B Triggers HSP90AA4P and Autophagy in HepG2/2.2.15 Cells by Proteomic Analysis

An Overview of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment After Radical Resection of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

According to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) system, radical resection of early stage primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) mainly includes liver transplantation, surgical resection, and radiofrequency ablation (RFA), which yield 5-year survival rates of about 70-79%, 41.3-69.5%, and 40-70%, respectively. The tumor-free 5-year rate for HCC patients undergoing radical resection only reach up to 13.7 months, so the prevention of recurrence after radical resection of HCC is very important for the prognosis of patients. The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) takes the approach of multitarget and overall-regulation to treat tumors, it can also independently present the "component-target-pathway" related to a particular disease, and its systematic and holistic characteristics can provide a personalized therapy based on symptoms of the patient by treating the patient as a whole. TCM as postoperative adjuvant therapy after radical resection of HCC in Barcelona Clinic liver cancer A or B stages, and the numerous clinical trials confirmed that the efficacy of TCM in the field of HCC has a significant effect, not only improving the prognosis and quality of life but also enhancing patient survival rate. However, with the characteristics of multi-target, multi-component, and multi-pathway, the specific mechanism of Chinese medicine in the treatment of diseases is still unclear. Because of the positive pharmacological activities of TCM in combating anti-tumors, the mechanism studies of TCM have demonstrated beneficial effects on the regulation of immune function, chronic inflammation, the proliferation and metastasis of liver cancer cells, autophagy, and cell signaling pathways related to liver cancer. Therefore, this article reviews the mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in reducing the recurrence rate of HCC after radical resection.

SPOP regulates the expression profiles and alternative splicing events in human hepatocytes

Speckle type BTB/POZ protein (SPOP) may have cancer promoting or inhibiting effects. At present, the role of SPOP in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has rarely been studied. In this study, to investigate the effects of SPOP in HCC and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of its relationship with genes, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were classified through RNA sequencing. The gene ontology analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes functional pathway analysis were used to further predict the function of DEGs after the overexpression of SPOP. The biological function of SPOP-regulated alternative splicing events in cells is comprehensively assessed. The Cancer Genome Atlas database and Gene Expression Omnibus dataset were performed to evaluate the correlation between SPOP and HCC progression. Due to SPOP overexpression, 56 DEGs in the HCC related pathway were further identified. The results showed that SPOP overexpression facilitated the cell proliferation and changed the gene expression profiles of human normal hepatocytes. SPOP-regulated alternative splicing events were involved in pathways associated with cellular processes, metabolism, environmental information procession, organismal systems, and so on. In conclusion, SPOP may potentially exhibit tumor-promoting effects, necessitating further investigations to unveil its molecular mechanisms comprehensively.

Protective role of trametenolic acid B against sevoflurane-induced cognitive impairments by its different regulatory modalities of mir-329-3p in neurons and microglia

BACKGROUND

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction induced by anesthetics commonly occurs in elderly patients. This study aimed to evaluate the protective role of trametenolic acid B (TAB) in sevoflurane-induced cognitive impairments, and explore the underlying mechanisms.

METHODS

Animal and cell experiments were performed in rats, differentiated PC12 and HAPI cells by exposing to 2% sevoflurane for 5 h. Different concentration (20, 40 and 80 µg/mL) of TAB was administrated in rats and cells. The cognitive function of rats was evaluated using the Morris water maze test and fear conditioning test. The cell proliferation and apoptosis were investigated using a CCK-8 assay and the flow cytometry. Pro-inflammatory cytokines in microglia were measured using ELISA kits. A miRNA microarray assay was conducted to screen differentially expressed miRNAs by TAB in both PC12 and HAPI cells. The luciferase reporter assay and western blot assay were used to assess the E2F1/CCNA2 and NF-κB pathways.

RESULTS

TAB significantly alleviated sevoflurane-induced cognitive impairments in rats, improved PC12 cell viability, and inhibited the neuroinflammation of HAPI cells. miR-329-3p was downregulated in PC12 cells but upregulated in HAPI cells by TAB treatment, which mediated the effects of TAB on neurotoxicity and neuroinflammation. E2F1 and NF-κB P65 were two targets of miR-329-3p, and the E2F1/CCNA2 and NF-κB pathways were inhibited by miR-329-3p in PC12 and HAPI cells, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

All the results provide evidence for the protective role of TAB against sevoflurane-induced cognitive impairments, which was achieved by alleviating neurotoxicity and neuroinflammation through differentially regulating miR-329-3p in neurons and microglia.

Metabolomics combined with network pharmacology to explore the mechanisms of modified Guishen pill to ameliorate polycystic ovary syndrome

BACKGROUND

The modified Guishen pill (MGP) has a prominent therapeutic effect on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, its mechanism is still unclear. This study aimed to uncover the mechanism of MGP for PCOS treatment through a comprehensive strategy integrating metabolomics and network pharmacology.

METHODS

A letrozole-induced PCOS model was used to evaluate ovarian function in rats. Plasma metabolomics was used to authenticate differential metabolites and enriched related pathways using the MetaboAnalyst platform. Network pharmacology was utilized to explore the endogenous targets of MGP treatment for PCOS. Finally, the potential targets and related biological functions were verified experimentally.

RESULTS

MGP improved PCOS symptoms by regulating abnormal levels of sex hormones and alleviating ovarian pathological changes in rats; fifty-four potential differential metabolites involved in MGP treatment for PCOS, and the hub genes derived from network pharmacology were consistent with the metabolomic analysis results to varying degrees. The comprehensive analysis identified that a key novel target for endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS/NOS3), five key metabolites (ornithine, citrulline, l-glutamic acid, acetylornithine, and hydroxyproline), and one pathway (arginine and proline metabolism) were related to the therapy of PCOS with MGP. Subsequently, we verified the localization and expression of eNOS in the ovaries, and it significantly improved insulin resistance, apoptosis, and oxidative stress in letrozole-induced PCOS rats.

CONCLUSION

Our work reveals the complex mechanism of MGP therapy for PCOS. This study is a successful paradigm for elucidating the pharmacological mechanism of the traditional Chinese medicine compound.