The anti-proliferation effect of total flavonoids of litchi seed combined with paclitaxel on prostate cancer paclitaxel resistant cells / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the sensitization effect of total flavonoids of litchi seed (TFLS) to paclitaxel (PTX) on prostate cancer paclitaxel resistance (PCa-Txr) cells and the synergistic inhibitory effect of TFLS combined with PTX. Methods CCK-8 method was carried out to detect the inhibitory effect of TFLS and PTX on PCa-Txr cells as well as corresponding parental cells. PCa-Txr cells were either pre-treated or simultaneously treated with low cytotoxic dose of TFLS to observe the sensitivity of PCa-Txr cells to PTX. The synergistic inhibitory effect of TFLS combined with PTX on the proliferation of PCa-Txr cells were observed according to the method recommended by Chou T C. Combination index (CI) was used to determine whether TFLS and PTX had synergistic inhibitory effect. Results TFLS significantly inhibited the proliferation of PCa-Txr cells and parental cells in a certain time- and dose-dependent manner. The low dose of TFLS pre-treated or treated with PTX simultaneously failed to increase the sensitivity of PTX on PCa-Txr cells. TFLS combined with PTX significantly inhibited the proliferation of PCa-Txr cells with CI value less than one. Conclusions TFLS inhibits the proliferation of PCa-Txr cells, while TFLS combined with PTX has synergistic inhibitory effect on PCa-Txr cells. However, TFLS fails to increase the sensitivity of PCa-Txr cells to PTX.

Effects of total flavonoids of litchi and rosiglitazone on expression of PPAR-γ and CTGF in HSC-T6 rat hepatic stellate cells / 实用医学杂志

Objective To investigate effects of total flavonoids of litchi (TFL) on the proliferation of rat hepatic stellate cells (HSC-T6) in comparison with western medicine rosiglitazone, and to explore the mechanism of anti hepatic fibrosis of TFL. Methods Effect of TFL on proliferation of HSC-T6 was examined by MTT. The expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) mRNA, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) mRNA in HSC-T6 cells exposured were examined by real-time quantitative PCR. Effects on HSC-T6 CTGF protein from TFL and rosiglitazone were detected by Western bloting. Results The expression of PPAR-γ mRNA was upregulated and the expression of CTGF mRNA and protein was downregulated after exposure to TFL and rosiglitazone for 72 hours. And the effect of TFL increased with the increase of concentration. Conclusion TFL can inhibit the proliferation of HSC-T6 and antagonizing liver fibrosis. This mechanism may be associated with the upregulation of PPAR-γ expression and the downregulation of CTGF expression.