Huachansu is a traditional Chinese medicine widely used in the clinic for cancer therapy, while the underlying mechanism is not fully clarified. This study was to investigate the targets and mechanisms of cinobufagin (CBG), an active component of Huachansu, in terms of blocking mitosis of cancer cells. Propidium iodide (PI) DNA staining was used to analyze the effect of CBG on cell cycle. The effect of CBG on mitosis of cancer cells was examined by α-tubulin and pericentrin staining after synchronization by a double thymidine block. Tubulin turbidity, tubulin polymerization and α‍-tubulin immunofluorescence assays were used to evaluate the effect of CBG on microtubule polymerization. CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology was used to knockout microtubule-severing protein Katanin regulatory subunit B1 (KATNB1) in HCT116 cells, and the inhibitory effect of CBG on wild-type cells and knockout cells was measured by CCK-8. The engagement of CBG with KATNB1 was measured by CETSA and DARTS assays. The effect of CBG on KATNB1 protein and mRNA level was examined by Western blot and real-time PCR, respectively. Our data showed that CBG arrested HCT116 cell cycle at the G₂/M phase, disrupted mitosis and induced centriole overduplication. CBG significantly inhibited tubulin polymerization in vitro and in vivo. The cytotoxicity of CBG inhibition on HCT116 was significantly attenuated upon KATNB1 depletion. Moreover, CBG bound to KATNB1 and decreased its protein level, while mutated KATNB1 weakened this effect. In conclusion, CBG inhibited microtubule polymerization via targeting KATNB1, thereby disrupting mitosis in cancer cells.

The study aims to explore the intervention mechanism of Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction on asthma from the perspective of immune inflammation and intestinal flora, providing a theoretical basis for guiding clinical medication. The ovalbumin (OVA) asthmatic rat model was established by intraperitoneal injection of OVA sensitization solution and aerosol challenge, and divided into control (CON), model (M), dexamethasone group (DEX, 0.075 mg·kg^-1) and Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction (TLDZ, 3.5 g·kg^-1). Firstly, the effects of Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction on asthma symptoms of rats, lung and trachea pathological changes of asthmatic rats were observed by inducing cough and asthma experiment, phenol red excretion, hematoxylin-eosin staining (H & E), Masson and periodic acid Schiff (PAS) staining; the levels of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), interleukin (IL) 6 and IL-10 in rat serum and the levels of interferon γ (IFN-γ), immunoglobulin E (IgE), IL-4, IL-17A and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were detected by ELISA; the mRNA levels of IL-5, IL-13 and IL-33 in the lung were determined by qRT-PCR; the levels of macrophages and neutrophils in the spleen and the levels of natural killer cell (NK), helper T cell (Thc), dendritic cell (DC), regulatory T cell (Treg) and T helper cell 17 (Th17) in the peripheral blood were measured by flow cytometry combined with immunohistochemistry; the intestinal flora of asthmatic rats were analyzed by 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing. Pathology and inflammatory results showed that Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction could effectively alleviate the asthma symptoms in rats, improve the pathological changes of lung tissue, reduce the production of goblet cells and collagen fibers, and reduce the inflammatory response in asthmatic rats; the results of immune cells showed that Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction could effectively increase the levels of NK, Thc, DC and Treg cells and reduce the levels of macrophages, neutrophils and Th17 cells in asthmatic rats; the results of intestinal flora showed that Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction could increase the levels of Lactobacillus, Ruminococcus, Christensenellaceae, Bifidobacterium and Eubacterium]_xylanophilum-group, and decrease the levels of Firmicutes, Desulfovibrio, Mucispirillum and Romboutsia in asthmatic rats. Therefore, it is speculated that Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction can improve the symptom of asthmatic rats by regulating the immune inflammation and intestinal flora in the asthmatic rats. All animal experiments in this article were approved by the Ethics Committee of Henan University of Chinese Medicine.

