1.Mechanism of imperatorin in ameliorating doxorubicin resistance of breast cancer based on transcriptomics
Yiting LI ; Wei DONG ; Xinli LIANG ; Hu WANG ; Yumei QIU ; Xiaoyun DING ; Hao ZHANG ; Huiyun BAO ; Xianxi LI ; Xilan TANG
China Pharmacy 2025;36(5):529-534
OBJECTIVE To investigate the ameliorative effect and potential mechanism of imperatorin (IMP) on doxorubicin (DOX) resistance in breast cancer. METHODS The effects of maximum non-toxic concentration (100 μg/mL) of IMP combined with different concentrations of DOX (12.5, 25, 50, 75, 100 μg/mL) on the proliferation of MCF-7/DOX cells were determined by MTT method. MCF-7/DOX cells were divided into blank control group (1‰ dimethyl sulfoxide), DOX group (50 μg/mL), IMP+DOX group (100 μg/mL IMP+50 μg/mL DOX) and IMP group (100 μg/mL). mRNA and protein expressions of multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1) and multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 in each group were measured. The relevant pathways and targets involved in the improvement of DOX resistance in breast cancer cells by IMP were screened and validated by using transcriptome sequencing technology, along with gene ontology (GO) enrichment analyses and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. RESULTS Compared with DOX alone, the combination of IMP and DOX reduced the half inhibitory concentration of DOX on MCF-7/DOX cells from 81.965 μg/mL to 43.170 μg/mL, the reverse fold was 1.90, and the mRNA expression of MDR1 was significantly down-regulated (P<0.05). The results of GO enrichment analyses and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses indicated that the reversal of DOX resistance in breast cancer by IMP was mainly associated with the regulation of biological processes such as detoxification, multiple biological processes, and cell killing. The main pathway involved was the p53 signaling pathway, and the key targets mainly included constitutively photomorphogenic protein 1 (COP1), cyclin E1 (CCNE1), growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible protein 45A E-mail:tangxilan1983@163.com (GADD45A) and GADD45B. The results of the verification experiments showed that compared with DOX group, there was a trend of up-regulation of COP1 mRNA, and significant down- regulation of CCNE1, GADD45A, and GADD45B mRNA expression in IMP+DOX group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The effect of IMP in ameliorating DOX resistance in breast cancer is related to its regulation of COP1, CCNE1, GADD45A and GADD45B targets in the p53 signaling pathway.
2.Detoxification Strategies of Triptolide: A Review
Wenchen WANG ; Ming CHEN ; Shuangjie WU ; Zhenggen LIAO ; Wei DONG ; Xinli LIANG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(16):278-287
Tripterygium wilfordii is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb belonging to the genus Tripterygium in the Celastraceae family, which has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, dispelling wind and dampness, and invigorating blood circulation to relieve pain, and is used to treat diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome, lupus erythematosus, scabies, and stubborn tinea. Its chemical composition is diverse. Among them, triptolide(TP) is one of the main active and toxic components of T. wilfordii. It has significant biological activities such as anti-inflammation, anti-tumor, and immunosuppression. However, it causes serious adverse reactions such as liver and kidney function damage and reproductive system disorders. At the same time, TP has poor water solubility and low bioavailability, and the enhancement of bioavailability by increasing the dosage undoubtedly improves the exposure of the drug in non-target organs, leading to the occurrence of adverse reactions, and these largely limit the clinical application of TP. Based on this, this article extracted relevant data from the Web of Science, PubMed, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI) databases, summarized the research on the adverse reactions of TP in recent years, and reviewed the progress of toxicity reduction research from the perspectives of structural modification, novel drug delivery systems, and compatibility. Structural modification can precisely alter the chemical structure of TP, reduce the activity of its toxic groups, and retain its biological activity while fundamentally reducing the occurrence of adverse reactions. New drug delivery systems can achieve targeted delivery of TP, increase its concentration in target organs, and reduce its exposure in non-target organs, thereby enhancing therapeutic efficacy and reducing adverse effects. In addition, the combination of TP with Chinese medicine compound, single-flavored Chinese medicine or monomer can reduce the adverse effects of TP and enhance the efficacy to different degrees, which is of clinical value. This paper systematically explains attenuation research from the above three perspectives, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the full utilization of biological activity and drug development of TP.
3.The mechanism of SAP overexpression in alleviating periodontitis in mice
HUANG Yinyin ; LIANG Dongliang ; ZOU Yaokun ; HAN Jingru ; GE Qing ; LIU Xueyan ; GUO Yadong ; HUANG Xinli ; YANG Lan
Journal of Prevention and Treatment for Stomatological Diseases 2025;33(8):619-630
Objective:
To investigate the mechanism by which serum amyloid P component (SAP) alleviates periodontitis in mice, providing an experimental basis to establish SAP as a novel therapeutic agent for periodontitis.
