Targeting beta-catenin signaling for prevention of colorectal cancer - Nutraceutical, drug, and dietary options.

Progressive up-regulation of β-catenin signaling is very common in the transformation of colorectal epithelium to colorectal cancer (CRC). Practical measures for opposing such signaling hence have potential for preventing or slowing such transformation. cAMP/PKA activity in colon epithelium, as stimulated by COX-2-generated prostaglandins and β2-adrenergic signaling, boosts β-catenin activity, whereas cGMP/PKG signaling has the opposite effect.

Inhibition of Pathogenic Bacteria and Fungi by Natural Phenoxazinone from Octopus Ommochrome Pigments.

Cephalopods, in particular octopus (), have the ability to alter their appearance or body pattern by showing a wide range of camouflage by virtue of their chromatophores, which contain nanostructured granules of ommochrome pigments. Recently, the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of ommochromes have become of great interest; therefore, in this study, the pH-dependent redox effect of the extraction solvent on the antioxidant potential and the structural characterization of the pigments were evaluated. Cell viability was determined by the microdilution method in broth by turbidity, MTT, resazurin, as well as fluorescence microscopy kit assays.

Nutraceuticals/Drugs Promoting Mitophagy and Mitochondrial Biogenesis May Combat the Mitochondrial Dysfunction Driving Progression of Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

In patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the crucial retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells are characterized by mitochondria that are structurally and functionally defective. Moreover, deficient expression of the mRNA-editing enzyme Dicer is noted specifically in these cells. This Dicer deficit up-regulates expression of Alu RNA, which in turn damages mitochondria-inducing the loss of membrane potential, boosting oxidant generation, and causing mitochondrial DNA to translocate to the cytoplasmic region.

Targeting Sirt1, AMPK, Nrf2, CK2, and Soluble Guanylate Cyclase with Nutraceuticals: A Practical Strategy for Preserving Bone Mass.

There is a vast pre-clinical literature suggesting that certain nutraceuticals have the potential to aid the preservation of bone mass in the context of estrogen withdrawal, glucocorticoid treatment, chronic inflammation, or aging. In an effort to bring some logical clarity to these findings, the signaling pathways regulating osteoblast, osteocyte, and osteoclast induction, activity, and survival are briefly reviewed in the present study. The focus is placed on the following factors: the mechanisms that induce and activate the RUNX2 transcription factor, a key driver of osteoblast differentiation and function; the promotion of autophagy and prevention of apoptosis in osteoblasts/osteoclasts; and the induction and activation of NFATc1, which promotes the expression of many proteins required for osteoclast-mediated osteolysis.

Ferulic acid and berberine, via Sirt1 and AMPK, may act as cell cleansing promoters of healthy longevity.

Ferulic acid, a bacterial metabolite of anthocyanins, seems likely to be a primary mediator of the health benefits associated with anthocyanin-rich diets, and has long been employed in Chinese cardiovascular medicine. In rodent studies, it has exerted wide-ranging antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, the molecular basis of which remains rather obscure. However, recent studies indicate that physiologically relevant concentrations of ferulic acid can boost expression of Sirt1 at mRNA and protein levels in a range of tissues.

Age-adjusted mortality from pancreatic cancer increased NINE-FOLD in japan from 1950 to 1995 - Was a low-protein quasi-vegan diet a key factor in their former low risk?

During the last half of the twentieth century, age-adjusted mortality from pancreatic cancer in Japan rose about nine-fold in both sexes. Well-characterized risk factors such as smoking, obesity/metabolic syndrome, and heavy alcohol use appear to explain only a modest part of this rise. It is proposed that a diet relatively low in protein, and particularly low in animal protein, was a key determinant of the low risk for pancreatic cancer in mid-century Japan.

Nutraceutical Strategies for Suppressing NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation: Pertinence to the Management of COVID-19 and Beyond.

Inflammasomes are intracellular protein complexes that form in response to a variety of stress signals and that serve to catalyze the proteolytic conversion of pro-interleukin-1β and pro-interleukin-18 to active interleukin-1β and interleukin-18, central mediators of the inflammatory response; inflammasomes can also promote a type of cell death known as pyroptosis. The NLRP3 inflammasome has received the most study and plays an important pathogenic role in a vast range of pathologies associated with inflammation-including atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, the complications of diabetes, neurological and autoimmune disorders, dry macular degeneration, gout, and the cytokine storm phase of COVID-19. A consideration of the molecular biology underlying inflammasome priming and activation enables the prediction that a range of nutraceuticals may have clinical potential for suppressing inflammasome activity-antioxidants including phycocyanobilin, phase 2 inducers, melatonin, and N-acetylcysteine, the AMPK activator berberine, glucosamine, zinc, and various nutraceuticals that support generation of hydrogen sulfide.

Flavones and flavonols may have clinical potential as CK2 inhibitors in cancer therapy.

The serine-threonine kinase CK2, which targets over 300 cellular proteins, is overexpressed in all cancers, presumably reflecting its ability to promote proliferation, spread, and survival through a wide range of complementary mechanisms. Via an activating phosphorylation of Cdc373, a co-chaperone which partners with Hsp90, CK2 prolongs the half-life of protein kinases that promote proliferation and survival in many cancers, including Akt, Src, EGFR, Raf-1, and several cyclin-dependent kinases. CK2 works in other ways to boost the activity of signaling pathways that promote cancer aggressiveness and chemoresistance, including those driven by Akt, NF-kappaB, hypoxia-inducible factor-1, beta-catenin, TGF-beta, STAT3, hedgehog, Notch1, and the androgen receptor; it promotes the epidermal-mesenchymal transition and aids efficiency of DNA repair.

Solvent effects on phytochemical constituent profiles and antioxidant activities, using four different extraction formulations for analysis of Bucida buceras L. and Phoradendron californicum.

Background: The present investigation evaluated 4 different solvent compositions for their relative capacity to extract total phenolic and total flavonoid (TF) components of the leaves, trunks, and stems of Bucida buceras L. (Combretaceae), and the stems of Phoradendron californicum (Viscaceae), plus mesquite and oak species endemic to the Southwestern United States, northern Mexico, and tropical regions of Central and South America, as well as to profile the composition of these plant materials and to measure their antioxidant capacity.

Methods: The total phenolic content of plant material used in the present investigation was measured using the Folin-Ciocalteau assay.

Retino-protective effect of Bucida buceras against oxidative stress induced by H2O2 in human retinal pigment epithelial cells line.

Background: Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) impair the physiological functions of Retinal Pigment Epithelial (RPE) cells, which are known as one major cause of age-related macular degeneration and retinopathy diseases. The purpose of this study is to explore the cytoprotective effects of the antioxidant Bucida buceras extract in co-treatment with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) delivery as a single addition or with continuous generation using glucose oxidase (GOx) in ARPE-19 cell cultures. The mechanism of Bucida buceras extract is believed to be associated with their antioxidant capacity to protect cells against oxidative stress.