Babao Dan decreases hepatocarcinogenesis by inhibiting hepatic progenitor cells malignant transformation via down-regulating toll-like receptor 4.

Background: Babao Dan (BBD) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been widely used as a complementary and alternative medicine to treat chronic liver diseases. In this study, we aimed to observe the effect of BBD on the incidence of diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-initiated hepatocellular carcinoma formation in rats and explored its possible mechanism. Methods: To verify this hypothesis, BBD was administrated to rats at a dose of 0.5g/kg body weight per two days from the 9th to 12th week in HCC-induced by DEN. Liver injury biomarkers and hepatic inflammatory parameters were evaluated by histopathology as well as serum and hepatic content analysis. We applied immunohistochemical analysis to investigate the expression of CK-19 and SOX-9 in liver tissues. The expression of TLR4 was determined by immunohistochemical, RT-PCR, and western blot analysis. Furthermore, we also detected the efficacy of BBD against primary HPCs neoplastic transformation induced by LPS. Results: We observed that DEN could induce hepatocarcinogenesis, and BBD could obviously decrease the incidence. The biochemical and histopathological examination results confirmed that BBD could protect against liver injury and decrease inflammatory infiltration. Immunohistochemistry staining results showed that BBD could effectively inhibit the ductal reaction and the expression of TLR4. The results showed that BBD-serumcould obviously inhibit primary HPCs neoplastic transformation induced by regulating the TLR4/Ras/ERK signaling pathway. Conclusion: In summary, our results indicate that BBD has potential applications in the prevention and treatment of HCC, which may be related to its effect on hepatic progenitor cells malignant transformation via inhibiting the TLR4/Ras/ERK signaling pathway.

Pharmacokinetic and bioequivalence study of two capecitabine tablets in Chinese patients with breast, colorectal or gastric cancer under fed condition: A multicentric, randomized, open-label, single-dose, two-period, two-way crossover clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the pharmacokinetics, bioequivalence, and safety of two tablet formulations of capecitabine 500 mg in Chinese patients with breast, colorectal or gastric cancer under fed condition. METHODS: A multicentric, randomized, open-label, single-dose, two-period, two-way crossover trial was conducted by randomizing a single oral dose of test (T) or reference (R, Xeloda®) capecitabine (500 mg) to patients of either sex with colon, colorectal or breast cancer under fed condition (high-fat and high-calorie diet). Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using non-compartmental methods. Patients were monitored for safety and tolerability throughout the study. RESULTS: 74 subjects were randomly enrolled. The T/R geometric mean ratios (GMRs) and 90% confidence intervals (CIs) for Cmax, AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ of capecitabine were 96.60% (85.87-108.67%), 99.07% (95.40-102.89%), 99.17% (95.29-103.21%), respectively. All 90% CIs fell within the bioequivalence acceptance range of 80.00-125.00%. The common adverse events (AEs) included clinically significant laboratory abnormalities and gastrointestinal diseases. There were no serious adverse events (SAEs) or deaths during the study. No subject withdrew from the study due to AEs. CONCLUSION: Single oral intake of test and the reference capecitabine tablets were bioequivalent under fed condition and had similar favourable safety profiles in Chinese patients with breast, colorectal or gastric cancer. TRIAL REGISTRATION: chinadrugtrials.org.cn (CTR20182110).

Phase I clinical trial of HC-1119 soft capsule in Chinese healthy adult male subjects: Pharmacokinetics and safety of single-dose proportionality and effects of food.

