Modulation of GPCR receptors common to gut inflammatory diseases and neuronal disorders, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases as druggable targets through Withania somnifera bioactives: an in silico study

In vivo and in vitro anti-inflammation of Rhapontici Radix extract on mastitis via TMEM59 and GPR161

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Rhapontici Radix ethanol extract (RRE) is derived from the dried root of Rhaponticum uniflorum (L.) DC belonging to the Asteraceae family. RRE exhibits significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties; however, the potential of RRE in mastitis treatment requires further investigation.

AIM OF THIS STUDY

This research was performed to examine the protective properties of RRE against mastitis and the mechanisms underlying the effects of RRE.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

RRE components were analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS and DPPH methods. Isochlorogenic acid B (ICAB) was obtained commercially. MTT assay was utilized to assess RRE or ICAB cytotoxicity in bovine mammary alveolar (MAC-T) cells. Immunohistochemistry were used to investigate the pathological alterations in mammary tissue. The protein levels of inflammatory cytokines and mediators were analyzed using ELISA, and the expression of MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways, as well as p65 nuclear translocation, were analyzed through Western blotting and immunofluorescence techniques, respectively. Target proteins of RRE were screened by RNA-seq and tandem mass tag analyses. Protein interaction was revealed and confirmed using co-immunoprecipitation and CRISPR/Cas9-based knockdown and overexpression of target genes.

RESULTS

ICAB was revealed as one of the main components in RRE, and it was responsible for 84.33% of RRE radical scavenging activity. Both RRE and ICAB mitigated the infiltration of T lymphocytes in the mammary glands of mice, leading to decreased levels of inflammatory mediators (COX-2 and iNOS) and cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced MAC-T cells. Furthermore, RRE and ICAB suppressed the LPS-induced phosphorylation of NF-κB inhibitor and p65, thereby impeding p65 nuclear translocation in mouse mammary glands and MAC-T cells. In addition, RRE and ICAB attenuated the LPS-triggered activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1/2, p38, and extracellular regulated protein kinase 1/2. Importantly, co-treated with LPS and ICAB in MAC-T cells, an upregulation of G-protein coupled receptor 161 (GPR161) and transmembrane protein 59 (TMEM59) was observed; the interact between TMEM59 and was found, leading to inhibition of NF-κB activity and inflammatory cytokine production.

CONCLUSION

ICAB is a prominent antioxidant in RRE. RRE and ICAB reduce mammary inflammation via MAPK and NF-κB pathways and the interaction between TMEM59 and GPR161 mediates the control of ICAB in NF-κB signaling.

Phyto-therapeutic potential of Withania somnifera: Molecular mechanism and health implications

Withania somnifera, the plant named Indian ginseng, Ashwagandha, or winter cherry, has been used since ancient times to cure various health ailments. Withania somnifera is rich in constituents belonging to chemical classes like alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and withanolides. Several chemotypes were identified based on their phytochemical composition and credited for their multiple bioactivities. Besides, exhibiting neuroprotective, immunomodulatory, adaptogenic, anti-stress, bone health, plant has shown promising anti-cancer properties. Several withanolides have been reported to play a crucial role in cancer; they target cancer cells by different mechanisms such as modulating the expression of tumor suppressor genes, apoptosis, telomerase expression, and regulating cell signaling pathway. Though, many treatments are available for cancer; however, to date, no assured reliable cure for cancer is made available. Additionally, synthetic drugs may lead to development of resistance in time; therefore, focus on new and natural drugs for cancer therapeutics may prove a longtime effective alternative. This current report is a comprehensive combined analysis upto 2023 with articles focused on bio-activities of plant Withania somnifera from various sources, including national and international government sources. This review focuses on understanding of various mechanisms and pathways to inhibit uncontrolled cell growth by W. somnifera bioactives, as reported in literature. This review provides a recent updated status of the W. somnifera on pharmacological properties in general and anti-cancer in particular and may provide a guiding resource for researchers associated with natural product-based cancer research and healthcare management.

