Effect of picroside II on erythrocyte deformability and lipid peroxidation in rats subjected to hind limb ischemia reperfusion injury

Evaluation of the effects of rosmarinic acid on red blood cell deformability, morphology, and nitric oxide in rat lower limb skeletal muscle ischemia-reperfusion injury

BACKGROUND

Erythrocyte deformability, the ability of red blood cells to bend and twist as they pass through capillaries, is es-sential for tissue perfusion. This study investigates the effects and underlying mechanisms of rosmarinic acid treatment on erythrocyte deformability in rats subjected to lower limb ischemia-reperfusion injury.

METHODS

The study was conducted on Wistar albino rats weighing 400-450 g. The rats were randomly divided into five groups: the control group with no treatment (C), the group receiving only the solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), the ischemia-reperfusion group (IR) subjected to 90 minutes of ischemia followed by 90 minutes of reperfusion in the femoral artery of the lower limb, the rosmarinic acid control group (RA-C) to assess the effects of rosmarinic acid alone, and the group (IR+RA) in which rosmarinic acid was administered intraperitoneally one hour before the ischemia-reperfusion procedure. At the end of the experiment, intracardiac blood samples were collected. Analyses included May-Grünwald-Giemsa (MGG) staining, measurement of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), erythrocyte deformability indexes, malondialdehyde (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels.

RESULTS

Significant findings were observed in the study. Erythrocyte deformability was statistically significantly improved in the group that received rosmarinic acid prior to ischemia-reperfusion compared to the group that underwent ischemia-reperfusion alone. Morphological changes of erythrocytes were also significantly better in the IR+RA group than in the IR group. Immunohistochemical analysis of eNOS staining revealed that eNOS activity was higher in the IR group compared to the IR+RA group. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were significantly elevated in the IR group compared to all other groups. Analysis of superoxide dismutase levels showed that the SOD levels in the IR+RA group were significantly higher than those in the other groups.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that rosmarinic acid treatment administered prior to ischemia provides protective effects against erythrocyte deformation and morphological deterioration. It is suggested that the improvement in deformability may be mediated by increased SOD activity, which reduces reactive oxygen anions, by-products of nitric oxide (NO) production, thereby exerting an antioxidant effect and enhancing the beneficial actions of NO.

Evaluation of 2-Thioxoimadazolidin-4-one Derivatives as Potent Anti-Cancer Agents through Apoptosis Induction and Antioxidant Activation: In Vitro and In Vivo Approaches

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most widespread malignancies and is reported as the fourth most prevalent cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the probable mechanistic cytotoxic effect of the promising 2-thioxoimidazolidin-4-one derivative on liver cancer cells using in vitro and in vivo approaches. The compounds were tested for the in vitro cytotoxic activity using MTT assay, and the promising compound was tested in colony forming unit assay, flow cytometric analysis, RT-PCR, Western blotting, in vivo using SEC-carcinoma and in silico to highlight the virtual mechanism of action. Both compounds 4 and 2 performed cytotoxic effects against HepG2 cells with IC50 values of 0.017 and 0.18 μM, respectively, compared to Staurosporine and 5-Fu as reference drugs with IC50 values of 5.07 and 5.18 µM, respectively. Compound 4 treatment revealed apoptosis induction by 19.35-fold (11.42% compared to 0.59% in control), arresting the cell cycle at G2/M phase. Moreover, studying gene expression that plays critical roles in cell cycle and apoptosis by RT-PCR demonstrated that compound 4 enhances the expression of the pro-apoptotic genes p53, PUMA, and Caspase 3, 8, and 9, and impedes the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 gene in the HepG2 cells. It can also inhibit the PI3K/AKT pathway at both gene and protein levels, which was reinforced by the in silico predictions of the molecular docking simulations towards the PI3K/AKT proteins. Finally, in vivo study verified that compound 4 has a promising anti-cancer activity through activating antioxidant levels (CAT, SOD and GSH) and ameliorating hematological, biochemical, and histopathological findings.

Protective effects of mitochondrion-targeted peptide SS-31 against hind limb ischemia-reperfusion injury

Hind limb ischemia-reperfusion injury is an important pathology in vascular surgery. Reactive oxygen species are thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of hind limb ischemia-reperfusion injury. SS-31, which belongs to a family of mitochondrion-targeted peptide antioxidants, was shown to reduce mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production. In this study, we investigated whether the treatment of SS-31 could protect hind limb from ischemia-reperfusion injury in a mouse model. The results showed that SS-31 treatment either before or after ischemia exhibited similar protective effects. Histopathologically, SS-31 treatment prevented the IR-induced histological deterioration compared with the corresponding vehicle control. SS-31 treatment diminished oxidative stress revealed by the reduced malondialdehyde level and increased activities and protein levels of Sod and catalase. Cellular ATP contents and mitochondrial membrane potential increased and the level of cytosolic cytC was decreased after SS-31 treatment in this IR model, demonstrating that mitochondria were protected. The IR-induced increase of levels of inflammatory factors, such as Tnf-α and Il-1β, was prevented by SS-31 treatment. In agreement with the reduced cytosolic cytC, cleaved-caspase 3 was kept at a very low level after SS-31 treatment. Overall, the effect of SS-31 treatment before ischemia is mildly more effective than that after ischemia. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that SS-31 confers a protective effect in the mouse model of hind limb ischemia-reperfusion injury preventatively and therapeutically.

Modular Design of Picroside-II Biosynthesis Deciphered through NGS Transcriptomes and Metabolic Intermediates Analysis in Naturally Variant Chemotypes of a Medicinal Herb, Picrorhiza kurroa

Picroside-II (P-II), an iridoid glycoside, is used as an active ingredient of various commercial herbal formulations available for the treatment of liver ailments. Despite this, the knowledge of P-II biosynthesis remains scarce owing to its negligence in Picrorhiza kurroa shoots which sets constant barrier for function validation experiments. In this study, we utilized natural variation for P-II content in stolon tissues of different P. kurroa accessions and deciphered its metabolic route by integrating metabolomics of intermediates with differential NGS transcriptomes. Upon navigating through high vs. low P-II content accessions (1.3-2.6%), we have established that P-II is biosynthesized via degradation of ferulic acid (FA) to produce vanillic acid (VA) which acts as its immediate biosynthetic precursor. Moreover, the FA treatment in vitro at 150 μM concentration provided further confirmation with 2-fold rise in VA content. Interestingly, the cross-talk between different compartments of P. kurroa, i.e., shoots and stolons, resolved spatial complexity of P-II biosynthesis and consequently speculated the burgeoning necessity to bridge gap between VA and P-II production in P. kurroa shoots. This work thus, offers a forward looking strategy to produce both P-I and P-II in shoot cultures, a step toward providing a sustainable production platform for these medicinal compounds via-à-vis relieving pressure from natural habitat of P. kurroa.