Banxia xiexin decoction prevents the development of gastric cancer

BACKGROUND In China banxia xiexin decoction(BXD)has been used in treating gastric cancer(GC)for thousands of years and BXD has a good role in reversing GC histopathology,but its chemical composition and action mechanism are still unknown.AIM To investigate the mechanism of action of BXD against GC based on transcriptomics,network pharmacology,in vivo and in vitro experiments.METHODS The transplanted tumor model was prepared,and the nude mouse were pathologically examined after administration,and hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed.The active ingredients of BXD were quality controlled and identified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem quadrupole electrostatic field orbitrap mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS/MS),and traditional Chinese medicines systems pharmacology platform,drug bank and the Swiss target prediction platform to predict the relevant targets,the differentially expressed genes(DEGs)of GC were screened by RNA-seq sequencing,and the overlapping targets were analyzed to obtain the key targets and pathways.Cell Counting Kit-8,apoptosis assay,cell migration and Realtime fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used for in vitro experiments.RESULTS All dosing groups inhibited the growth of transplanted tumors in laboratory-bred strain nude,with the capecitabine group and the BXD medium-dose group being the best.A total of 29 compounds and 859 potential targets in BXD were identified by UPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS/MS and network pharmacology,RNA-seq sequencing found 4767 GC DEGs,which were combined with network pharmacology and analyzed 246 potential therapeutic targets were obtained and pathway results showed that BXD may against GC through the Phosphoinositide 3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(AKt)signaling pathway.In vitro cellular experiments confirmed that BXDcontaining serum and LY294002 could inhibit the proliferation of GC cells,promote apoptosis,and inhibit the migration of GC cells by decreasing the expression of EGFR,PIK3CA,IL6,BCL2 and AKT1 in the PI3K-Akt pathway in MGC-803 expression.CONCLUSION BXD has the effect of inhibiting tumor growth rate and delaying the development of GC.Its mechanism of action may be related to the regulation of PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells modulate autophagy in RAW264.7 macrophages via the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B/heme oxygenase-1 signaling pathway under oxygen-glucose deprivation/restoration conditions

Background: Autophagy of alveolar macrophages is a crucial process in ischemia/reperfusion injury-induced acute lung injury (ALI). Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are multipotent cells with the potential for repairing injured sites and regulating autophagy. This study was to investigate the influence of BM-MSCs on autophagy of macrophages in the oxygen-glucose deprivation/restoration (OGD/R) microenvironment and to explore the potential mechanism.Methods: We established a co-culture system of macrophages (RAW264.7) with BM-MSCs under OGD/R conditionsin vitro. RAW264.7 cells were transfected with recombinant adenovirus (Ad-mCherry-GFP-LC3B) and autophagic status of RAW264.7 cells was observed under a fluorescence microscope. Autophagy-related proteins light chain 3 (LC3)-I, LC3-II, and p62 in RAW264.7 cells were detected by Western blotting. We used microarray expression analysis to identify the differently expressed genes between OGD/R treated macrophages and macrophages co-culture with BM-MSCs. We investigated the gene heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), which is downstream of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) signaling pathway.Results: The ratio of LC3-II/LC3-I of OGD/R treated RAW264.7 cells was increased (1.27 ± 0.20vs. 0.44 ± 0.08,t = 6.67,P < 0.05), while the expression of p62 was decreased (0.77 ± 0.04vs. 0.95 ± 0.10,t = 2.90,P < 0.05), and PI3K (0.40 ± 0.06vs. 0.63 ± 0.10,t = 3.42,P < 0.05) and p-Akt/Akt ratio was also decreased (0.39 ± 0.02vs. 0.58 ± 0.03,t = 9.13,P < 0.05). BM-MSCs reduced the LC3-II/LC3-I ratio of OGD/R treated RAW264.7 cells (0.68 ± 0.14vs. 1.27 ± 0.20,t = 4.12,P < 0.05), up-regulated p62 expression (1.10 ± 0.20vs. 0.77 ± 0.04,t = 2.80,P < 0.05), and up-regulated PI3K (0.54 ± 0.05vs. 0.40 ± 0.06,t = 3.11,P < 0.05) and p-Akt/Akt ratios (0.52 ± 0.05vs. 0.39 ± 0.02,t = 9.13,P < 0.05). A whole-genome microarray assay screened the differentially expressed geneHO-1, which is downstream of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, and the alteration ofHO-1 mRNA and protein expression was consistent with the data on PI3K/Akt pathway.Conclusions: Our results suggest the existence of the PI3K/Akt/HO-1 signaling pathway in RAW264.7 cells under OGD/R circumstancesin vitro, revealing the mechanism underlying BM-MSC-mediated regulation of autophagy and enriching the understanding of potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of ALI.

