Yiqi Kaimi prescription regulates protein phosphorylation to promote intestinal motility in slow transit constipation

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The clinical efficacy of the Yiqi Kaimi prescription has been confirmed in slow transit constipation. However, the effects and biological mechanism of Yiqi Kaimi prescription are still unclear.

AIMS OF THE STUDY

To identify the effects of Yiqi Kaimi prescription on intestinal motility; To reveal the potential key targets and pathways of Yiqi Kaimi prescription for the treatment of slow transit constipation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The effects of Yiqi Kaimi prescription on slow transit constipation were investigated in a mouse model. The terminal ink propulsion experiment and fecal indocyanine green imaging was used to measure the intestinal transit time. Protein phosphorylation changes in colon tissues treated with Yiqi Kaimi prescription were detected using a Phospho Explorer antibody microarray. Bioinformatic analyses were performed using the Database for Annotation Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) and the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING). Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry confirmed the observed changes in phosphorylation.

RESULT

s: Yiqi Kaimi prescription significantly increased the intestinal transit rate (P < 0.05 vs. model) and reduced the time to first discharge of feces containing fecal indocyanine green imaging in mice (P < 0.05 vs. model). The administration of Yiqi Kaimi prescription induced phosphorylation changes in 41 proteins, with 9 upregulated proteins and 32 downregulated proteins. Functional classification of the phosphorylated proteins with DAVID revealed that the critical biological processes included tyrosine protein kinases, positive regulation of calcium-mediated signaling and response to muscle stretch. The phosphorylation of the spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) at Tyr348 increased 2.19-fold, which was the most significant change. The phosphorylation level of the transcription factor p65 (RELA) at Thr505 was decreased 0.57-fold. SYK was a hub protein in the protein-protein interaction network and SYK and RELA formed the core of the secondary subnetwork. The key protein phosphorylation after treatment with Yiqi Kaimi prescription were verified by Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry.

CONCLUSION

Yiqi Kaimi prescription significantly enhanced intestinal motility. This effect was attributed to alterations in the phosphorylation levels of various target proteins. The observed changes in protein phosphorylation, including SYK and RELA, may serve as crucial factors in the treatment of slow transit constipation.

Nuclear localization of p65 reverses therapy-induced senescence

Senescence is the arrest of cell proliferation and is a tumor suppressor phenomenon. In a previous study, we have shown that therapy-induced senescence of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cells can prevent relapse of GBM tumors. Here, we demonstrate that ciprofloxacin-induced senescence in glioma-derived cell lines and primary glioma cultures is defined by SA-β-gal positivity, a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), a giant cell (GC) phenotype, increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), γ-H2AX and a senescence-associated gene expression signature, and has three stages of senescence -initiation, pseudo-senescence and permanent senescence. Ciprofloxacin withdrawal during initiation and pseudo-senescence reinitiated proliferation in vitro and tumor formation in vivo Importantly, prolonged treatment with ciprofloxacin induced permanent senescence that failed to reverse following ciprofloxacin withdrawal. RNA-seq revealed downregulation of the p65 (RELA) transcription network, as well as incremental expression of SMAD pathway genes from initiation to permanent senescence. Ciprofloxacin withdrawal during initiation and pseudo-senescence, but not permanent senescence, increased the nuclear localization of p65 and escape from ciprofloxacin-induced senescence. By contrast, permanently senescent cells showed loss of nuclear p65 and increased apoptosis. Pharmacological inhibition or genetic knockdown of p65 upheld senescence in vitro and inhibited tumor formation in vivo Our study demonstrates that levels of nuclear p65 define the window of reversibility of therapy-induced senescence and that permanent senescence can be induced in GBM cells when the use of senotherapeutics is coupled with p65 inhibitors.

PAD4 selective inhibitor TDFA protects lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury by modulating nuclear p65 localization in epithelial cells

Protein arginine deiminase 4 (PAD4) serves a critical role in differentiation, development and apoptosis through gene regulation and has emerged as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of various diseases. However, the roles of PAD4 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) remain largely unknown. To investigate the roles of PAD4 during LPS-induced ALI, the present study detected the trend of PAD4 expression in the lung tissues of ALI mice. Subsequently, the efficiency of TDFA on PAD4 and citrullinated H3 histone were detected. And then, histology, the wet/dry weight ratio, survival rate, activated cells infiltration, oxidative stress levels, tight junction proteins and proinflammatory cytokine expression were detected. In addition, the level of transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) was assessed. Finally, the level of nuclear P65, total phosphorylated P65 and P65 were measured in vivo and in vitro. The results showed that PAD4 expression was upregulated in the lung tissues of LPS-induced ALI. TDFA efficiently decreased the severity of the lung edema, attenuated the severity of pulmonary injury and improved the survival rate following lethal LPS administration. Besides, TDFA reduced activated cells infiltration and suppressed inflammation related parameters, including proinflammatory cytokines production (TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β) and oxidative stress (MDA, GSH and SOD). Furthermore, TDFA reversed the TEER downregulation tendency and tight junction proteins (ZO-1, Occludin, Claudin-4) levels that represent the integrity of alveolar epithelium. Eventually, TDFA exerts its protective roles through modulating nuclear localization of transcription factor NF-κB P65 in epithelial cells. Taken together, these results indicate that PAD4 inhibition may serve as a promising therapeutic approach for LPS-induced ALI.