Gentiana crassicaulis Duthie ex Burk. is one of the plant sources of Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix (QinJiao). Gentiana tibetica King ex Hook. f. and Gentiana robusta King ex Hook. f. are relative species of G. crassicaulis. Due to the large intraspecific morphological variation, G. crassicaulis showed high morphological similarity with G. tibetica and G. robusta. And the distribution area of the three species overlaps to some extent, which makes it difficult to identify them. On the basis of morphological identification, the method of molecular identification of the three species was constructed in this study based on chloroplast genomes. The chloroplast genome of Gentiana tibetica is 148 765bp long, with LSC, SSC and IR 81 163 bp, 17 070 bp and 25 266 bp, respectively. The structure of the three is consistent. The chloroplast genome sequences of G. tibetica and G. crassicaulis are highly similar, and the number of variable sites is 9 (149 267 bp in total). Diagnostic SNP that could effectively identify the three species was screened and verified, and a dual-peak SNP detection method was established for the effective identification of each species and mixed samples. Our study provides basic data for the molecular identification of G. crassicaulis and its related species, and the arrangement of related Tibetan medicine.

Rhein is an anthraquinone compound extracted from rhubarb, aloe vera, Polygonum multiflorum. In this study, we screened the potential targets of rhein through protein chip technology and investigated the underlying mechanism of its inhibition of colorectal cancer. Colony formation assay and scratch assay were used to examine the effect of rhein on the proliferation and migration abilities of HCT116 cell; KEGG and protein interaction analyses of rhein specific binding proteins by screening rhein binding proteins using protein chip; qRT-PCR and Western blot assays were used to determine the effect of rhein on the expression levels of BCL-2-associated X protein (BAX), B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) and argininosuccinate synthetase 1 (ASS1) in HCT116 cell. The antitumor effect of rhein was verified by azoxymethane combined with dextran sodium sulfate (AOM/DSS) induced colorectal cancer model. Experimental animal procedures were performed in accordance with animal welfare and the standards of the Laboratory Animal Ethics Committee of South China Agricultural University, with approval from the ethics committee. In vivo and in vitro results indicate that rhein specific binding proteins are mainly involved in amino acid anabolism, especially the arginine anabolic signaling pathway. Rhein inhibited the proliferation and migration of HCT116 cell in a concentration-dependent manner. Treated with rhein for 24 h significantly enhanced the expression of BAX and ASS1 in HCT116 cells, as well as the level of nitric oxide (NO) metabolism. In a mouse model of colorectal cancer, rhein significantly alleviated AOM/DSS induced weight loss and reduced fecal occult blood score. Meanwhile, rhein enhanced BAX and ASS1 expression in colon tumor tissue, as well as increased arginine and NO in serum. IHC and HE stain indicated that rhein alleviated Ki67 expression and macrophage infiltration in the colonic tissue of mice with AOM/DSS and delayed tumor formation. In conclusion, rhein can exert antitumor activity by regulating arginine and NO metabolism through ASS1.

Using the concepts and methods of epigenetics and metabolomics, to investigate the overall action molecular mechanism of Chrysanthemi indici C (CIC), the anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) active extracts from Flos chrysanthemi indici. The inhibitory effects of CIC on proliferation and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg) and HBV-DNA of HepG2.2.15 cells were detected by CCK-8 and antigen kit. The DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs)/ten-eleven-translocation-2 (TET2) equilibrium was detected by ELISA. Illumina 850K methylation chip, pyrosequencing and qPCR were used to determine the action pathway and target of CIC by GO and KEGG analysis. Cell metabolites were extracted with 80% methanol, and the changes of differential metabolites, differential metabolic pathways and cell microenvironment were detected by LC-MS and other metabolomics methods. The results showed that CIC could inhibit the proliferation, HBsAg, HBeAg and HBV-DNA of HepG2.2.15 cells obviously, down-regulate DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), DNA methyltransferase 3a (DNMT3a) and DNA methyltransferase 3b (DNMT3b), up-regulate TET2, and restore the balance of DNMTs/TET2. The action targets of CIC were phospholipase C gamma 2 (PLCG2), phosphoinositide-3-kinase regulatory subunit 3 (PIK3R3), 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase 2 (AGPAT2), 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 2B (HTR2B), nerve growth factor (NGF), mainly involved in lipid metabolism, inflammation mediated regulation of transient receptor potential (TRP), phospholipase D signaling and advanced glycation end product-receptor for AGE (AGE-RAGE) signaling in diabetic complications pathways. CIC could significantly affect fatty acid metabolism and had great influence on phenolic acid, alkaloid and lipid metabolites in cell microenvironment. These results suggest that the action mechanism of CIC may be the synergistic action of multiple pathways and multiple targets, including related inflammatory pathways, immune pathways and lipid metabolism, through regulating epigenetic expression balance and restoring the balance of cell microenvironment.

