Ukrain (NSC 631570) ameliorates intestinal ischemia-reperfusion-induced acute lung injury by reducing oxidative stress

Butein Inhibits Oxidative Stress Injury in Rats with Chronic Heart Failure via ERK/Nrf2 Signaling

Background

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a serious heart disease resulting from cardiac dysfunction. Oxidative stress is an important factor in aging and disease. Butein, however, has antioxidant properties. To determine the effect of butein on oxidative stress injury in rats, a CHF rat model was established.

Methods

The CHF rat model was induced by abdominal aortic coarctation (AAC). Rats in CHF+butein and sham+butein group were given 100 mg/kg butein via gavage every day to detect the effect of butein on oxidative stress injury and myocardial dysfunction. The cardiac structural and functional parameters, including the left ventricular end-systolic dimension (LVESD), the left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD), the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and the left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS), were measured. Oxidative stress was measured through the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), and malondialdehyde (MDA). Cardiac injury markers like creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were evaluated. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was used to observe the myocardial cell morphology. The effect of butein on the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/nuclear factor-E2 p45-related factor (Nrf2) signaling was confirmed by Western blot analysis.

Results

Butein had a significant effect on CHF in animal models. In detail, butein inhibited oxidative stress, relieved cardiac injury, and alleviated myocardial dysfunction. Importantly, butein activated the ERK1/2 pathway, which contributed to Nrf2 activation and subsequent heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and glutathione cysteine ligase regulatory subunit (GCLC) induction.

Conclusions

In this study, butein inhibits oxidative stress injury in CHF rat model via ERK/Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Natural product derived phytochemicals in managing acute lung injury by multiple mechanisms

Acute lung injury (ALI) and its more severe form, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) as common life-threatening lung diseases with high mortality rates are mostly associated with acute and severe inflammation in lungs. With increasing in-depth studies of ALI/ARDS, significant breakthroughs have been made, however, there are still no effective pharmacological therapies for treatment of ALI/ARDS. Especially, the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) is ravaging the globe, and causes severe respiratory distress syndrome. Therefore, developing new drugs for therapy of ALI/ARDS is in great demand, which might also be helpful for treatment of COVID-19. Natural compounds have always inspired drug development, and numerous natural products have shown potential therapeutic effects on ALI/ARDS. Therefore, this review focuses on the potential therapeutic effects of natural compounds on ALI and the underlying mechanisms. Overall, the review discusses 159 compounds and summarizes more than 400 references to present the protective effects of natural compounds against ALI and the underlying mechanism.

Molecular Mechanisms Involved in Oxidative Stress-Associated Liver Injury Induced by Chinese Herbal Medicine: An Experimental Evidence-Based Literature Review and Network Pharmacology Study

Oxidative stress, defined as a disequilibrium between pro-oxidants and antioxidants, can result in histopathological lesions with a broad spectrum, ranging from asymptomatic hepatitis to hepatocellular carcinoma in an orchestrated manner. Although cells are equipped with sophisticated strategies to maintain the redox biology under normal conditions, the abundance of redox-sensitive xenobiotics, such as medicinal ingredients originated from herbs or animals, can dramatically invoke oxidative stress. Growing evidence has documented that the hepatotoxicity can be triggered by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) during treating various diseases. Meanwhile, TCM-dependent hepatic disorder represents a strong correlation with oxidative stress, especially the persistent accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species. Of note, since TCM-derived compounds with their modulated targets are greatly diversified among themselves, it is complicated to elaborate the potential pathological mechanism. In this regard, data mining approaches, including network pharmacology and bioinformatics enrichment analysis have been utilized to scientifically disclose the underlying pathogenesis. Herein, top 10 principal TCM-modulated targets for oxidative hepatotoxicity including superoxide dismutases (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), Bax, caspase-3, Bcl-2, nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2), and nitric oxide (NO) have been identified. Furthermore, hepatic metabolic dysregulation may be the predominant pathological mechanism involved in TCM-induced hepatotoxic impairment.