Guibo Sun

The preventive effect of lotus seedpod procyanidins on cognitive impairment and oxidative damage induced by extremely low frequency electromagnetic field exposure

The present study investigated the effects of lotus seedpod procyanidins (LSPCs) administered by oral gavage on the cognitive deficits and oxidative damage of mice at extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) exposure (50 Hz, 8 mT, 28 days). The results showed that 90 mg kg⁻¹ LSPCs treatment significantly increased body weight compared with the ELF-EMF group at ELF-EMF exposure and effectively maintained liver index, thymus index, kidney index and spleen index close to normal. A water maze test indicated that learning and memory abilities of the ELF-EMF group deteriorated significantly with ELF-EMF exposure when compared with the control group, but the ELF-EMF + LSPCs90 group had remarkably improved learning and memory abilities compared with the ELF-EMF group. Malondialdehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitric oxide (NO) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) mostly exhibited significant increases, while the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) decreased significantly under ELF-EMF exposure in the ELF-EMF group. LSPCs (especially 60, 90 mg kg⁻¹) administration decreased MDA, ROS, NO content and lowered NOS activity in LSPCs treatment groups. Furthermore, LSPCs (60, 90 mg kg⁻¹) treatment significantly augmented GPx, CAT, SOD activity in the hippocampus and serum. Pathological observation showed that number of pyramidal cells of the CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus of the LSPCs treatment groups was significantly greater than the ELF-EMF group. All the data suggested that the LSPCs can effectively prevent learning and memory damage and oxidative damage caused by the ELF-EMF, most likely through the ability of LSPCs to scavenge oxygen free radicals and to stimulate antioxidant enzyme activity.

Cytotoxic effects of procyanidins from Castanea mollissima Bl. shell on human hepatoma G2 cells in vitro.

Significant cytotoxic effects of procynadins from chestnut (Castanea mollissima Bl.) shell (CSPC) on human hepatoma G2 (HepG2) cells were found in vitro. CSPC could inbibit HepG2 proliferation in a dose-dependent manner (100-400 μg/mL), arrest cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase, induce apoptosis and trigger necrosis of HepG2. Proapoptotic effect of CSPC was evidenced by nuclear condensation, internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. Treatment of HepG2 cells with CSPC caused a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and stimulated reactive oxidative species (ROS) generation. These results suggested CSPC could trigger apoptosis and necrotic cell death in HepG2 cell, which might be associated with ROS generation through the mitochondria-dependent signaling way.

Autophagic cell death of human hepatoma G2 cells mediated by procyanidins from Castanea mollissima Bl. Shell-induced reactive oxygen species generation

The autophagy of human hepatoma G2 (HepG2) cells induced by procyanidins from chestnut (Castanea mollissima Bl.) shell (CSPCs) was investigated, and the inherent relationship between autophagic levels and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was studied. The results showed that CSPCs induced HepG2 cell death in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, increased the accumulation of autophagolysosomes and microtubule-associated proteins light chain 3-II (LC3-II, a marker of autophagy). However, these phenomena were not observed in the group pretreated with the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA, suggesting that CSPCs induced HepG2 cell autophagy. Furthermore, we found that CSPCs triggered ROS generation in cells, while the levels of ROS decreased in the N-acetylcysteine (Nac) co-treatment, revealing that CSPCs-mediated autophagy was partly blocked by Nac. In addition, treatment with CSPCs decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential of HepG2 cells. These results suggested CSPCs could trigger autophagy via ROS generation, which may be associated with the mitochondria-dependent signaling way.

