wogonoside and Colitis

COVID-19 is often characterized by dysregulated inflammatory and immune responses. It has been shown that the Traditional Chinese Medicine formulation Qing-Fei-Pai-Du decoction (QFPDD) is effective in the treatment of the disease, especially for patients in the early stage. Our network pharmacology analyses indicated that many inflammation and immune-related molecules were the targets of the active components of QFPDD, which propelled us to examine the effects of the decoction on inflammation. We found in the present study that QFPDD effectively alleviated dextran sulfate sodium-induced intestinal inflammation in mice. It inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNFα, and promoted the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 by macrophagic cells. Further investigations found that QFPDD and one of its active components wogonoside markedly reduced LPS-stimulated phosphorylation of transcription factor ATF2, an important regulator of multiple cytokines expression. Our data revealed that both QFPDD and wogonoside decreased the half-life of ATF2 and promoted its proteasomal degradation. Of note, QFPDD and wogonoside down-regulated deubiquitinating enzyme USP14 along with inducing ATF2 degradation. Inhibition of USP14 with the small molecular inhibitor IU1 also led to the decrease of ATF2 in the cells, indicating that QFPDD and wogonoside may act through regulating USP14 to promote ATF2 degradation. To further assess the importance of ubiquitination in regulating ATF2, we generated mice that were intestinal-specific KLHL5 deficiency, a CUL3-interacting protein participating in substrate recognition of E3s. In these mice, QFPDD mitigated inflammatory reaction in the spleen, but not intestinal inflammation, suggesting CUL3-KLHL5 may function as an E3 for ATF2 degradation.

Topics: Activating Transcription Factor 2; Animals; Cell Line; Colitis; Cullin Proteins; Cytokines; Dextran Sulfate; Down-Regulation; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Flavanones; Glucosides; Inflammation; Macrophages; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Phosphorylation; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; Proteolysis; Pyrroles; Pyrrolidines; Ubiquitin Thiolesterase; Ubiquitination

Intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction, which involves myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) activation, contributes to the occurrence and progression of inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Wogonoside helps maintain intestinal homeostasis in mice with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis, but it is unclear whether it modulates intestinal barrier function.. Here, we demonstrate that wogonoside protects against intestinal barrier dysfunction in colitis via the MLCK/pMLC2 pathway both in vivo and in vitro.. Caco-2 cell monolayers treated with the proinflammatory cytokine TNF-α showed barrier dysfunction and were assessed in the absence and presence of wogonoside for various physiological, morphological, and biochemical parameters. Colitis was induced by 3% DSS in mice, which were used as an animal model to explore the pharmacodynamics of wogonoside. We detected MLCK/pMLC2 pathway proteins via western blot analysis, assessed the cytokines IL-13 and IFN-γ via ELISA, tested bacterial translocation via fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and a proper sampling of secondary lymphoid organs for bacterial culture. In addition, the docking affinity of wogonoside and MLCK was observed with DS2.5 software.. Wogonoside alleviated the disruption of transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) in TNF-α exposured Caco-2 cell; FITC-dextran hyperpermeability; loss of the tight junction (TJ) proteins occludin, ZO-1 and claudin-1 in Caco-2 cell monolayers; and bacterial translocation in colitic mice. Moreover, wogonoside reduced the levels of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-13 and IFN-γ to maintain intestinal immune homeostasis. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed that wogonoside ameliorated the destruction of intestinal epithelial TJs. Wogonoside not only inhibited the cytoskeletal F-actin rearrangement induced by TNF-α, stabilized the cytoskeletal structure, suppressed MLCK protein expression, and reduced MLC2 phosphorylation. In addition, the results of molecular docking analysis showed that wogonoside had a high affinity for MLCK and formed hydrogen bonds with the amino acid residue LYS261 and π bonds with LYS229.. Collectively, our study indicates that wogonoside alleviates colitis by protecting against intestinal barrier dysfunction, and the potential mechanism may involve regulation of TJs via the MLCK/pMLC2 signaling pathway. Meanwhile, our study also explains the success of S. baicalensis in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC).

Topics: Animals; Caco-2 Cells; Cardiac Myosins; Colitis; Dextran Sulfate; Flavanones; Glucosides; Humans; Intestinal Mucosa; Male; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Molecular Docking Simulation; Myosin Light Chains; Myosin-Light-Chain Kinase; Phosphorylation; Tight Junction Proteins

The inflammatory microenvironment has been reported to be correlated with tumor initiation and malignant development. In the previous studies we have found that wogonoside exerts anti-neoplastic and anti-inflammatory activities. In this study, we aimed to further investigate the chemopreventive effects of wogonoside on colitis-associated cancer and delineated the potential mechanisms. In the azoxymethane initiated and dextran sulfate sodium (AOM/DSS) promoted colorectal carcinogenesis mouse model, wogonoside significantly reduced the disease severity, lowered tumor incidence and inhibited the development of colorectal adenomas. Moreover, wogonoside inhibited inflammatory cells infiltration and cancer cell proliferation at tumor site. Furthermore, wogonoside dramatically decreased the secretion and expression of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α as well as the nuclear expression of NF-κB in adenomas and surrounding tissues. In vitro results showed that wogonoside suppressed the proliferation of human colon cancer cells in the inflammatory microenvironment. Mechanistically, we found that wogonoside inhibited NF-κB activation via PI3K/Akt pathway. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that wogonoside attenuated colitis-associated tumorigenesis in mice and inhibited the progression of human colon cancer in inflammation-related microenvironment via suppressing NF-κB activation by PI3K/Akt pathway, indicating that wogonoside could be a promising therapeutic agent for colorectal cancer.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Carcinogenesis; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Colitis; Colorectal Neoplasms; Disease Progression; Flavanones; Glucosides; Humans; Inflammation; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; NF-kappa B; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; Tumor Microenvironment

Previous studies have demonstrated that wogonoside, the glucuronide metabolite of wogonin, has anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic and anticancer effects. However, the anti-inflammatory mechanism of wogonoside has not been fully elucidated. Recently, NLRP3 inflammasome has been reported to be correlated with inflammatory bowel disease for its ability to induce IL-1β release. Nevertheless, there are few drug candidates targeting NLRP3 inflammasome for this disease. In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of wogonoside in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced murine colitis and further revealed the underlying mechanisms by targeting NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome. Wogonoside treatment dose-dependently attenuated DSS-induced body weight loss and colon length shortening. Moreover, wogonoside prevented DSS-induced colonic pathological damage, remarkably inhibited inflammatory cells infiltration and significantly decreased myeloperoxidase (MPO) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activities. The production of pro-inflammatory mediators in serum and colon was also significantly reduced by wogonoside. The underlying mechanisms for the protective effect of wogonoside in DSS-induced colitis may be attributed to its inhibition on NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in colons. Furthermore, wogonoside markedly decreased production of IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 and suppressed mRNA expression of pro-IL-1β and NLRP3 in phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-differentiated monocytic THP-1 cells via inhibiting the activation of NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that wogonoside may exert its anti-inflammatory effect via dual inhibition of NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome, suggesting that wogonoside might be a potential effective drug for inflammatory bowel diseases.

Topics: Animals; Base Sequence; Carrier Proteins; Colitis; Dextran Sulfate; DNA Primers; Flavanones; Glucosides; Inflammasomes; Inflammation Mediators; Mice; NF-kappa B; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction