Water extract of samultang reduces apoptotic cell death by h(2)o(2)-induced oxidative injury in sk-N-mc cells

Investigating the therapeutic potential of Bifidobacterium breve and Lactobacillus rhamnosus postbiotics through apoptosis induction in colorectal HT-29 cancer cells

Background and Objectives

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent form of cancer worldwide. Recent studies suggest that postbiotics derived from probiotic bacteria have the potential as an adjunct therapy for CRC. This study investigates the anti-cancer effects of Bifidobacterium breve (B. breve) and Lactobacillus rhamnosus (L. rhamnosus) postbiotics on the HT-29 cell line.

Materials and Methods

Through MTT and scratch assay, we investigated the anti-proliferation and anti-migration effects of B. breve and L. rhamnosus postbiotics on HT-29 cells. Furthermore, postbiotic-mediated apoptosis was assessed by analyzing the expression of Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3. We also investigated the effects of B. breve postbiotics on the expression of three important genes involved in metastasis, including RSPO2, NGF, and MMP7. Consequently, we validated the expression of selected genes in twelve adenocarcinoma tissues.

Results

The results demonstrated the significant impact of postbiotics on HT-29 cells, highlighting their ability to induce anti-proliferation, anti-migration, and apoptosis-related effects. Notably, these effects were more pronounced using B. breve postbiotics than L. rhamnosus. Additionally, B. breve postbiotics could inhibit metastasis through upregulation of RSPO2 while downregulating NGF and MMP7 expression in HT-29 cells.

Conclusion

Our research suggests that postbiotic metabolites may be effective biological products for the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Samul-tang ameliorates oocyte damage due to cyclophosphamide-induced chronic ovarian dysfunction in mice

Samul-tang (SM), a traditional herbal medicine, has been used to treat menstrual irregularities and infertility in women. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of SM remain elusive. We investigated the potential protective effect of SM against chronic ovarian dysfunction and used bioinformatics analysis to identify its underlying mechanism in a mouse model of cyclophosphamide (CP)-induced diminished ovarian reserve. Female C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally injected with CP three times a week, followed by oral administration of distilled water (CP group) or SM (CP + SM group) for 4 weeks. Four weeks later, the effect of SM was assessed by ovarian tissue histological analysis, steroid hormone measurement, oocyte quality, and mRNA and microRNA microarray analysis in the ovaries. Although SM administration did not prevent CP-induced follicle loss in mice, the quality of oocytes was better in CP + SM mice than in CP mice. Gene expression analysis revealed that the expression of fertilisation- and ovarian follicle development-related genes was altered by CP treatment but normalized after SM administration. Further bioinformatics analysis showed possible interactions between differentially expressed mRNAs and microRNAs. Therefore, we demonstrated the protective effects of SM on ovarian function and oocyte maturation against CP-induced damage via multiple epigenetic mechanisms.

Nicotine Prevents Oxidative Stress-Induced Hippocampal Neuronal Injury Through α7-nAChR/Erk1/2 Signaling Pathway

Oxidative stress-induced neuronal damage has been implicated to play a dominant role in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Nicotine, a principal additive compound for tobacco users, is thought as a candidate to attenuate amyloid-β-mediated neurotoxicity and NMDA-induced excitotoxicity. Previous studies demonstrated that nicotine exerted this neuroprotective action on oxidative stress. However, the mechanisms underlying how nicotine contributes on oxidative injury in immortalized hippocampal HT-22 cells remain largely unknown. Therefore, in this study we investigated that the potential effects of nicotine on hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced oxidative injury and underlying mechanisms in HT-22 cells. We found that pretreatment with nicotine at low concentrations markedly recovered the cell cycle that was arrested at the G2/M phase in the presence of H₂O₂ through reduced intracellular ROS generation. Moreover, nicotine attenuated H₂O₂-induced mitochondrial dysfunctions. Mechanistically, the application of nicotine significantly upregulated the levels of phosphorylated Erk1/2. The neuroprotective effects of nicotine, in turn, were abolished by PD0325901, a selective Erk1/2 inhibitor. Further obtained investigation showed that nicotine exerted its neuroprotective effects via specifically activating α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7-nAChRs). A selective inhibitor of α7-nAChRs, methyllycaconitine citrate (MLA), not only completely prevented nicotine-mediated antioxidation but also abolished expression of p-Erk1/2. Taken together, our findings suggest that nicotine suppresses H₂O₂-induced HT-22 cell injury through activating the α7-nAChR/Erk1/2 signaling pathway, which indicates that nicotine may be a novel strategy for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

Neuroprotective activity of galloylated cyanogenic glucosides and hydrolysable tannins isolated from leaves of Phyllagathis rotundifolia

The galloylated cyanogenic glucosides based on prunasin (1-7), gallotannins (8-14), ellagitannins (15-17), ellagic acid derivatives (18, 19) and gallic acid (20) isolated from the leaves of Phyllagathis rotundifolia (Melastomataceae) were investigated for their neuroprotective activity against hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2))-induced oxidative damage in NG108-15 hybridoma cell line. Among these compounds, the gallotannins and ellagitannins exhibited remarkable neuroprotective activities against oxidative damage in vitro as compared to galloylated cyanogenic glucosides and ellagic acid derivatives in a dose-dependent manner. They could be explored further as potential natural neuroprotectors in various remedies of neurodegenerative diseases.