Methods:
Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee. Periodontitis models were established in wild-type (WT) mice and SAP-transgenic (SAP-Tg) mice, divided into four groups: WT control (WT group), WT periodontitis (WT+P group), SAP-Tg control (Tg group), and SAP-Tg periodontitis (Tg+P group). On day 7, the mice were euthanized, and periodontal tissues, teeth, and alveolar bone were collected. SAP protein expression was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Micro-CT and HE staining were used to measure alveolar bone resorption (distance from the cementoenamel junction to the alveolar bone crest). Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining was performed to assess osteoclast number, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) was employed to evaluate macrophage infiltration. The expression levels of inflammatory cytokines including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured by qRT-PCR. Oral microorganism composition was analyzed using 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene sequencing. Additionally, macrophages from WT and SAP-Tg mice were isolated to establish an in vitro inflammation model, divided into WT+LPS and Tg+LPS groups. The expression of macrophage polarization-related genes including inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), CD86, CD163, and CD206) were assessed by qRT-PCR. After the induction of osteoclast differentiation, TRAP staining was performed.
Results:
ELISA results demonstrated that periodontal tissues from Tg+P group mice exhibited higher levels of SAP expression compared to the WT+P group. Micro-CT and HE staining analyses revealed that the Tg+P group showed reduced alveolar bone resorption, indicated by a shorter distance between the cementoenamel junction and alveolar bone crest, compared to the WT+P group. Furthermore, TRAP staining results indicated a decrease in osteoclast numbers in the Tg+P group compared to the WT+P group. IHC and qRT-PCR results indicated reduced macrophage infiltration and decreased expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in the Tg+P group. Oral microorganism sequencing showed no significant difference in periodontitis-associated pathogenic bacteria between WT+P and Tg+P groups. In vitro experiments demonstrated that compared to the WT+LPS group, the Tg+LPS group exhibited downregulated M1 macrophage markers (iNOS and CD86) and upregulated M2 macrophage markers (CD163 and CD206). TRAP staining confirmed fewer osteoclasts in the Tg+LPS group.
Conclusion
SAP overexpression effectively alleviates periodontitis severity in mice by inhibiting M1 macrophage polarization, reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, and suppressing osteoclast differentiation, thereby attenuating alveolar bone resorption.
4.Brain and Meningeal Metastases of Lung Cancer Manifested as Brain Calcifications: A Case Report and Literature Review.
Deng ZHANG ; Yiru KONG ; Xiaohua LIANG ; Xinli ZHOU
Chinese Journal of Lung Cancer 2025;28(3):237-244
Lung cancer is still one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. With the increase of its incidence and the development of medical technology, the overall survival of lung cancer patients has significantly extended compared to before. The incidence of brain and meningeal metastases from lung cancer has also been rising year by year, but patients with brain and meningeal metastases from lung cancer have a poor prognosis and a very high mortality rate, and the diagnosis is mainly based on computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other imaging examinations. However, the imaging features are diverse and the specificity is low, which makes it easy to be misdiagnosed and missed. Therefore, accurately identifying brain and meningeal metastases and timely targeted treatment is crucial for improving patient prognosis. This paper analyzed the diagnosis and treatment of a case of lung cancer with no obvious recurrence and metastasis in nearly 7-year long-term follow-up after radical lung cancer surgery, but the patient with abnormal behavior, impaired consciousness and epilepsy in the past 5 months, and multiple punctate calcifications in the brain found by head CT and MRI. This paper consider that the patient's mental and behavioral symptoms were caused by brain and meningeal metastasis of lung cancer after excluding infectious disease and ineffective treatment of autoimmune encephalitis, and further pathological biopsy and genetic detection confirmed the diagnosis of metastatic lung adenocarcinoma with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) L858R gene mutation, and the patient's symptoms were significantly improved after targeted therapy by Osimertinib. This paper also searched the relevant literatures of brain calcifications in databases such as China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, UpToDate, PubMed, etc., and found that intracerebral calcifications exist in a variety of diseases, including infectious, genetic and neurodegenerative diseases, vascular diseases, metabolic diseases and tumors. However, brain calcification in brain and meningeal metastases are often underestimated, and the consequent risk is misdiagnosis and delayed treatment. Therefore, brain and meningeal metastases manifested as brain calcification should not be ignored in patients with a history of previous tumors.
.
