Inhibitory effect of oxymatrine on serum hepatitis B virus DNA in HBV transgenic mice

Metabolites from traditional Chinese botanical drugs with anti-hepatitis B virus activity - a review

Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver disease poses a major threat to human health worldwide. Although interferon and nucleoside analogues are commonly administered for treating chronic HBV infection, their use is limited by considerable side effects, drug resistance and incapacity for HBV elimination. Hence, novel HBV therapeutics are urgently required. For numerous years, traditional Chinese botanical drugs have been widely used to treat HBV-related diseases. The natural metabolites derived from these traditional drugs exhibit significant anti-HBV effects and serve as potential novel drugs for treating HBV. For overall understanding the therapeutic potential of these metabolites, the anti-HBV effects and mechanisms of action of 107 natural metabolites are summarized in this article. Mechanistically, these natural metabolites exert their anti-HBV effects by influencing the expression and function of host and/or viral genes, which differs from the mechanism of action of nucleoside analogues. Indeed, combining natural metabolites with nucleoside analogues can exert synergistic effects. Accordingly, natural metabolites or their chemically modified derivatives represent potential novel drugs and adjuvants for anti-HBV treatment.

Oxymatrine Modulation of TLR3 Signaling: A Dual-Action Mechanism for H9N2 Avian Influenza Virus Defense and Immune Regulation

In our research, we explored a natural substance called Oxymatrine, found in a traditional Chinese medicinal plant, to fight against a common bird flu virus known as H9N2. This virus not only affects birds but can also pose a threat to human health. We focused on how this natural compound can help in stopping the virus from spreading in cells that line the lungs of birds and potentially humans. Our findings show that Oxymatrine can both directly block the virus and boost the body's immune response against it. This dual-action mechanism is particularly interesting because it indicates that Oxymatrine might be a useful tool in developing new ways to prevent and treat this type of bird flu. Understanding how Oxymatrine works against the H9N2 virus could lead to safer and more natural ways to combat viral infections in animals and humans, contributing to the health and well-being of society. The H9N2 Avian Influenza Virus (AIV) is a persistent health threat because of its rapid mutation rate and the limited efficacy of vaccines, underscoring the urgent need for innovative therapies. This study investigated the H9N2 AIV antiviral properties of Oxymatrine (OMT), a compound derived from traditional Chinese medicine, particularly focusing on its interaction with pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs). Employing an array of in vitro assays, including 50% tissue culture infectious dose, Cell Counting Kit-8, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blot, we systematically elucidated the multifaceted effects of OMT. OMT dose-dependently inhibited critical antiviral proteins (PKR and Mx1) and modulated the expression of type I interferons and key cytokines (IFN-α, IFN-β, IL-6, and TNF-α), thereby affecting TLR3 signaling and its downstream elements (NF-κB and IRF-3). OMT's antiviral efficacy extended beyond TLR3-mediated responses, suggesting its potential as a versatile antiviral agent. This study not only contributes to the growing body of research on the use of natural compounds as antiviral agents but also underscores the importance of further investigating the broader application of OMT for combating viral infections.

Specialized metabolites from plants as a source of new multi-target antiviral drugs: a systematic review

Viral infections have always been the main global health challenge, as several potentially lethal viruses, including the hepatitis virus, herpes virus, and influenza virus, have affected human health for decades. Unfortunately, most licensed antiviral drugs are characterized by many adverse reactions and, in the long-term therapy, also develop viral resistance; for these reasons, researchers have focused their attention on investigating potential antiviral molecules from plants. Natural resources indeed offer a variety of specialized therapeutic metabolites that have been demonstrated to inhibit viral entry into the host cells and replication through the regulation of viral absorption, cell receptor binding, and competition for the activation of intracellular signaling pathways. Many active phytochemicals, including flavonoids, lignans, terpenoids, coumarins, saponins, alkaloids, etc., have been identified as potential candidates for preventing and treating viral infections. Using a systematic approach, this review summarises the knowledge obtained to date on the in vivo antiviral activity of specialized metabolites extracted from plant matrices by focusing on their mechanism of action.

