Wedelolactone facilitates the early development of parthenogenetically activated porcine embryos by reducing oxidative stress and inhibiting autophagy

Erzhiwan Ameliorates Restraint Stress- and Monobenzone-Induced Depigmentation in Mice by Inhibiting Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor and 8-Hydroxy-2-Deoxyguanosine

Purpose

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease that results in the loss of epidermal melanocytes. The treatments for patients with vitiligo remain lacking. Erzhiwan (EZW), a traditional Chinese Medicine composed of Ligustri Lucidi Fructus and Ecliptae Herba, was used to ameliorate depigmentation since ancient China. This study aims to investigate the effect of EZW on vitiligo-related depigmentation.

Methods

A vitiligo-related depigmentation mouse model was induced by monobenzone and restraint stress. The experimental depigmentation mice were treated with EZW. Histological observation of skin was conducted. Cutaneous oxidative damage and inflammation were determined. A network pharmacology analysis was carried out.

Results

EZW reduced depigmentation score (p<0.01), cutaneous inflammatory infiltration (p<0.01), and CD8α-positive expression (p<0.01), and increased cutaneous melanin content in experimental depigmentation mice. EZW reduced stress reaction in experimental depigmentation mice (p<0.01). EZW inhibited 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG)-related DNA oxidative damage in the skin (p<0.05, p<0.01). In addition, EZW reduced cutaneous macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF)-CD74-NF-κB signaling (p<0.01). The network pharmacology analysis demonstrated that EZW regulated necroptosis, apoptosis, and FoxO signaling pathways in vitiligo. An in vitro experiment showed that the main ingredient of EZW, specnuezhenide, protected against monobenzone and MIF-induced cell death in HaCaT cells (p<0.01).

Conclusion

EZW ameliorates restraint stress- and monobenzone-induced depigmentation via the inhibition of MIF and 8-OHdG signaling. The findings provide a data basis of an utilization of EZW in vitiligo.

Enhancement of porcine in vitro embryonic development through luteolin-mediated activation of the Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway

BACKGROUND

Oxidative stress, caused by an imbalance in the production and elimination of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), has been recognized for its detrimental effects on mammalian embryonic development. Luteolin (Lut) has been documented for its protective effects against oxidative stress in various studies. However, its specific role in embryonic development remains unexplored. This study aims to investigate the influence of Lut on porcine embryonic development and to elucidate the underlying mechanism.

RESULTS

After undergoing parthenogenetic activation (PA) or in vitro fertilization, embryos supplemented with 0.5 µmol/L Lut displayed a significant enhancement in cleavage and blastocyst formation rates, with an increase in total cell numbers and a decrease in the apoptosis rate compared to the control. Measurements on D2 and D6 revealed that embryos with Lut supplementation had lower ROS levels and higher glutathione levels compared to the control. Moreover, Lut supplementation significantly augmented mitochondrial content and membrane potential. Intriguingly, activation of the Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway was observed in embryos supplemented with Lut, leading to the upregulation of antioxidant-related gene transcription levels. To further validate the relationship between the Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway and effects of Lut in porcine embryonic development, we cultured PA embryos in a medium supplemented with brusatol, with or without the inclusion of Lut. The positive effects of Lut on developmental competence were negated by brusatol treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that Lut-mediated activation of the Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway contributes to the enhanced production of porcine embryos with high developmental competence, and offers insight into the mechanisms regulating early embryonic development.

Improving the developmental competences of porcine parthenogenetic embryos by Notoginsenoside R1-induced enhancement of mitochondrial activity and alleviation of proapoptotic events

