Integrative Bioinformatics Study of Tangeretin Potential Targets for Preventing Metastatic Breast Cancer

Study on the mechanism of ischemic stroke treatment based on network pharmacology and Raman spectroscopy in the larval zebrafish model, Calculus Bovis as a case

Calculus Bovis (C. bovis) is a precious traditional Chinese medicine of animal origin, and it is one of the traditional medicines for treating cerebral inflammatory diseases such as stroke. However, the pharmacological action of C. bovis on ischemic stroke (IS) and its mechanism are still unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential mechanism to treat IS. Chemical constituents of different varieties of C. bovis were analyzed and confirmed by HPLC-MS/MS technique. We constructed a component and corresponding target network and drug-disease target protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis were performed. The molecular docking of the main compound with the target protein. Subsequently, the potential mechanism of therapy for IS was verified in vivo by zebrafish model. We introduced Raman spectroscopy to detect changes in the biochemical composition of zebrafish. 13 active chemical constituents and 129 potential targets were selected. 122 KEGG signaling pathways were obtained. The binding energy of the main compounds is less than -4.5. The results of animal experiments showed that C. bovis could significantly improve Ponatinib-induced IS, decrease the aggregation degree of brain macrophages, reduce the number of macrophage migrations, and significantly increase the expression level of NR3C1. Raman information indicated that the biochemical composition in the brain of the Ponatinib-induced group shifted to the control group. The mechanism may be related to anti-inflammatory process and regulation of lipid metabolism. This study demonstrates that Raman spectroscopy has great potential as a drug evaluation tool in living larval zebrafish.

Recent Advances in the Health Benefits and Application of Tangerine Peel (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium): A Review

Citrus fruits, renowned for their abundant of phytochemicals and bioactive compounds, hold a prominent position as commercially grown fruits with health-promoting properties. In this context, tangerine peel (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium, CRP) is garnering attention as a byproduct of citrus fruits. Within the framework of the circular economy, CRP has emerged as a focal point due to its potential health benefits. CRP, extracted from Citrus reticulata cv. and aged for over three years, has attracted increasing attention for its diverse health-promoting effects, including its anticancer, cardiovascular-protecting, gastrointestinal-modulating, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties. Moreover, CRP positively impacts skeletal health and various physiological functions. This review delves into the therapeutic effects and molecular mechanisms of CRP. The substantial therapeutic potential of CRP highlights the need for further research into its applications in both food and medicine. As a value-added functional ingredient, CRP and its constituents are extensively utilized in the development of food and health supplements, such as teas, porridges, and traditional medicinal formulations.

Polymethoxylated flavonoids in citrus fruits: absorption, metabolism, and anticancer mechanisms against breast cancer

Polymethoxylated flavonoids (PMFs) are a subclass of flavonoids found in citrus fruits that have shown multifunctional biological activities and potential anticancer effects against breast cancer. We studied the absorption, metabolism, species source, toxicity, anti-cancer mechanisms, and molecular targets of PMFs to better utilize their anticancer activity against breast cancer. We discuss the absorption and metabolism of PMFs in the body, including the methylation, demethylation, and hydroxylation processes. The anticancer mechanisms of PMFs against breast cancer were also reviewed, including the estrogen activity, cytochrome P-450 enzyme system, and arylhydrocarbon receptor (AhR) inhibition, along with various molecular targets and potential anticancer effects. Although PMFs may be advantageous in the prevention and treatment for breast cancer, there is a lack of clinical evidence and data to support their efficacy. Despite their promise, there is still a long way to go before PMFs can be applied clinically.

The Role of Selective Flavonoids on Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: An Update

Among the many types of breast cancer (BC), Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is the most alarming. It lacks receptors for the three main biomarkers: estrogen, progesterone, and human epidermal growth factor, hence the name TNBC. This makes its treatment a challenge. Surgical procedures and chemotherapy, performed either alone or in combination, seem to be the primary therapeutic possibilities; however, they are accompanied by severe complications. Currently, the formulation of drugs using natural products has been playing an important role in the pharmaceutical industries, owing to the drugs’ increased efficacies and significantly lessened side effects. Hence, treating TNBC with chemotherapeutic drugs developed using natural products such as flavonoids in the near future is much warranted. Flavonoids are metabolic compounds largely present in all plants, vegetables, and fruits, such as blueberries, onions, (which are widely used to make red wine,) chocolates, etc. Flavonoids are known to have enormous health benefits, such as anticancer, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antiallergic properties. They are known to arrest the cell cycle of the tumor cells and induces apoptosis by modulating Bcl-2, Bax, and Caspase activity. They show a considerable effect on cell proliferation and viability and angiogenesis. Various studies were performed at both the biochemical and molecular levels. The importance of flavonoids in cancer treatment and its methods of extraction and purification to date have been reported as individual publications. However, this review article explains the potentiality of flavonoids against TNBC in the preclinical levels and also emphasizes their molecular mechanism of action, along with a brief introduction to its methods of extraction, isolation, and purification in general, emphasizing the fact that its quantum of yield if enhanced and its possible synergistic effects with existing chemotherapeutics may pave the way for better anticancer agents of natural origin and significantly lessened side-effects.

