The American journal of Chinese medicine
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Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a deadly malignant brain tumor that is resistant to most clinical treatments. Novel therapeutic agents that are effective against GBM are required. Antrodia cinnamomea has shown antiproliferative effects in GBM cells. ⋯ The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), Hippo/yes-associated protein (YAP), and cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB) pathways were suppressed by 4AALT3. Moreover, 4AALT3 decreased the level of DNA repair enzyme O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase and showed a synergistic effect with temozolomide. Our findings provide the basis for exploring the beneficial effect of 4AALT3 on GBM in vivo.
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Comparative Study
Effects of Berberine on Diabetes and Cognitive Impairment in an Animal Model: The Mechanisms of Action.
Diabetes is a group of metabolic disorders with an increased risk of developing cognitive impairment and dementia. The hippocampus in the forebrain contains an abundance of insulin receptors related to cognitive function and plays an important role in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disorders. Berberine from traditional Chinese medicine has been used to treat diabetes and diabetic cognitive impairment, although its related mechanisms are largely unknown. ⋯ The TUNEL assay confirmed that berberine reduced hippocampal neuronal apoptosis supported by TEM. Thus, berberine significantly improved the cognitive function in diabetic rats by changing the peripheral and central insulin resistance. The reduction of neuronal injury, A[Formula: see text] deposition, abnormal phosphorylation of Tau protein, and neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus were observed as the related mechanisms of action.
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In Lung adenocarcinoma (ADC), Qi-Yin deficiency syndrome (QY) is the most common Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome. This study aimed to investigate the diversity and composition of gut microbiota in ADC patients with QY syndrome. 90 stool samples, including 30 healthy individuals (H), 30 ADC patients with QY syndrome, and 30 ADC patients with another syndrome (O) were collected. Then, 16s-RNA sequencing was used to analyze stool samples to clarify the structure of gut microbiota, and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size (LEfSe) was applied to identify biomarkers for ADC with QY syndrome. ⋯ LEfSe identified Prevotella_9 and Streptococcus might be the biomarkers for QY syndrome. A diagnostic model was constructed using those 2 genera with the AUC = 0.801, similar to the AUC based on Metagenomics (0.842). The structure of gut microbiota in ADC patients with QY syndrome was investigated, and a diagnostic model was developed for the diagnosis of QY syndrome in ADC patients, which provides a novel idea for the understanding and diagnosis of TCM syndrome.
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Inflammatory macrophages stimulated by LPS disrupt homeostasis in the production of inflammatory cytokines and nitric oxide (NO). These are the causes of inflammation-related diseases and various cancers. The present study aimed to evaluate the protective effects of Korean ginseng berry extract (KGB) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in RAW264.7 macrophage cells. ⋯ Additionally, decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and increased glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) activities were observed following KGB treatment. Taken together, these results indicated that KGB possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects, mediated by the inhibition of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) signaling pathway in LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophages. KGB may represent a potential therapeutic agent for inflammatory and oxidative stress-related diseases.
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Neohesperidin has anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties and exerts extensive therapeutic effects on various cancers. In this study, the osteosarcoma cell lines were exposed to different concentrations of neohesperidin. Cell proliferation and viability were assessed by CCK-8 and colony-formation assays. ⋯ Subsequently, we found that neohesperidin-induced apoptosis and autophagy were related to the increase in ROS generation and were significantly inhibited by GSH. Moreover, neohesperidin induced activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway and inhibition of JNK with SP600125 attenuated neohesperidin-induced apoptosis and autophagy simultaneously. Our data indicated that neohesperidin caused G2/M phase arrest and induced apoptosis and autophagy by activating the ROS/JNK pathway in human osteosarcoma cells, suggesting that neohesperidin is a potential drug candidate for the treatment of osteosarcomas.