Humans
;
Lung Neoplasms/pathology*
;
Brain Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging*
;
Meningeal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging*
;
Calcinosis/diagnostic imaging*
;
Male
;
Middle Aged
;
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
;
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
5.Cloning and functional analysis of GmMAX2b involved in disease resistance.
Jiahui FU ; Lin ZUO ; Weiqun HUANG ; Song SUN ; Liangyu GUO ; Min HU ; Peilan LU ; Shanshan LIN ; Kangjing LIANG ; Xinli SUN ; Qi JIA
Chinese Journal of Biotechnology 2025;41(7):2803-2817
The plant F-box protein more axillary growth 2 (MAX2) is a key factor in the signal transduction of strigolactones (SLs) and karrinkins (KARs). As the main component of the SKP1-CUL1-FBX (SCF) complex ubiquitin ligase E3, MAX2 is responsible for specifically recognizing the target proteins, suppressor of MAX2 1/SMAX1-like proteins (SMAX1/SMXLs), which would be degraded after ubiquitination. It can thereby regulate plant morphogenesis and stress responses. There exist homologous genes of MAX2 in the important grain and oil crop soybean (Glycine max). However, its role in plant defense responses has not been investigated yet. Here, GmMAX2b, a homologous gene of MAX2, was successfully cloned from stressed soybean. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that there were two MAX2 homologous genes, GmMAX2a and GmMAX2b, with a similarity of 96.2% in soybean. Their F-box regions were highly conserved. The sequence alignment and cluster analysis of plant MAX2 homologous proteins basically reflected the evolutionary relationship of plants and also suggested that soybean MAX2 might be a multifunctional protein. Expression analysis showed that plant pathogen infection and salicylic acid treatment induced the expression of GmMAX2b in soybean, which is consistent with that of MAX2 in Arabidopsis. Ectopic expression of GmMAX2b compensated for the susceptibility of Arabidopsis max2-2 mutant to pathogen, indicating that GmMAX2b positively regulated plant disease resistance. In addition, yeast two hybrid technology was used to explore the potential target proteins of GmMAX2b. The results showed that GmMAX2b interacted with SMXL6 and weakly interacted with SMXL2. In summary, GmMAX2b is a positive regulator in plant defense responses, and its expression is induced by pathogen infection and salicylic acid treatment. GmMAX2b might exert its effect through interaction with SMXL6 and SMXL2. This study expands the theoretical exploration of soybean disease resistant F-box and provides a scientific basis for future soybean disease resistant breeding.
Glycine max/metabolism*
;
Disease Resistance/genetics*
;
Plant Diseases/immunology*
;
Plant Proteins/genetics*
;
Cloning, Molecular
;
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
;
F-Box Proteins/genetics*
;
Arabidopsis/genetics*
;
Phylogeny
6.Mechanism of Natural Plant Essential Oil in Intervention in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Review
Fuhao HU ; Xinli LIANG ; Xiaoying HUANG ; Ming YANG ; Guangqiang MA ; Fei HAN
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2023;29(11):276-282
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a heterogeneous disease with insulin deficiency and insulin resistance (IR) as the main etiology and is often accompanied by complications. Volatile oil is a volatile oily liquid extracted from natural plants, which has many pharmacological effects such as regulating Qi, relieving pain, inhibiting bacteria, and reducing inflammation. In recent years, there have been numerous reports on the treatment of T2DM by natural plant volatile oil and its effective components, which has become one of the new directions in the treatment of T2DM. With natural plant essential oil and its active components as the starting point, this paper comprehensively analyzed and summarized the material basis, mechanism, and signaling pathways of essential oil in the treatment of T2DM and its complications in China and abroad in recent years, and focused on the inhibitory effect of essential oil and its active components, such as carvacrol, paeonol, and β-caryophylene, on IR to improve T2DM by protecting pancreatic β-cells, inhibiting α-glucosidase activity, regulating the abundance and diversity of intestinal microbiota, and regulating glucose transporter protein type4 (GLUT4), adenylate 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathways to provide some references for the volatile oil intervention in T2DM and the development of new green antidiabetic drugs.
