Jianpi Gushen Huayu decoction ameliorated diabetic nephropathy through modulating metabolites in kidney,and inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 and JNK/P38 pathways

BACKGROUND Jianpi Gushen Huayu Decoction(JPGS)has been used to clinically treat diabetic nephropathy(DN)for many years.However,the protective mechanism of JPGS in treating DN remains unclear.AIM To evaluate the therapeutic effects and the possible mechanism of JPGS on DN.METHODS We first evaluated the therapeutic potential of JPGS on a DN mouse model.We then investigated the effect of JPGS on the renal metabolite levels of DN mice using non-targeted metabolomics.Furthermore,we examined the effects of JPGS on c-Jun N-terminal kinase(JNK)/P38-mediated apoptosis and the inflammatory responses mediated by toll-like receptor 4(TLR4)/nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB)/NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3(NLRP3).RESULTS The ameliorative effects of JPGS on DN mice included the alleviation of renal injury and the control of inflammation and oxidative stress.Untargeted metabolomic analysis revealed that JPGS altered the metabolites of the kidneys in DN mice.A total of 51 differential metabolites were screened.Pathway analysis results indicated that nine pathways significantly changed between the control and model groups,while six pathways significantly altered between the model and JPGS groups.Pathways related to cysteine and methionine metabolism;alanine,tryptophan metabolism;aspartate and glutamate metabolism;and riboflavin metabolism were identified as the key pathways through which JPGS affects DN.Further experimental validation showed that JPGS treatment reduced the expression of TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathways and JNK/P38 pathway-mediated apoptosis related factors.CONCLUSION JPGS could markedly treat mice with streptozotocin(STZ)-induced DN,which is possibly related to the regulation of several metabolic pathways found in kidneys.Furthermore,JPGS could improve kidney inflammatory responses and ameliorate kidney injuries in DN mice via the TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway and inhibit JNK/P38 pathwaymediated apoptosis in DN mice.

壮骨健膝方对兔膝骨关节炎滑膜炎症肝X受体/核因子κB通路的影响

目的:基于肝X受体/核因子κB信号通路观察壮骨健膝方对兔膝骨关节炎滑膜炎症模型的影响,探讨其对滑膜炎症的作用及机制。方法:将24只新西兰大白兔随机分为正常组6只和造模组18只。造模组行膝关节腔内注射木瓜蛋白酶建立兔膝骨关节炎滑膜炎症模型。造模成功后将模型兔随机分为模型组、扶他林组和壮骨健膝方组,每组6只。扶他林组和壮骨健膝方组分别给予扶他林混悬液、壮骨健膝方药液灌胃,模型组和正常组给予等量生理盐水灌胃。观察干预前后各组兔膝关节皮温、周径、Lequesne MG评分;膝关节液中IL-1β、TNF-α、基质金属蛋白酶-3(MMP-3)、MMP-13含量;滑膜组织评分;滑膜组织中LXRα、N-CoR、P50、P65 mRNA的表达情况。结果:与正常组比较,模型组兔一般情况差,膝关节皮温、周径、Lequesne MG评分、膝关节液中IL-1β、TNF-α、MMP-3、MMP-13含量、滑膜组织评分、P50和P65 mRNA表达均升高(均P<0.05),滑膜组织中LXRα和N-CoR mRNA表达降低(均P<0.05)。与模型组比较,壮骨健膝方组及扶他林组膝关节皮温、周径、Lequesne MG评分、膝关节液中IL-1β、TNF-α、MMP-3、MMP-13含量、滑膜组织评分、P50和P65 mRNA表达均较低(均P<0.05),壮骨健膝方组LXRα与N-CoR mRNA表达升高(均P<0.05),扶他林组LXRα与N-CoR mRNA表达差异无统计学意义(均P>0.05)。与扶他林组比较,壮骨健膝方组LXRα、N-CoR mRNA表达升高(均P<0.05),关节周径较小(P<0.05),其余指标差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论:壮骨健膝方可能通过调控肝X受体/核因子κB信号通路的转导,减少下游炎症介质分泌,达到抑制膝骨关节炎滑膜炎症反应的作用。

