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To explore the mechanism of spleen- were obtained for the treatment of acute-on-chronic livstrengthening and moisture-nourishing liver prescription er failure, and 244 intersecting target genes and 7 core (JPLSYGF) in the treatment of acute-on-chronic liver target genes were screened. Molecular docking showed failure using network pharmacology and the molecular that the core target genes AKT1, SRC, VEGFA, docking. Methods Relying on TCMSP and Gene- STAT3 , EGFR, MAPK3 , HRAS had good affinity with Cards and other databases, the relevant targets of JPL- quercetin, the main active component in the JPLSYGF in the treatment of acute-on-chronic liver failure SYGF, and had strong binding activity. In addition, in were obtained. String and Cytoscape were used to con- vivo tests verified that the JPLSYGF could reduce the struct PPI networks of targets, core targets were expression of HRAS, EGFR, STAT3 , SRC, and VEGscreened out, and DAVID was used for GO function FA, to delay the progression of acute-on-chronic liver annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. failure. Conclusions JPLSYGF may act on core tar- The main active ingredients of the traditional Chinese gets such as HRAS, EGFR, STAT3, SRC, VEGFA medicine compound formula for JPLSYGF were select- and so on, to achieve the effect of treating acute-oned with a bioavailability OB value of =Э 30% and a chronic liver failure. drug-like DL
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Aim To investigate the mechanism of Qizhu anti-cancer prescription ( QZACP) inthe treatment of primary liver cancer using network pharmacology and molecular docking. Methods Drugs and primary liver cancer ( PLC) -related targets were found according to TCMSP database and disease databases such as GeneCard, the key chemical components and core targets were screened by Cytoscape 3. 9. 1 and String platform respectively, and a network relationship diagram of traditional Chinese medicine-active component-target was constructed by using Cytoscape 3.9. 1. GO functional analysis and KEGG pathway analysis were performed using DAVID platform, visualized by R 4. 1. 1 software, and finally the core clustered proteins were analyzed by CytoNCA plug-in to obtain the core action targets, and the core components and key targets were verified by using molecular docking technology and the pharmacodynamic mechanism of QZACP was further verified by animal experiments. Results The active ingredients of QZACP in the treatment of primary liver cancer may be quercetin, glycyrrhizin, Denudatin B, isoflavanone, sanguinarol, etc. ; the potential targets were STAT3, EGFR, AKT1 etc. ; the related pathways were mainly PI3K-Akt signaling pathway,MAPK signaling pathway,etc. ; molecular docking showed that the core compounds had better integrating conformation with the key targets. In addition, QZACP could inhibit the growth of tumor in nude mice and decrease the expression of STAT3, EGFR and AKT1. Conclusions Qizhu anti-cancer prescription may have some positive significance in the treatment of primary liver cancer, which may be related to the regulation of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.
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ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Biejiajian Wan （BJJW） on transforming growth factor-β1 （TGF-β1）-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition （EMT） of HepG2 cells， and explore its mechanism against EMT of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. MethodHepG2 cells were randomly divided into a blank group， a TGF-β1 model group （10 μg·L-1 TGF-β1）， a low-dose BJJW group （10 μg·L-1 TGF-β1+0.55 g·kg-1 BJJW）， a medium-dose BJJW group （10 μg·L-1 TGF-β1+1.1 g·kg-1 BJJW）， a high-dose BJJW group （10 μg·L-1 TGF-β1+2.2 g·kg-1 BJJW）， and a sorafenib group （10 μg·L-1 TGF-β1+0.03 g·kg-1 sorafenib）. The EMT model was induced by 10 μg·L-1 TGF-β1 in HepG2 cells. After treatment with corresponding medicated serum， cell counting kit -8 （CCK-8） assay was used to detect cell proliferation. Cell migration ability was detected by the Transwell assay and wound healing assay. The protein expression related to EMT and nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-κB） signaling pathway was detected by cell immunofluorescence assay and Western blot. ResultCompared with the blank group 4 days later， the TGF-β1 model group showed fusiform and loose cells with widened gap and antennae reaching out， decreased protein expression of E-cadherin （P<0.05）， and increased protein expression of N-cadherin and vimentin （P<0.05）， which indicated that the EMT model was properly induced in HepG2 cells by TGF-β1 stimulation for 4 days. After 48 hours of treatment with the corresponding medicated serum， each medication group showed inhibited proliferation of HepG2 cells that had undergone EMT， especially the low- and high-dose BJJW groups （P<0.01）， and the medium-dose BJJW group showed increased E-cadherin protein expression （P<0.05） and decreased p-p65， N-cadherin， and vimentin protein expression （P<0.05）， as compared with the TGF-β1 model group. As revealed by the transwell assay and wound healing assay， TGF-β1 enhanced the migration ability of HepG2 cells （P<0.05， P<0.01） compared with the results in the blank group， compared with the TGF-β1 model group， the medication groups showed inhibited migration ability of HepG2 cells （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the blank group， the TGF-β1 model group promoted the expression of p65 and Snail into the nucleus. Compared with the TGF-β1 model group， the medication groups inhibited the expression of p65 and Snail into the nucleus. ConclusionBJJW may inhibit the EMT， proliferation， and migration of HepG2 cells induced by TGF-β1 by suppressing the NF-κB signaling pathway to exert an anti-hepatocellular carcinoma effect.
