Protective effect of baicalin against arsenic trioxide-induced acute hepatic injury in mice through JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway

Hepatoprotective effects of zingerone on sodium arsenite-induced hepatotoxicity in rats: Modulating the levels of caspase-3/Bax/Bcl-2, NLRP3/NF-κB/TNF-α and ATF6/IRE1/PERK/GRP78 signaling pathways

OBJECTIVE

Long-term exposure to arsenic has been linked to several illnesses, including hypertension, diabetes, hepatic and renal diseases and cardiovascular malfunction. The aim of the current investigation was to determine whether zingerone (ZN) could shield rats against the hepatotoxicity that sodium arsenite (SA) causes.

METHODS

The following five groups of thirty-five male Sprague Dawley rats were created: I) Control; received normal saline, II) ZN; received ZN, III) SA; received SA, IV) SA + ZN 25; received 10 mg/kg body weight SA + 25 mg/kg body weight ZN, and V) SA + ZN 50; received 10 mg/kg body weight SA + 50 mg/kg body weight ZN. The experiment lasted 14 days, and the rats were sacrificed on the 15th day. While oxidative stress parameters were studied by spectrophotometric method, apoptosis, inflammation and endoplasmic reticulum stress parameters were measured by RT-PCR method.

RESULTS

The SA disrupted the histological architecture and integrity of the liver and enhanced oxidative damage by lowering antioxidant enzyme activity, such as those of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) level and increasing malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the liver tissue. Additionally, SA increased the mRNA transcript levels of Bcl2 associated x (Bax), caspases (-3, -6, -9), apoptotic protease-activating factor 1 (Apaf-1), p53, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (MAPK14), MAPK15, receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE) and nod-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) in the liver tissue. Also produced endoplasmic reticulum stress by raising the mRNA transcript levels of activating transcription factor 6 (ATF-6), protein kinase RNA-like ER kinase (PERK), inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1), and glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP-78). These factors together led to inflammation, apoptosis, and endoplasmic reticulum stress. On the other hand, liver tissue treated with ZN at doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg showed significant improvement in oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis and endoplasmic reticulum stress.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the study's data suggest that administering ZN may be able to lessen the liver damage caused by SA toxicity.

Reduced Peripheral Blood Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number as Identification Biomarker of Suspected Arsenic-Induced Liver Damage

Arsenic (As) can cause liver damage and liver cancer and is capable of seriously affecting human health. Therefore, it is important to identify biomarkers of arsenic-induced liver damage. Mitochondria are key targets of hepatotoxicity caused by arsenic. The mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) is the number of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copies in the genome. mtDNA is vulnerable to exogenous chemical attacks, thus causing mtDNAcn to change after exposure to environmental pollutants. Therefore, mtDNAcn can serve as a potential marker to identify and assess the risk of diseases caused by exposure to environmental pollutants. In this study, we selected 272 arsenicosis patients (155 cases without liver damage and 117 cases with liver damage) and 218 participants not exposed to arsenic (155 cases without liver damage and 63 cases with liver damage) as subjects to investigate the correlation between peripheral blood mtDNAcn and arsenic-induced liver damage, as well as the ability of peripheral blood mtDNAcn to identify and assess the risk of arsenic-induced liver damage. Peripheral blood mtDNAcn in patients with arsenic-induced liver damage is significantly decreased and negatively correlated with serum ALT, AST, and GGT levels. The decrease of peripheral blood mtDNAcn was associated with an increased risk of arsenic-induced liver damage. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that peripheral blood mtDNAcn could specifically identify patients with liver damage in the arsenicosis group. The decision tree C5.0 model was established to identify arsenicosis in all patients with liver damage. Peripheral blood mtDNAcn was included in the model and played the most important role in the identification of arsenic-induced liver damage. This study provided a basis for the identification and evaluation of arsenic-induced liver damage by peripheral blood mtDNAcn, indicating that peripheral blood mtDNAcn is expected to be a potential biomarker of arsenic-induced liver damage, and provides clues for exploring the mechanism of arsenic-induced liver damage from mitochondria damage.

Bisphenol S dysregulates thyroid hormone homeostasis; Testicular survival, redox and metabolic status: Ameliorative actions of melatonin

Bisphenol S (BPS) is an incipient threat for reproductive health augmenting societal burden of infertility worldwide. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism of BPS induced testicular dysfunctions and protective actions of melatonin in mice. BPS (150 mg/kg BW) treatment reduced serum T3/T4, testosterone and elevated insulin levels along with adverse effect on thyroid and testicular histoarchitecture. Further, BPS treatment compromised sperm quality, reduced mRNA expression of steroidogenic (StAR/CYP11A1) markers, elevated oxidative load and disrupts metabolic status. However, melatonin (5 mg/kg BW) administration to BPS treated mice showed improved hormonal/histological parameters, enhanced thyroid hormone (TR-α/Dio-2)/melatonin (MT-1) receptor expressions. Further, melatonin treatment modulated the expression of testicular survival/redox (SIRT1/PGC-1α/FOXO-1, Nrf2/HO-1, p-JAK2/p-STAT3), proliferative (PCNA) and metabolic (IR/pAKT/GLUT-1) markers. Furthermore, melatonin treatment enhanced testicular antioxidant status and reduced caspase-3 expression. In conclusion, our results showed that BPS induces endocrine/oxidative and metabolic anomalies while melatonin improved male reproductive health.