Computational analysis of G-protein-coupled receptor kinase family members as potential targets for colorectal cancer therapy

Background

G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) kinases (GRKs) interact with ligand-activated GPCR, causing intracellular phosphorylation and interfering with the intracellular signal transduction associated with the development of cancer. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a fast-growing disease, and its molecular mechanism involves various regulatory proteins, including kinases. However, the GRK mechanism in CRC has not been explored.

Methods

We used an integrated computational approach to investigate the potential of GRK family members as targeted proteins in CRC. The GRK expression levels in tumor and normal tissues, colon adenocarcinoma samples, and metastatic colon adenocarcinoma were analyzed using ONCOMINE, GEPIA, and UALCAN, as well as TNM plots. Genetic changes in the GRK family genes were investigated using cBioportal. The prognostic value related to the gene expression of the GRK family was examined using GEPIA and UALCAN. Co-expression analysis of the GRK family was conducted using COXPRESdb. Association analysis of the Gene Ontology, KEGG pathway enrichment, and drug-gene analyses were performed using the over-representation analysis (ORA) in WebGestalt.

Results

GRK2, GRK3, and GRK5 mRNA levels increased significantly in patients with CRC and metastatic CRC. Genetic changes were detected in patients with CRC, including GRK7 (1.1%), GRK2 (1.7%), GRK4 (2.3%), GRK5 (2.5%), GRK6 (2.5%), GRK3 (2.9%), and GRK1 (4%). CRC patients with low mRNA of GRK7 levels had better disease-free and overall survival than those with high GRK7 levels. Hierarchical clustering analysis revealed significant positive correlations between GRK5 and GRK2 and between GRK2 and GRK6. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the gene network (GN) regulated several cellular pathways, such as the morphine addiction signaling and chemokine signaling pathways in cancer. The drug-gene association analysis indicated that the GN was associated with several drugs, including reboxetine, pindolol, beta-blocking agents, and protein kinase inhibitors.

Conclusion

No research has been conducted on the relation of GRK1 and GRK7 to cancer, particularly CRC. In this work, genes GRK2, GRK3, GRK5, and GRK6 were found to be oncogenes in CRC. Although inhibitors against GRK2, GRK5, and GRK6 have previously been developed, further research, particularly preclinical and clinical studies, is needed before these agents may be used to treat CRC.

Mechanism of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium as an Anticancer Agent from the Perspective of Flavonoids: A Review

Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (CRP), also known as “chenpi”, is the most common qi-regulating drug in traditional Chinese medicine. It is often used to treat cough and indigestion, but in recent years, it has been found to have multi-faceted anti-cancer effects. This article reviews the pharmacology of CRP and the mechanism of the action of flavonoids, the key components of CRP, against cancers including breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, hepatic carcinoma, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, cervical cancer, bladder cancer and other cancers with a high diagnosis rate. Finally, the specific roles of CRP in important phenotypes such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, autophagy and migration–invasion in cancer were analyzed, and the possible prospects and deficiencies of CRP as an anticancer agent were evaluated.

Bioinformatics-Guided Identification of Ethyl Acetate Extract of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium as a Functional Food Ingredient with Anti-Inflammatory Potential

Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (CRP) is one of the most commonly used food supplements and folk medicines worldwide, and possesses cardiovascular, digestive, and respiratory protective effects partially through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions. The unique aromatic flavor and mild side effects make CRP a promising candidate for the development of anti-inflammatory functional food. However, recent studies show that the crude alcoholic extract and some isolated compounds of CRP show compromised anti-inflammatory activity, which became the main factor hindering its further development. To identify the bioactive compounds with anti-inflammatory potential, and improve the anti-inflammatory effects of the extract, a bioinformatics-guided extraction protocol was employed in this study. The potential bioactive candidates were identified by combing network pharmacology analysis, molecular docking, principal components analysis, k-means clustering, and in vitro testing of reference compounds. Our results demonstrated that 66 compounds in CRP could be grouped into four clusters according to their docking score profile against 24 receptors, while the cluster containing flavonoids and phenols might possess a more promising anti-inflammatory function. In addition, in vitro anti-inflammatory tests of the seven reference compounds demonstrated that hesperitin, naringenin, and gardenin B, which were grouped into a cluster containing flavonoids and phenols, significantly decreased LPS-induced NO, TNF-α, and IL-6 production of macrophages. While the compounds outside of that cluster, such as neohesperidin, naringin, hesperidin, and sinensetin showed little effect on alleviating LPS-induced NO and proinflammatory cytokine production. Based on the chemical properties of selected compounds, ethyl acetate (EtOAc) was selected as the solvent for extraction, because of its promising solubility of flavonoids and phenols. Furthermore, the ethanol alcoholic extract was used as a reference. The chemical profiling of EtOAc and crude alcoholic extract by HPLC/MS/MS also demonstrated the decreased abundance of flavonoid glycosides in EtOAc extract but increased abundance of phenols, phenolic acid, and aglycones. In accordance with the prediction, the EtOAc extract of CRP, but not the crude alcoholic extract, significantly decreased the NO, IL-6, and TNF-α production. Taken together, the results suggested selective extraction of phenols and flavonoids rich extract was able to increase the anti-inflammatory potential of CRP partially because of the synergistic effects between flavonoids, phenols, and enriched polymethoxyflavones. Our study might pave the road for the development of ethyl acetate extract of CRP as a novel functional food with anti-inflammatory function.

