Triptolide suppresses the proliferation and induces the apoptosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells via the PI3K/Akt pathway

Autophagy in benign prostatic hyperplasia: insights and therapeutic potential

Autophagy is a cellular homeostatic mechanism characterized by cyclic degradation. It plays an essential role in maintaining cellular quality and survival by eliminating dysfunctional cellular components. This process is pivotal in various pathophysiological processes. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common urological disorder in middle-aged and elderly men. It frequently presents as lower urinary tract symptoms due to an increase in epithelial and stromal cells surrounding the prostatic urethra. The precise pathogenesis of BPH is complex. In recent years, research on autophagy in BPH has gained significant momentum, with accumulating evidence indicating its crucial role in the onset and progression of the disease. This review aims to outline the various roles of autophagy in BPH and elucidate potential therapeutic strategies targeting autophagy for managing BPH.

Downregulation of MicroRNA-1 and Its Potential Molecular Mechanism in Nasopharyngeal Cancer: An Investigation Combined with In Silico and In-House Immunohistochemistry Validation

Background

This study was aimed at elucidating the molecular biological mechanisms of microRNA-1 (miR-1) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Method

In this study, we performed a pooled analysis of miR-1 expression data derived from public databases, such as GEO, ArrayExpress, TCGA, and GTEx. The miRWalk 2.0 database, combined with the mRNA microarray datasets, was used to screen the target genes, and the genes were then subjected to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis using the DAVID 6.8 database. We then used the STRING 11.0 database and Cytoscape 3.80 software to construct a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network for screening hub genes. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was further used to validate the expression of hub genes. Finally, potential therapeutic agents for NPC were screened by the Connectivity Map (cMap) database.

Results

Pooled analysis showed that miR-1 expression was significantly decreased in NPC (SMD = −0.57; P < 0.05). The summary receiver operating characteristic curve suggested that miR-1 had a good ability to distinguish cancerous tissues from noncancerous tissues (AUC = 0.78). The results of GO analysis focused on mitotic nuclear division, DNA replication, cell division, cell adhesion, extracellular space, kinesin complex, and extracellular matrix (ECM) structural constituent. The KEGG analysis suggested that the target genes played a role in key signaling pathways, such as cell cycle, focal adhesion, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, ECM-receptor interaction, and PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. The PPI network suggested that cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) was the hub gene, and the CDK1 protein was subsequently confirmed to be significantly upregulated in NPC tissues by IHC. Finally, potential therapeutic drugs, such as masitinib, were obtained by the cMap database.

Conclusion

miR-1 may play a vital part in NPC tumorigenesis and progression by regulating focal adhesion kinase to participate in cell mitosis, regulating ECM degradation, and affecting the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. miR-1 has the potential to be a therapeutic target for NPC.

Triptolide protects against white matter injury induced by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion in mice

White matter injury is the major pathological alteration of subcortical ischemic vascular dementia (SIVD) caused by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. It is characterized by progressive demyelination, apoptosis of oligodendrocytes and microglial activation, which leads to impairment of cognitive function. Triptolide exhibits a variety of pharmacological activities including anti-inflammation, immunosuppression and antitumor, etc. In this study, we investigated the effects of triptolide on white matter injury and cognitive impairments in mice with chronic cerebral hypoperfusion induced by the right unilateral common carotid artery occlusion (rUCCAO). We showed that triptolide administration alleviated the demyelination, axonal injury, and oligodendrocyte loss in the mice. Triptolide also improved cognitive function in novel object recognition test and Morris water maze test. In primary oligodendrocytes following oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), application of triptolide (0.001-0.1 nM) exerted concentration-dependent protection. We revealed that the protective effect of triptolide resulted from its inhibition of oligodendrocyte apoptosis via increasing the phosphorylation of the Src/Akt/GSK3β pathway. Moreover, triptolide suppressed microglial activation and proinflammatory cytokines expression after chronic cerebral hypoperfusion in mice and in BV2 microglial cells following OGD, which also contributing to its alleviation of white matter injury. Importantly, mice received triptolide at the dose of 20 μg·kg^-1·d^-1 did not show hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity even after chronic treatment. Thus, our results highlight that triptolide alleviates whiter matter injury induced by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion through direct protection against oligodendrocyte apoptosis and indirect protection by inhibition of microglial inflammation. Triptolide may have novel indication in clinic such as the treatment of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion-induced SIVD.