Procyanidins, from Castanea mollissima Bl. shell, induces autophagy following apoptosis associated with PI3K/AKT/mTOR inhibition in HepG2 cells

Procyanidins from Castanea mollissima Bl. shell (CSPCs) induced autophagy and apoptosis in HepG2 cells and its mechanism remains to be examined. In this paper, autophagy was measured by the lipid modification of light chain-3 (LC3) and the formation of autophagosomes. Hoechst 33258 staining and flow cytometer analysis were used to measure apoptosis. The western blot analysis was used to examine the effects of CSPCs on the expression of LC3, PI3K, phosphorylation of AKT, mTOR, Bcl-2, Bad, Bax, BID and cleaved caspase 3 in HepG2 cells. The results showed that 3-methyladenine (3-MA) and apoptosis inhibitor (Z-VAD) could inhibited the death of HepG2 induced by CSPCs for 48h (150μg/mL). CSPCs induced the accumulation of autophagosomes and microtubule-associated proteins light chain 3-II (LC3-II, a marker of autophagy). P-AKT, PI3K and mTOR were significantly decreased on CSPCs exposure. However, these phenomena were not observed in the group pretreated with the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA and Z-VAD. CSPCs also induced the expression of Bad, Bax and Beclin-1 proteins and decreased the expression of Bcl-2, which was inhibited by 3-MA and Z-VAD. Moreover the apoptotic cell death could be inhibited by 3-MA. In addition, inhibition of LC3-II by siRNA-dependent knockdown attenuated the cleavage of caspase 3. These results suggested CSPCs could trigger autophagy via inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, enhanced apoptosis in HepG2 cells which may be associated with the mitochondria-dependent signaling way.

Chemoprotective action of lotus seedpod procyanidins on oxidative stress in mice induced by extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field exposure.

With the increasing use of electromagnetic technology, the effects of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) on biological systems, central neurotransmitter systems, and human health have attracted extensive attention worldwide. In this study, lotus seedpod procyanidins (LSPCs) were evaluated for their protective effects on ELF-EMF induced oxidative stress injury in mice. Sixty male ICR mice were used for the experiment. The mice were randomly divided into five equal groups. The control group did not receive LSPCs or ELF-EMF but orally received normal saline. The ELF-EMF group received ELF-EMF exposure plus normal saline orally. The other three groups received ELF-EMF exposure plus LSPCs orally (60, 90, or 120mg kg(-1).bw, respectively). Each group exposed to ELF-EMF at 8 mT, 4h day(-1) for 28 consecutive days after administration daily of LSPCs or normal saline to mice for 15 consecutive days with the exception of the control group. Thereafter, blood and cerebral cortex of the mice were analyzed for antioxidant indices, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and malondialdehyde (MDA). LSPCs administration at different doses significantly inhibited oxidative stress damage of mice induced by ELF-EMF. LSPCs treatment augmented SOD, CAT, GSH-Px, GR and GST activity. Furthermore, administration significantly lowered MDA level in LSPCs treatment groups LSPCs. All results indicated LSPCs can effectively prevent oxidative stress injury induced by ELF-EMF exposure, which may be related to its ability of scavenging free radicals and stimulating antioxidant enzyme activity.

Neuroprotective effects of lotus seedpod procyanidins on extremely low frequency electromagnetic field-induced neurotoxicity in primary cultured hippocampal neurons.

The present study investigated the protective effects of lotus seedpod procyanidins (LSPCs) on extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF)-induced neurotoxicity in primary cultured rat hippocampal neurons and the underlying molecular mechanism. The results of MTT, morphological observation, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) assays showed that compared with control, incubating neurons under ELF-EMF exposure significantly decreased cell viability and increased the number of apoptotic cells, whereas LSPCs evidently protected the hippocampal neurons against ELF-EMF-induced cell damage. Moreover, a certain concentration of LSPCs inhibited the elevation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and Ca(2+) level, as well as prevented the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential induced by ELF-EMF exposure. In addition, supplementation with LSPCs could alleviate DNA damage, block cell cycle arrest at S phase, and inhibit apoptosis and necrosis of hippocampal neurons under ELF-EMF exposure. Further study demonstrated that LSPCs up-regulated the activations of Bcl-2, Bcl-xl proteins and suppressed the expressions of Bad, Bax proteins caused by ELF-EMF exposure. In conclusion, these findings revealed that LSPCs protected against ELF-EMF-induced neurotoxicity through inhibiting oxidative stress and mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.

