Xue Zhu

Protective Effect of Paeoniflorin on Aβ25–35-Induced SH-SY5Y Cell Injury by Preventing Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a major neurodegenerative brain disorder affecting about 14 million people worldwide. Aβ-induced cell injury is a crucial cause of neuronal loss in AD, thus the suppression of which might be useful for the treatment of this disease. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of paeoniflorin (PF), a monoterpene glycoside isolated from aqueous extract of Radix Paeoniae Alba, on Aβ25–35-induced cytotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells. The results showed PF could attenuate or restore the viability loss, apoptotic increase, and ROS production induced by Aβ25–35 in SH-SY5Y cells. In addition, PF strikingly inhibited Aβ25–35-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, which includes decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, cytochrome c release and activity of caspase-3 and caspase-9. Therefore, our study provided the first experimental evidence that PF could modulate ROS production and apoptotic mitochondrial pathway in model of neuron injury in vitro and which might provide new insights into its application toward Alzheimer’s disease therapy.

Ziyuglycoside II induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis through activation of ROS/JNK pathway in human breast cancer cells.

Ziyuglycoside II, a triterpenoid saponin compound extracted from Sanguisorba officinalis L., has been reported to have a wide range of clinical applications including anti-cancer effect. In this study, the anti-proliferative effect of ziyuglycoside II in two classic human breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, was extensively investigated. Our study indicated that ziyuglycoside II could effectively induce G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis in both cell lines. Cell cycle blocking was associated with the down-regulation of Cdc25C, Cdc2, cyclin A and cyclin B1 as well as the up-regulation of p21/WAF1, phospho-Cdc25C and phospho-Cdc2. Ziyuglycoside II treatment also induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and apoptosis by activating the extrinsic/Fas/FasL pathway as well as the intrinsic/mitochondrial pathway. More importantly, the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), a downstream target of ROS, was found to be a critical mediator of ziyuglycoside II-induced cell apoptosis. Further knockdown of JNK by siRNA could inhibit ziyuglycoside II-mediated apoptosis with attenuating the up-regulation of Bax and Fas/FasL as well as the down-regulation of Bcl-2. Taken together, the cell death of breast cancer cells in response to ziyuglycoside II was dependent upon cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis via a ROS-dependent JNK activation pathway. Our findings may significantly contribute to the understanding of the anti-proliferative effect of ziyuglycoside II, in particular to breast carcinoma and provide novel insights into the potential application of such compound in breast cancer therapy.

Investigation of Gallic Acid Induced Anticancer Effect in Human Breast Carcinoma MCF‐7 Cells

Gallic acid (GA), a polyhydroxylphenolic compound abundantly distributed in plants, fruits, and foods, has been reported to have various biological activities including an anticancer effect. In this study, we extensively investigated the anticancer effect of GA in human breast carcinoma MCF‐7 cells. Our study indicated that treatment with GA resulted in inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis in MCF‐7 cells. Then, the molecular mechanism of GAs apoptotic action in MCF‐7 cells was further investigated. The results revealed that GA induced apoptosis by triggering the extrinsic or Fas/FasL pathway as well as the intrinsic or mitochondrial pathway. Furthermore, the apoptotic signaling induced by GA was amplified by cross‐link between the two pathways. Taken together, our findings may be useful for understanding the mechanism of action of GA on breast cancer cells and provide new insights into the possible application of such compound and its derivatives in breast cancer therapy.

DNA-templated silver nanoclusters based label-free fluorescent molecular beacon for the detection of adenosine deaminase.

A general and reliable fluorescent molecular beacon is proposed in this work utilizing DNA-templated silver nanoclusters (AgNCs). The fluorescent molecular beacon has been employed for sensitive determination of the concentration of adenosine deaminase (ADA) and its inhibition. A well-designed oligonucleotide containing three functional regions (an aptamer region for adenosine assembly, a sequence complementary to the region of the adenosine aptamer, and an inserted six bases cytosine-loop) is adopted as the core element in the strategy. The enzymatic reaction of adenosine catalyzed by ADA plays a key role as well in the regulation of the synthesis of the DNA-templated AgNCs, i.e. the signal indicator. The intensity of the fluorescence signal may thereby determine the concentration of the enzyme and its inhibitor. The detection limit of the ADA can be lowered to 0.05 UL(-1). Also, 100 fM of a known inhibitor erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl) adenine hydrochloride (EHNA) is enough to present distinguishable fluorescence emission. Moreover, since the fluorescent signal indicator is not required to be bound with the oligonucleotide, this fluorescent molecular beacon may integrate the advantages of both the label-free and signal-on strategies.

A label-free kissing complexes-induced fluorescence aptasensor using DNA-templated silver nanoclusters as a signal transducer.

Riboswitches are complex folded RNA domains that serve as receptors for specific metabolites which identified in prokaryotes. They are comprised of a biosensor that includes the binding site for a small ligand and they respond to association with this ligand by undergoing a conformational change. In the present study, we report on the integration of silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) and riboswitches for the development of a kissing complexes-induced aptasensor (KCIA). We specifically apply the tunable riboswitches properties of this strategy to demonstrate the multiplexes analysis of adenosine and adenosine deaminase (ADA). This strategy allows for simple tethering of the specific oligonucleotides stabilizing the AgNCs to the nucleic acid probes. This is a new concept for aptasensors, and opens an opportunity for design of more novel biosensors based on the kissing complexes-induced strategy.

