Isoschaftoside Inhibits Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation in Microglia through Regulation of HIF-1α-Mediated Metabolic Reprogramming

Wheat seedlings extract ameliorates sarcopenia in aged mice by regulating protein synthesis and degradation with anti-inflammatory and mitochondrial biogenesis effects

BACKGROUND

Chronic inflammation, which becomes more prevalent during aging, contributes to sarcopenia by reducing muscle mass and strength.

PURPOSE

Wheat seedlings extract (WSE) is known for its various physiological activities, including anti-inflammation and antioxidant effects. However, its efficacy against sarcopenia is not well documented.

STUDY DESIGN

8-week-old and 50-week-old C57BL/6 J mice were used as young control (YC group) and aged controls (AC group), respectively. Then, aged mice were randomly divided into 5 groups (WSE100mg/kg, WSE200mg/kg, WSE400mg/kg, and schizandrin as a positive control) and fed each experimental diet for 10 weeks.

METHOD

We investigated the effects of WSE on muscle quality and protein homeostasis pathways based on improvements in mitochondrial function and chronic inflammation. We then used TNFα-treated C2C12 to investigate the effects of isoorientin (ISO) and isoschaftoside (ISS), the active substances of WSE, on the myogenic pathway.

RESULTS

We administered WSE to aging mice and observed an increase in muscle mass, thickness, protein content, and strength in mice treated with WSE at a dose of 200 mg/kg or 400 mg/kg. Furthermore, the administration of WSE led to a reduction in inflammatory factors (TNFα, IL-1, and IL-6) and an increase in mitochondrial biogenesis (p-AMPK/SIRT3/PGC1α) in muscle. This effect was also observed in TNFα-induced muscle atrophy in C2C12 cells, and we additionally identified the upregulation of myogenic regulatory factors, including Myf5, Myf6, MyoD, and myogenin, by WSE, ISO, and ISS.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that WSE could function as a dietary anti-inflammatory factor and mitochondrial activator, potentially exerting modulatory effects on the metabolism and mechanical properties of skeletal muscles in the aging population. Furthermore, Our results demonstrate the potential value of ISO and ISS as functional food ingredients for preventing muscle atrophy.

Ethnobotanical Uses and Pharmacological Activities of Moroccan Ephedra Species

Ephedra species are among the most popular herbs used in traditional medicine for a long time. The ancient Chinese medical book "Treatise on Febrile Diseases" refers to the classic traditional Chinese medicine prescription Ge Gen decoction, which consists of seven herbs, including an Ephedra species. Ephedra species are utilized all over the world to treat symptoms of the common cold and coughs, and to combat major human diseases, such as asthma, cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular and digestive disorders, and microbial infections. This study aimed at identifying specific Ephedra species used traditionally in Morocco for therapeutic purposes. The plant parts, their preparation process, and the treated pathologies were identified and analyzed. The results revealed five ethnobotanically important species of Ephedra: Ephedra alata Decne, Ephedra altissima Desf., Ephedra distachya L., Ephedra fragilis Desf., and Ephedra nebrodensis Tineo. These species are used traditionally in Morocco for treating people with diabetes, cancer, rheumatism, cold and asthma, hypertension, influenza virus infection, and respiratory ailments. In addition, they are occasionally used as calefacient agents, to regulate weight, or for capillary care. Few studies have underlined the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of some of these Moroccan Ephedra species, but little information is available regarding the natural products at the origin of the bioactivities. Further phytochemical investigations and clinical data are encouraged to better support the use of these plants.

An Updated Review on Nelumbo Nucifera Gaertn: Chemical Composition, Nutritional Value and Pharmacological Activities

Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn is a recognised herbal plant in ancient medical sciences. Each portion of the plant leaf, flower, seed and rhizome is utilised for nutritional and medicinal purposes. The chemical compositions like phenol, alkaloids, glycoside, terpenoids and steroids have been isolated. The plant contains various nutritional values like lipids, proteins, amino acids, minerals, carbohydrates, and fatty acids. Traditional medicine confirms that the phytochemicals of plants give significant benefits to the treatment of various diseases such as leukoderma, smallpox, dysentery, haematemesis, coughing, haemorrhage, metrorrhagia, haematuria, fever, hyperlipidaemia, cholera, hepatopathy and hyperdipsia. To verify the traditional claims, researchers have conducted scientific biological in vivo and in vitro screenings, which have exhibited that the plant keeps various notable pharmacological activities such as anticancer, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, antiviral, hypolipidemic, anti-obesity, antipyretic, hypoglycaemic, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities. This review, summaries the nutritional composition, chemical constituents and biological activities substantiated by the researchers done in vivo and in vitro.

