The potential of A. Muricata Bioactive Compounds to Inhibit HIF1α Expression Via Disruption of Tyrosine Kinase Receptor Activity: an In Silico Study

Astragaloside IV Alleviates Brain Injury Induced by Hypoxia via the Calpain-1 Signaling Pathway

Long-term hypoxia can induce oxidative stress and apoptosis in hippocampal neurons that can lead to brain injury diseases. Astragaloside IV (AS-IV) is widely used in the antiapoptotic therapy of brain injury diseases. However, its mechanism of action is still not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the effect of AS-IV on hypoxia-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in hippocampal neurons and explored its possible mechanism. In vivo, mice were placed in a hypoxic circulatory device containing 10% O₂ and gavaged with AS-IV (60 and 120 mg/kg/d) for 4 weeks. In vitro, mouse hippocampal neuronal cells (HT22) were treated with hypoxia (1% O₂) for 24 hours in the presence or absence of AS-IV, MDL-28170 (calpain-1 inhibitor), or YC-1 (HIF-1α inhibitor). The protective effect of AS-IV on brain injury was further explored by examining calpain-1 knockout mice. The results showed that hypoxia induced damage to hippocampal neurons, impaired spatial learning and memory abilities, and increased oxidative stress and apoptosis. Treatment with AS-IV or calpain-1 knockout improved the damage to hippocampal neurons and spatial learning and memory, attenuated oxidative stress and inhibited cell apoptosis. These changes were verified in HT22 cells. Overexpression of calpain-1 abolished the improvement of AS-IV on apoptosis and oxidative stress. In addition, the effects of AS-IV were accompanied by decreased calpain-1 and HIF-1α expression, and YC-1 showed a similar effect as AS-IV on calpain-1 and caspase-3 expression. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that AS-IV can downregulate the calpain-1/HIF-1α/caspase-3 pathway and inhibit oxidative stress and apoptosis of hippocampal neurons induced by hypoxia, which provides new ideas for studying the antiapoptotic activity of AS-IV.

Hypoxia as a Modulator of Inflammation and Immune Response in Cancer

A clear association between hypoxia and cancer has heretofore been established; however, it has not been completely developed. In this sense, the understanding of the tumoral microenvironment is critical to dissect the complexity of cancer, including the reduction in oxygen distribution inside the tumoral mass, defined as tumoral hypoxia. Moreover, hypoxia not only influences the tumoral cells but also the surrounding cells, including those related to the inflammatory processes. In this review, we analyze the participation of HIF, NF-κB, and STAT signaling pathways as the main components that interconnect hypoxia and immune response and how they modulate tumoral growth. In addition, we closely examine the participation of the immune cells and how they are affected by hypoxia, the effects of the progression of cancer, and some innovative applications that take advantage of this knowledge, to suggest potential therapies. Therefore, we contribute to the understanding of the complexity of cancer to propose innovative therapeutic strategies in the future.

Utilizing Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Integrated Surface Plasmon Resonance Technology to Investigate the Potential Targets and Mechanisms of Tripterygium wilfordii against Pulmonary Artery Hypertension

BACKGROUND

Pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) is a rare, life-limiting cardiopulmonary disorder characterized by the progressive and remodeling of pulmonary vasculature. Although the development of the technology brings us many approaches for the treatment of PAH, the effect of treatment is unsatisfactory. Tripterygium wilfordii (TW), as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been widely used in anti-inflammation, anticancer, and other fields. However, the potential of TW in treating PAH is currently unclear.

METHODS

Active ingredients and their corresponding genes were harvested from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP), CTD, and STITCH. Meanwhile, genes associated with PAH were adopted from OMIM and GeneCards databases. Through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses, potential targeting KEGG pathways and functions were further collected. Then, STRING was used to generate the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. The "ingredients-targets-pathway" network was built by Cystoscope. Finally, the binding between active ingredients of TW and corresponding targets of PAH was identified via molecular docking technology and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) experiments.

RESULTS

The network pharmacology analysis revealed 36 active ingredients in TW and 150 potential targets related to the treatment of PAH with TW. Moreover, GO enrichment analysis showed that the key function in molecular function (MF) was related to enzyme binding, the key function in biological process (BP) was related to cellular response to organic substance, and the key function in cellular component (CC) was related to KEGG enrichment analysis and found that it was closely related to the IL-17 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, and apoptosis. At last, molecular docking results revealed that the main active ingredients of TW had a strong binding ability with the PAH target protein. In addition, the SPR experiment revealed that kaempferol was combined with the CASP3 protein rather than PARP1, while triptolide was combined with PARP1 rather than the CASP3 protein.

CONCLUSION

TW may have therapeutic effects on PAH through multitargets and multimethods, which provide a scientific basis for further elaborating the mechanism of Tripterygium wilfordii in the treatment of PAH.