Ginsenoside Rh7 Suppresses Proliferation, Migration and Invasion of NSCLC Cells Through Targeting ILF3-AS1 Mediated miR-212/SMAD1 Axis

Therapeutic Applications of Ginseng Natural Compounds for Health Management

Ginseng is usually consumed as a daily food supplement to improve health and has been shown to benefit skeletal muscle, improve glucose metabolism, and ameliorate muscle-wasting conditions, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and the effects of aging and cancers. Ginseng has also been reported to help maintain bone strength and liver (digestion, metabolism, detoxification, and protein synthesis) and kidney functions. In addition, ginseng is often used to treat age-associated neurodegenerative disorders, and ginseng and ginseng-derived natural products are popular natural remedies for diseases such as diabetes, obesity, oxidative stress, and inflammation, as well as fungal, bacterial, and viral infections. Ginseng is a well-known herbal medication, known to alleviate the actions of several cytokines. The article concludes with future directions and significant application of ginseng compounds for researchers in understanding the promising role of ginseng in the treatment of several diseases. Overall, this study was undertaken to highlight the broad-spectrum therapeutic applications of ginseng compounds for health management.

Ginsenosides: a potential natural medicine to protect the lungs from lung cancer and inflammatory lung disease

Lung cancer is the malignancy with the highest morbidity and mortality. Additionally, pulmonary inflammatory diseases, such as pneumonia, acute lung injury, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and pulmonary fibrosis (PF), also have high mortality rates and can promote the development and progression of lung cancer. Unfortunately, available treatments for them are limited, so it is critical to search for effective drugs and treatment strategies to protect the lungs. Ginsenosides, the main active components of ginseng, have been shown to have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities. In this paper, we focus on the beneficial effects of ginsenosides on lung diseases and their molecular mechanisms. Firstly, the molecular mechanism of ginsenosides against lung cancer was summarized in detail, mainly from the points of view of proliferation, apoptosis, autophagy, angiogenesis, metastasis, drug resistance and immunity. In in vivo and in vitro lung cancer models, ginsenosides Rg3, Rh2 and CK were reported to have strong anti-lung cancer effects. Then, in the models of pneumonia and acute lung injury, the protective effect of Rb1 was particularly remarkable, followed by Rg3 and Rg1, and its molecular mechanism was mainly associated with targeting NF-κB, Nrf2, MAPK and PI3K/Akt pathways to alleviate inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis. Additionally, ginsenosides may also have a potential health-promoting effect in the improvement of COPD, asthma and PF. Furthermore, to overcome the low bioavailability of CK and Rh2, the development of nanoparticles, micelles, liposomes and other nanomedicine delivery systems can significantly improve the efficacy of targeted lung cancer treatment. To conclude, ginsenosides can be used as both anti-lung cancer and lung protective agents or adjuvants and have great potential for future clinical applications.

EPLIN-β is a novel substrate of ornithine decarboxylase antizyme 1 and mediates cellular migration

Polyamines promote cellular proliferation. Their levels are controlled by ornithine decarboxylase antizyme 1 (Az1, encoded by OAZ1), through the proteasome-mediated, ubiquitin-independent degradation of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the rate-limiting enzyme of polyamine biosynthesis. Az1-mediated degradation of other substrates such as cyclin D1 (CCND1), DNp73 (TP73) or Mps1 regulates cell growth and centrosome amplification, and the currently known six Az1 substrates are all linked with tumorigenesis. To understand whether Az1-mediated protein degradation might play a role in regulating other cellular processes associated with tumorigenesis, we employed quantitative proteomics to identify novel Az1 substrates. Here, we describe the identification of LIM domain and actin-binding protein 1 (LIMA1), also known as epithelial protein lost in neoplasm (EPLIN), as a new Az1 target. Interestingly, between the two EPLIN isoforms (α and β), only EPLIN-β is a substrate of Az1. The interaction between EPLIN-β and Az1 appears to be indirect, and EPLIN-β is degraded by Az1 in a ubiquitination-independent manner. Az1 absence leads to elevated EPLIN-β levels, causing enhanced cellular migration. Consistently, higher LIMA1 levels correlate with poorer overall survival of colorectal cancer patients. Overall, this study identifies EPLIN-β as a novel Az1 substrate regulating cellular migration.

