bims-aporos Biomed News
on Apoptosis and reactive oxygen species
Issue of 2019–05–12
75 papers selected by
Gavin McStay, Staffordshire University
  1. Protective Effect of Diphlorethohydroxycarmalol against Oxidative Stress-induced DNA Damage and Apoptosis in Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells.
  2. Sanguinarine Induces Apoptosis Pathway in Multiple Myeloma Cell Lines via Inhibition of the JaK2/STAT3 Signaling.
  3. Puerarin prevents cadmium-induced hepatic cell damage by suppressing apoptosis and restoring autophagic flux.
  4. Daucosterol disturbs redox homeostasis and elicits oxidative-stress mediated apoptosis in A549 cells via targeting thioredoxin reductase by a p53 dependent mechanism.
  5. Nrf2-Heme oxygenase-1 modulates autophagy and inhibits apoptosis triggered by elevated glucose levels in renal tubule cells.
  6. Traumatic acid toxicity mechanisms in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells.
  7. The protective effects of a novel polysaccharide from Lentinus edodes mycelia on islet β (INS-1) cells damaged by glucose and its transportation mechanism with human serum albumin.
  8. MiR-410 exerts neuroprotective effects in a cellular model of Parkinson's disease induced by 6-hydroxydopamine via inhibiting the PTEN/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.
  9. UCP2 alleviates tubular epithelial cell apoptosis in lipopolysaccharide-induced acute kidney injury by decreasing ROS production.
  10. Naringenin Inhibit the Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced SH-SY5Y Cells Injury Through Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway.
  11. Terminalia arjuna extract and arjunic acid mitigate cobalt chloride-induced hypoxia stress-mediated apoptosis in H9c2 cells.
  12. Chlorogenic Acid Relieved Oxidative Stress Injury in Retinal Ganglion Cells Through IncRNA-TUG1/Nrf2.
  13. Acacetin-induced cell apoptosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells: Evidence for the role of muscarinic M3 receptor.
  14. 3,3'‑Diindolylmethane mitigates lipopolysaccharide‑induced acute kidney injury in mice by inhibiting NOX‑mediated oxidative stress and the apoptosis of renal tubular epithelial cells.
  15. Endoplasmic reticulum stress and autophagy contribute to cadmium-induced cytotoxicity in retinal pigment epithelial cells.
  16. Expression of NADPH oxidase and production of reactive oxygen species contribute to ureteric bud branching and nephrogenesis.
  17. Synergistic Amplification of Oxidative Stress-Mediated Antitumor Activity via Liposomal Dichloroacetic Acid and MOF-Fe2.
  18. Effect of edaravone against cisplatin-induced chronic renal injury.
  19. Supplementation of maturation medium with CoQ10 enhances developmental competence of ovine oocytes through improvement of mitochondrial function.
  20. Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 4 Contributes to Early-Stage Endothelial Injury Induced by Arsenic Trioxide.
  21. Metformin attenuates cisplatin-induced genotoxicity and apoptosis in rat bone marrow cells.
  22. 2-(4-methoxyphenylthio)-5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone induces apoptosis via ROS-mediated MAPK and STAT3 signaling pathway in human gastric cancer cells.
  23. Design, synthesis, and anticancer evaluation of novel quinoline derivatives of ursolic acid with hydrazide, oxadiazole, and thiadiazole moieties as potent MEK inhibitors.
  24. Thyroid hormone protects cardiomyocytes from H2O2-induced oxidative stress via the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway.
  25. Autophagy in hypoxic ovary.
  26. Hibiscus flower extract selectively induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells and positively interacts with common chemotherapeutics.
  27. Lipoxin A4 restores oxidative stress-induced vascular endothelial cell injury and thrombosis-related factor expression by its receptor-mediated activation of Nrf2-HO-1 axis.
  28. High Glucose-reduced Apoptosis in Human Breast Cancer Cells Is Mediated by Activation of NF-κB.
  29. Disulfiram (Antabuse) Activates ROS-Dependent ER Stress and Apoptosis in Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
  30. Thymoquinone therapy remediates elevated brain tissue inflammatory mediators induced by chronic administration of food preservatives.
  31. Metabolic Stress.
  32. Decrease of MLK4 prevents hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through reducing metastasis and inducing apoptosis regulated by ROS/MAPKs signaling.
  33. Scutellaria barbata D. Don (SBD) protects oxygen glucose deprivation/reperfusion-induced injuries of PC12 cells by up-regulating Nrf2.
  34. An Adverse Outcome Pathway Linking Organohalogen Exposure to Mitochondrial Disease.
  35. A novel approach based on metabolomics coupled with network pharmacology to explain the effect mechanisms of Danggui Buxue Tang in anaemia.
  36. PGC1β Regulates Breast Tumor Growth and Metastasis by SREBP1-Mediated HKDC1 Expression.
  37. MiR-423-5p inhibition alleviates cardiomyocyte apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction caused by hypoxia/reoxygenation through activation of the wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway via targeting MYBL2.
  38. The Ser/Thr kinase p90RSK promotes kidney fibrosis by modulating fibroblast-epithelial crosstalk.
  39. Protective effects of S-carvedilol on doxorubicin-induced damages to human umbilical vein endothelial cells and rats.
  40. Prophylactic administration of carnosine and melatonin abates the incidence of apoptosis, inflammation, and DNA damage induced by titanium dioxide nanoparticles in rat livers.
  41. Thymosin alpha-1; a natural peptide inhibits cellular proliferation, cell migration, the level of reactive oxygen species and promotes the activity of antioxidant enzymes in human lung epithelial adenocarcinoma cell line (A549).
  42. Vectisol Formulation Enhances Solubility of Resveratrol and Brings Its Benefits to Kidney Transplantation in a Preclinical Porcine Model.
  43. Nobiletin protects against myocardial injury and myocardial apoptosis following coronary microembolization via activating PI3K/Akt pathway in rats.
  44. In vitro and computational studies showed that perezone inhibits PARP-1 and increase ROS levels in K562 cells.
  45. XBP1 inhibits mesangial cell apoptosis in response to oxidative stress via the PTEN/AKT pathway in diabetic nephropathy.
  46. Therapeutical effects of chrysin in a rat model of traumatic brain injury: A behavioral, biochemical, and histological evidence.
  47. LncRNA H19/miR-let-7 axis participates in the regulation of ox-LDL-induced endothelial cell injury via targeting periostin.
  48. Green synthesis of carrier-free curcumin nanodrugs for light-activated breast cancer photodynamic therapy.
  49. Role of autophagy in LPS‑induced inflammation in INS‑1 cells.
  50. Copper-imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines induce intrinsic apoptosis and modulate the expression of mutated p53, haem-oxygenase-1 and apoptotic inhibitory proteins in HT-29 colorectal cancer cells.
  51. Attenuation of cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury by sodium thiosulfate is partially dependent on the effect of cystathione beta synthase in the myocardium.
  52. Cancer: Thymoquinone antioxidant/pro-oxidant effect as potential anticancer remedy.
  53. Plasma Klotho concentrations predict functional outcome at three months after acute ischemic stroke patients.
  54. The Role of the Antioxidant Response in Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Degenerative Diseases: Cross-Talk between Antioxidant Defense, Autophagy, and Apoptosis.
  55. Oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress are involved in palmitic acid-induced H9c2 cell apoptosis.
  56. Effects of a novel peptide Ac-SDKP in radiation-induced coronary endothelial damage and resting myocardial blood flow.
  57. Development of a two-layer transwell co-culture model for the in vitro investigation of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-induced hepatic sinusoidal damage.
  58. Regression of fibrosis by cilostazol in a rat model of thioacetamide-induced liver fibrosis: Up regulation of hepatic cAMP, and modulation of inflammatory, oxidative stress and apoptotic biomarkers.
  59. Salidroside mitigates hydrogen peroxide-induced injury by enhancement of microRNA-27a in human trabecular meshwork cells.
  60. Hemidesmus indicus induces apoptosis via proteasome inhibition and generation of reactive oxygen species.
  61. Cystine/glutamate antiporter (xCT) is required for chief cell plasticity after gastric injury.
  62. The role of DRP1 in ropivacaine-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and neurotoxicity.
  63. Synergistic antitumour effects of triptolide plus 10-hydroxycamptothecin onbladder cancer.
  64. Cyanidin-3-glucoside attenuates 4-hydroxynonenal- and visible light-induced retinal damage in vitro and in vivo.
  65. CD47 deficiency protects cardiomyocytes against hypoxia/reoxygenation injury by rescuing autophagic clearance.
  66. Melatonin protects against chromium(VI)-induced cardiac injury via activating the AMPK/Nrf2 pathway.
  67. Potential protective effects of Dapagliflozin in gentamicin induced nephrotoxicity rat model via modulation of apoptosis associated miRNAs.
  68. Sulforaphane prevents PC12 cells from oxidative damage via the Nrf2 pathway.
  69. Liver stage malaria infection is controlled by host regulators of lipid peroxidation.
  70. Investigating a downstream gene of Gpnmb using the systems genetics method.
  71. FTY720 Inhibits MPP+-Induced Microglial Activation by Affecting NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation.
  72. High Concentrations of Boric Acid Trigger Concentration-Dependent Oxidative Stress, Apoptotic Pathways and Morphological Alterations in DU-145 Human Prostate Cancer Cell Line.
  73. Therapeutic effects of curcumin and ursodexycholic acid on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
  74. Cytotoxicity of 40 Egyptian plant extracts targeting mechanisms of drug-resistant cancer cells.
  75. Curcumin induces oxidative stress in Botrytis cinerea resulting in a reduction in gray mold decay in kiwifruit.
  1. Cutan Ocul Toxicol. 2019 May 06. 1-34
    Protective Effect of Diphlorethohydroxycarmalol against Oxidative Stress-induced DNA Damage and Apoptosis in Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells.
    Cheol Park, Hyesook Lee, Su Hyun Hong, Jeong-Hwan Kim, Seh-Kwang Park, Ji-Won Jeong, Gi-Young Kim, Jin Won Hyun, Seok Joong Yun, Byung Woo Kim, Wun-Jae Kim, Yung Hyun Choi.
       PURPOSE: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to the onset and progression of disease pathogenesis in a variety of organs, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Diphlorethohydroxycarmalol (DPHC), a phlorotannin compound, is one of the major components of the brown alga Ishige okamurae Yendo, and has been shown to have strong antioxidant capacity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the protective effects of DPHC against oxidative stress (hydrogen peroxide, H2O2)-induced DNA damage and apoptosis in cultured ARPE19 retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells.
    MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cell viability was assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Intracellular ROS generation was measured by flow cytometer using 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate. The magnitude of apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry using the annexin V/propidium iodide double staining. DNA damage was evaluated by DNA fragmentation assay, comet assay and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) analysis. To observe the mitochondrial membrane potential, 5,5',6,6'-tetrachloro-1,1',3,3'-tetraethyl-imidacarbocyanine iodide staining was performed. In order to identify the underling mechanism of DPHC against H2O2-induced cellular alteration, we performed immune blotting.
    RESULTS: The results of this study showed that the decreased survival rate brought about by H2O2 could be attributed to the induction of DNA damage and apoptosis accompanied by the increased production of ROS, which was remarkably reversed by DPHC. In addition, the loss of H2O2-induced mitochondrial membrane potential was significantly attenuated in the presence of DPHC. The inhibitory effect of DPHC on H2O2-induced apoptosis was associated with a reduced Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, the protection of the activation of caspase-9 and -3, and the inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage, which was associated with the blockage of cytochrome c release to the cytoplasm.
    CONCLUSIONS: Our data proved that DPHC protects ARPE19 cells against H2O2-induced DNA damage and apoptosis by scavenging ROS and thus suppressing the mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis pathway. Therefore, this study suggests that DPHC has the therapeutic potential to prevent AMD by inhibiting oxidative stress-induced injury in RPE cells.
    Keywords:  ARPE19 retinal pigment epithelial cells; Age-related macular degeneration; Apoptosis; DNA damage; Diphlorethohydroxycarmalol; Oxidative stress
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/15569527.2019.1613425
  2. Front Oncol. 2019 ;9 285
    Sanguinarine Induces Apoptosis Pathway in Multiple Myeloma Cell Lines via Inhibition of the JaK2/STAT3 Signaling.
    Sabah Akhtar, Iman W Achkar, Kodappully S Siveen, Shilpa Kuttikrishnan, Kirti S Prabhu, Abdul Q Khan, Eiman I Ahmed, Fairooz Sahir, Jayakumar Jerobin, Afsheen Raza, Maysaloun Merhi, Hesham M Elsabah, Ruba Taha, Halima El Omri, Hatem Zayed, Said Dermime, Martin Steinhoff, Shahab Uddin.
      Sanguinarine (SNG), a benzophenanthridine alkaloid, has displayed various anticancer abilities in several vivo and in vitro studies. However, the anticancer potential of SNG is yet to be established in multiple myeloma (MM), a mostly incurable malignancy of plasma cells. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic activities of SNG in a panel of MM cell lines (U266, IM9, MM1S, and RPMI-8226). SNG treatment of MM cells resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in cell viability through mitochondrial membrane potential loss and activation of caspase 3, 9, and cleavage of PARP. Pre-treatment of MM cells with a universal caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD-FMK, prevented SNG mediated loss of cell viability, apoptosis, and caspase activation, confirming that SNG-mediated apoptosis is caspase-dependent. The SNG-mediated apoptosis appears to be resulted from suppression of the constitutively active STAT3 with a concomitant increase in expression of protein tyrosine phosphatase (SHP-1). SNG treatment of MM cells leads to down-regulation of the anti-apoptotic proteins including cyclin D, Bcl-2, Bclxl, and XIAP. In addition, it also upregulates pro-apoptotic protein, Bax. SNG mediated cellular DNA damage in MM cell lines by induction of oxidative stress through the generation of reactive oxygen species and depletion of glutathione. Finally, the subtoxic concentration of SNG enhanced the cytotoxic effects of anticancer drugs bortezomib (BTZ) by suppressing the viability of MM cells via induction of caspase-mediated apoptosis. Altogether our findings demonstrate that SNG induces mitochondrial and caspase-dependent apoptosis, generates oxidative stress, and suppresses MM cell lines proliferation. In addition, co-treatment of MM cell lines with sub-toxic doses of SNG and BTZ potentiated the cytotoxic activity. These results would suggest that SNG could be developed into therapeutic agent either alone or in combination with other anticancer drugs in MM.
    Keywords:  STAT3; apoptosis; caspases; hematological malignancy; multiple myeloma; sanguinarine
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2019.00285
  3. Biomed Pharmacother. 2019 May 03. pii: S0753-3322(19)30859-5. [Epub ahead of print]115 108929
    Puerarin prevents cadmium-induced hepatic cell damage by suppressing apoptosis and restoring autophagic flux.
    Xue-Lei Zhou, Xue-Mei Wan, Xiao-Xu Fu, Chun-Guang Xie.
      Cadmium (Cd) is a common heavy metal contamination that is highly toxic to liver. Puerarin (PU), a potent free radical scavenger, has been shown to exert cytoprotective effect in numerous pathological processes. However, whether PU affords protection against Cd-induced hepatotoxicity remains unclear to be known. Here, we aimed to investigate the protective effect of PU on Cd-induced hepatotoxicity in an immortalized mouse hepatocyte line, AML-12. First, Cd-induced cytotoxicity in AML-12 cells was obviously ameliorated by PU treatment. Also, Cd-induced apoptotic cell death was markedly alleviated by PU treatment, evidenced by two methods. Simultaneously, Cd-elevated malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species levels were significantly reduced by PU administration, demonstrating the antioxidant effect of PU against Cd exposure. Moreover, Cd-induced blockage of autophagic flux in AML-12 cells was obviously restored by PU treatment, evidenced by immunoblot analysis of autophagy marker proteins and tandem fluorescent-tagged LC3 method. Resultantly, Cd-induced autophagosome accumulation was significantly alleviated by PU treatment. In conclusion, these observations demonstrate that PU treatment alleviates Cd-induced hepatic cell damage by inhibiting apoptosis and restoring autophagy activity, which is intimately related with its antioxidant activity.
    Keywords:  Apoptosis; Autophagy; Cadmium; Hepatic cell line; Oxidative stress; Puerarin
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2019.108929
  4. Eur J Pharmacol. 2019 May 03. pii: S0014-2999(19)30303-6. [Epub ahead of print]
    Daucosterol disturbs redox homeostasis and elicits oxidative-stress mediated apoptosis in A549 cells via targeting thioredoxin reductase by a p53 dependent mechanism.
    Tamilselvam Rajavel, Gunasekeran Banu Priya, Venkatesan Suryanarayanan, Sanjeev Kumar Singh, Kasi Pandima Devi.
      Daucosterol (DS) is a plant phytosterol which is shown to induce oxidative stress mediated apoptosis in various cancer cell lines. However, the molecular mechanism underlying its cellular action has not been documented against Non- Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). Therefore, we attempted to decipher the mechanisms responsible for DS-induced anti-proliferation on human NSCLC cells. The present study showed, DS strongly inhibits the growth of A549 cells after 72 h time point with an IC50 value of ∼20.9 μM. Further DS elicits increased reactive oxygen species level and promote intrinsic apoptotic cell death on A549 cells as evidenced by increased expression of caspase-3, caspase-9, Bax, PARP inactivation, cytochrome-c release, and diminished expression of bcl-2 protein. DS failed to display its apoptotic actions upon pretreatment with the reactive oxygen species inhibitor NAC (N-acetyl cysteine). Indeed, apoptotic signal which was enhanced through p53/p21 activation and knockdown of p53 expression also moderately affected the DS induced apoptosis. In addition, DS preferentially inhibited the cell growth of p53 wild-type NSCLC cell lines than the mutant p53 models. Further, we show that inhibition of Thioredoxin (TrxR) redox system is principally associated with DS induced oxidative stress mediated apoptotic cell death on A549 cells. Moreover, we also demonstrated that DS stably interacted with serine residues in TrxR active sites. The obtained results confirmed that the anti-proliferative mechanism and increased reactive oxygen species level of DS was associated with down-regulation of TrxR1 pathway which triggers the p53 mediated intrinsic apoptotic mode of cell death in NSCLC cells.
