Ethanol extract of baked Gardeniae Fructus exhibits in vitro and in vivo anti-metastatic and anti-angiogenic activities in malignant cancer cells: Role of suppression of the NF-κB and HIF-1α pathways

Traditional Mongolian medicine Wu-Lan thirteen-flavor decoction protects rat from hypertension-induced renal injury via aryl hydrocarbon receptor-mediated pathway

BACKGROUND

Wu-Lan Thirteen-Flavour decoction (WLTd), a traditional Mongolian medicine, has been used for treating hypertension in clinical practice, but the chemical basis and underlying mechanisms remain unknown.

METHODS

The main components of WLTd were identified and quantified using HPLC and UPLC-MS/MS techniques. A compound-target-disease network was constructed using network pharmacology analysis to forecast the potential anti-hypertension targets. In vivo animal and in vitro cellular experiments were performed to validate the efficacy and molecular mechanisms of renal protection of WLTd and its main active components in spontaneous hypertension.

RESULTS

A total of 136 active compounds in WLTd were collected through relevant databases, and network pharmacology analysis identified that the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) signaling pathway may serve as a potential anti-hypertension targets. Eight of the active components, including vitexin, kaempferol, toosendanin, ursolic acid, matrine, oxymatrine, gardenoside and quercetin, were identified and quantified by HPLC and UPLC-MS/MS. WLTd effectively lowered the mean blood pressure (159.16 ± 13.91 vs 135 ± 13.37 mmHg), reduced the BUN (391.55 ± 59.96 vs 240.88 ± 51.15 mmol/L) and creatinine (1.78 ± 0.41 vs 0.67 ± 0.34 nmol/L) levels, and reduced hypertension-induced renal damage in SHR. AhR and related key gene expression changes predicted by network pharmacology analysis were validated by immunohistochemistry, RT-qPCR, and Western blot analyses. In vitro, studies also showed that WLTd up-regulated AhR expression in angiotensin II-induced HEK293 cell injury.

CONCLUSIONS

Wu-Lan Thirteen-Flavour decoction effectively protects hypertension-induced renal injury by regulating the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor signaling pathway.

A comprehensive review of ethnopharmacology, chemical constituents, pharmacological effects, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, and quality control of gardeniae fructus

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Gardeniae Fructus (GF), the desiccative mature fruitage of Gardenia jasminoides J. Ellis (G. jasminoides), belongs to the Rubiaceae family. It has abundant medicinal value, such as purging fire and eliminating annoyance, clearing heat and diuresis, cooling blood, and detoxifying. GF is usually used in combination with other drugs to treat diseases such as fever and jaundice in damp heat syndrome in traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) clinical practice.

THE AIM OF THE REVIEW

This review comprehensively summarizes the research progress in botany, traditional medical use, processing method, phytochemistry, pharmacological activity, quality control, pharmacokinetics, and toxicology, which aims to provide a scientific basis for the rational application and future research of GF.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

ScienceDirect, PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Embase, Scopus etc. databases were retrieved to gain the comprehensive information of GF.

RESULTS

At present, more than 215 compounds were isolated and identified from GF, including iridoids, diterpenes, triterpenoids, flavonoids, organic esters, and so on. The traditional application of GF mainly focused on clearing heat and detoxification. Pharmacological studies proved that GF had anti-inflammatory, antioxidation, antifatigue, antithrombotic, liver and gallbladder protection, and other pharmacological effects. In addition, many improved processing methods can alleviate the side effects and toxic reactions caused by long-term use of GF, so controlling its quality through multi-component content measurement has become an important means of research.

CONCLUSION

GF has a wide range of applications, the mechanisms by which some effective substances exert their pharmacological effects have not been clearly explained due to the complexity and diversity of its components. This review systematically elaborates on the traditional medical use, processing method, phytochemistry, pharmacological activity, quality control, and toxicology of GF, and it is expected to become a candidate drug for treating diseases, such as depression, pancreatitis, alcoholic or non-alcoholic fatty liver.

Anticancer plant-derivatives: deciphering their oncopreventive and therapeutic potential in molecular terms

Background

Over the years, phytomedicines have been widely used as natural modalities for the treatment and prevention of various diseases by different ethnic groups across the globe. Although, 25% of drugs in the USA contain at least one plant-derived therapeutic compound, currently there is a paucity of plant-derived active medicinal ingredients in the pharmaceutical industry. Scientific evidence-based translation of plant-derived ethnomedicines for their clinical application is an urgent need. The anticancer and associated properties (antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, pro-apoptotic and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) inhibition) of various plant extracts and phytochemicals have been elucidated earlier. Several of the plant derivatives are already in use under prophylactic/therapeutic settings against cancer and many are being investigated under different phases of clinical trials.