PI-3 kinase pathway can mediate the effect of TGF-β1 in inducing the expression of SHARP-2 in LLC-PK1 cells

We aim to investigate the effect of transforming growth factor （TGF）-β1 on the expression of enhancer of split- and hairy-related protein-2 （SHARP-2） messenger RNA （mRNA） and its signaling pathway. In this study, several cell lines including LLC-PK1 （a porcine kidney tubular epithelial cell line）, MDCK （Madin-Darby canine kidney） and CTLL-2 （cytotoxic T-lymphocyte line） were treated with recombinant human TGF-131, and a series of experiments were carried out, involving Northern blot analysis of total RNA from these cells. Further, several specific chemical inhibitors were applied before TGF-β1 treatment to probe the signaling pathway. The results showed that TGF-β1 can significadtly up-regulate SHARP-2 mRNA expression in the LLC-PK1 cell line. The peak level of induction was found 2 h after TGF-β1 stimulation. While one phospho- inositide 3-kinases （PI-3） kinase inhibitor, LY294002, completely blocked the effect of TGF-131 on SHARP-2 mRNA expression in LLC-PK1 cells at a low concentration, other inhibitors, including PD98059, staurosporine, AG490, wortmannin, okadaic acid and rapamycin, had no effect. The effect of LY294002 was dose-dependent. We conclude that, in LLC-PK1 cells at least, TGF-β1 can effectively induce the SHARP-2 mRNA expression and that the PI-3 kinase pathway can mediate this effect.

Integrative analyses identified gap junction beta‐2 as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for breast cancer

Background:Increasing evidence has shown that connexins are involved in the regulation of tumor development,immune escape,and drug resistance.This study investigated the gene expression patterns,prognostic values,and potential mechanisms of connexins in breast cancer.Methods:We conducted a comprehensive analysis of connexins using public gene and protein expression databases and clinical samples from our institution.Connexin mRNA expressions in breast cancer and matched normal tissues were compared,and multiomics studies were performed.Results:Gap junction beta‐2 mRNA was overexpressed in breast cancers of different pathological types and molecular subtypes,and its high expression was associated with poor prognosis.The tumor membrane of the gap junction beta‐2 mutated group was positive,and the corresponding protein was expressed.Somatic mutation and copy number variation of gap junction beta‐2 are rare in breast cancer.The gap junction beta‐2 transcription level in the p110αsubunit of the phosphoinositide 3‐kinase mutant subgroup was higher than that in the wild‐type subgroup.Gap junction beta‐2 was associated with the phosphoinositide 3‐kinase‐Akt signaling pathway,extracellular matrix–receptor interaction,focal adhesion,and proteoglycans in cancer.Furthermore,gap junction beta‐2 overexpression may be associated with phosphoinositide 3‐kinase and histone deacetylase inhibitor resistance,and its expression level correlated with infiltrating CD8+T cells,macrophages,neutrophils,and dendritic cells.Conclusions:Gap junction beta‐2 may be a promising therapeutic target for targeted therapy and immunotherapy and may be used to predict breast cancer prognosis.