Gastrodin Inhibits Virus Infection by Promoting the Production of Type I Interferon

Efficacy and Safety of Bufei Jiedu Granules in Treating Multidrug-Resistant Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Multi-center, Double-Blinded and Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE

To assess the efficacy and safety of Bufei Jiedu (BFJD) ranules as adjuvant therapy for patients with multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (MDR-PTB).

METHODS

A large-scale, multi-center, double-blinded, and randomized controlled trial was conducted in 18 sentinel hospitals in China from December 2012 to December 2016. A total of 312 MDR-PTB patients were randomly assigned to BFJD Granules or placebo groups (1:1) using a stratified randomization method, which both received the long-course chemotherapy regimen for 18 months (6 Am-Lfx-P-Z-Pto, 12 Lfx-P-Z-Pto). Meanwhile, patients in both groups also received BFJD Granules or placebo twice a day for a total of 18 months, respectively. The primary outcome was cure rate. The secondary outcomes included time to sputum-culture conversion, changes in lung cavities and quality of life (QoL) of patients. Adverse reactions were monitored during and after the trial.

RESULTS

A total of 216 cases completed the trial, 111 in the BFJD Granules group and 105 in the placebo group. BFJD Granules, as an adjuvant treatment, increased the cure rate by 13.6% at the end of treatment, compared with the placebo (58.4% vs. 44.8%, P=0.02), and accelerated the median time to sputum-culture conversion (5 months vs. 11 months). The cavity closure rate of the BFJD Granules group (50.6%, 43/85) was higher than that of the placebo group (32.1%, 26/81; P=0.02) in patients who completed the treatment. At the end of the intensive treatment, according to the 36-item Short Form, the BFJD Granules significantly improved physical functioning, general health, and vitality of patients relative to the placebo group (all P<0.01). Overall, the death rates in the two groups were not significantly different; 5.1% (8/156) in the BFJD Granules group and 2.6% (4/156) in the placebo group.

CONCLUSIONS

Supplementing BFJD Granules with the long-course chemotherapy regimen significantly increased the cure rate and cavity closure rates, and rapidly improved QoL of patients with MDR-PTB (Registration No. ChiCTR-TRC-12002850).

Gastrodin: a comprehensive pharmacological review

Tianma is the dried tuber of Gastrodia elata Blume (G. elata), which is frequently utilized in clinical practice as a traditional Chinese medicine. Gastrodin (GAS) is the main active ingredient of Tianma, which has good pharmacological activity. Therefore, for the first time, this review focused on the extraction, synthesis, pharmacological effects, and derivatives of GAS and to investigate additional development options for GAS. The use of microorganisms to create GAS is a promising method. GAS has good efficacy in the treatment of neurological diseases, cardiovascular diseases, endocrine diseases, and liver diseases. GAS has significant anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, neuroprotective, vascular protective, blood sugar lowering, lipid-regulating, analgesic, anticancer, and antiviral effects. The mechanism involves various signaling pathways such as Nrf2, NF-κB, PI3K/AKT, and AMPK. In addition, the derivatives of GAS and biomaterials synthesized by GAS and PU suggested a broader application of GAS. The research on GAS is thoroughly summarized in this paper, which has useful applications for tackling a variety of disorders and exhibits good development value.

The role of symbiotic fungi in the life cycle of Gastrodia elata Blume (Orchidaceae): a comprehensive review

Gastrodia elata Blume, a fully mycoheterotrophic perennial plant of the family Orchidaceae, is a traditional Chinese herb with medicinal and edible value. Interestingly, G. elata requires symbiotic relationships with Mycena and Armillaria strains for seed germination and plant growth, respectively. However, there is no comprehensive summary of the symbiotic mechanism between fungi and G. elata. Here, the colonization and digestion of hyphae, the bidirectional exchange of nutrients, the adaptation of fungi and G. elata to symbiosis, and the role of microorganisms and secondary metabolites in the symbiotic relationship between fungi and G. elata are summarized. We comprehensively and deeply analyzed the mechanism of symbiosis between G. elata and fungi from three perspectives: morphology, nutrition, and molecules. The aim of this review was to enrich the understanding of the mutualistic symbiosis mechanisms between plants and fungi and lay a theoretical foundation for the ecological cultivation of G. elata.

The crucial regulatory role of type I interferon in inflammatory diseases

Type I interferon (IFN-I) plays crucial roles in the regulation of inflammation and it is associated with various inflammatory diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and periodontitis, impacting people's health and quality of life. It is well-established that IFN-Is affect immune responses and inflammatory factors by regulating some signaling. However, currently, there is no comprehensive overview of the crucial regulatory role of IFN-I in distinctive pathways as well as associated inflammatory diseases. This review aims to provide a narrative of the involvement of IFN-I in different signaling pathways, mainly mediating the related key factors with specific targets in the pathways and signaling cascades to influence the progression of inflammatory diseases. As such, we suggested that IFN-Is induce inflammatory regulation through the stimulation of certain factors in signaling pathways, which displays possible efficient treatment methods and provides a reference for the precise control of inflammatory diseases.