Skullcapflavone II, a novel NQO1 inhibitor, alleviates aristolochic acid I-induced liver and kidney injury in mice

Aristolochic acid I (AAI) is a well established nephrotoxin and human carcinogen. Cytosolic NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) plays an important role in the nitro reduction of aristolochic acids, leading to production of aristoloactam and AA-DNA adduct. Application of a potent NQO1 inhibitor dicoumarol is limited by its life-threatening side effect as an anticoagulant and the subsequent hemorrhagic complications. As traditional medicines containing AAI remain available in the market, novel NQO1 inhibitors are urgently needed to attenuate the toxicity of AAI exposure. In this study, we employed comprehensive 2D NQO1 biochromatography to screen candidate compounds that could bind with NQO1 protein. Four compounds, i.e., skullcapflavone II (SFII), oroxylin A, wogonin and tectochrysin were screened out from Scutellaria baicalensis. Among them, SFII was the most promising NQO1 inhibitor with a binding affinity (K_D = 4.198 μmol/L) and inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ = 2.87 μmol/L). In human normal liver cell line (L02) and human renal proximal tubular epithelial cell line (HK-2), SFII significantly alleviated AAI-induced DNA damage and apoptosis. In adult mice, oral administration of SFII dose-dependently ameliorated AAI-induced renal fibrosis and dysfunction. In infant mice, oral administration of SFII suppressed AAI-induced hepatocellular carcinoma initiation. Moreover, administration of SFII did not affect the coagulation function in short term in adult mice. In conclusion, SFII has been identified as a novel NQO1 inhibitor that might impede the risk of AAI to kidney and liver without obvious side effect.

The effectiveness and safety of Chaiqin Qingning Capsule in upper respiratory tract infections with fever: A prospective, double-blinded, randomized, multicenter controlled trial

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Presently, over-the-counter drugs that can treat upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) are rarely effective and safe. Chaiqin Qingning Capsule (CQQNC), a Chinese patent medicine, which has been verified by long-term clinical practice is recommended by Chinese experts for the treatment of URTI with fever. This study conducted a prospective, double-blinded, randomized, multicenter controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of CQQNC in the treatment of URTI.

METHODS

The study was conducted at 4 clinical centers in China. Eligible subjects were recruited and randomized 1:1 to the CQQNC group and Qingkailing Capsule (QKLC) group. Both groups were administered orally three times a day for three consecutive days. Primary outcomes were the antipyretic onset time and the temperature recovery time. Secondary outcomes included the symptom disappearance rate, symptom score, and drug safety assessment.

RESULTS

A total of 269 subjects were analyzed (134 subjects in the CQQNC group, 135 subjects in the QKLC group). The antipyretic onset time and the temperature recovery time were significantly shortened in the CQQNC group (median: 5 h vs. 10 h, p < 0.0001, median: 19 h vs. 27 h, p < 0.0001). CQQNC was more effective than the QKLC in improving the symptoms of pharyngodynia and rhinobyon (85.07% vs. 71.11%, p = 0.008; 76.99% vs. 64.41%, p = 0.043), and in improving the overall symptom scores (-15.10 ± 3.23 vs. -13.35 ± 3.58, p < 0.0001). During the trial, no serious adverse events were reported in the two groups.

CONCLUSION

CQQNC is effective and safe in the treatment of URTI with fever, and worthy of clinical application. (http://www.chictr.org.cn, ChiCTR-IPR-16009049).

The Molecular Mechanism of Hepatic Lipid Metabolism Disorder Caused by NaAsO2 through Regulating the ERK/PPAR Signaling Pathway

Chronic arsenic exposure is a risk factor for human fatty liver disease, and the ERK signaling pathway plays an important role in the regulation of liver lipid metabolism. However, whether ERK plays a role in the progression of arsenic-induced liver lipid metabolism disorder and the specific mechanism remain unclear. Here, by constructing a rat model of liver lipid metabolism disorder induced by chronic arsenic exposure, we demonstrated that ERK might regulate arsenic-induced liver lipid metabolism disorders through the PPAR signaling pathway. Arsenic could upregulate the expression of PPARγ and CD36 in the rat liver, decrease the expression of PPARα and CPT-1 in the rat liver, increase the organ coefficient of the rat liver, decrease the content of TG in rat serum, and promote fat deposition in the rat liver. In the arsenic-induced rat model of hepatic lipid metabolism disorder, we found that the expression of p-ERK was increased. In order to further explore whether the ERK signaling pathway was involved in arsenic-induced liver lipid metabolism disorder, we exposed L-02 cells to different arsenic concentrations, and the results showed that arsenic significantly increased the expression of P-ERK in L-02 cells in a dose-dependent manner. We further treated L-02 cells with ERK inhibitors and found that the expression of TG, PPARα, and CPT-1 in L-02 cells increased, while the expression of P-ERK, PPARγ, and CD36 decreased. In conclusion, ERK may be involved in arsenic-induced liver lipid metabolism disorder by regulating the PPAR signaling pathway. These findings are expected to provide a new targeting strategy for arsenic-induced liver lipid metabolism disorder.