Ginsenoside Rg1 treats chronic heart failure by downregulating ERK1/2 protein phosphorylation

In this study, we investigated the potential therapeutic mechanism of ginsenoside Rg1 (GRg1) in chronic heart failure (CHF), focusing on its regulation of ERK1/2 protein phosphorylation. H9c2 cardiomyocytes and SD rats were divided into the control group, CHF (ADR) group, and CHF+ginsenoside Rg1 group using an isolated cardiomyocyte model and an in vivo CHF rat model induced by adriamycin (ADR). Cell viability, proliferation, apoptosis, and the expression of relevant proteins were measured to assess the effects of GRg1. The results showed that treatment with GRg1 increased cell activity and proliferation, while significantly reducing levels of inflammatory and apoptotic factors compared to the CHF (ADR) group. Moreover, the CHF+ginsenoside Rg1 group exhibited higher levels of Bcl-2 mRNA and protein expression, as well as lower levels of Caspase3 and Bax mRNA and protein expression, compared to the CHF (ADR) group. Notably, the CHF+ginsenoside Rg1 group displayed decreased serum NT-proBNP levels and heart weight/body weight (HW/BW) index. Furthermore, the electrocardiogram of rats in the CHF+ginsenoside Rg1 group resembled that of rats in the control group. Overall, our findings suggested that GRg1 alleviated CHF by inhibiting ERK1/2 protein phosphorylation, thereby inhibiting apoptosis, enhancing cell activity and proliferation, and reducing cardiac inflammatory responses.

Neurogenesis-Associated Protein, a Potential Prognostic Biomarker in Anti-PD-1 Based Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma Patient Therapeutics

The transketolase 1 gene (TKTL1) is an essential factor that contributes to brain development. Some studies have shown the influence of TKTL1 in cancers, but it has been rarely reported in kidney cancer. Furthermore, the role of TKTL1 in the prognosis and tumor infiltration of immune cells in various cancers, particularly kidney cancer, remains unknown. In this study, TKTL1 expression and its clinical characteristics were investigated using a variety of databases. TIMER was used to investigate the relationship between TKTL1 and immune infiltrates in various types of cancer. We also studied the relationship between TKTL1 expression and response to PD-1 blocker immunotherapy in renal cancer. We conducted TKTL1 agonists virtual screening from 13,633 natural compounds (L6020), implemented secondary library construction according to the types of top results, and then conducted secondary virtual screening for 367 alkaloids. Finally, in vitro assays of cell viability assays and colony formation assays were performed to demonstrate the pharmacological potency of the screening of TKTL1 agonists. Using these methods, we determined that TKTL1 significantly affects the prognostic potential in different types of kidney cancer patients. The underlying mechanism might be that the TKTL1 expression level was positively associated with devious immunocytes in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) rather than in kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma (KIRP) and kidney chromophobe (KICH). This recruitment may result from the up-regulation of the mTOR signaling pathway affecting T cell metabolism. We also found that TKTL1 may act as an immunomodulator in KIRC patients' response to anti-PD-1 therapy. Moreover, we also found that piperine and glibenclamide are potent agonists of TKTL1. We have demonstrated, in vitro, that piperine and glibenclamide can inhibit the proliferation and clone formation of Caki-2 cell lines by agonizing the expression of TKTL1. In summary, our discovery implies that TKTL1 may be a promising prognostic biomarker for KIRC patients who respond to anti-PD-1 therapy. Piperine and glibenclamide may be effective therapeutic TKTL1 agonists, providing a theoretical basis for the clinical treatment of kidney cancer.

Ginsenosides, potential TMPRSS2 inhibitors, a trade-off between the therapeutic combination for anti-PD-1 immunotherapy and the treatment of COVID-19 infection of LUAD patients

Background: Acting as a viral entry for coronavirus to invade human cells, TMPRSS2 has become a target for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection. Before this, TMPRSS2 has presented biological functions in cancer, but the roles remain controversial and the mechanism remains unelucidated. Some chemicals have been reported to be inhibitors of TMPRSS2 and also demonstrated other pharmacological properties. At this stage, it is important to discover more new compounds targeting TMPRSS2, especially from natural products, for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection.

Methods: We analyzed the correlation between TMPRSS2 expression, methylation level, overall survival rate, clinical parameters, biological process, and determined the correlation between TMPRSS2 and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in the tumor and adjacent normal tissue of adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) respectively by using various types of bioinformatics approaches. Moreover, we determined the correlation between TMPRSS2 protein level and the prognosis of LUAD and LUSC cohorts by immunohistochemistry assay. Furthermore, the cancer immunome atlas (TCIA) database was used to predict the relationship between the expression of TMPRSS2 and response to programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blocker immunotherapy in lung cancer patients. Finally, the putative binding site of ginsenosides bound to TMPRSS2 protein was built from homology modeling to screen high-potency TMPRSS2 inhibitors.

