Pharmacological properties and therapeutic potential of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) in osteosarcoma

Identification of the therapeutic mechanism of the saffron crocus on glioma through network pharmacology and bioinformatics analysis

Saffron crocus is a herbal medicine of traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM). Saffron extract has been indicated to inhibit tumor cell growth and promote tumor cell apoptosis in a variety of cancers, including glioma, but the specific mechanism is not clear. To study the possible mechanism of saffron action on glioma, network pharmacology and bioinformatics analysis methods were used in this study. We used the online database to obtain the active ingredients of saffron and their targets. Glioma-related targets were also acquired from online database. We intersected drug targets with glioma-related targets and conducted PPI network analysis to obtain network core genes. Then, we obtained RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database for glioma patients. Through different expression analysis and lasso regression, further screening of core genes in the network was conducted, and a prognostic model was established. The sample was divided into two groups with high and low risk using this model. The RNA-seq data from the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) database were used to further validate our prediction model. Then, we explored the difference in pathways enrichment between high-risk patients and low-risk patients and calculated the difference in immune microenvironment between the two groups. Finally, we used scRNA-seq data in the CGGA database to analyze the cell types in which the model gene is mainly enriched and predicted the cell types which saffron effected on.

Widely targeted metabolomics reveals the antioxidant and anticancer activities of different colors of Dianthus caryophyllus

Carnation is edible flower that has potent antioxidant properties and is used in traditional Chinese medicinal system and food industry. The phytochemicals responsible for these various proprieties, however, are not fully understood. Thus, in order to recognize metabolite diversity and variability in carnation flowers of different colors and to discover key metabolites that contribute to the differences in antioxidant and anticancer activities, widely targeted LC-MS/MS-based metabolomics analysis was conducted on purple, green, yellow, and white carnation flowers. We identified and chemically categorized 932 metabolites. Metabolic compounds varied significantly with flower color. Several flavonoids, organic acids, phenolic acids, and nucleotides and their derivatives were found to be specific differential metabolites in purple flowers. A total of 128 key differential metabolites were screened. The purple flowers were found to have the highest antioxidant and anticancer activities compared to the other colored flowers. Correlation analysis revealed that the 6-hydroxykaempferol-3,6-O-diglucoside, 6-hydroxykaempferol-7-O-glucoside, quercetin-3-O-sophoroside, and 2'-deoxyguanosine were found to be the major constituents of the antioxidant and anticancer activities. 2'-Deoxyguanosine has effective antiproliferative activity against A549 and U2OS cells for the first report. At the same time, the combination of 2'-deoxyguanosine with 6-hydroxykaempferol-3, 6-O-diglucoside, or quercetin-3-O-sophoroside have also been found to increase the antitumor activity of 2'-deoxyguanosine. These discoveries enrich information on the phytochemical composition of carnation of different colors and provide resources for the overall use and improvement of carnation flowers quality.

Improving Osteosarcoma Treatment: Comparative Oncology in Action

Osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most common pediatric malignant bone tumor. Although surgery together with neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy has improved survival for localized OSA, most patients develop recurrent/metastatic disease with a dismally poor outcome. Therapeutic options have not improved for these OSA patients in recent decades. As OSA is a rare and "orphan" tumor, with no distinct targetable driver antigens, the development of new efficient therapies is still an unmet and challenging clinical need. Appropriate animal models are therefore critical for advancement in the field. Despite the undoubted relevance of pre-clinical mouse models in cancer research, they present some intrinsic limitations that may be responsible for the low translational success of novel therapies from the pre-clinical setting to the clinic. From this context emerges the concept of comparative oncology, which has spurred the study of pet dogs as a uniquely valuable model of spontaneous OSA that develops in an immune-competent system with high biological and clinical similarities to corresponding human tumors, including in its metastatic behavior and resistance to conventional therapies. For these reasons, the translational power of studies conducted on OSA-bearing dogs has seen increasing recognition. The most recent and relevant veterinary investigations of novel combinatorial approaches, with a focus on immune-based strategies, that can most likely benefit both canine and human OSA patients have been summarized in this commentary.

The effects and underlying mechanisms of medicine and food homologous flowers on the prevention and treatment of related diseases

The theory of medicine and food homology has a long history in China. Numerous traditional Chinese medicinal could be used as both medicine and food. Many flower medicinal materials also belong to the homology of medicine and food, such as Chrysanthemum morifolium, Lonicera japonica, Crocus sativus, and Lonicera macranthoides. They mainly contain flavonoids, organic acids, terpenoids, and other active ingredients, which have a variety of medicinal values, including anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and antioxidant. There are many formulations and functional foods containing these plants in Chinese medicine, which have a variety of nutritional and health effects on the human body. In this review, 10 widely used flowers were selected to review their pharmacological activities, prevention and treatment of related diseases and underlying mechanisms, and discussed the current limitations and future development prospects, hoping to provide references for the research on the development and utilization of natural medical flowers. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The "homology of medicine and food" flowers have a wide range of uses and are of great research value. In this paper, we introduce 10 "homology of medicine and food" flowers. Their active ingredients, pharmacological activities, and treatments for related diseases are reviewed, and the limitations and development prospects of the "homology of medicine and food" flowers are discussed. It is hoped that this will contribute to the development of the food and pharmacological fields.

