Anti-hepatofibrosis effect of Allium senescens in activated hepatic stellate cells and thioacetamide-induced fibrosis rat model.

Context: Allium senescens Linn. (Liliaceae) (ASL) has been traditionally used in Korea and other Asian countries for improving digestive and liver functions.

Objective: The anti-hepatofibrosis effect of ASL ethanol extract in cellular and experimental fibrosis rat model was investigated.

Anti-fibrotic effects of A. Berger (Crassulaceae) on hepatic stellate cells and thioacetamide-induced fibrosis in rats.

Background/objective: A. Berger (Crassulaceae) has been used in traditional herbal medicines in Korea and other Asian countries to treat various diseases, including liver disorders. In the present study, the anti-fibrotic effects of extract (OJE) in cellular and experimental hepatofibrotic rat models were investigated.

Anti-fibrotic effects of Cuscuta chinensis with in vitro hepatic stellate cells and a thioacetamide-induced experimental rat model.

Context: Cuscuta chinensis Lam. (Convolvulaceae) has been used as a traditional herbal remedy for treating liver and kidney disorders.

Objective: Anti-fibrotic effects of C.

Protective effects of Ampelopsis brevipedunculata against in vitro hepatic stellate cells system and thioacetamide-induced liver fibrosis rat model.

Context: Ampelopsis brevipedunculata Maxim (Vitaceae) is a traditional medicinal herb used for treating liver disorders.

Objective: The hepatoprotective effects of A. brevipedunculata ethanol extract (ABE) was investigated in experimental models of fibrosis.

Immunogenicity of Japanese encephalitis virus envelope protein by Hyphantria cunea nuclear polyhedrosis virus vector in guinea pig.

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is an important pathogen causing febrile syndrome, encephalitis, and death. Envelop (E) glycoprotein is the major target of inducing neutralizing antibodies and protective immunity in host. In this study, E glycoprotein of JEV was expressed in Spodoptera frugiperd 9 cells as a fusion protein containing a gX signal sequence of pseudorabies virus.

A novel synthetic compound PHID (8-Phenyl-6a, 7, 8, 9, 9a, 10-hexahydro-6H-isoindolo [5, 6-g] quinoxaline-7, 9-dione) protects SH-SY5Y cells against MPP(+)-induced cytotoxicity through inhibition of reactive oxygen species generation and JNK signaling.

1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP(+)), a neurotoxin selective to dopaminergic neurons and an inhibitor of mitochondrial complex I, has been widely used as an etiologic model of Parkinson's disease. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of a novel synthetic compound, 8-Phenyl-6a,7,8,9,9a,10-hexahydro-6H-isoindolo[5,6-g]quinoxaline-7,9-dione (PHID), on MPP(+)-induced cytotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells. MPP(+) induced apoptosis characterized by generation of reactive oxygen species, caspase-3 activation, poly ADP ribose polymerase proteolysis and increase in Bax/Bcl-2 ratio were blocked by PHID in a dose-dependent fashion.

De novo generation of short antimicrobial peptides with simple amino acid composition.

As potential therapeutic agents, antimicrobial peptides with shorter length and simpler amino acid composition can be better candidates for clinical and commercial development. Here, we attempted de novo design of short (5- to 11-residue) antimicrobial peptides with three kinds of amino acids. Amphipathic helical properties were conferred by using leucines and lysines and two tryptophan residues were positioned at the critical amphipathic interface between the hydrophilic ending side and the hydrophobic starting side.

Gold nanoparticles attenuate LPS-induced NO production through the inhibition of NF-kappaB and IFN-beta/STAT1 pathways in RAW264.7 cells.

Macrophage-derived nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in protection against microbial infection in immune responses. Overproduction of NO by inducible nitric synthase (iNOS) is known to be closely correlated with the pathology of a variety of diseases and inflammations. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of polyethylene glycol coated gold nanoparticles (GNP) on NO production and its molecular mechanism in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.

AP180 binds to the C-terminal SH2 domain of phospholipase C-gamma1 and inhibits its enzymatic activity.

The role of phospholipase Cgamma1 (PLCgamma1) in signal transduction was investigated by characterizing its SH domain-binding proteins that may represent components of a novel signaling pathway. A 180-kDa protein that binds to the SH2 domain of PLCgamma1 was purified from rat brain. The amino acid sequence of peptide derived from the purified protein is now identified as AP180, a clathrin assembly protein that has been implicated in clathrin-mediated synaptic vesicle recycling in synapses.