The aim of the study is to explore the effects of luteolin preconditioning on hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats and its mechanism, and investigate the effects of the change of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) activity on hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups randomly: control, model, luteolin, luteolin + zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP, an inhibitor of HO-1) and hemin groups (n = 8 for each group). The rats in control, model and hemin groups received a standard chow daily. The rats in luteolin and luteolin + ZnPP groups received a chow supplemented with luteolin (200 mg/kg) daily. After 4 weeks, ZnPP (25 μmol/kg) and hemin (20 μmol/kg) were injected hypodermically 6 h before ischemia/reperfusion in luteolin + ZnPP and hemin groups, respectively. Portal vein and hepatic artery supplying the middle and left hepatic lobe were clamped with an atraumatic vascular clip for induction of partial hepatic ischemia in all rats except control group. After the 60 min of hepatic ischemia, a 60-minute reperfusion period was initiated by removal of the arterial clip. The levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were detected in serum, and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum and liver were measured with assay kit. The expression of HO-1 protein and activity of HO-1 were examined in liver. The results showed that the luteolin and hemin pretreatment led to significant decreased levels of AST and ALT in serum, increased activity of SOD and decreased content of MDA in serum and liver compared with model group (P < 0.01). In addition, the expression of HO-1 protein and activity of HO-1 were elevated in luteolin and hemin groups (P < 0.01). ZnPP markedly increased the levels of AST and ALT in serum, and decreased the activities of SOD and HO-1, elevated MDA content in liver when compared with those in luteolin group (P < 0.01). Cytoplasmic vacuolation and swelling of hepatocytes were revealed in the model group after ischemia/reperfusion. Treatments with luteolin and hemin markedly relieved the liver structural changes. These results suggest that HO-1 protects rat liver from ischemia/reperfusion injury, and luteolin reduces the content of MDA and increases the activity of SOD and the expression of HO-1, which indicate that luteolin can elevate the antioxidation in rat liver, and thus protects rat liver from ischemia/reperfusion injury.
Animals ; Female ; Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing) ; metabolism ; Ischemic Preconditioning ; methods ; Liver ; blood supply ; Luteolin ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury ; prevention & control ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a prevalent malignant tumor affecting the head and neck region (Leemans et al., 2018). It is often diagnosed at a later stage, leading to a poor prognosis (Muzaffar et al., 2021; Li et al., 2023). Despite advances in OSCC treatment, the overall 5-year survival rate of OSCC patients remains alarmingly low, falling below 50% (Jehn et al., 2019; Johnson et al., 2020). According to statistics, only 50% of patients with oral cancer can be treated with surgery. Once discovered, it is more frequently at an advanced stage. In addition, owing to the aggressively invasive and metastatic characteristics of OSCC, most patients die within one year of diagnosis. Hence, the pursuit of novel therapeutic drugs and treatments to improve the response of oral cancer to medication, along with a deeper understanding of their effects, remains crucial objectives in oral cancer research (Johnson et al., 2020; Bhat et al., 2021; Chen et al., 2023; Ruffin et al., 2023).
Humans ; Mouth Neoplasms/pathology* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/metabolism* ; Luteolin/therapeutic use* ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck/drug therapy* ; Head and Neck Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Cell Line, Tumor

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of myo-inositol and luteolin on human lung cancer A549 cells and explore the possible mechanisms. METHODS: A549 cells were treated with different concentrations of myo-inositol and luteolin, either alone or in combination, and the cell viability was examined using MTT assay. A549 cells and human bronchial epithelial Beas-2B cells were treated for 48 h with 10 mmol/L myo-inositol and 20 μmol/L luteolin, alone or in combination, and the cell proliferation was detected using MTT assay; the colony formation and migration of the cells were examined with colony formation assay and wound healing assay, respectively. The protein expression levels in A549 cells were detected using Western blotting. RESULTS: Both myo-inositol and luteolin could dose-dependently inhibit the viability of A549 cells. Treatments with 10 mmol/L myo-inositol, 20 μmol/L luteolin, and both for 48 h caused significant reduction in the cell viability (92%, 83% and 70% of the control level, respectively) and colony number (79%, 73% and 43%, respectively), and significantly lowered the wound closure rate (24.61%, 13.08% and 8.65%, respectively, as compared with 29.99% in the control group). Similar treatments with myoinositol and luteolin alone or in combination produced no significant inhibitory effect on the growth, colony formation or migration of Beas-2B cells. The expressions of p-PDK1 and p-Akt in myo-inositol-treated A549 cells and the expression of pPDK1 in luteolin-treated cells were significantly decreased ( < 0.05), and the decrements were more obvious in the combined treatment group ( < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Luteolin combined with myo-inositol can selectively inhibit the proliferation and migration of A549 cells, and these effects are probably mediated, at least in part, by suppressing the activation of PDK1 and Akt.
A549 Cells ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Humans ; Inositol ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Luteolin ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Vitamin B Complex