Preventive effects of β-cryptoxanthin against cadmium-induced oxidative stress in the rat testis.

β-cryptoxanthin (CRY), a major carotenoid of potential interest for health, is obtained naturally from orange vegetables and fruits. A few research studies have reported that CRY could decrease oxidative stress and germ cell apoptosis. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of CRY on acute cadmium chloride (CdCl 2 )-induced oxidative damage in rat testes.

β-Cryptoxanthin uptake in THP-1 macrophages upregulates the CYP27A1 signaling pathway.

Scope: Mitochondrial sterol 27-hydroxylase (CYP27A1), a mediator of cholesterol homeostasis, is reported to exhibit antiatherogenic properties. Many studies suggested that all-trans retinoic acid can be used to treat atherosclerosis through retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-mediated upregulation of CYP27A1 expression. In this study, we hypothesized that β-cryptoxanthin (β-cry), as a natural ligand of RAR, might act as antiatherogenic agent by upregulating CYP27A1.

Characterization of the mechanism of inhibin α-subunit gene in mouse anterior pituitary cells by RNA interference.

Inhibin, a member of the transforming growth factor-β [TGF-β] superfamily, is a suppressor of follicle-stimulating hormone [FSH] release through pituitary-gonadal negative feedback loop to regulate follicular development. In this study, Inhibin α-subunit [Inha] gene was knocked down successfully in mice primary anterior pituitary cells at both transcriptional and translational levels by RNAi-Ready pSIREN-RetroQ-ZsGreen Vector mediated recombinant pshRNA vectors. The results indicated that inhibin silencing significantly promoted apoptosis by up-regulating Caspase-3, Bax and Bcl-2 genes without affecting p53 both at transcriptional and translational levels.

The chemopreventive effect of β-cryptoxanthin from mandarin on human stomach cells (BGC-823).

β-Cryptoxanthin, a provitaminic carotenoid, present in many fruits and vegetables, has been associated with decreased risk of chronic diseases, including cancer. The influence of β-cryptoxanthin derived from mandarin on the proliferation of the stomach tumor cell line BGC-823 was tested using MTT and cell count assay at 72 h and dose-response (from 0.01 to 20 μM).

GDF-9 and bFGF enhance the effect of FSH on the survival, activation, and growth of cattle primordial follicles.

This study aims to investigate the effects of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in combination with growth and differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9) or basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on the activation, survival and growth of cattle primordial follicles. Ovarian tissues were cultured for 3, 7, 14, 22 days in α minimum essential medium (α-MEM) supplemented with FSH, FSH+GDF-9 or FSH+bFGF. Non-cultured and cultured ovarian fragments were processed for histological and TUNEL analysis.

Action mechanism of inhibin α-subunit on the development of Sertoli cells and first wave of spermatogenesis in mice.

Inhibin is an important marker of Sertoli cell (SC) activity in animals with impaired spermatogenesis. However, the precise relationship between inhibin and SC activity is unknown. To investigate this relationship, we partially silenced both the transcription and translation of the gene for the α-subunit of inhibin, Inha, using recombinant pshRNA vectors developed with RNAi-Ready pSIREN-RetroQ-ZsGreen Vector (Clontech Laboratories, Mountain View, Calif).