Triptolide: pharmacological spectrum, biosynthesis, chemical synthesis and derivatives

Triptolide, an abietane-type diterpenoid isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F., has significant pharmacological activity. Research results show that triptolide has obvious inhibitory effects on many solid tumors. Therefore, triptolide has become one of the lead compounds candidates for being the next "blockbuster" drug, and multiple triptolide derivatives have entered clinical research. An increasing number of researchers have developed triptolide synthesis methods to meet the clinical need. To provide new ideas for researchers in different disciplines and connect different disciplines with researchers aiming to solve scientific problems more efficiently, this article reviews the research progress made with analyzes of triptolide pharmacological activity, biosynthetic pathways, and chemical synthesis pathways and reported in toxicological and clinical studies of derivatives over the past 20 years, which have laid the foundation for subsequent researchers to study triptolide in many ways.

Network Pharmacology to Uncover the Molecular Mechanisms of Action of LeiGongTeng for the Treatment of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Background

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common head and neck cancer epidemic in southern China and southeast Asia. LeiGongTeng has been widely used for the treatment of cancers. The purpose of this study was to determine the pharmacological mechanism of action of LeiGongTeng in the treatment of NPC using a network pharmacological approach.

Material/Methods

The traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology (TCMSP) database was used to identify active ingredients and associated target proteins for LeiGongTeng. Cytoscape was utilized to create a drug-disease network and topology analysis was conducted to analyze the degree of each ingredient. The Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) online tool was applied for the construction and analysis of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, while Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment and Gene Ontology (GO) functional analyses were utilized to determine drug-disease common genes.

Results

22 active ingredients including kaempferol, nobiletin, and beta-sitosterol, and 30 drug-disease common genes including VEGFA, CASP3, ESR1, and RELA were identified. GO analysis indicated that 94 biological processes, including RNA polymerase II, apoptotic process, response to drug, cell adhesion, and response to hypoxia, were found to be associated with NPC. The KEGG enrichment analysis showed that 58 pathways, including the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, microRNAs in cancer, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway and pathways in cancer were found to be associated with NPC.

Conclusions

LeiGongTeng exerts its therapeutic effect through various biological processes and signaling pathways since it acts on several target genes. Systematic pharmacology can be used to predict the underlying function of LeiGongTeng and its mechanism of action in NPC.

Carboxypeptidase A6 Promotes the Proliferation and Migration of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Up-regulating AKT Signaling Pathway

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a poor treatment prognosis and high mortality worldwide. Understanding the molecular mechanism underlying HCC development would benefit the identification of diagnostic biomarkers and the improvement of the treatment strategies. The expression of carboxypeptidase A6 (CPA6) has been reported in epilepsy and febrile seizures rather than in any type of cancers. However, the function of CPA6 expression in HCC is not yet understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinicopathological significance of the expression of CPA6 in HCC and the underlying mechanisms. We observed that the expression of the CPA6 protein was increased significantly in HCC tissues than in paracancerous tissues. To explore its function in HCC, both gain- and loss-of-function studies demonstrated that CPA6 played a vital role in promoting HCC growth and metastasis. When knocking down CPA6 with shRNA, HCC cell proliferation and migration could be suppressed. Meanwhile, CPA6 overexpression could promote proliferation and migration of HLF cells. Moreover, CPA6 could activate AKT serine/threonine kinase (AKT) signaling pathway as confirmed by Western blotting. In conclusion, our study revealed that CPA6 could promote HCC cell proliferation and migration via AKT-mediated signaling pathway. These findings suggest that CPA6 is a promising diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target to improve the prognosis of HCC.