Honokiol Reduces Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Inhibits Apoptosis of Nerve Cells in Rats with Traumatic Brain Injury by Activating the Mitochondrial Unfolded Protein Response.

This study was designed to determine the effects and underlying mechanism of honokiol (HNK) on traumatic brain injury (TBI). A rat TBI model was constructed using the modified Feeney free-fall percussion method and treatment with HNK via intraperitoneal injection. The brain tissues of the rats in each group were assessed using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay to detect the level of neuronal apoptosis.

[Differential metabolites and metabolic pathways involving acupuncture-induced improvement of rheumatoid arthritis patients based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry].

Objective: To analyze the endogenous metabolic biomarkers and pathways in serum involving acupuncture-induced improvement of symptoms of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by using metabolomics technique.

Methods: A total of 30 RA patients who were treated in the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion of the Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (from January 2018 to October 2018) were selected in the present study. They were randomly and equally divided into acupuncture group and medication group.

Digital gene expression analysis of the response to Ralstonia solanacearum between resistant and susceptible tobacco varieties.

Tobacco bacterial wilt (TBW) caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is the most serious soil-borne disease of tobacco. However, molecular mechanism information of R. solanacearum resistance is limited to tobacco, hindering better breeding of resistant tobacco.

Preoperative insomnia and its association with psychological factors, pain and anxiety in Chinese colorectal cancer patients.

Purpose: Sleep disturbances are common in cancer patients, but little is known about preoperative insomnia and its associated factors in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between preoperative insomnia and its associated factors (i.e.

Mesenchymal stem cells enhance the metastasis of 3D-cultured hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Background: Accumulating evidences have demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) could be recruited to the tumor microenvironment. Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSC) were attractive vehicles for delivering therapeutic agents against cancer. Nevertheless, the safety of UCMSC in the treatment of tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was still undetermined.

Flavonoids Extraction from Propolis Attenuates Pathological Cardiac Hypertrophy through PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway.

Propolis, a traditional medicine, has been widely used for a thousand years as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant drug. The flavonoid fraction is the main active component of propolis, which possesses a wide range of biological activities, including activities related to heart disease. However, the role of the flavonoids extraction from propolis (FP) in heart disease remains unknown.

Neuroprotective effects of cutamesine, a ligand of the sigma-1 receptor chaperone, against noise-induced hearing loss.

The sigma-1 receptor, which is expressed throughout the brain, provides physiological benefits that include higher brain function. The sigma-1 receptor functions as a chaperone in the endoplasmic reticulum and may control cell death and regeneration within the central nervous system. Cutamesine (1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenethyl)-4-(3-phenylpropyl) piperazine dihydrochloride) is a ligand selective for this receptor and may mediate neuroprotective effects in the context of neurodegenerative disease.

Role of three-dimensional matrix stiffness in regulating the chemoresistance of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was the most common primary liver cancer, and its resistance to anti-tumor drugs often caused the death of patients suffering with HCC. Matrix stiffness was reported to be closely related to tumor chemoresistance; however, the relationship between HCC drug resistance and three-dimensional (3D) matrix stiffness is still unclear at present. In this study, alginate gel (ALG) beads with controllable matrix stiffness were used to mimic tumor tissue rigidity, and the role of 3D matrix stiffness in regulating the chemoresistance of HCC cells was investigated by using these ALG beads.

Potential effect of matrix stiffness on the enrichment of tumor initiating cells under three-dimensional culture conditions.

Cancer stem cell (CSC) or tumor initiating cell (TIC) plays an important role in tumor progression and metastasis. Biophysical forces in tumor microenvironment have an important effect on tumor formation and development. In this study, the potential effect of matrix stiffness on the biological characteristics of human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) TICs, especially the enrichment of HNSCC TICs, was investigated under three-dimensional (3D) culture conditions by means of alginate gel (ALG) beads with different matrix stiffnesses.

