Protective effect of resveratrol derivatives on high-fat diet induced fatty liver by activating AMP-activated protein kinase.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with inhibited AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) and activation of sterol regulatory element binding protein 1 (SREBP-1). AMPK phosphorylation inhibits SREBP-1, a major transcription factor of de novo lipogenesis, by inhibiting the liver X receptor (LXR) or by direct phosphorylation. Resveratrol, a polyphenol, has regulatory effects on hepatic lipid metabolism as a potent AMPK activator.

Effects of Medicinal herb Extracts and their Components on Steatogenic Hepatotoxicity in Sk-hep1 Cells.

Herbal medicines are widely used in many countries for the treatment of many diseases. Although the use of herb extracts as alternative medicine is growing, their toxicological properties have not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we have investigated the effects of water and ethanol extracts of 18 herbs on the hepatic lipid metabolism and steatogenic hepatotoxicity.

Involvement of E2F1 transcriptional activity in cadmium-induced cell-cycle arrest at G1 in human lung fibroblasts.

Human cadmium (Cd) exposure is associated with cancers of the lung and kidney. Using cDNA microarray analysis, we have recently reported that the expression of E2F1 is reduced by Cd in human lung fibroblasts, indicating the possibility of G1-phase arrest. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the effects of Cd on the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK2) and retinoblastoma protein (Rb) regulatory pathways in WI38 human lung fibroblasts.