Neotuberostemonine and tuberostemonine ameliorate pulmonary fibrosis through suppressing TGF-ß and SDF-1 secreted by macrophages and fibroblasts via the PI3K-dependent AKT and ERK pathways.

Activated fibroblasts and M2-polarized macrophages may contribute to the progression of pulmonary fibrosis by forming a positive feedback loop. This study was aimed to investigate whether fibroblasts and macrophages form this loop by secreting SDF-1 and TGF-ß and the impacts of neotuberostemonine (NTS) and tuberostemonine (TS). Mice were intratracheally injected with 3 U·kg-1 bleomycin and orally administered with 30 mg·kg-1 NTS or TS. Primary pulmonary fibroblasts (PFBs) and MH-S cells (alveolar macrophages) were used in vitro. The animal experiments showed that NTS and TS improved fibrosis related indicators, inhibited fibroblast activation and macrophage M2 polarization, and reduced the levels of TGF-ß and SDF-1 in alveolar lavage fluid. Cell experiments showed that TGF-ß1 may activated fibroblasts into myofibroblasts secreting SDF-1 by activating the PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α and PI3K/PAK/RAF/ERK/HIF-1α pathways. It was also found for the first time that SDF-1 was able to directly polarize macrophages into M2 phenotype secreting TGF-ß through the same pathways as mentioned above. Moreover, the results of the cell coculture confirmed that fibroblasts and macrophages actually developed a feedback loop to promote fibrosis, and the secretion of TGF-ß and SDF-1 was crucial for maintaining this loop. NTS and TS may disturb this loop through inhibiting both the PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α and PI3K/PAK/RAF/ERK/HIF-1α pathways to improve pulmonary fibrosis. NTS and TS are stereoisomeric alkaloids with pyrrole[1,2-a]azapine skeleton, and their effect on improving pulmonary fibrosis may be largely attributed to their parent nucleus. Moreover, this study found that inhibition of both the AKT and ERK pathways is essential for maximizing the improvement of pulmonary fibrosis.

Neotuberostemonine inhibits the differentiation of lung fibroblasts into myofibroblasts in mice by regulating HIF-1α signaling.

Pulmonary fibrosis may be partially the result of deregulated tissue repair in response to chronic hypoxia. In this study we explored the effects of hypoxia on lung fibroblasts and the effects of neotuberostemonine (NTS), a natural alkaloid isolated from Stemona tuberosa, on activation of fibroblasts in vitro and in vivo. PLFs (primary mouse lung fibroblasts) were activated and differentiated after exposure to 1% O2 or treatment with CoCl2 (100 µmol/L), evidenced by markedly increased protein or mRNA expression of HIF-1α, TGF-ß, FGF2, α-SMA and Col-1α/3α, which was blocked after silencing HIF-1α, suggesting that the activation of fibroblasts was HIF-1α-dependent. NTS (0.1-10 µmol/L) dose-dependently suppressed hypoxia-induced activation and differentiation of PLFs, whereas the inhibitory effect of NTS was abolished by co-treatment with MG132, a proteasome inhibitor. Since prolyl hydroxylation is a critical step in initiation of HIF-1α degradation, we further showed that NTS treatment reversed hypoxia- or CoCl2-induced reduction in expression of prolyl hydroxylated-HIF-1α. With hypoxyprobe immunofiuorescence staining, we showed that NTS treatment directly reversed the lower oxygen tension in hypoxia-exposed PLFs. In a mouse model of lung fibrosis, oral administration of NTS (30 mg·kg-1·d-1, for 1 or 2 weeks) effectively attenuated bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis by inhibiting the levels of HIF-1α and its downstream profibrotic factors (TGF-ß, FGF2 and α-SMA). Taken together, these results demonstrate that NTS inhibits the protein expression of HIF-1α and its downstream factors TGF-ß, FGF2 and α-SMA both in hypoxia-exposed fibroblasts and in lung tissues of BLM-treated mice. NTS with anti-HIF-1α activity may be a promising pharmacological agent for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.

Citrus fruits as a treasure trove of active natural metabolites that potentially provide benefits for human health.

Citrus fruits, which are cultivated worldwide, have been recognized as some of the most high-consumption fruits in terms of energy, nutrients and health supplements. What is more, a number of these fruits have been used as traditional medicinal herbs to cure diseases in several Asian countries. Numerous studies have focused on Citrus secondary metabolites as well as bioactivities and have been intended to develop new chemotherapeutic or complementary medicine in recent decades. Citrus-derived secondary metabolites, including flavonoids, alkaloids, limonoids, coumarins, carotenoids, phenolic acids and essential oils, are of vital importance to human health due to their active properties. These characteristics include anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, as well as cardiovascular protective effects, neuroprotective effects, etc. This review summarizes the global distribution and taxonomy, numerous secondary metabolites and bioactivities of Citrus fruits to provide a reference for further study. Flavonoids as characteristic bioactive metabolites in Citrus fruits are mainly introduced.