Tetramethylpyrazine: A review on its mechanisms and functions.
Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie
Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort (known as Chuanxiong in China, CX) is one of the most widely used and long-standing medicinal herbs in China. Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) is an alkaloid and one of the active components of CX. Over the past few decades, TMP has been proven to possess several pharmacological properties. It has been used to treat a variety of diseases with excellent therapeutic effects. Here, the pharmacological characteristics and molecular mechanism of TMP in recent years are reviewed, with an emphasis on the signal-regulation mechanism of TMP. This review shows that TMP has many physiological functions, including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptosis properties; autophagy regulation; vasodilation; angiogenesis regulation; mitochondrial damage suppression; endothelial protection; reduction of proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells; and neuroprotection. At present, TMP is used in treating cardiovascular, nervous, and digestive system conditions, cancer, and other conditions and has achieved good curative effects. The therapeutic mechanism of TMP involves multiple targets, multiple pathways, and bidirectional regulation. TMP is, thus, a promising drug with great research potential.
10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113005
Mitochondrial quality control and its role in osteoporosis.
Frontiers in endocrinology
Mitochondria are important organelles that provide cellular energy and play a vital role in cell differentiation and apoptosis. Osteoporosis is a chronic metabolic bone disease mainly caused by an imbalance in osteoblast and osteoclast activity. Under physiological conditions, mitochondria regulate the balance between osteogenesis and osteoclast activity and maintain bone homeostasis. Under pathological conditions, mitochondrial dysfunction alters this balance; this disruption is important in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. Because of the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in osteoporosis, mitochondrial function can be targeted therapeutically in osteoporosis-related diseases. This article reviews different aspects of the pathological mechanism of mitochondrial dysfunction in osteoporosis, including mitochondrial fusion and fission, mitochondrial biogenesis, and mitophagy, and highlights targeted therapy of mitochondria in osteoporosis (diabetes induced osteoporosis and postmenopausal osteoporosis) to provide novel targets and prevention strategies for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and other chronic bone diseases.
10.3389/fendo.2023.1077058
Selective autophagy of intracellular organelles: recent research advances.
Li Wen,He Pengcheng,Huang Yuge,Li Yi-Fang,Lu Jiahong,Li Min,Kurihara Hiroshi,Luo Zhuo,Meng Tian,Onishi Mashun,Ma Changle,Jiang Lei,Hu Yongquan,Gong Qing,Zhu Dongxing,Xu Yiming,Liu Rong,Liu Lei,Yi Cong,Zhu Yushan,Ma Ningfang,Okamoto Koji,Xie Zhiping,Liu Jinbao,He Rong-Rong,Feng Du
Theranostics
Macroautophagy (hereafter called autophagy) is a highly conserved physiological process that degrades over-abundant or damaged organelles, large protein aggregates and invading pathogens via the lysosomal system (the vacuole in plants and yeast). Autophagy is generally induced by stress, such as oxygen-, energy- or amino acid-deprivation, irradiation, drugs, . In addition to non-selective bulk degradation, autophagy also occurs in a selective manner, recycling specific organelles, such as mitochondria, peroxisomes, ribosomes, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), lysosomes, nuclei, proteasomes and lipid droplets (LDs). This capability makes selective autophagy a major process in maintaining cellular homeostasis. The dysfunction of selective autophagy is implicated in neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), tumorigenesis, metabolic disorders, heart failure, . Considering the importance of selective autophagy in cell biology, we systemically review the recent advances in our understanding of this process and its regulatory mechanisms. We emphasize the 'cargo-ligand-receptor' model in selective autophagy for specific organelles or cellular components in yeast and mammals, with a focus on mitophagy and ER-phagy, which are finely described as types of selective autophagy. Additionally, we highlight unanswered questions in the field, helping readers focus on the research blind spots that need to be broken.
10.7150/thno.49860