Main body

The purpose of this study is to systematically comprehend the progress made in the area of prophylactic and therapeutic potential of the anticancerous plant derivatives. Besides, we aim to understand their anticancer potential in terms of specific sub-phenomena, such as anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, pro-apoptotic and inhibition of EMT, with an insight of the molecules/pathways associated with them. The study also provides details of classes of anticancer compounds, their plant source(s) and the molecular pathway(s) targeted by them. In addition to the antioxidative and antiproliferative potentials of anticancer plant derivatives, this study emphasizes on their EMT-inhibition potential and other ‘anticancer related’ properties. The EMT is highlighted as a phenomenon of choice for targeting cancer due to its role in the induction of metastasis and drug resistance. Different phytochemicals in pre-clinical or clinical trials, with promising chemopreventive/anticancer activities have been enlisted and the plant compounds showing synergistic anticancer activity in combination with the existing drugs have been discussed. The review also unravels the need of carrying out pan-signalome studies for identifying the cardinal pathways modulated by phytomedicine(s), as in many cases, the molecular pathway(s) has/have been randomly studied.

Conclusion

This review systematically compiles the studies regarding the impact of various plant derivatives in different cancers and oncogenic processes, as tested in diverse experimental model systems. Availability of more comprehensive information on anticancer phyto-constituents, their relative abundance in crude drugs, pathways/molecules targeted by phytomedicines, their long-term toxicity data and information regarding their safe use under the combinatorial settings, would open greater avenues of their utilization in future against this dreaded disease.

Graphical Abstract

Mitochondrial-Respiration-Improving Effects of Three Different Gardeniae Fructus Preparations and Their Components

The processing method for Chinese traditional herbal medicine is "Pao Zhi" in Chinese. This study examined the efficacy of the Pao Zhi on the preparations of Gardeniae Fructus (GF) on a mitochondrial respiratory function in rats. To determine the efficacy of Pao Zhi, we investigated the effects of GF heat processing on mitochondrial respiratory function. To test the GF components, the rats were randomly divided into a geniposide-alone group, crocin-alone group, and combination groups and treated with geniposide and crocin at different ratios. The results showed that a high dose, raw GF was more effective in improving the neurological function, mitochondrial respiratory function, and activities of Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase and Ca²⁺-Mg²⁺-ATPase than the preparations that underwent heating. Moreover, mitochondrial ROS production was the lowest in the raw GF-treated group. In addition, treatments with crocin and GC3 were more effective than geniposide in improving the functional deficit in MCAO rats. In conclusion, our results suggest that raw GF is the most suitable preparation for the treatment of cerebral ischemia, and its underlying mechanisms may be associated with the improvement of mitochondrial respiratory function, increased activities of Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase and Ca²⁺-Mg²⁺-ATPase, and reduced oxidative stress in mitochondria. Our findings suggest that raw GF, especially crocin, could be an ideal therapeutic agent for ischemic stroke.

Sauchinone inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells by suppressing Akt-CREB-MMP13 signaling pathway

Sauchinone, a lignan isolated from Saururus chinenesis, is known to exhibit anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. Recently, sauchinone has been reported to inhibit the growth of various cancer cells, but its effects on breast cancer cells remain poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated the effects of sauchinone on the growth of breast cancer cells along with the underlying molecular mechanisms. Our results show that sauchinone treatment markedly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of breast cancer cells. Sauchinone reduced the phosphorylation of Akt, ERK, and CREB increased by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). In particular, sauchinone treatment suppressed the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-13 (MMP13) by regulating the Akt-CREB signaling pathway. Sauchinone was less effective in inhibiting cell migration in Mmp13-knockdown cells than in control cells, suggesting that MMP13 may be a novel target for sauchinone. Our study suggests that sauchinone inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells by attenuating the Akt-CREB-MMP13 pathway. In addition, the targeted inhibition of MMP13 by sauchinone represents a promising approach for the treatment of breast cancer.

