Liqi Huoxue dripping pill protects against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury via the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway in rats

Background:Liqi Huoxue dripping pill(LQHXDP),a traditional Chinese drug for coronary heart disease,has a protective effect on the heart of rats with myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury(MIRI)in previous studies;however,its mechanism of action remains unclear.The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective mechanism of LQHXDP on MIRI in rats and its relationship with the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.Methods:In this study,Sprague-Dawley rats were pre-infused with LQHXDP(175 mg/kg/d)for 10 days.PI3K inhibitor LY294002(0.3 mg/kg)was intravenously injected 15 minutes before ischemia.The rat model of MIRI was established by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery.Subsequently,cardiac hemodynamics,serum myocardial injury markers,inflammatory factors,myocardial infarct size,antioxidant indexes,myocardial histopathology,and phosphorylation levels of key proteins of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway were assessed in rats.Results:LQHXDP was found to improve cardiac hemodynamic indexes,reduce serum creatine kinase MB isoenzyme activity and cardiac troponin and heart-type fatty acid binding protein levels,lower serum interleukin-1 beta,interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factorαlevels,reduce the myocardial infarct size and enhance the antioxidant capacity of myocardial tissue in MIRI rats.Pathological analysis revealed that LQHXDP attenuated the extent of myocardial injury and protected mitochondria from damage in MIRI rats.Immunoblot analysis revealed that LQHXDP increased the expression levels of p-Akt and p-GSK-3βin MIRI rat cardiomyocytes.PI3K inhibitor LY294002 could impair these effects of LQHXDP.Conclusion:LQHXDP attenuated myocardial injury,attenuated oxidative stress injury and reduced inflammatory response in MIRI rats,and its protective effects were mediated by activating of PI3K/Akt/GSK-3βsignaling pathway.

Anti-diabetic potential of apigenin,luteolin,and baicalein via partially activating PI3K/Akt/GLUT-4 signaling pathways in insulin-resistant HepG2 cells

Dietary flavonoids are abundant in natural plants and possess multiple pharmacological and nutritional activities.In this study,apigenin,luteolin,and baicalein were chosen to evaluate their anti-diabetic effect in high-glucose and dexamethasone induced insulin-resistant(IR)HepG2 cells.All flavonoids improves the glucose consumption and glycogen synthesis abilities in IR-HepG2 cells via activating glucose transporter protein 4(GLUT4)and phosphor-glycogen synthase kinase(GSK-3β).These fl avonoids signifi cantly inhibited the production of reactive oxygen species(ROS)and advanced glycation end-products(AGEs),which were closely related to the suppression of the phosphorylation form of NF-κB and P65.The expression levels of insulin receptor substrate-1(IRS-1),insulin receptor substrate-2(IRS-2)and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(Akt)pathway in IR-HepG2 cells were all partially activated by the fl avonoids,with variable effects.Furthermore,the intracellular metabolic conditions of the fl avonoids were also evaluated.

Ezetimibe Protects Endothelial Cells against Oxidative Stress through Akt/GSK-3β Pathway

Ezetimibe was reported to pharmacologically defend against oxidative stress. This study was designed to investigate whether ezetimibe can protect against the oxidative stress induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein （oxLDL） in vitro and the underlying mechanism. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells （HUVECs） were pretreated with ezetimibe and then exposed to oxLDL for 24 h. TUNEL assay and detection for the protein levels of cleaved caspase-3, Bcl-xl and Bcl-2 were employed to assess the oxLDL-induced endothelial apoptosis. Intracellular reactive oxygen species （ROS） generation was evaluated by measuring dichlorofluorescein （DCF） fluorescence. The activities of endothelial antioxidant enzymes [superoxide dismutase （SOD） and catalase] were tested via an enzymatic assay. The mitochondrial membrane potential （MMP） was monitored by flow cytometry using JC-I staining. Phosphorylation levels of glycogen synthase kinase-3β （p-GSK-3β） and Akt （p-Akt）, as well as total GSK-3β and Akt were determined by Western blotting. The results showed that ezetimibe treatment inhibited HUVECs apoptosis, intracellular ROS production, and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities elicited by oxLDL. HUVECs exposed to oxLDL alone had reduced mitochondrial function, while ezetimibe pre-intervention could significantly rescue the MMP. Furthermore, the protein levels of p-GSK-3β and p-Akt in ezetimibe-pretreated HUVECs were markedly increased as compared with those in oxLDL-induced HUVECs. However, no significant effect on total GSK- 3β and Akt was found in ezetimibe-pretreated HUVECs. Taken together, it was concluded that ezetimibe protects against oxLDL-induced oxidative stress through restoring the MMP, which may be mediated by Akt-dependent GSK-3β phosphorylation.

