Honokiol Reduces Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Inhibits Apoptosis of Nerve Cells in Rats with Traumatic Brain Injury by Activating the Mitochondrial Unfolded Protein Response.

This study was designed to determine the effects and underlying mechanism of honokiol (HNK) on traumatic brain injury (TBI). A rat TBI model was constructed using the modified Feeney free-fall percussion method and treatment with HNK via intraperitoneal injection. The brain tissues of the rats in each group were assessed using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay to detect the level of neuronal apoptosis. Western blots were used to detect the expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins (Bcl-2 and Bax), and ELISAs were used to measure the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-18 and IL-1ß) and the activity of caspase-1. In addition, the mitochondrial membrane potential, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) were also measured. Western blots and qRT-PCRs were used to determine the relative expression levels of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt)-related proteins and mRNAs. Based on the experimental results, treatment with HNK was associated with a decrease in the number of TUNEL-positive cells, downregulated Bax expression levels, elevated Bcl-2 expression levels, and inhibition of neuronal apoptosis in the brain tissue of TBI rats. HNK also suppressed neuroinflammation by decreasing IL-1ß and IL-18 levels and caspase-1 activity. Additionally, HNK lowered the mitochondrial membrane potential and ROS levels, increased ATP levels, and improved mitochondrial dysfunction in neural cells. Furthermore, in the investigation of the mechanism of HNK on TBI, we observed that HNK could activate UPRmt by upregulating the mRNA and protein expression levels of HSPA9, CLPP, and HSP60 in the brain tissues of TBI rats. Collectively, HNK reduced mitochondrial dysfunction, inhibited the apoptosis of nerve cells, and attenuated inflammation in the brains of TBI rats. The protective effect of HNK may be achieved through the activation of UPRmt.

[Differential metabolites and metabolic pathways involving acupuncture-induced improvement of rheumatoid arthritis patients based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the endogenous metabolic biomarkers and pathways in serum involving acupuncture-induced improvement of symptoms of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by using metabolomics technique. METHODS: A total of 30 RA patients who were treated in the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion of the Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (from January 2018 to October 2018) were selected in the present study. They were randomly and equally divided into acupuncture group and medication group. Acupuncture (lifting-thrusting reinforcing and uniform reducing-reinforcing methods) was applied to bilateral Fengchi (GB20), Yangchi (TE4), Quchi (LI11), Yingu (KI10), Taixi (KI3), Xuehai （SP10）, Guanyuan (CV4), Yanglingquan (GB34) and Ashi-points for 20 min every time, once daily for 3 months. Patients of the medication group were asked to take Tripterygium Wilfordii Polyglycoside tablets (a positive drug for RA, one tablet per time, 3 times a day) for 3 months. Other 10 healthy volunteers were selected as the normal control group. The tenderness scale (0-4 points) and swelling scale (0-3 points) and morning stiffness time were recorded, and serum rheumatoid factor (RF), C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were detected for analyzing pharmacodynamic effects. Serum samples were captured for profiling and quantifying metabolite biomarkers by using GC-MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) technique. The acquired metabolite profiles were processed (multivariable data analysis) by using ProteoWizard package, XCMS Online software and SIMCA 13.0 software, respectively, followed by screening differential metabolites according to variable importance projection (VIP) and by constructing metabolic pathways with MetaboAnalyst 4.0. RESULTS: After acupuncture treatment, the tenderness score, swelling score, morning stiffness time, serum RF and CRP contents were significantly decreased in both acupuncture and medication groups in comparison with their own pretreatment (P<0.05). No significant differences were found between acupuncture and medication groups in the levels of tenderness score, swelling score, morning stiffness time, serum RF and CRP contents (P>0.05). A total of 14 differential metabolites including citrate, creatine, 3-hydroxybutyrate arachidonic acid, arachidonic acid, valine, lactic acid and palmitic acid (up-regulated), and tryptophan, arginine, L-phenylalanine, glucose, glycine, glutamine, aspartic acid and (down-regulated) which mainly involve metabolic pathways of alanine, aspartic acid and glutamate; metabolism of phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan; metabolism of glycine, serine and threonine; glyoxalic acid dicarboxylic acid metabolism; metabolism of starch and sucrose; and metabolism of phenylalanine and arachidonic acid, respectively.Citrate, creatine, arachidonic acid, valine and glucose was positively correlated with tenderness index, swelling index, morning stiff time, RF, CRF and ESR. Glycine, L-phenylalanine , glutamine was negatively correlated with efficacy indicators. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture can relieve symptoms of patients with RA, which may be related to its effects in improving amino acid metabolism and glucose metabolism.