MDM2 is a Potential Target Gene of Glycyrrhizic Acid for Circumventing Breast Cancer Resistance to Tamoxifen: Integrative Bioinformatics Analysis

BACKGROUND

Tamoxifen is the drug of choice for treating breast cancer, particularly the estrogen receptor-positive luminal A subtype. However, the increased occurrence of Tamoxifen resistance highlights the need to develop an agent to enhance the effectiveness of this drug.

OBJECTIVE

Although glycyrrhizic acid (GA) is known to exhibit cytotoxic effects on Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 cells, the specific gene targets and pathways it employs to overcome Tamoxifen resistance are incompletely understood. Therefore, the goal of the present research is to discover the potential targets and pathways of GA by using a bioinformatics approach.

METHODS

Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the Gene Expression Omnibus NCBI database using microarray data from GSE67916 and GSE85871. Further analyses were performed on these DEGs by using DAVID v6.8, STRING-DB v11.0, and Cytoscape v3.8.0. Analysis of gene alterations was performed using cBioPortal for target validation, and the relevant interaction process was examined via the molecular docking method.

RESULTS

Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses identified the PI3K-AKT signaling as the potential target mechanism. Construction of the protein-protein interaction network and analysis of hub genes identified the top 25 hub genes. Genetic alterations were observed in six potential target genes, such as CDK2, MDM2, NF1, SMAD3, PTPN11, and CALM1. Molecular docking analysis demonstrated that the docking score of GA is lower than that of the native ligand of p53. More importantly, 3n the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway is a potential target for overcoming Tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer.

CONCLUSION

MDM2 may be a potential gene target of GA and the PI3K-AKT signaling may be a prospective mechanism for overcoming Tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer cells. Additional research is required to validate the findings of this study.

Comprehensive Metabolism Study of Tangeretin in Rat Plasma, Urine and Faeces Using Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Q Exactive Hybrid Quadrupole- Orbitrap High-Resolution Accurate Mass Spectrometry

BACKGROUND

Tangeretin, present in citrus fruits, is a polymethoxy flavone with extensive pharmacological effects. It has been widely used in the clinic, but there were no detailed studies on the in vivo metabolism of tangeretin.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to establish a rapid and effective strategy to identify the metabolites of tangeretin and evaluate the biotransformation pathways of tangeretin in rats.

METHODS

The ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) equipped with a Q-Exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometer was used to identify the metabolites of tangeretin in plasma, urine and faeces of rats after intragastric administration. Based on high-resolution extracted ion chromatograms (HREICs) and parallel reaction monitoring mode (PRM), metabolites of tangeretin were identified by comparing the accurate mass, chromatographic retention times, diagnostic product ions (DPIs) and neutral loss fragments (NLFs) with those of tangeretin reference standard. Isomers were distinguished by ClogP values.

RESULTS

An efficient and integrated strategy was established for the comprehensive screening and characterizing of tangeretin metabolites through Rapid Profiling. Based on this strategy, a total of 52 metabolites were detected and identified, among which 25 metabolites were found in rat plasma, while 48 and 16 metabolites were characterized from rat urine and faeces, respectively. These metabolites were produced by demethylation, demethoxylation, hydroxylation, methoxylation, glucuronidation, glycosylation, sulfation, and their composite reactions. Interestingly, tangeretin is easy to lose methyl in vivo and becomes an intermediate product, and then other phase I and phase II reactions occur. Moreover, the characteristic fragmentation pathways of tangeretin were summarized for the subsequent metabolite identification.

CONCLUSION

The analytical method based on UHPLC-Q-Exactive mass spectrometer has the ability to quickly clarify unknown metabolism. And the the comprehensive metabolism study of tangeretin provided an overall metabolic profile, which will be of great scientific basis for further studies on tangeretin in determining its pharmacokinetics, the bioactivity of the metabolites, and clinical applications.