BackgroundGinsenoside Rh2 (GRh2) is the main bioactive component in American ginseng, a commonly used herb, and its antitumor activity had been studied in previous studies. PDZ-binding kinase/T-LAK cell-originated protein kinase (PBK/TOPK), a serine/threonine protein kinase, is highly expressed in HCT116 colorectal cancer cells.MethodsWe examined the effect of GRh2 on HCT116 cells ex vivo. Next, we performed in vitro binding assay and in vitro kinase assay to search for the target of GRh2. Furthermore, we elucidated the underlying molecular mechanisms for the antitumor effect of GRh2 ex vivo and in vivo.ResultsThe results of our in vitro studies indicated that GRh2 can directly bind with PBK/TOPK and GRh2 also can directly inhibit PBK/TOPK activity. Ex vivo studies showed that GRh2 significantly induced cell death in HCT116 colorectal cancer cells. Further mechanistic study demonstrated that these compounds inhibited the phosphorylation levels of the extracellular regulated protein kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) and (H3) in HCT116 colorectal cancer cells. In vivo studies showed GRh2 inhibited the growth of xenograft tumors of HCT116 cells and inhibited the phosphorylation levels of the extracellular regulated protein kinases 1/2 and histone H3.ConclusionThe results indicate that GRh2 exerts promising antitumor effect that is specific to human HCT116 colorectal cancer cells through inhibiting the activity of PBK/TOPK.

Antiangiogenesis therapy has become a hot field in cancer research. Blood vessels of tumor carry specific markers that are usually related to angiogenesis. Study of these heterogeneous molecules in different tumor vessels may be beneficial for promoting antiangiogenic therapy. In this study, we established an in vitro co-culture model of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and gastric adenocarcinoma cell line SGC7901, screened the peptides binding specifically to the HUVECs co-cultured with gastric cancer cells (Co-HUVECs) using phage display peptides library, and studied the affinity of these peptides to gastric cancer vascular endothelial cells. After four rounds of panning, there was an obvious enrichment for the phages specifically binding to the Co-HUVECs, and the output/input ratio of Co-HUVECs increased about 590-fold (from 0.95x10(-7) to 561.25x10(-7)). Five phage clones (M6, M3, M9, IN12, IN11), which could strongly bind to Co-HUVECs instead of wild-type HUVECs, were characterized by ELISA. In vitro cellular binding assay showed that phage IN11 preferably bound to Co-HUVECs rather than control HUVECs, and the number of the phage IN11 recovered from Co-HUVECs was 5.7- and 16.9-folds, respectively, as much as those from control HUVECs and GES cells. Immunocytochemical and immunohistochemical staining confirmed that phage IN11 could specifically bind to Co-HUVECs as well as vascular endothelial cells in gastric cancer tissue sections. Competitive and inhibitory assay revealed the synthetic peptide GEBP11 (CTKNSYLMC) displayed on phage IN11 could competitively inhibit binding of the phage IN11 to Co-HUVECs. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that the fluorescence-labeled peptide GEBP11 was located at the membrane and perinuclear cytoplasm of Co-HUVECs. Meanwhile, GEBP11 was found to be able to target the gastric cancer vascular endothelial cells. Therefore, GEBP11 may be a potential candidate for targeted drug delivery in antivascular therapy and diagnosis of gastric cancer.

Previous studies have shown that the activation of the β2 adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) can stimulate several signaling pathways that promote tumor growth and metastasis. β-adrenergic antagonism may have a beneficial role in cancer treatment; however, little is known about the effect of ADRB2 inhibition on the growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. The present study revealed that ADRB2 was highly expressed in HCC cell lines compared with that in a normal liver cell line. Treatment with the ADRB2 antagonists ICI118,551 and metoprolol significantly inhibited the growth of human HCC cells. Annexin V/propidium iodide apoptosis and Hoechst staining assays revealed that treatment with ADRB2 antagonists induced apoptosis in HCC cells. Additionally, cell cycle analysis using propidium iodide staining demonstrated that growth suppression was associated with G2/M phase cell cycle arrest by ADRB2 antagonism in HCC cells. Treatment with the ADRB2 antagonists suppressed HCC growth, possibly through inhibiting expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) and upregulating that of caspase-9 and Bcl-2-associated X, as well as downregulating the expression levels of the G2/M phase-associated proteins cyclin B1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 1. Therefore, the observations of the present study indicate that ADRB2 blockade inhibited HCC growth, potentially mediated by inducing apoptosis and G2/M phase cell cycle arrest. ADRB2 antagonists may therefore be a promising therapeutic strategy for HCC.

The gut microbiota is a complex ecosystem that has coevolved with the human body for hundreds of millions of years. In the past 30 years, with the progress of gene sequencing and omics technology, the research related to gut microbiota has developed rapidly especially in the field of digestive system diseases and systemic metabolic diseases. Mechanical, biological, immune, and other factors make the intestinal flora form a close bidirectional connection with the liver and gallbladder, which can be called the “gut–liver–biliary axis.” Liver and gallbladder, as internal organs of the peritoneum, suffer from insidious onset, which are not easy to detect. The diagnosis is often made through laboratory chemical tests and imaging methods, and intervention measures are usually taken only when organic lesions have occurred. At this time, some people may have entered the irreversible stage of disease development. We reviewed the literature describing the role of intestinal flora in the pathogenesis and biotherapy of hepatobiliary diseases in the past 3–5 years, including the dynamic changes of intestinal flora at different stages of the disease, as well as the signaling pathways involved in intestinal flora and its metabolites, etc. After summarizing the above contents, we hope to highlight the potential of intestinal flora as a new clinical target for early prevention, early diagnosis, timely treatment and prognosis of hepatobiliary diseases.