Comparison of Nutritional Diversity in Five Fresh Legumes Using Flavonoids Metabolomics and Postharvest Botrytis cinerea Defense Analysis of Peas Mediated by Sakuranetin

Legumes possess several bioactive nutrients, including flavonoids, and the study of the flavonoid profile of legumes is of great significance to human health. Using widely targeted metabolomics, we revealed the flavonoid profiles of five popular fresh legumes: cowpea, soybean, pea, fava bean, and kidney bean. A total of 259 flavonoids were identified, and the flavonoid accumulation patterns of the five legumes were remarkably different. In addition to analyzing common and species-specific flavonoids in the five legumes, we also generalized representative flavonoids of various subclasses. We related these to the health-promoting effects of legumes. Furthermore, legumes' total flavonoid content and antioxidant system activity were also detected. Intriguingly, sakuranetin, the sole flavonoid phytoalexin that can be induced by UV radiation, was detected only in the peas by metabolomics. Meanwhile, we found that UV treatment could significantly increase the sakuranetin content and the postharvest Botrytis cinerea resistance of pea pods. This study provides clues for the target diet, industrial development of legumes, and a new idea for the postharvest preservation of peas.

ω-3PUFAs Inhibit Hypoxia-Induced Retinal Neovascularization via Regulating Microglial Pyroptosis through METTL14-Mediated m6A Modification of IFNB1 mRNA

Retinal neovascular disease is the leading reason of vision impairment in all ages. Here, we figured out the function and mechanism of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3PUFAs) in hypoxia-induced retinal neovascularization by focusing on microglial pyroptosis. Microglia BV-2 cells were given ω-3PUFAs treatment and co-cultured with mouse retinal microvascular endothelial cells (MRMECs) under hypoxia. Tube formation assay, transwell assay and wound healing assay were utilized to monitor the MRMEC angiogenesis. Cell counting kit-8, western blot, lactate dehydrogenase assay, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to assess pyroptosis of BV-2 cells. RNA sequencing and methylated RNA immunoprecipitation-polymerase chain reaction were utilized to identify the target gene of methyltransferase-like 14 (METTL14) and its N6-methyladenosine (m6A) level in BV-2 cells. BV-2 cells prominently enhanced MRMEC angiogenesis under hypoxia, but this effect was abolished after ω-3PUFAs treatment. ω-3PUFAs inhibited pyroptosis in hypoxia-induced BV-2 cells, and BV-2 cell pyroptosis boosted angiogenesis of MRMECs. Additionally, ω-3PUFAs markedly augment the expression of MELLL14 in BV-2 cells, and METTL14 knockdown promoted BV-2 cell pyroptosis and BV-2 cell-mediated angiogenesis in MEMECs. Mechanistically, interferon beta 1 (IFNB1) was a target of METTL14, and METTL14 silencing increased the mRNA expression and decreased the m6A modification of IFNB1 in BV-2 cells. Our results uncovered that ω-3PUFAs diminished hypoxia-induced retinal neovascularization through controlling microglial pyroptosis via METTL14-mediated m6A modification. This study offers a novel potential target for the treatment of retinal neovascular diseases.

Relevance of Phytochemical Taste for Anti-Cancer Activity: A Statistical Inquiry

Targeting inflammation and the pathways linking inflammation with cancer is an innovative therapeutic strategy. Tastants are potential candidates for this approach, since taste receptors display various biological functions, including anti-inflammatory activity (AIA). The present study aims to explore the power different tastes have to predict a phytochemical's anti-cancer properties. It also investigates whether anti-inflammatory phytocompounds also have anti-cancer effects, and whether there are tastes that can better predict a phytochemical's bivalent biological activity. Data from the PlantMolecularTasteDB, containing a total of 1527 phytochemicals, were used. Out of these, only 624 phytocompounds met the inclusion criterion of having 40 hits in a PubMed search, using the name of the phytochemical as the keyword. Among them, 461 phytochemicals were found to possess anti-cancer activity (ACA). The AIA and ACA of phytochemicals were strongly correlated, irrespective of taste/orosensation or chemical class. Bitter taste was positively correlated with ACA, while sweet taste was negatively correlated. Among chemical classes, only flavonoids (which are most frequently bitter) had a positive association with both AIA and ACA, a finding confirming that taste has predictive primacy over chemical class. Therefore, bitter taste receptor agonists and sweet taste receptor antagonists may have a beneficial effect in slowing down the progression of inflammation to cancer.