7.Effects of chloroquine drugs on ionic channels of myocardial cells
Xinli LIU ; Hao LIANG ; Zhengxin XU
Journal of Clinical Medicine in Practice 2023;27(23):135-138,148
Chloroquine has played a pivotal role in the treatment of malaria.Recently,with the development of clinical application,they are increasingly recognized for their effectiveness in other as-pects,such as anti-inflammation,immunosuppression,anti-amoebic effects and so on.In the outbreak of the new coronavirus infection,chloroquine and its derivative hydroxychloroquine swiftly included in the treatment of infected patients in many countries.However,several studies have shown these drugs have some detrimental influence,especially in cardiac arrhythmia(prolonged the QT interval and in-creased risk of torsional ventricular tachycardia).Thus,we should pay attention to both their benefi-cial effects and potential adverse manifestation.In order to regulate the use of drugs and guide the clin-ic,this paper reviewed the electrophysiological basis and clinical characteristics of cardiac adverse re-actions of these drugs from the perspective of ion channels.
8.Effects of chloroquine drugs on ionic channels of myocardial cells
Xinli LIU ; Hao LIANG ; Zhengxin XU
Journal of Clinical Medicine in Practice 2023;27(23):135-138,148
Chloroquine has played a pivotal role in the treatment of malaria.Recently,with the development of clinical application,they are increasingly recognized for their effectiveness in other as-pects,such as anti-inflammation,immunosuppression,anti-amoebic effects and so on.In the outbreak of the new coronavirus infection,chloroquine and its derivative hydroxychloroquine swiftly included in the treatment of infected patients in many countries.However,several studies have shown these drugs have some detrimental influence,especially in cardiac arrhythmia(prolonged the QT interval and in-creased risk of torsional ventricular tachycardia).Thus,we should pay attention to both their benefi-cial effects and potential adverse manifestation.In order to regulate the use of drugs and guide the clin-ic,this paper reviewed the electrophysiological basis and clinical characteristics of cardiac adverse re-actions of these drugs from the perspective of ion channels.
9. Effect and molecular mechanism research of Astragalus membranaceus on inhibiting intestinal absorption of six alkaloids of Aconitum carmichaelii in spleen deficiency rats
Xulong CHEN ; Xinli LIANG ; Xiaoqiang KONG ; Miaomiao JI ; Abid NAEEM ; Hao ZHENG ; Mingxia GAO ; Zhenggen LIAO ; Xulong CHEN ; Cheng LI
Chinese Herbal Medicines 2022;14(1):117-124
Objective: To investigate the effect and the mechanism of Astragalus membranaceus (Huangqi in Chinese, HQ) extract on the intestinal absorption of six alkaloids of Aconitum carmichaelii (Fuzi in Chinese, FZ) in rats with spleen deficiency and provide novel insights into the application of HQ on modulating intestinal barrier. Methods: Four-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with Xiaochengqi Decoction to induce the spleen deficiency model for 40 d. Single-pass intestinal perfusion model were used to study the effects of HQ extract on the absorption of alkaloids. Protein expression and mRNA levels of MRP2 and BCRP and tight junction proteins (TJ, including Claudin-1, Occludin and ZO-1) were measured using Western blot and real-time PCR, respectively. The location and expression of TJ protein was also investigated by the immunofluorescence method. Results: Compared with the normal group, the protein expression of MRP2, BCRP and TJ proteins in the model group were significantly down-regulated. After oral administration of HQ, the alkaloid absorption in intestinal villi was inhibited, MRP2, BCRP and TJ proteins were up-regulated, the green fluorescence staining of Claudin-1, Occludin, and ZO-1 was enhanced, and a thick layer of mucus was deposited on the surface of the epithelium of the intestinal cavity. Conclusion: HQ as an intestinal barrier modulator improves the physiological changes of the intestinal environment of spleen deficiency to reduce the absorption of toxic components, leading to a decrease in the absorption of drug-like molecules.
10. Effects of oxypeucedanin on the resistance of breast cancer MCF-7/DOX cells to doxorubicin
Wei DONG ; Xiaoying HUANG ; Guowei ZHAO ; Xinli LIANG ; Bingbin XIE ; Xilan TANG ; Hongming LI ; Yumei QIU
Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2022;27(3):260-266
AIM: To investigate the effect of oxypeucedanin (OPD) on doxorubicin resistance in human breast cancer MCF-7/DOX cells and its possible mechanism. METHODS: MCF-7/DOX cells were cultured in vitro, MTT assay was used to detect the effect of OPD on the survival of MCF-7/DOX cells, and the effect of OPD combined with different concentrations of doxorubicin on the proliferation of MCF-7/DOX cells were investigated. The effect of OPD combined with doxorubicin on the expression of genes including MDR1, MRP1, AGPAT2, CHKA, CEPT1, DGKA, PCYT1A, PLA2G15 in MCF-7/DOX cells was measured by qRT-PCR. The effect of OPD combined with doxorubicin on the protein expression of MDR1, MRP1, CHKA and CCTα in MCF-7/DOX cells was determined by Western blot. RESULTS: The IC


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