Mediating macrophage immunity with wogonin in mice with vascular inflammation

Wogonin inhibits the migration and invasion of fibroblast-like synoviocytes by targeting PI3K/AKT/NF-κB pathway in rheumatoid arthritis

BACKGROUND

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is currently an autoimmune inflammatory disease with an unclear pathogenesis. Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) have tumor-like properties, and their activation and secretion of pro-inflammatory factors are important factors in joint destruction. Wogonin (5,7-dihydroxy-8-methoxyflavone), a natural flavonoid isolated from Scutellaria baicalensis root, has been shown to have significant anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress, and anti-tumor effects in a variety of diseases. However, the role of wogonin in RA has not yet been demonstrated.

PURPOSE

To investigate the inhibitory effect of wogonin on the invasive behavior of fibroblast-like synoviocytes and to explore the mechanism of action of wogonin in RA.

METHODS

CCK-8, EdU, cell migration and invasion, immunofluorescence staining, RT-qPCR, and protein blot analysis were used to study the inhibitory effects of wogonin on migration, invasion, and pro-inflammatory cytokine overexpression in the immortalized rheumatoid synovial cell line MH7A. The therapeutic effects of wogonin were validated in vivo using arthritis scores and histopathological evaluation of collagen-induced arthritis mice.

RESULTS

Wogonin inhibited the migration and invasion of MH7A cells, reduced the production of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, MMP-3 and MMP-9, and increased the expression of IL-10. Moreover, wogonin also inhibited the myofibrillar differentiation of MH7A cells, increased the expression of E-cadherin (E-Cad) and decreased the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). In addition, wogonin treatment effectively ameliorated joint destruction in CIA mice. Further molecular mechanism studies showed that wogonin treatment significantly inhibited the activation of PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway in TNF-α-induced arthritic FLSs.

CONCLUSION

Wogonin effectively inhibits migration, invasion and pro-inflammatory cytokine production of RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes through the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB pathway, and thus wogonin, as a natural flavonoid, has great potential for treating RA.

Protective effect of wogonin on inflammatory responses in BisGMA-treated macrophages through the inhibition of MAPK and NFκB pathways

Composites, resins, and sealants that are commonly used in orthopedics and dentistry are based on 2,2-bis[p-(2'-hydroxy-3'-methacryloxypropoxy)phenylene]propane (BisGMA), which induces proinflammatory responses in macrophages. The present study aimed to explore the anti-inflammatory responses of wogonin, which is a natural dihydroxyl flavonoid compound, in BisGMA-treated macrophages. According to the findings, wogonin exhibits anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, anticancer, and antioxidative properties. The generation of nitric oxide (NO) and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were noted to be inhibited by wogonin in BisGMA-treated macrophages. Furthermore, the production of proinflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 was reduced. In addition, BisGMA-induced nuclear factor (NF)-κB p65 phosphorylation and inhibitor of κB (IκB) degradation were inhibited. Finally, the BisGMA-induced phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), including p38 MAPK, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) was inhibited. All these effects were induced by wogonin in the macrophages in a concentration-dependent manner. Similar inhibitory effects of wogonin were observed on the production of NO and proinflammatory cytokines, expression of iNOS, phosphorylation of NF-κB p65 and MAPK, and degradation of IκB. These results indicated that rutin is a potential anti-inflammatory agent for BisGMA-treated macrophages that undergo NFκB p65 phosphorylation and IκB degradation through upstream MAPK phosphorylation. Therefore, wogonin inhibits BisGMA-induced proinflammatory responses in macrophages through the regulation of the NFκB pathway and its upstream factor, MAPK.

Construction of Wogonin Nanoparticle-Containing Strontium-Doped Nanoporous Structure on Titanium Surface to Promote Osteoporosis Fracture Repair

M2 polarization of macrophage is an important immunomodulatory event that attenuates inflammation. To regulate the immune microenvironment in osteoporotic conditions for enhancing bone healing, strontium-doped nano-structure is fabricated on the surface of titanium implant via microarc oxidation and electrochemical deposition technology, followed by the addition of multiplayer coatings embedded with silk fibroin-based wogonin nanoparticles (Ti-MAO/Sr/LBL_WNP ) by layer-by-layer self-assembly technique (LBL). It is found that Ti-MAO/Sr/LBL_WNP can release wogonin and Sr²⁺ in a sustainable manner for more than 7 and 21 days. In vitro studies show that Ti-MAO/Sr/LBL_WNP significantly upregulates the expression of CD206 while reducing the expression of CD86. Meanwhile, Ti-MAO/Sr/LBL_WNP can promote the expression level of M2 macrophage anti-inflammatory factor (TGF-β1, Arg-1), which improves the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of osteoblasts through paracrine signaling. Compared to bare titanium, Ti-MAO/Sr/LBL_WNP significantly inhibits the expression of inflammatory factors around the implant and effectively promotes new bone formation at pre-implant interface after implantation for 4 weeks. This study provides a simple and effective method to develop functional titanium alloy materials for osteoporotic fracture repair.

