Effects of Qingyi Huaji decoction on serum levels of interleukin-6, interleukin-8 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in nude mice bearing pancreatic tumors

Advances in the treatment of pancreatic cancer with traditional Chinese medicine

Pancreatic cancer is a common malignancy of the digestive system. With a high degree of malignancy and poor prognosis, it is called the "king of cancers." Currently, Western medicine treats pancreatic cancer mainly by surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, the curative effect is not satisfactory. The application of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the treatment of pancreatic cancer has many advantages and is becoming an important facet of comprehensive clinical treatment. In this paper, we review current therapeutic approaches for pancreatic cancer. We also review the protective effects shown by TCM in different models and discuss the potential molecular mechanisms of these.

Qingyihuaji formula reverses gemcitabine resistant human pancreatic cancer through regulate lncRNA AB209630/miR-373/EphB2-NANOG signals

To investigate the possible mechanism of Qingyihuaji formula (QYHJ) for reversing gemcitabine (GEM) resistant human pancreatic cancer. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion were detected in CFPAC-1 cells. Xenograft mice established with CFPAC-1 through subcutaneous on 33 immunodeficient nude mice and randomly divided into four groups: vehicle, GEM (35 mg/kg), QYHJ (40 g/kg), and GEM + QYHJ (35 mg/kg + 40 g/kg) groups for 28-day treatment. Tumor growth and the mRNA expression of lncRNA AB209630, miR373, EphB2, and NANOG evaluated in dissected tumor tissue by real-time PCR, the CD133+ cancer stem cells were isolated by flow cytometer, and the changes of the tumor sphere forming were measured. QYHJ, especially the combination of GEM and QYHJ, was significantly inhibited the cell proliferation and migration of CFPAC-1 in vitro in the indicated times. The combination of GEM and QYHJ also remarkably promoted the cell apoptosis of CFPAC-1. QYHJ treatment effectively blocked the tumor growth in nude mice. QYHJ, especially GEM + QYHJ treatment, was significantly increased the mRNA expression of lncRNA AB209630, significantly decreased the mRNA levels of miR373, EphB2 and NANOG, and markedly reduced the tumor sphere formation and the numbers of CD133+ stem cells. In addition, GEM alone treatment had no significant effect in the above biomarker changes. QYHJ could effectivly enhance the antihuman pancreatic tumor activity of GEM, which may be through inhibiting pancreatic cancer stem cell differentiation by lncRNA AB209630/miR-373/EphB2-NANOG signaling pathway.

IL-6 roles - Molecular pathway and clinical implication in pancreatic cancer - A systemic review

Pancreatic cancer has attracted a great deal of attention owing to the poor outcome, increasing prevalence in the last years and delay diagnosis. Known as a complex disease, it involves genetic mutations, changes in tumour microenvironment and inflammatory component dominated by interleukin-6 and its activated pathways, like Janus Kinase-Signal Transducer and Activator of Translation3, Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase and Androgen receptor. The pro-inflammatory cytokine, plays a central role in oncogenesis, cancer progression, invasiveness, microenvironment changes, treatment resistance, prognosis and associated co morbidities like cachexia and depression. Fulfilling these roles IL-6 requires special attention to understand its complexity in PC development.

Evaluation of Selected Immunomodulatory Glycoproteins as an Adjunct to Cancer Immunotherapy

Polysaccharopeptide (PSP), from Coriolus versicolor, has been used widely as an adjuvant to chemotherapy with demonstrated anti-tumor and broad immunomodulating effects. While PSP’s mechanism of action still remains unknown, its enhanced immunomodulatory potential with acacia gum is of great interest. Acacia gum, which also contains polysaccharides and glycoproteins, has been demonstrated to be immunopotentiating. To elucidate whether PSP directly activates T-cell-dependent B-cell responses in vivo, we used a well-established hapten carrier system (Nitrophenyl-chicken gamma globulin (NP-CGG)). 6-week C57BL/6 male mice were immunised with 50 μg of NP₂₅-CGG alum precipitate intraperitoneally. Mice were gavaged daily with 50mg/kg PSP in a vehicle containing acacia gum and sacrificed at days 0, 4, 7, 10, 14 and 21. ELISA was used to measure the total and relative hapten-specific anti-NP IgA, IgM and IgG titre levels compared to the controls. It was found that PSP, combined with acacia gum, significantly increased total IgG titre levels at day 4 (P< 0.05), decreased IgM titre levels at days 4 and 21 (P< 0.05) with no alterations observed in the IgA or IgE titre levels at any of the time points measured. Our results suggest that while PSP combined with acacia gum appears to exert weak immunological effects through specific T-cell dependent B-cell responses, they are likely to be broad and non-specific which supports the current literature on PSP. We report for the first time the application of a well-established hapten-carrier system that can be used to characterise and delineate specific T-cell dependent B-cell responses of potential immunomodulatory glycoprotein-based herbal medicines combinations in vivo.

Clinical Distribution and Molecular Basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine ZHENG in Cancer

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinical practice, ZHENG (also known as syndrome) helps to guide design of individualized treatment strategies. In this study, we investigated the clinical use of ZHENG in TCM-treated cancer patients by systematically analyzing data from all relevant reports in the Chinese-language scientific literature. We aimed to determine the clinical ZHENG distributions in six common cancers (lung, liver, gastric, breast, colorectal, and pancreatic) with the expectation of uncovering a theoretical basis for TCM ZHENG as a clinical cancer treatment. In addition, we also reviewed the molecular basis underlying Xue-Yu (blood stasis), Shi-Re (dampness-heat), Yin-Xu (Yin deficiency), and Pi-Xu (spleen deficiency) ZHENG that are commonly found in cancer patients. The results from our summary study provide insights into the potential utility of TCM ZHENG and may contribute to a better understanding of the molecular basis of TCM ZHENG in cancer.