Bufalin extracts are a part of traditional Chinese medicine, Chansu. In the current study, we investigated the effect of bufalin on the proliferation of the human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines, Huh-7 and HepG-2, and explored the therapeutic potential of the drug. Our results demonstrated that bufalin markedly inhibited cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis in the Huh-7 and HepG-2 cells in vitro. The underlying mechanism of the bufalin-induced apoptosis was the induction of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress via the IRE1-JNK pathway. In addition, during the ER stress response, the autophagy pathway, characterized by the conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II, was activated, resulting in increased Beclin-1 protein levels, decreased p62 expression and stimulation of autophagic flux. Our data supported the pro-survival role of bufalin-induced autophagy when the autophagy pathway was blocked with specific chemical inhibitors; the involvement of the IRE1 pathway in the ER stress-induced autophagy was also demonstrated when the expression of IRE1 and CHOP was silenced using siRNA. These data indicate that combining bufalin with a specific autophagy inhibitor could be a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of HCC.

PPAR-γ, a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, plays an important role in lipid metabolism and inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate the preventive effects of synthetic PPAR-γ agonist rosiglitazone on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mastitis in rats. The mouse model of mastitis was induced by the injection of LPS through the duct of the mammary gland. Rosiglitazone was injected 1 h before the induction of LPS intraperitoneally. The results showed that rosiglitazone attenuated the infiltration of inflammatory cells, the activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO), and the production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, Western blotting showed that rosiglitazone inhibited the phosphorylation of IκB-α and NF-κB p65. These results indicated that rosiglitazone has a protective effect on mastitis, and the anti-inflammatory mechanism of rosiglitazone on LPS-induced mastitis in rats may be due to its ability to inhibit NF-κB signaling pathways. PPAR-γ may be a potential therapeutic target against mastitis.

Therefore, we conclude that the CRC cells survival and invasion enhanced by hypoxia are mediated by ILK, and ILK may be an important potential therapeutic target for CRC.