Mitigating effect of tanshinone IIA on ventricular remodeling in rats with pressure overload-induced heart failure

Energy metabolism and redox balance: How phytochemicals influence heart failure treatment

Heart Failure (HF) epitomizes a formidable global health quandary characterized by marked morbidity and mortality. It has been established that severe derangements in energy metabolism are central to the pathogenesis of HF, culminating in an inadequate cardiac energy milieu, which, in turn, precipitates cardiac pump dysfunction and systemic energy metabolic failure, thereby steering the trajectory and potential recuperation of HF. The conventional therapeutic paradigms for HF predominantly target amelioration of heart rate, and cardiac preload and afterload, proffering symptomatic palliation or decelerating the disease progression. However, the realm of therapeutics targeting the cardiac energy metabolism remains largely uncharted. This review delineates the quintessential characteristics of cardiac energy metabolism in healthy hearts, and the metabolic aberrations observed during HF, alongside the associated metabolic pathways and targets. Furthermore, we delve into the potential of phytochemicals in rectifying the redox disequilibrium and the perturbations in energy metabolism observed in HF. Through an exhaustive analysis of recent advancements, we underscore the promise of phytochemicals in modulating these pathways, thereby unfurling a novel vista on HF therapeutics. Given their potential in orchestrating cardiac energy metabolism, phytochemicals are emerging as a burgeoning frontier for HF treatment. The review accentuates the imperative for deeper exploration into how these phytochemicals specifically intervene in cardiac energy metabolism, and the subsequent translation of these findings into clinical applications, thereby broadening the horizon for HF treatment modalities.

Tanshinone-IIA mediated neuroprotection by modulating neuronal pathways

The progression of neurological diseases is mainly attributed to oxidative stress, apoptosis, inflammation, and trauma, making them a primary public concern. Since no drugs can stop these neurological disorders from happening, active phytochemical intervention has been suggested as a possible treatment. Among the several phytochemicals being studied for their potential health advantages, tanshinone-IIA (Tan-IIA ) stands out due to its wide range of therapeutic effects. Tan-IIA, derived from the Salvia miltiorrhiza plant, is a phenanthrenequinone. The pharmacological characteristics of Tan-IIAagainst various neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric illnesses have led researchers to believe that the compound possesses neuroprotective potential. Tan-IIA has therapeutic potential in treating neurological diseases due to its capacity to cross the blood-brain barrier and its broad range of activities. In treating neurological disorders, Tan-IIA has been shown to have neuroprotective effects such as anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, BBB protectant, and antioxidant properties. This article concisely summarises the latest scientific findings about the cellular and molecular aspects of Tan-IIA neuroprotection in relation to various neurological diseases. The results of preclinical studies on Tan-IIA provide insight into its potential application in future therapeutic development. This molecule rapidly establishes as a prominent bioactive compound for clinical research.

Natural Products for the Treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension: Mechanism, Progress, and Future Opportunities

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a lethal disease due to the remodeling of pulmonary vessels. Its pathophysiological characteristics include increased pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance, leading to right heart failure and death. The pathological mechanism of PH is complex and includes inflammation, oxidative stress, vasoconstriction/diastolic imbalance, genetic factors, and ion channel abnormalities. Currently, many clinical drugs for the treatment of PH mainly play their role by relaxing pulmonary arteries, and the treatment effect is limited. Recent studies have shown that various natural products have unique therapeutic advantages for PH with complex pathological mechanisms owing to their multitarget characteristics and low toxicity. This review summarizes the main natural products and their pharmacological mechanisms in PH treatment to provide a useful reference for future research and development of new anti-PH drugs and their mechanisms.

Tanshinone IIA Accomplished Protection against Radiation-Induced Cardiomyocyte Injury by Regulating the p38/p53 Pathway

Background

Radiotherapy is one of the major strategies for treating tumors, and it inevitably causes damage to relevant tissues and organs during treatment. Radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD) refers to radiation-induced cardiovascular adverse effects caused by thoracic radiotherapy. Currently, there is no uniform standard in the treatment of RIHD.

Methods

In our group study, by administering a dose of 4 Gy radiation, we established a radiation injured cardiomyocyte model and explored the regulatory relationship between tanshinone IIA and p38 MAPK in cardiomyocyte injury. We assessed cell damage and proliferation using clonogenic assay and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay. The measures of antioxidant activity and oxidative stress were conducted using superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The apoptosis rate and the relative expression of apoptotic proteins were conducted using flow cytometry and western blot. To assess p38 and p53 expressions and phosphorylation levels, western blot was performed.

Results

Experimental results suggested that tanshinone IIA restored cell proliferation in radiation-induced cardiomyocyte injury (∗∗P < 0.01), and the level of LDH release decreased (∗P < 0.05). Meanwhile, tanshinone IIA could decrease the ROS generation induced by radiation (∗∗P < 0.01) and upregulate the SOD level (∗∗P < 0.01). Again, tanshinone IIA reduced radiation-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis (∗∗P < 0.01). Finally, tanshinone IIA downregulated radiation-induced p38/p53 overexpression (∗∗∗P < 0.001).

