Ginsenoside F2 Restrains Hepatic Steatosis and Inflammation by Altering the Binding Affinity of Liver X Receptor Coregulators.

Background: Ginsenoside F2 (GF2), the protopanaxadiol-type constituent in , has been reported to attenuate metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). However, the mechanism of action is not fully understood. Here, this study investigates the molecular mechanism by which GF2 regulates MASLD progression through liver X receptor (LXR).

Differentiation of astrocytes with characteristics of ventral midbrain from human embryonic stem cells.

Molecular and functional diversity among region-specific astrocytes is of great interest in basic neuroscience and the study of neurological diseases. In this study, we present the generation and characterization of astrocytes from human embryonic stem cells with the characteristics of the ventral midbrain (VM). Fine modulation of WNT and SHH signaling during neural differentiation induced neural precursor cells (NPCs) with high expression of EN1 and NKX6.

CRISPRi-Guided Metabolic Flux Engineering for Enhanced Protopanaxadiol Production in .

Protopanaxadiol (PPD), an aglycon found in several dammarene-type ginsenosides, has high potency as a pharmaceutical. Nevertheless, application of these ginsenosides has been limited because of the high production cost due to the rare content of PPD in and a long cultivation time (4-6 years). For the biological mass production of the PPD, de novo biosynthetic pathways for PPD were introduced in and the metabolic flux toward the target molecule was restructured to avoid competition for carbon sources between native metabolic pathways and de novo biosynthetic pathways producing PPD in .

Erratum to : PVDF Nanofiber Scaffold Coated with a Vitronectin Peptide Facilitates the Neural Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.12717/DR.2020.

NFIB induces functional astrocytes from human pluripotent stem cell-derived neural precursor cells mimicking in vivo astrogliogenesis.

The ability to generate astrocytes from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) offers a promising cellular model to study the development and physiology of human astrocytes. The extant methods for generating functional astrocytes required long culture periods and there remained much ambiguity on whether such paradigms follow the innate developmental program. In this report, we provided an efficient and rapid method for generating physiologically functional astrocytes from hPSCs.

Identification of efficient prokaryotic cell-penetrating peptides with applications in bacterial biotechnology.

In bacterial biotechnology, instead of producing functional proteins from plasmids, it is often necessary to deliver functional proteins directly into live cells for genetic manipulation or physiological modification. We constructed a library of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) capable of delivering protein cargo into bacteria and developed an efficient delivery method for CPP-conjugated proteins. We screened the library for highly efficient CPPs with no significant cytotoxicity in Escherichia coli and developed a model for predicting the penetration efficiency of a query peptide, enabling the design of new and efficient CPPs.

Novel enzymatic elimination method for the chromatographic purification of ginsenoside Rb in an isomeric mixture.

Background: The separation of isomeric compounds from a mixture is a recurring problem in chemistry and phytochemistry research. The purification of pharmacologically active ginsenoside Rb from ginseng extracts is limited by the co-existence of its isomer Rb. The aim of the present study was to develop an enzymatic elimination-combined purification method to obtain pure Rb from a mixture of isomers.

PVDF Nanofiber Scaffold Coated with a Vitronectin Peptide Facilitates the Neural Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells.

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is a stable and biocompatible material that has been broadly used in biomedical applications. Due to its piezoelectric property, the electrospun nanofiber of PVDF has been used to culture electroactive cells, such as osteocytes and cardiomyocytes. Here, taking advantage of the piezoelectric property of PVDF, we have fabricated a PVDF nanofiber scaffolds using an electrospinning technique for differentiating human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into neural precursors (NPs).

Characterization of a Novel Ginsenoside MT1 Produced by an Enzymatic Transrhamnosylation of Protopanaxatriol-Type Ginsenosides Re.

Background: Ginsenosides, triterpene saponins of species, are considered the main active ingredients responsible for various pharmacological activities. Herein, a new protopanaxatriol-type ginsenoside called "ginsenoside MT1" is described; it was accidentally found among the enzymatic conversion products of ginsenoside Re.

Method: We analyzed the conversion mechanism and found that recombinant β-glucosidase (MT619) transglycosylated the outer rhamnopyranoside of Re at the C-6 position to glucopyranoside at C-20.

The immobilization of fibronectin- and fibroblast growth factor 2-derived peptides on a culture plate supports the attachment and proliferation of human pluripotent stem cells.

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) offer a promising tool for regenerative medicine. The clinical application of PSCs inevitably requires a large-scale culture in a highly defined environment. The present study aimed to devise defined coating materials for the efficient adhesion and proliferation of human PSCs (hPSCs).

Minor ginsenoside F1 improves memory in APP/PS1 mice.

Ginseng has been shown to produce a cognitive improvement effect. The key molecular components in ginseng that produce pharmacological effects are ginsenosides. Previous studies reported a memory improvement effect of a few major ginsenosides.

High-density immobilization of a ginsenoside-transforming β-glucosidase for enhanced food-grade production of minor ginsenosides.

Use of recombinant glycosidases is a promising approach for the production of minor ginsenosides, e.g., Compound K (CK) and F, which have potential applications in the food industry.

Gypenoside LXXV Promotes Cutaneous Wound Healing In Vivo by Enhancing Connective Tissue Growth Factor Levels Via the Glucocorticoid Receptor Pathway.

Cutaneous wound healing is a well-orchestrated event in which many types of cells and growth factors are involved in restoring the barrier function of skin. In order to identify whether ginsenosides, the main active components of , promote wound healing, the proliferation and migration activities of 15 different ginsenosides were tested by MTT assay and scratched wound closure assay. Among ginsenosides, gypenoside LXXV (G75) showed the most potent wound healing effects.

Ginsenoside Rh2 Ameliorates Doxorubicin-Induced Senescence Bystander Effect in Breast Carcinoma Cell MDA-MB-231 and Normal Epithelial Cell MCF-10A.

The anthracycline antibiotic doxorubicin is commonly used antineoplastic drug in breast cancer treatment. Like most chemotherapy, doxorubicin does not selectively target tumorigenic cells with high proliferation rate and often causes serve side effects. In the present study, we demonstrated the cellular senescence and senescence associated secretory phenotype (SASP) of both breast tumor cell MDA-MB-231 and normal epithelial cell MCF-10A induced by clinical dose of doxorubicin (100 nM).