Ferulic acid influences Nrf2 activation to restore testicular tissue from cadmium‐induced oxidative challenge, inflammation, and apoptosis in rats

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rami B. Kassab ◽  
Maha S. Lokman ◽  
Hamid M. A. Daabo ◽  
Dalia A. Gaber ◽  
Ola A. Habotta ◽  
...  
2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 3979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafa Almeer ◽  
Doaa Soliman ◽  
Rami Kassab ◽  
Gadah AlBasher ◽  
Saud Alarifi ◽  
...  

The current study examined the efficacy of royal jelly (RJ) against cadmium chloride (CdCl2)-induced testicular dysfunction. A total of 28 Swiss male mice were allocated into four groups (n = 7), and are listed as follows: (1) the control group, who was intraperitoneally injected with physiological saline (0.9% NaCl) for 7 days; (2) the RJ group, who was orally supplemented with RJ (85 mg/kg daily equivalent to 250 mg crude RJ) for 7 days; (3) the CdCl2 group, who was intraperitoneally injected with 6.5 mg/kg for 7 days; and (4) the fourth group, who was supplemented with RJ 1 h before CdCl2 injection for 7 days. Cd-intoxicated mice exhibited a decrease in serum testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. A disturbance in the redox status in the testicular tissue was recorded, as presented by the increase in lipid peroxidation and nitrate/nitrite levels and glutathione (GSH) depletion. Moreover, the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like-2 factor (Nrf2) and their gene expression were inhibited. In addition, interleukin-1ß (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels were elevated. Furthermore, Cd triggered an apoptotic cascade via upregulation of caspase-3 and Bax and downregulation of Bcl-2. Histopathological examination showed degenerative changes in spermatogenic cells, detachment of the spermatogenic epithelium from the basement membrane, and vacuolated seminiferous tubules. Decreased cell proliferation was reflected by a decrease in proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression. Interestingly, RJ supplementation markedly minimized the biochemical and molecular histopathological changes in testes tissue in response to Cd exposure. The beneficial effects of RJ could be attributed to its antioxidative properties.


2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingjiang Liu ◽  
Chi Zhang ◽  
Xiaolong Xu ◽  
Xin Zhao ◽  
Ziyi Han ◽  
...  

AbstractIn bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs), a cascade of inflammatory reactions induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been shown to result in cell injury and apoptosis. The present study aims to reveal the protective effect of ferulic acid (FA) on LPS-induced BMEC apoptosis and explore its potential molecular mechanisms. First, we showed that FA had low cytotoxicity to BMECs and significantly decreased cell apoptosis and the proinflammatory response induced by LPS. Next, FA blocked LPS-induced oxidative stress by restoring the balance of the redox state and inhibiting mitochondrial dysfunction, the main contributor to LPS-induced apoptosis and ROS generation. Furthermore, the relief of inflammation and redox disturbance in the FA preconditioning group were accompanied by weaker NF-κB activation, enhanced Nrf2 activation and maintained cell viability compared to the LPS group. When BMECs were treated with FA alone, we observed that Nrf2 activation was induced before the inhibition of NF-κB activation and that the Keap1–Nrf2 relationship was disturbed. We concluded that FA prevented LPS-induced BMEC apoptosis by reversing the dominant relationship between NF-κB and Nrf2.


Author(s):  
Jie Yang ◽  
Chi Zhang ◽  
Wei-Hong Li ◽  
Tian-Er Zhang ◽  
Guang-Zhong Fan ◽  
...  