    Keywords:  Apoptosis; Daucosterol; Lung cancer; Reactive oxygen species; Thioredoxin redox system
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2019.04.051
  5. Kidney Res Clin Pract. 2019 May 08.
    Nrf2-Heme oxygenase-1 modulates autophagy and inhibits apoptosis triggered by elevated glucose levels in renal tubule cells.
    Joo-Heon Kim, Kyeong Min Kim, Jin Uk Jeong, Jong Ho Shin, Jae Min Shin, Ki Tae Bang.
       Background: Autophagy is a highly balanced process in which lysosomes remove aged and damaged organelles and cellular proteins. Autophagy is essential to maintain homeostasis in the kidneys.
    Methods: Using human renal tubule cells HK-2, we assessed the impact of high glucose (HG) on autophagy. We also evaluated the capability of sulforaphane (SFN) to protect the HK-2 cells from HG-induced apoptosis by modulating autophagy.
    Results: SFN modulated autophagy and decreased apoptosis in the HK-2 cells that were cultured in 250 mM glucose medium for two days. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels increased, as expected, in the cells cultured in the 250 mM glucose medium. However, the SFN decreased the ROS levels in the HK-2 cells. The overexpression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) by SFN decreased the expression of LC3 and beclin-1. LC3 and beclin-1 were involved in the downregulation of caspase-3 that was observed in the HG-induced cells.
    Conclusions: The activation of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-HO-1 inhibited ROS expression and subsequently attenuated autophagy and cell apoptosis after HG injury was decreased. HG injury led to the activation of autophagy and HO-1 in order to combat oxidative stress and protect against cell apoptosis. Therefore, HO-1 activation can prevent ROS development and oxidative stress during HG injury, which considerably decreases autophagy and apoptosis.
    Keywords:  Autophagy; Diabetic nephropathies; Heme oxygenase-1; Nrf2; Sulforaphane
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.23876/j.krcp.18.0152
  6. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2019 May 02. pii: S0273-2300(19)30122-9. [Epub ahead of print]106 137-146
    Traumatic acid toxicity mechanisms in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells.
    Agata Jabłońska-Trypuć, Rafał Krętowski, Elżbieta Wołejko, Urszula Wydro, Andrzej Butarewicz.
      Traumatic acid (TA) - an oxidative derivative of unsaturated fatty acids, belongs to the cytokinins category - a group of plant hormones, which play an important role in growth and development. Previously we demonstrated its positive influence on oxidative stress parameters in normal human fibroblasts, therefore we decided to investigate its activity in cancer cells. MCF-7 breast cancer cell line was chosen as an experimental model because of proved association between the consumption of dietary fat and the incidence of breast cancer. TA cytotoxicity and its effects on MCF-7 cells proliferation, viability, apoptosis/necrosis, thiol group content, lipid peroxidation, reduced/oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) and ROS (reactive oxygen species) content was examined. The results show a significant effect of TA on tested parameters. TA caused a decrease in cells proliferation and viability, GSH/GSSG ratio and thiol group content. It increases caspase 7 activity, membrane lipid peroxidation and ROS content, simultaneously reducing breast cancer cell growth through oxidative stress influence on apoptosis. The present findings reveal that TA exhibits multiple and complex activity in MCF-7 breast cancer cells and it exhibits potential anticancer properties and tumor preventive activity.
    Keywords:  Apoptosis; Glutathione; MCF-7; Oxidative stress; Reactive oxygen species; Traumatic acid
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2019.04.023
  7. Int J Biol Macromol. 2019 May 07. pii: S0141-8130(19)31026-8. [Epub ahead of print]
    The protective effects of a novel polysaccharide from Lentinus edodes mycelia on islet β (INS-1) cells damaged by glucose and its transportation mechanism with human serum albumin.
    Xiang-Yu Cao, Dan Liu, Ruo-Chen Bi, Yong-Lin He, Yin He, Jian-Li Liu.
      High glucose can lead to toxicity on islet β cells. The protective effects of a novel Lentinus edodes mycelia polysaccharide (LMP) on INS-1 cells damaged by glucose were investigated. Cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, cell apoptosis, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were detected. P38 MAPK, JNK, NF-κB pathways were analyzed to reveal the inhibitory mechanism of LMP on glucose-induced INS-1 cells toxicity. The results showed that LMP could decrease cellular oxidative stress, reduce intracellular ROS levels, decrease MDA content and increase SOD activity. Furthermore, the glucose-induced cell apoptosis in cells were inhibited by regulating the expression of Bax, Bcl-2, cleaved caspase‑3 and cleaved caspase‑1. Cell signaling pathway analysis revealed that LMP could inhibit the activation of p38 MAPK, JNK, NF-κB pathways and activate Nrf2 pathway. To further explore the possible transportation mechanism of LMP with human serum albumin (HSA), ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to evaluate the interaction between LMP and HSA. The results showed that LMP-HSA complex was formed, which would be helpful for explaining the transportation mechanism in vivo. These results suggested that LMP might be a new therapeutic candidate to alleviate the high glucose toxicity.
    Keywords:  Cell signaling pathway; Glucose toxicity; HSA; INS-1 cells; LMP; Spectrum
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.05.033
  8. Exp Mol Pathol. 2019 May 05. pii: S0014-4800(19)30166-2. [Epub ahead of print]
    MiR-410 exerts neuroprotective effects in a cellular model of Parkinson's disease induced by 6-hydroxydopamine via inhibiting the PTEN/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.
    Hanming Ge, Zhongjun Yan, Haochun Zhu, Hang Zhao.
      Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) were emerging as important mediators in dopaminergic neuron biology. This study determined miR-410 expression in the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced in vitro cellular model of PD and explored the mechanistic role of miR-410 in the modulation of neuronal cell viability and apoptosis. Our data showed that 6-OHDA concentration-dependently suppressed neuronal cell viability and miR-410 expression in SH-SY5Y and PC12 cells. Overexpression of miR-410 partially restored the effects of 6-OHDA on neuronal cell viability, apoptosis, capsase-3 activity as well as reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. On the other hand, inhibition of miR-410 decreased neuronal cell viability and increased apoptotic rates, capase-3 activity as well as ROS production. Furthermore, the potential targets of miR-410 were predicted by TargetScan tool, and we verified that phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) was a target of miR-410 as confirmed by the dual-luciferase reporter assay. MiR-410 overexpression attenuated PTEN expression and mediated the effects in the 6-OHDA-treated cells via targeting PTEN in SH-SY5Y and PC12 cells. Furthermore, 6-OHDA treatment suppressed the protein expression of phosphorylated AKT and phosphorylated mTOR, which was partially attenuated by miR-410 overexpression in SH-SY5Y and PC12 cells. MiR-410 overexpression increased phosphorylated AKT and phosphorylated mTOR protein expression, and this effect was attenuated by PTEN overexpression in both SH-SY5Y and PC12 cells. Collectively, this is the first study to demonstrate the neuroprotective effects of miR-410 in a 6-OHDA-induced cellular model of PD, and our data implied that miR-410 exerted its neuroprotective effects via regulating PTEN/AKT/mTOR signaling axis. The present study may suggest new paradigm to study the pathology of PD.
    Keywords:  6-OHDA; Apoptosis; Neuronal viability; PTEN; Parkinson's disease; miR-410
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yexmp.2019.05.002
  9. Biomed Pharmacother. 2019 May 06. pii: S0753-3322(19)30074-5. [Epub ahead of print]115 108914
    UCP2 alleviates tubular epithelial cell apoptosis in lipopolysaccharide-induced acute kidney injury by decreasing ROS production.
    Xiaoyi Zhong, Jin He, Xi Zhang, Chengsheng Li, Xiaofang Tian, Wenyu Xia, Hua Gan, Yunfeng Xia.
      Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2), an anion transporter, modulates the production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) and plays an important role in protecting against cell apoptosis. However, the role of UCP2 in sepsis-associated AKI remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role of UCP2 in LPS-induced AKI in vitro and in vivo. UCP2 expression was increased in tubular epithelial cells (TECs) treated with LPS. Accordingly, UCP2 expression was distinctly upregulated in renal tissues from the animals with LPS-induced AKI. Furthermore, UCP2 silencing dramatically aggravated LPS-induced apoptosis, accompanied by increased ROS production in renal tubular epithelial cell. Additionally, the inhibition of UCP2 by genipin, a specific UCP2 inhibitor, exacerbated the kidney injury of animals with LPS-induced AKI. Moreover, NAC (N-acetylcysteine), a potent ROS scavenger, obviously suppressed apoptosis induced by UCP2 silencing, which suggests that the increased ROS levels were associated with tubular epithelial cell apoptosis induced by UCP2 silencing. Therefore, UCP2 exerts a protective effect on the LPS-induced apoptosis of tubular epithelial cells by reducing excess ROS production. In conclusion, our findings highlight the renoprotective actions of UCP2 on inhibiting the production of apoptotic factors and oxidative stress to improve tubular cell survival in the LPS-induced AKI model.
    Keywords:  AKI; Apoptosis; ROS; Uncoupling protein-2
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2019.108914
  10. Neurotox Res. 2019 May 10.
    Naringenin Inhibit the Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced SH-SY5Y Cells Injury Through Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway.
    Yuzi Jin, Hua Wang.
      Naringenin (NGN), a flavonoid, abundantly present in citrus fruits, has been established as a neuroprotective agent. However, the precise protective mechanisms remain worthy of further investigation. The present study was designed to explore the protective effects of NGN against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced neurotoxicity in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells and the possible mechanisms involved. Exposure of cells to 400 μM H2O2 for 2 h caused viability loss, apoptotic increase, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) increase, pre-treatment with NGN for 12 h significantly reduced the viability loss, apoptotic rate, and attenuated H2O2-mediated ROS production. In addition, NGN inhibited H2O2-induced mitochondrial dysfunctions, including lowered membrane potential, decreased Bcl-2/Bax ratio, cytochrome c release, and the cleavage of caspase-3. We also showed that NGN increased HO-1 expression. NGN treatment caused nuclear translocation of the transcription factor NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). NGN activated both ERK and PI3 K/Akt, and treatments with the specific ERK inhibitor PD98059, the PI3 K inhibitor LY294002, and the specific Nrf2 shRNA suppressed the NGN-induced HO-1 expression. The HO-1 inhibitor ZnPP abolished the neuroprotective effect of NGN against H2O2-induced neurotoxicity. Taken together, the present study demonstrates that regulation of Nrf2/HO-1 pathway through activation of ERK and PI3 K/Akt, and the inhibition of mitochondria-dependent apoptosis together may render NGN protect SH-SY5Y cells from H2O2-induced neurotoxicity.
    Keywords:  Heme oxygenase-1; Naringenin; Neuroprotection; Nrf2; Oxidative stress
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12640-019-00046-6
  11. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2019 May 08.
    Terminalia arjuna extract and arjunic acid mitigate cobalt chloride-induced hypoxia stress-mediated apoptosis in H9c2 cells.
    T Mohan Manu, T Anand, M D Pandareesh, P Bhuvanesh Kumar, Farhath Khanum.
      Arjunic acid (AA) is one of the major active component of Terminalia arjuna known for its health benefits. In the present study, we evaluated cardioprotective potential of Terminalia arjuna extract (TAE) and AA against cobalt chloride (CoCl2)-induced hypoxia damage and apoptosis in rat cardiomyocytes. TAE (50 μg/ml) and AA (8 μg/ml) significantly (p < 0.001) protected H9c2 cells as evidenced by cell viability assays against CoCl2 (1.2 mM)-induced cytotoxicity. TAE and AA pretreatments protected the cells from oxidative damage by decreasing the generation of free radicals (ROS, hydroperoxide, and nitrite levels). TAE and AA pretreatments retained mitochondrial membrane potential by alleviating the rate of lipid peroxidation induced by CoCl2 treatment. TAE and AA pretreatments elevated antioxidant status including phase II antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase) and total glutathione levels against CoCl2-induced oxidative stress. Further immunoblotting studies confirmed anti-apoptotic effects of TAE and AA by alleviating the phosphorylation of JNK and c-jun and also by regulating protein expression levels of Bcl2, Bax, caspase 3, heat shock protein-70, and inducible nitric oxide synthase. Overall, our results suggest that both the extract and the active component exhibit antioxidant and anti-apoptotic defense against CoCl2-induced hypoxic injury.
    Keywords:  Apoptosis; Arjunic acid; Cobalt chloride; Hypoxia; Oxidative stress; Terminalia arjuna; c-Jun N-terminal kinase
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00210-019-01654-x
  12. Cell Cycle. 2019 May 06.
    Chlorogenic Acid Relieved Oxidative Stress Injury in Retinal Ganglion Cells Through IncRNA-TUG1/Nrf2.
    Weifeng Gong, Jie Li, Guangyue Zhu, Yongcheng Wang, Guangying Zheng, Quancheng Kan.
       OBJECTIVE: To discover the possible underlying mechanism of Chlorogenic acid (CGA) in protecting against oxidative stress injury in glaucoma.
    METHODS: LncRNA TUG1 and Nrf2 expressions were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) viability and apoptosis were measured by MTT and flow cytometry, respectively. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was determined by reactive oxygen species assay kit. The interaction between lncRNA TUG1 and Nrf2 was confirmed by RNA pull-down and RIP assay.
    RESULTS: IPL thickness and lncRNA TUG1 expression were significantly decreased in glaucoma mice model, and CGA treatment increased IPL thickness and lncRNA TUG1 expression. In vitro H2O2-induced RGCs, RGC viability was significantly decreased, and ROS level and cell apoptosis were significantly increased. CGA up-regulated lncRNA TUG1 and Nrf2 expressions, decreased cell apoptosis and ROS production in RGCs, and increased RGCs viability. We further verified the interaction between lncRNA TUG1 and Nrf2, and proved Nrf2 was positively regulated by lncRNA TUG1. We found CGA promoted Nrf2 expression through lncRNA-TUG1, and further verified CGA protected RGCs from oxidative stress through regulating lncRNA TUG1/Nrf2. In vivo experiments showed TUG1 knockdown abrogated therapeutic effect of CGA on glaucoma.
    CONCLUSION: CGA increased RGC viability and decreased ROS level and RGC apoptosis after oxidative stress injury through lncRNA TUG1/Nrf2 pathway, which protected against glaucoma.
    Keywords:  Chlorogenic acid; Nrf2; lncRNA-TUG1; oxidative stress; retinal ganglion cells
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/15384101.2019.1612697
  13. Phytother Res. 2019 May 08.
    Acacetin-induced cell apoptosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells: Evidence for the role of muscarinic M3 receptor.
    Fenglin Sun, Duo Li, Cong Wang, Caixia Peng, Hong Zheng, Xiaofeng Wang.
      Aacacetin, a plant flavone has shown antitumor efficacy recently. However, its associated mechanisms are poorly known. We hypothesized that the muscarinic M3 receptor (M3 R), which is highly expressed in some cancer tissue, is related to the antitumor effect of acacetin in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells. Our results showed that 12.5- to 200-μM acacetin inhibited cell viability in dose- and time-dependent manners in HNSCC cells, but a relative higher concentration was needed for oral adenoid cystic carcinoma cells. M3 R expression level was higher in HNSCC cells than that in adenoid cystic carcinoma cells. Flow cytometry and electron microscopy confirmed acacetin-induced cell apoptosis in 22B cells, a HNSCC cell line. Acacetin promoted mitochondrial cytochrome c release and caspase 9, 3 processing. Knocking down of M3 R expression by specific siRNA significantly prevented the acacetin-induced cell viability damage, cell apoptosis, and caspase 3 activation. Besides, M3 R was also involved in acacetin-induced elevation of reactive oxygen species and intracellular calcium ([Ca2+ ]i ). These data indicate that acacetin-induced cell apoptosis in HNSCC cells may through M3 R related calcium signaling and caspase 3 activation. Acacetin is a potent natural antitumor reagent especially for the tumor cells, which highly expressed M3 R.
    Keywords:  acacetin; caspase; cell apoptosis; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; muscarinic M3 receptor
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.6343
  14. Mol Med Rep. 2019 Apr 22.
    3,3'‑Diindolylmethane mitigates lipopolysaccharide‑induced acute kidney injury in mice by inhibiting NOX‑mediated oxidative stress and the apoptosis of renal tubular epithelial cells.
    Jin He, Tao Huang, Lin Zhao.
      3,3'‑Diindolylmethane (DIM) is a naturally derived indole compound found in the Brassica family of vegetables. DIM has several beneficial effects, including anti‑cancer, anti‑inflammatory and anti‑angiogenic functions. However, the effects of DIM on acute kidney injury (AKI) stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) are poorly studied. In this present study, male BALB/c mouse models of AKI were established using intraperitoneal injections of 10 mg/kg LPS. DIM (40 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally 24 and 2 h before LPS exposure. The results indicated that DIM significantly mitigated histopathological changes in the kidneys and improved the levels of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine. DIM also suppressed the LPS‑induced production of reactive oxygen species and cell apoptosis. Furthermore, DIM treatment significantly decreased the expression of NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) and NOX4 in LPS‑treated mice. Therefore, DIM may exert its renoprotective actions by inhibiting NOX‑mediated oxidative stress and the apoptosis of renal tubular epithelial cells.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2019.10178
  15. Toxicol Lett. 2019 May 02. pii: S0378-4274(19)30134-1. [Epub ahead of print]
    Endoplasmic reticulum stress and autophagy contribute to cadmium-induced cytotoxicity in retinal pigment epithelial cells.
    Lingmin Zhang, Qingqing Xia, Yingying Zhou, Jie Li.
