Diterpenes, Abietane ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Genital Neoplasms, Female ; drug therapy ; Humans

Danshen is one of the traditional Chinese herbal medicines and nas a long history or being used clinically in the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions such as coronary heart disease and angina pectoris. Tanshinone IIA is a derivative of phenanthrene-quinone isolated from Danshen. It has been reported to be the major bioactive compound of Danshen and has diverse biological effects. Recent studies demonstrated that tanshinone IIA had neuroprotective effects on experimental ischemic stroke through its antiinflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-apoptosis effects and its inhibitory effect on excitatory amino acid toxicity. In this review, we summarized all the recent progresses on the protective effect of tanshinone IIA on cerebral ischemic stroke. Hopefully, this article will throw some light on further study and application of tanshinone IIA.
Antioxidants ; therapeutic use ; Apoptosis ; Diterpenes, Abietane ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Salvia miltiorrhiza ; chemistry ; Stroke ; drug therapy

Triptolide, an epoxidated diterpene lactone compound separated from a traditional Chinese medicine, Tripterygium wilfordiiHook. f (TWHF), is responsible for the anti-tumor activity of TWHF with broad spectrum and high performance. The antitumor mechanism of triptolide locates in many fields, such as inducing apoptosis of tumor cell, interfering in the cell cycle, and suppressing angiogeneis. The advance in the anti-tumor mechanism of triptolide is described in the following review.
Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Diterpenes ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Epoxy Compounds ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Phenanthrenes ; therapeutic use ; Tripterygium ; chemistry

Cardiovascular diseases, like coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction, are the most common cause of death worldwide. Chinese medicines have demonstrated rich cardioprotective activities for clinical applications. Salvia miltiorrhiza, a very important component of traditional Chinese medicine, can promote blood circulation and relieve blood stasis. Salvia miltiorrhiza is widely used in treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease such as coronary heart disease and cerebral infarction ( CI). Tanshinone II(A), the major lipophilic components extracted from the root of S. miltiorrhiza, possesses anti-atherosclerosis, anti-cardiac hypertrophy, anti-oxidant, anti-arrhythmia and so on. This paper discusses current research status of tanshinone II(A) in cardioprotective effects.
Animals ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Coronary Vessels ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; Diterpenes, Abietane ; therapeutic use ; Humans

Anticarcinogenic Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Diterpenes, Abietane ; Humans ; Medical Oncology ; methods ; trends ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; trends ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; prevention & control ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Phenanthrenes ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use

The clinical or experimental study proves that Chinese medicine such as Tripteryglum wilfordii, Lignum Sappan, Caulis Sinomenii, Radix Trichosanthis and Herba Artemisiae Annuae have good immunosuppressive activity. Further researches on the immunosuppressive active components from Chinese medicine have been the main direction in recent years. The recent researches on immunosuppressive effect and possible mechanisms for the monomers such as triperine, triptolide, bazilein, potosappanin A, sinomenine, trichosanthin and artemisinin extracted from those Chinese medicine are introduced in this review.
Animals ; Artemisinins ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Diterpenes ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Epoxy Compounds ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Morphinans ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Phenanthrenes ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Trichosanthin ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVEIt has been shown that triptolide can attenuate pulmonary arterial hypertension in rats. This study was designed to investigate the therapeutic effect of triptolide on pulmonary hypertension in rats and possible mechanisms.

METHODSSixty Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: normal control, model, continuous triptolide-treated, delayed triptolide-treated and two placebo groups for continuous and delayed fashions (n=10 each). The rats from the last 5 groups were injected with monocrotaline (MCT, 60 mg/kg) on day 7 after left pneumonectomy. The rats in the continuous triptolide-treated group received therapy from day 5 to 35 with triptolide (0.25 mg/kg intraperitoneally, every other day) and those in the delayed triptolide-treated received therapy with triptolide (0.20 mg/kg intraperitoneally, daily) from day 21 to 35 after operation. The hemodynamic parameters were detected by catheterization and the pathologic changes of small pulmonary arteries were evaluated by light microscopy 5 weeks post-operation. The expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) was assessed by immunohistochemistry and quantitative fluorescence PCR of relevant (MMP2 and MMP9) mRNAs.

RESULTSBy day 35 after operation, the mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP, 38.10+/-1.20 vs 16.70+/-1.16 mmHg)the ratio of right ventricle/left ventricle plus septum [RV/(LV+S), 62.45+/-5.28% vs 22.76 +/-3.01%] and the vessel obstructive scores (VOS, 1.736 +/-0.080 vs 0.000 +/-0.000) increased significantly in the Model group compared with those of the normal control group (P < 0.01). The expression of MMP2 and MMP9 and their mRNA expression in lung tissues obviously also elevated in the Model group (P < 0.05). The continuous and the delayed triptolide-treated groups had significantly lower mPAP (20.80+/-1.03 and 26.20+/-1.03 mmHg, respectively) and less right ventricular hypertrophy and pulmonary arterial neointimal formation compared with the model and the placebo groups. The two treated groups also demonstrated decreased expression of MMP2 and MMP9 and their mRNA expression in lung tissues. There were significant differences in mPAP, RV/(LV+S) and VOS between the two triptolide-treated groups.