Natural and herbal compounds targeting breast cancer, a review based on cancer stem cells

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are known as the major reason for therapy resistance. Recently, natural herbal compounds are suggested to have a significant role in inhibiting the breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). The aim of this study was to explore the effective natural herbal compounds against BCSCs.This review article was designed based on the BCSCs, mechanisms of therapy resistance and natural herbal compounds effective to inhibit their activity. Therefore, Science direct, PubMed and Scopus databases were explored and related original articles were investigated from 2010 to 2019. BCSCs use different mechanisms including special membrane transporters, anti-apoptotic, pro-survival, and self-renewal- related signaling pathways. Natural herbal compounds could disturb these mechanisms, therefore may inhibit or eradicate the BCSCs. Studies show that a broad range of plants, either as a food or medicine, contain anti-cancer agents that phenolic components and their different derivatives share a large quantity. Natural herbal compounds play a pivotal role in the eradication of BCSCs, through the inhibition of biological activities and induction of apoptosis. Although it is necessary to conduct more clinical investigation.

T cell--associated immunoregulation and antiviral effect of oxymatrine in hydrodynamic injection HBV mouse model

Although oxymatrine (OMT) has been shown to directly inhibit the replication of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in vitro, limited research has been done with this drug in vivo. In the present study, the antiviral effect of OMT was investigated in an immunocompetent mouse model of chronic HBV infection. The infection was achieved by tail vein injection of a large volume of DNA solution. OMT (2.2, 6.7 and 20 mg/kg) was administered by daily intraperitoneal injection for 6 weeks. The efficacy of OMT was evaluated by the levels of HBV DNA, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg). The immunoregulatory activity of OMT was evaluated by serum ELISA and flow cytometry. Results shows that OMT at 20 mg/kg inhibited HBV replication, and it was more efficient than entecavir (ETV) in the elimination of serum HBsAg and intrahepatic HBcAg. In addition, OMT accelerated the production of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in a dose-dependent manner in CD4⁺ T cells. Our findings demonstrate the beneficial effects of OMT on the enhancement of immunological function and in the control of HBV antigens. The findings suggest this drug to be a good antiviral therapeutic candidate for the treatment of HBV infection.

Effect of oxymatrine HSPC liposomes on improving bioavailability, liver target distribution and hepatoprotective activity of oxymatrine

Oxymatrine (OMT) and matrine (MT) are two naturally occurring alkaloids, both of them provide anti-hepatitis effects. However OMT effect was heavily limited due to its low bioavailability, short half-life and whole body distribution. Herein, we investigated hydrogenated soybean phosphatidylcholine (HSPC) liposomes made by pH gradient active loading to understand the improved hepatoprotective effect mechanisms. Pharmacokinetics researches demonstrated the half-life time of OMT HSPC liposomes was 17.10h in mice. Compared with OMT solution, AUC _(0-8) of OMT and MRT _(0-8) of MT had been increased 11.8 fold and 14.3 fold in HSPC liposomes. Moreover, tissue distribution revealed the relative AUC_s of total alkaloids in liver of OMT HSPC liposomes was as 4.18 times as that of OMT solution. Our data suggested that pathological topical necrosis and mild vacuolar degeneration of liver progressively returned to normal, and serum level of alanine-aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate-aminotransferase (AST) were significantly reduced after treating with OMT HSPC liposomes in acute liver injury mice induced by CCl₄. Pharmacokinetics, biodistribution and pathological researches manifested that HSPC liposomes served as an ideal and potential oxymatrine liver target carrier to prolong OMT retention time and maintain high therapeutically level in liver.

