A novel bellidifolin intervention mitigates nonalcoholic fatty liver disease-like changes induced by bisphenol F

As a potential endocrine-disrupting chemical,bisphenol F(BPF)may cause nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)-like changes,but the mechanisms under its pathogenesis as well as the intervention strategies remain unclear.Using the electron microscopy technology,along with LipidTOX Deep Red neutral and Bodipy 493/503 staining assays,we observed that BPF treatment elicited a striking accumulation of lipid droplets in HepG2 cells,accompanied by an increased total level of triglycerides.At the molecular level,the lipogenesis-associated mRNAs and proteins,including acetyl-CoA carboxylase,fatty acid synthase,stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1,peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma,and CCAAT-enhancer-binding proteins,increased significantly via the AMP-activated protein kinase(AMPK)-mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR)signaling regulation in both in vitro and in vivo studies.Furthermore,the immunofluorescence results also showed the robust lipogenesis induced by BPF,evident in its ability to promote the translocation of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c from the cytoplasm to the nuclei.To investigate the intervention strategies for BPF-induced NAFLD-like changes,we demonstrated that bellidifolin,isolated and purified from Swertia chirayita,significantly attenuated BPF-induced lipid droplet deposition in HepG2 cells and NAFLD-like changes in mice by blocking the expression of lipogenesis-associated proteins.Therefore,the present study elucidates the mechanisms underlying the BPF-induced lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells,while also highlighting the potential of bellidifolin to mitigate BPF-induced NAFLD-like changes.

Application of a new TLC chemical method for detection of cyclopeptides in plants

Cyclopeptides have been investigated phytochemically less often because until now there has not been a special chemical method to detect them. Since we found cyclopeptides in Pseudostellaria heterophylla (Caryophyllaceae) in 1991, we have gradually established a special chemical detection method for detecting cyclopeptides in plants, which induces a new thin layer chromatography (TLC) protosite reaction with ninhydrin reagent. With this method, our group isolated and determined 73 cyclopeptides from 17 plants which belong to 5 families and 14 genuses, they are from dicyclopeptides to undecacyclopeptides, including 68 new ones, and were determined based on spectral, chemical and enzymic methods, especially 2D NMR and FAB-MS. Meantime, with this method cyclopeptides can be distinguished from peptidic amides based on their behaviour in TLC.

Cancer-cell-biomimetic nanoparticles systemically eliminate hypoxia tumors by synergistic chemotherapy and checkpoint blockade immunotherapy

Checkpoint blockade-based immunotherapy has shown unprecedented effect in cancer treatments,but its clinical implementation has been restricted by the low host antitumor response rate.Recently,chemotherapy is well recognized to activate the immune system during some chemotherapeutics-mediated tumor eradication.The enhancement of immune response during chemotherapy might further improve the therapeutic efficiency through the synergetic mechanism.Herein,a synergistic antitumor platform(designated as BMS/RA@CC-Liposome)was constructed by utilizing CT26 cancer-cell-biomimetic nanoparticles that combined chemotherapeutic drug(RA-V)and PD-1/PD-L1 blockade inhibitor(BMS-202)to remarkably enhance antitumor immunity.In this study,the cyclopeptide RA-V as chemotherapeutic drugs directly killing tumor cells and BMS-202 as anti-PD agents eliciting antitumor immune responses were co-encapsulated in a pH-sensitive nanosystem.To achieve the cell-specific targeting drug delivery,the combination therapy nanosystem was functionalized with cancer cell membrane camouflage.The biomimetic drug delivery system perfectly disguised as endogenous substances,and realized elongated blood circulation due to anti-phagocytosis capability.Moreover,the BMS/RA@CC-Liposome also achieved the selective targeting of CT26 cells by taking advantage of the inherent homologous adhesion property of tumor cells.The in vitro and in vivo experiments revealed that the BMS/RA@CC-Liposome realized PD-1/PD-L1 blockade-induced immune response,RA-V-induced PD-L1 down-regulation and apoptosis in cancer cells.Such a system combining the advantages of chemotherapy and checkpoint blockade-based immunotherapy to create an immunogenic tumor microenvironment systemically,demonstrated improved therapeutic efficacy against hypoxic tumor cells and offers an alternative strategy based on the immunology of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway.