Study on the mechanisms of the cross-resistance to TET, PIP, and GEN in Staphylococcus aureus mediated by the Rhizoma Coptidis extracts

Integrating transcriptomics and network pharmacology to reveal the mechanisms of total Rhizoma Coptidis alkaloids against nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has emerged as a major cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, posing a significant threat to public health. Rhizoma Coptidis, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb has been shown to have significant curative effects on liver diseases. Total Rhizoma Coptidis Alkaloids (TRCA) is a primarily alkaloid mixture extracted from Rhizoma Coptidis, and its constituents are widely accepted to have hepatoprotective effects.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This work aimed to investigate the efficacy and potential mechanisms of TRCA in ameliorating NASH through both in vitro experiments and in vivo mouse models.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study employed a mice model induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) to evaluate the effectiveness and pharmacological mechanisms of TRCA in alleviating NASH. Transcriptomic sequencing and network pharmacology were used to explore the possible targets and mechanisms of TRCA to ameliorate NASH. Further validation was performed in free fatty acid (FFA)-induced human hepatocytes (LO2) and human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2).

RESULTS

TRCA effectively ameliorated the main features of NASH such as lipid accumulation, hepatitis and hepatic fibrosis in the liver tissue of mice induced by HFD, as well as improved glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in mice. Combined with transcriptomic and network pharmacological analyses, 68 core targets associated with the improvement of NASH by TRCA were obtained. According to the KEGG results, the core targets were significantly enriched in the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway whereas TRCA ameliorated the aberrant down-regulation of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway induced by HFD. Furthermore, the five highest-ranked genes were obtained by PPI network analysis. Moreover, our findings suggest that TRCA may impede the progression of HFD-induced NASH by regulating the expression of PPARG, MMP9, ALB, CCL2, and EGFR.

CONCLUSIONS

TRCA can ameliorate HFD-induced liver injury by modulating aberrant downregulation of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. Key proteins such as PPARG, MMP9, ALB, CCL2, and EGFR may be critical targets for TRCA to ameliorate NASH. This finding supports using Rhizoma Coptidis, a well-known herbal medicine, as a potential therapeutic agent for NASH.

Interventional effect of processing temperature on anti-angiogenesis of Coptis chinensis and screening of active components by UPLC-MS/MS on quail chick chorioallantoic membrane model

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Coptis chinensis Franch. (CC), as a commonly used heat-clearing and toxin-resolving traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has gained increased attention for its anti-tumor activity. However, little is known about the anti-tumor angiogenesis effect of CC and its possible bioactive components. Also, it has been shown that temperature affects the quality of CC, albeit whether and how it affects the anti-angiogenic activity of CC is currently unknown.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To determine the processing temperatures (40, 60, 80, 120, 140, 150, 160 and 200 °C) at which CC has the strongest anti-angiogenic effect and speculate the possible bioactive components.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The q-CAM model was constructed to explore the anti-angiogenesis agents of CC. The angiogenesis inhibition effects of CC samples at different processing temperatures and its seven alkaloids were determined based on morphological observation and vascular area proportion analysis. UPLC-MS/MS was employed to screen the potent active components of CC on anti-angiogenesis.

RESULTS

All the intervention by CC at different processing temperatures and its seven alkaloids could inhibit angiogenesis on q-CAM vessels, as evidenced by a poor vasular development in morphological observation and a low vascular area proportion in vascular quantitative analysis, most evident in CC processed at 40 °C and palmatine. LC-MS revealed that palmatine displayed strongest inhibitory effect on q-CAM vessels with a high absorption due to its stable structure. And the maternal nucleus transformation phenomenon of CC alkaloids was found in the quail embryo metabolism.

CONCLUSIONS

The q-CAM models in conjunction with the UPLC-MS/MS technique could be a useful tool for assessing tumor angiogenesis and screening tumor-targeted medicines. Processing temperature can affect the anti-angiogenesis effect of CC because of its function on the content of alkaloids, and palmatine can be considered as a prospective anti-angiogenic drug.

The public health issue of antibiotic residues in food and feed: Causes, consequences, and potential solutions

Antibiotics are among the essential veterinary medicine compounds associated with animal feed and food animal production. The use of antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial infections is almost unavoidable, with less need to demonstrate their importance. Although banned as a growth factor for a few years, their use in animals can add residues in foodstuffs, presenting several environmental, technological, animal health, and consumer health risks. With regard to human health risks, antibiotic residues induce and accelerate antibiotic resistance development, promote the transfer of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to humans, cause allergies (penicillin), and induce other severe pathologies, such as cancers (sulfamethazine, oxytetracycline, and furazolidone), anaphylactic shock, nephropathy (gentamicin), bone marrow toxicity, mutagenic effects, and reproductive disorders (chloramphenicol). Antibiotic resistance, which has excessively increased over the years, is one of the adverse consequences of this phenomenon, constituting a severe public health issue, thus requiring the regulation of antibiotics in all areas, including animal breeding. This review discusses the common use of antibiotics in agriculture and antibiotic residues in food/feed. In-depth, we discussed the detection techniques of antibiotic residues, potential consequences on the environment and animal health, the technological transformation processes and impacts on consumer health, and recommendations to mitigate this situation.