Apigenin, a natural flavonoid, promotes autophagy and ferroptosis in human endometrial carcinoma Ishikawa cells in vitro and in vivo

Apigenin,a natural flavonoid has been reported against a variety of cancer types.However,it is unclear whether apigenin can promote autophagy and ferroptosis in Ishikawa cells.There are few reports on the mechanism of apigenin on autophagy and ferroptosis of endometrial cancer Ishikawa cells.We found that iron accumulation,lipid peroxidation,glutathione consumption,p62,HMOX1,and ferritin were increased,while,solute carrier family 7 member 11 and glutathione peroxidase 4 were decreased.Ferrostatin-1,an iron-death inhibitor could reverse the effects of apigenin in Ishikawa cells.On the other hand,apigenin could promote autophagy via up-regulating Beclin 1,ULK1,ATG5,ATG13,and LC3B and down-regulating AMPK,mTOR,P70S6K,and ATG4.Furthermore,apigenin could inhibit tumor tissue proliferation and restrict tumor growth via ferroptosis in vivo.

The anti-cancerous mechanism of licochalcone A on human hepatoma cell HepG2 based on the miRNA omics

To explore the function of licochalcone A as an anticancer phytochemical on HepG2 cells and investigate its potential mechanisms,we analyzed the microRNAs(miRNAs)expression profile of HepG2 cells in response to licochalcone A(70μmol/L)in vitro.102 dysregulated miRNAs were detected,and SP1 was expected as the transcription factor that regulates the functions of most screened miRNAs.A sum of 431 targets,the overlap of predicted mRNAs from TargetScan,miRDB,and miRtarbase were detected as the targets for these dysregulated miRNAs.FoxO signaling pathway was the hub pathway for the targets.A protein-protein interaction network was structured on the STRING platform to discover the hub genes.Among them,PIK3R1,CDC42,ESR1,SMAD4,SUMO1,KRAS,AGO1,etc.were screened out.Afterwards,the miRNA-target networks were established to screen key dysregulated miRNAs.Two key miRNAs(hsa-miR-133b and hsa-miR-145-5p)were filtered.Finally,the miRNA-target-transcription factor networks were constructed for these key miRNAs.The networks for these key miRNAs included three and two transcription factors,respectively.These identified miRNAs,transcription factors,targets,and regulatory networks may offer hints to understand the molecular mechanism of licochalcone A as a natural anticarcinogen.

Stevenleaf from Gynostemma Pentaphyllum inhibits human hepatoma cell(HepG2)through cell cycle arrest and apoptotic induction

The anticancer activity of stevenleaf(SV)on the basis of cell viability,cell cycle,and apoptosis induction in HepG2 cancer cells were evaluated.SV controlled the growth of HepG2 cells with IC50 of 139.82μmol/L for 24 h,IC50 of 119.12μmol/L for 48 h and cell cycle arrested at G0/G1 phase,induced cell apoptosis and enhanced intracellular ROS generation.For cell cycle arrest,the mRNA expression levels of p21,p27 and p53 were up-regulated,while the expression levels of Cyclin A,Cyclin D1,Cyclin E and CDK1/2 were downregulated.SV efficiently up-regulated TNF R1,TRADD1 and FADD and down-regulated Caspase8 for cell death receptors;similarly,up-regulated Bax,Bak,Cytc,Apaf1,Caspase3 and Caspase9,and down-regulated Bcl2,Bcl xl and Bad for mitochondrial signal pathway.SV induced the mTOR-mediated cell apoptosis in HepG2 cells via activation of Akt and AMPK.The mechanistic explanation for the anticancer activity of SV as functional food can be derived from above results.

Chromosomal Karyotypes of Medicinal Plant Gynura medica

[ Objective] This study aimed at investigating the chromosomal characteristics and karyotypes of Gynura medica. [ Method ] Stem tips of G. medica seedlings were taken every 20 min from 6：30 to 10：30 am, and then were treated and squashed. The slices were observed under a microscope for investigating the chromosomal number and karyotypes of the cells in metaphase in which the chromosomes were well dispersed. [ Result] In the total 102 stem tip cells in meta- phase, 96.08% of cells were with 20 chromosomes, and 3.92% of cells were with 40 chromosomes. Optimal time for sampling was from 7：50 to 9：30 am, when more cells were in metaphase. [Conclusion] C. medica is the diploid plant with 20 chromosomes. Karyotype analysis gets formula 2n = 2x = 20m, and all 10 pairs of chromosomes belong to type 1A. The article reporls the chromosomes characteristics of G. rnedica firstly.

Ginsenoside Rg1 ameliorates bloodebrain barrier disruption and traumatic brain injury via attenuating macrophages derived exosomes miR-21 release

During the traumatic brain injury(TBI),improved expression of circulatory miR-21 serves as a diagnostic feature.Low levels of exosome-miR-21 in the brain can effectively improve neuroinflammation and bloodebrain barrier(BBB)permeability,reduce nerve apoptosis,restore neural function and ameliorate TBI.We evaluated the role of macrophage derived exosomes-miR-21(M-Exos-miR-21)in disrupting BBB,deteriorating TBI,and Rg1 interventions.IL-1β-induced macrophages(ⅡA)-Exos-miR-21 can activate NF-kB signaling pathway and induce the expressions of MMP-1,-3 and-9 and downregulate the levels of tight junction proteins(TJPs)deteriorating the BBB.Rg1 reduced miR-21-5 p content in ⅡA-Exos(RⅡA-Exos).The interaction of NMIIAe HSP90 controlled the release of Exos-miR-21,this interaction was restricted by Rg1.Rg1 could inhibit the Exos-miR-21 release in peripheral blood flow to brain,enhancing TIMP3 protein expression,MMPs proteolysis,and restricting TJPs degradation thus protected the BBB integrity.Conclusively,Rg1 can improve the cerebrovascular endothelial injury and hold the therapeutic potential against TBI disease.