      Excessive accumulation of cadmium (Cd) in retina plays an important role in tobacco smoking-associated age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Plenty of evidence has revealed that the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is the primary site of pathology in AMD. Our current study demonstrated that Cd induced apoptosis in a human RPE cell line ARPE-19 cells, as it dose-dependently caused cell viability loss and activated caspase-3. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) were confirmed to be important mediators for Cd-triggered cell death in ARPE-19 cells. We found that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress was activated as its marker BiP was remarkably upregulated by Cd-exposure. Whereas the antioxidants N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and Tempol significantly suppressed the expression of BiP and CHOP, suggesting that ROS generation is an early trigger of Cd-activated ER stress. Furthermore, we found that Cd-induced oxidative stress significantly increased autophagic flux and p62 expression. A temporal impact of Cd exposure is possibly existed in p62 expression in ARPE-19 cells. Moreover, an ER stress inhibitor salubrinal diminished Cd-induced LC3BII expression and attenuated cytotoxicity, indicating that ER stress mediates autophagy and was implicated in apoptosis of Cd-exposed ARPE-19 cells. However, CHOP expression may not exert impact on the regulation of Cd-caused autophagy. Additionally, inhibition of autophagy with si-Beclin 1 and 3-Methyladenine significantly ameliorated Cd-induced CHOP expression and cytotoxicity, indicating that autophagy was detrimental in Cd-accumulated ARPE-19 cells, and a positive feedback regulation mechanism may exist between Cd-triggered ER stress and autophagy. Taken together, these results suggest that Cd-caused ER stress and autophagy are implicated in RPE cell death associated retinopathies especially related to smoking.
    Keywords:  Cadmium; ER-stress; autophagy; reactive oxygen species; retinal pigment epithelial cell
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.2019.05.001
  16. J Med Invest. 2019 ;66(1.2): 93-98
    Expression of NADPH oxidase and production of reactive oxygen species contribute to ureteric bud branching and nephrogenesis.
    Shuji Kondo, Sato Matsuura, Jamba Ariunbold, Yukiko Kinoshita, Maki Urushihara, Kenichi Suga, Natsuko Ozaki, Takashi Nagai, Keisuke Fujioka, Shoji Kagami.
      Ureteric bud branching and nephrogenesis are performed through large-scale proliferation and apoptosis events during renal development. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), produced by NADPH oxidase, may contribute to cell behaviors, including proliferation and apoptosis. We investigated the role of NADPH oxidase expression and ROS production in developing kidneys. Immunohistochemistry revealed that NADPH oxidase componentswere expressed on epithelial cells in ureteric bud branches, as well as on immature glomerular cells and epithelial cells in nephrogenic zones. ROS production, detected by dihydroethidium assay, was strongly observed in ureteric bud branches and nephrogenic zones, corresponding with NADPH oxidase localization. Organ culture of E14 kidneys revealed that the inhibition of NADPH oxidase significantly reduced the number of ureteric bud branches and tips, consistent with reduced ROS production. This was associated with reduced expression of phosphorylated ERK1/2 and increased expression of cleaved caspase-3. Organ culture of E18 kidneys showed that the inhibition of NADPH oxidase reduced nephrogenic zone size, accompanied by reduced ROS production, fewer proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive cells, lower p-ERK1/2 expression, and increased expression of cleaved caspase-3. These results demonstrate that ROS produced by NADPH oxidase might play an important role in ureteric bud branching and nephrogenesis by regulating proliferation and apoptosis. J.Med. Invest. 66 :93-98, February, 2019.
    Keywords:  NADPH oxidase; developing kidney; oxidative stress
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.2152/jmi.66.93
  17. Small. 2019 May 09. e1901156
    Synergistic Amplification of Oxidative Stress-Mediated Antitumor Activity via Liposomal Dichloroacetic Acid and MOF-Fe2.
    Lei Sun, Yurui Xu, Ya Gao, Xinyu Huang, Shujun Feng, Jianmei Chen, Xuekun Wang, Leilei Guo, Meng Li, Xia Meng, Jikang Zhang, Junliang Ge, Xueying An, Dang Ding, Yadong Luo, Yu Zhang, Qing Jiang, Xinghai Ning.
      Cancer cells are susceptible to oxidative stress; therefore, selective elevation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) is considered as an effective antitumor treatment. Here, a liposomal formulation of dichloroacetic acid (DCA) and metal-organic framework (MOF)-Fe2+ (MD@Lip) has been developed, which can efficiently stimulate ROS-mediated cancer cell apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. MD@Lip can not only improve aqueous solubility of octahedral MOF-Fe2+ , but also generate an acidic microenvironment to activate a MOF-Fe2+ -based Fenton reaction. Importantly, MD@Lip promotes DCA-mediated mitochondrial aerobic oxidation to increase intracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ), which can be consequently converted to highly cytotoxic hydroxyl radicals (•OH) via MOF-Fe2+ , leading to amplification of cancer cell apoptosis. Particularly, MD@Lip can selectively accumulate in tumors, and efficiently inhibit tumor growth with minimal systemic adverse effects. Therefore, liposome-based combination therapy of DCA and MOF-Fe2+ provides a promising oxidative stress-associated antitumor strategy for the management of malignant tumors.
    Keywords:  MOF-Fe2+; antitumor treatment; dichloroacetic acid; liposomes; oxidative stress
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201901156
  18. Drug Chem Toxicol. 2019 May 07. 1-10
    Effect of edaravone against cisplatin-induced chronic renal injury.
    Natsumi Koike, Ayaka Sasaki, Tomoaki Murakami, Kazuhiko Suzuki.
      Cisplatin has been widely used as an anticancer agent for a wide range of tumors, but it had nephrotoxicity that was mainly caused by oxidative stress. Edaravone, a free radical scavenger, has reportedly been validated to have a protective effect against renal injury induced by reactive oxygen species. However, most of these reports are against AKI, and few studies have examined the effect of chronic renal injury. In this study, we investigate the effect of edaravone on cisplatin nephropathy in the chronic phase. Twenty-five male Wistar rats were divided into five groups: control, cisplatin, cisplatin + edaravone 1 mg kg-1, cisplatin + edaravone 10 mg kg-1, and cisplatin + edaravone 100 mg kg-1. Edaravone was administrated intraperitoneally every other day for 5 weeks, starting 1 week before cisplatin administration (6 mg kg-1, i.p.). As a result, proximal tubule injury, interstitial fibrosis, and mononuclear cell infiltration were ameliorated histologically in the group of rats treated with high edaravone dose. In the cisplatin group, the number of α-SMA-, CD68-, and CD3-positive cells increased markedly compared with the Control group, but these numbers were significantly decreased by higher doses of co-administered edaravone. While there was no clear mRNA expression variation in antioxidant enzymes, the apoptosis-promoting factors, caspase8, were markedly reduced in the high-dose edaravone co-administration group compared with the cisplatin group. In conclusion, our results suggested that cisplatin-induced renal injury in the chronic phase was ameliorated by edaravone.
    Keywords:  Cisplatin; apoptosis; edaravone; oxidative stress; renal injury
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/01480545.2019.1604740
  19. Mol Reprod Dev. 2019 May 07.
    Supplementation of maturation medium with CoQ10 enhances developmental competence of ovine oocytes through improvement of mitochondrial function.
    Alireza Heydarnejad, Somayyeh Ostadhosseini, Shiva Rouhollahi Varnosfaderani, Farnoosh Jafarpour, Ali Moghimi, Mohammad Hossein Nasr-Esfahani.
      In vitro maturation (IVM) can impair the balance between antioxidant capacity and oxidative stress, and jeopardize embryo development by increasing oxidative stress, reducing energy metabolism, and causing improper meiotic segregation. Balancing the energy production and reduction of oxidative stress can be achieved by supplementation with coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), an electron transporter in the mitochondrial inner membrane. To improve the in vitro production of ovine embryos, we studied the effect of CoQ10 supplementation during the maturation of sheep oocytes. A minimum of 100 cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were matured in the presence of 15, 30, or 50 μM CoQ10 in three to five replicates; next, in vitro fertilization and culture in a subset of oocytes were done. Our data revealed that compared to control oocytes or other concentrations of CoQ10, supplementation with 30 µM CoQ10 resulted in a significant increase in blastocyst formation and hatching rates, improved the distribution, relative mass and potential membrane of mitochondria, decreased the levels of reactive oxygen species and glutathione and lessened the percentage of oocytes with misaligned chromosomes after spindle assembly. The relative expression levels of apoptosis markers CASPASE3 and BAX were significantly reduced in CoQ10-treated oocytes and cumulus cells whereas the relative expression level of GDF9, an oocyte-specific growth factor, significantly increased. In conclusion, supplementation with CoQ10 improves the quality of COCs and the subsequent developmental competence of the embryo.
    Keywords:  coenzyme Q10; in vitro maturation; mitochondrial status; oocytes; ovine; oxidative stress
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/mrd.23159
  20. Toxicol Lett. 2019 May 01. pii: S0378-4274(19)30125-0. [Epub ahead of print]
    Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 4 Contributes to Early-Stage Endothelial Injury Induced by Arsenic Trioxide.
    Chun-Xiao Yu, Yu-Yao Zhang, Xia-Yang Wu, Hai-Xia Tang, Xue-Qi Liang, Zhou-Ming Xue, Ya-Dong Xue, Jing Li, Hui Zhu, Rong Huo, Tao Ban.
       BACKGROUND/AIMS: To investigate the effect of Arsenic Trioxide (ATO) on endothelial cells injury and explore the role of transient receptor potential melastatin 4 channel (TRPM4) in ATO-induced endothelial injury.
    METHODS: qRT-PCR was used to examine the mRNA expression of TRPM4 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The protein levels were measured by Western blot and immunostaining. The MTT, TUNEL, and transwell assays were used to evaluate the cell viability, apoptosis, and migration, respectively. The ultrastructural changes were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The membrane potential, cytosolic [Na+]i, cytosolic [Ca2+]i and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were detected by fluorescent probes. Isometric tension of mesenteric artery was recorded by using a multiwire myograph system.
    RESULTS: ATO induced HUVEC cells injury, the significant upregulation of TRPM4 in this process was inhibited by 9-phenanthrol or siRNA. ATO-induced apoptosis and decrease in the cell viability/ migration were all partially reversed upon the treatment with 9-phenanthrol. Whereas, ATO-mediated increase in membrane potential, cytosolic [Na+]i, cytosolic [Ca2+]i and the ROS levels were also abolished by 9-phenanthrol or siRNA, suggesting that oxidative stress may be the potential mechanisms underlying ATO-induced endothelial injury. Additionally, 9-phenanthrol treatment prevented ATO-mediated impairment of acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent relaxations.
    CONCLUSION: TRPM4 is involved in endothelial injury induced by ATO and may be a promising therapeutic target for endothelial injury.
    Keywords:  9-phenanthrol; Arsenic trioxide; Endothelial injury; Human umbilical vein endothelial cells; TRPM4
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.2019.04.035
  21. Drug Chem Toxicol. 2019 May 09. 1-8
    Metformin attenuates cisplatin-induced genotoxicity and apoptosis in rat bone marrow cells.
    Mohsen Cheki, Mohammad Sadegh Ghasemi, AmirMohammad Rezaei Rashnoudi, Naeem Erfani Majd.
      Metformin is widely used as an oral hypoglycemic drug in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study evaluated the possible protective effects of metformin against cisplatin-induced genotoxicity and apoptosis in rat bone marrow cells. Two different doses of metformin (50 and 100 mg/kg b.w.) were administered orally to experimental animals for seven consecutive days. On the seventh day, the rats were exposed to cisplatin (5 mg/kg, i.p.) 1 h after the last oral metformin administration. Rats in the control group were treated orally with 10 ml/kg PBS for 7 consecutive days and a single intraperitoneal injection of saline (0.9%) on the 7th day. The antagonistic effects of metformin against cisplatin were evaluated using micronucleus assay, reactive oxygen species (ROS) level analysis, hematological analysis, and flow cytometry. Treatment with 50 and 100 mg/kg metformin before cisplatin injection produced a significant reduction in the frequencies of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MnPCEs) and micronucleated normochromatic erythrocytes (MnNCEs) 24 h after cisplatin treatment with a corresponding increase in the PCE/(PCE + NCE) ratio. Moreover, metformin markedly elevated the levels of both red and white blood cells in peripheral blood and decreased the percentage of apoptotic cells and the ROS level in bone marrow cells of rats treated with cisplatin. The data suggest that metformin has potential chemoprotective properties in rat bone marrow after cisplatin treatment, which support its candidature as a potential chemoprotective agent for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
    Keywords:  Metformin (1,1-dimethylbiguanide hydrochloride); apoptosis; bone marrow cells; cisplatin (cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum (II)); genotoxicity
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/01480545.2019.1609024
  22. J Chemother. 2019 May 10. 1-13
    2-(4-methoxyphenylthio)-5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone induces apoptosis via ROS-mediated MAPK and STAT3 signaling pathway in human gastric cancer cells.
    Jia-Ru Wang, Gui-Nan Shen, Ying-Hua Luo, Xian-Ji Piao, Yi Zhang, Hao Wang, Jin-Qian Li, Wan-Ting Xu, Yu Zhang, Shi-Nong Wang, Tong Zhang, Hui Xue, Long-Kui Cao, Cheng-Hao Jin.
      The 1,4-naphthoquinones and their derivatives have garnered great interest due to their antitumor pharmacological properties in various cancers; however, their clinical application is limited by side effects. In this study, to reduce side effects and improve therapeutic efficacy, a novel 1,4-naphthoquinone derivative-2-(4-methoxyphenylthio)-5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (MPTDMNQ) was synthesized. We investigated the effects and underlying mechanisms of MPTDMNQ on cell viability, apoptosis, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in human gastric cancer cells. Our results showed that MPTDMNQ decreased cell viability in nine human gastric cancer cell lines. MPTDMNQ significantly induced apoptosis accompanied by the accumulation of ROS in GC cells. However, pre-treatment with the ROS scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) attenuated the MPTDMNQ-induced apoptosis. Moreover, MPTDMNQ decreased the phosphorylation levels of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3); and increased the phosphorylation levels of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 kinase. However, phosphorylation was inhibited by NAC and a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor. These findings showed that MPTDMNQ induced AGS cell apoptosis via ROS-mediated MAPK and STAT3 signaling pathways. Thus, MPTDMNQ may be a promising candidate for treating gastric cancer.
    Keywords:  Novel naphthoquinone derivatives; apoptotic signaling pathway; cell apoptosis; gastric cancer; reactive oxygen species
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/1120009X.2019.1610832
  23. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem. 2019 Dec;34(1): 955-972
    Design, synthesis, and anticancer evaluation of novel quinoline derivatives of ursolic acid with hydrazide, oxadiazole, and thiadiazole moieties as potent MEK inhibitors.
    Xiao-Yan Jin, Hao Chen, Dong-Dong Li, A-Liang Li, Wen-Yan Wang, Wen Gu.
      In this article, a series of novel quinoline derivatives of ursolic acid (UA) bearing hydrazide, oxadiazole, or thiadiazole moieties were designed, synthesised, and screened for their in vitro antiproliferative activities against three cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231, HeLa, and SMMC-7721). A number of compounds showed significant activity against at least one cell line. Among them, compound 4d exhibited the most potent activity against three cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 0.12 ± 0.01, 0.08 ± 0.01, and 0.34 ± 0.03 μM, respectively. In particular, compound 4d could induce the apoptosis of HeLa cells, arrest cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase, elevate intracellular reactive oxygen species level, and decrease mitochondrial membrane potential. In addition, compound 4d could significantly inhibit MEK1 kinase activity and impede Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK transduction pathway. Therefore, compound 4d may be a potential anticancer agent and a promising lead worthy of further investigation.
    Keywords:  MEK inhibitor; Ursolic acid; antiproliferative activity; apoptosis; quinoline
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/14756366.2019.1605364
  24. Exp Cell Res. 2019 May 03. pii: S0014-4827(19)30234-4. [Epub ahead of print]
    Thyroid hormone protects cardiomyocytes from H2O2-induced oxidative stress via the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway.
    Bin Zeng, Lei Liu, Xiaoting Liao, Caixia Zhang, Huaiyu Ruan.
      Oxidative stress plays an important role in the progression of cardiac diseases, including acute myocardial infarction, ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and heart failure. Growing evidence indicates that thyroid hormone has protective properties against cardiovascular diseases. However, little is known about its effect on oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes or the underlying mechanisms. This study showed that T3 pretreatment in vivo significantly reduced cardiac dysfunction by increasing the left ventricular ejection function and ameliorating the pathological changes induced by I/R-induced injury. In an in vitro experiment, T3 inhibited apoptosis in H2O2-treated cardiomyocytes, as evidenced by the decreased expression of Bax, cleaved caspase 3 and 9, and increased expression of Bcl-2. In addition, oxidative stress observed in hearts of mice with I/R injury was significantly alleviated by T3 pretreatment, intracellular ROS and mitochondrial ROS overproduction were effectively inhibited, and similar results were also detected in H2O2-treated cardiomyocytes in vitro. T3 significantly increased antioxidant protein (Nrf2 and HO-1) expression levels, and inhibited NOX2 and NOX4 protein expression levels in H2O2-treated cardiomyocytes. Moreover, T3 preserved mitochondrial functions upon H2O2-induced oxidative stress by increasing mitochondrial membrane potential and promoting the expression of mitochondrial biogenesis genes. Notably, the PI3K/AKT signaling was significantly activated by T3 pretreatment in H2O2-induced cardiomyocytes. Together, these findings revealed that T3 could be served as potential therapeutic target for protection against cardiac oxidative stress injury through its antioxidant and anti-apoptosis effects, which are mediated by the activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.
    Keywords:  Apoptosis; Mitochondrial function; Oxidative stress; PI3K/AKT signaling; Thyroid hormone
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yexcr.2019.05.003
  25. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2019 May 06.
    Autophagy in hypoxic ovary.
    Anil Kumar Yadav, Pramod K Yadav, Govind R Chaudhary, Meenakshi Tiwari, Anumegha Gupta, Alka Sharma, Ashutosh N Pandey, Ajai K Pandey, Shail K Chaube.
      Oxygen deprivation affects human health by modulating system as well as cellular physiology. Hypoxia generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), causes oxidative stress and affects female reproductive health by altering ovarian as well as oocyte physiology in mammals. Hypoxic conditions lead to several degenerative changes by inducing various cell death pathways like autophagy, apoptosis and necrosis in the follicle of mammalian ovary. The encircling somatic cell death interrupts supply of nutrients to the oocyte and nutrient deprivation may result in the generation of ROS. Increased level of ROS could induce granulosa cells as well as oocyte autophagy. Although autophagy removes damaged proteins and subcellular organelles to maintain the cell survival, irreparable damages could induce cell death within intra-follicular microenvironment. Hypoxia-induced autophagy is operated through 5' AMP activated protein kinase-mammalian target of rapamycin, endoplasmic reticulum stress/unfolded protein response and protein kinase C delta-c-junN terminal kinase 1 pathways in a wide variety of somatic cell types. Similar to somatic cells, we propose that hypoxia may induce granulosa cell as well as oocyte autophagy and it could be responsible at least in part for germ cell elimination from mammalian ovary. Hypoxia-mediated germ cell depletion may cause several reproductive impairments including early menopause in mammals.
    Keywords:  Beclin 1; Follicular atresia; Granulosa cells; HIF-1α; Oocyte
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-019-03122-4
  26. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2019 May 06. 19(1): 98
    Hibiscus flower extract selectively induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells and positively interacts with common chemotherapeutics.
    Christopher Nguyen, Kiruthika Baskaran, Alaina Pupulin, Ivan Ruvinov, Ola Zaitoon, Sahibjot Grewal, Benjamin Scaria, Ali Mehaidli, Caleb Vegh, Siyaram Pandey.
       BACKGROUND: Current therapeutic approaches to treat metastatic breast cancer, although effective, have shown many inadvertent side effects such as genotoxicity due to a lack of selectivity. Thus, these treatment plans are not suitable for long-term usage. Natural health product extracts are safe for long-term consumption and some have shown to be medicinally active containing multiple bioactive compounds able target multiple vulnerabilities in cancer. One of which, Hibiscus rosa-sinesis (hibiscus) extract, has been reported to have many medicinal and anticancer properties due to its antioxidant and hypolipidemic effects. However, its efficacy against breast cancer has not been fully investigated and characterized. If effective against cancer, hibiscus extract could potentially be combined with chemotherapeutic treatments in adjuvant therapy to reduce chemotherapy-inducing side effects.
    METHOD: We have investigated aqueous hibiscus flower extract anticancer efficacy, selectivity, and interactions with chemotherapeutics taxol, cisplatin, and tamoxifen in estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer cells, triple-negative human breast cancer cells, and normal non-cancerous cells. Apoptotic morphology and biochemical marker expression were assessed to determine the extent anticancer efficacy of hibiscus. Mitochondrial membrane potential reduction and reactive oxygen species generation were quantified using fluorogenic dyes to determine the mechanism of hibiscus extract action.
    RESULTS: Hibiscus extract was able to selectively induce apoptosis in both triple-negative and estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer cells in a dosage-dependent manner. Most importantly, addition of hibiscus extract was found to enhance the induction of apoptosis of chemotherapy treatments (taxol and cisplatin) in triple-negative breast cancer cells when compared to treatment alone. Moreover, hibiscus extract addition to chemotherapy treatment was able to increase oxidative stress and decrease mitochondrial membrane potential compared to individual treatments.
    CONCLUSION: Hibiscus extract is effective on breast cancer, most notably on generally resistant triple-negative breast cancer, while being selective for normal healthy cells. Hibiscus extract could supplement chemotherapeutic regimens as an adjuvant and lead to a more efficacious treatment approach to reduce chemotherapy dosages and related toxicity.
    Keywords:  Adjuvant therapy; Apoptosis; Breast cancer; Chemotherapeutic interactions; Cisplatin; Hibiscus; Natural health products; Tamoxifen; Taxol
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-019-2505-9
  27. Cell Signal. 2019 May 03. pii: S0898-6568(19)30102-0. [Epub ahead of print]
    Lipoxin A4 restores oxidative stress-induced vascular endothelial cell injury and thrombosis-related factor expression by its receptor-mediated activation of Nrf2-HO-1 axis.
    Songbai Yang, Yan Zheng, Xuhui Hou.
      Venous thromboembolism (VTE) constitutes a common cause of hospital-related morbidity and mortality, with the proverbial clinical feature of deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Endothelial cell injury and dysfunction comprise the critical contributor for the development of DVT. Lipoxin A4 (LXA4) fulfills pleiotropic roles in injury repair. However, its role in DVT remains poorly elucidated. In the present study, LXA4 supplementation dampened H2O2-evoked cytotoxic injury in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) by increasing cell viability, suppressing cell apoptosis and caspase-3 activity. Moreover, treatment with LXA4 afforded cytoprotective effects against oxidative stress damage in response to H2O2 by abrogating ROS, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and MDA leakage, and elevating anti-oxidant SOD levels. Notably, LXA4 administration attenuated pro-vasoconstriction factor endothelin-1(ET-1) expression in HUVECs exposed to H2O2, but enhanced the productions of vasodilatation factor NO and prostacyclin (PGI2). Simultaneously, H2O2-induced high expression of pro-thrombotic Von Willebrand Factor (vWF) was also inhibited by LXA4. Mechanism analysis substantiated that LXA4 further augmented activation of the Nrf2-HO-1 pathway. Nevertheless, blocking this signaling via si-Nrf2 transfection or HO-1 antagonist ZnPP both reversed LXA4-mediated effects against oxidative stress injury and thrombotic potential. Cessation of the LXA4 receptor pathway by its inhibitor Boc2 not only counteracted LXA4-evoked activation of the Nrf2-HO-1, but also reversed LXA4-mediated anti-oxidative stress and thrombosis-related factor expression. Accordingly, this study suggests that LXA4 may ameliorate vascular endothelial cell oxidative stress injury and subsequent thrombotic response via LXA4 receptor-dependent activation of the Nrf2-HO-1 signaling, implying a promising strategy for DVT and its complication.
    Keywords:  Deep venous thrombosis; LXA4; Nrf2-HO-1 pathway; Oxidative stress; Thrombosis; Vascular endothelial cell
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cellsig.2019.05.002
  28. Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2019 Apr 01. 18(2): 153-162
    High Glucose-reduced Apoptosis in Human Breast Cancer Cells Is Mediated by Activation of NF-κB.
    Atefeh Nasir Kansestani, Kamran Mansouri, Shahrooz Hemmati, Mohammad Erfan Zare, Ali Moatafaei.
      Tumor cells rely on glycolysis for their energy supply with the production of lactate even in normoxia condition, which is named aerobic glycolysis or Warburg effect. Therefore, high glucose (HG) concentration provides a favorable condition for increasing proliferation, angiogenesis and decreasing apoptosis, but its molecular mechanisms are still unknown. The objective of this study is to investigate HG condition on tumor cells behavior including proliferation, apoptosis, and an angiogenesis mediator. In this study, MCF-7 derived from human breast adenocarcinoma, were cultured in DMEM with two different concentrations of glucose for 48 h (5.5 mM as normal glucose (NG) condition and 25 mM as HG condition). We used Zingiber officinale extraction for the inhibition of NF-κB. Cell proliferation assay was done by direct counting, cell viability by MTT method, bcl-2 by Immunocytochemistry, apoptosis by Hoechst/PI double staining and vascular endothelium growth factor (VEGF) by ELISA. Results showed that HG increased lactate production, significantly. HG increased cell proliferation, cell viability, VEGF secretion, and bcl-2 expression while it decreased apoptosis. However, when HG was combined with Zingiber officinale extraction, cell proliferation, cell viability, VEGF secretion and bcl-2 expression decreased and apoptosis increased significantly due to inhibition of NF-κB. Results revealed that HG increased cell proliferation, angiogenesis and decreased apoptosis due to activation of NF-κB pathway. Moreover, the probable mechanism of the activation of NF-κB in HG is increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) in this condition that can activate NF-κB directly.
    Keywords:  Aerobic glycolysis; High glucose concentration; NF-Κb; Warburg effect
  29. J Clin Med. 2019 May 06. pii: E611. [Epub ahead of print]8(5):
    Disulfiram (Antabuse) Activates ROS-Dependent ER Stress and Apoptosis in Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
    Priyanka Shah O'Brien, Yue Xi, Justin R Miller, Amy L Brownell, Qinghua Zeng, George H Yoo, Danielle M Garshott, Matthew B O'Brien, Anthony E Galinato, Peter Cai, Neha Narula, Michael U Callaghan, Randal J Kaufman, Andrew M Fribley.
      A paucity of advances in the development of novel therapeutic agents for squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck, oral cavity (OSCC) and oropharynx, has stagnated disease free survival rates over the past two decades. Although immunotherapies targeted against checkpoint inhibitors such as PD-1 or CTLA-4 are just now entering the clinic for late stage disease with regularity the median improvement in overall survival is only about three months. There is an urgent unmet clinical need to identify new therapies that can be used alone or in combination with current approaches to increase survival by more than a few months. Activation of the apoptotic arm of the unfolded response (UPR) with small molecules and natural products has recently been demonstrated to be a productive approach in pre-clinical models of OSCC and several other cancers. The aim of current study was to perform a high throughput screen (HTS) with a diverse chemical library to identify compounds that could induce CHOP, a component of the apoptotic arm of the UPR. Disulfiram (DSF, also known as Antabuse) the well-known aversion therapy used to treat chronic alcoholism emerged as a hit that could generate reactive oxygen species, activate the UPR and apoptosis and reduce proliferation in OSCC cell cultures and xenografts. A panel of murine embryonic fibroblasts null for key UPR intermediates (e.g., Chop and Atf4) was resistant to DSF suggesting that an intact UPR is a key element of the mechanism regulating the antiproliferative effects of DSF.
    Keywords:  Antabuse; ER stress; HNSCC; HTS; NSC-1771; OSCC; ROS; disulfiram; head and neck cancer; high throughput screen; oral cancer; unfolded protein response
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8050611
  30. Sci Rep. 2019 May 07. 9(1): 7026
    Thymoquinone therapy remediates elevated brain tissue inflammatory mediators induced by chronic administration of food preservatives.
    Ahmed Mohsen Hamdan, Mohammed M Al-Gayyar, Mohamed E E Shams, Udai Salamh Alshaman, Kousalya Prabahar, Alaa Bagalagel, Reem Diri, Ahmad O Noor, Diena Almasri.
      Continuous exposure to preservatives such as nitrite salts has deleterious effects on different organs. Meanwhile, Nigella sativa oil can remediate such organ dysfunction. Here, we studied the effect of consumption of thymoquinone (TQ); the main component of Nigella sativa oil on the brain damage induced by sodium nitrite. Forty adult male rats were daily given oral gavage of sodium nitrite (80 mg/kg) with or without thymoquinone (50 mg/kg). Oxidative stress, cytokines of inflammation, fibrotic elements and apoptotic markers in brain tissue were measured. Exposure to sodium nitrite (SN) resulted in increased levels of malondialdehyde, TGF-β, c-reactive protein, NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-1β and caspase-3 associated with reduced levels of glutathione, cytochrome c oxidase, Nrf2 and IL-10. However, exposure of rats' brain tissues to thymoquinone resulted ameliorated all these effects. In conclusion, thymoquinone remediates sodium nitrite-induced brain impairment through several mechanisms including attenuation of oxidative stress, retrieving the reduced concentration of glutathione, blocks elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, restores cytochrome c oxidase activity, and reducing the apoptosis markers in the brain tissues of rats.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-43568-x
  31. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2019 Apr 11. ATVBAHA118312196
    Metabolic Stress.
    Isabella M Grumbach, Emily K Nguyen.
      Mitochondria regulate major aspects of cell function by producing ATP, contributing to Ca2+ signaling, influencing redox potential, and controlling levels of reactive oxygen species. In this review, we will discuss recent findings that illustrate how mitochondrial respiration, Ca2+ handling, and production of reactive oxygen species affect vascular smooth muscle cell function during neointima formation. We will review mitochondrial fission/fusion as fundamental mechanisms for smooth muscle proliferation, migration, and metabolism and examine the role of mitochondrial mobility in cell migration. In addition, we will summarize novel aspects by which mitochondria regulate apoptosis.
    Keywords:  angioplasty; apoptosis; mitochondria; neointima; reactive oxygen species
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.118.312196
  32. Biomed Pharmacother. 2019 May 06. pii: S0753-3322(19)30196-9. [Epub ahead of print]116 108749
    Decrease of MLK4 prevents hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through reducing metastasis and inducing apoptosis regulated by ROS/MAPKs signaling.
    Yu Li, Haibo Zuo, Hongjian Wang, Anxiang Hu.
      Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) results in large amounts of deaths each year worldwide. To develop more effective treatments for HCC, it is very necessary to define the molecular mechanisms in hepatocarcinogenesis. Mixed lineage kinase (MLK)-4 is a member of the MLK family of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinases, and modulates different cellular responses. However, its role in the meditation of HCC progression remains unclear. In the study, we found that MLK4 was over-expressed in tumor samples of HCC patients. High MLK4 expression was significantly associated with shorter overall survival in HCC. Knockdown of MLK4 inhibited HCC cell proliferation and metastasis, which was partly through reducing matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-13, MMP2, enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) and Vimentin expressions. Apoptosis was significantly induced by MLK4 knockdown in HCC cells via decreasing Bcl-2 and increasing cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), Caspase-7 and -3 expression levels. In addition, MLK4 silence led to a significant reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in liver cancer cells, accompanied with elevated expression of phosphorylated p38, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and ERK1/2. Notably, reducing ROS generation and blocking MAPKs (p38/JNK/ERK1/2) signaling markedly abrogated MLK4 knockdown-induced apoptosis in HCC cells. Moreover, MLK4 silence-prevented metastasis was also rescued by scavenging ROS generation and repressing MAPKs pathway. In vivo, injection of MLK4 siRNA markedly inhibited liver tumor growth in xenograft models, and MLK4 knockdown reduced HCC lung metastasis. Together, our study indicated the essential function of MLK4 in HCC progression, providing crucial therapeutic hypothesis for the prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma.
    Keywords:  Apoptosis; Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); MLK4; Metastasis; ROS/MAPKs
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2019.108749
  33. Artif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol. 2019 Dec;47(1): 1797-1807
    Scutellaria barbata D. Don (SBD) protects oxygen glucose deprivation/reperfusion-induced injuries of PC12 cells by up-regulating Nrf2.
    Yanhua Wang, Bo Li, Xiaofen Zhang.
      This study aimed to investigate the potential effect of Scutellaria barbata D. Don (SBD) on oxygen glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R)-injured PC12 cells. PC12 cells were pretreated with various concentrations of 0.1-0.8 mg/ml SBD for indicated times (12-48 h) and then subjected to OGD/R injury. Cell viability, apoptosis and proliferation were detected using MTT assay, flow cytometry, Ki67 staining and western blot. Oxidative damage was assessed by detecting MDA content, SOD activity and GSH levels. The mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) was measured by Rh123 staining. Western blot was performed to assess the expression levels of Nrf2 and PI3K/AKT pathway-related proteins. We found that SBD pretreatment promoted cell viability and proliferation but inhibited apoptosis of OGD/R-injured PC12 cells in dosage- and time-dependent manner. Meanwhile, SBD attenuated oxidative damage and restored mitochondria dysfunction, as evidenced by the reduced MDA content, the increased SOD and GSH levels, and the increased Δψm. Furthermore, SBD induced the expression of Nrf2 in a PI3K/AKT-dependent signalling. Knockdown of Nrf2 blocked the protective effects of SBD on PC12 cells. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that SBD pretreatment protects PC12 cells against OGD/R-induced injury. The potential mechanism may be through up-regulating the expression of Nrf2 in a PI3K/AKT-dependent pathway.
    Keywords:  Nrf2; PI3K/AKT; SBD; ischemic stroke; oxidative damage
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/21691401.2019.1610413
  34. J Toxicol. 2019 ;2019 9246495
    An Adverse Outcome Pathway Linking Organohalogen Exposure to Mitochondrial Disease.
    Brooke McMinn, Alicia L Duval, Christie M Sayes.
      Adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) are pragmatic tools in human health hazard characterization and risk assessment. As such, one of the main goals of AOP development is to provide a clear, progressive, and linear mechanistic representation of pertinent toxicological key events (KEs) occurring along the different levels of biological organization. Here, we present an AOP framework that depicts how exposure to organohalogens can lead to mitochondrial disease. Organohalogens are disinfectant by-products (DBPs) found in our drinking water. Chloroform, trichloroacetic acid, and trichlorophenol were selected to represent specific types of organohalogens for the development of this AOP. Although each of these compounds contains chlorine atoms, they differ in aromaticity and solubility, which have a significant impact on their potency. This AOP consists of two main pathways, both of which are triggered by the molecular initiating event (MIE) of excessive reactive oxygen species generation. Pathway 1 details the downstream consequences of oxidative stress, which include mitochondrial DNA damage, protein aggregation, and depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane. Pathway 2 shows the KEs that result from inadequate supply of glutathione, including calcium dysregulation and ATP depletion. Pathways 1 and 2 converge at a common KE: opening of the mitochondrial membrane transition pore (mPTP). This leads to the release of cytochrome c, caspase activation, apoptosis, and mitochondrial disease. This AOP was developed according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development guidance, including critical consideration of the Bradford Hill criteria for Weight of Evidence assessment and key questions for evaluating confidence. The presented AOP is expected to serve as the basis for designing new toxicological tests as well as the characterization of novel biomarkers for disinfectant by-product exposure and adverse health effects.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/9246495
  35. Chin J Nat Med. 2019 Apr;pii: S1875-5364(19)30031-7. [Epub ahead of print]17(4): 275-290
    A novel approach based on metabolomics coupled with network pharmacology to explain the effect mechanisms of Danggui Buxue Tang in anaemia.
    Yong-Li Hua, Qi Ma, Zi-Wen Yuan, Xiao-Song Zhang, Wan-Ling Yao, Peng Ji, Jun-Jie Hu, Yan-Ming Wei.
      Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT) is a famous Chinese medicinal decoction. Mechanism of DBT action is wide ranging and unclear. Exploring new ways of treatment with DBT is useful. Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats were randomly divided into 3 groups including control (NC, Saline), the DBT (at a dose of 8.10 g-1), and blood deficiency(BD) (Cyclophosphamide (APH)-andCyclophosphamide(CTX)-induced anaemia). A metabolomics approach using Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight/Mass Spectrometry (LC/Q-TOFMS) was developed to perform the plasma metabolic profiling analysis and differential metaboliteswerescreened according to the multivariate statistical analysiscomparing the NC and BD groups, andthe hub metabolites were outliers with high scores of the centrality indices. Anaemia disease-related protein target and compound of DBT databases were constructed. The TCMSP, ChemMapper and STITCH databases were used to predict the protein targets of DBT. Using the Cytoscape 3.2.1 to establish a phytochemical component-target protein interaction network and establish a component, protein and hub metabolite protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and merging the three PPI networks basing on BisoGenet. The gene enrichment analysis was used to analyse the relationship between proteins based on the relevant genetic similarity by ClueGO. The results shown DBT effectively treated anaemia in vivo. 11 metabolic pathways are involved in the therapeutic effect of DBT in vivo; S-adenosyl-l-methionine, glycine, l-cysteine, arachidonic acid (AA) and phosphatidylcholine(PC) were screened as hub metabolites in APH-and CTX-induced anaemia. A total of 288 targets were identified as major candidates for anaemia progression. The gene-set enrichment analysis revealed that the targets are involved in iron ion binding, haemopoiesis, reactive oxygen species production, inflammation and apoptosis. The results also showed that these targets were associated with iron ion binding, haemopoiesis, ROS production, apoptosis, inflammation and related signalling pathways. DBT can promote iron ion binding and haemopoiesis activities, restrain inflammation, production of reactive oxygen, block apoptosis, and contribute significantly to the DBT treat anaemia.
    Keywords:  Anaemia; Danggui Buxue Tang; Metabolomics; Network pharmacology
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/S1875-5364(19)30031-7
  36. Front Oncol. 2019 ;9 290
    PGC1β Regulates Breast Tumor Growth and Metastasis by SREBP1-Mediated HKDC1 Expression.
    Xiaoli Chen, Yang Lv, Ying Sun, Hongyu Zhang, Weiguo Xie, Liyan Zhong, Qi Chen, Min Li, Ling Li, Jia Feng, Athena Yao, Qi Zhang, Xiaodong Huang, Zhendong Yu, Paul Yao.
      Background: Breast cancer is a very common cancer with significant premature mortality in women. In this study, we show that HKDC1 expression in breast cancer cells is increased significantly. We aim to investigate the detailed mechanism for the regulation of HKDC1 expression and its potential contribution to tumorigenesis. Methods: Gene expression was evaluated by real time PCR, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. The mechanism for PGC1β/SREBP1-mediated HKDC1 expression was investigated using luciferase reporter assay, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and siRNA techniques. In addition, HKDC1 was overexpressed or knocked down by lentivirus to evaluate the potential effect on in vitro cell proliferation, glucose uptake, mitochondrial function, apoptosis, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation. Furthermore, an in vivo xenograft tumor development study was employed to investigate the effect of HKDC1 on tumor growth and mouse survival. Results: HKDC1 is highly expressed in both breast cancer cells and clinical tumor tissues. HKDC1 expression is upregulated and co-activated by PGC1β through SREBP1 binding motif on the HKDC1 promoter. HKDC1 is located on the mitochondrial membrane and regulates the permeability transition pore opening by binding with VDAC1, subsequently modulating glucose uptake and cell proliferation. Overexpression of HKDC1 increases while knockdown of HKDC1 decreases in vitro breast cancer cell proliferation and in vivo tumor growth, metastasis, and mouse survival. Conclusions: PGC1β regulates breast cancer tumor growth and metastasis by SREBP1-mediated HKDC1 expression. This provides a novel therapeutic strategy through targeting the PGC1β/HKDC1 signaling pathway for breast cancer treatment.
    Keywords:  HKDC1; PGC1β; SREBP1; hexokinase; mitochondria
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2019.00290
  37. J Cell Physiol. 2019 May 09.
    MiR-423-5p inhibition alleviates cardiomyocyte apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction caused by hypoxia/reoxygenation through activation of the wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway via targeting MYBL2.
    Xin Zhu, Xiaolan Lu.
      MicroRNA (miR) plays an integral role in cardiovascular diseases. M-iR-423-5p is aberrantly expressed in patients with myocardial infarction and heart failure. The aim of the present study was to study the roles and mechanisms of miR-423-5p in hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) mediated cardiomyocytes injury. H9C2 cells were transfected with negative control, miR-423-5p mimic, and inhibitor for 48 hr, followed by exposed to H/R condition. Cell apoptosis rate, caspase 3/7 activities, Bax and cleaved-caspase 3 (c-caspase 3) protein levels were assayed by flow cytometry, Caspase-Glo 3/7 Assay kit, western blot analysis, respectively. Furthermore, the mitochondrial membrane potential, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and Drp1 expression were also investigated. Furthermore, the dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to evaluate the relationship between miR-423-5p and Myb-related protein B (MYBL2). The roles of miR-423-5p in wnt/β-catenin were assessed by western blot analysis. The results revealed that H/R triggered miR-423-5p expression. Overexpression of miR-423-5p promoted cardiomyocyte apoptosis, enhanced the activities of caspase 3/7, upregulated the expression of Bax and c-caspase 3. miR-423-5p upregulation caused the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and the reduction of ATP content, the augment of ROS production and Drp1 expression. However, the opposite trends were observed upon suppression of miR-423-5p. In addition, miR-423-5p could target the 3' untranslated region of MYBL2. miR-423-5p depletion led to the activation of the wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway via targeting MYBL2. Knockdown of MYBL2 was obviously reversed the roles of miR-423-5p in apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction. Taken together, miR-423-5p suppression reduced H/R-induced cardiomyocytes injury through activation of the wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway via targeting MYBL2 in cardiomyocytes.
    Keywords:  MYBL2; apoptosis; cardiomyocytes; hypoxia/reoxygenation; miR-423-5p
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.28766
  38. J Biol Chem. 2019 May 10. pii: jbc.RA119.007904. [Epub ahead of print]
    The Ser/Thr kinase p90RSK promotes kidney fibrosis by modulating fibroblast-epithelial crosstalk.
    Ling Lin, Chaowen Shi, Zhaorui Sun, Nhat-Tu Le, Jun-Ichi Abe, Kebin Hu.
      Healthy kidney structure and environment rely on epithelial integrity and interactions between epithelial cells and other kidney cells. The Ser/Thr kinase 90 kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (p90RSK) belongs to a protein family that regulates many cellular processes, including cell motility and survival. p90RSK is predominantly expressed in the kidney, but its possible role in chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains largely unknown. Here, we found that p90RSK expression is dramatically activated in a classic mouse obstructive CKD model, largely in the interstitial FSP-1-positive fibroblasts. We generated FSP-1-specific p90RSK transgenic mouse (RSK-Tg) and discovered that these mice, after obstructive injury, display significantly increased fibrosis and enhanced tubular epithelial damage compared with their wildtype littermates (RSK-wt), indicating a role of p90RSK in fibroblast-epithelial communication. We established an in vitro fibroblast-epithelial coculture system with primary kidney fibroblasts from RSK-Tg and RSK-wt mice and found that RSK-Tg fibroblasts consistently produce excessive H2O2 causing epithelial oxidative stress and inducing nuclear translocation of the signaling protein β-catenin. Epithelial accumulation of β-catenin, in turn, promoted epithelial apoptosis by activating the transcription factor forkhead box class O1 (FOXO1). Of note, blockade of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or β-catenin or FOXO1 activity abolished fibroblast p90RSK-mediated epithelial apoptosis. These results make it clear that p90RSK promotes kidney fibrosis by inducing fibroblast-mediated epithelial apoptosis through ROS-mediated activation of β-catenin/FOXO1 signaling pathway.
    Keywords:  90 kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (p90RSK); FOXO; RPS6KA1; RSK; beta-catenin (B-catenin ); cell-cell crosstalk; fibroblast-epithelial communication; fibrosis; forkhead box class O1 (FOXO1); kidney; reactive oxygen species (ROS)
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.RA119.007904
  39. J Appl Toxicol. 2019 May 07.
    Protective effects of S-carvedilol on doxorubicin-induced damages to human umbilical vein endothelial cells and rats.
    Ting Wu, Haixin Li, Qunsheng Lan, Ze-An Zhao, Ying Cao, Pingzheng Zhou, Shanhe Wan, Jiajie Zhang, Hong Jiang, Qun Zhang, Jianxin Pang.
      Doxorubicin (DOX) is a highly active anticancer drug with severe cytotoxicity, which is strongly associated with oxidative stress. Carvedilol (CAR), used as its racemate with S-CAR and R-CAR (1:1), has been previously reported to ameliorate the DOX-induced cytotoxicity. However, the main contributor from CAR of its protective effects has not been clear. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate further the different effects of CAR enantiomers on DOX-induced cytotoxicity in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and rats, respectively. Results indicated that S-CAR could significantly attenuate DOX-induced cell death, apoptotic morphological changes, decrease the mitochondrial membrane potential and oxidative stress responses by increasing the superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, and decreasing malondialdehyde contents and reactive oxygen species levels via the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT/endothelial nitric oxide synthase pathway in vitro. Consistent with the in vitro study, the protective effects of S-CAR on the myocardial tissues and hemodynamics were also detected in rats suffering because of DOX treatment. With the obtained results, we can first conclude that S-CAR provides superior protection to injury induced by DOX relative to that of racemic CAR and R-CAR.
    Keywords:  DOX; HUVECs; S-CAR; hemodynamics; oxidative stress
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/jat.3809
  40. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2019 May 04.
    Prophylactic administration of carnosine and melatonin abates the incidence of apoptosis, inflammation, and DNA damage induced by titanium dioxide nanoparticles in rat livers.
    Laila Mohamed Fadda, Hanaa M Ali, Azza M Mohamed, Hanan Hagar.
      Although titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TDO-ns) are extensively used in the food, medicine, and cosmetic industries, discussions about the possible hazards of nanomaterials are just beginning to emerge. This study aimed to detect the inflammatory stress, oxidative stress, and apoptotic cell death induced in the livers of rats exposed to TDO-ns (600 mg/kg, particle size ≤ 100 nm). Furthermore, the modulation of these toxic effects by two potent naturally occurring antioxidants, carnosine (Carno) or melatonin (Melato), was evaluated. The co-administration of carnosine or melatonin to rats intoxicated with TDO-ns significantly attenuated the increases in serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), immunoglobulin G (IgG), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), nitric oxide (NO), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. The two agents markedly ameliorated hepatic DNA damage and the alterations in hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), cytochrome P450, caspase-3, total phospholipid, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, sphingomyelin, and triglyceride (TG) levels. These results support the use of Carno or Melato as prophylactic agents against TDO-ns-induced liver damage.
    Keywords:  Carnosine; DNA damage; Interleukin-6; Melatonin; Phospholipids; Titanium dioxide
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05059-4
  41. Environ Toxicol. 2019 May 08.
    Thymosin alpha-1; a natural peptide inhibits cellular proliferation, cell migration, the level of reactive oxygen species and promotes the activity of antioxidant enzymes in human lung epithelial adenocarcinoma cell line (A549).
    Jasmin Kharazmi-Khorassani, Ahmad Asoodeh.
      This research was conducted to investigate the biochemical effects of thymosin alpha-1 using human lung cancer cells (A549). The A549 cells were treated with different concentrations of Thα1 for 24 h and the growth, inhibition of cells was determined. Thα1 revealed anti-proliferative effect at 24 and 48 μg/ml after 24 h. Furthermore, it indicated antioxidant properties by significantly enhancing the activity of catalase (12 μg/ml), superoxide dismutase (6 and 12 μg/ml), and glutathione peroxidase (3, 6 and 12 μg/ml) and reducing the production of cellular ROS. Our results showed that Thα1 inhibits the migration of A549 cells in a concentration-dependent manner after 24 and 48 h. Moreover, the effect of Thα1 on apoptosis was investigated by Hoechst 33342 staining and cell cycle analysis. Results demonstrated no significant effect on the induction of apoptosis in A549 cells. In conclusion, our results showed the antioxidant properties of Thα1 on A549 cancer cells.
    Keywords:  antioxidant enzyme; cytotoxicity; reactive oxygen species; thymosin alpha-1
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/tox.22765
  42. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 May 08. pii: E2268. [Epub ahead of print]20(9):
    Vectisol Formulation Enhances Solubility of Resveratrol and Brings Its Benefits to Kidney Transplantation in a Preclinical Porcine Model.
    David Soussi, Jérôme Danion, Edouard Baulier, Frédéric Favreau, Ysé Sauvageon, Valentin Bossard, Xavier Matillon, Frédéric Turpin, El Mustapha Belgsir, Raphaël Thuillier, Thierry Hauet.
      Current organ shortages have led centers to extend the acceptance criteria for organs, increasing the risk for adverse outcomes. Current preservation protocols have not been adapted so as to efficiently protect these organs. Herein, we target oxidative stress, the key mechanism of ischemia reperfusion injury. Vectisol® is a novel antioxidant strategy based on the encapsulation of resveratrol into a cyclodextrin, increasing its bioavailability. We tested this compound as an additive to the most popular static preservation solutions and machine perfusion (LifePort) in a preclinical pig model of kidney autotransplantation. In regard to static preservation, supplementation improved glomerular filtration and proximal tubular function early recovery. Extended follow-up confirmed the higher level of protection, slowing chronic loss of function (creatininemia and proteinuria) and the onset of histological lesions. Regarding machine perfusion, the use of Vectisol® decreased oxidative stress and apoptosis at the onset of reperfusion (30 min post declamping). Improved quality was confirmed with decreased early levels of circulating SOD (Superoxide Dismutase) and ASAT (asparagine amino transferase). Supplementation slowed the onset of chronic loss of function, as well as interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy. The simple addition of Vectisol® to the preservation solution significantly improved the performance of organ preservation, with long-term effects on the outcome. This strategy is thus a key player for future multi-drug therapy aimed at ischemia reperfusion in transplantation.
    Keywords:  ischemia reperfusion injury; organ preservation; oxidative stress; resveratrol; transplantation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20092268
  43. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2019 May 09.
    Nobiletin protects against myocardial injury and myocardial apoptosis following coronary microembolization via activating PI3K/Akt pathway in rats.
    Qing Mao, Xiulin Liang, Yufu Wu, Yongxiang Lu.
      It has been found that use of drugs which upregulate the PI3K/Akt pathway can effectively reduce cardiomyocyte apoptosis which has been induced by coronary microembolization (CME). However, whether this functional protein is able to be modified through pretreatment via nobiletin (NOB) in models of CME has not yet been investigated. Therefore, this study set out to explore the cardioprotective effect of NOB on rats with myocardial injuries induced by CME and also explored the potential mechanism which underlies this cardioprotective effect. The study used 40 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, which were randomized into four groups: the sham, CME, CME+NOB, and CME+NOB+LY294002 (LY) groups. Twelve hours after surgery, levels of microinfarct, serum c-troponin I (cTnI), cardiac function, apoptotic index, and oxidative stress [superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA)] were measured for rats in each group. Western blot analysis was performed to detect any protein involved in the PI3K/Akt pathway. Nobiletin improved cardiac dysfunction which had been induced by CME, decreased serum level of cTnI and MDA, and increased serum SOD activities. In addition, nobiletin inhibited myocardial apoptosis, which may be connected to downregulated apoptotic index, upregulated Bcl-2, and cleaved caspase-3 and Bax, while it increased protein levels in phosphorylated Akt. However, when nobiletin was co-administered with LY294002, a PI3K (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase)/Akt inhibitor, all of the previously mentioned effects were blocked. Nobiletin is able to inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis and can consequently attenuate CME-induced myocardial injuries. These functions are realized through the activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway as well as by reducing oxidative stress.
    Keywords:  Apoptosis; Coronary microembolization; Nobiletin; Oxidative stress; PI3K/Akt
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00210-019-01661-y
  44. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2019 May 04. pii: S0003-9861(19)30147-X. [Epub ahead of print]
    In vitro and computational studies showed that perezone inhibits PARP-1 and increase ROS levels in K562 cells.
    Maricarmen Hernández-Rodríguez, Pablo I Mendoza Sánchez, Martha Edith Macias Perez, Erika Rosales Cruz, Elvia Mera Jiménez, M Inés Nicolás Vázquez, René Miranda Ruvalcaba.
      Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. This disease is characterized by uncontrolled growth and proliferation of abnormal cells with a high probability to develop metastasis. Recently, it was demonstrated that perezone, a sesquiterpene quinone, is capable to induce cell death in leukemia (K562), prostate (PC-3), colorectal (HCT-15) and lung (SKLU-1) cancer cell lines; however, its mechanism of action is unknown. Therefore, in the present study in vitro and computational studies were performed to determinate the mechanism of action of perezone. Firstly, changes in reactive oxygen species (ROS), as well as changes in K562 cell viability in response to treatment with several concentrations of perezone were analyzed. Afterward, the type of cell death induced and the modification of cell cycle were determined. In addition, MD simulations and docking studies were performed to investigate the interaction of perezone with seven regulators of the apoptotic process. Finally, the ability of perezone to inhibit PARP-1 was evaluated by in vitro studies. K562 cells treated with perezone exhibited decreased viability and increased ROS levels, being this effect concentration-dependent. In addition, G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis were observed. According to the performed computational studies, perezone showed the highest affinity to PARP-1 enzyme being this complex the most stable due the presence of a small and deep cavity in the active site which allows to perezone fit deeply, by forming hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions, which drive this interaction. The activity of perezone as PARP-1 inhibitor was corroborated, with an IC50 = 181.5 μM. The pro-apoptotic action of perezone may be related to PARP-1 inhibition and ROS production. The obtained results allowed understanding the biological effect of perezone and consequently it could be employed to develop novel PARP-1 inhibitors.
    Keywords:  Apoptosis; Cell cycle; Docking studies; Molecular dynamics simulations; PARP-1; ROS production
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2019.05.002
  45. FEBS Open Bio. 2019 May 11.
    XBP1 inhibits mesangial cell apoptosis in response to oxidative stress via the PTEN/AKT pathway in diabetic nephropathy.
