ABSTRACT
The root of Isatis tinctoria L. is highly appreciated as a Traditional Chinese herbal medicine for the prevention and adjuvant treatment of respiratory diseases caused by coronaviruses viruses such as SARS and COVID-19. I. tinctoria hairy root cultures (ITHRCs) provide a better alternative to field cultivation for the production of antiviral flavonoids. For the first time, ITHRCs were exposed to different colors of LED lights i.e., red, green, blue, red/green/blue (1/1/1, RGB), and white, in an attempt to promote the root growth and enhance the production of bioactive flavonoids. Results revealed that the biomass productivity (7.15 ± 0.63 g/L) in ITHRCs with an initial inoculum size of 0.2% cultured for 50 days under blue light increased by 1.86-fold relative to that under dark (control), and yields of rutin (320.49 ± 27.56 μg/g DW), quercetin (388.75 ± 9.17 μg/g DW), kaempferol (787.90 ± 83.43 μg/g DW), and isorhamnetin (269.11 ± 20.08 μg/g DW) increased by 4.15-fold, 9.31-fold, 9.09-fold, and 2.88-fold as compared with control, respectively. Interestingly, the emergence of adventitious buds was noticed in ITHRCs under all light treatments. Additionally, the enhanced densities of chloroplasts and root hairs were found in blue-light grown ITHRCs as against control, which might account for the elevated biomass productivity. Moreover, blue light induced oxidative stress in ITHRCs in terms of the overproduction of oxidation products and the enhancement of antioxidant enzyme activity. Furthermore, blue light significantly activated photoreceptor (CRY1) and key regulator of light signaling (HY5), thus leading to the up-regulated expression of MYB4 and structural genes (such as CHS and FLS) responsible for flavonoid biosynthesis. And, the transcriptional activation of CUC1 was likely related to the formation of adventitious buds in ITHRCs. Overall, the simple supplementation of blue LED light makes ITHRCs more attractive as plant factories for obtaining higher productivity of biomass and medicinally important flavonoids. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.
ABSTRACT
Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been widely applied in anti-neovascularization therapies. As a novel anti-VEGF agent, KH902 (conbercept) is designed to restrain pathological angiogenesis. However, the effects of KH902 on retinal hypoxia have not been well studied. In a mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR), we assessed retinal hypoxia at postnatal days 14 (P14) and P17, as well as retinal neovascularization (RNV) at P17. In addition, we evaluated the protein level of VEGF and galectin-1 (Gal-1). Changes of the neuroretinal structure were also examined. Our results indicated that KH902 could remit retinal hypoxia in OIR at P14 and P17, which was an exciting novel finding for KH902 function. Additionally, we confirmed that KH902 markedly reduces RNV. Our results indicated that administration of KH902 downregulated VEGF expression, as well as Gal-1. Damage of neuroretinal structure after KH902 injection was not observed, which was also an encouraging result. Our study suggests that KH902 plays a role in alleviating retinal hypoxia and that it could be used for the treatment of other ncovascular ocular diseases.