Deer antler based active ingredients have protective effects on LPS/d-GalN-induced acute liver injury in mice through MAPK and NF-κB signalling pathways

Palmatine Protects PC12 Cells and Mice from Aβ25-35-Induced Oxidative Stress and Neuroinflammation via the Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway

Alzheimer's disease is a common degenerative disease which has a great impact on people's daily lives, but there is still a certain market gap in the drug research about it. Palmatine, one of the main components of Huangteng, the rattan stem of Fibraurea recisa Pierre (Menispermaceae), has potential in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of palmatine on amyloid beta protein 25-35-induced rat pheochromocytoma cells and AD mice and to investigate its mechanism of action. CCK8 assays, ELISA, the Morris water maze assay, fluorescent probes, calcein/PI staining, immunofluorescent staining and Western blot analysis were used. The experimental results show that palmatine can increase the survival rate of Aβ25-35-induced PC12 cells and mouse hippocampal neurons, reduce apoptosis, reduce the content of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, GSH, SOD, MDA and ROS, improve the learning and memory ability of AD mice, inhibit the expression of Keap-1 and Bax, and promote the expression of Nrf2, HO-1 and Bcl-2. We conclude that palmatine can ameliorate oxidative stress and neuroinflammation produced by Aβ25-35-induced PC12 cells and mice by modulating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. In conclusion, our results suggest that palmatine may have a potential therapeutic effect on AD and could be further investigated as a promising therapeutic agent for AD. It provides a theoretical basis for the development of related drugs.

TMT-based quantitative proteomics reveals the targets of andrographolide on LPS-induced liver injury

BACKGROUND

Andrographolide (Andro) is a diterpenoid derived from Andrographis paniculate, which has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral and hepatoprotective activities. Gram-negative bacterial infections can cause varying degrees of liver injury in chickens, although Andro has been shown to have a protective effect on the liver, its underlying mechanism of action and effects on liver proteins are not known.

METHODS

The toxicity of Andro on the viability of leghorn male hepatoma (LMH) cells at different concentrations and times was analyzed by CCK-8 assays. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities in the culture supernatants were measured using an automatic biochemical analyzer to evaluate the protective effect of androscopolide on LPS-induced injury of LMH cells. Subsequently, TMT proteomics analysis were performed on the negative control group (NC group), LPS, and LPS-Andro groups, and bioinformatics analysis was performed on the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs).

RESULTS

It was found that Andro reduced ALT and AST levels in the cell supernatant and alleviated LPS-induced injury in LMH cells. Proteomic analysis identified 50 and 166 differentially expressed proteins in the LPS vs. NC group and LPS-Andro vs. LPS group, respectively. Andro may be involved in steroid metabolic processes, negative regulation of MAPK cascade, oxidative stress, and other processes to protect against LPS-induced liver injury.

CONCLUSIONS

Andro protects against LPS-induced liver injury, HMGCS1, HMGCR, FDPS, PBK, CAV1, PRDX1, PRDX4, and PRDX6, which were identified by differential proteomics, may be the targets of Andro. Our study may provide new theoretical support for Andro protection against liver injury.

Enzyme-derived deer velvet extract activate the immune response in cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressive mice

Deer velvet (DV) is an oriental traditional medicine used to treat various diseases. The present study examined the effect of flavourzyme-derived DV extract (YC-1101) on macrophages and an immunosuppressed mouse model. YC-1101 induced activation of macrophages as measured by nitric oxide production, cell proliferation, and cytokine release via concentration-dependent phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and AKT, and nuclear translocation of p65 in macrophages. In addition, oral YC-1101 administration significantly increased splenocyte proliferation and natural killer cell activity in the immunosuppressed mouse model. Moreover, the levels of immune-related cytokines such as tumor necrotic factor-α, interferon-γ, and interleukin-2 were significantly increased by YC-1101 treatment comparable to the control group. Thus, these results suggest that YC-1101 is an efficient natural ingredient that has an immune-enhancing effect, and it might be a potential functional food for improving immunity.

Triterpene acid from Antrodia camphorata alleviates inflammation in acute liver injury

This study aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of Anctin A, the Antrodia camphorata terpene component, in resisting liver injury. Network pharmacology analysis revealed that MAPK3 was the major action target of Antcin A. Furthermore, experimental research suggested that Antcin A suppressed mouse liver injury, reduced the inflammatory factor levels, and enhanced the anti-oxidative capacity. Meanwhile, it suppressed the expression of MAPK3 and the downstream NF-κB signal, while it did not significantly affect the expression of MAPK1. Based on network pharmacology method, this study discovers that the anti-liver injury effect of Antcin A is mainly related to MAPK3, and that Antcin A can suppress the activation of MAPK3 and its downstream NF-κB to inhibit mouse ALI.

Health Effects of Peptides Extracted from Deer Antler

Deer antler is widely used as a nutraceutical in Asian countries. In the past decades, deer antler peptides (DAPs) have received considerable attention because of their various biological properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bone damage, anti-neurological disease, anti-tumor and immunomodulatory properties. This review describes the production methods of DAPs and the recent progress of research on DAPs, focusing on the physiological functions and their regulatory mechanisms.

Alkannin reverses lipopolysaccharides-induced inflammatory responses by suppressing mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor kappa-B signalling

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease that seriously affects human health worldwide. Meanwhile, inflammation in RAW264.7 cells could lead to the progression of RA. Alkannin (ALK) is derived from Alkanna tinctoria and is known to exert anti-tumor effects. However, the function of ALK in inflammation of RAW264.7 cells remains unclear. Thus, this research sought to investigate the detailed function of ALK in inflammatory responses of RAW264.7 cells. To induce an inflammatory response, RAW264.7 cells were exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). MTT assay was applied to examine cell viability. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to assess the levels of inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, the mechanism underlying ALK function in inflammatory responses was investigated using RT-qPCR and western blotting. The data revealed that LPS significantly increased the expression of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), Interleukin (IL)-1β, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and IL-6, whereas ALK reversed this effect. ALK also restored LPS-induced nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) activation by inhibiting the downregulation of p-inhibitor kappa B alpha (IκBα). LPS elevated p-extracellular regulated protein kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2), phosphorylated p38 (p-p38), and phosphorylated -c-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK) levels, which were markedly decreased in the presence of ALK. In summary, Alkannin attenuated LPS-induced inflammation by inhibiting NF-κB and MAPK signaling. Thus, our research might provide a new theoretical basis for exploring new strategies against RA.