BACKGROUND: Preclinical studies showed that HC-1119, a deuterated version of enzalutamide, could competitively inhibit androgen binding to androgen receptor by blocking the transmission of androgen receptor signaling pathway as enzalutamide, inducing apoptosis of prostate cancer cells and reducing the proliferation of prostate cancer cells. Animal pharmacokinetic studies also show that deuterization of enzalutamide as HC-1119 could retain the basic properties of mother drug, increases the stability of compounds to metabolic enzymes and the drug exposure in vivo, prolong the half-life and reduce the production of metabolites, which may lead to a better efficacy and safety of HC-1119 compared with enzalutamide. METHODS: To evaluate the pharmacokinetics and safety of HC-1119 and the effects of food on pharmacokinetics in healthy adult Chinese men after single-dose administration of HC-1119. A total of 47 Chinese healthy adult male subjects received HC-1119 soft capsule at a single oral dose of 40, 80, or 160 mg followed on fasting or 160 mg after high-fat meal respectively. HC-1119 prototype and its metabolites M1 and M2 in plasma were collected individually in a total 23 time points. Pharmacokinetics were determined by sensitive LC/MS/MS for dose-proportionality study. RESULTS: In subjects taking HC-1119 soft capsules on fasting, Cmax of HC-1119 prototype increased dose-dependently. Either Cmax and AUC0-∞ of M1 or Cmax of M2 showed statistically significant difference. Dose-proportionality evaluation showed linear pharmacokinetic characteristics in Cmax of HC-1119 prototype, Cmax and AUC0-∞ of M2 in dose range of 40-160 mg. Cmax of HC-1119 was significantly different between the two groups as 160 mg HC-1119 on fasting or after a high-fat diet respectively, while the other parameter were not. HC-1119 and its metabolites M1 and M2 showed a linear dynamic trend. CONCLUSIONS: HC-1119 is expected to have lower clinical dose than the similar drug enzalutamide. The absorption of HC-1119 and the main pharmacokinetic parameters of HC-1119 and its metabolites M1 and M2 were not affected by high-fat diet. The clinical application of HC-1119 soft capsule in the later stage can be recommended for both fasting and postprandial. The safety and tolerance were good in this population.

Irradiated mesenchymal stem cells support stemness maintenance of hepatocellular carcinoma stem cells through Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Cancer stem cells are the main reason of relapse, metastasis and resistance to anti-cancer therapies of Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are an important part of the tumor microenvironment. MSCs have been demonstrated to be involved in drug resistance in tumor. How MSCs contribute to radiotherapy resistance of HCC is still indistinct. METHODS: Flow cytometry analysis was performed to isolate CD133+ cells from HCC cell lines Huh7 and PLC. The stemness of Huh7-CD133 and PLC-CD133 those were co-cultured with IR-MSCs were investigated by Colony formation assay. Tumor formation in nude mice was used to explore the tumorigenicity of CD133+ cancer cells. The activating Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway in CSCs were also detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting. RESULTS: We report that irradiated MSCs (IR-MSCs) could increase the ratio of CD133+ cells in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. IR-MSCs could promote stemness maintenance of HCC stem cells. After co-cultured with IR-MSCs, liver cancer stem cells (CSCs) presented increased colony formation ability and tumor formation ability. We also found IR-MSCs promoted Wnt expression of CSCs. Reverse suppression experiment showed that when Wnt inhibitor was added into the culture medium, the effect of IR-MSCs on stemness maintenance was counteracted. CONCLUSIONS: These data showed that IR-MSCs could support stemness maintenance of CSCs by activating Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

Autophagy and Tumour Metastasis.

Metastasis is the most important biological potential of malignant tumour cells. A variety of mechanisms is involved in regulating tumour invasion and metastasis and interacts with each other, forming a large regulatory system. Autophagy plays an important role in organisms in maintaining environmental homoeostasis. A large amount of evidence has shown that autophagy is also involved in tumour development processes, including invasion and metastasis. Autophagy not only controls some biological processes in tumour cells but is also affected by the microenvironment. Therefore, the role of autophagy in tumours is far more important and complicated than previously estimated. The role of autophagy in tumour metastasis will be discussed in this chapter.

BabaoDan attenuates high-fat diet-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease via activation of AMPK signaling.

BACKGROUND: Babaodan (BBD), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been shown to have protective effects during liver injury and ameliorate liver disease progression, but little is known about its effect on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of BBD on obesity-induced NAFLD. METHODS: C57BL/6 J mice were fed with normal diet, high fat diet (HFD) or HFD + BBD for 8 weeks. Weights of all mice were recorded every 3 days. At the end of the experiments, the level of livers, kidneys and adipose tissues of each animal was weighed. Blood serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), glucose and leptin were detected with appropriate test kits. Haematoxylin-eosin (HE), Masson trichrome and Oil Red O staining of the liver were performed. We applied immunohistochemical analysis to investigate the expression of TNF-α, IL-6 and leptin in liver tissue. The expression of genes related lipid anabolism (SREBP1-c, ACC, SCD-1, LXRα and CD36) and ß-oxidation (CPT-1 and PPARα) in liver and adipose tissues was determined by RT-PCR. The expression of AMPK and p-AMPK was determined by western blot analysis. RESULTS: We found the weight of bodies and tissues (retroperitoneal fat pads, kidneys and livers) of mice fed with HFD + BBD were significantly lower than that of HFD-fed mice. And liver injury induced by HFD was relieved in mice treated with BBD, accompanied with significant reduction were observed in serum ALT/AST activities and alleviated pathological damage. The levels of glucose, TG, TC, HDL-C and LDL-C in the liver or serum were significantly decreased on HFD + BBD group compared with HFD group. Furthermore, BBD treatment reduced the level of TNF-α and IL-6 induced by HFD. The level of leptin in the liver and serum were reduced in mice fed with HFD + BBD than that of HFD-fed mice. Several lipid synthesis genes (SREBP1-c, ACC, SCD-1, LXRα and CD36) were down-regulated and that of ß-oxidation (CPT-1 and PPARα) up-regulated in HFD + BBD group compared with HFD group. In addition, BBD increased the expression of p-AMPK compared with untreated HFD group, which suggested BBD improved the activation of AMPK pathway. CONCLUSION: In summary, our results indicate that BBD has potential applications in the prevention and treatment of NAFLD, which may be closely related to its effect on lipid metabolism via activation of AMPK signaling.

Inhibition of Autophagy with Chloroquine Enhanced Sinoporphyrin Sodium Mediated Photodynamic Therapy-induced Apoptosis in Human Colorectal Cancer Cells.

To evaluate the antitumor effect of sinoporphyrin sodium mediated photodynamic therapy (DVDMS-PDT) against human colorectal cancer (CRC) and to investigate the role of autophagy in its effect. Shrunken cells, condensed nuclei and increased levels of cleaved caspase-3 and Bax were observed in DVDMS-PDT treated HCT116 cells, reminiscent of apoptosis. DVDMS-PDT showed better antitumor efficiency in HCT116 cells than Photofrin mediated photodynamic therapy (PF-PDT) both in vitro and in vivo. And DVDMS-PDT caused autophagic characteristics: double membrane autophagosome structures and changes in autophagy-related protein expression (ATG7, P62, Bcl-2 and LC3-Ⅱ). In addition, inhibition of autophagy by chloroquine (CQ) promoted apoptosis, suggesting a possible protective role of autophagy in DVDMS-PDT-treated HCT116 cells, which was proved by flow cytometry and western blotting. The results of xenograft mouse model showed markedly increased apoptosis and significantly reduced tumor size in DVDMS-PDT treated group than Control, and DVDMS-PDT exhibited better antitumor efficiency than PF-PDT. Further, no visible tumor was observed in the CQ+DVDMS-PDT group at the end of the xenograft mouse experiment, which confirmed the hypothesis that autophagy was protective to DVDMS-PDT treated HCT116 cells. Our findings suggest that DVDMS is a promising photosensitizer and the combined use of autophagy inhibitor can remarkably enhance the DVDMS-PDT mediated anti-cancer efficiency in HCT116 cells both in vitro and in vivo.

Inhibition of DNMT suppresses the stemness of colorectal cancer cells through down-regulating Wnt signaling pathway.

Cancer stem cell (CSC) theory reveals a new insight into the understanding of tumorigenesis and metastasis. Recently, DNA methylation is suggested to be a potential epigenetic mechanism for maintenance of CSCs. What's more, studies have shown that DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) is essential for CSCs and deletion of DNMT can reduce tumorigenesis by limiting CSC pool. Therefore, targeting the epigenetic modifiers especially DNA methylation offers an optional strategy for treating human cancers. In the present study we found that DNMT inhibitor 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-AzaDC) markedly reduced colorectal CSC abundance in vitro and suppressed liver metastatic tumor growth in vivo. And 5-AzaDC inhibited the expression of active ß-catenin and down-regulated the Wnt signaling pathway. The Wnt inhibitors were frequently inactivated by promoter methylation in colorectal cancer; however analysis of TCGA data base showed that only the expression of SFRP1 was significantly reduced in tumors compared to normal tissues. In addition, restoring of SFRP1 expression inhibited the stem cell-like potential of colorectal cancer cells. Our results indicated that inhibition of DNMT blocked the self-renewal of colorectal CSCs and SFRP1 was essential for the maintenance of colorectal CSCs.

Inhibition of Growth and Metastasis of Colon Cancer by Delivering 5-Fluorouracil-loaded Pluronic P85 Copolymer Micelles.

Hepatic metastasis is the leading cause of mortality of colon cancer, which is still lack of an effective therapy. A new delivery system, pluronic P85 block copolymers, conveying chemotherapeutic agent 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) for inhibiting growth and metastasis of colon cancer was designed and developed. In this study, we demonstrated that 5-Fu produce strong pesticide effect at lower doses in the present of pluronic P85 compared with control groups. The migration and invasion of HCT116 cells and RKO cells were examined and the results showed that migration and invasion capacities of HCT116 cells and RKO cells were reduced by administering 5-Fu/P85 copolymer micelles in vitro and in vivo which indicating an effectively activity. Interestingly, the content of CD133 + CXCR4+ cells in HCT116 cancer cells and RKO cells treated by 5-Fu/P85 copolymer micelles was decreased. Importantly, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of CD133 + CXCR4+ cells, which was strongly associated with liver metastasis of colon cancer, was also suppressed by giving 5-Fu/P85 copolymer micelles. The results indicated that 5-Fu/P85 copolymer micelles could inhibit the growth and metastasis of colon cancer, which could be attributed to the decrease of the content of CD133 + CXCR4+ cells and suppression of EMT of CD133 + CXCR4+ cells.

Controlled and Targeted Drug Delivery by a UV-responsive Liposome for Overcoming Chemo-resistance in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Although chemotherapy plays a vital role in treating non-Hodgkin lymphomas, the clinical applications are limited because of intolerable side-effects and multidrug resistance at the beginning or during the course of therapy. In this study, we successfully fabricated a CD20-targeting immuno-liposome based on 1,2-bis(10,12-tricosadiynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DC-8,9PC), which can form intermolecular cross-linking through the diacetylenic group by ultraviolet irradiation. This immuno-liposome showed appropriate size distribution, well-defined regular spherical structure, favorable biocompatibility, high serum stability, and prolonged circulation time in blood vessels. The in and ex vivo experiments demonstrate enhanced tumor suppression abilities against both wild-type and resistant non-Hodgkin lymphomas for liposomal doxorubicin when compared with free drugs. The outstanding antitumor activities are attributed to the accumulation and retention of liposomal drugs in malignant tissues and cells, which are realized by the co-operation of active targeting via antibody-antigen reaction and passive targeting via enhanced permeability and retention effect.

Male-specific induction of CYP3A2 in rats by zolmitriptan.

We report here a novel observation that zolmitriptan induced CYP3A2 in male but not female rats. As part of our research programme to evaluate sex differences in the response to zolmitriptan, we studied the effects of zolmitriptan on CYP3A activity, protein and gene expression in male and female rats. Zolmitriptan was found to induce CYP3A activity, measured as testosterone and diazepam metabolism in-vitro, as well as midazolam pharmacokinetics in-vivo, in male but not female rats. The sex difference in response to zolmitriptan was further evaluated by analysis of CYP3A1/2 mRNA levels using real-time PCR, and CYP3A1/2 protein levels using immunoblotting. Zolmitriptan preferentially induced CYP3A2 in male but not female rats. No obvious effects on CYP3A1 were observed at any dose in either sex. Thus, we concluded that the observed sex-dependent induction of CYP3A by zolmitriptan was largely due to induction of CYP3A2 in male rats.

Simultaneous determination of phenylglyoxylic acid, mandelic acid, styrene glycol and hippuric acid in primary culture of rat hepatocytes incubate by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A simple HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of phenylglyoxylic acid (PGA), mandelic acid (MA), styrene glycol (SG) and hippuric acid (HA) in cell culture medium was developed. Analysis was performed on a C(18) column with a mobile phase composed of methanol-potassium dihydrogen phosphate (pH 2.5; 10 mM; 10:90, v/v) at 220 nm. The flow-rate of mobile phase was set at 0.5 mL/min. The mean absolute recoveries of PGA, MA, SG and HA were 95.9, 98.4, 98.0 and 97.1%, respectively. The inter-day and intra-day precisions, determined at three concentration levels, were less than 10% of RSD. The limits of quantification for PGA, MA, SG and HA were 13.2, 13.1, 14.5 and 11.2 microM with RSD less than 20%. The limits of detection for PGA, MA, SG and HA were 4.6, 4.6, 5.1 and 3.9 microM, respectively. The method was successfully applied to study the stereoselective metabolism of SG and MA in primary culture of rat hepatocytes. The results show that there is stereoselective metabolism for both of MA and SG in primary culture of rat hepatocytes. The extent of biotransformation from S-MA to PGA is significantly greater than that from the R enantiomer and the main metabolites are PGA and HA for S-SG and R-SG, respectively.