Identifying absorbable bioactive constituents of yupingfeng powder acting on COVID-19 through integration of UPLC-Q/TOF-MS and network pharmacology analysis

Objective

Yupingfeng Powder (YPF), a kind of preventative patent medicine, is chosen for treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to its high frequency application in respiratory tract diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, respiratory tract infections, and pneumonia, with the advantage of reducing the relapse rate and the severity. However, the active components of YPF and the mechanisms of components affecting COVID-19 are unclear. This study aimed to determine active constituents and elucidate its potential mechanisms.

Methods

Ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF-MS) and liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-QQQ-MS) were used to determine the components and absorbable constituents of YPF. Secondly, TCMSP, Drugbank, Swiss and PharmMapper were used to search the targets of absorbable bioactive constituents of YPF, and the targets of COVID-19 were identified based on GeneCards and OMIM databases. STRING database was used to filter the possible inter-protein interactions. Thirdly, Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways analysis were performed to identify molecular function and systemic involvement of target genes.

Results

A total of 61 components of YPF and 36 absorbable constituents were identified through UPLC-Q/TOF-MS. Wogonin, prim-O-glucosylcimifugin, 5-O-methylvisamminol, astragaloside IV and 5-O-methylvisamminol (hydroxylation) were vital constituents for the treatment of COVID-19, and RELA, TNF, IL-6, MAPK14 and MAPK8ere recognized as key targets of YPF. The major metabolic reactions of the absorbed constituents of YPF were demethylation, hydroxylation, sulfation and glucuronidation. GO and KEGG pathway analysis further showed that the most important functions of YPF were T cell activation, response to molecule of bacterial origin, cytokine receptor binding, receptor ligand activity, cytokine activity, IL-17 signaling pathway, Chagas disease, lipid and atherosclerosis, etc.

Conclusion

The approach of combining UPLC-Q/TOF-MS with network pharmacology is an effective tool to identify potentially bioactive constituents of YPF and its key targets on treatment of COVID-19.

Cardioprotective effects of phytopigments via multiple signaling pathways

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are among the deadliest non-communicable diseases, and millions of dollars are spent every year to combat CVDs. Unfortunately, the multifactorial etiology of CVDs complicates the development of efficient therapeutics. Interestingly, phytopigments show significant pleiotropic cardioprotective effects both in vitro and in vivo.

PURPOSE

This review gives an overview of the cardioprotective effects of phytopigments based on in vitro and in vivo studies as well as clinical trials.

METHODS

A literature-based survey was performed to collect the available data on cardioprotective activities of phytopigments via electronic search engines such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus.

RESULTS

Different classes of phytopigments such as carotenoids, xanthophylls, flavonoids, anthocyanins, anthraquinones alleviate major CVDs (e.g., cardiac hypertrophy, atherosclerosis, hypertension, cardiotoxicities) via acting on signaling pathways related to AMPK, NF-κB, NRF2, PPARs, AKT, TLRs, MAPK, JAK/STAT, NLRP3, TNF-α, and RA.

CONCLUSION

Phytopigments represent promising candidates to develop novel and effective CVD therapeutics. More randomized, placebo-controlled clinical studies are recommended to establish the clinical efficacy of phytopigments.

Wogonin Strengthens the Therapeutic Effects of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in DSS-Induced Colitis via Promoting IL-10 Production

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are prevalent and debilitating diseases; their clinical remedy is desperately unmet. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are pluripotent stem cells with multiple immunomodulatory effects, which are attributed to their efficacy in the IBD rodent model. Optimization of MSC regimes in IBD is a crucial step for their further clinical application. Wogonin is a flavonoid-like compound, which showed extensive immunomodulatory and adjuvant effects. This research is aimed at investigating whether and how Wogonin boosted the therapeutic efficiency of MSCs on DSS-induced colitis. Our results showed that the MSC treatment with Wogonin significantly alleviated the intestinal inflammation in IBD mice by increased IL-10 expression. In vitro experiments, Wogonin obviously raised the IL-10 production and ROS levels of MSCs in a dose-dependent manner. Meanwhile, western blot data suggested Wogonin improves the IL-10 production by inducing transcript factor HIF-1α expression via AKT/GSK3β signal pathway. Finally, the favorable effects of Wogonin on MSCs were confirmed by IL-10 blockade experiment in vivo. Together, our results suggested that Wogonin significantly increased the IL-10 production and enhanced the therapeutic effects of MSCs in DSS-induced colitis. This work suggested Wogonin as a novel optimal strategy for MSC clinical application.

Wogonin Suppresses IL-10 Production in B Cells via STAT3 and ERK Signaling Pathway

Wogonin (5,7-dihydroxy-8-methoxyflavone) is an ingredient of the extracts from Scutellaria baicalensis, which has documented a wide spectrum of anti-inflammatory and antitumor activities, including inhibiting regulatory T cells, regulating effector T cell functions, and mediating macrophage immunity. However, the potential effect of Wogonin on B cells has not been fully understood. Here, our results showed that Wogonin inhibited IL-10 secretion in B cells. When purified B cells were activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vitro, the amount of IL-10 production in supernatant was decreased by Wogonin significantly. The protective role of B cells on dextran sulfate sodium- (DSS-) induced colitis was alleviated after exposure to Wogonin. Furthermore, administration of Wogonin on LPS-treated B cells suppressed phosphorylation of STAT3 and ERK, but not AKT. Interestingly, among those IL-10 signaling-associated transcription factors, mRNA and protein levels of Hif-1α were specifically decreased by Wogonin. Overall, our study indicates that Wogonin suppresses potentially IL-10 production in B cells via inhibition of the STAT3 and ERK signaling pathway as well as inhibition of mRNA and protein levels of the transcription factor Hif-1α. These results provide novel and potential molecular targets of Wogonin in B cells and help us further understand its mechanism of action, which could potentially improve its clinical application in the future.

A comprehensive review on phytochemistry, pharmacology, and flavonoid biosynthesis of Scutellaria baicalensis

CONTEXT

Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (Lamiaceae) is a popular medicinal plant. Its roots are used as the famous traditional Chinese medicine Huang-Qin, which is recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, European Pharmacopoeia, and British Pharmacopoeia.

OBJECTIVE

This review comprehensively summarizes research progress in phytochemistry, pharmacology, and flavonoid biosynthesis of S. baicalensis.

METHODS

English and Chinese literature from 1973 to March 2018 was collected from databases including Web of Science, SciFinder, PubMed, Elsevier, Baidu Scholar (Chinese), and CNKI (Chinese). Scutellaria baicalensis, chemical constituents, phytochemistry, biological activities, and biosynthesis were used as the key words.

RESULTS

A total of 126 small molecules (1-126) and 6 polysaccharides have been isolated from S. baicalensis. The small molecules can be classified into four structural types, namely, free flavonoids, flavonoid glycosides, phenylethanoid glycosides, and other small molecules. Extracts of S. baicalensis and its major chemical constituents have been reported to possess anti-viral, anti-tumor, anti-bacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and neuroprotective activities. Key steps in the biosynthetic pathways of Scutellaria flavonoids have also been summarized.

CONCLUSIONS

This article could be helpful for researchers who are interested in the chemical constituents, bioactivities, biosynthesis, and clinical applications of S. baicalensis.

Flavonoids are identified from the extract of Scutellariae Radix to suppress inflammatory-induced angiogenic responses in cultured RAW 264.7 macrophages

Scutellariae Radix (SR), also named Huangqin in China, is the dried root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. Historically, the usage of SR was targeted to against inflammation. In fact, chronic inflammation has a close relationship with hypoxia and abnormal angiogenesis in tumor cells. Hence, we would like to probe the water extract of SR in suppressing the inflammation-induced angiogenesis. Prior to determine the pharmaceutical values of SR, the first step is to analysis the chemical compositions of SR according to China Pharmacopeia (2015). From the results, the amount of baicalin was 12.6% by weight. Furthermore, the anti-angiogenic properties of SR water extract were evaluated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) pre-treated cultured macrophage RAW 264.7 cells by detecting the inflammatory markers, i.e. Cox-2, cytokine and iNOS, as well as the translocation activity of NFκB and angiogenic biomarker, i.e. VEGF. This herbal extract was capable of declining both inflammatory and angiogenic hallmarks in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, the SR-derived flavonoids, i.e. baicalin, baicalein, wogonin and wogonoside, were shown to be active chemicals in the anti-inflammatory-induced angiogenesis. Therefore, the inflammation-induced angiogenesis is believed to be suppressed by SR water extract, or its major ingredients. These results shed light in the benefiting role of SR in the inflammation-induced angiogenesis in vitro.