The Clinical Value of Oxymatrine in Preventing Lamivudine Induced YMDD Mutation: A Meta-Analysis

Oxymatrine (OMTR) is widely used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in China. Several reports revealed that combination of OMTR and lamivudine reduced the incidence of tyrosine- (Y-) methionine- (M-) aspartic acid- (D-) aspartic acid (D) (YMDD) mutations in CHB patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of oxymatrine in preventing lamivudine induced YMDD mutation using meta-analysis of data from published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and to provide some useful information for clinical treatment and future research of YMDD mutation. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Science Citation Index, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, and China Biomedical Database were searched to identify RCTs that evaluated the incidence of YMDD-motif mutation to lamivudine therapy and lamivudine plus OMTR therapies in CHB patients. Data analysis was carried out with the use of RevMan 5.3.2. The literature search yielded 324 studies, and 16 RCTs matched the selection criteria. Overall, the incidence of YMDD mutation was significantly lower in patients treated with lamivudine plus OMTR than in patients treated with lamivudine alone (11.14% versus 28.18%; RR: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.33–0.52; p < 0.05). The exact outcome needs to perform rigorously designed, multicenter, and large randomized controlled trials.

Anti-HBV Drugs: Progress, Unmet Needs, and New Hope

Approximately 240 million people worldwide are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV), which represents a significant challenge to public health. The current goal in treating chronic HBV infection is to block progression of HBV-related liver injury and inflammation to end-stage liver diseases, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, because we are unable to eliminate chronic HBV infection. Available therapies for chronic HBV infection mainly include nucleos/tide analogues (NAs), non-NAs, and immunomodulatory agents. However, none of them is able to clear chronic HBV infection. Thus, a new generation of anti-HBV drugs is urgently needed. Progress has been made in the development and testing of new therapeutics against chronic HBV infection. This review aims to summarize the state of the art in new HBV drug research and development and to forecast research and development trends and directions in the near future.

Oxymatrine triggers apoptosis by regulating Bcl-2 family proteins and activating caspase-3/caspase-9 pathway in human leukemia HL-60 cells

With the objective of identifying promising antitumor agents for human leukemia, we carried out to determine the anticancer ability of oxymatrine on the human leukemia HL-60 cell line. In vitro experiments demonstrated that oxymatrine reduced the proliferation of HL-60 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner via the induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G2/M and S phases. The proteins involved in oxymatrine-induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells were also examined using Western blot. The increase in apoptosis upon treatment with oxymatrine was correlated with downregulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 expression and upregulation of pro-apoptotic Bax expression. Furthermore, oxymatrine induced the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9 and the cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) in HL-60 cells. In addition, pretreatment with a specific caspase-3 (Z-DEVD-FMK) or caspase-9 (Z-LEHD-FMK) inhibitor significantly neutralized the pro-apoptotic activity of oxymatrine in HL-60 cells, demonstrating the important role of caspase-3 and caspase-9 in this process. Taken together, these results indicated that oxymatrine-induced apoptosis may occur through the activation of the caspase-9/caspase-3-mediated intrinsic pathway. Therefore, oxymatrine may be a potential candidate for the treatment of human leukemia.

The protective effects of the combination of sodium ferulate and oxymatrine on ethanol-induced liver damage in mice

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the combination of SF and OMT on ethanol-induced liver damage in mice. The animal liver wet/dry weight (W/D) ratio and liver tissue histopathology, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), triglyceride (TG), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxidase dismutase (SOD), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) levels were measured. The data indicated that the levels of ALT, AST, TG, CRP, IL-6, NF-κB and MDA significantly decreased and that SOD activity improved after treatment with the combination of SF and OMT; the same effects were not observed with the same dose of SF or OMT when used alone. These results indicated that the combination of SF and OMT had a protective effect on ethanol-induced liver damage in mice and that antioxidation and anti-inflammatory effects might be involved in this protective mechanism.

Anti-inflammatory Effects of Oxymatrine Through Inhibition of Nuclear Factor-kappa B and Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Activation in Lipopolysaccharide-induced BV2 Microglia Cells