Results: We found that TMPRSS2 recruits various types of immunocytes, including CD8+, CD4+ T cells, B cells and DCs both in LUAD and LUSC patients, and the correlation between TMPRSS2 expression and CD8+ and CD4+ T cells are stronger in LUAD rather than in LUSC, but excludes macrophages and neutrophils in LUAD patient cohorts. These might be the reason that higher mRNA and protein levels of TMPRSS2 are associated with better prognosis in LUAD cohorts rather than in LUSC cohorts. Furthermore, we found that TMPRSS2 was positively correlated with the prognosis in patient nonresponse to anti-PD-1 therapy. Therefore, we made an inference that increasing the expression level of TMPRSS2 may improve the anti-PD-1 immunotherapy efficacy. Finally, five ginsenosides candidates with high inhibition potency were screened from the natural chemical library to be used as TMPRSS2 inhibitors.

Conclusion: All these may imply that TMPRSS2 might be a novel prognostic biomarker and serve as a potential immunomodulator target of immunotherapy combination therapies in LUAD patients nonresponse to anti-PD-1 therapy. Also, these findings may suggest we should pay more attention to LUAD patients, especially those infected with COVID-19, who should avoid medicating TMPRSS2 inhibitors, such as ginsenosides to gain prophylactic and therapeutic benefits against COVID-19.

Gender-Related Differences in Tissue Distribution, Excretion, and Metabolism Studies of Panaxadiol in Rats and Anti-inflammatory Study

In this study, we evaluated gender differences in PD excretion, tissue distribution, and metabolism in rats. In addition, we also evaluated its anti-inflammatory activity and mechanism. The results showed that the concentrations of PD in the stomach, small intestine, and large intestine were the highest. The C_max of female rats was significantly higher than that of male rats. With regard to genital tissues, the C_max of PD in the uterus and ovary was higher than that in the testis. In the excretion test, gender had no significant effect on the excretion of PD. Its total excretion in rats was about 30%. Therefore, we speculated 12 phase I metabolites. In the anti-inflammatory test, PD showed no cytotoxic effect on macrophage RAW 264.7 and significantly reduced the production of NO and expressions of interleukin 6, interleukin 1, and tumor necrosis factor-α. Further analyses demonstrated that PD activated the MAPK signaling pathway by reducing the phosphorylated levels of p38 and ERK.

The promising therapeutic potentials of ginsenosides mediated through p38 MAPK signaling inhibition

The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38 MAPK) is a 38kD polypeptide recognized as the target for many potential anti-inflammatory agents. Accumulating evidence indicates that p38 MAPK could perform many roles in human disease pathophysiology. Therefore, great therapeutic benefits can be attained from p38 MAPK inhibitors. Ginseng is an exceptionally valued medicinal plant of the family Araliaceae (Panax genus). Recently, several studies targeted the therapeutic effects of purified individual ginsenoside, the most significant active ingredient of ginseng, and studied its particular molecular mechanism(s) of action rather than whole-plant extracts. Interestingly, several ginsenosides: ginsenosides compound K, F1, Rb1, Rb3, Rc, Rd, Re, Rf, Rg1, Rg2, Rg3, Rg5, Rh1, Rh2, Ro, notoginsenoside R1, and protopanaxadiol have shown to possess great therapeutic potentials mediated by their ability to downregulate p38 MAPK signaling in different cell lines and experimental animal models. Our review compiles the research findings of various ginsenosides as potent anti-inflammatory agents, highlighting the crucial role of p38 MAPK suppression in their pharmacological actions. In addition, in silico studies were conducted to explore the probable binding of these ginsenosides to p38 MAPK. The results obtained proposed p38 MAPK involvement in the beneficial pharmacological activities of ginsenosides in different ailments.

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p38 MAPK plays many roles in human disease pathophysiology. Therefore, great therapeutic benefits can be attained from p38 MAPK inhibitors.

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Several ginsenosides showed to possess great therapeutic potentials mediated by its ability to downregulate p38 MAPK signaling.

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in silico ​studies were conducted to explore the binding of these ginsenosides to p38 MAPK and evidenced the promising their inhibitory effect.

