Poricoic acid A induces mitophagy to ameliorate podocyte injury in diabetic kidney disease via downregulating FUNDC1

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a devastating complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) and is the most prevalent chronic kidney disease (CKD). Poricoic acid A (PAA), a component isolated from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Poria cocos, has hypoglycaemic and anti-fibrosis effects. However, the role of PAA in DKD remains largely unclear. To mimics an in vitro model of DKD, the mouse podocyte MPC5 cells were treated with high glucose (25 mM; HG) for 24 h. CCK-8 and flow cytometry assays were conducted for assessing MPC5 cell viability and apoptosis. Meanwhile, streptozotocin (STZ) was used to induce experimental DKD in mice by intraperitoneal injection. PAA notably inhibited the apoptosis and inflammation, reduced the generation of ROS, and elevated the MMP level in HG-treated MPC5 cells. Moreover, PAA obviously reduced blood glucose and urine protein levels, inhibited renal fibrosis in DKD mice. Meanwhile, PAA markedly increased LC3 and ATG5 levels and declined p62 and FUNDC1 levels in HG-treated MPC5 cells and in the kidney tissues of DKD mice, leading to the activation of cell mitophagy. Furthermore, the downregulation of FUNDC1 also inhibited apoptosis, inflammation, and promoted mitophagy in HG-treated MPC5 cells. As expected, the knockdown of FUNDC1 further enhanced the protective role of PAA in MPC5 cells following HG treatment, indicating that induction of mitophagy could attenuate podocyte injury. Collectively, PAA could exert beneficial effects on podocyte injury in DKD by promoting mitophagy via downregulating FUNDC1. These findings suggested that PAA may have great potential in alleviating kidney injury in DKD.

Natural product therapies in chronic kidney diseases: An update

Chronic kidney disease is one of the major worldwide public health problems. Traditional Chinese medications have been widely used for chronic kidney disease treatment. As the development of modern phytochemistry technology, natural products have been isolated from traditional Chinese medications, which provide a more precise method for the investigation of traditional Chinese medications. In this article, we selected eight natural products from traditional Chinese medications for chronic kidney disease therapy to summarize the recent advances for the development of new medications.

Geographical traceability and multielement analysis of edible and medicinal fungi: Taking Wolfiporia cocos (F.A. Wolf) Ryvarden and Gilb. as an example

Different geographical environment has a certain influence on the accumulation of fungi elements and chemical components. However, our knowledge is limited to elucidate the fungi elements in response to heterogeneous environmental and the quality differences among different habitats. Here, multielement analysis, FTIR spectrum, and feature-level fusion technique combined with chemometrics were used to study Wolfiporia cocos from different geographical areas, different sampling sites and different altitude sources. From the results, (1) there is significant difference in element content of samples from different sampling sites and no positive correlation with geographical ranges. (2) There is a correlation between elevation and elements, and relatively low elevation (<1,800 m) is conducive to the enrichment of elements. (3) From the perspective of elements, the W. cocos in Yuxi have relatively better quality. (4) FTIR and feature-level models can well realize origin identification. The SVM models are better than the PLS-DA models, and the feature-level model is better than the single FTIR models. In summary, this study demonstrated that the developed method was reliable and could realize the genuineness evaluation and origin identification of W. cocos. The results have implications for the establishment of the technology system of geographical traceability and the development of high-quality geographical indication products of W. cocos.

Natural products for the prevention and treatment of kidney disease

BACKGROUND

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the common causes resulting in a high morbidity and mortality. Renal fibrosis is the main pathological features of CKD. Natural products have begun to gain widely popularity worldwide for promoting healthcare and preventing CKD, and have been used as a conventional or complementary therapy for CKD treatment.

PURPOSE

The present paper reviewed the therapeutic effects of natural products on CKD and revealed the molecular mechanisms of their anti-fibrosis.

METHODS

All the available information on natural products against renal fibrosis was collected via a library and electronic search (using Web of Science, Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Splinker, etc.).