Low-dose fractionated radiation reverses cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer cells via PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β signaling

Objective To investigate whether low-dose fractionated radiation(LDFRT) could enhance cisplatin sensitivity in drug-resistant human ovarian cancer cells SKOV3/DDP, and to further explore the underlying mechanism.Methods SKOV3/DDP ovarian cancer cells were divided into three groups as follows: control, LDFRT, and conventional-dose radiation groups. Cells from all three groups were treated with different concentrations of cisplatin(0, 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 μg/m L) for 48 h. The proliferation inhibition rate was investigated using the cell counting kit 8(CCK8). The rate of apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry(FCM). Protein levels of AKT, P-AKT, GSK-3β, P-GSK-3β, P21, cyclin D1, and P27 were examined by Western blotting. Results As expected, LDFRT significantly reduced the half-maximal inhibitory concentration(IC50) of cisplatin and promoted apoptosis in SKOV3/DDP cells. Moreover, in the LDFRT group, protein levels of P-AKT, P-GSK-3β, and cyclin D1 were markedly decreased, those of P21 and P27 were greatly increased, and total AKT and GSK-3β levels showed no significant difference compared to those in both the control and conventional-dose radiation groups.Conclusion LDFRT sensitizes resistant SKOV3/DDP ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin through inactivation of PI3 K/AKT/GSK-3β signaling.

Glycogen synthase kinase-3β inhibitor SB216763 promotes DNA repair in ischemic retinal neurons

Glycogen synthase kinase-3β(GSK-3β) has been shown to attenuate DNA damage in nerve cells, thereby enhancing neuronal survival under pathological conditions;however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. An in vitro serum-starvation retinal neuron model and in vivo ischemia/reperfusion retina injury rat model were established and treated with SB216763, a GSK-3β inhibitor. SB21673 decreased the formation of γ-H2 A histone family member X foci and enhanced the viability of ischemic retinal neurons. In addition, SB216763 upregulated expression of phosphorylated-CREB1, a ligase IV transcription factor, and significantly increased the transcriptional activity of ligase IV in ischemic retinal neurons. These results were confirmed in rat retinas following ischemia/reperfusion injury. Furthermore, we found that unlike lithium chlorine(a well-known direct inhibitor of GSK-3β), SB216763 inhibited GSK-3β activity by suppressing its phosphorylation. Taken together, our results suggest that GSK-3β inhibition enhances repair of DNA double-strand breaks by upregulating ligase IV expression in ischemic retinal neurons. This study was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center on February 18, 2018.

PTEN and AKT/GSK-3β/CRMP-2 signaling pathway are involved in neuronal apoptosis and axonal injury in early brain injury after SAH in rats

In early brain injury(EBI)after subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH),white matter(WM)axonal injury plays a key role in the prognosis of the disease.The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten(PTEN)on axonal injury and neuronal apoptosis post-SAH in rats and to find its underlying mechanism.Adeno-associated virus was injected into the lateral ventricle to suppress or promote PTEN.Neural function post-SAH in animals was determined by the modified Garcia score,beam balance,and Rotarod test,and the blood–brain barrier disruption was assessed by the brain water content.Axonal injury post-SAH was observed by TEM and determined by IF,and neuron apoptosis was measured by TUNEL staining.The mechanism was analyzed by Western blot to detect p-PTEN/PTEN,p-AKT/AKT,p-GSK-3β/GSK-3β,p-CRMP-2/CRMP-2,axonal injury markerβ-APP and pro-and anti-apoptosis proteins,including Bax and Bcl-2,expression.We found 1.After knocking down PTEN,neuronal apoptosis and axonal injury were alleviated,and nerve function and blood–brain barrier were protected;accordingly,after overexpression of PTEN,neuronal apoptosis and axon damage were aggravated,and nerve function damage and blood–brain barrier damage were increased.2.PTEN and AKT/GSK-3β/CRMP-2 pathway were jointly involved in regulating neuronal apoptosis and WM axon injury after SAH.According to our research,PTEN was a negative factor of EBI,and together with the AKT/GSK-3β/CRMP-2 signaling pathway aggravates neuronal apoptosis and WM axon damage after SAH.Inhibition of PTEN expression may become a new target for SAH treatment.

