Background and purpose:Pterostilbene is a natural antioxidant, whose role in retinoblastoma remains unclear. The aim of this study is to probe the effects of pterostilbene on the proliferation, apoptosis and autophagy in retinoblastoma WERI-Rb-1 cell lines.Methods:Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assays were used to analyze the effects of pterostilbene on the proliferation of WERI-Rb-1 cells. Apoptosis rate was determined by Annexin V/PI. Autophagic vacuoles were observed by acridine orange staining. LC3 and P62 protein expressions were determined using Western blot.Results:Pterostilbene significantly inhibited the proliferation of WERI-Rb-1 cells (P<0.01). The cell viability were (93.02±0.47)%, (55.10±2.04)% and (30.33±1.45)% after WERI-Rb-1 cells were treated with 25, 50 and 100 μmol/L pterostilbene for 24 h, and the cell viability were (88.38±3.70)%, (53.37±1.17)%, (29.60±1.05)% after WERI-Rb-1 cells were treated with 50 μmol/L pterostilbene for 12, 24 and 48 h. Pterostilbene induced cell apoptosis (P<0.01), the apoptosis rates of control group, 24 h treated group and 48 h treated group were (4.08±0.79)%, (13.44±2.12)% and (23.49±2.01)%. Pterostilbene induced autophagy of WERI-Rb-1 cells, increased LC3 expression, downregulated P62 expression and increased the number of autophagic vacuoles in WERI-Rb-1 cells (P<0.01). 3-MA and Beclin1 were able to rescue pterostilbene-induced cell death (P<0.01). After 3-MA was used to blunt autophagosome formation, the apoptosis rate markedly decreased in 3-MA+pterostilbene-treated cells compared with cells treated with pterostilbene alone [(12.97±2.09)%vs (8.35±1.11)%], and after siRNA was used to knockdown Beclin1, the apoptosis rate had the same change [(13.80±2.19)%vs (9.62±0.52)%].Conclusion:Pterostilbene can inhibit the proliferation of WERI-Rb-1 cells and induce cell apoptosis via autophagy activation.

OBJECTIVE To establish a quantitative analysis method for the quality control components in Tenghuang jiangu capsules， and predict the possible action mechanism of the quality control components. METHODS Seven key quality control components in Tenghuang jiangu capsules were quantitatively analyzed by UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS. The “component-target” network was constructed based on network pharmacology， and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis and gene ontology （GO） function enrichment analysis were further conducted to find the key signaling pathways. RESULTS The average contents of succinic acid， hyperoside， gallic acid， kaempferol， naringin， naringenin and protocatechuic acid in 20 batches of Tenghuang jiangu capsules were 520.92， 67.67， 129.48， 4.74， 397.45， 5.66 and 376.62 μg/g， respectively. The results of network pharmacology showed that the 62 key target genes of the quality control components of the drug included AKT1， TNF， VEGFA， MMP9， PTGS2， etc. They were mainly enriched in cytokine receptor interaction， nuclear factor， tumor necrosis factor， interleukin 17， rheumatoid arthritis， Toll-like receptor and other signal pathways， involving inflammatory reaction， signal transduction， protein phosphorylation and other biological processes， kytoplasm， cell membrane and other cell components， as well as enzyme activity， energy activity and other molecular functions. CONCLUSIONS The established UHPLC- Q-Orbitrap HRMS method can be used for the quantitative analysis of the quality control components of Tenghuang jiangu capsule. Its quality control components may be mapped to inflammatory pathways related to bone diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Toll-like receptors through AKT1， TNF， VEGFA and other key targets， so as to play a therapeutic role.