Effects of Natural Products through Inhibiting Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress on Attenuation of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

With ever-increasing intensive studies of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), significant progresses have been made. Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)/unfolded protein reaction (UPR) is associated with the development and progression of IPF, and targeting ERS/UPR may be beneficial in the treatment of IPF. Natural product is a tremendous source of new drug discovery, and accumulating studies have reported that many natural products show potential therapeutic effects for IPF via modulating one or more branches of the ERS signaling pathway.

Tanreqing injection protects against bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis via inhibiting STING-mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress signaling pathway.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), characterized by excessive collagen deposition, is a progressive and typically fatal lung disease without effective therapeutic methods. Tanreqing injection (TRQ), a Traditional Chinese Patent Medicine, has been widely used to treat inflammatory respiratory diseases clinically.

Aim Of The Study: The present work aims to elucidate the therapeutic effects and the possible mechanism of TRQ against pulmonary fibrosis.

Traditional Chinese medicine for prevention and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: A focus on epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent malignant cancers worldwide. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which endows epithelial cells with mesenchymal properties, plays an important role in the early stages of metastasis. Conventional cancer therapies have promising effects, but issues remain, such as high rates of metastasis and drug resistance.

Bioinformatics analysis revealed hub genes and pathways involved in sorafenib resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasingly known as a serious, worldwide public health concern. Sorafenib resistance is the main challenge faced by many advanced HCC patients. The specific mechanisms of sorafenib resistance remind unclear.

Interaction between Traditional Chinese Medicine and Anticoagulant/Antiplatelet Drugs.

Background: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used for medical purposes since the ancient time and has gradually gained recognition worldwide. Nowadays, patients with thrombus presiding to anticoagulant/ antiplatelet drugs prefer taking TCM. However, an increasing number of studies on herb-drug interactions have been shown.

Notch Signaling Activation in Cervical Cancer Cells Induces Cell Growth Arrest with the Involvement of the Nuclear Receptor NR4A2.

Cervical cancer is a second leading cancer death in women world-wide, with most cases in less developed countries. Notch signaling is highly conserved with its involvement in many cancers. In the present study, we established stable cervical cell lines with Notch activation and inactivation and found that Notch activation played a suppressive role in cervical cancer cells.

The Applications of Targeting Anti-Cancer Agents in Cancer Therapeutics.

Anti-cancer targeting drugs appear to be a new and powerful "weapon" for cancer therapies. These targeting drugs are directed against specific molecules that are over-expressed or where certain unique factors are aberrantly expressed either in cancer cells or in diseased cell sites. Compared with traditional chemotherapeutic drugs, these targeting drugs have the advantages of high specificity, efficacy and less side effects.

Chrysin enhances sensitivity of BEL-7402/ADM cells to doxorubicin by suppressing PI3K/Akt/Nrf2 and ERK/Nrf2 pathway.

Nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is an important cytoprotective transcription factor which plays a key role in antioxidant and detoxification processes. Recent studies have reported that development of chemoresistance is associated with the constitutive activation of the Nrf2-mediated signaling pathway in many types of cancer cells. Here, we investigated whether Nrf2 was associated with drug resistant in doxorubicin resistant BEL-7402 (BEL-7402/ADM) cells, and if chrysin could reverse drug resistance in BEL-7402/ADM cells.

Vascular endothelial growth factor modulates voltage-gated Na(+) channel properties and depresses action potential firing in cultured rat hippocampal neurons.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), an angiogenic factor, was found to modulate synaptic plasticity by affecting K(+) and Ca(2+) channels and protect neuron from death by depressing glutamatergic transmission. However, whether VEGF also modulates neuronal activity through modulating voltage-gated Na(+) channels (VGSCs), a main determinant of neuronal excitability, we observed the effects of VEGF on Na(+) channel properties and function on cultured rat hippocampal neurons through whole-cell patch-clamp recording. We found that VEGF decreased the Na(+) channel excitability by shifting the voltage-dependence of steady-state inactivation to more hyperpolarized direction, and increasing the time constants of recovery from inactivation without significantly affecting the activation process.

Diabetes synergistically exacerbates poststroke dementia and tau abnormality in brain.

This study investigated whether exacerbation of poststroke dementia by diabetes associated abnormal tau phosphorylation and its mechanism. Streptozotocin (STZ) injection and/or a high fat diet (HFD) were used to treat rats to induce type 1 and 2 diabetes. Animals were randomly divided into STZ, HFD, STZ-HFD, and normal diet (NPD) groups.

Alpha2 subunit specificity of cyclothiazide inhibition on glycine receptors.

In the mammalian cortex, alpha2 subunit-containing glycine receptors (GlyRs) mediate tonic inhibition, but the precise functional role of this type of GlyRs is difficult to establish because of the lack of subtype-selective antagonist. In this study, we found that cyclothiazide (CTZ), an epileptogenic agent, potently inhibited GlyR-mediated current (I(Gly)) in cultured rat hippocampal neurons. The inhibition was glycine concentration-dependent, suggesting a competitive mechanism.

The aspirin metabolite salicylate enhances neuronal excitation in rat hippocampal CA1 area through reducing GABAergic inhibition.

Salicylate is the major metabolite and active component of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), which is widely used in clinical medicine for treating inflammation, pain syndromes and cardiovascular disorders. The well-known mechanism underlying salicylate's action mainly involves the inhibition of cyclooxygenase and subsequent decrease in prostaglandin production. Recent evidence suggests that salicylate also affects neuronal function through interaction with specific membrane channels/receptors.

Carbamazepine and topiramate modulation of transient and persistent sodium currents studied in HEK293 cells expressing the Na(v)1.3 alpha-subunit.

Purpose: The transient and the persistent Na(+) current play a distinct role in neuronal excitability. Several antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) modulate the transient Na(+) current and block the persistent Na(+) current; both effects contribute to their antiepileptic properties. The interactions of the AEDs carbamazepine (CBZ) and topiramate (TPM) with the persistent and transient Na(+) current were investigated.

Kinetic changes and modulation by carbamazepine on voltage-gated sodium channels in rat CA1 neurons after epilepsy.

Aim: To study whether the functional properties of sodium channels, and subsequently the channel modulation by carbamazepine (CBZ) in hippocampal CA1 neurons can be changed after epileptic seizures.

Methods: We used the acutely dissociated hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells from epilepsy model rats 3 weeks and 3 months respectively after kainate injection, and whole-cell voltage-clamp techniques.

Results: After long-term epileptic seizures, both sodium channel voltage-dependence of activation and steady-state inactivation shifted to more hyperpolarizing potentials, which resulted in the enlarged window current; the membrane density of sodium current decreased and the time constant of recovery from inactivation increased.