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Objective:To study the effect of Biejiajian Wan on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition （EMT） of rat hepatic oval cells induced by transforming growth factor- β1（TGF-β1）， in order to explore its mechanism in reversing EMT. Method:WB-F344 cells were divided into five groups： blank group， TGF-β1 model group （10 μg·L-1TGF-β1）， low-dose group （10 μg·L-1TGF-β1+0.55 g·kg-1Biejiajian Wan）， medium-dose group （10 μg·L-1TGF-β1+1.1 g·kg-1Biejiajian Wan）， high-dose group （10 μg·L-1TGF-β1+2.2 g·kg-1Biejiajian Wan）. Except blank group， TGF-β1 was used to induce WB-F344 cells in all of the remaining groups to construct an EMT model. After the cells were treated with low， medium and high doses of Biejiajian Wan serum， the changes of migration ability of WB-F344 cells were detected by cell scratching test. The expressions of E-cadherin， N-cadherin and Vimentin were detected by Western blot. Real-time PCR was used to detect the changes in the expression of β-catenin mRNA. The expression of β-catenin was detected by cell immunofluorescence assay. Result:Compared with normal WB-F344 cells， the intercellular space of WB-F344 cells became loose from tight， and the morphology changed from cobblestone to fibroblast after TGF-β1 induced WB-F344 cells for 4 days， and the expression of E-cadherin protein decreased， while the expression of N-cadherin protein increased （P<0.01）， indicating that the EMT model of WB-F344 cells was successfully built. Compared with the blank group， the migration ability of WB-F344 cells in TGF-β1 model group was enhanced （P<0.01）， compared with TGF-β1 model group， Biejiajian Wan could significantly inhibit the migration ability of WB-F344 cells； specifically， the low-dose group had no statistical significance， and the medium and high-dose groups had statistical significance （P<0.05）. Western blot results showed that compared with the blank group， the expression of E-cadherin decreased， whereas those of N-cadherin and Vimentin increased in the TGF-β1 model group （P<0.01）， compared with TGF-β1 model group， E-cadherin protein expression was increased in the low， medium and high-dose groups， while the expressions of N-cadherin and Vimentin was decreased； specifically， the low-dose groups had no statistical significance， and the medium and high dose groups had statistical significance （P<0.05，P<0.01）. Real-time PCR results showed that compared with the blank group， the mRNA expression of β-catenin in the TGF-β1 model group was increased （P<0.05）， whereas compared with TGF-β1 model group， the mRNA expression of β-catenin in the low， medium and high-dose groups of Biejiajian Wan was reduced （P<0.01）. The results of cellular immunofluorescence showed that compared with the blank group， the fluorescence expression of β-catenin in the cell nucleus was enhanced in the TGF-β1 model group； and compared with the TGF-β1 model group， the expression of β -catenin in the cell nucleus of the low， medium and high-dose groups of Biejiajian Wan decreased， and the inhibitory effect of Biejiajian Wan on β-catenin in the cell nucleus was positively correlated with its concentration. Conclusion:Biejiajian Wan may reverse the EMT process that TGF-β1 induced WB-F344 cells， and inhibit the migration of WB-F344 cells by inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.
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The molecular markers(cpSSR, cpSNP and cpIndel) were developed based on the whole genome sequence of Panax notoginseng chloroplast genome, which provide a powerful tool for the evaluation and analysis of the future P. notoginseng germplasm resources. The 89 P. notoginseng samples from 9 groups were used for the experiment, and the data for the study were derived from NCBI and the GenBank numbers were: KJ566590, KP036468, KR021381 and KT001509. Through sequence alignment, 30 polymorphic sites(SNP and Indel) were identified, including 16 cpSNP and 14 cpIndel; cpSNP and cpIndel accounted for far more than the gene region in the intergenic region. The developed cpSSR reached 87-89, the repeat unit was mainly composed of trinucleotide, accounting for 70%-71%, and the dinucleotide was the least, accounting for 7%. Eighteen cpDNA molecular markers were developed, including 7 cpSSR primers, 6 cpIndel primers, and 5 cpSNP primers. The MatK gene and ycf1 primers were chosen as control. According to the results of DNA gel electrophoresis, cpSSR-5, pgcpir019 and pncp08 can be used to distinguish different cultivated populations of P. notoginseng. Among them, cpSSR-5 and pgcpir019 can also be used to distinguish the inter-species resources of ginseng by comprehensive sequence length, population π value and average nucleotide difference. However, pncp08 can only be used to distinguish different populations of P. notoginseng. In addition, the effect of distinguishing the groups of P. notoginseng, which the primer pncp-M(based on the MatK gene) is weaker than the cpSSR-5, pgcpir019 and pncp08.
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DNA, Chloroplast/genetics , Genetic Markers , Genetics, Population , INDEL Mutation , Panax notoginseng/genetics , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , Sequence AlignmentABSTRACT
Objective:To study the effect of Biejia Jianwan on expressions of signal molecules and target genes of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/Smad pathway in diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced rat hepatocellular carcinoma, and explore the mechanisms of Biejia Jianwan suppressing the invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma. Method:The rats were divided into three group, namely normal group, model group and Biejia Jianwan group (2.2 g·kg-1·d-1). Rats in Biejia Jianwan group and model group received intraperitoneal injections of DEN to induce sequential chronic inflammation, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. At the sign of cirrhosis, rats in Biejia Jianwan group began taking Biejia Jianwan by gavage for 6 weeks. Rat blood was collected to measure serum levels of biochemical markers of liver function tests, including alanine aminotransferase(ALT), aspartate aminotransferase(AST), total bilirubin(TBIL), albumin(Alb), γ-glutamyl transpeptadase(GGT), alkaline phosphatase(ALP). Rat livers were fixed in formalin and stained with hematoxylin-eosin (HE)staining， quantitative real-time PCR was used to test the mRNA expressions of TGF-β1， and Western blot was used to test protein expressions of TGF-β1, Smad2/3, p-Smad2/3, N-cadherin, E-cadherin and Vimentin. Result:All of the levels of biochemical markers showed no difference in Biejia Jianwan group and model group. Biejia Jianwan could improve the pathological changes of balloon-like degeneration, edema, and necrosis in liver cancer tissues. Importantly, the treatment dramatically decreased the mRNA expression of TGF-β1(P<0.01), and the protein expressions of TGF-β1, p-Smad2(P<0.01). Besides, the protein expression of N-cadherin and Vimentin were decreased significantly (P<0.01). Conclusion:Biejia Jianwan can inhibit epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in hepatocellular carcinoma cells activated via TGF-β/Smad pathway by reducing TGF-β1 expression, so as to suppress the metastasis and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma.
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Aim To screen the differential microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles of different metastatic po-tential liver cancer cell lines,and predict miRNAs-reg-ulated target genes and their functions. Methods To-tal RNA was extracted and the miRNA expression pro-files were obtained by miRNA microarray chip hybrid-ization. The miRNAs whose expression had significant difference were selected by analyzing the miRNA difference expression profiles of the two different meta-static potential liver cancer cell lines, namely MHCC-97H(high-metastasis) and Hep3B(non-metastasis), which were compared with normal hepatocytes L02 re-spectively. Moreover, we analyzed the miRNA differ-ential expression profile between liver cancer cell lines MHCC-97H and Hep3B. The miRNAs were verified by qPCR and target genes were predicted by four softwares (TargetScan, miRanda, miRWalk, miRDB). To un-derstand the biological functions of predicted target genes, bioinformatics analysis was performed. Results The miRNA microarray results showed that the ex-pression of miR-192-5p and miR-215-5p significantly increased in liver cancer cell lines (MHCC-97H, Hep3B) when compared with normal hepatocytes L02, while miR-130a-3p and miR-196a-5p were significantly reduced; compared with Hep3B, the expression of miR-224-5p markedly increased in liver cancer cell line MHCC-97H, while miR-146a-5p, miR-483-3p and miR-200b-3p were significantly reduced. The re-sults of qRT-PCR were consistent with chip results. Conclusion There are differences of miRNA expres-sion profiles in different metastatic potential liver canc-er cell lines MHCC-97H, Hep3B, and they may par-ticipate in regulating the development and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma.
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Invasion and metastasis are key factors contributing to the high mortality rate of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) involving a complex mechanism. In the invasion and metastasis of HCC, miRNAs can serve as either oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes to regulate the differentiation and proliferation of tumor cells being and play important roles in tumorigenesis, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis. This review summarizes the recent progress in research of the molecular mechanisms by which miRNAs targeting GSK-3β regulate HCC invasion and metastasis and examines the roles of miRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, metastasis, and GSK-3β regulation.