RESULTS

Accumulated evidence demonstrated that natural products exhibited the beneficial effects for CKD treatment and against renal fibrosis. This review presents an overview of the molecular mechanism of CKD and natural products against renal fibrosis, followed by an in-depth discussion of their molecular mechanism of natural products including isolated compounds and crude extracts against renal fibrosis in vitro and in vivo. A number of isolated compounds have been confirmed to retard renal fibrosis.

CONCLUSION

The review provides comprehensive insights into pathophysiological mechanisms of CKD and natural products against renal fibrosis. Particular challenges are presented and placed within the context of future applications of natural products against renal fibrosis.

Novel inhibitors of the cellular renin-angiotensin system components, poricoic acids, target Smad3 phosphorylation and Wnt/β-catenin pathway against renal fibrosis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Tubulo-interstitial fibrosis is the final pathway in the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) to kidney failure. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays a major role in CKD progression. Hence, we determined the efficacy of novel RAS inhibitors isolated from Poria cocos against renal fibrosis.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

Effects of three novel tetracyclic triterpenoid compounds, poricoic acid ZC (PZC), poricoic acid ZD (PZD) and poricoic acid ZE (PZE), were investigated on TGFβ1- and angiotensin II (AngII)-treated HK-2 cells and unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) in mice. Immunofluorescence staining, quantitative real-time PCR, siRNA, co-immunoprecipitation and Western blot analyses were used to evaluate expression of key molecules in RAS, Wnt/β-catenin and TGFβ/Smad pathways.

KEY RESULTS

Addition of the above compounds to culture media and their administration to UUO mice: (i) significantly attenuated epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and extracellular matrix production in TGFβ1- and AngII-treated HK-2 cells and UUO mice by inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin pathway activation and Smad3 phosphorylation; (ii) selectively inhibited Smad3 phosphorylation by blocking the interaction of TGFBR1 with Smad3; and (iii) specifically inhibited Smad3 activation. PZC and PZD showed a strong inhibitory effect on all RAS components, and PZE showed a strong inhibitory effect on renin. Furthermore, the secolanostane tetracyclic triterpenoids, PZC and PZD, showed a stronger inhibitory effect than the lanostane tetracyclic triterpenoid PZE. Therefore, compounds with secolanostance skeleton showed stronger bioactivity than those with lanostance skeleton.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

The secolanostane tetracyclic triterpenoids effectively blocked RAS by simultaneously targeting multiple RAS components and lanostane tetracyclic triterpenoids inhibited renin and protected against tubulo-interstitial fibrosis.

Protective role of oryeongsan against renal inflammation and glomerulosclerosis in db/db mice

Diabetic nephropathy is characterized by renal hardening and interstitial fibrosis caused by extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation. The most distinctive diabetic lesion in the glomeruli is mesangial expansion and hyperplasia, which ultimately leads to diabetic nephrosclerosis. Oryeongsan (ORS), a traditional Chinese herbal medication, is widely used to treat nephrosis, dropsy, and uremia. In this study, type 2 diabetic animals (db/db mice) were administered ORS (100 mg/kg/day) for 8 weeks to examine the potential beneficial effects on metabolic abnormalities and diabetic nephropathy progression, including renal fibrosis. The body weight, total-cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL-c levels were significantly decreased in ORS-treated db/db mice compared to untreated db/db mice. In addition, the blood glucose, insulin, glucose tolerance, and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) were significantly improved in ORS-treated db/db mice compared to untreated db/db mice. Creatinine clearance (Ccr), urine albumin, and BUN levels were also improved by ORS treatment. The ratio of mesangial matrix/glomerular area was markedly higher in db/db mice than in db/m mice, but ORS significantly reduced this expansion. TGF-β1, Smad-2/-4, Collagen IV, CTGF, and TIMP decreased with ORS treatment, as were Smad-7 and MT1-MMP in ORS-treated db/db mice. Furthermore, ICAM-1 and MCP-1 expression were suppressed in ORS-treated db/db mice. Therefore, these findings suggest that ORS ameliorated insulin resistance and diabetes-associated glomerulosclerosis in db/db mice, possibly by disturbing the TGF-β1/Smads pathway. ORS may be a new therapeutic option for treating diabetic nephropathy.

Oryeongsan suppressed high glucose-induced mesangial fibrosis

Background

The pathological change of kidney in diabetic nephropathy is represented hypertrophy, inflammation, and renal fibrosis. Oryeongsan, traditional oriental herbal formula, is widely used for the treatment of nephrosis, dropsy, and uremia. This study was examined whether Oryeongsan attenuate high-glucose (HG)-promoted rat mesangial cell fibrosis and matrix accumulation, major features of diabetic glomerulosclerosis.

Methods

Oryeongsan was mixed traditional herbal medicine, Alisma orientale Juz, Polyporus umbellatus Fries, Atractylodes macrocephala Koidez, Poria cocos Wolf and Cinnamomum Cassia Presl (5:3:3:1). Renoprotective role in diabetic nephropathy of Oryeongsan was evaluated by [³H]-thymidine incorporation, Western blot, RT-qPCR and immunofluorescence microscopy assay.

Results

Rat mesangial cell proliferation induced by HG was significantly accelerated, which was inhibited by Oryeongsan in a dose dependent manner. HG enhanced expression of fibrosis biomarkers such as collagen IV and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), which was markedly attenuated by Oryeongsan. Oryeongsan increased HG-inhibited membrane type-1 matrix metalloproteinase expression (MT1-MMP) and MMP-2 promotor activity, whereas suppressed HG-induced tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) expression. Moreover, Oryeongsan promoted extracellular matrix degradation through disturbing transforming growth factor β (TGF-β)–Smad signaling. This study further revealed that Oryeongsan ameliorated HG-induced mesangial inflammation accompanying induction of intracellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). Moreover, pretreatment of Oryeongsan inhibited NF-κB translocation in HG-exposed mesangial cell.

Conclusion

These results demonstrate that Oryeongsan has protective effect against renal proliferation, fibrosis, and inflammation. Therefore Oryeongsan may be specific therapies targeting renal dysfunction leading to diabetic nephropathy.

Effects of furanodiene on 95-D lung cancer cells: apoptosis, autophagy and G1 phase cell cycle arrest

Furanodiene (FUR) is a natural terpenoid isolated from Rhizoma curcumae, a well-known Chinese medicinal herb that presents anti-proliferative activities in several cancer cell lines. Herein, we systematically investigated the effects of FUR on the significant processes of tumor progression with the relatively low concentrations in 95-D lung cancer cells. FUR concentration-dependently inhibited cell proliferation and blocked the cell cycle progressions in G1 phase by down-regulating the protein levels of cyclin D1 and CDK6, and up-regulating those of p21 and p27 in 95-D cells. FUR also affected the signaling molecules that regulate apoptosis in 95-D cells revealed by the down-regulation of the protein levels of full PARP, pro-caspase-7, survivin, and Bcl-2, and the up-regulation of cleaved PARP. Further studies showed that FUR enhanced the expression of light chain 3-II (LC3-II) in the protein level, indicating that autophagy is involved in this process. Besides, the adhesion ability of 95-D cells to matrigel and fibronectin was slightly inhibited after FUR treatment for 1 h in our experimental condition. FUR also slightly suppressed cell migration and invasion in 95-D cells according to the data from wound healing and Transwell assays, respectively. Taken together, FUR activated the signal molecules regulating G1 cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and autophagy, while slightly affecting the key steps of cell metastasis in 95-D lung cancer cells in the relatively low concentrations.

Anti-inflammatory and hypoglycemic efficacy of Poria cocos and Dioscorea opposita in prediabetes mellitus rats

Poria cocos (Fu Ling) and Dioscorea opposita (Chinese Yam) were suggested to have potential benefits in blood sugar control.