    Yan Wang, Zhong He, Qiu Yang, Guangju Zhou.
      Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) that frequently results in renal disease, and is characterized by a variety of symptoms, including albuminuria. It has been shown that apoptosis of glomerular mesangial cells (MCs) can aggravate albuminuria and contribute to the development of diabetic glomerulosclerosis. Hence, determination of the mechanisms leading to MC apoptosis may help us gain insights into the pathogenesis of DN. As our understanding of the role of high glucose (HG) in MC apoptosis remains elusive, we explored the interplay between X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) and MC apoptosis in this study. XBP1 was observed to be downregulated both in vivo and in vitro. Treatment of XBP1-overexpressing cells with HG resulted in a decrease of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and a suppression of cell apoptosis, concomitant with decreases in cleaved caspase-3 and Bax. Subsequent analyses demonstrated that XBP1 overexpression inhibited the expression of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) and enhanced the activation of AKT in MCs exposed to HG. In addition, XBP1-induced injuries in MC were reversed by overexpression of PTEN, and XBP1 inhibited apoptosis, which was mediated by the activated PTEN/AKT signaling pathway. Thus, our data indicate that XBP1 can activate the PTEN/AKT signaling pathway, thereby alleviating oxidative stress caused by HG or MC apoptosis. These findings suggest that XBP1 may have potential in the development of treatment methods for DN.
    Keywords:  PTEN/AKT pathway; XBP1; apoptosis; mesangial cell; oxidative stress
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/2211-5463.12655
  46. Life Sci. 2019 May 04. pii: S0024-3205(19)30345-5. [Epub ahead of print]
    Therapeutical effects of chrysin in a rat model of traumatic brain injury: A behavioral, biochemical, and histological evidence.
    Masome Rashno, Alireza Sarkaki, Yaghoob Farbood, Mohammad Rashno, Layasadat Khorsandi, Mohammad Kazem Gharib Naseri, Mahin Dianat.
       AIMS: Oxidative stress and apoptosis have major roles in the progression of traumatic brain injury (TBI)-associated motor and cognitive deficits. The present study was aimed to elucidate the putative effects of chrysin, a natural flavonoid compound, against TBI-induced motor and cognitive dysfunctions and possible involved mechanisms.
    MAIN METHODS: Chrysin (25, 50 or 100 mg/kg) was orally administered to rats starting immediately following TBI induction by Marmarou's weight-drop technique and continuously for 3 or 14 days. Neurological functions, motor coordination, learning and memory performances, histological changes, cell apoptosis, expression of pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins, and oxidative status were assayed at scheduled time points after experimental TBI.
    KEY FINDINGS: The results indicated that treatment with chrysin improved learning and memory disabilities in passive avoidance task, and ameliorated motor coordination impairment in rotarod test after TBI. These beneficial effects were accompanied by increased the concentrations of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione (GSH), decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) content, prevented neuronal loss, diminished apoptotic index, elevated the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein, and reduced the expression of pro-apoptotic Bax protein in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus tissues.
    SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings suggest that both anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic properties of chrysin (especially in the dose of 100 mg/kg) are possible mechanisms that improve cognitive/motor deficits and prevent neuronal cell death after TBI.
    Keywords:  Apoptosis; Chrysin; Learning and memory; Motor coordination; Oxidative stress; Traumatic brain injury
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lfs.2019.05.007
  47. Int Immunopharmacol. 2019 May 01. pii: S1567-5769(18)30785-9. [Epub ahead of print]72 496-503
    LncRNA H19/miR-let-7 axis participates in the regulation of ox-LDL-induced endothelial cell injury via targeting periostin.
    Lei Cao, Zhe Zhang, Yong Li, Peiyong Zhao, Yuguo Chen.
      Oxidized-low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced endothelial cell dysfunction is a crucial event in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis (AS). Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to play important roles in this process. The purpose of this study was to investigate the biological effects of lncRNA H19 on the ox-LDL-induced endothelial cell injury and to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms. In the present study, the expression of H19 in the serum of patients with AS and in the ox-LDL-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was significantly up-regulated. H19 knockdown by transfection with H19 siRNAs in ox-LDL-treated HUVECs remarkably promoted cell viability, suppressed the secretion of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, decreased the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1), intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM1) and E-selectin, reduced levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA), increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, and reduced cell apoptosis. Moreover, H19 knockdown significantly down-regulated the ox-LDL-induced expression of periostin, but did not affect the expression of let-7a, which directly targets the 3'-UTR of periostin mRNA. In addition, periostin overexpression partly reversed the biological effects of H19 knockdown in ox-LDL-treated HUVECs, which were almost recapitulated by let-7 overexpression. In conclusion, these data suggest that H19 knockdown suppressed ox-LDL-induced inflammation, apoptosis and oxidative stress in HUVECs, which may be related to the down-regulation of periostin by interfering with let-7 bioavailability.
    Keywords:  Endothelial cell dysfunction; Ox-LDL; Periostin; lncRNA H19; microRNA let-7
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intimp.2019.04.042
  48. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2019 May 01. pii: S0927-7765(19)30292-9. [Epub ahead of print]180 313-318
    Green synthesis of carrier-free curcumin nanodrugs for light-activated breast cancer photodynamic therapy.
    Madi Sun, Yue Zhang, Yan He, Menghua Xiong, Hanyao Huang, Shucheng Pei, Jinfeng Liao, Yingshuai Wang, Dan Shao.
      Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising procedure for breast cancer therapy. Curcumin (Cur), a hydrophobic polyphenol derived from the spice turmeric, has been considered as a potential photosensitizer for PDT with evoked immune response, excellent safety, and low cost. However, the translation of curcumin in clinical cancer therapy suffers from an insufficient therapeutic dose in tumor tissues due to its poor solubility and low bioavailability. In this study, carrier-free curcumin nanodrugs (Cur NDs) were prepared without using any toxic solvents through a facile and green reprecipitation method. Cur NDs exhibited distinct optical properties, light-sensitive drug release behavior, resulting in increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and PDT efficacy on breast cancer cells compared with free Cur. Furthermore, cell apoptosis during Cur-based PDT was concomitant with the activation of the ROS-mediated JNK/caspase-3 signaling pathway. Overall, our carrier-free Cur nanodrugs may be promising candidates for facilitating the efficacy and safety of PDT against breast cancer.
    Keywords:  Breast cancer; Carrier-free; Curcumin; Light-responsive drug release; Photodynamic therapy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2019.04.061
  49. Mol Med Rep. 2019 Apr 19.
    Role of autophagy in LPS‑induced inflammation in INS‑1 cells.
    Li-Bo Zhu, Ming-Ming Cao, Jun Wang, Ying Su, Wei Jiang, Guo-Dong Liu, Yan-Bo Li.
      Inflammation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D), which is a progressive disease characterized by pancreatic β‑cell dysfunction and apoptosis with consequential insufficient insulin secretion. Autophagy is necessary to maintain the structure, mass and function of pancreatic β‑cells. The present study investigated the crosstalk between autophagy and inflammasome activation in T2D. INS‑1 cells were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. Apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation were measured using flow cytometry, and cell proliferation was measured using Cell Counting Kit‑8 solution. Autophagy was assayed using western blotting and transmission electron microscopy. The expression levels of interleukin‑1β (IL‑1β) and caspase‑1 were detected by western blotting. The results demonstrated that inhibiting autophagy using 3‑methyladenine (3‑MA) promoted INS‑1 cell apoptosis. This response was correlated with an increase in ROS production and the inflammatory response, including IL‑1β maturation and caspase‑1 activation. Furthermore, when ROS were inhibited using N‑acetyl‑L‑cysteine, inflammation was decreased. These results demonstrated that inhibition of autophagy enhanced inflammatory injury via the ROS‑mediated activation of the Nod‑like receptor pyrin domain‑containing protein 3 inflammasome. Autophagy may have a protective effect by mitigating inflammation in T2D, which may provide a novel approach for T2D treatment.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2019.10172
  50. Apoptosis. 2019 May 09.
    Copper-imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines induce intrinsic apoptosis and modulate the expression of mutated p53, haem-oxygenase-1 and apoptotic inhibitory proteins in HT-29 colorectal cancer cells.
    Leonie Harmse, Nadia Gangat, Carla Martins-Furness, Jean Dam, Charles B de Koning.
      Metastatic colorectal cancer responds poorly to treatment and is a leading cause of cancer related deaths. Worldwide, chemotherapy of metastatic colorectal cancer remains plagued by poor efficacy, development of resistance and serious adverse effects. Copper-imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines were previously shown by our group to be selectively active against several cancer cell lines, with three complexes, JD46(27), JD47(29), and JD88(21), showing IC50 values between 0.8 and 1.8 μM against HT-29 cells. Here, we report that treatment with the copper complexes resulted in fragmented nuclei suggestive of apoptotic cell death, which was confirmed by increased annexin V binding and caspase-3/7 activity. The copper complexes caused a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and increased caspase-9 activity. The absence of caspase-8 activity indicated activation of the intrinsic pathway. Proteomic analysis revealed that copper-imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines decreased the expression of phosphorylated forms of p53 [phospho-p53(S15), phospho-p53(S46) and phospho-p53(S392)]. The expression of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins, XIAP, cIAP1, livin, and the antiapoptotic proteins, Bcl-2 and Bcl-x, was decreased. HO/HMOX/HSP32, expression was notably increased, which suggested the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Increased expression of TRAIL-R2/DR5 death receptor indicated the possible dual activation of both the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways; however, caspase-8 activation could not be demonstrated. In conclusion, the copper-imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines were effective inducers of apoptotic cell death at low micromolar concentrations and changed the expression levels of proteins important for cell survival and cell death. These copper complexes may be useful tools to better understand the complexity of signalling networks in cancer cell death in response to cell stress.
    Keywords:  Colorectal cancer; Copper-imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines; Haem oxygenase-1/heat shock protein 32; Inhibitor of apoptosis proteins; Intrinsic apoptosis; p53
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10495-019-01547-7
  51. Cell Biochem Biophys. 2019 May 07.
    Attenuation of cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury by sodium thiosulfate is partially dependent on the effect of cystathione beta synthase in the myocardium.
    Srijanani Kannan, Sri Rahavi Boovarahan, Jeyashri Rengaraju, Priyanka Prem, Gino A Kurian.
      Our early studies have shown that sodium thiosulfate (STS) treatment attenuated the ischemia-reperfusion (IR)-induced injury in an isolated rat heart model by decreasing apoptosis, oxidative stress, and preserving mitochondrial function. Hydrogen sulfide, the precursor molecule is reported to have similar efficacy. This study aims to investigate the role of endogenous hydrogen sulfide in STS-mediated cardioprotection against IR in an isolated rat heart model. D, L-propargylglycine (PAG), an inhibitor of cystathionine γ-lyase was used as endogenous H2S blocker. In addition, we used the hypoxia-reoxygenation (HR) model to study the impact of STS in cardiomyocytes (H9C2) and fibroblast (3T3) cells. STS treatment to animal and cells prior to IR or HR decreased cell injury. The sensitivity of H9C2 and 3T3 cells towards HR (6 h hypoxia followed by 12 h reoxygenation) challenge varies, where, 3T3 cells exhibited higher cell death (54%). Cells treated with PAG prior to STS abrogate the protective effect in 3T3 (cell viability 61%) but not in H9C2 (cell viability 82%). Further evaluation in rat heart model showed partial recovery (46% RPP) of heart from those hearts pretreated with PAG prior to STS condition. In conclusion, we demonstrated that STS-mediated cardioprotection to IR-challenged rat heart is not fully dependent on endogenous H2S level and this dependency may be linked to higher fibroblast content in rat heart.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-019-00871-8
  52. Biomed Pharmacother. 2019 May 03. pii: S0753-3322(18)38404-X. [Epub ahead of print]115 108783
    Cancer: Thymoquinone antioxidant/pro-oxidant effect as potential anticancer remedy.
    Yasmina K Mahmoud, Heba M A Abdelrazek.
      Recently, there is growing interest in the natural bioactive components having anticancer activity. Thymoquinone (TQ), the principle active constituent of black seed (Nigella sativa), has promising properties including anticancer and chemosensitizing peculiarities. The anticancer power of TQ is accomplished by several aspects; including promotion of apoptosis, arrest of cell cycle and ROS generation. In addition, it boosts the immune system and lessens the side effects associated with traditional anticancer therapy. TQ also controls angiogenesis and cancer metastasis. This review focuses on the potential aspects and mechanisms by which TQ acquires its actions.
    Keywords:  Angiogenesis; Anticancer; Apoptosis; Pro-oxidant; Thymoquinone
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2019.108783
  53. Ann Med. 2019 May 09. 1-19
    Plasma Klotho concentrations predict functional outcome at three months after acute ischemic stroke patients.
    Jun-Beom Lee, Ho Geol Woo, Yoonkyung Chang, Yoon Mi Jin, Inho Jo, Jinkwon Kim, Tae-Jin Song.
       BACKGROUND: The Klotho protects the cardiovascular system by protecting against cell apoptosis, inhibiting the production of reactive oxygen species, and modulating inflammation. We aimed to investigate relationship of plasma Klotho concentrations with functional outcome at 3 months after acute cerebral infarction.
    METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 262 first-ever acute cerebral infarction patients from whom a blood sample was acquired within 24 hours of admission. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used for evaluating plasma Klotho concentration. Functional outcome on admission and three months was evaluated.
    RESULTS: Of the 262 patients, 152 (58.0%) were men. The mean age of these patients was 64.7 years. The mean ± standard deviation of plasma Klotho concentrations was 312.7 ± 153.3 pg/mL. As opposed to patients with good outcome, Plasma Klotho levels were lower in the poor outcome group (207.8 ± 96.2 vs. 342.5 ± 153.5 pg/mL, p = 0.001). In multivariate analysis, increased plasma Klotho concentrations were independently associated with good functional outcome (Odds ratio: 2.42, 95% confidence interval: 1.45-4.04, p < 0.001).
    CONCLUSIONS: Increased plasma Klotho concentrations were associated with good functional outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke. We attribute these associations to the pleiotropic effects of Klotho in stroke and vascular diseases. Key message Increased plasma Klotho concentrations were associated with good functional outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke.
    Keywords:  Klotho; fibroblast growth factor 23; functional outcome; stroke
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/07853890.2019.1617434
  54. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2019 ;2019 6392763
    The Role of the Antioxidant Response in Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Degenerative Diseases: Cross-Talk between Antioxidant Defense, Autophagy, and Apoptosis.
    Michael L-H Huang, Shannon Chiang, Danuta S Kalinowski, Dong-Hun Bae, Sumit Sahni, Des R Richardson.
      The mitochondrion is an essential organelle important for the generation of ATP for cellular function. This is especially critical for cells with high energy demands, such as neurons for signal transmission and cardiomyocytes for the continuous mechanical work of the heart. However, deleterious reactive oxygen species are generated as a result of mitochondrial electron transport, requiring a rigorous activation of antioxidative defense in order to maintain homeostatic mitochondrial function. Indeed, recent studies have demonstrated that the dysregulation of antioxidant response leads to mitochondrial dysfunction in human degenerative diseases affecting the nervous system and the heart. In this review, we outline and discuss the mitochondrial and oxidative stress factors causing degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease, and Friedreich's ataxia. In particular, the pathological involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction in relation to oxidative stress, energy metabolism, mitochondrial dynamics, and cell death will be explored. Understanding the pathology and the development of these diseases has highlighted novel regulators in the homeostatic maintenance of mitochondria. Importantly, this offers potential therapeutic targets in the development of future treatments for these degenerative diseases.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/6392763
  55. Biosci Rep. 2019 May 07. pii: BSR20190225. [Epub ahead of print]
    Oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress are involved in palmitic acid-induced H9c2 cell apoptosis.
    Lei Yang, Gaopeng Guan, Lanjie Lei, Jianyun Liu, Lingling Cao, Xiangguo Wang.
      Palmitic acid (PA) is the most common saturated long-chain fatty acid that causes damage to heart muscle cells. However, the molecular mechanism of PA toxicity in myocardial cells is not fully understood. In this study, we explored the effects of PA on proliferation and apoptosis of H9c2 cardiomyocytes, and uncovered the signaling pathways involved in PA toxicity. Our study revealed induction of both oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stresses and exacerbation of apoptosis in PA-treated H9c2 cells. Inhibition of oxidative stress by N-acetylcysteine reduced apoptosis and decreased ER stress in PA-treated H9c2 cells. Moreover, inhibition of ER stress by 4-phenyl butyric acid decreased apoptosis and attenuated oxidative stress. In summary, this study demonstrated that oxidative stress coordinates with ER stress to play important roles in PA-induced H9c2 cell apoptosis.
    Keywords:  H9c2 cells; apoptosis; endoplasmic reticulum stress; oxidative stress; palmitic acid
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1042/BSR20190225
  56. Cardiooncology. 2018 ;pii: 8. [Epub ahead of print]4
    Effects of a novel peptide Ac-SDKP in radiation-induced coronary endothelial damage and resting myocardial blood flow.
    Umesh C Sharma, Swati D Sonkawade, Andrew Baird, Min Chen, Shirley Xu, Sandra Sexton, Anurag K Singh, Adrienne Groman, Steven G Turowski, Joseph A Spernyak, Supriya D Mahajan, Saraswati Pokharel.
       Background: Cancer survivors treated with thoracic ionizing radiation are at higher risk of premature death due to myocardial ischemia. No therapy is currently available to prevent or mitigate these effects. We tested the hypothesis that an endogenous tetrapeptide N-acetyl-Ser-Asp-Lys-Pro (Ac-SDKP) counteracts radiation-induced coronary vascular fibrosis and endothelial cell loss and preserves myocardial blood flow.