沉默信息调节因子1-肝X受体/核因子-κB信号通路在促使动脉粥样硬化斑块消退中的作用

目的研究沉默信息调节因子1(silent information regulator 1,SIRT1)与泡沫细胞移出动脉粥样硬化斑块相关调控通路肝X受体(liver X receptor,LXR)-趋化因子受体7(chemokine receptor-7,CCR7)和促炎症信号核因子-κB(nuclear factor kappa B,NF-κB)的相关性。方法体外培养人单核细胞株U937细胞,构建泡沫细胞模型;分别用SIRT1激动剂SRT1720和RNA干扰等方法使SIRT1高表达或抑制其表达,观察SIRT1和其下游靶分子LXR、CCR7以及促炎因子NF-κB、肿瘤坏死因子-α(tumor necrosis factor-α,TNF-α)的表达变化。结果在泡沫细胞模型中,SRT1720使SIRT1蛋白表达水平升高,LXR和其靶分子CCR7蛋白水平无显著变化,而NF-κB以及其靶分子TNF-α蛋白表达水平显著下降。在加入SRT1720的基础上再用RNA干扰抑制SIRT1的表达,结果表明RNA干扰使SIRT1的表达水平显著下降,LXR和其靶分子CCR7表达也随之下降;与此同时,NF-κB及其下游靶基因TNF-α表达水平显著升高。结论在泡沫细胞中SIRT1可能是LXR-CCR7以及NF-κB信号通路的上游,并且有可能通过上调LXR-CCR7信号通路,抑制NF-κB炎症信号来参与调节泡沫细胞从动脉粥样硬化斑块中移出。

沉默信息调节因子2相关酶1通过增强肝X受体及抑制核因子κB信号起到抗动脉粥样硬化作用

目的：探讨冠状动脉粥样硬化患者外周血单个核细胞（PBMCs）中沉默信息调节因子2相关酶1（SIRT1）与肝X受体（LXR）-趋化因子受体7（CCR7）/ATP联结盒转运因子A1（ABCA1）及炎症信号核因子κB（NF-κB）的关系。方法抽取104名正常人（NC组）以及111例冠状动脉粥样硬化患者（AS组）外周血，提取PBMCs，用实时荧光定量多聚酶链反应（qPCR）检测PBMCs中SIRT1、LXR及其下游CCR7/ ABCA1和促炎症信号NF-κB及其下游肿瘤坏死因子（TNF-α）的相对mRNA水平，并收集相关临床数据。所有数据应用SPSS 20.0统计软件进行分析。结果 qPCR结果显示所有AS组患者PBMCs中的SIRT1、LXR及其下游因子CCR7、ABCA1 mRNA含量比NC组低，差异具有统计学意义（P＜0.05）；而NF-κB及其下游因子TNF-α mRNA含量高于NC组（P＜0.05）。相关性分析显示LXR mRNA与HDL呈正相关（P＜0.01， r=0.22），NF-κB、TNF-αmRNA与单核细胞数量呈正相关（P＜0.05，r=0.31，0.23）。结论 SIRT1可能通过抑制NF-κB信号及增强LXR-CCR7/ABCA1信号，抑制炎症，促进胆固醇流出，甚至激活单核-巨噬细胞源性泡沫细胞移出动脉粥样硬化斑块的潜能，从而起到抑制动脉粥样硬化发展甚至逆转动脉粥样硬化的作用。

Endogenous danger signals trigger hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury through toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor-kappa B pathway

Background Restoration of blood flow to the ischemic liver lobes may paradoxically exacerbate tissue injury, which is called hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury （IRI）. Toll-like receptor 4 （TLR4）, expressed on several liver cell types, and the nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-KB） signaling pathway are crucial to mediating hepatic inflammatory response. Because IRI is essentially a kind of profound acute inflammatory reaction evoked by many kinds of danger signals, we investigated TLR4/NF-KB signaling pathway activation in a murine model of partial hepatic IRI. Methods Wild-type mice （WT, C3H/HeN） or TLR4 mutant mice （C3H/HeJ） were subjected to 45 minutes of partial hepatic ischemia followed by 1 hour, 3 hours of reperfusion. Sham group accepted the same procedure without the obstruction of blood supply. At the end of reperfusion, the compromise of liver function and the histological change of liver sections were measured as the severity of liver injury. The level of endotoxin in the portal vein was measured by limulus assay. NF-KB activation was determined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay （EMSA）. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-a （TNF-a） and intedeukin-1β （IL-1β） in systemic blood after hepatic IRI were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Results The compromise of liver function and the morphological injuries in mutant mice were relieved more markedly than those in WT mice after partial hepatic IRI. NF-KB activation in WT mice was stronger than that in TLR4 mutant mice, and both were stronger than those in the sham operated mice （P〈0.01）. Endotoxin in each group was undetectable. The levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in systemic blood were elevated in both strains, but lower in the sham operated group. These mediators were significantly decreased in TLR4 mutant mice compared with those in WT mice （P〈0.01）. Conclusions The TLR4/NF-KB signaling pathway may mediate hepatic IRI triggered by endogenous danger signals. Inhibition of the TLR4/NF-KB pathway may be a potential therapeutic target for attenuating ischemia/reperfusion-induced tissue damage in some clinical settings.

