Degree of Suppression of Mouse Myoblast Cell Line C₂C Differentiation Varies According to Chondroitin Sulfate Subtype.

Chondroitin sulfate (CS), a type of glycosaminoglycan (GAG), is a factor involved in the suppression of myogenic differentiation. CS comprises two repeating sugars and has different subtypes depending on the position and number of bonded sulfate groups. However, the effect of each subtype on myogenic differentiation remains unclear.

Original Scientific Reports: Clinicopathological Findings of Remnant Pancreatic Cancers in Survivors Following Curative Resections of Pancreatic Cancers.

Background: This retrospective study aimed to evaluate clinicopathological findings of remnant pancreatic cancers in survivors of invasive ductal adenocarcinomas of the pancreas (PDAC).

Methods: A group of 23 patients out of 826 who had curative resections for PDAC between 1980 and 2011 was identified and treated for metachronous pancreatic cancer.

Results: The following tubular adenocarcinomas were found at the first surgery: 3 well differentiated, 17 moderately differentiated, 1 papillary, and 1 poorly differentiated.

Ursolic Acid Inhibits Na+/K+-ATPase Activity and Prevents TNF-α-Induced Gene Expression by Blocking Amino Acid Transport and Cellular Protein Synthesis.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, induce the expression of a wide variety of genes, including intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). Ursolic acid (3β-hydroxy-urs-12-en-28-oic acid) was identified to inhibit the cell-surface ICAM-1 expression induced by pro-inflammatory cytokines in human lung carcinoma A549 cells. Ursolic acid was found to inhibit the TNF-α-induced ICAM-1 protein expression almost completely, whereas the TNF-α-induced ICAM-1 mRNA expression and NF-κB signaling pathway were decreased only partially by ursolic acid.