scholarly journals Expression of TNF‑α and IL‑β can be suppressed via the PPAR‑γ/mTOR signaling pathway in BV‑2 microglia: A potential anti‑inflammation mechanism

Author(s):  
Jian‑Lan Zhao ◽  
Chen Wei ◽  
Xiao Xiao ◽  
Yin‑Hui Dong ◽  
Bo Tan ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Guangtao Han ◽  
Yubiao Zhang ◽  
Haohuan Li

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease characterized by cholesterol accumulation in chondrocytes, cartilage degeneration, as well as extracellular matrix (ECM) destruction, and joint dysfunction. Curcumin, a chemical that can reduce cholesterol levels in OA patients, also can inhibit the progression of OA. However, a high concentration of curcumin may also trigger apoptosis in normal chondrocytes. Besides curcumin, probucol that is found can also effectively decrease the cholesterol level in OA patients. Considering that high cholesterol is a risk factor of OA, it is speculated that the combination treatment of curcumin and probucol may be effective in the prevention of OA. To investigate the possible effects of such two chemicals on OA pathophysiology, chondrocyte apoptosis and autophagy behavior under inflammatory cytokine stress were studied, and specifically, the PI3K-Akt-mTOR signaling pathway was studied. Methods. Cell proliferation, colony formation, and EdU assay were performed to identify the cytotoxicity of curcumin and probucol on chondrocytes. Transwell assay was conducted to evaluate chondrocyte migration under TNF-α inflammation stress. Immunofluorescence, JC-1, flow cytometry, RT-PCR, and western blot were used to investigate the signal variations related to autophagy and apoptosis in chondrocytes and cartilage. A histological study was carried out on OA cartilage. Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) release was determined to evaluate the ECM degradation under stress. Results. Compared with a single intervention with curcumin or probucol, a combined treatment of these two chemicals is more effective in terms of protecting chondrocytes from stress injury induced by inflammatory cytokines. The promoted protection may be attributed to the inhibition of apoptosis and the blockage of the autophagy-related PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. Such results were also verified in vitro by immunofluorescence staining of OA chondrocytes and in vivo by immunohistochemistry staining of cartilage. Besides, in vivo studies also showed that when applied in combination, curcumin and probucol could block the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway; promote COL-II expression; suppress P62, MMP-3, and MMP-13 expression; and inhibit TNF-α-stimulated cartilage degradation. Moreover, the combined medication could help reduce the release of ECM GAGs in OA cartilage and alleviate the severity of OA. Conclusion. A combined treatment of curcumin and probucol could be used to protect chondrocytes from inflammatory cytokine stress via inhibition of the autophagy-related PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway both in vitro and in vivo, which might be of potential pharmaceutical value for OA prevention and therapy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue-li Li ◽  
Zhao Liu

Abstract Obesity is a growing global health problem and chronic over-nutrition disease with lipid accumulation that results in low-grade chronic inflammation in the microenvironment of adipose tissue. Triptolide is a diterpene lactone compound extracted from the roots of the Chinese herb TWHF and possesses a therapeutic potential due to its immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, we built obesity-related inflammatory models of adipocytes using LPS, Ma-CM and raw264.7 macrophages, while the obesity-related inflammatory models of macrophages were built using LPS and Ad-CM system. We used these inflammatory models to investigate the anti-inflammatory property of triptolide. Treatment of triptolide (0.005, 0.010, 0.020 and 0.040 μ M) inhibited LPS-induced or macrophages conditioned medium-stimulated activation of AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway (p < 0.05). The results showed that triptolide reduced the release of chemokines MCP-1, RANTES, EOTAXIN and KC in LPS, Ma-CM or RAW264.7 macrophages-stimulated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Triptolide also diminished MCP-1, RANTES, EOTAXIN, KC and TNF-α in Ad-CM stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages, while expression of MCP-1, RANTES, TNF-α, GM-CSF and IL-6 was decreased in LPS stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages (p < 0.05). These results demonstrate that triptolide is not only effective against inflammatory response of RAW264.7 macrophages or 3T3-L1 adipocytes, but also disrupts the crosstalk between macrophages and adipocytes, particularly by inhibiting secretion of pro-inflammatory mediators through inhibiting the activation of AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway. Triptolide might benefit to ameliorate obesity-induced inflammatory diseases.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minfen Zhang ◽  
Hui Chen ◽  
Ping Qin ◽  
Tonghui Cai ◽  
Lingjun Li ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naser-Aldin Lashgari ◽  
Nazanin Momeni Roudsari ◽  
Saeideh Momtaz ◽  
Negar Ghanaatian ◽  
Parichehr Kohansal ◽  
...  

: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a general term for a group of chronic and progressive disorders. Several cellular and biomolecular pathways are implicated in the pathogenesis of IBD, yet the etiology is unclear. Activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway in the intestinal epithelial cells was also shown to induce inflammation. This review focuses on the inhibition of the mTOR signaling pathway and its potential application in treating IBD. We also provide an overview on plant-derived compounds that are beneficial for the IBD management through modulation of the mTOR pathway. Data were extracted from clinical, in vitro and in vivo studies published in English between 1995 and May 2019, which were collected from PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus and Cochrane library databases. Results of various studies implied that inhibition of the mTOR signaling pathway downregulates the inflammatory processes and cytokines involved in IBD. In this context, a number of natural products might reverse the pathological features of the disease. Furthermore, mTOR provides a novel drug target for IBD. Comprehensive clinical studies are required to confirm the efficacy of mTOR inhibitors in treating IBD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 165-173
Author(s):  
Xiaowei Zhang ◽  
Yuanbo Liu

Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare invasive extranodal non- Hodgkin lymphoma, a vast majority of which is Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). Although high-dose methotrexate-based immunochemotherapy achieves a high remission rate, the risk of relapse and related death remains a crucial obstruction to long-term survival. Novel agents for the treatment of lymphatic malignancies have significantly broadened the horizons of therapeutic options for PCNSL. The PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway is one of the most important pathways for Bcell malignancy growth and survival. Novel therapies that target key components of this pathway have shown antitumor effects in many B-cell malignancies, including DLBCL. This review will discuss the aberrant status of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathways in PCNSL and the application prospects of inhibitors in hopes of providing alternative clinical therapeutic strategies and improving prognosis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 622-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya Liu ◽  
Jian Kang ◽  
Hong Gao ◽  
Xiyu Zhang ◽  
Jun Chao ◽  
...  

Background: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a world-wide metabolic disease with no cure from drugs and treatment. In China, The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) herbal formulations have been used to treat T2DM for centuries. Methods: In this study, we proposed a formula called ShenQi Compound (SQC), which has been used in clinical therapeutics in China for several years. We evaluated the effect of SQC in a spontaneous diabetic rat model (GK rats) by detecting a series of blood indicators and performing histological observations. Meanwhile, the gene microarray and RT-qPCR experiments were used to explore the molecular mechanism of SQC treatment. In addition, western medicine, sitagliptin was employed as a comparison. Results: The results indicated that SQC and sitagliptin could effectively improve the serum lipid (blood Total Cholesterol (TC) and blood Triglycerides (TG)), hormone levels (serum insulin (INS), Glucagon (GC) and Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1)), alleviated the inflammatory response (hypersensitive C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP)), blood glucose fluctuation (Mean Blood Glucose (MBG), standard deviation of blood glucose (SDBG) and Largest Amplitude of plasma Glucose Excursions (LAGE)), pancreatic tissue damage and vascular injury for T2DM. Compared with sitagliptin, SQC achieved a better effect on blood glucose fluctuation (p<0.01). Meanwhile, the gene microarray and RT-qPCR experiments indicated that SQC and sitagliptin may improve the T2DM through affecting the biological functions related to apoptosis and circadian rhythm. Moreover, SQC might be able to influence the mTOR signaling pathway by regulating Pik3r1, Ddit4 expression. Conclusion: All these results indicate that SQC is an effective therapeutic drug on T2DM. Notably, SQC presents an obvious blood glucose fluctuation-preventing ability, which might be derived from the regulation of the mTOR signaling pathway.


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