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Bai X, Wang J, Ding S, Yang S, Pei B, Yao M, Zhu X, Jiang M, Zhang M, Mu W, Guo S. Embelin protects against apoptosis and inflammation by regulating PI3K/Akt signaling in IL-1β-stimulated human nucleus pulposus cells. Tissue Cell 2023; 82:102089. [PMID: 37075678 DOI: 10.1016/j.tice.2023.102089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2022] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/21/2023]
Abstract
Embelin is a natural benzoquinone compound that displays a beneficial effect in various inflammatory-related diseases. However, the effect of embelin on degeneration of intervertebral disc (IDD), a chronic inflammatory disorder, has not been reported. This study was attempted to explore the therapeutic action of embelin on IDD in vitro. Network pharmacology analysis was performed for evaluating the link between embelin and IDD. The human nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) were stimulated with IL-1β to induce inflammation. Cell viability of NPCs was assessed by CCK-8 assay. Western blotting was conducted to detect the expression levels of PI3K, p-PI3K, Akt, p-Akt, cleaved caspase-3, caspase-3, Bax, Bcl-2, p65 and p-p65. Apoptotic deaths of NPCs were examined by TUNEL assay. The production of COX-2, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α was examined by ELISA. It can be seen that 16 overlapping genes were selected from 109 possible targets of embelin and 342 possible targets of IDD. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was a close link between embelin and IDD. We found that embelin dose-dependently improved the cell viability in IL-1β-stimulated NPCs. Embelin elevated the relative levels of p-PI3K/PI3K and p-Akt/Akt in IL-1β-stimulated NPCs. IL-1β induced a significant increase in apoptotic deaths of NPCs, which was attenuated by embelin treatment. IL-1β-induced alternations in expression levels of apoptotic-related proteins including cleaved caspase-3, Bax and Bcl-2 were prevented by embelin treatment. Pretreatment with LY294002 (an inhibitor of PI3K) reversed the inhibitory effect of embelin on IL-1β-induced apoptosis in NPCs. Embelin treatment caused inhibitory effects on the IL-1β-stimulated production of COX-2, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α, which were abolished by LY294002 treatment. Furthermore, embelin treatment prevented IL-1β-induced phosphorylation of p65 in NPCs, while LY294002 elevated the embelin-caused decrease in p-p65/p65 level. Overall, embelin protected human NPCs against IL-1β-stimulated apoptosis and inflammation by regulating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. These findings provided new ideas for the clinical usage of embelin in the prevention and treatment of IDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoliang Bai
- The Fifth Department of Orthopedics, Baoding NO.1 Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China
| | - Jie Wang
- The Fifth Department of Orthopedics, Baoding NO.1 Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China
| | - Siguang Ding
- The Fifth Department of Orthopedics, Baoding NO.1 Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China
| | - Shuai Yang
- The Fifth Department of Orthopedics, Baoding NO.1 Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China
| | - Bo Pei
- The Fifth Department of Orthopedics, Baoding NO.1 Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China
| | - Mingyan Yao
- Department of Endocrinology, Baoding NO.1 Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China
| | - Xiaojuan Zhu
- Department of Geriatrics, Baoding NO.1 Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China
| | - Meichao Jiang
- The Fifth Department of Orthopedics, Baoding NO.1 Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China
| | - Mingyuan Zhang
- Department of Orthopedics, Laishui County TCM Hospital, Baoding, Hebei 074199, China
| | - Weina Mu
- Department of Ultrasonography, Baoding NO.1 Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China
| | - Shuqin Guo
- Department of Endocrinology, Baoding NO.1 Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China.
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Embelin and Its Derivatives: Design, Synthesis, and Potential Delivery Systems for Cancer Therapy. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15091131. [PMID: 36145352 PMCID: PMC9505931 DOI: 10.3390/ph15091131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Embelin is a naturally occurring benzoquinone that inhibits the growth of cancer cells, making it a potent anticancer drug. However, the low water solubility of embelin restricts its clinical applicability. This review provides a concise summary and in-depth analysis of the published literature on the design and synthesis of embelin derivatives possessing increased aqueous solubility and superior therapeutic efficacy. In addition, the potential of drug delivery systems to improve the anticancer capabilities of embelin and its derivatives is discussed.
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Basha NJ, Basavarajaiah SM, Baskaran S, Kumar P. A comprehensive insight on the biological potential of embelin and its derivatives. Nat Prod Res 2021; 36:3054-3068. [PMID: 34304655 DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2021.1955361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Naturally occurring bioactive molecules are known for their diverse biological applications such as antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activities. Also, some of the natural products act as medicinal drugs. Further, bioactive cell-permeable molecule embelin has been reported for its diverse biological activities such as antimalarial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory in the literature. With the continuation of our research work on biologically active molecules, based on structural activity relationship and docking studies of embelin and its derivatives, we have reported target-specific anticancer and antimalarial activities of embelin and its analogs. Also, it has been reported in many recent research articles that embelin and its derivatives are known to possess medicinal properties. This review mainly highlights recent reports on broad-spectrum biological activities of the embelin and its analogs to date.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Jeelan Basha
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Academy Degree College-Autonomous, Bangalore, India
| | | | - Swathi Baskaran
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Academy Degree College-Autonomous, Bangalore, India
| | - Prasanna Kumar
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Academy Degree College-Autonomous, Bangalore, India
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