Recent advances of tanshinone in regulating autophagy for medicinal research

Abstract

Initially described as an ancient and highly conserved catabolic biofunction, autophagy plays a significant role in disease pathogenesis and progression. As the bioactive ingredient of Salvia miltiorrhiza, tanshinone has recently shown profound effects in alleviating and treating various diseases by regulating autophagy. However, compared to the remarkable achievements in the known pharmacological effects of this traditional Chinese medicine, there is a lack of a concise and comprehensive review deciphering the mechanism by which tanshinone regulates autophagy for medicinal research. In this context, we concisely review the advances of tanshinone in regulating autophagy for medicinal research, including human cancer, the nervous system, and cardiovascular diseases. The pharmacological effects of tanshinone targeting autophagy involve the regulation of autophagy-related proteins, such as Beclin-1, LC3-II, P62, ULK1, Bax, ATG3, ATG5, ATG7, ATG9, and ATG12; the regulation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR, MEK/ERK/mTOR, Beclin-1-related, and AMPK-related signaling pathways; the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS); and the activation of AMPK. Notably, we found that tanshinone played a dual role in human cancers in an autophagic manner, which may provide a new avenue for potential clinical application. In brief, these findings on autophagic tanshinone and its derivatives provide a new clue for expediting medicinal research related to tanshinone compounds and autophagy.

Role of EZH2-mediated epigenetic modification on vascular smooth muscle in cardiovascular diseases: A mini-review

“…Some EZH2 inhibitors, like DS-3201b, are in phase 2 clinical trials for solid tumors ( Izutsu et al, 2023 ). Traditional Chinese medicines have demonstrated unique advantages in managing CVDs, and screening for EZH2 inhibitor among them is a feasible strategy ( Li et al, 2020 ; Zhao et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2021 ; Li et al, 2022 ; Wu et al, 2022 ; Hou et al, 2024 ; Qi et al, 2024 ; Wang et al, 2024 ; Zhao et al, 2024 ). In personalized medicine, EZH2 can serve as a breakthrough point for individualized CVD treatment, enabling accurate diagnosis and treatment based on related biomarkers.…”

Mitochondrial dysfunction following repeated administration of alprazolam causes attenuation of hippocampus-dependent memory consolidation in mice

“…Similarly, Alp activates the apoptosis pathway by inhibiting the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein BCL2 [ 59 ]. Furthermore, the expression differences in autophagy-related proteins, ATG3 [ 60 ] and LC3 [ 61 ], indicated that mitochondrial autophagy function is impaired. In summary, mitochondrial dysfunction caused by repeated administration of Alp reflected the damage to the mitochondrial respiratory chain, mitochondrial dynamics, and mitochondrial autophagy.…”

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