Conclusions

The treatment effects of tanshinone IIA against radiation-induced myocardial injury may be through the regulation of the p38/p53 pathway.

Guanxin V Acts as an Antioxidant in Ventricular Remodeling

Background: Our previous studies have shown that Guanxin V (GXV) is safe and effective in the treatment of ventricular remodeling (VR), but its mechanism related to oxidative stress has not been studied deeply.

Methods: We applied integrating virtual screening and network pharmacology strategy to obtain the GXV-, VR-, and oxidative stress-related targets at first, and then highlighted the shared targets. We built the networks and conducted enrichment analysis. Finally, the main results were validated by molecular docking and solid experiments.

Results: We obtained 251, 11,425, and 9,727 GXV-, VR-, and oxidative stress-related targets, respectively. GXV-component-target-VR and protein–protein interaction networks showed the potential mechanism of GXV in the treatment of VR. The following enrichment analysis results gathered many biological processes and “two GXV pathways” of oxidative stress-related to VR. All our main results were validated by molecular docking and solid experiments.

Conclusion: GXV could be prescribed for VR through the mechanism, including complex interactions between related components and targets, as predicted by virtual screening and network pharmacology and validated by molecular docking and solid experiments. Our study promotes the explanation of the biological mechanism of GXV for VR.

Recent Research Progress (2015-2021) and Perspectives on the Pharmacological Effects and Mechanisms of Tanshinone IIA

Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) is an important characteristic component and active ingredient in Salvia miltiorrhiza, and its various aspects of research are constantly being updated to explore its potential application. In this paper, we review the recent progress on pharmacological activities and the therapeutic mechanisms of Tan IIA according to literature during the years 2015-2021. Tan IIA shows multiple pharmacological effects, including anticarcinogenic, cardiovascular, nervous, respiratory, urinary, digestive, and motor systems activities. Tan IIA modulates multi-targets referring to Nrf2, AMPK, GSK-3β, EGFR, CD36, HO-1, NOX4, Beclin-1, TLR4, TNF-α, STAT3, Caspase-3, and bcl-2 proteins and multi-pathways including NF-κB, SIRT1/PGC1α, MAPK, SREBP-2/Pcsk9, Wnt, PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathways, TGF-β/Smad and Hippo/YAP pathways, etc., which directly or indirectly influence disease course. Further, with the reported targets, the potential effects and possible mechanisms of Tan IIA against diseases were predicted by bioinformatic analysis. This paper provides new insights into the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of Tan IIA against diseases.

Energy metabolism disorders and potential therapeutic drugs in heart failure

Heart failure (HF) is a global public health problem with high morbidity and mortality. A large number of studies have shown that HF is caused by severe energy metabolism disorders, which result in an insufficient heart energy supply. This deficiency causes cardiac pump dysfunction and systemic energy metabolism failure, which determine the development of HF and recovery of heart. Current HF therapy acts by reducing heart rate and cardiac preload and afterload, treating the HF symptomatically or delaying development of the disease. Drugs aimed at cardiac energy metabolism have not yet been developed. In this review, we outline the main characteristics of cardiac energy metabolism in healthy hearts, changes in metabolism during HF, and related pathways and targets of energy metabolism. Finally, we discuss drugs that improve cardiac function via energy metabolism to provide new research ideas for the development and application of drugs for treating HF.

Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate Protects Against Cerebral Ischemia-reperfusion Injury by Inhibiting Autophagy and Inflammation

Sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS) can protect against brain damage induced by stroke. However, the neural protection mechanism of STS remains unclear. We investigated whether STS performs its protective function by suppressing autophagy and inflammatory activity during brain injury. We established a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion (MCAO/R) model by blocking the left middle cerebral artery with a thread inserted through the internal carotid artery for 1 h, followed by reperfusion for 48 h either with or without STS and the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA). Neuroprotective effects were determined by evaluating infarction, brain edema, and neurological deficits. The numbers of microglia-derived macrophages, monocyte-derived microglia, T cells, and B cells in the brains were measured, based on the surface marker analyses of CD45, CD11b, B220, CD3, and CD4 using fluorescence-assisted cell sorting. STS (10, 20, 40 mg/kg) was able to significantly reduce infarct volumes, improve neurological deficits, and reduce brain water contents. STS treatment reduced neuroinflammation, as assessed by the infiltration of macrophages and neutrophils, corresponding with reduced numbers of macrophages, T cells, and B cells in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) brains. In addition, STS treatment also attenuated the upregulation of autophagy associated proteins, such as LC3-II, Beclin-1 and Sirt 6, which was induced by MCAO. These results demonstrated that STS can provide remarkable protection against ischemic stroke, possibly via the inhibition of autophagy and inflammatory activity.