OBJECTIVE: Chebulagic acid (CHE) from the immature seeds of Terminalia chebula was identified from a natural product library as a potent suppressor of T cell activity. This study examined the effectiveness of CHE against the onset and progression of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice. METHODS: Arthritis was induced in DBA/1J mice by subcutaneous immunization with bovine type II collagen on days 0 and 21. CHE was administered intraperitoneally for 3 weeks, either as prophylaxis (10 or 20 mg/kg) before disease onset or as therapy (20 mg/kg) after disease onset.
Terminalia chebula (TC) is native to southern Asia to southwestern China and is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of human ailments including malignant tumors and diabetes. This plant also has antibacterial and immunomodulatory properties. Nuclear factor kappa-light chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-?B) is responsible for the expression of numerous genes involved in cell survival, proliferation, angiogenesis, inflammation, invasion and metastasis, among other processes.
Terminalia chebula is a native plant from southern Asia to southwestern China that is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of malignant tumors and diabetes. This plant also has antibacterial and immunomodulatory properties. The present study assessed T. chebula extract-dependent protein expression changes in Jurkat cells. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry and Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA) were performed to assess protein expression and networks, respectively. A comparative proteomic profile was determined in T.
Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT; the catalytic protein subunit of telomerase) is subjected to numerous alternative splicing events, but the regulation and function of these splice variants is obscure. Full-length hTERT includes conserved domains that encode reverse transcriptase activity, RNA binding, and other functions. The major splice variant termed ?+?- or ?-deletion is highly expressed in stem and cancer cells, where it codes for a truncated protein lacking most of the reverse transcriptase domain but retaining the known RNA-binding motifs.
Artemisinin and its derivatives are currently recommended as first-line antimalarials in regions where Plasmodium falciparum is resistant to traditional drugs. The cytotoxic activity of these endoperoxides toward rapidly dividing human carcinoma cells and cell lines has been reported, and it is hypothesized that activation of the endoperoxide bridge by an iron(II) species, to form C-centered radicals, is essential for cytotoxicity.
The sesquiterpene lactone dihydroartemisinin (DHA), a semisynthetic derivative of the herbal antimalaria drug artemisinin, is cytotoxic to human tumor cells. Treatment of Jurkat T-lymphoma cells with DHA induced a breakdown of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential, release of cytochrome c, activation of caspases, and DNA fragmentation indicative of apoptosis induction.
We recently reported the anti-cancer and anti-cytomegalovirus (CMV) activity of artemisinin-derived trioxane diphenylphosphate dimer 838. To probe the relationship between chemical structure and anti-CMV and anti-cancer activities, we now report synthesis and evaluation of a series of eight new dimer phosphate ester analogs of 838. This series of novel molecules was screened against human foreskin fibroblasts (HFFs) infected with CMV and against the human Jurkat T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line.
Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid derived from a plant used traditionally in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, has been reported to exhibit chemopreventive and anti-inflammatory activities through unknown mechanism. Because of the critical role of the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) in these processes, we investigated the effect of berberine on this pathway. We found that berberine suppressed NF-kappaB activation induced by various inflammatory agents and carcinogens. This alkaloid also suppressed constitutive NF-kappaB activation found in certain tumor cells.
Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid derived from a plant used traditionally in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, has been reported to exhibit chemopreventive and anti-inflammatory activities through unknown mechanism. Because of the critical role of the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) in these processes, we investigated the effect of berberine on this pathway. We found that berberine suppressed NF-kappaB activation induced by various inflammatory agents and carcinogens. This alkaloid also suppressed constitutive NF-kappaB activation found in certain tumor cells.
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Silymarin, an extract from the seeds of the milk thistle plant Silybum marianum, has been used for centuries for the treatment of chronic liver diseases. Despite common use by patients with hepatitis C in the United States, its clinical efficacy remains uncertain. The goal of this study was to determine whether silymarin has in vitro effects on immune function that might have implications for its potential effect on hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced liver disease.