CONCLUSIONSTriptolide attenuates the development of pulmonary hypertention and right ventricular hypertrophy and promotes regression of pulmonary arterial neointimal formation in pneumonectomized rats that received MCT, possibly through an inhibition of MMPs activity.

Animals ; Diterpenes ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Epoxy Compounds ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; drug therapy ; enzymology ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung ; enzymology ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 ; analysis ; genetics ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; analysis ; genetics ; Phenanthrenes ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo observe the change of urinary monocyte chemottractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN), and to explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of triptolide (TL) in treating DN.

METHODSThirty-five patients in the treated group were treated with TL plus benazepril and thirty two patients in the control group were treated with benazepril alone for six months. The change of urinary MCP-1 was measured before and after treatment.

RESULTSLevel of urinary MCP-1 in DN patients was significantly higher than that in healthy subjects (P < 0.01), but it could be significantly decreased after TL treatment, showing significant difference as compared with that in the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONDetermination of urinary MCP-1 level is beneficial to know the degree of kidney inflammation in DN patients. TL can inhibit inflammatory reaction to decrease the level of urinary MCP-1, and thus improve the renal function.

Adult ; Aged ; Chemokine CCL2 ; urine ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; drug therapy ; urine ; Diterpenes ; therapeutic use ; Epoxy Compounds ; Female ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phenanthrenes ; therapeutic use ; Phytotherapy ; Prospective Studies

PURPOSE: This study was aimed to investigate the effect of pseudolaric acid B (PAB) on proliferation, invasion and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in pancreatic cancer cells and to explore the possible mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The pancreatic cancer cell line SW1990 was cultured and treated with PAB dose- and time-dependent manners. Cell proliferation and invasion ability were measured by MTT assay and Matrigel/Transwell test, respectively. Semi-quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were conducted to detect the expression of EMT markers and the key molecules. Finally, nude mice subcutaneous transplantation tumor model was used to confirm the therapy efficacy of PAB. RESULTS: PAB could inhibit SW1990 cell proliferation and invasion in time- and dose-dependent manners. Vimentin, fibronectin, N-cadherin, Snail, Slug, YAP, TEAD1, and Survivin were down-regulated (p < 0.01), while E-cadherin, caspase-9, MST1, and pYAP were up-regulated (p < 0.05). Combined PAB and gemcitabine treatment markedly restricted the tumor growth compared with gencitabin or PAB alone groups. CONCLUSION: PAB could inhibit the proliferation and invasion ability of pancreatic cancer cells through activating Hippo-YAP pathway and inhibiting the process of EMT.
Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use ; Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism ; Cadherins ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects ; Cytokines ; Deoxycytidine/analogs & derivatives ; Deoxycytidine/pharmacology ; Deoxycytidine/therapeutic use ; Diterpenes/pharmacology ; Diterpenes/therapeutic use ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/drug effects ; Female ; Humans ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/diet therapy ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/pathology ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Signal Transduction/drug effects ; Vimentin/metabolism

OBJECTIVETo study the role of nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB pathway with p38MAPK in Curcuma wenyujin diterpenoid compound C (CDCC) fighting against inflammation and inducing gastric cancer cell apoptosis by stimulating gastric cell SGC7901 with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha).

METHODSHuman umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells were in vitro acted by CDCC in different concentrations at different time points. Their growth inhibition ratios were measured by MTT assay. The apoptosis rate of gastric cancer cells was detected by Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining. Nuclear translocation of p65 was detected by cell immunofluorescence. Expression levels of p38MAPK/P-p38MAPK, p65/P-p65, and Caspase 3/P-Caspase 3 were measured by Western blot.

RESULTSCDCC had significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation of SGC-7901. It also could effectively induce the apoptosis of gastric cancer cell SGC-7901. It also could reduce nuclear translocation of p65 in gastric cancer cell SGC-7901. Results of Western blot indicated that expression levels of p38MAPK and p65 were reduced and the expression level of Caspase-3 was elevated along with increased concentrations of CDCC (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONApoptosis executive protein Caspase 3 activated by regulating p65 via p38MAPK might be one of possible mechanisms for CDCC fighting against inflammation and gastric cancer.

Apoptosis ; Caspase 3 ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Curcuma ; Diterpenes ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; NF-kappa B ; Stomach Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha