Anti-inflammatory effect of proanthocyanidins from blueberry through NF-κß/NLRP3 signaling pathway in vivo and in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is an uncontrolled systemic inflammatory response. Proanthocyanidins (PC) is a general term of polyphenol compounds widely existed in blueberry fruits and can treat inflammation-related diseases. This study aimed to explore the regulatory effect of PC on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced systemic inflammation and its potential mechanism, providing effective strategies for the further development of PC. METHODS: Here, RAW264.7 macrophages were stimulated with LPS to establish an inflammation model in vitro, while endotoxin shock mouse models were constructed by LPS in vivo. The function of PC was investigated by MTT, ELISA kits, H&E staining, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot analysis. RESULTS: Functionally, PC could demonstrate the potential to mitigate mortality in mice with endotoxin shock, as well as attenuated the levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α) and biochemical indicators (AST, ALT, CRE and BUN). Moreover, it had a significant protective effect on lung and kidney tissues damage. Mechanistically, PC exerted anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the activation of the NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: PC might have the potential ability of anti-inflammatory effects via modulation of the NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway.

The inhibitory impact of Schisandrin on inflammation and oxidative stress alleviates LPS-induced acute kidney injury.

Inflammation and oxidative stress (OS) are the major pathogenic characteristics of acute kidney injury (AKI). Studies have shown that Schisandrin (Sch) could regulate inflammatory disease. However, the function and mechanism of Sch in AKI progression are still unknown. Here, we investigated Sch's potential effects and mechanism on mice's renal damage and macrophages induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Sch decreased LPS-induced inflammatory factor production while increasing the activity of related antioxidant enzymes in macrophages and mouse kidney tissues. Hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed that Sch may have the ability to profoundly inhibit inflammatory cell invasion and tissue damage caused by LPS in renal tissue. Furthermore, Western blot and immunohistochemical studies showed that Sch exerted its effects mainly through up-regulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/heme oxygenase-1 and inhibition of Toll-like receptor 4‒mitogen-activated protein kinases/nuclear factor-kappa B pathways. Collectively, this study illustrates that Sch suppresses LPS-stimulated AKI by descending inflammation and OS, illuminating prospective AKI treatment options.

Bletilla striata polysaccharide attenuated the progression of pulmonary fibrosis by inhibiting TGF-ß1/Smad signaling pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Bletilla striata, a traditional medicinal plant, has been utilized as a folk medicine for many years because of its superior biological activity in China. However, Bletilla striata polysaccharide (BSP) has received less attention, and its specific mechanism for ameliorating pulmonary fibrosis is completely unclear. AIMS OF THE STUDY: In this study, we aim to assess BSP on the treatment of PF and explore potential mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: BSP was successfully extracted and purified from Bletilla striata. The mechanisms were assessed in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis model and lung fibroblasts activated by transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1). Histological analysis, immunofluorescence, Western blot and flow cytometry were used to explore the alterations after BSP intervention. RESULTS: The results in vivo showed an anti-PF effect of BSP treatment, which reduced pathogenic damages. Furthermore, TGF-ß1-induced abnormal migration and upregulated expression of collagen I (COL1A1), vimentin and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) were suppressed by BSP in L929 cells. Moreover, the abnormal proliferation was retarded by inhibiting the cell cycle of G1 to S phase. Immunofluorescence assay showed that BSP activated autophagy and played an antifibrotic role by inhibiting the expression of p62 and phospho-mammalian target of rapamycin (p-mTOR). Last but not least, the suppression of TGF-ß1/Smad signaling pathway was critical for BSP to perform therapeutic effects in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSION: The possible mechanisms were involved in improving ECM deposition, regulating cell migration and proliferation, and promoting cellular autophagy. Briefly, all of the above revealed that BSP might be a novel therapy for treating pulmonary fibrosis.

Lattice Strain and Charge Redistribution of Pt Cluster/Ir Metallene Heterostructure for Ethylene Glycol to Glycolic Acid Conversion Coupled with Hydrogen Production.

Upgrading overall water splitting (OWS) system and developing high-performance electrocatalysts is an attractive way to the improve efficiency and reduce the consumption of hydrogen (H2 ) production from electrolyzed water. Here, a Pt cluster/Ir metallene heterojunction structure (Pt/Ir hetero-metallene) with a unique Pt/Ir interface is reported for the conversion of ethylene glycol (EG) to glycolic acid (GA) coupled with H2 production. With the assistance of ethylene glycol oxidation (EGOR), the Pt/Ir||Pt/Ir hetero-metallene two-electrode water electrolysis system exhibits a lower cell voltage of 0.36 V at 10 mA cm-2 . Furthermore, the Faradaic efficiency of EG to GA is as high as 87%. The excellent performance of this new heterostructure arise from the charge redistribution and strain effects induced by Pt-Ir interactions between the heterogeneous interfaces, as well as the larger specific surface area and more active sites due to the metallene structure.

(-)-Epicatechin gallate blocked cellular foam formation in atherosclerosis by modulating CD36 expression in vitro and in vivo.

Green tea is popular worldwide, so its main active ingredients have attracted people's attention. (-)-Epicatechin gallate (ECG) is the main active component of green tea polyphenols, which has good antioxidant activity, but its cardiovascular intervention is unknown. This study established in vitro and in vivo models of ox-LDL-induced macrophages and HFD-induced ApoE-/- mice to study the effects of ECG on atherosclerotic lesions. Firstly, the study confirmed that ECG has a therapeutic effect in different stages of atherosclerotic plaques. Subsequently, the results showed that the ox-LDL-induced release of pro-inflammatory mediators and the expression of the related protein CD86 in macrophages were inhibited by ECG. ECG blocked the formation of cellular foam by downregulating the expression of CD36 and LOX-1 proteins, thereby increasing SOD activity and reducing MDA production in cells. ECG also prevented ox-LDL-induced apoptosis, promoted macrophage migration, and increased plaque stability. The results confirmed that ECG attenuated ox-LDL-induced green fluorescence of ROS in macrophages by inhibiting the expression of related proteins in the NF-κB signaling pathway and activating the HO-1/Nrf2 signaling pathway. These results indicated that ECG has anti-oxidative stress and anti-inflammatory potential, and its molecular mechanism may be related to the inhibition of intracellular NF-κB signaling pathway proteins and activation of the HO-1/Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Panlongqi tablet suppresses adjuvant-induced rheumatoid arthritis by inhibiting the inflammatory reponse in vivo and in vitro.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Panlongqi Tablet is prepared with the ancestral secret recipe provided by Mr. Wang Jiacheng, a famous specialist in orthopedics and traumatology of China. The efficacy and safety of PLQT have been supported by years of clinical practice in the treatment of joint-related conditions. Has remarkable effect for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) clinically. However, its mechanism is not entirely clear. AIM OF THE STUDY: We aim to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of PLQT and explore its mechanism in adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) mice and LPS-induced Human fibroblast-like synovial (HFLS) cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To this end, we analyzed the active ingredients in PLQT by HPLC-MS/MS. Furthermore, the anti-RA effect of PLQT was studied through proliferation, apoptosis, foot swelling, cytokine levels, immune organ index, histopathology and related signal pathways in LPS-induced HFLS cells and AA-treated mice. RESULTS: HPLC-MS/MS results showed that PLQT contained a variety of active compounds, such as epicatechin, imperatorin, hydroxysafflor yellow A and so on. PLQT significantly inhibited the abnormal proliferation of HFLS cells induced by LPS, promoted cell apoptosis. In AA-treated mice, PLQT alleviated RA symptoms by alleviating paw swelling, synovial hyperplasia, pannus formation, inflammatory cell infiltration, and inhibiting abnormal immune responses. The results showed that PLQT significantly decreased the expression of inflammatory mediators (IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-17) in vivo and in vitro, which may be related to the regulation of PI3K/Akt, MAPK and JAK/STAT signaling pathways. CONCLUSION: Based on serum pharmacology and in vivo pharmacology studies, PLQT may regulate RA symptoms by regulating inflammatory and immune response-related pathways, which is an effective method for the treatment of RA.

Immunoenhancement activity of Bletilla striata polysaccharide through MAPK and NF-κB signalling pathways in vivo and in vitro.

Bletilla striata (Thunb.) Reichb.f., is a traditional Chinese medicine, and the Bletilla striata polysaccharide (BSP) is one of the principal components extracted from Bletilla striata with various biological activities. Previous studies have shown that many natural polysaccharides have significant immunomodulatory activities. However, as a plant polysaccharide, the research of BSP on immunomodulatory activities is limited. In this study, we aim to investigate the immunomodulatory effect of BSP in vivo and further explore its underlying mechanism in vitro. In vivo, a cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced immunosuppression mice mode was established by intraperitoneal injection of CTX, and the immune-enhancing effect of BSP (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg) on immunosuppressed mice were evaluated. The result indicated that BSP could significantly improve the immune organ index and the content of immunoglobulin, TNF-α and IL-4 in serum. It was also found that BSP could clearly ameliorate the spleen damage induced by CTX. Meanwhile, the result showed that BSP could not only improve the proliferation of splenocytes, but also activate the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and acid phosphatase (ACP) in mouse spleen tissue. In vitro, potential mechanism was further revealed in macrophages. The result supported that BSP could activate macrophages with high phagocytic ability, and induce macrophages to secrete cytokines. Finally, it revealed that activation of NF-κB and MAPK signalling pathway should be the underlying mechanism of the immunoenhancment of BSP.

Tectoridin exhibits anti-rheumatoid arthritis activity through the inhibition of the inflammatory response and the MAPK pathway in vivo and in vitro.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by inflammation infiltration of the synovial tissues and the fibroblast-like synoviocytes. Tectoridin is a botanical active ingredient with anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, the anti-arthritic effects of tectoridin and its mechanism of action are examined in TNF-α-induced human fibroblast-like synovial cells (HFLSs cells) and complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-stimulated arthritic mice. Arthritis progression was evaluated via bodyweight, hind paw swelling, organ index, and synovial pathology. IL-1ß, IL-6 and other pro-inflammatory factors concentrations, and the expression of MAPK pathway proteins in HFLSs cells and arthritic mice were measured using ELISA and western blotting. Results showed that tectoridin significantly decreased the swelling of the paws and joints as well as the increased immune organ index within CFA-induced arthritic mice. Histopathological analysis showed that tectoridin alleviated the lesions of ankle joints and synovial tissues induced by CFA. Secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines in TNF-α-induced HFLSs cells and CFA-stimulated arthritic mice were also abated by tectoridin. Similarly, the presence of tectoridin significantly inhibited the abnormal phosphorylation levels of ERK, JNK, and p38 in vivo and in vitro. All those results highlighted that tectoridin exhibits anti-arthritis effects by inhibiting MAPK-mediated inflammatory responses.

Tectoridin alleviates lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation via inhibiting TLR4-NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling in vivo and in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Tectoridin, widely extracted and separated from the rhizome of Iris tectorum Maxim, is extensively reported to have affluent bioactivity, but rarely reported to have anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we aim to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects and the underlying mechanisms of tectoridin. METHODS: Here, RAW264.7 macrophages were stimulated with Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for the inflammation model in vitro. Experimental animals received tectoridin and Dexamethasone (DEX) before LPS injection for endotoxic shock mouse model in vivo. The pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines in the cell supernatant and serum were detected by ELISA kits. The tissue damages were assessed by biochemical indexes and H&E staining. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were performed for the detection of proteins. RESULTS: Our data showed that tectoridin attenuated the LPS-up-regulated nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-18 (IL-18) from macrophages and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α); (IL-6) and (IL-1ß) in the serum levels. Besides, our histopathological study showed that the damages caused by LPS in the lung, liver, and kidney tissues were decreased. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that tectoridin inhibited the activation of TLR4-NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling proved by immunohistochemistry assay and Western blot. CONCLUSION: Taken all together, tectoridin might have the potential ability of anti-inflammatory effects and the possible mechanism may be relevant to its inhibition of TLR4-NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling.

Tectoridin ameliorates proliferation and inflammation in TNF-α-induced HFLS-RA cells via suppressing the TLR4/NLRP3/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Tectoridin, isolated from the dry rhizome of iris, is a compound with multiple biological activities. However, its biological roles in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have still not been clearly elucidated. The aim of this study was to focus on the effects of tectoridin on tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-induced human fibroblast­like synoviocyte rheumatoid arthritis (HFLS­RA) cells, and its associated mechanisms. After TNF-α stimulation, CCK8 and MTT assays, TUNEL assay and flow cytometry, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry analysis were performed to check the cell proliferation, cell apoptosis and cycle analysis, and the expression of related proteins, respectively. Our results showed that tectoridin significantly hindered cell proliferation, S-to-G2/M phase transition and down-regulated Cyclind 1 and PCNA protein levels. Additionally, tectoridin markedly promoted apoptosis rates of HFSL-RA cells and elevated the expression levels of Cleaved Caspase-3 and Bax, while reduced the expression level of Bcl-2. Moreover, tectoridin reversed TNF-α-induced overexpression of MMPs and factors associated with the TLR4/NLRP3/NF-κB pathway. We conclude that tectoridin ameliorated TNF-α-induced proliferation and inflammation by inhibiting TLR4/NLRP3/NF-κB pathway. It might provide a new insight for the clinical application of RA.

