Sciadopitysin exerts anticancer effects on HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells by regulating reactive oxygen species-mediated signaling pathways

Objectives:Sciadopitysin(SP)is aflavonoid in Ginkgo biloba that exhibits various pharmacological activities.This study aimed to investigate its antitumor effects and the underlying molecular mechanism of SP in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)cells.Methods:Network pharmacology was used for target prediction analysis.Cell Counting Kit-8(CCK-8)assay was used to test the cell viability.Flow cytometry was used to test the cell cycle distribution,apoptosis status,and reactive oxygen species(ROS)levels.Transwell and wound-healing assay was used to test the migration effect of SP on HepG2 cells.Western Blot assay was used to test the expression levels of proteins.Results:Network pharmacology analysis results showed that the mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)and other signaling pathways are involved in the SP anti-HCC biological process.CCK-8 assay results demonstrated that SP showed an obvious killing effect on three types of HCC cells and low cytotoxic effect on normal cells.Western Blot andflow cytometry results showed that SP regulated MAPK/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3)/nuclear factor kappa-B(NF-κB)signaling pathway to induce mitochondrion-dependent apoptosis in HepG2 cells.Additionally,SP can arrest the G0/G1 phase cell cycle via the protein kinase B(AKT)/p21/p27/cyclin-dependent kinase(CDK)/Cyclin signaling pathway.Wound healing and transwell assays showed that SP inhibited cell motility and invasion through the AKT/glycogen synthase kinase3β(GSK-3β)/vimentin/β-catenin signaling pathway.Conclusion:Thesefindings demonstrated that SP induced mitochondrion-dependent apoptosis,arrested cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase,and inhibited cell migration by regulating the ROS-mediated signaling pathway in HepG2 cells.Thus,SP could serve as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of human HCC.

First record of disk-footed bat Eudiscopus denticulus(Chiroptera,Vespertilionidae)from China and resolution of phylogenetic position of the genus

DEAR EDITOR,The disk-footed bat Eudiscopus denticulus(Osgood,1932)is a rare species in Southeast Asia.During two chiropteran surveys in the summer of 1981 and 2019,eight and three small Myotis-like bats with distinct disk-like hindfeet were collected from Yunnan Province,China,respectively.External,craniodental,and phylogenetic evidence confirmed these specimens as E.denticulus,representing a new genus in China.The complete mitochondrial genome consistently showed robust support for E.denticulus as a basal lineage within Myotinae.The coding patterns and characteristics of its mitochondrial genome were similar to that of other published genomes from Myotis.The echolocation signals of the newly collected individuals were analyzed.The potential distribution range of Eudiscopus in Southeast Asia inferred using the MaxEnt model indicated its potential occurrence along the southern border region of Yunnan,China.