The American journal of Chinese medicine
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Abundant evidence supports the key role of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in skin cancer development. The human skin, especially the epidermal layer, is the main defense against UV radiation. Baicalin is a major bioactive component of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, a plant which has been found to exhibit antitumor activity. ⋯ In particular, we found several proteins that have been linked to tumor progression and resistance, such as NPM. Baicalin treatment reduced the cellular proliferation rate and induced arrest during the S-phase of the cell cycle in A431 cells. NPM1 silencing significantly enhanced the effect of baicalin. Our data indicated that baicalin results in the significant inhibition of tumor growth in the A431 cell line, which may be associated with the regulation of the NPM gene expression.
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Evodiamine (EVO) is an active medicinal compound derived from the traditional herbal medicine Evodia rutaecarpa. It has been reported that evodiamine has several beneficial biological properties, including anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the in vitro and in vivo anticancer activities of EVO against the growth of glioblastoma cells remain undefined. ⋯ An analysis of eight EVO-related chemicals showed that alkyl groups at position 14 in EVO are important for its anti-glioma effects which involve both apoptosis and G2/M arrest. Evidence is provided that supports EVO induction of apoptosis and G2/M arrest via the activation of JNK-mediated gene expression and disruption of MMP in glioblastoma cells. EVO was shown to penetrate the blood-brain barrier; EVO is therefore predicted to be a promising compound for the chemotherapy of glioblastomas and deserves further investigations.
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Aloe-emodin (AE) is derived from Aloe vera and rhubarb (Rheum palmatum) and exhibits anticancer activities via multiple regulatory mechanisms in various cancers. AE can also enhance the anticancer efficacy of cisplatin, doxorubicin, docetaxel, and 5-fluorouracil; however, its effects remain poorly characterized. MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468, BT-474, and HCC-1954 breast cancer cell lines were treated with the indicated conditions of AE, and cell viability assays were performed. ⋯ In comparison with other cells, MCF-7 cells were more sensitive to AE treatment; AE enhanced the cytotoxicity of 9[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]g/ml tamoxifen by reducing EGFR, ER[Formula: see text], Ras, ERK, c-Myc, and mTOR protein expression and blocking PI3K and mTOR activation. Finally, although co-treatment of AE with tamoxifen increased intracellular ROS, there were no effects on cell cycle progression. Besides facilitating tamoxifen-induced cell death, AE also enhanced the antiproliferative activity of tamoxifen by blocking Ras/ERK and PI3K/mTOR pathways in breast cancer cells, thus demonstrating the chemosensitizing potential of AE.
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The Use of Chinese Herbal Medicine in the Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
In Oriental countries, combinations of Chinese herbal products (CHPs) are often utilized as therapeutic agents for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The effects of CHPs on COPD have been previously reported. This study aimed to analyze the frequency of prescription and usage of CHPs in patients with COPD in Taiwan. ⋯ These results provide information regarding personalized therapies and may promote further clinical experiments and pharmacologic research on the use of CHPs for the management of COPD. Furthermore, we found that TCM usage was more prevalent among men, younger, manual workers, residents of Northern Taiwan, and patients with chronic bronchitis and asthma. This information on the distribution of TCM usage around the country is valuable to public health policymakers and clinicians.
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Berberine (BBR), an isoquinoline alkaloid, is a well-known bioactive compound contained in medicinal plants used in traditional and folk medicines. In this study, we investigated the subcellular localization and the apoptotic mechanisms of BBR were elucidated. First, we confirmed the incorporation of BBR into the cell visually. ⋯ BBR-induced DNA fragmentation was abolished by pretreatment with inhibitors against caspase-3 and caspase-8, but not against caspase-9. ERK and p38 were promptly phosphorylated after 15 min of BBR treatment, and this was correlated with time of localization to the nucleus of BBR. These results demonstrated that BBR translocated into nucleus immediately after treatments and induced apoptotic cell death by activation of caspase-3 and caspase-8.