Background:: In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the heads and tails of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (AS) is used in treating different diseases due to their different pharmaceutical efficacies. The underline mechanisms, however, have not been fully explored. Objective:: Novel mechanisms responsible for the discrepant activities between AS heads and tails were explored by a combined strategy of transcriptomes and metabolomics. Method:: Six pairs of the heads and tails of AS roots were collected in Min County, China. Total RNA and metabolites, which were used for RNA-seq and untargeted metabolomics analysis, were respectively isolated from each AS sample (0.1 g) by Trizol and methanol reagent. Subsequently, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and discrepant pharmaceutical metabolites were identified for comparing AS heads and tails. Key DEGs and metabolites were quantified by qRT-PCR and targeted metabolomics experiment. Results:: Comprehensive analysis of transcriptomes and metabolomics results suggested that five KEGG pathways with significant differences included 57 DEGs. Especially, fourteen DEGs and six key metabolites were relation to the metabolic regulation of Phenylpropanoid biosynthesis (PB) pathway. Results of qRT-PCR and targeted metabolomics indicated that higher levels of expression of crucial genes in PB pathway, such as PAL, CAD, COMT and peroxidase in the tail of AS were positively correlated with levels of ferulic acid-related metabolites. The average content of ferulic acid in tails (569.58162.39 nmol/g) was higher than those in the heads (168.73  67.30 nmol/g) (P˂0.01); Caffeic acid in tails (3.82  0.88 nmol/g) vs heads (1.37  0.41 nmol/g) (P˂0.01), and Cinnamic acid in tails (0.24  0.09 nmol/g) vs heads (0.14  0.02 nmol/g) (P˂0.05). Conclusion:: Our work demonstrated that overexpressed genes and accumulated metabolites derived from PB pathway might be responsible for the discrepant pharmaceutical efficacies between AS heads and tails.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria A. Morosanova ◽  
Anton S. Fedorov ◽  
Elena I. Morosanova

Background: The consumption of antioxidants, including phenolic compounds, is considered important for preventing the oxidative damage diseases and ageing. The total polyphenol content (TPC) is the parameter used to estimate the quality of plant-derived products. Methods: Phenol oxidase activity of green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) crude extract (in the presence of hydrogen peroxide) and banana (Musa sp.) pulp crude extract has been studied spectrophotometrically using catechol, gallic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and quercetin as substrates. All studied compounds have been oxidized in the presence of green bean crude extract and hydrogen peroxide; all studied compounds except ferulic acid have been oxidized in the presence of banana pulp crude extract. Michaelis constants (Km) and maximum reaction rates (Vmax) have been determined for oxidation in the presence of green bean crude extract and hydrogen peroxide (Km are 3.8×10-4 M, 1.6×10-3 M, 2.2×10-4 M, 2.3×10-4 M, 1.4×10-4 M and Vmax are 0.046 min-1, 0.102 min-1, 0.185 min-1, 0.053 min-1, 0.041 min-1 for catechol, gallic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and quercetin, respectively) and for oxidation in the presence of banana pulp crude extract (Km are 1.6×10-3 M, 3.8×10-3 M, 2.2×10-3 M, 4.2×10-4 M and Vmax are 0.058 min-1, 0.025 min-1, 0.027 min-1, 0.015 min-1 for catechol, gallic acid, caffeic acid, and quercetin, respectively). The influence of 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone (MBTH) on the oxidation reactions kinetics has been studied: Michaelis constants values decrease and maximum reaction rates increase, which contributes to the increase in sensitivity of the determination. Results: Kinetic procedures of Total Polyphenol Content (TPC) determination using crude plants extracts in the presence of MBTH have been proposed (time of analysis is 1 min). For gallic acid (used as a standard for TPC determination) detection limit is 5.3×10-5 M, quantitation limit is 1.8×10-4 M, and linear range is 1.8×10-4 - 1.3×10-3 M for green bean crude extract; detection limit is 2.9×10-5 M, quantitation limit is 9.5×10-5 M, and linear range is 9.5×10-5 - 2.4×10-3 M for banana pulp crude extract. Proposed procedures are characterized by higher interference thresholds for sulfites, ascorbic acid, and citric acid compared to pure enzymes (horseradish peroxidase and mushroom tyrosinase) in the same conditions. Compared with standard Folin-Ciocalteu (FC) method the procedures described in this work are also characterized by less interference and more rapid determination. Conclusion: The procedures have been applied to TPC determination in tea, coffee, and wine samples. The results agree with the FC method for tea and coffee samples and are lower for wine samples, probably, due to sulfites interference.


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