Erianin Controls Collagen-Mediated Retinal Angiogenesis via the RhoA/ROCK1 Signaling Pathway Induced by the alpha2/beta1 Integrin-Collagen Interaction

Targeting ferroptosis using Chinese herbal compounds to treat respiratory diseases

BACKGROUND

Respiratory diseases pose a grave threat to human life. Therefore, understanding their pathogenesis and therapeutic strategy is important. Ferroptosis is a novel type of iron-dependent programmed cell death, distinct from apoptosis, necroptosis, and autophagy, characterised by iron, reactive oxygen species, and lipid peroxide accumulation, as well as glutathione (GSH) depletion and GSH peroxidase 4 (GPX4) inactivation. A close association between ferroptosis and the onset and progression of respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute lung injury, bronchial asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, and lung cancer, has been reported. Recent studies have shown that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compounds exhibit unique advantages in the treatment of respiratory diseases owing to their natural properties and potential efficacy. These compounds can effectively regulate ferroptosis by modulating several key signalling pathways such as system Xc- -GSH-GPX4, NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy, Nrf2-GPX4, and Nrf2/HO-1, thus playing a positive role in improving respiratory diseases.

PURPOSE

This comprehensive review systematically outlines the regulatory role of ferroptosis in the onset and progression of respiratory diseases and provides evidence for treating respiratory diseases by targeting ferroptosis with TCM compounds. These insights aim to offer potential remedies for the clinical prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

We searched scientific databases PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and CNKI using keywords such as "ferroptosis","respiratory diseases","chronic obstructive pulmonary disease","bronchial asthma","acute lung injury","pulmonary fibrosis","lung cancer","traditional Chinese medicine","traditional Chinese medicine compound","monomer", and "natural product" to retrieve studies on the therapeutic potential of TCM compounds in ameliorating respiratory diseases by targeting ferroptosis. The retrieved data followed PRISMA criteria (preferred reporting items for systematic review).

RESULTS

TCM compounds possess unique advantages in treating respiratory diseases, stemming from their natural origins and proven clinical effectiveness. TCM compounds can exert therapeutic effects on respiratory diseases by regulating ferroptosis, which mainly involves modulation of pathways such as system Xc- -GSH-GPX4,NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy, Nrf2-GPX4, and Nrf2/HO-1.

CONCLUSION

TCM compounds have demonstrated promising potential in improving respiratory diseases through the regulation of ferroptosis. The identification of specific TCM-related inducers and inhibitors of ferroptosis holds great significance in developing more effective strategies. However, current research remains confined to animal and cellular studies, emphasizing the imperative for further verifications through high-quality clinical data.

CTNNAL1 promotes the structural integrity of bronchial epithelial cells through the RhoA/ROCK1 pathway

Adhesion molecules play critical roles in maintaining the structural integrity of the airway epithelium in airways under stress. Previously, we reported that catenin alpha-like 1 (CTNNAL1) is downregulated in an asthma animal model and upregulated at the edge of human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) after ozone stress. In this work, we explore the potential role of CTNNAL1 in the structural adhesion of HBECs and its possible mechanism. We construct a CTNNAL1 ‒/‒ mouse model with CTNNAL1-RNAi recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) in the lung and a CTNNAL1-silencing cell line stably transfected with CTNNAL1-siRNA recombinant plasmids. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining reveals that CTNNAL1 ‒/‒ mice have denuded epithelial cells and structural damage to the airway. Silencing of CTNNAL1 in HBECs inhibits cell proliferation and weakens extracellular matrix adhesion and intercellular adhesion, possibly through the action of the cytoskeleton. We also find that the expressions of the structural adhesion-related molecules E-cadherin, integrin β1, and integrin β4 are significantly decreased in ozone-treated cells than in vector control cells. In addition, our results show that the expression levels of RhoA/ROCK1 are decreased after CTNNAL1 silencing. Treatment with Y27632, a ROCK inhibitor, abolished the expressions of adhesion molecules induced by ozone in CTNNAL1-overexpressing HBECs. Overall, the findings of the present study suggest that CTNNAL1 plays a critical role in maintaining the structural integrity of the airway epithelium under ozone challenge, and is associated with epithelial cytoskeleton dynamics and the expressions of adhesion-related molecules via the RhoA/ROCK1 pathway.

Research progress on the pharmacological mechanism, in vivo metabolism and structural modification of Erianin

Erianin is an important bibenzyl compound in dendrobium and has a wide spectrum of pharmacological properties. Since Erianin was discovered, abundant results have been achieved in the in vitro synthesis, structural modification, and pharmacological mechanism research. Researchers have developed a series of simple and efficient in vitro synthesis methods to improve the shortcomings of poor water solubility by replacing the chemical structure or coating it in nanomaterials. Erianin has a broad anti-tumor spectrum and significant anti-tumor effects. In addition, Erianin also has pharmacological actions like immune regulation, anti-inflammatory, and anti-angiogenesis. A comprehensive understanding of the synthesis, metabolism, structural modification, and pharmacological action pathways of Erianin is of great value for the utilization of Erianin. Therefore, this review conducts a relatively systematic look back at Erianin from the above four aspects, to give a reference for the evolvement and further appliance of Erianin.