Sendeng-4 Suppressed Melanoma Growth by Induction of Autophagy and Apoptosis

Sendeng-4 is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been successfully applied to anti-inflammatory diseases in clinical practice. Monomers within Sendeng-4 showed promising antitumor activity against lung cancer, colon cancer, and cutaneous cancer. However, potency of Sendeng-4 in melanoma has not been explored. This study aims to explore the potential application of Sendeng-4 in melanoma treatment. In the present study, we systemically investigate the possibility of Sendeng-4 for treatment of melanoma cancer in vitro by proliferation assay, colony formation, flow cell cytometry, RNA-seq, western blot, and fluorescence-based assay. Our data demonstrated that Sendeng-4 suppresses the proliferation and colony formation capacity of melanoma cells and induces cell cycle block at G2/M phase and eventually cell death. Mechanistically, transcriptome sequencing demonstrates that the PI3K-AKT pathway was significantly inactivated upon Sendeng-4 exposure, which was confirmed by western blot showing decreased phosphorylation of AKT. In addition, decreased BCL-2 expression and increased BAX expression were observed, suggesting programmed cell death via apoptosis. Moreover, LC3-II production as well as autophagosomes formation was observed as demonstrated by western blot and immunofluorescence, indicating elevated autophagy network by Sendeng-4 stimulation. Collectively, we concluded that Sendeng-4 might be used as an anticancer drug for melanoma.

Cytotoxic Effect of Iris germanica L. Rhizomes Extract on Human Melanoma Cell Line

Background: Melanoma is the leading cause of 80% of skin cancer worldwide due to its high proliferation rate, metastatic nature, and limited effective therapies. Given the rapid increase in its incidence compared to other skin cancers, new therapeutic agents are needed to control the disease. Scientists are interested in medicinal plants due to their anticancer properties. The rhizomes of the Iris germanica L., known as “Irsa”, is one of the herbs used in traditional Persian medicine for the treatment of various skin cancers. Objectives: This study aimed at investigating the cytotoxic effects of Iris germanica on A375 melanoma and AGO-1522 normal human fibroblast cell lines for the first time. Methods: The ethanolic extract was prepared by the maceration method. Cell viability and cytotoxic activities were assessed through 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and flow cytometric assay, using annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) staining. Results: IC50 values were estimated for the A375 melanoma and the AGO-1522 normal cell lines. We revealed that the IC50 for the A375 melanoma was 0.0438 mg/mL and for the AGO-1522 normal cell line was 0.8494 mg/mL after 48 hours of treatment. Furthermore, flow cytometry analysis illustrated that 0.125 mg/mL of the Iris germanica extract could lead to 55.24% apoptosis of the A375 melanoma cell line. The same concentration of the Iris germanica extracts only lead to 8.76% apoptosis in the AGO-1522 cell line. Conclusions: Iris germanica extract has considerable cytotoxic effects on the human melanoma cell line. Further studies are required to demonstrate the therapeutic effects of Iris germanica on melanoma cancer.

The Research on the Treatment of Metastatic Skin Cutaneous Melanoma by Huanglian Jiedu Decoction Based on the Analysis of Immune Infiltration Analysis

Objective

To explore the potential mechanism of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction (HJD) treatment and prevention of metastatic Cutaneous Melanoma (CM) occurrence and metastasis based on network pharmacological methods and immune infiltration analysis.

Methods

The GEO database was used to obtain metastatic CM disease targets, the TCMSP database and the HERB database were used to obtain HJD action targets, core genes were screened by protein interaction network, and the potential mechanism of HJD in the treatment of metastatic CM was explored by enrichment analysis, prognostic analysis and immune infiltration analysis.

Results

HJD treatment of metastatic CM involved 60 targets, enrichment analysis showed that HJD treatment of metastatic CM involved Chemokine signaling pathway, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, and Fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis, etc. Prognostic analysis revealed that HJD had a certain ability to improve the prognosis of metastatic CM patients. Immune infiltration analysis showed that HJD could inhibit the immune cell infiltration of metastatic CM patients by acting on related targets.

Conclusions

Our study identified the potential mechanism of HJD in the treatment of metastatic CM through network pharmacology, and revealed the mechanism of HJD in the prevention of Skin Cutaneous Melanoma metastasis through immune infiltration analysis and prognostic analysis.

