Total flavonoid of Litsea coreana leve exerts anti-oxidative effects and alleviates focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

In this study, we hypothesized that total flavonoid of Litsea coreana leve （TFLC） protects against focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. TFLC （25, 50, 100 mg/kg） was administered orally to a rat model of focal ischemia/reperfusion injury, while the free radical scavenging agent, edaravone, was used as a positive control drug. Results of neurological deficit scoring, 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining, hematoxylin-eosin staining and biochemical tests showed that TFLC at different doses significantly alleviated cerebral ischemia-induced neurological deficits and histopathological changes, and reduced infarct volume. Moreover, it suppressed the increase in the levels of nitrates plus nitrites, malondialdehyde and lactate dehydrogenase, and it diminished the reduction in glu- tathione, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities induced by cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Compared with edaravone, the protective effects of TFLC at low and medium doses （25, 50 mg/kg） against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury were weaker, while the protective effects at high dose （100 mg/kg） were similar. Our experimental findings suggest that TFLC exerts neuroprotective effects against focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats, and that the effects may be asso- ciated with its antioxidant activities.

Liquid-liquid phase separation in tumor biology

Liquid–liquid phase separation(LLPS)is a novel principle for explaining the precise spatial and temporal regulation in living cells.LLPS compartmentalizes proteins and nucleic acids into micron-scale,liquid-like,membraneless bodies with specific functions,which were recently termed biomolecular condensates.Biomolecular condensates are executors underlying the intracellular spatiotemporal coordination of various biological activities,including chromatin organization,genomic stability,DNA damage response and repair,transcription,and signal transduction.Dysregulation of these cellular processes is a key event in the initiation and/or evolution of cancer,and emerging evidence has linked the formation and regulation of LLPS to malignant transformations in tumor biology.In this review,we comprehensively summarize the detailed mechanisms of biomolecular condensate formation and biophysical function and review the recent major advances toward elucidating the multiple mechanisms involved in cancer cell pathology driven by aberrant LLPS.In addition,we discuss the therapeutic perspectives of LLPS in cancer research and the most recently developed drug candidates targeting LLPS modulation that can be used to combat tumorigenesis.