Yanni Xu

Aims: Acute alcohol intoxication (AAI) caused by the intake of excessive alcohol is a harmful clinical condition and potentially life threatening. Therefore, there has been increasing attention on the development of anti-alcoholism products. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic benefits of an anti-alcoholism product (Tengcha–Gegen Plant Solid Beverage, which contains Ampelopsis grossedentata , Pueraria Lobata , Hovenia dulcis Thunb , and turmeric ) in an AAI mouse model. Methods: The AAI mouse model was established through alcohol gavage. Male Kunming mice were first given three doses of Tengcha–Gegen Plant Solid Beverage for 30 min and then gavaged with 52% (V/V) liquor (0.15 mL liquor/10 g body weight). The impact of Tengcha–Gegen Plant Solid Beverage on AAI was evaluated by the sober-up time, the plasma alcohol content, and the plasma and liver superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents or activities. Results: The Tengcha–Gegen Plant Solid Beverage could shorten the sober-up time and decrease plasma alcohol levels at 0.2 and 0.4 g/kg body weight. The mechanistic studies showed that Tengcha–Gegen Plant Solid Beverage increased the plasma SOD and liver GSH levels but decreased the plasma MDA levels at the indicated doses. Conclusions: This study confirmed that Tengcha–Gegen Plant Solid Beverage might have anti-alcoholism therapeutic potential and protect the liver against high oxidative stress induced by acute alcohol exposure in AAI mice.

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis is the most common cause of cardiovascular diseases. Clinical studies indicate that loss-of-function ASGR1 (asialoglycoprotein receptor 1) is significantly associated with lower plasma cholesterol levels and reduces cardiovascular disease risk. However, the effect of ASGR1 on atherosclerosis remains incompletely understood; whether inhibition of ASGR1 causes liver injury remains controversial. Here, we comprehensively investigated the effects and the underlying molecular mechanisms of ASGR1 deficiency and overexpression on atherosclerosis and liver injury in mice. METHODS: We engineered Asgr1 knockout mice ( Asgr1 ^−/− ), Asgr1 and ApoE double-knockout mice ( Asgr1 ^−/− ApoE ^−/− ), and ASGR1-overexpressing mice on an ApoE ^−/− background and then fed them different diets to assess the role of ASGR1 in atherosclerosis and liver injury. RESULTS: After being fed a Western diet for 12 weeks, Asgr1 ^−/− ApoE ^−/− mice exhibited significantly decreased atherosclerotic lesion areas in the aorta and aortic root sections, reduced plasma VLDL (very-low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol and LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol levels, decreased VLDL production, and increased fecal cholesterol contents. Conversely, ASGR1 overexpression in ApoE ^−/− mice increased atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta and aortic root sections, augmented plasma VLDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels and VLDL production, and decreased fecal cholesterol contents. Mechanistically, ASGR1 deficiency reduced VLDL production by inhibiting the expression of MTTP (microsomal triglyceride transfer protein) and ANGPTL3 (angiopoietin-like protein 3)/ANGPTL8 (angiopoietin-like protein 8) but increasing LPL (lipoprotein lipase) activity, increased LDL uptake by increasing LDLR (LDL receptor) expression, and promoted cholesterol efflux through increasing expression of LXRα (liver X receptor-α), ABCA1 (ATP-binding cassette subfamily A member 1), ABCG5 (ATP-binding cassette subfamily G member 5), and CYP7A1 (cytochrome P450 family 7 subfamily A member 1). These underlying alterations were confirmed in ASGR1-overexpressing ApoE ^−/− mice. In addition, ASGR1 deficiency exacerbates liver injury in Western diet–induced Asgr1 ^−/− ApoE ^−/− mice and high-fat diet–induced but not normal laboratory diet–induced and high-fat and high-cholesterol diet–induced Asgr1 ^−/− mice, while its overexpression mitigates liver injury in Western diet–induced ASGR1-overexpressing ApoE ^−/− mice. CONCLUSIONS: Inhibition of ASGR1 inhibits atherosclerosis in Western diet–fed ApoE ^−/− mice, suggesting that inhibiting ASGR1 may serve as a novel therapeutic strategy to treat atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases.

Houttuyniae herba has a long history of medicinal and edible homology in China. It has the functions of clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and purulent discharge, diuresis, and relieving gonorrhea. It is mainly distributed in the central, southeastern, and southwestern provinces of China. Houttuyniae herba has been designated by the National Ministry of Health of China as a dual-use plant for both food and medicine. Comprising volatile oils, flavonoids, and alkaloids as its primary constituents, Houttuyniae herba harbors aristolactams, a prominent subclass of alkaloids. Notably, the structural affinity of aristolactams to aristolochic acids is discernible, the latter known for its explicit toxicological effects. Additionally, the safety study on Houttuyniae herba mainly focused on the ethanol, methanol, or aqueous extract. In this study, both zebrafish and mice were used to evaluate the acute toxicity of the total alkaloids extracts from Houttuyniae herba (HHTAE). The zebrafish experiment showed that a high concentration (0.1 mg/mL) of HHTAE had a lethal effect on zebrafish embryos. Furthermore, the mice experiment results showed that, even at a higher dose of 2000 mg/kg, HHTAE was not toxic. In conclusion, HHTAE was of low safety risk.