Recent Advances in Anti-Metastatic Approaches of Herbal Medicines in 5 Major Cancers: From Traditional Medicine to Modern Drug Discovery

Metastasis is the main cause of cancer-related death. Despite its high fatality, a comprehensive study that covers anti-metastasis of herbal medicines has not yet been conducted. The aim of this study is to investigate and assess the anti-metastatic efficacies of herbal medicines in the five major cancers, including lung, colorectal, gastric, liver, and breast cancers. We collected articles published within five years using PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science with "cancer metastasis" and "herbal medicine" as keywords. Correspondingly, 16 lung cancer, 23 colorectal cancer, 10 gastric cancer, 10 liver cancer, and 18 breast cancer studies were systematically reviewed. The herbal medicines attenuated metastatic potential targeting various mechanisms such as epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and angiogenesis. Specifically, the drugs regulated metastasis related factors such as matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), serine-threonine protein kinase/extracellular regulated protein kinase (AKT/ERK), angiogenic factors, and chemokines. Overall, the present study is the first review, comprehensively investigating the anti-metastasis effect of herbal medicines on five major cancers, providing the experimental models, doses and durations, and mechanisms. Herbal medicines could be a potent candidate for anti-metastatic drugs.

NF-κB inhibitors in treatment and prevention of lung cancer

Intracellular signalling pathways have provided excellent resource for drug development particularly in the development of cancer therapeutics. A wide variety of malignancies common in human exhibit aberrant NF-κB constitutive expression which results in tumorigenic processes and cancer survival in a variety of solid tumour, including pancreatic cancer, lung, cervical, prostate, breast and gastric carcinoma. Numerous evidences indicate that NF-κB signalling mechanism is mainly involved in the progression of several cancers which may intensify an enhanced knowledge on its role in disease particularly lung tumorigenesis. This has led to tremendous research in designing a variety of NF-κB antagonists with enhanced clinical applications through different approaches the most common being suppression of IκB kinase (IKK) beta activity. Many NF-κB inhibitors for lung cancer are now under clinical trials. Preliminary results of clinical trials for several of these agents include small-molecule inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies. A few combinatorial treatment therapies are currently under investigation in the clinics and have shown promise, particularly NF-κB inhibition associated with lung cancer.

Screening of plants from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest led to the identification of Athenaea velutina (Solanaceae) as a novel source of antimetastatic agents

Plant biodiversity is a source of potential natural products for the treatment of many diseases. One of the ways of discovering new drugs is through the cytotoxic screening of extract libraries. The present study evaluated 196 extracts prepared by maceration of Brazilian Atlantic Forest trees with organic solvents and distilled water for cytotoxic and antimetastatic activity. The MTT assay was used to screen the extract activity in MCF-7, HepG2 and B16F10 cancer cells. The highest cytotoxic extract had antimetastatic activity, as determined in in vitro assays and melanoma murine model. The organic extract of the leaves of Athenaea velutina (EAv) significantly inhibited migration, adhesion, invasion and cell colony formation in B16F10 cells. The phenolic compounds and flavonoids in EAv were identified for the first time, using flow injection with electrospray negative ionization-ion trap tandem mass spectrometry analysis (FIA-ESI-IT-MSn ). EAv markedly suppressed the development of pulmonary melanomas following the intravenous injection of melanoma cells to C57BL/6 mice. Stereological analysis of the spleen cross-sections showed enlargement of the red pulp area after EAv treatment, which indicated the activation of the haematopoietic system. The treatment of melanoma-bearing mice with EAv did not result in liver damage. In conclusion, these findings suggest that A velutina is a source of natural products with potent antimetastatic activity.

Gardenia jasminoides Enhances CDDP-Induced Apoptosis of Glioblastoma Cells via AKT/mTOR Pathway While Protecting Death of Astrocytes

Gliomas are the most observed primary brain tumor, of which glioblastoma multiform (GBM) shows the highest incidence. Radiotherapy with temozolomide is the standard therapeutic method, but because of side effects, search for alternative therapies is required. Gardenia jasminoides (GJ) is flavonoid abundant with beneficial effects on inflammation, metabolic diseases, and cancers. In this study, we investigated the synergistic combination of GJ and cisplatin (CDDP) in U87MG and U373MG GBM cells. GJ and CDDP both showed cytotoxicity in U87MG cells, however GJ did not affect viability of normal astrocytes while CDDP displayed high toxicity. Cytotoxic effect of GJ and CDDP was related in apoptosis when confirmed by Western blot assays on cleaved caspase-3, caspase-9, and PARP. Moreover, GJ and CDDP showed synergistic combination in cell death of GBM cells, which was further confirmed by Western blot assays of apoptosis factors and also flow cytometry of Annexin V. Analysis on autophagy factors showed that GJ/CDDP combination induced autophagy, and through inhibition of autophagy, we could confirm autophagy is crucial to cytotoxicity of GJ/CDDP in GBM cell lines. The autophagy-mediated apoptosis of GJ/CDDP was dependent on the AKT/mTOR pathway. Overall, our results suggest GJ/CDDP combination as an effective yet safe therapeutic approach to GBMs.

