One Stone Four Birds:A Novel Liposomal Delivery System Multi-functionalized with Ginsenoside Rh2 for Tumor Targeting Therapy

Liposomes hold great potential in anti-cancer drug delivery and the targeting treatment of tumors.However,the clinical therapeutic efficacy of liposomes is still limited by the complexity of tumor microenvironment(TME)and the insufficient accumulation in tumor sites.Meanwhile,the application of cholesterol and polyethylene glycol(PEG),which are usually used to prolong the blood circulation and stabilize the structure of liposomes respectively,has been questioned due to various disadvantages.Herein,we developed a ginsenoside Rh2-based multifunctional liposome system(Rh2-lipo)to effectively address these challenges once for all.Different with the conventional’wooden’liposomes,Rh2-lipo is a much more brilliant carrier with multiple functions.In Rh2-lipo,both cholesterol and PEG were substituted by Rh2,which works as membrane stabilizer,long-circulating stealther,active targeting ligand,and chemotherapy adjuvant at the same time.Firstly,Rh2 could keep the stability of liposomes and avoid the shortcomings caused by cholesterol.Secondly,Rh2-lipo showed a specifically prolonged circulation behavior in the blood.Thirdly,the accumulation of the liposomes in the tumor was significantly enhanced by the interaction of glucose transporter of tumor cells with Rh2.Fourth,Rh2-lipo could remodel the structure and reverse the immunosuppressive environment in TME.When tested in a 4T1 breast carcinoma xenograft model,the paclitaxel-loaded Rh2-lipo realized high efficient tumor growth suppression.Therefore,Rh2-lipo not only innovatively challenges the position of cholesterol as a liposome component,but also provides another innovative potential system with multiple functions for anti-cancer drug delivery.

c-MYC-mediated TRIB3/P62^(+) aggresomes accumulation triggers paraptosis upon the combination of everolimus and ginsenoside Rh2

The mammalian target of rapamycin(m TOR) pathway is abnormally activated in lung cancer.However, the anti-lung cancer effect of m TOR inhibitors as monotherapy is modest. Here, we identified that ginsenoside Rh2, an active component of Panax ginseng C. A. Mey., enhanced the anti-cancer effect of the m TOR inhibitor everolimus both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, ginsenoside Rh2 alleviated the hepatic fat accumulation caused by everolimus in xenograft nude mice models. The combination of everolimus and ginsenoside Rh2(labeled Eve-Rh2) induced caspase-independent cell death and cytoplasmic vacuolation in lung cancer cells, indicating that Eve-Rh2 prevented tumor progression by triggering paraptosis. EveRh2 up-regulated the expression of c-MYC in cancer cells as well as tumor tissues. The increased cMYC mediated the accumulation of tribbles homolog 3(TRIB3)/P62+ aggresomes and consequently triggered paraptosis, bypassing the classical c-MYC/MAX pathway. Our study offers a potential effective and safe strategy for the treatment of lung cancer. Moreover, we have identified a new mechanism of TRIB3/P62+ aggresomes-triggered paraptosis and revealed a unique function of c-MYC.

Ginsenoside Rh_2 Showing Ability to Induce Apoptosis in HeLa Cells

This paper deals with the inhibitory mechanisms of ginsenoside \{G Rh 2\} on the growth of tumor cells. \{G Rh 2\} significantly inhibited the proliferation of human cervical adenocarcinoma HeLa cells in a time and dose dependent manner. G Rh 2 induced apoptotic manifestations in HeLa cells as evidenced by the changes in the cell morphology, the DNA fragmentation and the activation of caspases. Caspase inhibitors, caspase family inhibitor, z Val Ala Asp fmk(z VAD fmk); caspase 1 inhibitor, Ac Tyr Val Ala Asp chloromethyl ketone(Ac YVAD cmk); caspase 3 inhibitor, z Asp Glu Val Asp fmk(z DEVE fmk) and caspase 8 inhibitor, \{z Ile \}Glu Asp fmk(z IETD fmk) effectively attenuated G Rh 2 induced cell death. The activities of caspase 1 and caspase 3 were increased in the G Rh 2 induced apoptotic process. However, caspase inhibitors can not inhibit G Rh - 2 induced cell death completely. These results suggest that G Rh 2 induced cell death is mediated by the activation of caspase cascade, but there might be some other pathways for induction of this apoptosis.

Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Method for Determination of Protopanaxadiol in Rat Plasma

A simple, rapid and sensitive method for the determination of protopanaxadiol in rat plasma with ginsenoside Rh2 as internal standard was developed and validated. The analyte and internal standard were extracted from plasma with ether-dichloromethane（3：2, volume ratio） and then were analyzed by reversed-phase HPLC on a short Zorbax Extend C18 column（50 mm×2.1 mm, 3.5 μm i. d.） eluted with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile/methanol 0.10 mmol/L ammonium acetate（45：45：10, volume ratio） at 0.4 mL/min. Detection was performed on an Applied Biosystems Sciex API 4000 mass spectrometer set at unit resolution in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. Electrospray ionization was used for ion production. The assay method shows linear over a range of 5-2000 ng/mL and intra- and inter-day precisions over this range were 〈10.0% with accuracy ranged from 86.3% to 114.1%. The limit of detection was 500 pg/mL in the plasma. The method was successfully applied to a preclinical pharmacokinetic study of protopanaxadiol（17.5 mg/kg） administered as a single oral dose.

Mechanism of Shenfu Decoction in the treatment of critically ill patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) based on network pharmacology

Objective:The purpose of this thesis is to explore the mechanism of ShenFu Decoction in the treatment of critically ill patients with COVID-19 based on network pharmacology.Methods:The primary active ingredients and potential targets of ShenFu Decoction were searched from the TCMSP database.The targets of COVID-19 were obtained by searching the GeneCards and OMIM databases.A ShenFu Decoction-compound-target-COVID19 network and a protein-protein interaction(PPI)network were respectively constructed through the Cytoscape 3.5.1 software and the STRING database.Gene Ontology(GO)function enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway analysis were performed via Bioconductor bioinformatics software package and R programming language.Results:ShenFu Decoction contains 255 compounds and 94 potential targets.43 primary active ingredients were searched from the TCMSP database with oral bioavailability(OB)≥30%and drug-likeness(DL)≥0.18 as the retrieval condition.Numbers of targets of COVID-19 were 352 by searching the GeneCards and the OMIM databases.16 key targets were acquired by intersecting the targets of drug with the targets of disease.There were 49 GO terms and 102 pathways after analyzing GO and KEGG.Conclusion:Kaempferol,ginsenoside rh2,beta-sitosterol,Stigmasterol and Deoxy andrographolide might be the main active ingredients which may cause the inhibition of the SARS-CoV-23CL hydrolase activity and regulate ACE2.As a result,the antiviral effect,immunoregulation,targeting cytokine storm of SFD may play an important role in the treatment of critically ill patients with COVID-19 through regulating multiple signaling pathways such as AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications,IL-17 signaling pathway,C-type lectin receptor signaling pathway,HIF-1 signaling pathway.

Tumor cell membrane-camouflaged responsive nanoparticles enable MRI-guided immuno-chemodynamic therapy of orthotopic osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is a refractory bone disease in young people that needs the updating and development of effective treatment.Although nanotechnology is widely applied in cancer therapy,poor targeting and inadequate effi-ciency hinder its development.In this study,we prepared alendronate(ALD)/K7M2 cell membranes-coated hollow manganese dioxide(HMnO_(2))nanoparticles as a nanocarrier to load Ginsenoside Rh2(Rh2)for Mag-netic Resonance imaging(MRI)-guided immuno-chemodynamic combination osteosarcoma therapy.Subse-quently,the ALD and K7M2 cell membranes were successively modified on the surface of HMnO_(2) and loaded with Rh2.The tumor microenvironment(TME)-activated Rh2@HMnO_(2)-AM nanoparticles have good bone tumor-targeting and tumor-homing capabilities,excellent GSH-sensitive drug release profile and MRI capability,and attractive immuno-chemodynamic combined therapeutic efficiency.The Rh2@HMnO_(2)-AM nanoparticles can effectively trigger immunogenic cell death(ICD),activate CD4^(+)/CD8^(+)T cells in vivo,and upregulate BAX,BCL-2 and Caspase-3 in cellular level.Further results revealed that Rh2@HMnO_(2)-AM enhanced the secretion of IL-6,IFN-γand TNF-αin serum and inhibited the generation of FOXP3^(+)T cells(Tregs)in tumors.Moreover,the Rh2@HMnO_(2)-AM treatment significant restricted tumor growth in-situ tumor-bearing mice.Therefore,Rh2@HMnO_(2)-AM may serve as an effective and bio-friendly nanoparticle platform combined with immuno-therapy and chemodynamic therapy to provide a novel approach to osteosarcoma therapy.