ABSTRACT
The plant Geum japonicum Thunberg (GjT) has been used as a diuretic in traditional medicine. Herein, we report that the GjT extract blocks both the spread of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) on matrigel and the migration of B16 cells. We used various assays to test for cell attachment, spreading, wound healing and angiogenesis. A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) assay were also carried out for the mechanistic study of GjT. Our results showed that a fraction of methylene chloride fraction from GjT inhibited B16 cells during cell attachment and migration and suppressed tube formation in a dose-dependent manner. An RT-PCR analysis showed that the methylene chloride extract decreased the mRNA expression of CD44 and TIMP-2. A Western blot analysis of the phosphorylation of MAPK kinases (ERK, JNK and p38) showed that the GjT fraction increased the expression of phospho-JNK, suggesting that GjT has the potential to alleviate metastatic and angiogenic activity, via a phospho-JNK signaling pathway.
Subject(s)
Endothelium, Vascular/drug effects , Geum/chemistry , Melanoma, Experimental/blood supply , Methylene Chloride/pharmacology , Neovascularization, Pathologic/drug therapy , Animals , Blotting, Western , Cell Adhesion/drug effects , Cell Movement/drug effects , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Cells, Cultured , Endothelium, Vascular/metabolism , Humans , JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism , Melanoma, Experimental/metabolism , Melanoma, Experimental/pathology , Mice , Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1/metabolism , Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3/metabolism , Neovascularization, Pathologic/metabolism , Neovascularization, Pathologic/pathology , Phosphorylation , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Signal Transduction , Umbilical Veins/cytology , p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolismABSTRACT
Molecular inflammation is a pivotal process in various degenerative immune diseases, including asthma and atopic dermatitis. In this study, we examined the effects of Helianthus annuus seed (HAS) aqueous extract on an in vivo anti-asthmatic model. Ovalbumin-induced mice were orally administered the aqueous extract of Helianthus annuus seeds, and their lungs were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Moreover, the expression levels of IL-4/IL-13 cytokines and IgE were determined. HAS extract induced a decrease in CD4+ cell number, IL-4/IL-13 expression, and IgE secretion levels in the lungs. Our findings collectively suggest that the HAS extract has considerable potential in reducing the asthma-like symptoms induced by a mouse ovalbumin challenge model. However, further isolation and purification of the extract is required to determine the specific factor(s) responsible for its anti-asthmatic activity.
