Association between relative muscle strength and cardiovascular disease among middle-aged and older adults in China.

Background: The association between sarcopenia and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is well known. However, the clinical diagnosis of sarcopenia is complex and not suitable for early clinical identification and prevention of CVD. Relative muscle strength (RMS) is a relatively quantitative and straightforward indicator, but its association with CVD remains unclear.

Analysis of the Variation in Antioxidant Activity and Chemical Composition upon the Repeated Thermal Treatment of the By-Product of the Red Ginseng Manufacturing Process.

Steamed ginseng water (SGW) is a by-product of the repeated thermal processing of red ginseng, which is characterized by a high bioactive content, better skin care activity, and a large output. However, its value has been ignored, resulting in environmental pollution and resource waste. In this study, UHPLC-Q-Exactive-MS/MS liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis were conducted to characterize the compositional features of the repeated thermal-treated SGW.

Identification and Characterisation of Infiltrating Immune Cells in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Using Spatial Transcriptomics.

Increasing evidence strongly supports the key role of the tumour microenvironment in response to systemic therapy, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The tumour microenvironment is a complex tapestry of immune cells, some of which can suppress T-cell immunity to negatively impact ICI therapy. The immune component of the tumour microenvironment, although poorly understood, has the potential to reveal novel insights that can impact the efficacy and safety of ICI therapy.

Comparative Study on Chemical Constituents of Ginseng Flowers with Four Consecutive Cultivation Age.

The harvest period of cultivated ginseng is generally 4-6 years. Ginseng flowers (GFs), the nonmedicinal parts, are usually removed every autumn, in which components are generally believed to stay unchanged with the increasing cultivation age. Recently, few documents were reported on the variation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other components about ginseng flowers.

By-Product of the Red Ginseng Manufacturing Process as Potential Material for Use as Cosmetics: Chemical Profiling and In Vitro Antioxidant and Whitening Activities.

Red ginseng (RG), which is obtained from heated Panax ginseng and is produced by steaming followed by drying, is a valuable herb in Asian countries. Steamed ginseng dew (SGD) is a by-product produced in processing red ginseng. In the present study, phytochemical profiling of extracts of red ginseng and steamed ginseng dew was carried out using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and rapid resolution liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (RRLC-Q-TOF-MS) analysis.

Differential Effects of 'Vaping' on Lipid and Glucose Profiles and Liver Metabolic Markers in Obese Versus Non-obese Mice.

Tobacco smoking increases the risk of metabolic disorders due to the combination of harmful chemicals, whereas pure nicotine can improve glucose tolerance. E-cigarette vapour contains nicotine and some of the harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke at lower levels. To investigate how e-vapour affects metabolic profiles, male Balb/c mice were exposed to a high-fat diet (HFD, 43% fat, 20kJ/g) for 16weeks, and e-vapour in the last 6weeks.

Dipeptidyl Peptidase Inhibition Enhances CD8 T Cell Recruitment and Activates Intrahepatic Inflammasome in a Murine Model of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

The mRNA expression of the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) gene family is highly upregulated in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and is associated with poor survival in HCC patients. Compounds that inhibit the DPP4 enzyme family, such as talabostat and ARI-4175, can mediate tumour regression by immune-mediated mechanisms that are believed to include NLRP1 activation. This study investigated the expression and activity of the DPP4 family during the development of HCC and evaluated the efficacy of ARI-4175 in the treatment of early HCC in mice.

Simultaneous Quantification of Four Ginsenosides in Rat Plasma and Its Application to a Comparative Pharmacokinetic Study in Normal and Depression Rats Using UHPLC-MS/MS.

A sensitive method has been developed for simultaneous determination of ginsenoside Rh (G-Rh), ginsenoside Rb (G-Rb), ginsenoside Rc (G-Rc), and ginsenoside Rd (G-Rd) in rat plasma of normal and depression model group after oral administration of their solutions by using Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-QQQ-MS). The biological samples were prepared by protein precipitation. Ginsenoside Rg (G-Rg) was used as an internal standard (IS).

DPP9: Comprehensive In Silico Analyses of Loss of Function Gene Variants and Associated Gene Expression Signatures in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP) 9, DPP8, DPP4 and fibroblast activation protein (FAP) are the four enzymatically active members of the S9b protease family. Associations of DPP9 with human liver cancer, exonic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in and loss of function (LoF) variants have not been explored. Human genomic databases, including The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), were interrogated to identify LoF variants and associated cancers.

An improved production and purification protocol for recombinant soluble human fibroblast activation protein alpha.

Fibroblast activation protein alpha (FAP) is a cell-surface expressed type II glycoprotein that has a unique proteolytic activity. FAP has active soluble forms that retain the extracellular portion but lack the transmembrane domain and cytoplasmic tail. FAP expression is normally very low in adult tissue but is highly expressed by activated fibroblasts in sites of tissue remodelling.

A Novel Purification Procedure for Active Recombinant Human DPP4 and the Inability of DPP4 to Bind SARS-CoV-2.

Proteases catalyse irreversible posttranslational modifications that often alter a biological function of the substrate. The protease dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) is a pharmacological target in type 2 diabetes therapy primarily because it inactivates glucagon-like protein-1. DPP4 also has roles in steatosis, insulin resistance, cancers and inflammatory and fibrotic diseases.

Deletion of fibroblast activation protein provides atheroprotection.

Aims: Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is upregulated at sites of tissue remodelling including chronic arthritis, solid tumours, and fibrotic hearts. It has also been associated with human coronary atherosclerotic plaques. Yet, the causal role of FAP in atherosclerosis remains unknown.

Immune regeneration in irradiated mice is not impaired by the absence of DPP9 enzymatic activity.

The ubiquitous intracellular protease dipeptidyl peptidase 9 (DPP9) has roles in antigen presentation and B cell signaling. To investigate the importance of DPP9 in immune regeneration, primary and secondary chimeric mice were created in irradiated recipients using fetal liver cells and adult bone marrow cells, respectively, using wild-type (WT) and DPP9 gene-knockin (DPP9) enzyme-inactive mice. Immune cell reconstitution was assessed at 6 and 16 weeks post-transplant.

Animal models for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents ~90% of all cases of primary liver cancer and occurs predominantly in patients with underlying chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. Establishing appropriate animal models for HCC is required for basic and translational studies, especially the models that can recapitulate one of the human disease settings. Current animal models can be categorized as chemically-induced, genetically-engineered, xenograft, or a combination of these with each other or with a metabolic insult.

Fibroblast activation protein in liver fibrosis.

Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) belongs to the dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP4; CD26) gene family. Other related genes in this family of enzyme include DPP4, 8 and 9. The FAP serine protease has the rare property of both dipeptidyl peptidase and endopeptidase activities capable of cleaving the post-proline bond at two or more residues from the N-terminus.

Identification of Novel Natural Substrates of Fibroblast Activation Protein-alpha by Differential Degradomics and Proteomics.

Fibroblast activation protein-alpha (FAP) is a cell-surface transmembrane-anchored dimeric protease. This unique, constitutively active serine protease has both dipeptidyl aminopeptidase and endopeptidase activities and can hydrolyze the post-proline bond. FAP expression is very low in adult organs but is upregulated by activated fibroblasts in sites of tissue remodeling, including fibrosis, atherosclerosis, arthritis and tumors.

Multiple liver insults synergize to accelerate experimental hepatocellular carcinoma.

The urgent unmet need for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) therapies is addressed here by characterising a novel mouse model of HCC in the context of ongoing liver damage and overnutrition. Male C57Bl/6J mice were treated with diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and thioacetamide (TAA), and some were provided with an atherogenic high fat diet (HFD). Inflammation, steatosis, fibrosis, 87 genes, liver lesions and intratumoural leukocyte subsets were quantified up to 24 weeks of age.

Dipeptidyl peptidase 9 substrates and their discovery: current progress and the application of mass spectrometry-based approaches.

The enzyme members of the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) gene family have the very unusual capacity to cleave the post-proline bond to release dipeptides from the N-terminus of peptide/protein substrates. DPP4 and related enzymes are current and potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of type II diabetes, inflammatory conditions and cancer. Despite this, the precise biological function of individual dipeptidyl peptidases (DPPs), other than DPP4, and knowledge of their in vivo substrates remains largely unknown.

Hepatocellular carcinoma: Mouse models and the potential roles of proteases.

Primary liver cancer is the second most common cause of mortality from cancer. The most common models of hepatocellular carcinoma, which use a chemical and/or metabolic insult, xenograft, or genetic manipulation, are discussed in this review. In the tumour microenvironment lymphocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells and antigen presenting cells are important determinants of cell fate.