Schisandrin improves lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury by inhibiting the inflammatory response in vivo and in vitro.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by an excessive inflammatory response, closely related to sepsis occurrence and development. It has been reported that Schisandrin (Sch) exhibits anti-inflammatory activity. However, whether the beneficial effects of Sch exists during ALI remains to be studied. In this study, the impact of Sch was evaluated by studying lung tissue damage, measuring the concentrations of pro-inflammatory factors, and the expression of apoptotic proteins in the LPS-induced ALI mice model. Protein expression of inflammation-related signaling pathway within the lung tissue and A549 cells were also measured. In addition, the effect of Sch on A549 cell apoptosis and inflammatory markers was also detected. Animal experiments demonstrated that pre-feeding Sch alleviated the production of inflammation mediators, abnormal pathological injuries, and blocked the progression of apoptotic events in the lung tissue. The in vitro experiments showed that Sch pretreatment reduced LPS upregulated interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), IL-18, and IL-6 levels, and improved LPS-induced abnormal apoptosis. Sch and the pathway inhibitor AG490 also inhibited the expression levels of p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 in A549 cells. Moreover, pretreatment with Sch significantly inhibited the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes, reduced inducible nitric oxide synthase, and cyclooxygenase 2 proteins expression during ALI in vitro and in vivo. Overall, Sch effectively alleviated ALI and provided a new mechanism to support the protective effect of Sch for sepsis-induced ALI. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: ALI is characterized by inflammatory injury of the lungs, which is an important cause of high morbidity and mortality in severe patients. Sch is considered as a botanical active ingredient with various pharmacological activities, such as neuroprotective and vascular protective effects. However, the effect of Sch on ALI and its mechanism remains largely unknown. Research data indicate that Sch exerts an anti-inflammatory effect by reducing the production of inflammatory factors and abnormal apoptosis of cells, further alleviating lung damage. The protective effect of Sch was associated with inhibition of the activation of NLRP3 and the JAK2/STAT3 inflammatory pathways. The study, therefore, confirmed that Sch has a potential as an effective drug to prevent ALI diseases.

An Image-Based Benchmark Dataset and a Novel Object Detector for Water Surface Object Detection.

Water surface object detection is one of the most significant tasks in autonomous driving and water surface vision applications. To date, existing public large-scale datasets collected from websites do not focus on specific scenarios. As a characteristic of these datasets, the quantity of the images and instances is also still at a low level. To accelerate the development of water surface autonomous driving, this paper proposes a large-scale, high-quality annotated benchmark dataset, named Water Surface Object Detection Dataset (WSODD), to benchmark different water surface object detection algorithms. The proposed dataset consists of 7,467 water surface images in different water environments, climate conditions, and shooting times. In addition, the dataset comprises a total of 14 common object categories and 21,911 instances. Simultaneously, more specific scenarios are focused on in WSODD. In order to find a straightforward architecture to provide good performance on WSODD, a new object detector, named CRB-Net, is proposed to serve as a baseline. In experiments, CRB-Net was compared with 16 state-of-the-art object detection methods and outperformed all of them in terms of detection precision. In this paper, we further discuss the effect of the dataset diversity (e.g., instance size, lighting conditions), training set size, and dataset details (e.g., method of categorization). Cross-dataset validation shows that WSODD significantly outperforms other relevant datasets and that the adaptability of CRB-Net is excellent.

(-)-Epicatechin gallate blocks the development of atherosclerosis by regulating oxidative stress in vivo and in vitro.

(-)-Epicatechin gallate (ECG), as a compound in green tea extract polyphenols, has specific therapeutic effects against oxidative stress. Oxidative stress exists throughout the pathological development of atherosclerosis. In this study, two atherosclerosis models, oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and high fat diet (HFD)-induced ApoE-/- mice, were applied to explore the mechanism of ECG intervention on AS. In vivo and in vitro studies showed that ECG reduced the level of MDA and increased the activity of SOD, which are oxidative stress factors. ECG also improved HFD-induced disorder of lipid factor expression in the serum of ApoE-/- mice and alleviated oxidative stress by enhancing the antioxidant activity. The potential mechanism was supposed to be the inhibition of the phosphorylation of p65 by ECG in the NF-κB pathway in the aorta, thereby blocking the expression of inflammatory mediators. In addition, ECG increased the stability of atherosclerosis plaques by reducing the expression of MMP-2 and ICAM-1 in atherosclerosis diseased tissues. ECG reduced lipid accumulation in the aorta and its roots and also plaque neoplasia. Western blotting experiments indicated that ECG increased the nuclear transfer of Nrf2 and the expression of heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) was increased. These results demonstrated that ECG significantly reduced the formation of aortic plaque in ApoE-/- mice which was possibly triggered by the inhibition of hyperlipidemia and oxidative stress that exhibited the anti-atherosclerotic potential.

