Ginsenoside CK is the main metabolite of protopanaxadiol saponins in intestinal bacteria. Previous studies have shown that ginsenoside CK can affect many aspects of tumor development through a variety of mechanisms. However, few studies have reported the antimetastatic effects of ginsenoside CK in non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we explored the effect of ginsenoside CK on epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) induced by TGF‐β in A549 cells and the potential molecular mechanisms. Our data showed that ginsenoside CK effectively prevented TGF‐β‐induced EMT, as indicated by the upregulation of E‐cadherin and downregulation of vimentin. Furthermore, ginsenoside CK inhibited the metastatic ability of A549 cells in the tail vein lung metastasis model of nude mice. Additionally, ginsenoside CK decreased the expression of silent information regulator 2 homolog 1 (SIRT1) in the inhibition of EMT induced by TGF‐β. Moreover, the antimetastatic effect of ginsenoside CK was reversed by SIRT1 overexpression. Generally, our results indicated the antimetastatic effect and underlying mechanism of ginsenoside CK on TGF‐β‐induced EMT in A549 cells, suggesting that ginsenoside CK can be used as an effective antineoplastic agent.

Adriamycin (ADR)-based combination chemotherapy is the standard treatment for some patients with tumors in clinical, however, long-term application can cause dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. Pilose Antler, as a traditional Chinese medicine, first appeared in the Han Dynasty and has been used to treat heart disease for nearly a thousand years. Previous data revealed pilose antler polypeptide (PAP, 3.2KD) was one of its main active components with multiple biological activities for cardiomyopathy. PAP-3.2KD exerts protective effects againt myocardial fibrosis. The present study demonstrated the protective mechanism of PAP-3.2KD against Adriamycin (ADR)-induced myocardial injury through using animal model with ADR-induced myocardial injury. PAP-3.2KD markedly improved the weight increase and decreased the HW/BW index, heart rate, and ST height in ADR-induced groups. Additionally, PAP-3.2KD reversed histopathological changes (such as disordered muscle bundles, myocardial fibrosis and diffuse myocardial cellular edema) and scores of the heart tissue, ameliorated the myocardial fibrosis and collagen volume fraction through pathological examination, significantly increased the protein level of Bcl-2, and decreased the expression levels of Bax and caspase-3 in myocardial tissue by ELISA, compared to those in ADR-induced group. Furthermore, ADR stimulation induced the increased protein levels of TGF-β1 and SMAD2/3/4, the increased phosphorylation levels of SMAD2/3 and the reduced protein levels of SMAD7. The expression levels of protein above in ADR-induced group were remarkably reversed in PAP-3.2KD-treated groups. PAP-3.2KD ameliorated ADR-induced myocardial injury by regulating the TGF-β/SMAD signaling pathway. Thus, these results provide a strong rationale for the protective effects of PAP against ADR-induced myocardial injury, when ADR is used to treat cancer.

Background: Sangbaipi decoction (SD), a traditional Chinese “Ancient Classical Prescription” consisting of eight medicinal materials, is usually used to treat asthma due to excess lung Qi and phlegm fire. Objective: To establish a comprehensive quality evaluation method for SD. Methods: HPLC fingerprint analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied for the quality control of SD prepared from different batches of medicinal materials. A total of 10 batches of SD samples were prepared and analyzed. Results: A total of 24 common peaks and six active components (gardenoside, rutin, berberine, palmatine, baicalein, and wogonin) were identified in the HPLC fingerprint of SD. The ten batches of SD samples were divided into four groups via HCA and PCA. The HPLC fingerprint similarities of the 10 batch samples were 0.934 or higher. The precision, stability, repeatability, and other methodological indexes suggested that the developed method met the requirements for qualitative fingerprint research. Conclusion: The results indicated that HPLC fingerprints combined with PCA and multicomponent determination can be successfully applied to SD quality control. This study also provides a basis for a more comprehensive quality evaluation method for SD. Highlights: The fingerprint of SD, a TCM famous classical formula, was established by HPLC in this paper. Moreover, contents of six pharmacodynamic related components in SD were determined simultaneously in order to establish a comprehensive quality evaluation method of SD. This study can also provide a basis for raw material selection, quality evaluation, extraction process, preparation development and pharmacodynamic material basis research of SD.

Effect of Pilose Antler Peptide on Doxorubicin-induced H9c2 Cells Injury via TGF-β/Smad/ERK Signaling Pathway

Velvet antler peptide (VAP) is one of the main active ingredients in Velvet antler (VA), and its mechanism in preventing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) needs to be further studied. In this research, rats model with MCI was established, non-targeted metabonomics method was performed. Total 50 wistar rats were divided into: control, model, piracetam (PIR), high- and low-dose VAP groups, and were administered for 18 days. Scopolamine (2 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally to establish the MCI rat model. The contents of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in rat serum were detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of B-cell lymphoma/leukemia-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated death promoter (Bad) and Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) in hippocampus of rats were detected by Western blot analysis. The brain and kidney of MCI rats were detected by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF-MS) metabolomics technology, and the differences of metabolites and the dynamic changes of metabolic pathway were analyzed based on the results of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) The correlation analysis of significantly different metabolites was then analyzed by Cluster analysis (CA), and then the differential metabolite pathway enrichment analysis was performed. According to the statistical analysis of univariate and multivariates, the models constructed between the groups are stable and reliable, the variability and separation trend are good, and there are differences in the metabolomes. In results, VAP increased the content of serum SOD, reduced the content of MDA, increased the expression level of Bcl-2 and reduced the expression level of Bad and Bax protein in MCI model rats. The relevant potential markers in the brain and kidney of MCI rats mainly included folic acid, acetyl L-carnitine (ALC), Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1), 3′,5′-cyclic-adenosine-monophosphate (cAMP) and various amino acids. Therefore, VAP could inhibit oxidative stress response, reduce hippocampal neuron apoptosis and protect neurons in MCI rats. Its mechanism may be related to regulating folate and lipid metabolism, cyclic adenosine phosphate energy cycle, amino acid biosynthesis and renal secretion of sex hormones.