Psidium guajava Linn. is an evergreen shrub or small tree of Psidium Linnaeus in the Myrtaceae family. One new glycoside (1) together with 3 known meroterpenoids (2-4) and 9 known glycosides (5-13) were isolated from the fruits of Psidium guajava Linn.. The structure of the new compound was elucidated by the spectroscopic data analysis of HR-ESIMS, 1D- and 2D-NMR, and it was named psiguaoside A (1). The known compounds were identified as guajadial (2), 4, 5-diepipsidial A (3), psidial A (4), chrysin-8-C-β-D-glucoside (5), 2, 6-dihydroxy-3, 5-dimethyl-4-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-benzophenone (6), quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), quercetin-3-O-xyloside (8), guaijaverin (9), avicularin (10), guavinoside E (11), guavinoside B (12), guajaphenone A (13). In the bioactivity assay, compound 3 exhibited significant inhibitory activitiy of U87 with IC₅₀ values of 8.379 μmol·L^-1.

Wuzhi tablet (WZ) is a prescribed herbal medicine extracted from Schisandra sphenanthera, which is widely used to protect the liver injury and drug-induced hepatotoxicity in clinical practices. Previous studies showed that WZ significantly increased the blood concentrations of tacrolimus, cyclosporine A, paclitaxel by inhibiting the cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A)-mediated metabolism. CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 are the most important isoenzymes among the CYP3A subfamily. However, there are some differences in the catalytic and inhibitory activities between CYP3A4 and CYP3A5, which may lead to different risk of drug-drug and herb-drug interactions, and the risks may be further amplified in vivo. Currently, few reports have compared the herbal medicine inhibitory effects between CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 mediated metabolic reactions. Therefore, detailing the inhibitory effect of WZ on CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 will help understand and predict the potential herb-drug interaction. The results showed that WZ inhibited CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 in a NADPH-, time- and concentration- dependent manner. WZ showed more potent inhibition on CYP3A5 than CYP3A4. Cautions warranted when combining WZ with other therapeutic drugs to avoid the potential herb-drug interaction.

Fluorescent probes are potential fluorophores that display signals based on the changes in tissue microenvironment, interactions with analytes or specific biochemical reactions. Metabolic enzymes are the most important protein involved in bacteria activities. Complex dynamics of biological processes in bacteria are elucidated by these metabolic enzymes-based fluorescent probes with high spatial resolution and sensitivity. Here, we review recent advances in metabolic enzyme-responsive fluorescent probes for bacteria imaging. It was organized according to enzyme classification systems, focused on fluorescence masking strategies, molecular mechanisms of enzyme activation, and bio-related applications.

Seven compounds were isolated from Astragalus membranaceus of northern shaanxi by silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies. Their chemical structures were identified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties. These compounds were elucidated as astragaloside Ⅳ (1), formononetin (2), calycosin (3), 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4-(2, 4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-hydroxy-1, 4-but anedione (4), (E)-4-methylcinnamic acid (5), quercetin (6), and uridine (7). Compound 4 is a new compound and compound 5 was isolated from the plants of Astragalus Linn. for the first time. The results of in vitro antitumor activity assay showed that compound 4 could inhibit the proliferation of A549 with IC₅₀ values of 11.41 μmol·L^-1.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 is a critical transcription factor for cell proliferation and survival. It is activated within cells by many cytokines to mediate immune and inflammatory responses to injury. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), represented by Crohn′s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestinal tract. STAT3 has been shown to be abnormally activated in IBD colon tissues by many pro-inflammatory cytokines, leading to disruption of the intestinal mucosal barrier and excessive innate immune and Th17 responses. The persistent chronic inflammation eventually leads to intestinal fibrosis and stenosis. In addition to immune responses, STAT3 is also involved in intestinal fibrosis in IBD by promoting the transcription of fibrosis-related genes. Colitis-associated cancer (CAC) is a particularly aggressive subtype of colorectal cancer and is associated with chronic inflammation-induced IBD. STAT3 has also been associated with CAC initiation and development. STAT3 is overactivated in tumors, which leads to suppression of the anti-tumor activity of immune cells and promotion of cancer cell proliferation, tumor angiogenesis, invasion, and migration. In the present article, we summarize the role of STAT3 in IBD and CAC and the research progress of the related drugs developed for UC and CAC treatment.