Anti-cancer effect and potential microRNAs targets of ginsenosides against breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common malignant tumor, the incidence of which has increased worldwide in recent years. Ginsenosides are the main active components of Panax ginseng C. A. Mey., in vitro and in vivo studies have confirmed that ginsenosides have significant anti-cancer activity, including BC. It is reported that ginsenosides can induce BC cells apoptosis, inhibit BC cells proliferation, migration, invasion, as well as autophagy and angiogenesis, thereby suppress the procession of BC. In this review, the therapeutic effects and the molecular mechanisms of ginsenosides on BC will be summarized. And the combination strategy of ginsenosides with other drugs on BC will also be discussed. In addition, epigenetic changes, especially microRNAs (miRNAs) targeted by ginsenosides in the treatment of BC are clarified.

Long non-coding RNA ILF3-AS1 facilitates hepatocellular carcinoma progression by stabilizing ILF3 mRNA in an m6A-dependent manner

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. Increasing evidences have demonstrated that ILF3 antisense RNA 1 (ILF3-AS1) acts as an oncogenic long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) in several types of human cancers. However, the expression pattern, functional role and underlying mechanism of ILF3-AS1 in HCC remains largely unclear. Here, we found that ILF3-AS1 expression was significantly elevated in HCC tissues and also associated with prognosis of patients with HCC. Functional assays demonstrated that knockdown of ILF3-AS1 expression resulted in the suppression of proliferation, migration and invasion in HCC cells, whereas overexpression of ILF3-AS1 exerted opposite effects. Additionally, knockdown of IFL3-AS1 attenuated HCC tumorigenesis and metastasis in vivo. Mechanistically, ILF3-AS1 associated with ILF3 mRNA and inhibited its degradation. ILF3-AS1 increased ILF3 m⁶A level via recruiting N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) RNA methyltransferase METTL3. Moreover, IFL3-AS1 enhanced the interaction between ILF3 mRNA and m⁶A reader IGF2BP1. Overall, our study revealed the function and mechanism of ILF3-AS1 in the malignant phenotypes of HCC cells, which provides a novel therapeutic target for HCC.

Comparative Transcriptional Analysis of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Associated With Three Different Diseases

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a severe cardiovascular disorder with high mortality. Multiple clinical diseases can induce PAH, but the underlying molecular mechanisms shared in PAHs associated with different diseases remain unclear. The aim of this study is to explore the key candidate genes and pathways in PAH associated with congenital heart disease (CHD-PAH), PAH associated with connective tissue disease (CTD-PAH), and idiopathic PAH (IPAH). We performed differential expression analysis based on a public microarray dataset GSE113439 and identified 1,442 differentially expressed genes, of which 80.3% were upregulated. Subsequently, both pathway enrichment analysis and protein–protein interaction network analysis revealed that the “Cell cycle” and “DNA damage” processes were significantly enriched in PAH. The expression of seven upregulated candidate genes (EIF2AK2, TOPBP1, CDC5L, DHX15, and CUL1–3) and three downregulated candidate genes (DLL4, EGFL7, and ACE) were validated by qRT-PCR. Furthermore, cell cycle-related genes Cul1 and Cul2 were identified in pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (PAECs) in vitro. The result revealed an increased expression of Cul2 in PAECs after hypoxic treatment. Silencing Cul2 could inhibit overproliferation and migration of PAECs in hypoxia. Taken together, according to bioinformatic analyses, our work revealed that “Cell cycle” and “DNA damage” process-related genes and pathways were significantly dysregulated expressed in PAHs associated with three different diseases. This commonality in molecular discovery might broaden the genetic perspective and understanding of PAH. Besides, silencing Cul2 showed a protective effect in PAECs in hypoxia. The results may provide new treatment targets in multiple diseases induced by PAH.