The probability of cardiovascular events has been reported lower in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated with leflunomide. However, the anti-atherosclerotic and cardiovascular protective effects and metabolism of leflunomide are not explored. In this study, we assessed the potential benefits of leflunomide on atherosclerosis and revealed the underlying mechanism. ApoE^-/- mice were fed a western diet (WD) alone or supplemented with leflunomide (20 mg/kg, oral gavage, once per day) for 12 weeks. Samples of the aorta, heart, liver, serum, and macrophages were collected. We found that leflunomide significantly reduced lesion size in both en-face aortas and aortic root in WD-fed ApoE^-/- mice. Leflunomide also obviously improved dyslipidemia, reduced hepatic lipid content, and improved disorders of glucose and lipid metabolism in vivo. RNA-Seq results showed that leflunomide effectively regulated the genes' expression involved in the lipid metabolism pathway. Importantly, leflunomide significantly increased the phosphorylation levels of AMPKα and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) in vivo. Furthermore, leflunomide and its active metabolite teriflunomide suppressed lipid accumulation in free fatty acid (FFA)-induced AML12 cells and improved endothelial dysfunction in palmitic acid (PA)-induced HUVECs through activating AMPK signaling and inhibiting dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) signaling pathway. We present evidence that leflunomide and teriflunomide ameliorate atherosclerosis by regulating lipid metabolism and endothelial dysfunction. Our findings suggest a promising use of antirheumatic small-molecule drugs leflunomide and teriflunomide for the treatment of atherosclerosis and related cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).

Inflammation primarily influences the initiation, progression, and deterioration of many human diseases, and immune cells are the principal forces that modulate the balance of inflammation by generating cytokines and chemokines to maintain physiological homeostasis or accelerate disease development. S100A8/A9, a heterodimer protein mainly generated by neutrophils, triggers many signal transduction pathways to mediate microtubule constitution and pathogen defense, as well as intricate procedures of cancer growth, metastasis, drug resistance, and prognosis. Its paired receptors, such as receptor for advanced glycation ends (RAGEs) and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), also have roles and effects within tumor cells, mainly involved with mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), NF-κB, phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and protein kinase C (PKC) activation. In the clinical setting, S100A8/A9 and its receptors can be used complementarily as efficient biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and treatment. This review comprehensively summarizes the biological functions of S100A8/A9 and its various receptors in tumor cells, in order to provide new insights and strategies targeting S100A8/A9 to promote novel diagnostic and therapeutic methods in cancers.

Objective: Reverse cholesterol transport, removing excess cholesterol from peripheral tissues, is an important therapeutic target for atherosclerosis treatment. In this study, we propose a new small molecule, E17241, that may be used to treat atherosclerosis by promoting reverse cholesterol transport via ABCA1 (ATP-binding cassette transporter A1) upregulation. Approach and Results: E17241 (4-(1,3-dithiolan-2-yl)-N-(3-hydroxypyridin-2-yl)benzamide) was first identified as an ABCA1 upregulator using a cell-based reporter assay. E17241 significantly increases the mRNA and protein expression levels of ABCA1 in both hepatic cells and macrophages. It promotes cholesterol efflux to apo AI in macrophage cells, and this effect depends on ABCA1. It also decreases total cholesterol content in Ox-LDL (oxidized low-density lipoprotein) loading macrophage cells. E17241 treatment increases the content of ³ H-labeled cholesterol in the feces of male C57BL/6J mice intraperitoneally injected with ³ H-cholesterol-labeled macrophage J774 cells, indicating that it could promote in vivo macrophage reverse cholesterol transport. Compared with the western diet group (western diet–fed male ApoE ^−/− mice), the E17241 group (western diet+E17241 treatment) shows decreased plasma cholesterol, liver cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, with increased fecal cholesterol content. Importantly, E17241 reduces atherosclerotic lesion areas in the en face aorta and aortic sinus while increasing ABCA1 protein levels in both liver and macrophages. Human proteome microarray, coimmunoprecipitation, and other assays demonstrate that PKCζ (protein kinase C zeta) is a binding target of E17241, and this small molecule increases ABCA1 expression in macrophages via the PKCζ-NR (nuclear receptor) pathway. Conclusions: E17241 may be developed as a new lead or drug candidate for the treatment of atherosclerosis by upregulating ABCA1.