Quyu Shengxin capsule (QSC) inhibits Ang-II-induced abnormal proliferation of VSMCs by down-regulating TGF-ß, VEGF, mTOR and JAK-STAT pathways.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Quyu Shengxin capsule (QSC) is an herbal compound commonly used to treat blood stasis syndrome in China, and blood stasis syndrome is considered to be the root of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in traditional Chinese medicine. However, the potential molecular mechanism of QSC is still unknown. AIM OF STUDY: To study the therapeutic effect of QSC on the abnormal proliferation of VSMCs induced by Ang-II, and to explore its possible mechanism of action. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Qualitative analysis and quality control of QSC through UPLC-MS/MS and UPLC. The rat thoracic aorta vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) were cultured in vitro, and then stimulated with Angiotensin Ⅱ (Ang-II) (10-7 mol/L) for 24 h to establish a cardiovascular cell model. The cells were then treated with different concentrations of QSC drug-containing serum or normal goat serum. MTT assay was used to detect the viability of VSMCs and abnormal cell proliferation. In order to analyze the possible signal transduction pathways, the content of various factors in the supernatant of VSMCs was screened and determined by means of the Luminex liquid suspension chip detection platform, and the phosphoprotein profile in VSMCs was screened by Phospho Explorer antibody array. RESULTS: Compared with the model group, serum cell viability and inflammatory factor levels with QSC were significantly decreased (P < 0.001). In addition, the expression levels of TGF-ß, VEGF, mTOR and JAK-STAT in the QSC-containing serum treatment group were significantly lower than those in the model group. QSC may regulate the pathological process of CVD by reducing the levels of inflammatory mediators and cytokines, and protecting VSMCs from the abnormal proliferation induced by Ang-II. CONCLUSION: QSC inhibits Ang-II-induced abnormal proliferation of VSMCs, which is related to the down-regulation of TGF-ß, VEGF, mTOR and JAK-STAT pathways.

Poria cocos polysaccharides reduces high-fat diet-induced arteriosclerosis in ApoE-/- mice by inhibiting inflammation.

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the arteries, which is closely related to dyslipidemia, inflammatory factors, and oxidative stress. Poria cocos polysaccharides (PCP) are one of the main active ingredients of Poria, which has significant pharmacological effects. In this study, the potential protective mechanism of PCP on AS was discussed in the ApoE-/- mice model induced by high-fat diet. These pathological changes were evaluated by H&E and oil red O staining. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in aortic tissue were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. These protein expressions were detected by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. The results showed that PCP inhibited the serum inflammatory mediators (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and nitric oxide) and lipids (low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglyceride, and total cholesterol) increase. Moreover, PCP also reduced the concentration of malondialdehyde, increased the activity of superoxide dismutase, and improved the pathological changes of the aorta. Finally, PCP inhibited the activation of the TLR4/NF-κB pathway in the aorta and blocked the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 2 and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 proteins. In short, PCP intervenes in AS by reducing inflammatory factors and blood lipid levels.

Imperatorin reduces the inflammatory response of atherosclerosis by regulating MAPKs signaling pathway in vivo and in vitro.

Inflammation plays an important role in the process of atherosclerosis (AS). Inhibition of inflammation is an effective way to prevent AS. Imperatorin (IMP) is a kind of furan coumarin with various activities. In this study, the anti-inflammatory effect of IMP was explored in oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced VSMCs and high fat diet (HFD)-induced ApoE-/- mice. The results showed that IMP attenuated the elevation of TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1 and NO induced by ox-LDL in supernatant of VSMCs. IMP has normalized the levels of serum lipids (TC, TG, LDL-C and HDL-C) and attenuated inflammatory cytokines in serum. IMP also improved pathological changes and lipid accumulation in aorta. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) expression in aorta was down-regulated by IMP. IMP could inhibit the phosphorylation of MAPKs pathway in the aorta and VSMCs, resulting in a significant decrease in the contents of p-ERK 1/2, p-JNK and p-P38. Overall, IMP could exert anti-inflammatory effects in vivo and in vitro to interfere with AS.