Anti-hyperglycemic effects of dihydromyricetin in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Dihydromyricetin(DHM),as a bioactive flavanonol compound,is mainly found in“Tengcha”(Ampelopsis grossedentata)cultivated in south of China.This study aimed to investigate the anti-hyperglycemic and antidyslipidemic activities of DHM using type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2D)rats,which was induced by feeding with high fat and fructose diet for 42 days and intraperitoneal administration of streptozocin.Forty-eight freshlyweaned rats were randomly assigned into the negative control(Blank),low dose(100 mg/kg),medium dose(200 mg/kg),high dose(400 mg/kg),and positive(40 mg/kg,met)groups.Fasting blood glucose and body weight were measured at weekly interval.Oral glucose tolerance tests were performed on days 42.The results revealed that DHM possessed significant antihyperglycaemic and antihyperinsulinemic effects.Moreover,after the DHM treatment,p-Akt and p-AMPK expression was upregulated,and glycogen synthase kinase-3β(GSK-3β)expression was downregulated,indicating that the potential anti-diabetic mechanism of DHM might be due to the regulation of the AMPK/Akt/GSK-3βsignaling pathway.

Hesperetin induces glyoxalase 1 enhancement in SH-SY5Y cells cultured with high glucose via Nrf2/ARE activation

OBJECTIVE To investigate the neuroprotective effects of hesperetin on central neurons under chronic high glucose,and the relationship to glyoxalase 1(Glo-1),a cytoprotective enzyme.METHODS The human neuroblas⁃toma SH-SY5Y cells were divided into 5 groups:normal glucose,high glucose(HG),HG plus low,middle,or high concentra⁃tion of hesperetin(1,5,25μmol·L^-1).After treatment for 72 h,neuron damages,Glo-1 expressions and functions,as well as Nrf2/ARE pathway and its regulating mechanisms were examined.RESULTS Hesperetin increased cell viability and decreased lactate dehydrogenase release,which was accompanied by the elevated activity,protein,and mRNA levels of Glo-1 as well as the enhanced Glo-1 functions in SH-SY5Y cells cultured with HG.Moreover,hesperetin activated Nrf2/ARE pathway as evidenced by the raised Nrf2 and p-Nrf2 levels in nucleus and up-regulation of γ-glutamycysteine synthase(γ-GCS),a well-known target gene of Nrf2/ARE pathway.Nevertheless,pretreatment with a PKC inhibitor(Go 6983)or an Akt inhibitor(MK-22062HCl,reflecting GSK-3β activation)abolished the effect of hesperetin on protein expressions of Glo-1 and γ-GCS.CONCLUSION Hesperetin exerted the neuroprotection by promoting Glo-1 function in central neurons in long-term HG condition,which was mediated by activation of Nrf2/ARE pathway;moreover,the increased Nrf2 phosphorylation and nuclear translocation mediated by PKC activation and/or GSK-3β inhibition were involved in the activation of Nrf2/ARE pathway by hesperetin.

Mechanism Research of Reducing Obesity-Induced Insulin Resistance in the White Adipose Tissue by Knockdown of Neuropeptide Y Expression in the Dorsomedial Hypothalamus

This study investigated the specific mechanism of knockdown of neuropeptide Y(NPY) in reducing obesity-induced insulin resistance in the white adipose tissue. Adeno-associated virus(AAV)-mediated RNAi was utilized to downregulate NPY expression in rats fed either regular chow or high fat diet. By investigating the differences in rat body weight and food intake, we assessed the effect of knockdown of NPY expression on insulin sensitivity and β-cell proliferation. Glucose consumption and 2-[3 H]DG uptake in 3 T3-L1 adipocytes were assessed to determine the molecular mechanisms. The results showed that knockdown of NPY expression in the dorsomedial hypothalamus(DMH) reduced obesity-induced insulin resistance, increased glucose consumption, and decreased 2-[3 H]DG uptake in 3 T3-L1 adipocytes via the PI3 K/Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathways and the NPY Y5 receptor.