    Methods: We examined a rat model with external-beam-radiation exposure to the cardiac silhouette. We treated a subgroup of irradiated rats with subcutaneous Ac-SDKP for 18-weeks. We performed cardiac MRI with Gadolinium contrast to examine resting myocardial blood flow content. Upon sacrifice, we examined coronary endothelial-cell-density, fibrosis, apoptosis and endothelial tight-junction proteins (TJP). In vitro, we examined Ac-SDKP uptake by the endothelial cells and tested its effects on radiation-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In vivo, we injected labeled Ac-SDKP intravenously and examined its endothelial localization after 4-h.
    Results: We found that radiation exposure led to reduced resting myocardial blood flow content. There was concomitant endothelial cell loss and coronary fibrosis. Smaller vessels and capillaries showed more severe changes than larger vessels. Real-time PCR and confocal microscopy showed radiation-induced loss of TJ proteins including-claudin-1 and junctional adhesion molecule-2 (JAM-2). Ac-SDKP normalized myocardial blood flow content, inhibited endothelial cell loss, reduced coronary fibrosis and restored TJ-assembly. In vitro, Ac-SDKP localized to endothelial cells and inhibited radiation-induced endothelial ROS generation. In vivo, labeled Ac-SDKP was visualized into the endothelium 4-h after the intravenous injection.
    Conclusions: We concluded that Ac-SDKP has protective effects against radiation-induced reduction of myocardial blood flow. Such protective effects are likely mediated by neutralization of ROS-mediated injury, preservation of endothelial integrity and inhibition of fibrosis. This demonstrates a strong therapeutic potential of Ac-SDKP to counteract radiotherapy-induced coronary disease.
    Keywords:  Ac-SDKP; Cardiac MRI; Endothelial cells; Fibrosis; Radiation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s40959-018-0034-1
  57. Food Chem Toxicol. 2019 May 02. pii: S0278-6915(19)30256-X. [Epub ahead of print]
    Development of a two-layer transwell co-culture model for the in vitro investigation of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-induced hepatic sinusoidal damage.
    Yao Lu, Jiang Ma, Ge Lin.
      Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are hepatotoxic and specifically damage hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells (HSECs) via cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs)-mediated metabolic activation. Due to the lack of CYPs in HSECs, currently there is no suitable cell model for investigating PA-induced HSEC injury. This study aimed to establish a two-layer transwell co-culture model that mimics hepatic environment by including HepaRG hepatocytes and HSECs to evaluate cytotoxicity of PAs on their major target HSECs. In this model, PAs were metabolically activated by CYPs in HepaRG hepatocytes to generate reactive pyrrolic metabolites, which react with co-cultured HSECs leading to HSEC damage. Three representative PAs, namely retrorsine, monocrotaline, and clivorine, induced significant concentration-dependent cytotoxicity in HSECs in the co-culture model, but did no cause obvious cytotoxicity directly in HSECs. Using the developed co-cultured model, further mechanism studies of retrorsine-induced HSEC damage demonstrated that the reactive pyrrolic metabolite generated by CYP-mediated bioactivation in HepaRG hepatocytes caused formation of pyrrole-protein adducts, reduction of GSH content, and generation of reactive oxygen species in HSECs, leading to cell apoptosis. The established co-culture model is reliable and applicable for cytotoxic assessment of PA-induced HSEC damage and offers a novel platform for screening toxicity of different PAs on their target cells.
    Keywords:  HepaRG hepatocytes; Hepatic sinusoidal damage; In vitro cell model; Pyrrolizidine alkaloid; Transwell co-culture model
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2019.04.057
  58. PLoS One. 2019 ;14(5): e0216301
    Regression of fibrosis by cilostazol in a rat model of thioacetamide-induced liver fibrosis: Up regulation of hepatic cAMP, and modulation of inflammatory, oxidative stress and apoptotic biomarkers.
    Sally A El Awdan, Rehab F Abdel Rahman, Heba M Ibrahim, Rehab R Hegazy, Salma A El Marasy, Manal Badawi, Mahmoud S Arbid.
      In liver fibrosis, conversion of fibroblasts to profibrogenic myofibroblasts significantly drives the development of the disease. A crucial role of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in regulation of fibroblast function has been reported. Increase in cAMP levels has been found to decrease fibroblast proliferation, inhibit their conversion to myofibroblast, and stimulate their death. cAMP is generated by adenyl cyclase (AC), and degraded by cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE). In this study, the antifibrotic effect of a PDE inhibitor, cilostazol (Cilo), on a rat model of liver fibrosis induced by thioacetamide (TAA) was investigated. Four groups of rats were used; the first group received the vehicles and served as the normal control group, while liver fibrosis was induced in the other groups using (TAA, 200 mg/kg/biweekly for 8 successive weeks, ip). The last two groups were treated with Cilo (50 and 100 mg/kg/day, po, respectively). Induction of liver fibrosis in TAA-treated rats was observed as evidenced by the biochemical and histopathological findings. On the other hand, a potent antifibrotic effect was observed in the groups treated with Cilo, with preference to the higher dose. In these groups, a significant increase in the liver content of cAMP was demonstrated that was accompanied by reduction in the hepatic expression of key fibrogenic cytokines, growth factors, and inflammatory biomarkers, including interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, nuclear factor kappa B, and transforming growth factor-beta as compared to TAA group. Moreover, amelioration of TAA-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in the liver has been observed. These findings reveal the antifibrotic effect of Cilo against TAA-induced liver fibrosis in rats, and suggest regulation of cAMP pathway, together with the modulation of oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis as mechanistic cassette underlines this effect.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216301
  59. Artif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol. 2019 Dec;47(1): 1758-1765
    Salidroside mitigates hydrogen peroxide-induced injury by enhancement of microRNA-27a in human trabecular meshwork cells.
    Jun Zhao, Xiujuan Du, Meng Wang, Peiyao Yang, Juanmei Zhang.
      Salidroside (Sal) exerted widely pharmacological effects in multitudinous diseases had been certified. The actual study clarified the protective activity of Sal in H2O2-injured human trabecular meshwork (HTM) cells. HTM cells were disposed with H2O2 to construct an oxidative damage model in vitro. Then, Sal was utilized to administrate HTM cells, and cell viability, apoptosis, apoptosis-interrelated proteins and ROS production were appraised using CCK-8, flow cytometry, western blot and DCFH-DA staining. MiR-27a inhibitor and its control were transfected into HTM cells, and the influences of miR-27a inhibition in HTM cells stimulated with H2O2 and Sal were detected. PI3K/AKT and Wnt/β-catenin pathways were ultimately investigated to uncover the underlying mechanism. We found that H2O2 evoked HTM cells oxidative damage, as evidenced by repressing cell viability, inducing apoptosis, activating cleaved-caspase-3/-9 expression and increasing ROS production. Sal significantly lightened H2O2-evoked oxidative damage in HTM cells. Additionally, miR-27a was up-regulated by Sal, and miR-27a suppression significantly reversed the protective effect of Sal on H2O2-injured HTM cells. Finally, Sal activated PI3K/AKT and Wnt/β-catenin pathways through enhancement of miR-27a in H2O2-injured HTM cells. In conclusion, these discoveries suggested that Sal could protect HTM cells against H2O2-evoked oxidative damage by activating PI3K/AKT and Wnt/β-catenin pathways through enhancement of miR-27a. Highlights H2O2 evokes HTM cells oxidative damage; Sal relieves H2O2-induced oxidative damage in HTM cells; Sal enhances miR-27a expression in H2O2-injured HTM cells; Repressed miR-27a reverses the protective impacts of Sal on H2O2-injured HTM cells; Sal activates PI3K/AKT and Wnt/β-catenin pathways by increasing miR-27a.
    Keywords:  Glaucoma; PI3K/AKT; Salidroside; Wnt/β-catenin; hydrogen peroxide; microRNA-27a
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/21691401.2019.1608222
  60. Sci Rep. 2019 May 10. 9(1): 7199
    Hemidesmus indicus induces apoptosis via proteasome inhibition and generation of reactive oxygen species.
    Eleonora Turrini, Elena Catanzaro, Lorenzo Ferruzzi, Alessandra Guerrini, Massimo Tacchini, Gianni Sacchetti, Guglielmo Paganetto, Francesca Maffei, Valentina Pellicioni, Ferruccio Poli, Patrizia Hrelia, Manuela Mandrone, Piero Sestili, Maurizio Brigotti, Carmela Fimognari.
      Proteasome inhibition represents an important anticancer strategy. Here, we studied the mechanisms at the basis of the pro-apoptotic activity of the standardized decoction of Hemidesmus indicus, a plant evoking a complex anticancer activity, and explored its inhibition of proteasome activity in human leukemia cells. Additionally, we preliminary tested the cytotoxicity of some H. indicus's phytochemicals on leukemia cells and their intestinal absorption on a human intestinal epithelium model consisting of a monolayer of differentiated Caco2 cells. We observed a potent antileukemic effect for H. indicus, imputable to the modulation of different critical targets at protein and mRNA levels and the reduction of the 26S proteasome expression. We found that some phytomarkers of H. indicus decoction passed through the enterocyte monolayer. Overall, our study supports the pharmacological potential of H. indicus, which can represent an interesting botanical drug in the oncological area.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-43609-5
  61. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019 May 06. pii: S2352-345X(19)30060-8. [Epub ahead of print]
    Cystine/glutamate antiporter (xCT) is required for chief cell plasticity after gastric injury.
    Anne R Meyer, Amy C Engevik, Spencer G Willet, Janice A Williams, Yong Zou, Pierre P Massion, Jason C Mills, Eunyoung Choi, James R Goldenring.
       BACKGROUND & AIMS: Many differentiated epithelial cell types are able to reprogram in response to tissue damage. While reprogramming represents an important physiological response to injury, the regulation of cellular plasticity is not well understood. Damage to the gastric epithelium initiates reprogramming of zymogenic chief cells into a metaplastic cell lineage known as SPEM. The present study seeks to identify the role of xCT, a cystine/glutamate antiporter, in chief cell reprogramming after gastric injury. We hypothesize that xCT-dependent ROS detoxification is required for the reprogramming of chief cells into SPEM.
    METHODS: Sulfasalazine (an xCT inhibitor) and siRNA knockdown were used to target xCT on metaplastic cells in vitro. Sulfasalazine-treated wild-type mice and xCT knockout mice were analyzed. L635 or DMP-777 treatment was used to chemically induce acute gastric damage. The anti-inflammatory metabolites of sulfasalazine (sulfapyridine and mesalazine) were used as controls. Normal gastric lineages, metaplastic markers, autophagy, proliferation, xCT activity, ROS, and apoptosis were assessed.
    RESULTS: xCT was up-regulated early as chief cells transitioned into SPEM. Inhibition of xCT or siRNA knockdown blocked cystine uptake and decreased glutathione production by metaplastic cells and prevented ROS detoxification and proliferation. Moreover, xCT activity was required for chief cell reprogramming into SPEM after gastric injury in vivo. Chief cells from xCT-deficient mice exhibited decreased autophagy, mucus granule formation and proliferation, as well as increased levels of ROS and apoptosis compared to wild-type mice. On the other hand, the anti-inflammatory metabolites of sulfasalazine did not affect SPEM development.
    CONCLUSIONS: The results presented here suggest that maintaining redox balance is crucial for progression through the reprogramming process and that xCT-mediated cystine uptake is required for chief cell plasticity and ROS detoxification.
    Keywords:  CD44; SPEM; autophagy; cellular plasticity; chief cell; metaplasia; oxyntic atrophy; reactive oxygen species; reprogramming; sulfasalazine; xCT
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmgh.2019.04.015
  62. Artif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol. 2019 Dec;47(1): 1788-1796
    The role of DRP1 in ropivacaine-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and neurotoxicity.
    Yan Chen, Lili Yan, Yan Zhang, Xianhui Yang.
      Ropivacaine is a commonly used local anaesthetic, but its side effects remain largely unknown. In the present study, we investigated the side effects of ropivacaine in human neuronal SH-5Y5Y cells. We show that 0.5% and 1% ropivacaine could cause fission-like mitochondrial morphological changes. Ropivacaine exclusively induces mitochondrial fission protein DRP1, generation of ROS and causes mitochondrial dysfunction including decreasing mitochondrial membrane potential, the activity of cytochrome C oxidase and ATP production. The side effects of ropivacaine appear to be dependent on DRP1 expression as silencing of DRP1 in neuronal cells abolishes ropivacaine-induced morphological changes and mitochondrial dysfunction. Silencing of DRP1 prevents ropivacaine-induced cellular LDH release and cell death. Moreover, DRP1-deficient neuronal cells are resistant to ropivacaine-induced apoptosis and silencing of DRP1 rescues the activity of cytochrome C oxidase and cellular ATP production. Collectively, our data indicate that imbalances in mitochondrial dynamics, mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death resulting from ropivacaine are all dependent on DRP1 expression. Our study provides valuable data to assess the safety of ropivacaine.
    Keywords:  DRP1; Ropivacaine; SH-5Y5Y cells; mitochondrial dysfunction; neurotoxicity
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/21691401.2019.1594858
  63. Biomed Pharmacother. 2019 May 04. pii: S0753-3322(19)30716-4. [Epub ahead of print]115 108899
    Synergistic antitumour effects of triptolide plus 10-hydroxycamptothecin onbladder cancer.
    Tianen Wang, Yi Ding, Yanfeng Yang, Zhiyong Wang, Wansheng Gao, Dongsheng Li, Jinxing Wei, Ya Sun.
       BACKGROUND: Hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) is used as a clinical chemotherapy regimen to treat bladder cancer, but more efficacious novel combination treatments are needed.
    METHODS: Cultured bladder cancer cell lines EJ and UMUC3 were treated with triptolide (TPL) and/or HCPT. A flow cytometry approach was used to detect cell cycle phase, apoptosis and reactive oxygen species. Western blotting was used to measure CDK4, CDK6, CyclinD1, catalase, Caspase8 and Bcl-xl protein levels in control, TPL treatment, HCPT treatment and TPL plus HCPT treatment bladder cancer cells. AKT pathway proteins, including AKT and p-AKT, were also detected by western blotting. UMUC3 cells treated with DMSO, HCPT, TPL and HCPT plus TPL were injected subcutaneously into mice (n = 3 per group).
    RESULTS: The flow cytometry and western blot results indicated that compared to TPL or HCPT treatment alone, combination treatment of HCPT and TPL significantly induced cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase via suppressing CDK4, CDK6 and CyclinD1 in the EJ and UMUC3 bladder cancer cell lines. HCPT and TPL combination treatment also significantly increased the apoptosis rate and apoptosis-related protein levels (Caspase8 and Bcl-xl). Levels of the AKT pathway-related proteins AKT/p-AKT were significantly lower in EJ and UMUC3 cells treated with TPL and UMUC3 than in those cells treated with TPL or HCPT alone. TPL plus HCPT treatment significantly reduced bladder tumour sizes in vivo on the seventh and tenth days.
    CONCLUSIONS: Compared to TPL or HCPT treatment alone, TPL plus HCPT combination treatment had significantly better anticancer effects.
    Keywords:  Bladder cancer; Hydroxycamptothecin; Therapy; Triptolide
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2019.108899
  64. Food Funct. 2019 May 09.
    Cyanidin-3-glucoside attenuates 4-hydroxynonenal- and visible light-induced retinal damage in vitro and in vivo.
    Yong Wang, Wentao Qi, Yazhen Huo, Ge Song, Hui Sun, Xiaoxuan Guo, Chengtao Wang.
      4-Hydroxynonenal (HNE) is a highly reactive end-product of lipid peroxidation reaction that leads to retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell damage. Cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G), the most abundant anthocyanin in the edible parts of plants, is a nutritional supplement used for preventing retinal damage. However, the protective effect of C3G against HNE-induced RPE cell damage remains to be elucidated. The protective mechanisms of C3G on ARPE-19 cells after HNE exposure were investigated in this study. Results showed that compared with HNE-treated cells, the viability of ARPE-19 cells was significantly (P < 0.05) increased after 1 and 5 μM C3G treatment. C3G exhibited a significant (P < 0.05) inhibitory effect on the expression of senescence-associated β-galactosidase in ARPE-19 cells. VEGF levels in the C3G groups were significantly (P < 0.05) decreased relative to those of the HNE-treated group. C3G also regulated the release of two inflammatory mediators, namely monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 and interleukine-8, in ARPE-19 cells after HNE treatment. Furthermore, C3G attenuated retinal cell apoptosis in pigmented rabbits induced by visible light. Therefore, our data showed that C3G has efficient protective effects on HNE-induced apoptosis, angiogenesis, and dysregulated cytokine production in ARPE-19 cells.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1039/c9fo00273a
  65. Mol Med Rep. 2019 Apr 25.
    CD47 deficiency protects cardiomyocytes against hypoxia/reoxygenation injury by rescuing autophagic clearance.
    Yong Li, Kun Zhao, Pengyu Zong, Heling Fu, Yuan Zheng, Dan Bao, Yuan Yin, Qin Chen, Lu Lu, Youjin Dai, Daorong Hou, Xiangqing Kong.
      To assess the effect of cluster of differentiation (CD47) downregulation on autophagy in hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)‑treated H9c2 cardiomyocytes. H9c2 cells were maintained in normoxic conditions (95% air, 5% CO2, 37˚C) without CD47 antibodies, Si‑CD47 or chloroquine (CQ) treatment; H9c2 cells in the H/R group were subjected to 24 h of hypoxia (1% O2, 94% N2, 5% CO2, 37˚C) followed by 12 h of reoxygenation (95% air, 5% CO2, 37˚C). All assays were controlled, triplicated and repeated on three separately initiated cultures. The biochemical parameters in the medium supernatant were measured to evaluate the oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes. The Annexin V‑fluorescein isothiocyanate assay was used to detect the apoptotic rate in the H9c2 cells. Transmission electron microscope, immunofluorescent staining and western blot analysis were performed to detect the effect of the CD47 antibody on autophagic flux in H/R‑treated H9c2 cardiomyocytes. The cardiomyocytic oxidative stress and apoptotic rate decreased and autophagic clearance increased after CD47 downregulation. H/R triggered cell autophagy, autophagosome accumulation and apoptosis in H9c2 cell lines. However, these effects can be attenuated by CD47 downregulation. This study demonstrates its clinical implications in ischemia/reperfusion injury treatment.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2019.10199
  66. J Inorg Biochem. 2019 Apr 25. pii: S0162-0134(19)30121-7. [Epub ahead of print]197 110698
    Melatonin protects against chromium(VI)-induced cardiac injury via activating the AMPK/Nrf2 pathway.
    Jiayi Li, Xiaoyan Zheng, Xiangyu Ma, Xinyue Xu, Yu Du, Qingjie Lv, Xuerui Li, Yuan Wu, Hongxing Sun, Lanjie Yu, Zhigang Zhang.
      Chromium (Cr) threatens health by causing oxidative stress. However, effective therapy for cardiac damage mediated by potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) still has not been defined. Melatonin (MT) possesses a number of biological activities. Our study was performed to explore the effect and mechanism of MT on Cr(VI)-induced cardiac damage by conducting both in vitro and in vivo studies. Twenty eight male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups: control, MT (20 mg/kg subcutaneously), K2Cr2O7 (4 mg/kg intraperitoneally), and K2Cr2O7 + MT. We measured biomarkers of oxidative stress and cardiac function, and performed histopathological analysis, assay of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuracil nucleoside triphosphate nick end labeling and protein levels, and the viability assay of cultured cardiomyocytes in vitro. Our results showed that MT ameliorated K2Cr2O7-induced oxidative stress, apoptosis, and the release of inflammatory mediators in the rat heart. MT also promoted adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation, upregulated expression of proteins that nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphatase: quinone-acceptor 1, and inhibited nuclear factor kappa B in the heart of rats exposed to K2Cr2O7. Furthermore, MT increased B-cell lymphoma gene 2 (Bcl-2) and B-cell lymphoma extra large protein levels and decreased cleaved caspase 3, P53, and Bcl-2-associated X protein levels. Furthermore, the experiment in vitro showed that MT increased the cells viability and protein levels of Nrf2 and phosphorylated-AMPK in H9C2 cells treated with K2Cr2O7. Collectively, our results demonstrate that MT protects against Cr-induced cardiac damage via activating the AMPK/Nrf2 pathway.
    Keywords:  AMPK/Nrf2; Cardiac injury; Melatonin chromium(VI); NF-κB; Oxidative stress
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2019.110698
  67. Gene. 2019 May 07. pii: S0378-1119(19)30471-8. [Epub ahead of print]
    Potential protective effects of Dapagliflozin in gentamicin induced nephrotoxicity rat model via modulation of apoptosis associated miRNAs.
    Doaa Ibrahim, Eman Khairy, Sherin S T Saad, Eman K Habib, Mohamed A Hamouda.
       BACKGROUND: Drug-induced kidney injury (DIKI) can be manifested with progressive chronic kidney diseases or end-stage renal diseases. Understanding the molecular disarrangements caused by DIKI is an attractive point of interest. A class of non-coding RNA called microRNAs (miRNAs) is known to play a major role in regulation of gene expression and signaling pathways making miRNAs excellent targets for new therapeutic agents.
    AIM OF THE STUDY: We aimed to investigate the role of miRNA 21 and 181a in gentamicin (GNT) induced nephrotoxicity rat model and the protective effect of Dapagliflozin (DAPA) in modulating their expression through studying its effect on renal function as well as renal histopathological changes.
    MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wistar rats were used and divided into: naïve, DAPA, GNT and DAPA + GNT groups. In all studied groups, kidney function, oxidative stress, apoptosis markers and miRNAs' expression in serum and renal biopsies were investigated in addition to the histopathological studies to identify its early renoprotective effect.
    RESULTS: DAPA was found to improve kidney function, oxidative stress markers, decrease apoptosis of renal tubular cells and increase miR-21 but decrease the expression of miR-181a with restoration of the renal architecture after 7 and 14 days of treatment in GNT induced nephrotoxicity rat model.
    CONCLUSIONS: DAPA produced significant decrease in renal expression of miR-181a on the other hand it increased the expression of renal miR-21, this may introduce a novel early protective effect of DAPA against GNT-induced nephrotoxicity.
    Keywords:  Apoptosis; Dapagliflozin; Gentamicin; Oxidants biomarker; miRNA
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gene.2019.05.009
  68. Mol Med Rep. 2019 Apr 10.
    Sulforaphane prevents PC12 cells from oxidative damage via the Nrf2 pathway.
    Bing Bao, Man-Qing Zhang, Zhi-Ying Chen, Xiang-Bing Wu, Zhong-Bing Xia, Jing-Yan Chai, Xiao-Ping Yin.
      The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect of sulforaphane (SFN) on 1‑methyl‑4‑phenyl pyridine ion (MPP+)‑induced cytotoxicity and to investigate its possible mechanisms.
    METHODS: PC12 cell toxicity induced by MPP+ served as a cell model of Parkinson's diseases. The cell culture + experiments were divided into four groups based on the different treatments, namely, vehicle control, SFN, MPP+ and SFN pretreatment plus MPP+. Cell viability and apoptosis were examined by MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Expressions of nuclear factor erythroid 2‑related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase 1 (HO‑1) and nicotinamide quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) were detected using western blotting.
    RESULTS: MPP+ reduced the survival rate of PC12 cells in a dose‑ and time‑dependent manner. After 24‑h treatment with 500 µmol/l MPP+, the survival rate of PC12 cells decreased to 58.2±0.03% of that in the control groups. Under the same conditions MPP+ resulted in significant apoptosis of PC12 cells (apoptosis rate: 30.4±0.6%). However, SFN pretreatment significantly attenuated the cell damage induced by MPP+. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that SFN reversed the reduction of Nrf2, HO‑1 and NQO1 expression induced by MPP+.
    CONCLUSION: SFN may protect PC12 cells from MPP+‑induced damage via activating the Nrf2‑ARE (antioxidant responsive element) pathway.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2019.10148
  69. Cell Death Differ. 2019 May 07.
    Liver stage malaria infection is controlled by host regulators of lipid peroxidation.
    Heather S Kain, Elizabeth K K Glennon, Kamalakannan Vijayan, Nadia Arang, Alyse N Douglass, Chelsea L Fortin, Meghan Zuck, Adam J Lewis, Samantha L Whiteside, Denali R Dudgeon, Jarrod S Johnson, Alan Aderem, Kelly R Stevens, Alexis Kaushansky.
      The facets of host control during Plasmodium liver infection remain largely unknown. We find that the SLC7a11-GPX4 pathway, which has been associated with the production of reactive oxygen species, lipid peroxidation, and a form of cell death called ferroptosis, plays a critical role in control of Plasmodium liver stage infection. Specifically, blocking GPX4 or SLC7a11 dramatically reduces Plasmodium liver stage parasite infection. In contrast, blocking negative regulators of this pathway, NOX1 and TFR1, leads to an increase in liver stage infection. We have shown previously that increased levels of P53 reduces Plasmodium LS burden in an apoptosis-independent manner. Here, we demonstrate that increased P53 is unable to control parasite burden during NOX1 or TFR1 knockdown, or in the presence of ROS scavenging or when lipid peroxidation is blocked. Additionally, SLC7a11 inhibitors Erastin and Sorafenib reduce infection. Thus, blocking the host SLC7a11-GPX4 pathway serves to selectively elevate lipid peroxides in infected cells, which localize within the parasite and lead to the elimination of liver stage parasites.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41418-019-0338-1
  70. Mol Vis. 2019 ;25 222-236
    Investigating a downstream gene of Gpnmb using the systems genetics method.
    Ye Lu, Diana Zhou, Hong Lu, Fuyi Xu, Junming Yue, Jianping Tong, Lu Lu.
       Purpose: Glaucoma is characterized by optic nerve damage and retinal ganglion cell loss. The glycoprotein neuromedin B-associated (Gpnmb) gene is well-known to be involved in the glaucoma disease process. The purpose of this study is to identify a downstream gene through which Gpnmb affects the glaucoma phenotypes using a systems genetics approach.
    Methods: Retinal gene expression data for the BXD recombinant inbred (RI) strains (n=75) have previously been generated in our laboratory for a glaucoma study, and these data were used for genetic and bioinformatics analysis. Expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping and genetic correlation methods were used to identify a gene downstream of Gpnmb. Gene-set enrichment analysis was used to evaluate gene function and to construct coexpression networks.
    Results: The level of Gpnmb expression is associated with a highly statistically significant cis-eQTL. Stanniocalcin 1 (Stc1) has a significant trans-eQTL mapping to the Gpnmb locus. The expression of Gpnmb and Stc1 is highly correlated in the retina and other tissues, as well as with glaucoma-related phenotypes. Gene Ontology and pathway analysis showed that Stc1 and its covariates are highly associated with apoptosis, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial activity. A generated gene network indicated that Gpnmb and Stc1 are directly connected to and interact with other genes with similar biologic functions.
    Conclusions: These results suggest that Stc1 may be a downstream candidate of Gpnmb, and that both genes interact with other genes in a network to develop glaucoma pathogenesis through mechanisms such as apoptosis and oxidative stress.
  71. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2019 May 08.
    FTY720 Inhibits MPP+-Induced Microglial Activation by Affecting NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation.
    Shu Yao, Longjun Li, Xin Sun, Jun Hua, Keqi Zhang, Li Hao, Lixin Liu, Dongyan Shi, Hong Zhou.
      Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons and excessive microglial activation in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). In the present study, we aimed to demonstrate the therapeutic effectiveness of the potent sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor antagonist fingolimod (FTY720) in an animal model of PD induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), and to identify the potential mechanisms underlying these therapeutic effects. C57BL/6J mice were orally administered FTY720 before subcutaneous injection of MPTP. Open-field and rotarod tests were performed to determine the therapeutic effect of FTY720. The damage to dopaminergic neurons and the production of monoamine neurotransmitters were assessed using immunohistochemistry, high-performance liquid chromatography, and flow cytometry. Immunofluorescence (CD68- positive) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to analyze the activation of microglia, and the levels of activated signaling molecules were measured using Western blotting. Our findings indicated that FTY720 significantly attenuated MPTP-induced behavioral deficits, reduced the loss of dopaminergic neurons, and increased dopamine release. FTY720 directly inhibited MPTP-induced microglial activation in the SNpc, suppressed the production of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-α in BV-2 microglial cells treated with 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+), and subsequently decreased apoptosis in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Moreover, in MPP+-treated BV-2 cells and primary microglia, FTY720 treatment significantly attenuated the increases in the phosphorylation of PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β, reduced ROS generation and p65 activation, and also inhibited the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and caspase-1. In conclusion, FTY720 may reduce PD progression by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation via its effects on ROS generation and p65 activation in microglia. These findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of FTY720, suggesting its potential as a novel therapeutic strategy against PD. Graphical Abstract FTY720 may reduce ROS production by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β signaling pathway, while at the same time reducing p65 phosphorylation, thus decreasing NLRP3 inflammasome activation through these two pathways, ultimately reducing microglia activation-induced neuronal damage.
    Keywords:  Fingolimod (FTY720); Microglia; NLRP3 inflammasome; Parkinson’s disease; Reactive oxygen species (ROS)
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11481-019-09843-4
  72. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2019 May 07.
    High Concentrations of Boric Acid Trigger Concentration-Dependent Oxidative Stress, Apoptotic Pathways and Morphological Alterations in DU-145 Human Prostate Cancer Cell Line.
    Ceyhan Hacioglu, Fatih Kar, Sedat Kacar, Varol Sahinturk, Gungor Kanbak.
      Boric acid is known to regulate the proliferation of cancer cells. Prostate cancer is among the types of cancer with high mortality in men. There are a few numbers of studies investigating the effects of boric acid on prostate cancer cells. The objective of the present study was to assess the effects of boric acid at concentrations higher than that can be achieved in blood by dietary intake on DU-145 human prostate cancer cells for 24 h. Firstly, we determined the cytotoxic activity of boric acid (0 to 12.5 mM) on DU-145 human prostate cancer cells by using 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol, 2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and defined the IC50 concentration of boric acid. Then, by employing the doses found in MTT, the levels of antioxidant-oxidant molecules and apoptotic proteins were measured and morphological changes were evaluated. We have concluded that boric acid caused oxidative stress, inhibition of cell growth, apoptosis, and morphological alterations in a concentration-dependent manner in DU-145 cells. Furthermore, treatments with increasing boric acid concentrations decreased the antioxidant levels in cells. We actually revealed that boric acid, known as an antioxidant, may prevent cell proliferation by acting as an oxidant in certain doses. Although the high IC50 concentration of boric acid is perceived to be negative, we think it provides important background for subsequent studies.
    Keywords:  Apoptosis; Bax; Boric acid; DAPI; DU-145 prostate cell; Hematoxylin-eosin; Oxidative stress
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-019-01739-x
  73. Biomed Pharmacother. 2019 May 06. pii: S0753-3322(19)31420-9. [Epub ahead of print]115 108938
    Therapeutic effects of curcumin and ursodexycholic acid on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
    Shahsanam Gheibi, Hadi Esmaeili Gouvarchin Ghaleh, Bahman Mansori Motlagh, Anahita Fathi Azarbayjani, Leila Zarei.
      Fatty liver disease is commonly associated with inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis of hepatocytes. This study was designed to investigate the combinational therapeutic effects of curcumin (CMN) and Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Male Wistar rats were divided into 8 groups: NAFLD-induced rats, NAFLD-induced rats + CMN, NAFLD-induced rats + UDCA, and NAFLD-induced rats that received CMN + UDCA. CMN (200 mg/kg) and UDCA (80 mg/kg) was administered orally for 14 and 28 consecutive days. Biochemical and histopathological analysis were conducted in all the groups. It was seen that co-administration of CMN and UDCA significantly reduced fatty degeneration, cellular necrosis, edema, and immune cell infiltration compared to non-treated NAFLD-induced rats. Whereas, combinational therapy caused a significant decrease in levels of SGOT and SGPT enzymes and expression of p53, caspase III, iNOS and bcl-2 mRNA and proteins, in variant with the treatment of CMN and UDCA, respectively. Co-administration of CMN and UDCA was also associated with the restoration of the levels of serum TG and HDL-C however, had no effect on LDL-C. It also resulted in an in TAC, GSH- PX, and SOD and decrease in MDA level. Our study concludes that combinational therapy of CMN and UDCA is effective for the treatment of NAFLD, as compared to their solo treatment.
    Keywords:  Curcumin; Fatty liver; NAFLD; Ursodexycholic acid
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2019.108938
  74. Phytomedicine. 2018 Nov 26. pii: S0944-7113(18)30588-9. [Epub ahead of print]59 152771
    Cytotoxicity of 40 Egyptian plant extracts targeting mechanisms of drug-resistant cancer cells.
    Mohamed-Elamir F Hegazy, Sara Abdelfatah, Ahmed R Hamed, Tarik A Mohamed, Abdelsamed A Elshamy, Ibrahim A Saleh, Eman H Reda, Nahla S Abdel-Azim, Khaled A Shams, Mahmoud Sakr, Yoshikazu Sugimoto, Paul W Paré, Thomas Efferth.
       BACKGROUND: The multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotype encounters a major challenge to the success of established chemotherapy in cancer patients. We hypothesized that cytotoxic medicinal plants with novel phytochemicals can overcome MDR and kill MDR-cells with similar efficacy as drug sensitive cells.
    PURPOSE: We evaluated plant extracts from an unexplored ecosystem in Egypt with unusual climate and nutrient conditions for their activity against sensitive and multidrug-resistant cancer cell lines.
    MATERIAL AND METHODS/STUDY DESIGN: Methylene chloride: methanol (1:1) and methanol: H2O (7:3) extracts of 40 plants were prepared resulting in a sum of 76 fraction containing compounds with varying polarity. The resazurin reduction assay was employed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of these extracts on five matched pairs of drug-sensitive and their drug-resistant cell lines. Flow cytometry and Western blotting was used to determine cell cycle analyses, apoptosis, and autophagy. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured spectrophotometrically.
    RESULTS: Extracts derived from Withania obtusifolia (WO), Jasonia candicans (JC), Centaurea lippii (CL), and Pulicaria undulata (PU) were the most active ones among 76 extracts from 40 Egyptian medicinal plants. They showed a significant reduction of cell viability on drug-sensitive CCRF-CEM leukemia cell line with IC50 values less than 7 µg/ml. Low cross-resistance degrees were observed in multidrug-resistant CEM/ADR5000 cells towards CL (1.82-fold) and JC (6.09-fold). All other drug-resistant cell lines did not reveal cross-resistance to the four extracts. Further mechanistic assessment have been studied for these four extracts.
    CONCLUSION: The methylene chloride: methanol (1:1) fractions of WO, JC, CL, and PU are promising cytotoxic extracts that could be used to combat MDR cancer cells through different cell death pathways.
    Keywords:  Cytotoxicity; Egypt; Mode of action; Multidrug resistance; Wild medicinal plants
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2018.11.031
  75. J Agric Food Chem. 2019 May 07.
    Curcumin induces oxidative stress in Botrytis cinerea resulting in a reduction in gray mold decay in kiwifruit.
    Chenyan Hua, Kai Kai, Wanlin Bi, Wei Shi, Yongsheng Liu, Danfeng Zhang.
      Curcumin has been reported to exhibit anti-microbial activity; however, its effects on the postharvest decay of fruit have not been examined. In the present study, the effect of curcumin on gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) infection of kiwifruit was evaluated. Results demonstrated that curcumin induced ROS production and triggered apoptosis in B. cinerea hyphae. Use of the ROS scavenger, N-acetyl-cysteine, partially ameliorated the effect of curcumin on the hyphae. The NADPH oxidase inhibitor, diphenyleneiodonium chlorine, abrogated the ROS production induced by curcumin, suggesting that curcumin induces oxidative stress in B. cinerea via an NADPH oxidase dependent mechanism. Disease severity of gray mold in curcumin-treated kiwifruit was significantly reduced. MDA content decreased while antioxidant enzyme activity increased in kiwifruit with the application of increasing concentrations of curcumin. Collectively, these results indicate that curcumin can be used to control gray mold and elevate antioxidant activity in kiwifruit.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.9b00539
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