Oxymatrine, a potent monosomic alkaloid extracted from Chinese herb Sophora japonica (Sophora flavescens Ait.). possesses anti-inflammatory activittyes. This study was designed to investigate the effects of oxymatrine on nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent inflammatory responses in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated microglia. In this paper, BV2 microglia were pretreated with different concentrations of oxymatrine (1, 10 and 20 μg/mL) for 30 min as followed by stimulation with LPS (1 μg/mL) for different times (30 min, 1 h, 3 h, and 6 h). Concentrations of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in supernatant, mRNA levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), cytosolic inhibitor of kappa B-alpha (I-κBα) and phospho- I-κBα and nuclear p65 protein levels, and the phosphorylations of MAPK molecules such as extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2, p38 MAPK and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were determined. It was shown that oxymatrine inhibited the productions of NO, PGE2, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6, attenuated the mRNA levels of iNOS and COX-2, suppressed the phosphorylation of I-κBα in cytosol, decreased the nuclear levels of p65, and also blocked ERK, p38 and JNK pathway in LPS-stimulated BV2 microglial cells in a dose-dependent manner. According to the results; It is suggested that oxymatrine may attenuate inflammatory responses of microglia and could be potentially useful in modulation of inflammatory status in the brain disorders.

Oxymatrine diminishes the side population and inhibits the expression of β-catenin in MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play a critical role in both cancer initiation and relapse as they are resistant to most cytotoxic agents and able to proliferate indefinitely. The plant alkaloid oxymatrine has many biological activities including the ability to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, which makes it a potentially useful agent for targeting cancer cells. In order to determine whether it has beneficial pharmacological properties to eradicate CSCs, we analyzed the effects of oxymatrine on MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Cancer stem-like cells' (side population, SP) identification and sorting were performed. The inhibitory effect of oxymatrine was evaluated on the sorted SP and non-SP cells. The results indicated that oxymatrine caused a dose-dependent reduction in the proliferation of MCF-7 cells and a decrease in SP cells. Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was also examined by analyzing the expression of total β-catenin and phosphorylated β-catenin in cytoplasm, and the results showed that the growth inhibitory effects of oxymatrine treatment on MCF-7 cells may be due to the inhibition of SP and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Further work is warranted to explore whether oxymatrine may be a useful novel therapeutic drug for targeting breast CSCs.

Inhibition of the replication of hepatitis B virus in vitro by oxymatrine

This study investigated the inhibitory capacity of oxymatrine on in vitro hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication. HepG2.2.15 cells were treated with oxymatrine 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 or 1000 mg/l, or with human interferon-alpha2b (IFN-alpha2b 1000 U/l) as a positive control. Levels of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and HBV-DNA in cell supernatants were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and fluorescent quantitative-polymerase chain reaction, respectively. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, flow cytometric analysis and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labelling were used to evaluate the cytotoxicity of oxymatrine. The inhibitory effects of oxymatrine gradually increased as the concentration increased from 200 to 1000 mg/l for HBsAg and HBeAg, and from 200 to 400 mg/l for HBV-DNA. There was no inhibitory effect of oxymatrine at concentrations < 200 mg/l. No significant difference was seen between human IFN-alpha2b (positive control) and oxymatrine >or= 200 mg/l. It is concluded that oxymatrine can inhibit in vitro HBV replication and antigen expression at concentrations >or= 200 mg/l.

Stable transmission and expression of the hepatitis B virus total genome in hybrid transgenic mice until F10 generation

The aim of the present study was the generation of transgenic mice carrying the complete Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) genome and investigation of the presence of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) expression through successive generations. Transgenic mice were generated by microinjecting HBV genome into fertilized eggs. Integration and expression of HBsAg in transgenic mice were analyzed by genomic DNA PCR, Southern and slot blots and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Expression was also confirmed by Western blotting and RT-PCR. Histological changes in liver tissue of transgenic mice were examined by HE staining. The HBV genome was transmitted to the F10 generation and the presence of HBV X gene transcripts was confirmed by RT-PCR analysis using liver cDNAs from the F10 generation mice. During an observation period of 2.5 years, mice were sacrificed and their organs subjected to histopathological examination. In the liver, slight histopathologic alterations were observed but none of these lineages had any hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HBV DNA can be stably transmitted and expressed in the transgenic mice until F10 generation. However, although we showed the presence of X gene transcripts in liver tissues of F10 generation mice by RT-PCR in these animals, long-term expression of the HBV complete genome and expression of X protein in hepatocytes did not cause neoplasia during the life span and HCC. These transgenic mice should be useful for detailed studies of the replication and expression of HBV and for physiological studies of HBV genome.