San-Cao Granule (三草颗粒) Ameliorates Hepatic Fibrosis through High Mobility Group Box-1 Protein/Smad Signaling Pathway

Objective： To investigate the possible mechanism of San-Cao Granule（SCG, 三草颗粒） mediating antiliver fibrosis. Methods： A total of 60 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the normal control group, porcine serum-treated group, ursodesoxycholic acid（UDCA, 60 mg/kg）, SCG（3.6 g/kg） group, SCG（1.8 g/kg） group and SCG（0.9 g/kg） group, with 10 rats in each group. Liver fibrosis was induced with porcine serum by intraperitoneal injection for 8 weeks, except for the normal control group. Then, the rats in the three SCG-treated groups and UDCA group were administered SCG and UDCA respectively for 4 weeks. The serum levels of alanine transaminase（ALT）, aspartate transaminase（AST）, albumin（ALB）, total bilirubin（TBIL）, hyaluronic acid（HA）, laminin（LN）, and type Ⅳcollagen（ⅣC） were examined using commercial kits and hepatic histopathology was examined with hematoxylin and eosin and Masson staining. Moreover, the protein expression levels of high mobility group box-1 protein（HMGB1）, transforming growth factor β1（TGF-β1）, phosphorylated mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 3（p-Smad3）, Smad7, toll-like receptor 4（TLR4）, myeloid differentiation factor 88（My D88）, nuclear factor-kappa B（NF-κB） and α-smooth muscle actin（α-SMA） were determined by western blot, immunohistochemistry and real time quantitativereverse transcription polymerase. Results： Both SCG（3.6 and 1.8 g/kg） and UDCA significantly ameliorated the liver fibrosis induced by porcine serum as indicated by retarding the serum levels increasing of ALT, AST, TBIL, HA, LN and ⅣC and preventing the serum level reducing of ALB compared with the model group（all P〈0.01）. Meanwhile, the collagen deposition was attenuated by SCG and UDCA treatment. Furthermore, SCG markedly reduced the expressions of HMGB1, TGF-β1, p-Smad3, TLR4, My D88, NF-κB and α-SMA, and enhanced the expression of the Smad7 compared with the model group（all P〈0.01）. Conclusion： SCG ameliorates hepatic fibrosis possibly through inhibiting HMGB1, TLR4/NF-κB and TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway.

ATF4/TXNIP/REDD1/mTOR signaling mediates the antitumor activities of liver X receptor in pancreatic cancers

Background:Limited by difficulties in early detection and availabilities of effective treatments,pancreatic cancer is a highly malignant disease with poor prognosis.Nuclear receptors are a family of ligand‐dependent transcription factors that are highly druggable therapeutic targets playing critical roles in human physiological and pathological development,including cancer.In this study,we explored the therapeutic potential as well as the molecular mechanisms of liver X receptor(LXR)agonist GW3965 in pancreatic cancer.Methods:Soft‐agar colony formation assay,xenograft tumors,Oligonucleotide microarray,Reverse transcription real‐time polymerase chain reaction,Western immunoblotting and Immunohistochemistry were used in this study.Results:We demonstrated pleotropic in vitro activities of GW3965 in pancreatic cell lines MIA PaCa‐2 and BXPC3 including reduction of cell viability,inhibition of cell proliferation,stimulation of cell death,and suppression of colony formation,which translated to significant inhibition of xenograft tumor growth in vitro.By mapping the gene expression profiles,we identified the up‐regulations of 188 and the down‐regulations of 92 genes common to both cell lines following GW3965 treatment.Genes responsive to GW3965 represent a variety of biological pathways vital for multiple cellular functions.Specifically,we identified that the activating transcription factor 4/thioredoxin‐interacting protein/regulated in development and DNA damage responses 1/mechanistic target of rapamycin(ATF4/TXNIP/REDD1/mTOR)signaling critically controls GW3965‐mediated regulation of cell proliferation/death.The significance of the ATF4/TXNIP/REDD1/mTOR pathway was further supported by associated expressions in xenograft tumors as well as human pancreatic cancer samples.Conclusions:This study provides the pre‐clinical evidence that LXR agonist is a promising therapy for pancreatic cancer.

有机阴离子转运多肽1B1转录及蛋白表达调控机制的研究现状

有机阴离子转运多肽1B1(OATP1B1)属于溶质转运体(SLC)超家族,主要负责将内、外源物质转运至肝细胞代谢。本文描述了相关核受体和核因子-κB通路对OATP1B1 mRNA和蛋白表达的调控作用,旨在指导临床合理用药、预测药物相互作用、减少药物不良反应。

孕烷X受体介导的炎症反应在肠道和肝脏疾病中的作用

孕烷X受体(pregnane X receptor,PXR)是核受体超家族的成员之一,参与众多内源性和外源性的物质代谢,并与多种疾病如肝脏疾病、肾脏疾病、糖尿病和癌症等密切相关。PXR高表达于肠道和肝脏,由于肠道与外界相通,较易受外源物质刺激诱发炎症,而肝脏因其解剖位置和门静脉系统的存在,易继发于肠道产生炎症。PXR参与了肠道和肝脏炎症的发生、发展及治疗。本文简要综述PXR在肠道和肝脏炎症性疾病中的作用和临床意义。