Can Ashwagandha Benefit the Endocrine System?-A Review

Withania somnifera, also known as Ashwagandha, has been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years. Due to the wide range of its activities, there has been interest in its possible beneficial effects on the human body. It is proved that, among others, Ashwagandha has anti-stress, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, cardioprotective, and hypolipidemic properties. Particularly interesting are its properties reported in the field of psychiatry and neurology: in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, depression, bipolar disorder, insomnia, anxiety disorders and many others. The aim of this review is to find and summarize the effect that Ashwagandha root extract has on the endocrine system and hormones. The multitude of active substances and the wide hormonal problems faced by modern society sparked our interest in the topic of Ashwagandha's impact on this system. In this work, we also attempted to draw conclusions as to whether W. somnifera can help normalize the functions of the human endocrine system in the future. The search mainly included research published in the years 2010-2023. The results of the research show that Ashwagandha can have a positive effect on the functioning of the endocrine system, including improving the secretory function of the thyroid gland, normalizing adrenal activity, and multidirectional improvement on functioning of the reproductive system. The main mechanism of action in the latter appears to be based on the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, as a decrease in cortisol levels and an increase in hormones such as luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in men were found, which results in stress level reduction and improvement in fertility. In turn, other studies prove that active substances from W. somnifera, acting on the body, cause an increase in the secretion of triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) by the thyroid gland and a subsequent decrease in the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in accordance with the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis. In light of these findings, it is clear that Ashwagandha holds significant promise as a natural remedy for various health concerns, especially those related to the endocrine system. Future research may provide new insights into its mechanisms of action and expand its applications in both traditional and modern medicine. The safety and toxicity of Ashwagandha also remain important issues, which may affect its potential use in specific patient groups.

Inhibition of LINGO1 as a therapeutic target to promote axonal regeneration and repair for neurological disorders

The Central nervous system is blemished by the high incidence of neurodegenerative diseases, which is known to cause disfiguration of regeneration and repair of axonal growth. Recognition of proteins that act as agents of repressing such repair has become the norm to tackle these abominable conditions. One such protein is LINGO1 that act as a repressor for axonal growth. Being one of the critical causative agents of several neurodegenerative pathways. Consequently, its inhibition may tend to help the outcomes of regenerative technologies aiming to outweigh the symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases. For this objective, LINGO1 was targeted with pharmacophore analogs of Fasudil and Ibuprofen, as they are known to have a deterring effect against the concerned protein. 1-Tosyl-2-(chloromethyl)-2,3-dihydro-1H-indole was found showing the least binding score of - 6.8, with verified ADMET admissibility. The pharmacological activity of the said ligand was estimated with QSAR tool showing favourable electro-steric model. All this was finally collaborated with a molecular dynamics simulation study which exhibited a stable structure compatibility of the ligand with LINGO-1. Further, the efficacy of the compound can be evaluated through experimental studies for inferring its future potential and utilization as an effective means to tackle neuronal regeneration and remyleination.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-023-03789-4.

Identification of Potential Parkinson's Disease Drugs Based on Multi-Source Data Fusion and Convolutional Neural Network

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a serious neurodegenerative disease. Most of the current treatment can only alleviate symptoms, but not stop the progress of the disease. Therefore, it is crucial to find medicines to completely cure PD. Finding new indications of existing drugs through drug repositioning can not only reduce risk and cost, but also improve research and development efficiently. A drug repurposing method was proposed to identify potential Parkinson’s disease-related drugs based on multi-source data integration and convolutional neural network. Multi-source data were used to construct similarity networks, and topology information were utilized to characterize drugs and PD-associated proteins. Then, diffusion component analysis method was employed to reduce the feature dimension. Finally, a convolutional neural network model was constructed to identify potential associations between existing drugs and LProts (PD-associated proteins). Based on 10-fold cross-validation, the developed method achieved an accuracy of 91.57%, specificity of 87.24%, sensitivity of 95.27%, Matthews correlation coefficient of 0.8304, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.9731 and area under the precision–recall curve of 0.9727, respectively. Compared with the state-of-the-art approaches, the current method demonstrates superiority in some aspects, such as sensitivity, accuracy, robustness, etc. In addition, some of the predicted potential PD therapeutics through molecular docking further proved that they can exert their efficacy by acting on the known targets of PD, and may be potential PD therapeutic drugs for further experimental research. It is anticipated that the current method may be considered as a powerful tool for drug repurposing and pathological mechanism studies.