Search

Oxidative stress is known to be a primary risk factor for neuronal diseases. Glutaredoxin (GLRX)‑1, a redox‑regulator of the thioredoxin superfamily, is known to exhibit an important role in cell survival via various cellular functions. However, the precise roles of GLRX1 in brain ischemia are still not fully understood. The present study investigated whether transduced PEP‑1‑GLRX1 protein has protective effects against oxidative stress in cells and in an animal model. Transduced PEP‑1‑GLRX1 protein increased HT‑22 cell viability under oxidative stress and this fusion protein significantly reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species and levels of DNA damage. In addition, PEP‑1‑GLRX1 protein regulated RAC‑a serine/threonine‑protein kinase and mitogen‑activated protein kinase signaling, in addition to apoptotic signaling including B cell lymphoma (Bcl)‑2, Bcl‑2 associated X, apoptosis regulator, pro‑caspase‑9 and p53 expression levels. In an ischemic animal model, it was verified that PEP‑1‑GLRX1 transduced into the Cornu Ammonis 1 region of the animal brain, where it markedly protected against ischemic injury. These results indicate that PEP‑1‑GLRX1 attenuates neuronal cell death resulting from oxidative stress in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, PEP‑1‑GLRX1 may exhibit a beneficial role in the treatment of neuronal disorders, including ischemic injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thioredoxin 1 (Trx1) serves a central role in redox homeostasis. It is involved in numerous other processes, including oxidative stress and apoptosis. However, to the best of our knowledge, the role of Trx1 in inflammation remains to be explored. The present study investigated the function and mechanism of cell permeable fused Tat-Trx1 protein in macrophages and a mouse model. Transduction levels of Tat-Trx1 were determined via western blotting. Cellular distribution of transduced Tat-Trx1 was determined by fluorescence microscopy. 2',7'-Dichlorofluorescein diacetate and TUNEL staining were performed to determine the production of reactive oxygen species and DNA fragmentation. Protein and gene expression were measured by western blotting and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), respectively. Effects of skin inflammation were determined using hematoxylin and eosin staining, changes in ear weight and ear thickness, and RT-qPCR in ear edema animal models. Transduced Tat-Trx1 inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced cytotoxicity and activation of NF-κB, MAPK and Akt. Additionally, Tat-Trx1 markedly reduced the production of inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in macrophages. In a 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced mouse model, Tat-Trx1 reduced inflammatory damage by inhibiting inflammatory mediator and cytokine production. Collectively, these results demonstrated that Tat-Trx1 could exert anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines and by modulating MAPK signaling. Therefore, Tat-Trx1 may be a useful therapeutic agent for diseases induced by inflammatory damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lavandula pubescens, belonging to the Labiatae family, is a newly discovered strongly aromatic species of lavender that is potentially beneficial for human health. Given the economic importance of lavender species, we sought in this study to characterize the terpenoid biosynthesis of L. pubescens by obtaining transcriptomic and metabolic datasets. Transcriptome analysis of L. pubescens grown aseptically in tissue culture medium yielded 124,233 unigenes with an average length of 470 bp and N50 value of 522 bp from 9,476,122,928 raw reads. In order to provide relevant biological information, the unigenes were annotated using the following public databases: National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) nucleotide (NT) and non-redundant protein (NR), Brassica (BRAD), Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR), Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG), and Gene Ontology (GO). NR annotation results revealed that L. pubescens is genetically closely related to Sesamum indicum. On the basis of the transcriptome data, a total of 14 cDNA clones encoding the terpene biosynthetic genes LpDXS, LpMCT, LpMCS, LpHDR, LpIDI, LpAACT, LpHMGS, LpHMGR, LpMVK, LpPMK, LpMVD, LpGPPS, LpSQS, and LpGGPPS were identified in L. pubescens. These were quantified in the roots, stems, and leaves of L. pubescens using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), which revealed that the gene expression levels were higher in the leaves and stems than in the roots, which was found to be consistent with the levels of ursolic and oleanolic acids in the different organs using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A total of 48 hydrophilic metabolites were identified and quantified in the organs using gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOFMS). Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of an ethyl acetate extract of L. pubescens leaves was examined using different methods to determine the potential therapeutic properties. A reducing power assay revealed that the absorbance values increased in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay indicated the strong activity (60.4 ± 0.9%) of the ethyl acetate extract at a concentration of 100 µg/mL, which also showed strong hydrogen peroxide (57.4 ± 2.7%), superoxide radical (62.1 ± 0.7%), and hydroxyl radical (58.6 ± 0.4%) scavenging activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, Agastache rugosa (Korean mint) has been widely used to treat various infectious diseases. The aims of this study were to: (i) determine the phenylpropanoid content of the plant using high-performance liquid chromatography; (ii) undertake total anthocyanin, flavonoid, and phenolic assays; (iii) and evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of the methanol extracts from the stem, leaves, and flowers of Korean mint. The total anthocyanin, flavonoid, and phenolic content assays showed that the flowers had higher phenolic levels than the stem and leaves. The reducing power, the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl superoxide radical scavenging abilities, and the hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging activities were also evaluated so that the antioxidant activities of the extracts from the different plant parts could be evaluated. The flower extracts revealed higher antioxidant properties than the other parts. The antibacterial properties of the methanol extracts from A. rugosa were analyzed by the disc diffusion method, and the flower extracts had higher antibacterial activities against the six bacterial strains used in the study than the other parts. This study provides information on the synergistic antioxidant and antibacterial properties of phenolics derived from the different parts of Korean mint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhododendron schlippenbachii Maxim. is a garden plant that is also used for natural medicines as a consequence of the biological activities of its diverse metabolites. We accordingly profiled two anthocyanins and 40 primary and secondary metabolites in the three different colored flowers. The major anthocyanins found in the flowers were cyanidins. The red flowers exhibited the highest accumulation of anthocyanins (1.02 ± 0.02 mg/g dry weight). Principal component analysis was applied to the GC‒TOFMS data. The levels of key tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates in red flowers, such as succinic acid, fumaric acid, and malic acid, were found to be highly significantly different (p < 0.0001) from those in the flowers of other colors. In this study, we aimed to determine metabolite interactions and phenotypic variation among white, violet, and red flowers of R. schlippenbachii by using gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC‒TOFMS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potato virus X (PVX), a species of the genus Potexvirus , is a plant pathogenic virus that causes severe symptoms such as mild mosaic, crinkling, necrosis, and mottling on leaves. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the effect of PVX virus infection on the metabolic system in nontransgenic and Arabidopsis thaliana production of anthocyanin pigment 1 ( AtPAP 1) transgenic tobacco using transcript expression analysis and metabolic profiling. Potato virus X inoculation increased the gene expression of phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis and the production of chlorogenic acid, p -coumaric acid, benzoic acid, rutin, quercetin, and kaempferol in nontransgenic tobacco leaves. However, in the AtPAP 1 transgenic tobacco leaves, PVX inoculation decreased the expression of AtPAP 1 and phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis genes, and the production of phenolics and anthocyanin also declined. In contrast, the levels of amino acids and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates increased after infection in the AtPAP 1 transgenic plant leaves. To date, these results have not been reported previously. We suggest that PVX infection decreases AtPAP 1 expression, leading to the downregulation of phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis in transgenic plants.

Traditionally, Agastache rugosa (Korean mint) has been widely used to treat various infectious diseases. The aims of this study were to: (i) determine the phenylpropanoid content of the plant using high-performance liquid chromatography; (ii) undertake total anthocyanin, flavonoid, and phenolic assays; (iii) and evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of the methanol extracts from the stem, leaves, and flowers of Korean mint. The total anthocyanin, flavonoid, and phenolic content assays showed that the flowers had higher phenolic levels than the stem and leaves. The reducing power, the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl superoxide radical scavenging abilities, and the hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging activities were also evaluated so that the antioxidant activities of the extracts from the different plant parts could be evaluated. The flower extracts revealed higher antioxidant properties than the other parts. The antibacterial properties of the methanol extracts from A . rugosa were analyzed by the disc diffusion method, and the flower extracts had higher antibacterial activities against the six bacterial strains used in the study than the other parts. This study provides information on the synergistic antioxidant and antibacterial properties of phenolics derived from the different parts of Korean mint.

Parkinson's disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder, is characterized by a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) of the brain and it is well known that the pathogenesis of PD is related to a number of risk factors including oxidative stress. Antioxidant 1 (ATOX1) protein plays a crucial role in various diseases as an antioxidant and chaperone. In this study, we determined whether Tat-ATOX1 could protect against 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP + )-induced SH-SY5Y cell death and in a 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced animal model of PD. In the MPP + exposed SH-SY5Y cells, Tat-ATOX1 markedly inhibited cell death and toxicities. In addition, Tat-ATOX1 markedly suppressed the activation of Akt and mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) as well as cleavage of caspase-3 and Bax expression levels. In a MPTP-induced animal model, Tat-ATOX1 transduced into brain and protected dopaminergic neuronal cell loss. Taken together, Tat-ATOX1 inhibits dopaminergic neuronal death through the suppression of MAPKs and apoptotic signal pathways. Thus, Tat-ATOX1 represents a potential therapeutic protein drug candidate for PD., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM). All rights reserved.)

We investigated the effects of natural plant hormones, indole-3-acetic (IAA) acid and gibberellic acid (GA), on the growth parameters and production of flavonoids and other phenolic compounds in common buckwheat sprouts. A total of 17 phenolic compounds were identified using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. Among these, seven compounds (4-hydroxybenzoic acid, catechin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, epicatechin, rutin, and quercetin) were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) after treating the common buckwheat sprouts with different concentrations of the hormones IAA and GA. At a concentration of 0.5 mg/L, both IAA and GA exhibited the highest levels of growth parameters (shoot length, root length, and fresh weight). The HPLC analysis showed that the treatment of sprouts with IAA at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 mg/L produced higher or comparable levels of the total phenolic compounds than the control sprout and enhanced the production of rutin. Similarly, the supplementation with 0.1 and 0.5 mg/L GA increased the content of rutin in buckwheat sprouts. Our results suggested that the treatment with optimal concentrations of IAA and GA enhanced the growth parameters and accumulation of flavonoids and other phenolic compounds in buckwheat sprouts.