Preoperative insomnia and its association with psychological factors, pain and anxiety in Chinese colorectal cancer patients.

PURPOSE: Sleep disturbances are common in cancer patients, but little is known about preoperative insomnia and its associated factors in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between preoperative insomnia and its associated factors (i.e., pain, anxiety, self-esteem, and coping styles) in CRC patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in consecutive CRC inpatients (N = 434), who were required to complete the questionnaires about insomnia, pain, anxiety, self-esteem, and coping styles (acceptance/resignation, confrontation, avoidance) before the day of surgery. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to explore the relationships between preoperative anxiety and its associated factors. RESULTS: Based on the cutoff value of Athens Insomnia Scale (scores ≥ 6) in Chinese cancer patients, the prevalence of insomnia was 38.2% before surgery. Pain (ß = 0.087, p = 0.015) and anxiety (ß = 0.372, p < 0.001) were positively associated with preoperative insomnia, while self-esteem (ß = - 0.479, p < 0.001) and confrontation coping (ß = - 0.124, p = 0.003) showed protective effects on preoperative insomnia when putting them together into hierarchical regression. The associated factors together accounted for an additional variance of preoperative insomnia (47.6%). CONCLUSIONS: In line with previous findings, the detrimental effects of pain and anxiety on preoperative insomnia were also observed in our study. More importantly, our main new findings were that self-esteem and confrontation coping played important roles in alleviating preoperative insomnia among CRC patients. Clinicians should take these results into account when developing cancer care management to relieve preoperative insomnia.

Mesenchymal stem cells enhance the metastasis of 3D-cultured hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidences have demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) could be recruited to the tumor microenvironment. Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSC) were attractive vehicles for delivering therapeutic agents against cancer. Nevertheless, the safety of UCMSC in the treatment of tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was still undetermined. METHODS: In this study, an in vitro co-culture system was established to evaluate the effect of UCMSC on the cell growth, cancer stem cell (CSC) characteristics, drug resistance, metastasis of 3D-cultured HCC cells, and the underlying mechanism was also investigated. RESULTS: It was found that after co-cultured with UCMSC, the metastatic ability of 3D-cultured HCC cells was significantly enhanced as indicated by up-regulation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes, and migration ability. However, cell growth, drug resistance and CSC-related gene expression of HCC cells were not affected by UCMSC. Moreover, EMT was reversed, MMP-2 expression was down-regulated, and migration ability of HCC cell was significantly inhibited when TGF-ß receptor inhibitor SB431542 was added into the co-culture system. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, these data indicated that UCMSC could significantly enhance the tumor cell metastasis, which was due to the EMT of HCC cells induced by TGF-ß.

Flavonoids Extraction from Propolis Attenuates Pathological Cardiac Hypertrophy through PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway.

Propolis, a traditional medicine, has been widely used for a thousand years as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant drug. The flavonoid fraction is the main active component of propolis, which possesses a wide range of biological activities, including activities related to heart disease. However, the role of the flavonoids extraction from propolis (FP) in heart disease remains unknown. This study shows that FP could attenuate ISO-induced pathological cardiac hypertrophy (PCH) and heart failure in mice. The effect of the two fetal cardiac genes, atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) and ß-myosin heavy chain (ß-MHC), on PCH was reversed by FP. Echocardiography analysis revealed cardiac ventricular dilation and contractile dysfunction in ISO-treated mice. This finding is consistent with the increased heart weight and cardiac ANF protein levels, massive replacement fibrosis, and myocardial apoptosis. However, pretreatment of mice with FP could attenuate cardiac dysfunction and hypertrophy in vivo. Furthermore, the cardiac protection of FP was suppressed by the pan-PI3K inhibitor wortmannin. FP is a novel cardioprotective agent that can attenuate adverse cardiac dysfunction, hypertrophy, and associated disorder, such as fibrosis. The effects may be closely correlated with PI3K/AKT signaling. FP may be clinically used to inhibit PCH progression and heart failure.

Neuroprotective effects of cutamesine, a ligand of the sigma-1 receptor chaperone, against noise-induced hearing loss.

The sigma-1 receptor, which is expressed throughout the brain, provides physiological benefits that include higher brain function. The sigma-1 receptor functions as a chaperone in the endoplasmic reticulum and may control cell death and regeneration within the central nervous system. Cutamesine (1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenethyl)-4-(3-phenylpropyl) piperazine dihydrochloride) is a ligand selective for this receptor and may mediate neuroprotective effects in the context of neurodegenerative disease. We therefore assessed whether cutamesine protects the inner ear from noise-induced or aging-associated hearing loss. Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting revealed that the sigma-1 receptor is present in adult cochlea. We treated mice with 0, 3, or 30 mg/kg cutamesine from 10 days before noise exposure until the end of the study. All subjects were exposed to a 120-dB, 4-kHz octave-band noise for 2 hr. We assessed auditory thresholds by measuring the auditory-evoked brainstem responses at 4, 8, and 16 kHz, prior to and 1 week, 1 month, or 3 months following noise exposure. For the aging study, measurements were made before treatment was initiated and after 3 or 9 months of cutamesine treatment. Damage to fibrocytes within the cochlear spiral limbus was assessed by quantitative histology. Cutamesine significantly reduced threshold shifts and cell death within the spiral limbus in response to intense noise. These effects were not dose or time dependent. Conversely, cutamesine did not prevent aging-associated hearing loss. These results suggest that cutamesine reduces noise-induced hearing loss and cochlear damage during the acute phase that follows exposure to an intense noise.

Potential effect of matrix stiffness on the enrichment of tumor initiating cells under three-dimensional culture conditions.

Cancer stem cell (CSC) or tumor initiating cell (TIC) plays an important role in tumor progression and metastasis. Biophysical forces in tumor microenvironment have an important effect on tumor formation and development. In this study, the potential effect of matrix stiffness on the biological characteristics of human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) TICs, especially the enrichment of HNSCC TICs, was investigated under three-dimensional (3D) culture conditions by means of alginate gel (ALG) beads with different matrix stiffnesses. ALG beads with soft (21 kPa), moderate (70 kPa) and hard (105 kPa) stiffness were generated by changing alginate concentration. It was found that significant HNSCC TIC enrichment was achieved in the ALG beads with moderate matrix stiffness (70 kPa). The gene expression of stemness markers Oct3/4 and Nanog, TIC markers CD44 and ABCG2 was enhanced in cells under this moderate (70 kPa) stiffness. HNSCC TIC proportion was also highly enriched under moderate matrix stiffness, accompanying with higher tumorigenicity, metastatic ability and drug resistance. And it was also found that the possible molecular mechanism underlying the regulated TIC properties by matrix stiffness under 3D culture conditions was significantly different from 2D culture condition. Therefore, the results achieved in this study indicated that 3D biophysical microenvironment had an important effect on TIC characteristics and alginate-based biomimetic scaffolds could be utilized as a proper platform to investigate the interaction between tumor cells and 3D microenvironment.

Role of three-dimensional matrix stiffness in regulating the chemoresistance of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was the most common primary liver cancer, and its resistance to anti-tumor drugs often caused the death of patients suffering with HCC. Matrix stiffness was reported to be closely related to tumor chemoresistance; however, the relationship between HCC drug resistance and three-dimensional (3D) matrix stiffness is still unclear at present. In this study, alginate gel (ALG) beads with controllable matrix stiffness were used to mimic tumor tissue rigidity, and the role of 3D matrix stiffness in regulating the chemoresistance of HCC cells was investigated by using these ALG beads. It was found that HCC cells in ALG beads with 105 kPa stiffness had highest resistance to paclitaxel, 5-FU, and cisplatin. Although the mechanism was still uncovered, ABC transporters and endoplasmic reticulum stress-related molecules were highly expressed in ALG bead-encapsulated HCC cells compared with two-dimensional-cultured cells, which suggested a very complex mechanism underlying HCC drug resistance in 3D culture conditions. In addition, to mimic the specific stiffness of HCC tumor tissue, or other tumor tissues in vivo, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to build up a prediction mathematical model so that ALG beads with desired matrix stiffness could be prepared by simply changing three factors: molecular weight, G content, and alginate concentration.

Enrichment of cancer stem cell-like cells by culture in alginate gel beads.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are most likely the reason of cancer reoccurrence and metastasis. For further elucidation of the mechanism underlying the characteristics of CSCs, it is necessary to develop efficient culture systems to culture and expand CSCs. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) culture system based on alginate gel (ALG) beads was reported to enrich CSCs. Two cell lines derived from different histologic origins were encapsulated in ALG beads respectively and the expansion of CSCs was investigated. Compared with two-dimensional (2D) culture, the proportion of cells with CSC-like phenotypes was significantly increased in ALG beads. Expression levels of CSC-related genes were greater in ALG beads than in 2D culture. The increase of CSC proportion after being cultured within ALG beads was further confirmed by enhanced tumorigenicity in vivo. Moreover, increased metastasis ability and higher anti-cancer drug resistance were also observed in 3D-cultured cells. Furthermore, we found that it was hypoxia, through the upregulation of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) that occurred in ALG beads to induce the increasing of CSC proportion. Therefore, ALG bead was an efficient culture system for CSC enrichment, which might provide a useful platform for CSC research and promote the development of new anti-cancer therapies targeting CSCs.

