Background: Acute spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to permanent disabilities. This study evaluated the neuroprotective effect of puerarin, a natural extract, in a rat model of SCI. Methods: Acute SCI models were established in rats using a modified Allen's method. Locomotor function was evaluated using the BBB test. The histological changes in the spinal cord were observed by H&E staining. Neuron survival and glial cells activation were evaluated by immunostaining. ELISA and realtime PCR were used to measure secretion and gene expression of cytokines. TUNEL staining was used to examine cell apoptosis and western blot analysis was used to detect protein expression. Results: Puerarin significantly increased BBB score in SCI rats, attenuated histological injury of spinal cord, decreased neuron loss, inhibited glial cells activation, alleviated inflammation, and inhibited cell apoptosis in the injured spinal cords. In addition, the downregulated PI3K and phospho-Akt protein expression were restored by puerarin. Conclusion: Puerarin accelerated locomotor function recovery and tissue repair of SCI rats, which is associated with its neuroprotection, glial cell activation suppression, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis effects. These effects may be associated with the activation of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.
Baicalein, one of the four major flavanoids extracted from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis, has been shown to exert chemopreventive effect against several cancers, including skin cancer. However, the precise mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the chemopreventive activity of baicalein against 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)/12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-mediated skin tumorigenesis in C57BL/6 mice. We found that topical treatment with baicalein resulted in a significant inhibitory effect on DMBA/TPA-mediated tumor promotion. Furthermore, we observed that baicalein suppressed cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis in DMBA/TPA-mediated group. Additionally, pretreatment with baicalein inhibited the production of inflammatory cells in DMBA/TPA-induced skin/tumors. Further experiments showed that baicalein reduced TPA-induced skin hyperplasia as well as infiltration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the dermis. In conclusion, our data suggest that baicalein inhibits DMBA/TPA-induced skin tumorigenesis by suppressing proliferation and inflammation and promoting apoptosis.
Melanoma is characterised by aggressive invasion, early metastasis and resistance to existing chemotherapeutic agents.Accumulated studies have reported that microRNA (miRNA) is a potentially robust molecular tool for developing future therapeutic technologies. Therefore, examining the expression patterns, biological roles and associated mechanisms of cancer-related miRNAs in melanoma is essential for developing novel therapeutic targets for patients with this disease. In this study, miRNA-331 (miR-331) was underexpressed in melanoma tissues and cell lines. Functional assays revealed that the enforced expression of miR-331 inhibited cell proliferation and invasion. In addition, astrocyte-elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) was identified as a novel target of miR-331 through bioinformatics analysis, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, Western blot analysis, luciferase reporter assay and Spearman's correlation analysis. Furthermore, reintroduction of AEG-1 partially abrogated the inhibitory effects of miR-331 overexpression on the proliferation and invasion of melanoma cells. Moreover, miR-331 suppressed the activation of the PTEN/AKT signalling pathway in melanoma by inhibiting AEG-1. In short, miR-331 may play tumor-suppressive roles in melanoma by directly targeting AEG-1 and regulating the PTEN/AKT signalling pathway, suggesting that miR-331 could be investigated as a therapeutic strategy for patients with this malignancy.
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