Notoginsenoside R1 (NGR1), derived from the Panax notoginseng root and rhizome, exhibits diverse pharmacological influences on the brain, neurons, and osteoblasts, such as antioxidant effects, mitochondrial function protection, energy metabolism regulation, and inhibition of oxygen radicals, apoptosis, and cellular autophagy. However, its effect on early porcine embryonic development remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated NGR1's effects on blastocyst quality, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, glutathione (GSH) levels, mitochondrial function, and embryonic development-related gene expression in porcine embryos by introducing NGR1 during the in vitro culture (IVC) of early porcine embryos. Our results indicate that an addition of 1 μM NGR1 significantly increased glutathione (GSH) levels, blastocyst formation rate, and total cell number and proliferation capacity; decreased ROS levels and apoptosis rates in orphan-activated porcine embryos; and improved intracellular mitochondrial distribution, enhanced membrane potential, and reduced autophagy. In addition, pluripotency-related factor levels were elevated (NANOG and octamer-binding transcription factor 4 [OCT4]), antioxidant-related genes were upregulated (nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 [NRF2]), and apoptosis- (caspase 3 [CAS3]) and autophagy-related genes (light chain 3 [LC3B]) were downregulated. These results indicate that NGR1 can enhance early porcine embryonic development by protecting mitochondrial function.

Potential use of the Asteraceae family as a cure for diabetes: A review of ethnopharmacology to modern day drug and nutraceuticals developments

The diabetes-associated mortality rate is increasing annually, along with the severity of its accompanying disorders that impair human health. Worldwide, several medicinal plants are frequently urged for the management of diabetes. Reports are available on the use of medicinal plants by traditional healers for their blood-sugar-lowering effects, along with scientific evidence to support such claims. The Asteraceae family is one of the most diverse flowering plants, with about 1,690 genera and 32,000 species. Since ancient times, people have consumed various herbs of the Asteraceae family as food and employed them as medicine. Despite the wide variety of members within the family, most of them are rich in naturally occurring polysaccharides that possess potent prebiotic effects, which trigger their use as potential nutraceuticals. This review provides detailed information on the reported Asteraceae plants traditionally used as antidiabetic agents, with a major focus on the plants of this family that are known to exert antioxidant, hepatoprotective, vasodilation, and wound healing effects, which further action for the prevention of major diseases like cardiovascular disease (CVD), liver cirrhosis, and diabetes mellitus (DM). Moreover, this review highlights the potential of Asteraceae plants to counteract diabetic conditions when used as food and nutraceuticals. The information documented in this review article can serve as a pioneer for developing research initiatives directed at the exploration of Asteraceae and, at the forefront, the development of a botanical drug for the treatment of DM.

Chrysoeriol Improves In Vitro Porcine Embryo Development by Reducing Oxidative Stress and Autophagy

Chrysoeriol (CHE) is a flavonoid substance that exists in many plants. It has various physiological and pharmacological effects, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, and protective activity, especially for the cardiovascular system and liver. Among common livestock embryos, porcine embryos are often considered high-quality objects for studying the antioxidant mechanisms of oocytes. Because porcine embryos contain high levels of lipids, they are more vulnerable to external stimuli, which affect development. Our study explored the influence of CHE supplementation on oxidative stress in porcine oocytes and its possible mechanisms. Different concentrations of CHE (0, 0.1, 1, and 3 µM) were supplemented in the in vitro culture medium of the porcine oocytes. The results showed that supplementation with 1 µM CHE significantly increased the blastocyst rate and total cell number of embryos in vitro. After finding the beneficial effects of CHE, we measured reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione (GSH), and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) when the oocytes reached the 4-cell stage of development and determined the levels of apoptosis, cell proliferation, and autophagy at the blastocyst stage of development. The expression levels of some related genes were preliminarily detected by qRT-PCR. The results showed that the apoptosis of blastocysts in the CHE-treated culture also decreased compared with the untreated culture. Furthermore, CHE downregulated intracellular ROS and increased GSH in the embryos. CHE was also shown to improve the activity of mitochondria and inhibit the occurrence of autophagy. In addition, antioxidant-related genes (SOD1, SOD2, and CAT) and cell pluripotency-related genes (SOX2, OCT4, and NANOG) were upregulated. At the same time, apoptosis-related (Caspase 3) and autophagy-related (LC3B) genes showed a downward trend after supplementation with CHE. These results indicate that CHE improved the development of porcine embryos in vitro by reducing oxidative stress and autophagy levels.