Interactions between Yersinia pestis V-antigen (LcrV) and human Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) in a modelled protein complex and potential mechanistic insights.

Background: Yersinia pestis, the etiological pathogen of plague, is capable of repressing the immune response of white blood cells to evade phagocytosis. The V-antigen (LcrV) was found to be involved in this process by binding to human Toll-like Receptor 2 (TLR2). The detailed mechanism behind this LcrV and TLR2 mediated immune response repression, however, is yet to be fully elucidated due to the lack of structural information.

Discovery of a new autophagy inducer for A549 lung cancer cells.

Biological activities of a series of fluorescent compounds against human lung cancer cell line A549 were investigated. The results showed that (E)-1,3,3-trimethyl-2-(4-(piperidin-1-yl)styryl)-3H-indol-1-ium iodide (8) and (E)-2-(5,5-dimethyl-3-(4-(piperazin-1-yl)styryl)cyclohex-2-en-1-ylidene) malononitrile (11) could inhibit the growth of A549 cancer cells in a dose and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, compound 8 could trigger autophagy and apoptosis, but not obviously induce necrosis under the stimulatory condition.

The promotion effect of novel magnetic nanoparticles on atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability in apolipoprotein E mice.

Although manufactured magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) are currently used in many fields, NPs have potential toxicity on cardiovascular system especially atherosclerosis. In our previous study, we prepared novel FeO nanoparticles surface-coated with aminoguanidine (FeO-AG NPs) which could remove acid dyes from aqueous solution efficiently. To understand its biocompatibility to atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability, we investigated the effects of the nanoparticles on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro and plaque stability in vivo.

The beneficial and deleterious role of dietary polyphenols on chronic degenerative diseases by regulating gene expression.

Dietary polyphenols, a natural component in many kinds of foods such as fruits and vegetables, play essential roles in a wide range of plant functions. Importantly, the discovery of the functions of polyphenols including anti-oxidant, anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory has been appealing to researchers' attentions. Dietary polyphenols have shown protective effects on chronic degenerative diseases (CDD) such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases by regulating gene expression.

A pH probe inhibits senescence in mesenchymal stem cells.

Background: Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are gradually getting attention because of its multi-directional differentiation potential, hematopoietic support, and promotion of stem cell implantation. However, cultured BMSCs in vitro possess a very limited proliferation potential, and the presence of stem cell aging has substantially restricted the effect together with the efficiency in clinical treatment. Recently, increasing attention has been paid to the connection between cellular aging and lysosomal acidification as new reports indicated that vacuolar H-ATPase (v-ATPase) activity was altered and lysosomal pH was dysregulated in the process of cellular aging.

A small molecule targeting glutathione activates Nrf2 and inhibits cancer cell growth through promoting Keap-1 -glutathionylation and inducing apoptosis.

The level of glutathione (GSH) is increased in many cancer cells. Consuming intracellular GSH by chemical small molecules that specifically target GSH is a new strategy to treat cancer. Recently, we synthesized and proved that a new compound 2-(7-(diethylamino)-2-oxo-2-chromen-3-yl)cyclohexa-2,5-diene-1,4-dione (PBQC) could target to and consume intracellular GSH specifically, but, it is not clear if PBQC can affect cancer cell growth and the activity of the nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) which is a key factor involved in regulation of cancer cell growth.