HTATIP2 regulates arteriogenic activity in monocytes from patients with limb ischemia

Use of autologous cells isolated from elderly patients with multiple comorbidities may account for the modest efficacy of cell therapy in patients with chronic limb threatening ischemia (CLTI). We aimed to determine whether proarteriogenic monocyte/macrophages (Mo/MΦs) from patients with CLTI were functionally impaired and to demonstrate the mechanisms related to any impairment. Proarteriogenic Mo/MΦs isolated from patients with CLTI were found to have an impaired capacity to promote neovascularization in vitro and in vivo compared with those isolated from healthy controls. This was associated with increased expression of human HIV-1 TAT interactive protein-2 (HTATIP2), a transcription factor known to suppress angiogenesis/arteriogenesis. Silencing HTATIP2 restored the functional capacity of CLTI Mo/MΦs, which was associated with increased expression of arteriogenic regulators Neuropilin-1 and Angiopoietin-1, and their ability to enhance angiogenic (endothelial tubule formation) and arteriogenic (smooth muscle proliferation) processes in vitro. In support of the translational relevance of our findings, silencing HTATIP2 in proarteriogenic Mo/MΦs isolated from patients with CLTI rescued their capacity to enhance limb perfusion in the ischemic hindlimb by effecting greater angiogenesis and arteriogenesis. Ex vivo modulation of HTATIP2 may offer a strategy for rescuing the functional impairment of pro-angio/arteriogenic Mo/MΦs prior to autologous delivery and increase the likelihood of clinical efficacy.

LINC00938 alleviates hypoxia ischemia encephalopathy induced neonatal brain injury by regulating oxidative stress and inhibiting JNK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is an important factor leading to permanent damage of central nervous system (CNS) and even neonatal death. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been shown to get involved in the pathogenesis of nervous system diseases. LINC00938 is an intergenic lncRNA which is reported to be involved in neurodegenerative disease. However, the potential role of LINC00938 in nerve injury of neonatal HIE is undetermined. Here, we found that the expression of LINC00938 in the whole blood of neonates with HIE was downregulated compared with the non-HIE group. Functional study revealed that the expression of LINC00938 was significantly decreased in oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)-induced SH-SY5Y. Knockdown of LINC00938 induced the neural cell apoptosis by increased the protein level of Bax, Cleaved-Caspase3 and decreased the expression of Bcl-2. In addition, overexpression of LINC00938 prevented the apoptosis of SH-SY5Y from OGD injury. RNA-seq analysis showed that MAPK signaling was involved in the anti-apoptosis function of LINC00938. LINC00938 knockdown induced the activation of c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, and inhibited the activation of ERK signaling. However, LINC00938 play neuroprotective role in OGD-induced SH-SY5Y by suppression the phosphorylation of JNK and p38 MAPK rather than regulation of ERK signaling pathway. Further analyses illustrated that the cell apoptosis of neuronal cell was dependent on the elevation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and result in mitochondria dysfunction in LINC00938 knockdown SH-SY5Y. Pretreated with ROS inhibitor N-acetylcysteine amide (NACA) dramatically suppressed LINC00938 knockdown induced oxidative stress and mitochondria dysfunction which induced cell apoptosis. In addition, NACA treatment significantly reduced the expression of p-JNK and p-p38 in OGD-induced SH-SY5Y. Furthermore, overexpression of LINC00938 displayed a notably neuroprotective effect by suppress central nervous system cell apoptosis via alleviating oxidative stress in CoCl2-induced hypoxic HIE model of zebrafish. Taken together, these results suggested that LINC00938 can act as a neuroprotective factor to inhibit oxidative stress and apoptosis of CNS under HIE conditions.

The roles of ERIANIN in tumor and innate immunity and its' perspectives in immunotherapy

Traditional Chinese medicine has been used in China for thousands of years. In 2022, the 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine was released, aiming to enhance traditional Chinese medicine health services and improve policies and systems for high-quality traditional Chinese medicinal development by 2025. ERIANIN, the main component of the traditional Chinese medicine Dendrobium, plays an important role in anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antitumor, antiangiogenic, and other pharmacological effects. ERIANIN has broad-spectrum antitumor effects, and its tumor-suppressive effects have been confirmed in the study of various diseases, such as precancerous lesions of the stomach, gastric cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, osteosarcoma, colorectal cancer, leukaemia, nasopharyngeal cancer and melanoma through the multiple signaling pathways. Thus, the aim of this review was to systematically summarise the research on ERIANIN with the aim of serving as a reference for future research on this compound and briefly discuss some future perspectives development of ERIANIN in combined immunotherapy.