Procyanidins from Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. Seedpod induce autophagy mediated by reactive oxygen species generation in human hepatoma G2 cells

In this study, autophagic effect of procyanidins from lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) seedpod (LSPCs) on human hepatoma G2 (HepG2) cells, and the inherent correlation between autophagic levels and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation were investigated. The results showed that LSPCs increased monodansylcadaverine (MDC) fluorescence intensity and LC3-I/LC3-II conversion in HepG2 cells. In addition, the typically autophagic characteristics (autophagosomes and autolysosomes) were observed in LSPCs-treated cells, but not found in the cells treated with autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA). Furthermore, the elevated ROS level was in line with the increasing of autophagy activation caused by LSPCs, however, both 3-MA and the ROS scavenger N-acetylcyteine (NAC) inhibitors effectively suppressed the autophagy and ROS generation triggered by LSPCs. As a result, these results indicated that LSPCs induced HepG2 cell autophagy in a time- and dose-dependent manner, and promoted reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation on HepG2 cells. Moreover, we found that LSPCs caused DNA damage, S phase arrest and the decrement of mitochondria membrane potential (MMP) which were associated with ROS generation. In summary, our findings demonstrated that the LSPCs-induced autophagy and autophagic cell death were triggered by the ROS generation in HepG2 cells, which might be associated with ROS generation through the mitochondria-dependent signaling way.

A computational approach to design an electrochemical sensor and determination of acephate in aqueous solution based on a molecularly imprinted poly(o-phenylenediamine) film

A new molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) electrochemical sensor was prepared by anchoring an imprinted insulating poly(o-phenylenediamine) film on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface for the determination of acephate in aqueous solution. In this protocol, the selection of a functional monomer was performed computationally using the density functional theory method to evaluate the template–monomer interaction energy. The electrochemical properties of the MIP–GCE were characterized by cyclic voltammetry and alternating current impedance. Under optimal experimental conditions, the peak current of the MIP–GCE performed by differential pulse voltammetry was related to the concentration of acephate in the range from 5.0 × 10−7 to 1.0 × 10−4 mol L−1. The detection limit of 1.3 × 10−7 mol L−1 and the limit of quantitation of 4.5 × 1.0−7 mol L−1 were obtained. The prepared MIP–GCE showed high recognition, sensitivity to acephate, and it provides potential for monitoring acephate residues in foods and water samples.

Influence of extremely low frequency magnetic fields on Ca2+ signaling and double messenger system in mice hippocampus and reversal function of procyanidins extracted from lotus seedpod

This research investigated the influence of extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF; 50 Hz, 8 mT, 4 h per day, for 28 days) on calcium ion signaling and the double messenger system in the hippocampus of mice. Messengers that were studied included: G-protein, Ins(1,4,5)P3 (IP3 ), diacylglycerol (DAG), cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), and Ca2+ -dependent protein kinase C (PKC). The results showed that ELF-MF caused an increase in the levels of Gi protein, IP3, DAG, PKA and PKC beta, calcium and calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase calcineuring (PP2B), and intracellular Ca2+ content, and a decrease in calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II) and PKC alpha. In addition, ELF-MF exposure decreased the level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which played a key role in hippocampal neuronal cell death. However, oral administration of procyanidins from lotus seedpod (LSPCs) (especially 90 mg kg-1 ) significantly recovered these changes, and nearly reached normal levels. All these showed that LSPCs may mediate calcium signal and double messenger system through Ca2+ /CaMK II/CREB/BDNF and DG/PKC/MAPK signaling pathways to reverse the alteration caused by ELF-MF. Bioelectromagnetics. 38:436-446, 2017.