An Inhibitor of Nuclear Factor-Kappa B Pathway Attenuates the Release of TGF-β1 and Inhibits the Fibrogenic Progress in a Model of Airway Remodeling Induced by Acrolein

Airway inflammation, airway hypersecretion, and airway remodeling are believed to be involved in the process of lung fibrosis. Nowadays, acrolein is widely used to establish the model of airway remodeling. An active component of propolis, named caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), is recognized as an inhibitor of the NF-κB pathway and shows anti-inflammatory effect. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effect of CAPE on acrolein-induced airway remodeling. 24 mice were divided into 4 groups: control group; acrolein group, mice received acrolein (inhalation of acrolein for 20 days); CAPE group, mice received CAPE (30 mg/kg); and acrolein+CAPE group, mice received acrolein and CAPE. After 20 days, lung tissue was removed for histopathology and immunohistochemical evaluations. TGF-β1 and Muc5ac levels were measured at the protein and molecular levels. Additionally, the phospho-P65/P65 values in the airway smooth muscle cells treated with TGF-β1 or CAPE were detected by Western blot. The results showed that compared with the control, subepithelial collagen deposition, airway inflammation, and peribronchus fibrosis were inhibited in the group treated with CAPE. Furthermore, TGF-β1 was significantly decreased in the acrolein+CAPE group compared with the acrolein group. Additionally, we identified CAPE inhibited P65 phosphorylation. However, CAPE did not inhibit the Muc5ac overproduction and hypersecretion induced by acrolein. In conclusion, as an inhibitor of the NF-κB pathway, CAPE attenuated the release of TGF-β1_, which inhibited the fibrogenic progress induced by acrolein in mice and took no effect on inhibiting airway mucus hypersecretion.

In Search of Panacea-Review of Recent Studies Concerning Nature-Derived Anticancer Agents

Cancers are one of the leading causes of deaths affecting millions of people around the world, therefore they are currently a major public health problem. The treatment of cancer is based on surgical resection, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or immunotherapy, much of which is often insufficient and cause serious, burdensome and undesirable side effects. For many years, assorted secondary metabolites derived from plants have been used as antitumor agents. Recently, researchers have discovered a large number of new natural substances which can effectively interfere with cancer cells’ metabolism. The most famous groups of these compounds are topoisomerase and mitotic inhibitors. The aim of the latest research is to characterize natural compounds found in many common foods, especially by means of their abilities to regulate cell cycle, growth and differentiation, as well as epigenetic modulation. In this paper, we focus on a review of recent discoveries regarding nature-derived anticancer agents.

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester promotes haematopoietic stem/progenitor cell homing and engraftment

Background

Several studies have suggested that caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) can induce the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) protein. We determined whether CAPE has a novel function in improving the homing and engraftment of haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) by regulating HIF-1α gene expression in the bone marrow (BM) niche.

Methods

For survival experiments, lethally irradiated C57BL/6 mice were injected with a low number of BM mononuclear cells (MNCs) and CAPE according to the indicated schedule. Homing efficiency analysis was conducted using flow cytometry and colony-forming unit (CFU) assays. The influence of intraperitoneal injection of CAPE on short-term and long-term engraftment of HSPCs was evaluated using competitive and non-competitive mouse transplantation models. To investigate the mechanism by which CAPE enhanced HSPC homing, we performed these experiments including Q-PCR, western blot, immunohistochemistry and CFU assays after in-vivo HIF-1α activity blockade.

Results

CAPE injection significantly increased the survival rate of recipient mice after lethal irradiation and transplantation of a low number of BM MNCs. Using HSPC homing assays, we found that CAPE notably increased donor HSPC homing to recipient BM. The subsequent short-term and long-term engraftment of transplanted HSPCs was also improved by the optimal schedule of CAPE administration. Mechanistically, we found that CAPE upregulated the expression of HIF-1α, vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) and stromal cell-derived factor 1α (SDF-1α). The HIF-1α inhibitor PX-478 blocked CAPE-enhanced HSPC homing, which supported the idea that HIF-1α is a key target of CAPE.

Conclusions

Our results showed that CAPE administration facilitated HSPC homing and engraftment, and this effect was primarily dependent on HIF-1α activation and upregulation of SDF-1α and VEGF-A expression in the BM niche.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13287-017-0708-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Possible molecular targets for therapeutic applications of caffeic acid phenethyl ester in inflammation and cancer

Of the various derivatives of caffeic acid, caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is a hydrophobic, bioactive polyphenolic ester obtained from propolis extract. The objective in writing this review article was to summarize all published studies on therapeutics of CAPE in inflammation and cancer to extract direction for future research. The possible molecular targets for the action of CAPE, include various transcription factors such as nuclear factor-κB, tissue necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, cyclooxygenase-2, Nrf2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, nuclear factor of activated T cells, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, and signal transducers and activators of transcription. Based on the valuable data on its therapeutics in inflammation and cancer, clinical studies of CAPE should also be conducted to explore its toxicities, if any.

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester and therapeutic potentials

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is a bioactive compound of propolis extract. The literature search elaborates that CAPE possesses antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic properties. The principal objective of this review article is to sum up and critically assess the existing data about therapeutic effects of CAPE in different disorders. The findings elaborate that CAPE is a versatile therapeutically active polyphenol and an effective adjuvant of chemotherapy for enhancing therapeutic efficacy and diminishing chemotherapy-induced toxicities.