Stellera chamaejasme extract against multidrug resistance of breast cancer cell line MCF-7 / 中国中药杂志

This study explored the effect and underlying mechanism of Stellera chamaejasme extract(SCE) on multidrug resistance of breast cancer. The chemotherapy-sensitive breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and adriamycin(ADR)-resistant cell line MCF-7/ADR were used as experimental subjects. MTT assay was used to detect cell proliferation activity. Pi staining was used to detect the cell cycle. 4',6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole, dihydrochloride(DAPI) staining and flow cytometry were used to detect apoptosis. Dansylcadaverine(MDC) staining and GFP-LC3B-Mcherry adenovirus transfection were used to detect autophagy. The protein expression of Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-9, caspase-3, LC3B, p62, and Beclin-1 was detected by Western blot. The results showed that SCE could significantly inhibit the proliferation of both sensitive and resistant breast cancer cell lines. The drug resistance factor was 0.53, which was significantly lower than 59 of ADR. Meanwhile, the proportion of sensitive/resistant cells in the G_0/G_1 phase increased significantly after SCE treatment. In addition, DAPI staining showed that a series of apoptosis phenomena such as nuclear pyknosis, staining deepening, and nuclear fragmentation appeared in sensitive/resistant cell lines after SCE administration. Moreover, the results of flow cytometry double staining showed that the proportion of apoptotic cells in sensitive/resistant cell lines increased significantly after SCE administration. Besides, Western blot showed that the protein expression levels of caspase-3, caspase-9, and Bcl-2 significantly decreased and the expression level of Bax protein significantly increased in both breast cancer cell lines after SCE administration. Furthermore, SCE could also increase the positive fluorescent spots after MDC staining and yellow fluorescent spots after GFP-LC3B-mcherry transfection, and up-regulate the expression levels of autophagy-related proteins LC3B-Ⅱ, p62, and Beclin-1 in breast cancer cells. In summary, SCE may play the role of anti-multidrug resistance by blocking the cell cycle of breast cancer multidrug-resistant cells, blocking autophagy flow, and ultimately interfering with the apoptosis resistance of drug-resistant cells.

Difference Analysis of Pharmacokinetic Behavior of Active Ingredients in Wujiwan Between Normal Rats and Rats with Irritable Bowel Syndrome / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To establish an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry （UPLC-MS/MS） for determining the plasma concentrations of 10 active ingredients in Wujiwan at different time points after oral administration， and to compare the pharmacokinetic characteristics between normal rats and rats with chronic visceral hypersensitive irritable bowel syndrome （CVH-IBS）. Method:CVH-IBS rat model was prepared by the neonatal rat colon percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty （PTCA） balloon stimulation method. After intragastric administration of Wujiwan （0.245 g·kg^-1）， blood was collected from the jugular vein at different time points， and the plasma concentrations of 10 active ingredients （berberine hydrochloride， palmatine hydrochloride， coptisine hydrochloride， jatrorrhizine hydrochloride， epiberberine， dihydroberberine， evodiamine， evodine， paeoniflorin， albiflorin） in Wujiwan was detected simultaneously by UPLC-MS/MS， the pharmacokinetic parameters of each component in normal rats and CVH-IBS rats were calculated. Result:The established UPLC-MS/MS could sensitively and accurately detect the plasma concentrations of 10 active ingredients of Wujiwan in rats. Compared with the normal group， the absorption rates of these 10 active ingredients of Wujiwan in the blood of CVH-IBS rats all decreased to a certain extent， and the peak time （<italic>t</italic>_max） was prolonged. Among them， the <italic>t</italic>_max of berberine hydrochloride and jatrorrhizine hydrochloride were significantly prolonged from 54 minute and 39 minute to 90 minute， respectively （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）. Area under the plasma concentration-time curve （AUC_0-<italic>_t</italic>） of each component increased， and evodiamine and paeoniflorin were significantly different （<italic>P</italic><0.05，<italic> P</italic><0.01）. The clearance rates （CL/<italic>F</italic>） of these 10 active ingredients were all decreased， among which berberine hydrochloride， palmatine hydrochloride and evodiamine had significant differences （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）. Conclusion:There are significant differences in the pharmacokinetic behavior of the active ingredients in Wujiwan between normal rats and CVH-IBS rats， which may be related to the destruction of microstructure of intestinal epithelial cells and the change of activity of liver enzymes under the pathological state of IBS.

Shenlian extract attenuates TNF-α-induced ECV304 injury by regulating Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway / 中国中药杂志

This study aimed to investigate the effect and the possible mechanism of Shenlian( SL) extract on tumor necrosis factor-α( TNF-α)-induced ECV304 injury. After the establishment of TNF-α-induced ECV304 cells injure model,MTT assay was used to detect cell viability and the level of reactive oxygen species( ROS) was measured by flow cytometry. The contents of superoxide dismutase( SOD),malondialdehyde( MDA),nitric oxide( NO),endothelin-1( ET-1) and interleukin-1β( IL-1β) in the supernatant were detected by biochemical method and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay( ELISA). The expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins B-lymphoma-2 gene( Bcl-2),Bcl-2 associated X protein( Bax),caspase-3,caspase-9 and nuclear factor E2 associated factor2( Nrf2)/Kelch like epichlorohydrin associated protein-1( Keap1) signaling pathway related proteins Nrf2,Keap1,quinone oxidoreductase( NQO1) and heme oxygenase 1( HO-1) were detected by Western blot. The results showed that 50 μg·L-1 TNF-α significantly damaged ECV304 cells,induced the impairment of cell viability( P<0. 01),the increase of ROS production,the decrease of SOD activity,and the increase of MDA,NO,ET-1 and IL-1β( P<0. 01),meanwhile,it caused the up-regulation of Keap1,caspase-9 and Bax protein expression,and down-regulation of NQO1 and Bcl-2 protein expression( P<0. 05) compared with the control group.Compared with the model group,SL extract reduced the damage of ECV304 cells induced by TNF-α,improved cell viability,reduced ROS production,increased SOD activity and decreased MDA,NO,ET-1,IL-1β content( P<0. 01 or P<0. 05). In addition,SL extract also down-regulated the protein expression levels of Keap1,caspase-3,caspase-9 and Bax,and increased the protein expressions of Nrf2,NQO1,HO-1 and Bcl-2( P<0. 01 or P<0. 05). The above results indicate that SL extract can provide protective effect on ECV304 cells injury induced by TNF-α,alleviate oxidative stress injury,inflammation and apoptosis,and its mechanism may be related to regulating Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway.