Silybin ameliorates hepatic lipid accumulation and modulates global metabolism in an NAFLD mouse model.

Silybin shows good effects against obesity and metabolic syndrome, but the systemic modulation effect of silybin has not been fully revealed. This study aims to investigate the metabolic regulation by silybin of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). C57BL/6 J mice were fed a high-fat/high-cholesterol diet for 8 weeks and treated with silybin (50 or 100 mg/kg/day) and sodium tauroursodeoxycholate (TUDCA, 50 mg/kg/day) by gavage for the last 4 weeks.

Curcumin inhibits hepatic stellate cell activation via suppression of succinate-associated HIF-1α induction.

Purpose: Aberrant succinate accumulation emerges as a unifying mechanism for inflammation and oxidative stress. This study aims to investigate whether curcumin ameliorates hepatic fibrosis via blocking succinate signaling.

Methods: We investigated the effects of curcumin on hepatic succinate accumulation and liver fibrosis in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD).

Curcumin restrains hepatic glucose production by blocking cAMP/PKA signaling and reducing acetyl CoA accumulation in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice.

Objective: This study is designed to investigate whether curcumin reduces excessive hepatic glucose production (HGP) via regulation of second messenger cAMP.

Methods: High-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice were orally administrated of metformin (200 mg/kg) or curcumin (50 mg/kg) daily for 10 weeks. Meanwhile, we stimulated mouse primary hepatocytes with palmitate (PA).

Silybin inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome assembly through the NAD/SIRT2 pathway in mice with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Silybin is one of the effective, traditional Chinese medicines used as a hepatoprotective agent in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) therapy worldwide, and the NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome has been recognized as an important factor involved in NAFLD development. However, little is known about the mechanisms of silybin in the regulation of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced liver inflammation. In our study, we found that silybin inhibited endoplasmic reticulum stress and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the livers of HFD-fed mice and in cultured hepatocytes.

Nucleic acid quantification using nicking-displacement, rolling circle amplification and bio-bar-code mediated triple-amplification.

In the present study, an inductively-coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)-based triple-amplification system, by combination of nicking-displacement, rolling circle amplification (RCA) and bio-bar-code probes, was fabricated for the detection of DNA target. By using this system, hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA target down to 3.2×10(-17)M was detected by DNA probes labeled with Au nanoparticles (AuNPs).

A dual-amplified electrochemical detection of mRNA based on duplex-specific nuclease and bio-bar-code conjugates.

On the basis of strong preference for cleaving double-stranded DNA or DNA in DNA:RNA heteroduplexes of duplex-specific nuclease (DSN), a dual-amplified electrochemical detection of mRNA was developed in this article, by coupling the enhancement of DSN and bio-bar-code conjugates. Capture probe was linked with magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) at its 5' end and bio-bar-code at its 3' end. In the presence of target surviving mRNA, all hybridized S1 strands were cleaved off the biosensor by the DSN, and the bio-bar-code probe with CdS nanoparticles (CdS NPs) was released into the solution.

Expression characteristics of , , and in families with a history of oesophageal cancer in a region with a high incidence of oesophageal cancer.

The aim of the present study was to determine the changes to the expression levels of fragile histidine triad (), breast cancer type 2 susceptibility protein (), MutL homolog 1 () and tumour protein 53 () exhibited by families with a history of oesophageal cancer in a region that has a high incidence of oesophageal cancer, and to determine the association of these changes with the cancer history of the families. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the protein expression of FHIT, p53, BRCA2, and MLH1 in the excised specimens of cancer tissues from 74 oesophageal cancer patients (positive family history of oesophageal cancer [OCFH +], n=33; negative family history of oesophageal cancer [OCFH -], n=41) from a region with a high incidence of oesophageal cancer. The positive expression rates of (61%; 45/74), 50%; 37/74) and (27%; 9/33 in the oesophageal cancer tissues were significantly lower than those in the healthy tissues adjacent to the cancer (97% [29/30], 87% [26/30] and 73% [25/41], respectively).

A surface plasmon resonance assay coupled with a hybridization chain reaction for amplified detection of DNA and small molecules.

A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) detection system based on a hybridization chain reaction (HCR) was developed for amplified detection of DNA and small molecule with high sensitivity.

SC-514, a selective inhibitor of IKKβ attenuates RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis and NF-κB activation.

The RANKL-induced NF-κB signaling pathway is essential for osteoclastogenesis. This study aims to identify specific inhibitors targeting NF-κB signaling pathway, which might serve as useful small molecule inhibitors for the treatment and alleviation of osteoclast-mediated bone lytic diseases. By screening for compounds that selectively inhibit RANKL-induced NF-κB activation in RAW264.

[Purification and characterization of a chitinase from Bombyx mori].

The importance of chitinases in the physiological and developmental processes of fungi and insects makes themselves and their inhibitors important targets for biological pesticides. A chitinase was isolated from Bombyx mori and purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation and Sephadex G-150 column chromatography. The molecular mass was estimated to be about 88 kDa by SDS-PAGE, while the K(m) was calculated to be 22.

Highly sensitive electrochemical detection of human telomerase activity based on bio-barcode method.

In the present study, an electrochemical method for highly sensitive detection of human telomerase activity was developed based on bio-barcode amplification assay. Telomerase was extracted from HeLa cells, then the extract was mixed with telomerase substrate (TS) primer to perform extension reaction. The extension product was hybridized with the capture DNA immobilized on the Au electrode and then reacted with the signal DNA on Au nanoparticles to form a sandwich hybridization mode.

3,3-Dimethyl-1-[5-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl-meth-yl)-1,3,4-thia-diazol-2-ylsulfan-yl]butan-2-one.

In the mol-ecule of the title compound, C(11)H(15)N(5)OS(2), the thia-diazole and triazole rings are not coplanar, the dihedral angle formed by their mean planes being 59.9 (2)°. The exocyclic S atom, and the methyl-ene, carbonyl, tert-butyl and one methyl carbon form an approximately planar zigzag chain, which makes a dihedral angle of 74.

Synthesis and QSAR studies of novel triazole compounds containing thioamide as potential antifungal agents.

Eighteen novel triazole compounds containing thioamide were designed and synthesized. Their structures were confirmed by elemental analysis, (1)H NMR, IR, and MS. The title compounds exhibited certain antifungal activity.

Electrochemical polymerization of fluoranthene and characterization of its polymers.

A novel inherently conducting polymer, high-quality polyfluoranthene (PFA) film with electrical conductivity of 10(-2) S cm(-1), was first synthesized electrochemically by direct anodic oxidation of fluoranthene in a middle strong Lewis acid-boron trifluoride diethyl etherate. The oxidation potential onset of fluoranthene in this medium was measured to be only 1.07 V vs SCE, which was much lower than that in acetonitrile + 0.