Inhibitory Effect of Cuphea aequipetala Extracts on Murine B16F10 Melanoma In Vitro and In Vivo

Cuphea aequipetala (C. aequipetala) has been used in Mexican traditional medicine since prehispanic times to treat tumors. In this paper, we evaluated the antiproliferative and apoptotic effect of the methanolic and aqueous extracts of C. aequipetala on several cancer cell lines including the B16F10 cell line of murine melanoma and carried a murine model assay. In vitro assay analyzed the effect in the cellular cycle and several indicators of apoptosis, such as the caspase-3 activity, DNA fragmentation, phosphatidylserine exposure (Annexin-V), and induction of cell membrane permeabilization (propidium iodide) in the B16F10 cells. In vivo, groups of C57BL/6 female mice were subcutaneously injected with 5x10⁵ B16F10 cells and treated with 25 mg/mL of C. aequipetala extracts via oral. Aqueous and methanolic extracts showed a cytotoxic effect in MCF-7, HepG2, and B16F10 cell lines. The methanolic extract showed more antiproliferative effect with less concentration, and for this reason, the in vitro experiments were only continued with it. This extract was able to induce accumulation of cells on G1 phase of the cell cycle; moreover, it was able to induce DNA fragmentation and increase the activity of caspase-3 in B16F10 cells. On the other hand, in the murine model of melanoma, the aqueous extract showed a greater reduction of tumor size in comparison with the methanolic extract, showing an 80% reduction versus one of around 31%, both compared with the untreated control, indicating a better antitumor effect of C. aequipetala aqueous extract via oral administration. In conclusion, the in vitro data showed that both C. aequipetala extracts were able to induce cytotoxicity through the apoptosis pathway in B16F10 cells, and in vivo, the oral administration of aqueous extract reduces the melanoma tumoral mass, suggesting an important antitumoral effect and the perspective to search for effector molecules involved in it.

Piceatannol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (PG) exhibits in vitro anti-metastatic and anti-angiogenic activities in HT1080 malignant fibrosarcoma cells

BACKGROUND

Several components isolated from rhubarb, the root of Rheum undulatum L., including emodin, rhein, rhaponticin, and piceatannol, have been reported to induce cell death and inhibit metastasis in various types of cancer. Recently, piceatannol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (PG) isolated from rhubarb was demonstrated to improve vascular dysfunction by inhibiting arginase activity.

PURPOSE

In this study, we examined the anti-cancer activities of PG, including effects on the proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis of endothelial and malignant cancer cells.

RESULTS

We found that PG did not affect the proliferation of human fibrosarcoma (HT1080) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) at treatments up to 100  μM. However, PG efficiently suppressed the metastatic ability of HT1080 cells, as determined by scratch wound migration, transwell migration/invasion assay, and three-dimensional (3D) spheroid invasion assay. PG significantly suppressed the phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced increase of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 expression as well as gelatinolytic MMP-9 activity, which are essential for cancer metastasis. In addition, PG treatment reduced the production of proangiogenic factors in HT1080 cells under normoxic and hypoxic conditions and suppressed hypoxia-induced activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α pathway. We also found that HUVEC angiogenic activity, including migration and tubular structure formation, were significantly reduced by PG treatment. Moreover, in an in ovo chick chorioallantoic membrane assay, spontaneous and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced vessel formation were significantly inhibited by PG treatment.

CONCLUSION

These results collectively indicate that PG has potent anti-metastatic and anti-angiogenic activities with no cytotoxicity. Thus, PG may be useful to limit the hyperplasia of malignant tumors and the spread of cancer to distant secondary organs.