CCL2 is a critical mechano-responsive mediator in crosstalk between osteoblasts and bone mesenchymal stromal cells

It has been known that moderate mechanical loading, like that caused by exercise, promotes bone formation. However, its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here we showed that moderate running dramatically improved trabecular bone in mice tibias with an increase in bone volume fraction and trabecular number and a decrease in trabecular pattern factor. Results of immunohistochemical and histochemical staining revealed that moderate running mainly increased the number of osteoblasts but had no effect on osteoclasts. In addition, we observed a dramatic increase in the number of colony forming unit-fibroblast in endosteal bone marrow and the percentage of CD45^- Leptin receptor⁺ (CD45^- LepR⁺ ) endosteal mesenchymal progenitors. Bioinformatics analysis of the transcriptional data from gene expression omnibus (GEO) database identified chemokine c-c-motif ligands (CCL2) as a critical candidate induced by mechanical loading. Interestingly, we found that CCL2 was up-regulated mainly in osteoblastic cells in the tibia of mice after moderate running. Further, we found that mechanical loading up-regulated the expression of CCL2 by activating ERK1/2 pathway, thereby stimulating migration of endosteal progenitors. Finally, neutralizing CCL2 abolished the recruitment of endosteal progenitors and the increased bone formation in mice after 4 weeks running. These results therefore uncover an unknown connection between osteoblasts and endosteal progenitors recruited in the increased bone formation induced by mechanical loading.

Neuroprotective effects of Tongxinluo on focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury in rats associated with the activation of the MEK1/2/ERK1/2/p90RSK signaling pathway

Ischemic stroke brings a huge family and social burden. Although the reperfusion of ischemic cerebral tissue is the most important way to rescue ischemic stroke, ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury further results in brain damage and even lead to death. Recent studies demonstrated that Tongxinluo (TXL) helps to protect the brain against focal cerebral I/R injury in rats by reducing neuronal apoptosis, and the MEK1/2/ERK1/2/90 ribosomal S6 kinase (p90RSK) pathway may be involved in this protective effect. Therefore, our present research was designed to identify the potential mechanisms involved. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 108) were randomly divided into 4 groups: sham, cerebral ischemia and reperfusion (I/R), I/R plus TXL (TXL), and TXL plus U0126, a highly selective inhibitor of MEK 1 and MEK 2 (TXL + U0126). Brain edema was measured by T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Pathological destruction of the blood brain barrier (BBB) ultrastructure was assessed by transmission electron microscopy, and proteins involved in the MEK1/2/ERK1/2/p90RSK pathway were detected by immunofluorescence and Western blotting. Our results indicated that TXL significantly improved neurological function, reduced brain edema, ameliorated the destruction of the BBB ultrastructure and markedly reduced neuronal injury. However, these benefits were diminished when the MEK1/2/ERK1/2/p90RSK pathway was inhibited by U0126. We also found that TXL upregulated the expression levels of p-MEK1/2, p-ERK1/2, p-p90RSK and p-bad, which were all significantly reversed by U0126. Collectively, our data demonstrate that TXL provides neuroprotection against cerebral I/R injury and neuronal injury, and that these effects are mediated, in part, by activation of the MEK1/2/ERK1/2/p90RSK pathway.

Panax notoginseng for Inflammation-Related Chronic Diseases: A Review on the Modulations of Multiple Pathways

Panax notoginseng (P. notoginseng) is a well-known and commonly used Chinese herbal medicine in Asian countries. As one of the major species in the Panax genus, it has a distinct chemical composition and medical application compared with other species. P. notoginseng attracts attention and interest due to its potential therapeutic effects not only on blood diseases, but also other kinds of human chronic disorders. This paper critically reviewed the latest advance of knowledge on the pharmacological effects of P. notoginseng on a variety of chronic diseases including inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, ischemia, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer disease and trauma, as well as hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and so on. As inflammation is considered the fundamental factor involved in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases, our review therefore focuses on understanding the involvement of classical inflammatory pathways underlying the mechanism of action of P. notoginseng. Potential clinical application was also discussed. Furthermore, by combining with network pharmacology, we introduced the major bioactive components of P. notoginseng, analyzed their cellular targets and associated signaling pathways. In conclusion, this review identified inflammatory pathway as the key signaling for determining the efficacy of P. notoginseng on chronic diseases. It is speculated that P. notoginseng is a multi-targeted agent with an anti-inflammatory property in the adjuvant and alternative treatment of human chronic diseases.

Bioactivity-Guided Fractionation of Pine Needle Reveals Catechin as an Anti-hypertension Agent via Inhibiting Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme

Hypertension has been recognized as one of the highest risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Anti-hypertension agent screening and development has been recognized as a pharmaceutical therapy approach for the cardiovascular diseases treatment. Many kinds of traditional Chinese medicines, such as pine needle, have been used for the treatment of hypertension for a long time, but the bioactive ingredients which responsible for their therapeutic effectiveness are remain unclear. Therefore, screening bioactive chemicals in natural sources is still the most straightforward strategy for novel Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi)-based anti-hypertension agents discovery. In this study, we demonstrated a bioactivity-guided fractionation strategy for identifying bioactive fractions and chemicals from pine needle based on LC/MS assay as well as elucidating their mechanisms of pharmacological activity. And we found out the compound in pine needle extracts being ACE-inhibitory active is catechin. When ACE activity was assayed in rat tissue membranes, it was observed that catechin demonstrate ACE inhibition in kidney, lung and testes tissue. All these presents catechin in pine needle could be a potential cardiovascular medicine.