Multi-omics characterization of the microbial populations and chemical space composition of a water kefir fermentation

In recent years, the popularity of fermented foods has strongly increased based on their proven health benefits and the adoption of new trends among consumers. One of these health-promoting products is water kefir, which is a fermented sugary beverage based on kefir grains (symbiotic colonies of yeast, lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria). According to previous knowledge and the uniqueness of each water kefir fermentation, the following project aimed to explore the microbial and chemical composition of a water kefir fermentation and its microbial consortium, through the integration of culture-dependent methods, compositional metagenomics, and untargeted metabolomics. These methods were applied in two types of samples: fermentation grains (inoculum) and fermentation samples collected at different time points. A strains culture collection of ∼90 strains was established by means of culture-dependent methods, mainly consisting of individuals of Pichia membranifaciens, Acetobacter orientalis, Lentilactobacillus hilgardii, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei, Acetobacter pomorum, Lentilactobacillus buchneri, Pichia kudriavzevii, Acetobacter pasteurianus, Schleiferilactobacillus harbinensis, and Kazachstania exigua, which can be further studied for their use in synthetic consortia formulation. In addition, metabarcoding of each fermentation time was done by 16S and ITS sequencing for bacteria and yeast, respectively. The results show strong population shifts of the microbial community during the fermentation time course, with an enrichment of microbial groups after 72 h of fermentation. Metataxonomics results revealed Lactobacillus and Acetobacter as the dominant genera for lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria, whereas, for yeast, P. membranifaciens was the dominant species. In addition, correlation and systematic analyses of microbial growth patterns and metabolite richness allowed the recognition of metabolic enrichment points between 72 and 96 h and correlation between microbial groups and metabolite abundance (e.g., Bile acid conjugates and Acetobacter tropicalis). Metabolomic analysis also evidenced the production of bioactive compounds in this fermented matrix, which have been associated with biological activities, including antimicrobial and antioxidant. Interestingly, the chemical family of Isoschaftosides (C-glycosyl flavonoids) was also found, representing an important finding since this compound, with hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory activity, had not been previously reported in this matrix. We conclude that the integration of microbial biodiversity, cultured species, and chemical data enables the identification of relevant microbial population patterns and the detection of specific points of enrichment during the fermentation process of a food matrix, which enables the future design of synthetic microbial consortia, which can be used as targeted probiotics for digestive and metabolic health.

HIF-1α inhibition in macrophages preserves acute liver failure by reducing IL-1β production

The development of acute liver failure (ALF) is dependent on its local inducer. Inflammation is a high-frequency and critical factor that accelerates hepatocyte death and liver failure. In response to injury stress, the expression of the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in macrophages is promoted by both oxygen-dependent and oxygen-independent mechanisms, thus promoting the expression and secretion of the cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β). IL-1β further induces hepatocyte apoptosis or necrosis by signaling through the receptor (IL-1R) on hepatocyte. HIF-1α knockout in macrophages or IL-1R knockout in hepatocytes protects against liver failure. However, whether HIF-1α inhibition in macrophages has a protective role in ALF is unclear. In this study, we revealed that the small molecule HIF-1α inhibitor PX-478 inhibits the expression and secretion of IL-1β, but not tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs). PX-478 pretreatment alleviates liver injury in LPS/D-GalN-induced ALF mice by decreasing the hepatic inflammatory response. In addition, preventive or therapeutic administration of PX-478 combined with TNFα neutralizing antibody markedly improved LPS/D-GalN-induced ALF. Taken together, our data suggest that PX-478 administration leads to HIF-1α inhibition and decreased IL-1β secretion in macrophages, which represents a promising therapeutic strategy for inflammation-induced ALF.