The development of medical applications exploiting the broad bioactivities of the diterpene therapeutic triptolide from Tripterygium wilfordii is limited by low extraction yields from the native plant. Furthermore, the extraordinarily high structural complexity prevents an economically attractive enantioselective total synthesis. An alternative production route of triptolide through engineered ...

PURPOSE The production of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines as well as the surface expression of intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 by corneal fibroblasts contribute to corneal inflammation. The effects of triptolide on the expression of these proteins induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in human corneal fibroblasts were examined in comparison with those of dexamethasone. METHODS...

BACKGROUND Extracts of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TWHF), a traditional Chinese herb, have been reported to show efficacy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Since RA is not only characterized by inflammation but also by synovial proliferation in the joints, we examined whether triptolide (a constituent of TWHF) could influence the proliferation of rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts (RS...

Peroxiredoxin I (Prx I) plays an important role in cancer development and inflammation. It is a dual-functional protein which acts as both an antioxidant enzyme and a molecular chaperone. While there have been intensive studies on its peroxidase activity, Prx I's chaperone activity remains elusive, likely due to the lack of chaperone inhibitors. Here we report that natural product triptolide se...

BACKGROUND Individual variances usually affect drug metabolism and disposition, and hence result in either ineffectiveness or toxicity of a drug. In addition to genetic polymorphism, the multiple confounding factors of lifestyles, such as dietary preferences, contribute partially to individual variances. However, the difficulty of quantifying individual diversity greatly challenges the realizat...

BACKGROUND Kawasaki disease is treated by immunoglobulin therapy, which has adverse side effects like renal damage. AIMS The aim of the present study was to explore the effectiveness of triptolide, a compound derived from threewingnut that has anti-inflammatory effects, on the treatment of Kawasaki disease in a mouse model. STUDY DESIGN Animal experiment. METHODS A mouse model of Kawasaki...

Background: Triptolide is a medicinal herb-derived diterpene triepoxide with potent anti-tumor activity, mainly ,correlated with its ability to inhibit and inactivate subunits of RNA polymerase II, thereby suppressing global gene transcription. Epigenetic imbalance including histone methylation are well known to play important roles in prostate cancer (PCa) onset and progression. The goal of th...

Molecular chaperones, inducible by heat shock and a variety of other stresses, have critical roles in protein homeostasis, balancing cell stress with adaptation, survival, and cell death mechanisms. In transformed cells and tumors, chaperones are frequently overexpressed, with constitutive activation of the heat shock transcription factor HSF1 implicated in tumor formation. Here, we describe th...

Inflammation is associated with various pulmonary diseases and contributes to the pathogenesis of acute lung injury. We previously identified a proinflammatory signaling pathway triggered by G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in which stimulation of G(q)-coupled GPCRs results in activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB. Because damage to the lung causes the release of multiple mediator...

CLL is a disease characterized by chromosomal deletions, acquired copy number changes and aneuploidy. Recent studies have shown that overexpression of Heat Shock Factor (HSF) 1 in aneuploid tumor cells can overcome deficiencies in heat shock protein (HSP) 90-mediated protein folding and restore protein homeostasis. Interestingly, several independent studies have demonstrated that HSF1 expressio...