Slow release curcumin-containing soy protein nanoparticles as anticancer agents for osteosarcoma: synthesis and characterization

Curcumin-containing soy protein nanoparticles (curcumin-SPNs) were synthesized by desolvation (coacervation) method and characterized by SEM, DLS, FTIR, and XRD. For anticancer evaluation, osteogenic sarcoma (SAOS2) cell lines were incubated with different concentrations of nanostructures. The dialysis method was used for assessment of drug release. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were evaluated in IC50 dose after 24 h of exposure to free curcumin and curcumin-SPNs. Characterization data showed that the size of drug-free SPNs and curcumin-SPNs were 278.2 and 294.7 nm, respectively. The zeta potential of drug-free SPNs and curcumin-SPNs were - 37.1 and - 36.51 mv, respectively. There was no significant difference between the control and drug-free SPNs groups in terms of cell viability (p > 0.05). The viability of cells in different concentrations of the designed curcumin-SPNs in Saos2 cell line was significantly higher than free drug (p < 0.05). The release of curcumin showed that more than 50% of the drug was released in the first 2 h of incubation. After this time, the slow release of drug was continued to 62-83% of drug. IC50 values of free curcumin and curcumin-SPNs (1/10) were 156.8 and 65.9 µg/mL, respectively (a free curcumin IC50 was 2.4 times more than curcumin-SPNs). Slow-release of the curcumin causes the cell to be exposed to the anticancer drug for a longer period of time. The intracellular ROS levels significantly increased in an IC50 dose after 24 h of exposure to both free curcumin and curcumin-SPNs compared with controls (p < 0.05).

Oxyresveratrol Reduces the Migration of Human Osteosarcoma Cell U2OS via Attenuating STAT3 Activation

Objective: Osteosarcoma is a malignant tumor with high metastatic properties that are associated with increased mortality and poor prognosis. Therefore, it is crucial to develop an effective treatment for metastatic osteosarcoma. Oxyresveratrol (ORES), derived from mulberry twigs and fruits, has antitumor effects. However, it remains unknown whether ORES inhibits osteosarcoma metastasis. In this study, we determined the inhibitory effect of ORES on osteosarcoma metastasis. Key Findings: ORES attenuated the migration of U2OS cells, dose-dependently increased E-cadherin expression, and reduced N-cadherin expression in U2OS cells, indicating that ORES can inhibit epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in osteosarcoma cells. Furthermore, ORES inhibited the expression of Twist, which is associated with the downregulation of STAT3 phosphorylation. IL-6-induced STAT3 phosphorylation rescues the inhibitory effect of ORES on U2OS metastasis. Summary: Our results indicate that ORES is a potential therapeutic agent for metastatic osteosarcoma. ORES inhibits osteosarcoma cell migration by reducing EMT formation.

Immunometabolism modulation, a new trick of edible and medicinal plants in cancer treatment

The edible and medicinal plants (EMPs) are becoming an abundant source for cancer prevention and treatment since the natural and healthy trend for modern human beings. Currently, there are more than one hundred species of EMPs widely used and listed by the national health commission of China, and most of them indicate immune or metabolic regulation potential in cancer treatment with numerous studies over the past two decades. In the present review, we focused on the metabolic influence in immunocytes and tumor microenvironment, including immune response, immunosuppressive factors and cancer cells, discussing the immunometabolic potential of EMPs in cancer treatment. There are more than five hundred references collected and analyzed through retrieving pharmacological studies deposited in PubMed by medical subject headings and the corresponding names derived from pharmacopoeia of China as a sole criterion. Finally, the immunometabolism modulation of EMPs was sketch out implying an immunometabolic control in cancer treatment.

Identification of miRNA signatures and their therapeutic potentials in prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

Herein, we identified miRNA signatures that were able to differentiate malignant prostate cancer from benign prostate hyperplasia and revealed the therapeutic potential of these miRNAs against prostate cancer development.

METHODS AND RESULTS

MicroRNA expressions were determined by qPCR. MTT was used for cell viability analysis and immunohistochemistry was performed for Bax/Bcl-2 staining. ELISA was used to measure MMP2/9 levels. Wound healing assay was used for the evaluation of cell migration. Notably, expression levels of miR-125b-5p, miR-145-5p and miR-221-3p were significantly reduced in prostate cancer patients as compared to BPH patients. Moreover, ectopic expression of miR-125b-5p, miR-145-5p and miR-221-3p resulted in significant inhibition of cell proliferation and altered cell morphology. Also, expression level of Bax protein was increased while Bcl-2 level was reduced in cells treated with miR-125b-5p, miR-145-5p and miR-221-3p mimics. Enhanced expression of miR-125b-5p, miR-145-5p and miR-221-3p was also significantly altered the expression of caspase 3 and 8 levels. In addition, MMP9 levels were significantly reduced in cells ectopically expressing miR-221-3p. All miRNA mimics significantly interfered with the migration of prostate cancer cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Consequently, our findings point to an important role of these three miRNAs in prostate cancer and indicate that miR-125b-5p, miR-145-5p and miR-221-3p are potential therapeutic targets against prostate cancer.