A review: Mechanism and prospect of gastrodin in prevention and treatment of T2DM and COVID-19

Gastrodin is an extract from the dried tuber of the Chinese herb Gastrodia elata (Tian ma), with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiviral properties. Recent studies have shown that, compared to commonly used diabetes drugs, gastrodin has antidiabetic effects in multiple ways, with characteristics of low cost, high safety, less side effects, protection of β-cell function, relieving insulin resistance and alleviating multiple complications. In addition, it is confirmed that gastrodin can protect the function of lung and other organs, enhance antiviral activity via upregulating the type I interferon (IFN-I), and inhibit angiotensin II (AngII), a key factor in "cytokine storm" caused by COVID-19. Therefore, we reviewed the effect and mechanism of gastrodin on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and speculated other potential mechanisms of gastrodin in alleviating insulin resistance from insulin signal pathway, inflammation, mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum and its potential in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. We hope to provide new direction and treatment strategy for basic research and clinical work: gastrodin is considered as a drug for the prevention and treatment of diabetes and COVID-19.

Review on pharmacological effects of gastrodin

Gastrodia elata Blume is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine that is mainly used to treat diseases related to the nervous system, such as stroke, epilepsy, and headache. Gastrodin is the main bioactive component of Gastrodia elata Blume, and studies have shown that it has extensive pharmacological activity. This narrative review aims to systematically review relevant studies on the pharmacological effects of gastrodin to provide researchers with the latest and most useful information. Studies have shown that gastrodin has prominent neuroprotective effects and can treat or improve epilepsy, Tourette syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, emotional disorders, cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, cognitive impairment, and neuropathic pain. Gastrodin can also improve myocardial hypertrophy, hypertension, and myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. In addition, gastrodin can mitigate liver, kidney, and bone tissue damage caused by oxidative stress and inflammation. In short, gastrodin is expected to treat many diseases, and it is worth investing more effort in research on this compound.

Amniotic stem cells as a source of regenerative medicine to treat female infertility

Impaired reproductive health is a worldwide problem that affects the psychological well-being of a society. Despite the technological developments to treat infertility, the global infertility rate is increasing significantly. Many infertility conditions are currently treated using various advanced clinical approaches such as intrauterine semination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), and intracytoplasmic injection (ICSI). Nonetheless, clinical management of some conditions such as dysfunctional endometrium, premature ovarian failure, and ovarian physiological aging still pose significant challenges. Stem cells based therapeutic strategies have a long-standing history to treat many infertility conditions, but ethical restrictions do not allow the broad-scale utilization of adult mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs). Easily accessible, placental derived or amniotic stem cells present an invaluable alternative source of non-immunogenic and non-tumorigenic stem cells that possess multilineage potential. Given these characteristics, placental or amniotic stem cells (ASCs) have been investigated for therapeutic purposes to address infertility in the last decade. This study aims to summarize the current standing and progress of human amniotic epithelial stem cells (hAECs), amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs), and amniotic fluid stem cells (hAFSCs) in the field of reproductive medicine. The therapeutic potential of these cells to restore or enhance normal ovarian function and pregnancy outcomes are highlighted in this study.

Intracellular Replication Inhibitory Effects of Tea Tree Oil on Vesicular Stomatitis Virus and Anti-inflammatory Activities in Vero Cells

Viral disease management has been proven difficult, and there are no broadly licensed vaccines or therapeutics. Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is an active pathogen of wild ungulates and livestock; its infection frequently caused irreversible vesicles on the tongue or other positions, leading to enormous economic loss. Tea tree oil (TTO) has been shown to be a popular remedy for many skin diseases owing to its antibacterial, antipruritic, and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the potential effect of TTO on VSV proliferation and the corresponding inflammatory response in cells remain unclear. In this study, methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay was used to evaluate the cell viability of TTO, and cytotoxic concentration 50 (CC50) was calculated. Then, fluorescence observation, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blot (WB), and flow cytometry (FCM) assay were used to evaluate the antiviral effect of TTO against VSV under three manners of pre-infection before medication, co-administration, pretreatment before infection at safe doses to Vero cells. Meanwhile, the mRNA expressions of interleukin 8, tumor necrosis factor α, and ISG56 in cells were also detected. The results showed that the maximum safe concentration of TTO to Vero cells was 0.063% and the CC50 is 0.32%. Most notably, TTO dose-dependently inhibited the VSV GFP fluorescence generation and restrained the replication of VSV in gene and protein levels regardless of the treatment modes. Based on the results of the FCM, effective concentration 50 of TTO against VSV is 0.019%. Similarly, the mRNA expression of the above cytokines induced by viral infection was also remarkably curbed. These findings suggest that TTO emerged blocking, prophylaxis, and treatment action against VSV replication and suppressed the related inflammation in Vero cells. This study provides a novel potential for TTO fighting against viral infection and anti-inflammatory activities in Vero cells.

A drug-biomarker interaction model to predict the key targets of Scutellaria barbata D. Don in adverse-risk acute myeloid leukaemia

A poor prognosis, relapse and resistance are burning issues during adverse-risk acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) treatment. As a natural medicine, Scutellaria barbata D. Don (SBD) has shown impressive antitumour activity in various cancers. Thus, SBD may become a potential drug in adverse-risk AML treatment. This study aimed to screen the key targets of SBD in adverse-risk AML using the drug-biomarker interaction model through bioinformatics and network pharmacology methods. First, the adverse-risk AML-related critical biomarkers and targets of SBD active ingredient were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas database and several pharmacophore matching databases. Next, the protein-protein interaction network was constructed, and topological analysis and pathway enrichment were used to screen key targets and main pathways of intervention of SBD in adverse-risk AML. Finally, molecular docking was implemented for key target verification. The results suggest that luteolin and quercetin are the main active components of SBD against adverse-risk AML, and affected drug resistance, apoptosis, immune regulation and angiogenesis through the core targets AKT1, MAPK1, IL6, EGFR, SRC, VEGFA and TP53. We hope the proposed drug-biomarker interaction model provides an effective strategy for the research and development of antitumour drugs.