Enrichment of cancer stem cell-like cells by culture in alginate gel beads.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are most likely the reason of cancer reoccurrence and metastasis. For further elucidation of the mechanism underlying the characteristics of CSCs, it is necessary to develop efficient culture systems to culture and expand CSCs. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) culture system based on alginate gel (ALG) beads was reported to enrich CSCs.

Long-lasting changes in the cochlear K+ recycling structures after acute energy failure.

Fibrocytes in the cochlear lateral wall and spiral limbus play an important role in transporting K(+) and have the capacity of self-renewal. We showed that acute energy failure in the rat cochlea induced by local administration of the mitochondrial toxin 3-nitropropionic acid (3NP) caused hearing loss in a concentration-dependent manner, mainly due to degeneration of cochlear fibrocytes. We produced long-lasting profound cochlear damage in this model by modifying the 3NP administration protocol and observed morphological changes at 16 weeks after the administration.

Encapsulated human hepatocellular carcinoma cells by alginate gel beads as an in vitro metastasis model.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer and often forms metastases, which are the most important prognostic factors. For further elucidation of the mechanism underlying the progression and metastasis of HCC, a culture system mimicking the in vivo tumor microenvironment is needed. In this study, we investigated the metastatic ability of HCC cells cultured within alginate gel (ALG) beads.

The effect of electrostatic microencapsulation process on biological properties of tumour cells.

Microencapsulation is one of the promising strategies to develop a three-dimensional in vivo tumour-mimic model in cancer research. Although previous studies have shown that tumour cells grow well during the microencapsulated culture, it is still not clear whether the electrostatic encapsulation process has an important effect on cellular characteristics. In this study, we investigated cellular response against non-physiological stress factors existing in the electrostatic microencapsulation process, such as the high-voltage electrostatic field, suspension and nutrition-free status.

Functional interaction between mesenchymal stem cells and spiral ligament fibrocytes.

Spiral ligament fibrocytes (SLFs) play an important role in normal hearing as well as in several types of sensorineural hearing loss attributable to inner ear homeostasis disorders. Our previous study showed that transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into the inner ear of rats with damaged SLFs significantly accelerates hearing recovery compared with rats without MSC transplantation. To elucidate this mechanism of SLF repair and to determine the contribution of transplanted MSCs in this model, we investigated the mutual effects on differentiation and proliferation between MSCs and SLFs in a coculture system.

Acoustic overstimulation-induced apoptosis in fibrocytes of the cochlear spiral limbus of mice.

Fibrocytes of the spiral limbus are thought to play a significant role in maintaining ion homeostasis in the cochlea. The present study measured physiological and morphological changes in spiral limbus of mice in response to noise exposure. 6-week-old male C3H/HeJJcl mice were exposed to octave-band noise (120 dB SPL) for 2 h and evaluated at a series of times thereafter, up to 8 weeks.

Follicle-stimulating hormone and insulin-like growth factor I synergistically induce up-regulation of cartilage link protein (Crtl1) via activation of phosphatidylinositol-dependent kinase/Akt in rat granulosa cells.

FSH and IGF-I are both important determinants of follicle development and the process of cumulus cell-oocyte complex expansion. FSH stimulates the phosphorylation of Akt by mechanisms involving phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K), a pattern of response mimicking that of IGF-I. Cartilage link protein (Crtl1) is confined to the cartilaginous lineage and is assembled into a macroaggregate complex essential for hyaluronan-rich matrix stabilization.

Link protein as an enhancer of cumulus cell-oocyte complex expansion.

To investigate the specific components involved in regulating cumulus cell-oocyte complex (COC) expansion in an in vitro mouse experiment, freshly-isolated COC were cultured in the presence of various combinations of FSH (1.0 microg/ml), proteins of the inter-alpha-inhibitor (I alpha I) family (a light chain, also known as bikunin, heavy chains [HC1 + HC2] and I alpha I [0.01-2.