Long-lasting changes in the cochlear K+ recycling structures after acute energy failure.

Fibrocytes in the cochlear lateral wall and spiral limbus play an important role in transporting K(+) and have the capacity of self-renewal. We showed that acute energy failure in the rat cochlea induced by local administration of the mitochondrial toxin 3-nitropropionic acid (3NP) caused hearing loss in a concentration-dependent manner, mainly due to degeneration of cochlear fibrocytes. We produced long-lasting profound cochlear damage in this model by modifying the 3NP administration protocol and observed morphological changes at 16 weeks after the administration. In the spiral ligament, severe degeneration of fibrocytes was observed in the basal turn, and the levels of the Na,K-ATPase alpha and beta1 subunits and of NKCC1 were decreased in these cells, whereas connexin 26 (Cx26) level increased in the type 1 fibrocytes adjacent to the stria vascularis. In the stria vascularis, levels of Kir4.1 and L-PGDS decreased. In the spiral limbus, severe degeneration of fibrocytes was observed in the middle and basal turns, but NKCC1 and Cx26 were still found in the center of the limbus in the middle turn. These results indicate long-lasting changes in the cochlear lateral wall and spiral limbus, which may compensate for damaged K(+) recycling and protect cells from ATP shortage.

Encapsulated human hepatocellular carcinoma cells by alginate gel beads as an in vitro metastasis model.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer and often forms metastases, which are the most important prognostic factors. For further elucidation of the mechanism underlying the progression and metastasis of HCC, a culture system mimicking the in vivo tumor microenvironment is needed. In this study, we investigated the metastatic ability of HCC cells cultured within alginate gel (ALG) beads. In the culture system, HCC cells formed spheroids by proliferation and maintained in nuclear abnormalities. The gene and protein expression of metastasis-related molecules was increased in ALG beads, compared with the traditional adhesion culture. Furthermore, several gene expression levels in ALG bead culture system were even closer to liver cancer tissues. More importantly, in vitro invasion assay showed that the invasion cells derived from ALG beads was 7.8-fold higher than adhesion cells. Our results indicated that the in vitro three-dimensional (3D) model based on ALG beads increased metastatic ability compared with adhesion culture, even partly mimicked the in vivo tumor tissues. Moreover, due to the controllable preparation conditions, steady characteristics and production at large-scale, the 3D ALG bead model would become an important tool used in the high-throughput screening of anti-metastasis drugs and the metastatic mechanism research.

The effect of electrostatic microencapsulation process on biological properties of tumour cells.

Microencapsulation is one of the promising strategies to develop a three-dimensional in vivo tumour-mimic model in cancer research. Although previous studies have shown that tumour cells grow well during the microencapsulated culture, it is still not clear whether the electrostatic encapsulation process has an important effect on cellular characteristics. In this study, we investigated cellular response against non-physiological stress factors existing in the electrostatic microencapsulation process, such as the high-voltage electrostatic field, suspension and nutrition-free status. Our results showed that these non-physiological stress factors did not significantly induce cellular apoptosis, and did not affect cellular adhesion and viability. Furthermore, no change was found about invasion and drug resistance of the tumour cells. The normal endoplasmic reticulum function might play a role in maintaining biological properties during the electrostatic microencapsulation process.

Functional interaction between mesenchymal stem cells and spiral ligament fibrocytes.

Spiral ligament fibrocytes (SLFs) play an important role in normal hearing as well as in several types of sensorineural hearing loss attributable to inner ear homeostasis disorders. Our previous study showed that transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into the inner ear of rats with damaged SLFs significantly accelerates hearing recovery compared with rats without MSC transplantation. To elucidate this mechanism of SLF repair and to determine the contribution of transplanted MSCs in this model, we investigated the mutual effects on differentiation and proliferation between MSCs and SLFs in a coculture system. Factors secreted by SLFs had the ability to promote the transdifferentiation of MSCs into SLF-like cells, and the factors secreted by MSCs had a stimulatory effect on the proliferation of SLFs. Cytokine antibody array analysis revealed the involvement of transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) in SLF proliferation induced by MSCs. In addition, a TGF-ß inhibitor reduced SLF proliferation induced by MSC stimulation. Our results suggest that there are two mechanisms of hearing recovery following transplantation of MSCs into the inner ear: 1) MSCs transdifferentiate into SLF-like cells that compensate for lost SLFs, and 2) transplanted MSCs stimulate the regeneration of host SLFs. Both mechanisms contribute to the functional recovery of the damaged SLF network.