Isoliquiritin Apioside Suppresses in vitro Invasiveness and Angiogenesis of Cancer Cells and Endothelial Cells

Several components isolated from Glycyrrhizae radix rhizome (GR), including glycyrrhizin, liquiritin, and liquiritigenin, have been shown to induce cancer cell death and inhibit cancer metastasis. Isoliquiritin apioside (ISLA), a component isolated from GR, has been effective for treating tetanic contraction and genotoxicity. However, the effects of ISLA on the metastasis and angiogenesis of malignant cancer cells and endothelial cells (ECs) have not been reported. In this study, we found that up to 100 μM ISLA did not affect cell proliferation but efficiently suppressed the metastatic ability of HT1080 cells, as assessed by scratch-wound migration, Transwell^® migration, scratch-wound invasion, Transwell^® invasion, and three-dimensional spheroid invasion. ISLA significantly decreased phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced increases in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activities and suppressed PMA-induced activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase as well as NF-κB, which are involved in cancer metastasis. In addition, ILSA treatment reduced the production of pro-angiogenic factors in HT1080 cells, including MMP-9, placental growth factor, and vascular endothelial growth factor under normoxia as well as hypoxia conditions, by impairing the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α pathway. We also found that the abilities of human umbilical vein ECs to migrate across the Transwell^® and to form tube-like structures were significantly reduced by ISLA treatment. Moreover, using the chorioallantoic membrane assay, vessel formation with or without vascular endothelial growth factor was significantly suppressed by ISLA. These results suggested that ISLA possesses anti-metastatic and anti-angiogenic abilities in malignant cancer cells and ECs, with no cytotoxicity. ISLA may therefore be a safe and effective lead compound to develop anti-cancer drug for limiting the spread of primary tumors to distant organs to form secondary tumors.

Inhibition of TBK1 reduces choroidal neovascularization in vitro and in vivo

choroidal neovascularization (CNV), a characteristic of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), causes severe vision loss among elderly patients. TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) is a ubiquitously expressed serine-threonine kinase and is found to induce endothelial cells proliferation, represent a novel mediator of tumor angiogenesis and exert pro-inflammatory effect. However, the role of TBK1 in choroidal neovascularization has not been investigated so far. In this study, we found that the expression of TBK1 and VEGF was up-regulated in RF/6 A cells chemical hypoxia model and laser-induced mouse CNV model. Silencing of TBK1 suppressed the proliferation and tube formation activity of RF/6 A cells. Intravitreal injection of anti-TBK1 monoclonal antibody ameliorates CNV formation. Taken together, these findings exhibit a proangiogenic role for TBK1 via upregulating the expression of VEGF, and may suggest that TBK1 inhibition offers a unique and alternative method for prevention and treatment of AMD.

Identification of Steroidogenic Components Derived From Gardenia jasminoides Ellis Potentially Useful for Treating Postmenopausal Syndrome

Estrogen-stimulating principles have been demonstrated to relieve postmenopausal syndrome effectively. Gardenia jasminoides Ellis (GJE) is an herbal medicine possessing multiple pharmacological effects on human health with low toxicity. However, the therapeutic effects of GJE on the management of postmenopausal syndrome and its mechanism of action have not been fully elucidated. In this study, network pharmacology-based approaches were employed to examine steroidogenesis under the influence of GJE. In addition, the possibility of toxicity of GJE was ruled out and four probable active compounds were predicted. In parallel, a chromatographic fraction of GJE with estrogen-stimulating effect was identified and nine major compounds were isolated from this active fraction. Among the nine compounds, four of them were identified by network pharmacology, validating the use of network pharmacology to predict active compounds. Then the phenotypic approaches were utilized to verify that rutin, chlorogenic acid (CGA) and geniposidic acid (GA) exerted an estrogen-stimulating effect on ovarian granulosa cells. Furthermore, the results of target-based approaches indicated that rutin, CGA, and GA could up-regulate the FSHR-aromatase pathway in ovarian granulosa cells. The stimulation of estrogen production by rat ovarian granulosa cells under the influence of the three compounds underwent a decline when the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) was blocked by antibodies against the receptor, indicating the involvement of FSHR in the estradiol-stimulating activity of the three compounds. The effects of the three compounds on estrogen biosynthesis- related gene expression level were further confirmed by Western blot assay. Importantly, the MTT results showed that exposure of breast cancer cells to the three compounds resulted in reduction of cell viability, demonstrating the cytotoxicity of the three compounds. Collectively, rutin, chlorogenic acid and geniposidic acid may contribute to the therapeutic potential of GJE for the treatment of postmenopausal syndrome.