Sasanquasaponin (SQS), a secondary metabolite that is derived from Camellia seeds, reportedly possesses notable biological properties. However, the anti-inflammatory effects of SQS and its underlying ...mechanisms remain poorly explored. Herein, we aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory properties of SQS against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory responses in RAW264.7 cells, focusing on the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and MAPK signaling pathways. SQS was isolated using a deep eutectic solvent and D101 macroporous adsorption resin and analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography. The viability of LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 was assessed using the CCK-8 assay. The presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was evaluated using 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein-diacetate. The expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were detected using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and ELISA. Western blot was performed to analyze the protein expression of LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells. Herein, SQS exhibited anti-inflammatory activity: 30 μg/mL of SQS significantly reduced ROS generation, inhibited the LPS-induced expression of iNOS and COX-2, and attenuated the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. The anti-inflammatory activity was potentially mediated by inhibiting the phosphorylation of IκBα and p65 in the NF-κB signaling pathway and the phosphorylation of ERK and JNK in the MAPK signaling pathway. Accordingly, SQS could inhibit inflammation in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells by suppressing the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways. This study demonstrated the potential application of SQS as an anti-inflammatory agent.
The development of novel nanoparticles as a new generation therapeutic drug platform is an active field of chemistry and cancer research. In recent years, fullerene nanoparticles have received ...extensive attention due to their unique physical and chemical properties. Properly modified fullerene nanoparticles have excellent biocompatibility and significant anti-tumor activity, which makes them have broad application prospects in the field of cancer therapy. Therefore, understanding the anti-tumor mechanism of fullerene nanoparticles is of great significance for the design and development of anti-tumor drugs with low toxicity and high targeting. This review has focused on various anti-tumor mechanisms of fullerene derivatives and discusses their toxicity and their distribution in organisms. Finally, the review points out some urgent problems that need solution before fullerene derivatives as a new generation of anti-tumor nano-drug platform enter clinical research.
The use of nanomedicines for cancer treatment has been widespread. Fullerenes have significant effects in the treatment of solid tumors. Here, we are going to study the effects of hydroxylated ...fullerene C
(OH)
(n = 18-22) treatment on chronic myeloid leukemia cell proliferation and investigate its toxicity. The results showed that hydroxylated fullerene C
(OH)
(n = 18-22) at low concentrations (less than 120 μM) not only had apparent toxic side effects, but also promoted the growth of K562 cells, while a high concentration of C
(OH)
had different degrees of inhibition on K562 cells. When the concentration is higher than 160 μM, the K562 cells showed morphological changes, the mitochondrial membrane potential decreased, the cell cycle was blocked in the stage of G2-phase, and cell apoptosis occurred, which may cause apoptosis, autophagy, and a variety of other damage leading to cell death. Meanwhile, it also indicated that its inhibition of solid tumors might be related to the tumor microenvironment; we verified the safety of fullerene without apparent cellular toxicity at a specific concentration.
Plant secondary metabolites are the outcomes of the adaptation of plants to ecological environment changes in the long-term evolution. The accumulation of secondary metabolites not only affects the ...evolutionary adaptability of plants, but also affects the quality and yield of some medicinal plants and crops. Therefore, it is an indispensable research field to understand further the mechanism of regulating secondary metabolism accumulation in plant science. Recent studies have confirmed that some signaling pathways are involved in regulating the accumulation of plant secondary metabolites, containing the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, epigenomic regulatory pathway, plant hormone, and some transcriptional factors. This review summarizes the latest molecular mechanisms and regulatory networks regulating secondary metabolism accumulation, and discusses the difficulties in future research.
•The accumulation of secondary metabolites affects the quality and yield of some medicinal plants and crops.•Some signaling pathways and factors can regulate the accumulation of plant secondary metabolites.•The challenge ahead is to reveal new molecular mechanisms or to explore possible links between different mechanisms.
Sasanquasaponin (SQS), a secondary metabolite that is derived from Camellia seeds, reportedly possesses notable biological properties. However, the anti-inflammatory effects of SQS and its underlying ...mechanisms remain poorly explored. Herein, we aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory properties of SQS against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory responses in RAW264.7 cells, focusing on the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and MAPK signaling pathways. SQS was isolated using a deep eutectic solvent and D101 macroporous adsorption resin and analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography. The viability of LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 was assessed using the CCK-8 assay. The presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was evaluated using 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein-diacetate. The expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were detected using reverse transcription–quantitative PCR and ELISA. Western blot was performed to analyze the protein expression of LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells. Herein, SQS exhibited anti-inflammatory activity: 30 μg/mL of SQS significantly reduced ROS generation, inhibited the LPS-induced expression of iNOS and COX-2, and attenuated the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. The anti-inflammatory activity was potentially mediated by inhibiting the phosphorylation of IκBα and p65 in the NF-κB signaling pathway and the phosphorylation of ERK and JNK in the MAPK signaling pathway. Accordingly, SQS could inhibit inflammation in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells by suppressing the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways. This study demonstrated the potential application of SQS as an anti-inflammatory agent.
Ganoderma lingzhi is an important medicinal fungus, which is widely used as dietary supplement and for pharmaceutical industries. However, the spatial distribution and dynamic accumulation pattern of ...active components such as ganoderic acids (GAs) among different parts of G. lingzhi fruiting body are still unclear. In this study, desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging (DESI-MSI) with untargeted metabolomics analysis was applied to investigate the metabolites distribution within G. lingzhi fruiting body at four different maturity stages (squaring, opening, maturation and harvesting stage). A total of 132 metabolites were characterized from G. lingzhi, including 115 triterpenoids, 11 fatty acids and other component. Most of the GAs content in the cap was significantly higher than that in the stipe, with six components such as ganoderic acid B being extremely significant. GAs in the cap was mainly present in the bottom edge of the mediostratum layer, such as ganoderic A-I and ganoderic GS-1, while in the stipe, they were mainly distributed in the shell layer and the context layer, such as ganoderic A-F. Most ganoderic acids content in both the stipe and the cap of G. lingzhi was gradually decreased with the development of G. lingzhi. The GAs in the stipe was gradually transferred from the shell layer to the content layer, while the distribution of GAs among different tissues of the cap was not significantly changed. In addition, linoleic acid, 9-HODE, 9-KODE and other fatty acids were mainly accumulated in the opening and maturing stage of the caps. This study further clarifies the spatial dynamic distribution of GAs in G. lingzhi fruiting body at four different maturity stages (squaring, opening, maturation and harvesting stage), which provides a basis for the rational utilization of the medicinal parts of G. lingzhi. Furthermore, mass spectrometry imaging combined with non-target metabolome analysis provides a powerful tool for the spatial distribution of active substances in the different regions of the medicinal edible fungi.
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