Acoustic overstimulation-induced apoptosis in fibrocytes of the cochlear spiral limbus of mice.

Fibrocytes of the spiral limbus are thought to play a significant role in maintaining ion homeostasis in the cochlea. The present study measured physiological and morphological changes in spiral limbus of mice in response to noise exposure. 6-week-old male C3H/HeJJcl mice were exposed to octave-band noise (120 dB SPL) for 2 h and evaluated at a series of times thereafter, up to 8 weeks. Permanent hearing loss resulted in the mice, as assessed by auditory brainstem response (ABR) recordings. The fibrocytes loss was found in the spiral limbus of the apical turn, which has been proved to be induced by apoptosis. These results suggest that noise exposure might result in apoptosis of fibrocytes in spiral limbus, which suggest a mechanism for noise-induced hearing loss.

Follicle-stimulating hormone and insulin-like growth factor I synergistically induce up-regulation of cartilage link protein (Crtl1) via activation of phosphatidylinositol-dependent kinase/Akt in rat granulosa cells.

FSH and IGF-I are both important determinants of follicle development and the process of cumulus cell-oocyte complex expansion. FSH stimulates the phosphorylation of Akt by mechanisms involving phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K), a pattern of response mimicking that of IGF-I. Cartilage link protein (Crtl1) is confined to the cartilaginous lineage and is assembled into a macroaggregate complex essential for hyaluronan-rich matrix stabilization. The present studies were performed to determine the actions of FSH and IGF-I on Crtl1 production in rat granulosa cells. Primary cultures of granulosa cells were prepared from 24-d-old rats. After treatments, cell extracts and media were prepared, and the Crtl1 level was determined by immunoblotting analysis using anti-Crtl1 antibodies. Here we showed that 1) treatment with FSH (> or = 25 ng/ml) or IGF-I (> or = 25 ng/ml) for 4 h increased Crtl1 production; 2) maximal stimulatory effects of FSH or IGF-I were observed at 100 or 50 ng/ml, respectively; 3) FSH caused a concentration-dependent increase in IGF-I-induced Crtl1 production and vice versa; 4) FSH and IGF-I also up-regulate the expression of Crtl1 mRNA; 5) FSH- and IGF-I-dependent Crtl1 production were abrogated by PI3-K inhibitors (LY294002 and wortmannin), and inhibition of Crtl1 production by p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor (SB202190) was partial (approximately 30%), suggesting that PI3-K and, to a lesser extent, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase are critical for the response. Our study represents the first report that FSH amplifies IGF-I-mediated Crtl1 production, possibly via PI3-K-Akt signaling cascades in rat granulosa cells.

Link protein as an enhancer of cumulus cell-oocyte complex expansion.

To investigate the specific components involved in regulating cumulus cell-oocyte complex (COC) expansion in an in vitro mouse experiment, freshly-isolated COC were cultured in the presence of various combinations of FSH (1.0 microg/ml), proteins of the inter-alpha-inhibitor (I alpha I) family (a light chain, also known as bikunin, heavy chains [HC1 + HC2] and I alpha I [0.01-2.0 microg/ml]) and link protein (LP) (0.016-10 microg/ml) for 24 h and were observed for expansion of their cumulus cells (percent of COC with + 3 and + 4 expansion and average projected area). The COC were videotaped in real time at the initiation of culture and after 24 h of culture. FSH alone did not stimulate cumulus expansion under serum-free conditions; however, treatment with I alpha I (0.1-2.0 microg/ml) or heavy chains (10 microg/ml), but not bikunin (10 micro g/ml), in the presence of FSH significantly increased COC expansion, with maximal promotion occurring at 1.0 microg/ ml of I alpha I. Addition of LP (2.0 micro g/ml) to the medium containing I alpha I (1.0 microg/ml) and FSH resulted in significantly higher expansion levels than were observed in response to I alpha I alone, although LP alone (10 microg/ml) had no or very little effect by itself. Anti-I alpha I or anti-LP polyclonal antibody, which inhibits binding of I alpha I and LP, respectively, to hyaluronic acid (HA), markedly reduced expansion of the surrounding cumulus cell extracellular matrices. Therefore, in vitro, LP might serve, in part, to enhance the COC expansion possibly by stabilizing HA-I alpha I (or heavy chains) complex on the surrounding cumulus cell matrices.