Tanshinone IIA (Tan-IIA) decreases the viability of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells through the induction of apoptosis in vitro. However, there are no reports that Tan-IIA is capable of inhibiting J5 HCC cell growth in vivo. In this study, J5 cells were implanted directly into nude SCID mice which were divided randomly into four groups to be treated with vehicle, Tan-IIA (30 mg/-kg o...

Tanshinones, the major lipid-soluble pharmacological constituents of the Chinese medicinal herb Tanshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza), have attracted growing scientific attention because of the prospective biomedical applications of these compounds. Numerous pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and cardio-cerebrovascular protection activities, are exhibited by the three ...

The pathogenesis of sepsis is mediated in part by bacterial endotoxin, which stimulates macrophages/monocytes to sequentially release early (e.g., TNF, IL-1, and IFN-gamma) and late (e.g., high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein) proinflammatory cytokines. The recent discovery of HMGB1 as a late mediator of lethal sepsis has prompted investigation for development of new experimental therapeut...

Sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS) is a derivate of tanshinone IIA, a lipophilic compound in Salvia miltiorrhiza. This study aimed to investigate the effect of STS on ion transport in mouse tracheal epithelium and the mechanisms underlying it. Short-circuit current (Isc) was measured to evaluate the effect of STS on transepithelial ion transport. Intracellular Ca2+ imaging was performed to o...

Increasing evidence supports the hypothesis that inflammatory reactions serves an important function in the formation, progression and plaque rupture of atherosclerosis. Interleukin (IL)-1 primarily induces inflammation and is closely associated with the inflammatory environment and the formation of atherosclerosis. The present study aimed to establish an in vitro model for the evaluation of dr...

Exposure to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a causative factor in skin photocarcinogenesis and photoaging, and an urgent need exists for improved strategies for skin photoprotection. The redox-sensitive transcription factor Nrf2 (nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2), a master regulator of the cellular antioxidant defense against environmental electrophilic insult, has recently emerged as an ...

The bystander effect is an intriguing phenomenon by which adjacent cells become sensitized to drug treatment during gene therapy with herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase/ganciclovir (HSV-tk/GCV). This effect is reported to be mediated by gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC), and therefore, we postulated that upregulation of genes that facilitate GJIC may enhance the HSV-tk/GCV by...