Ultrasensitive detection of microRNA with isothermal amplification and a time-resolved fluorescence sensor.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in a plethora of biological and cellular processes. The levels of miRNAs can be useful biomarkers for cellular events or disease diagnosis, thus the method for sensitive and selective detection of miRNAs is imperative to miRNA discovery, study, and clinical diagnosis. Here we develop a novel method to quantify miRNA expression levels as low as attomolar sensitivity by two-stage exponential amplification reaction (EXPAR) and a time-resolved fluorescence sensor in real samples. The method reveals superior sensitivity with a detection limit of miRNA of 0.1 aM under pure conditions. The method also shows the high selectivity for discriminating differences between miRNA family members, thus providing a promising alternative to standard approaches for quantitative detection of miRNA.

Ziyuglycoside II Inhibits the Growth of Human Breast Carcinoma MDA-MB-435 Cells via Cell Cycle Arrest and Induction of Apoptosis through the Mitochondria Dependent Pathway

Ziyuglycoside II is one of the major active compounds of Sanguisorba officinalis L., which has a wide range of clinical applications including hemostasis, antibiosis, anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation. This study investigated the effect of ziyuglycoside II on the growth of human breast carcinoma MDA-MB-435 cells for the first time. The results showed that ziyuglycoside II could significantly inhibit the growth of MDA-MB-435 cells through blocking cell cycle progression at G0/G1 and S phase as well as via inducing cell apoptosis. Accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was observed in the progression of cell cycle arrest, which was associated with the increased expression of cell cycle regulating factors, p53 and p21. Subsequent apoptosis induced by ziyuglycoside II was accompanied with the activation of mitochondrial pathway, in particular a decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) as well as increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, cytochrome c release and the activity of caspase-3 and caspase-9. In conclusion, our study was the first to report that ziyuglycoside II has inhibitory effect on the growth of MDA-MB-435 cells, which might become a potential therapeutic approach of breast cancer in the future.

Sensitive detection of transcription factors in cell nuclear extracts by using a molecular beacons based amplification strategy

Monitoring transcription factor (TF) levels provides an important assessment of the state of cell populations. Unfortunately, traditional methods for monitoring TF concentration are generally cumbersome and time-consuming. We developed an ultrasensitive one-pot TF detection method that uses target-molecular beacons-dependent amplification (TMDA) fluorescence strategy to circumvent the aforementioned limitations in TF detection. In this assay, we employed a DNA1/DNA2 duplex as the reporting probe and a stem-loop DNA molecular beacon (MB) as the signaling probe. The integration of protein-DNA1/DNA2 duplex and exonuclease III (Exo III) digestion can convert the detection of transcription factors to the detection of reporter oligonucleotides. The subsequent hybridization of the reporter oligonucleotides with the molecular beacons opens the stem-loop structure. The formation of the DNA complex triggers amplification reaction and the recovery of the fluorescence. This assay exhibits high sensitivity with a detection limit of 2.2 pM and a detection range of 3 orders of magnitude, which is superior to most currently used methods for transcription factor detection. More importantly, this method is suitable for the direct detection of TFs in crude nuclear extracts of cancer cells.

Amyloid β induces NLRP3 inflammasome activation in retinal pigment epithelial cells via NADPH oxidase‐ and mitochondria‐dependent ROS production

Amyloid β (Aβ)‐induced chronic inflammation is believed to be a key pathogenic process in early‐stage age‐related macular degeneration (AMD). Nucleotide oligomerization domain (NOD)‐like receptor family, pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation triggered by Aβ is responsible for retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) dysfunction in the onset of AMD; however, the detailed molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the involvement of NADPH oxidase‐ and mitochondria‐derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the process of Aβ1–40‐induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation in LPS‐primed ARPE‐19 cells. The results showed that Aβ1–40 could induce excessive ROS generation, MAPK/NF‐κB signaling activation and subsequently NLRP3 inflammasome activation in LPS‐primed ARPE‐19 cells. Furthermore, the inductive effect of Aβ1–40 on NLRP3 inflammasome activation was mediated in a manner dependent on NADPH oxidase‐ and mitochondria‐derived ROS. Our findings may provide a novel insight into the molecular mechanism by which Aβ contributes to the early‐stage AMD.

Puerarin Protects Human Neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y Cells against Glutamate-Induced Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Dysfunction.

Glutamate, the principal excitatory neurotransmitter, plays a central role in brain metabolism; however, aberrant neurotransmission of glutamate has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, the effective agents that target at glutamate‐induced cell injury will be useful for prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, the neuroprotective effect of puerarin, an active isoflavone extracted from the Chinese herb Radix puerariae, against glutamate‐induced cell injury in human neuroblastoma SH‐SY5Y cells was evaluated for the first time. The results showed that the pretreatment of puerarin could attenuate glutamate‐induced cell injury in a dose‐dependent manner. This protective effect was mediated through inhibiting reactive oxygen species generation, attenuating the upregulation of Bax and downregulation of Bcl‐2, preserving mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), preventing cytochrome c release, and reducing caspase activity. These findings may significantly contribute to a better understanding of the neuroprotective effect of puerarin and provide new insights into its application toward neurodegenerative diseases in the future.