Department of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, 833401, Taiwan; Department of Nursing, Meiho University, Pingtung, 912009, Taiwan.
Department of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, 833401, Taiwan; Department of Nursing, Meiho University, Pingtung, 912009, Taiwan; Department of Sports Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 807378, Taiwan; Department of Chinese Medicine, Xiamen Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Xiamen, Fujian, 361028, China.
Biomed Pharmacother. 2020 Sep;129:110386. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2020.110386. Epub 2020 Jun 18.
Toona sinensis (TS) is a medicinal herb possessing anti-apoptotic, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties and is used to treat diabetes, cancer, and inflammatory diseases. In traditional Chinese medicine theory, TS clears dampness and heat, strengthens the stomach function, and regulates vital energy flow. TS is also used as an astringent and a pesticide. In this study, we aimed to evaluate how TS influences autophagy and cytokines during the inflammatory process in RAW 264.7 macrophages. The treatment groups were pre-supplemented with TS leaf extract; rapamycin was used to enhance autophagy and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to induce inflammation. The expression of autophagy-related proteins was analyzed by western blotting. The survival rate of, and chemokine expression and oxidative stress in the cells were also assessed. TS leaf extract inhibited mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) phosphorylation at site S2448 in the macrophages. At relatively higher concentrations (50 and 75 μg/mL), TS elevated the expression of light chain 3 II (LC3-II), which further modulated autophagy. Pre-supplementation with TS leaf extract elevated the total glutathione (GSH) level and GSH/oxidized GSH (GSSG) ratio, but it decreased the GSSG, total nitric oxide, nitrate, nitrite, malondialdehyde, and superoxide anion levels. TS reversed the effects of LPS-induced cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10. TS did not induce significant toxicity at the studied concentrations. In conclusion, TS leaf extract may modulate autophagy during inflammation. Furthermore, it may prevent cell damage via anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation. Thus, this study supports the ethnomedical use of TS in the prevention of inflammation-related diseases.
香椿是一种药用植物，具有抗凋亡、抗氧化和抗炎特性，用于治疗糖尿病、癌症和炎症性疾病。在中医理论中，香椿能清热燥湿、健脾胃、调气活血。香椿还可用作收敛剂和杀虫剂。本研究旨在评估香椿叶提取物对 RAW 264.7 巨噬细胞炎症过程中自噬和细胞因子的影响。实验组预先补充香椿叶提取物；雷帕霉素增强自噬，脂多糖（LPS）诱导炎症。通过 Western blot 分析自噬相关蛋白的表达。还评估了细胞的存活率、趋化因子表达和氧化应激。香椿叶提取物抑制了巨噬细胞中哺乳动物雷帕霉素靶蛋白（mTOR）在 S2448 位点的磷酸化。在较高浓度（50 和 75μg/mL）时，香椿叶提取物上调了轻链 3 II（LC3-II）的表达，进一步调节了自噬。预先补充香椿叶提取物提高了总谷胱甘肽（GSH）水平和 GSH/氧化型 GSH（GSSG）比值，但降低了 GSSG、总一氧化氮、硝酸盐、亚硝酸盐、丙二醛和超氧阴离子水平。香椿叶提取物逆转了 LPS 诱导的细胞因子（包括白细胞介素（IL）-6 和 IL-10）的作用。在研究浓度下，香椿叶提取物没有引起明显的毒性。总之，香椿叶提取物可能在炎症过程中调节自噬。此外，它可能通过抗炎和抗氧化作用防止细胞损伤。因此，本研究支持香椿在预防炎症相关疾病中的传统医学应用。
