Fucoxanthin decreases lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury through the inhibition of RhoA activation and the NF-κB pathway.

Fucoxanthin is a natural pigment widely distributed in macroalgae and microalgae. An orange-colored xanthophyll, it has several bioactive effects, including anticancer, anti-obesity, oxidative stress reduction, and anti-inflammation. Acute lung injury (ALI) caused by acute infections or injurious stimuli to the lung tissues is a severe pulmonary inflammatory disease.

Proinflammatory Responses of 1-Nitropyrene against RAW264.7 Macrophages through Akt Phosphorylation and NF-κB Pathways.

Air pollution is a major environmental and public health problem worldwide. A nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and the most abundant air pollutant in diesel engine exhaust, 1-nitropyrene (1-NP), is caused by the incomplete combustion of carbonaceous organic substances. Macrophages are effector cells of the innate immune cells that provide resistance in the peripheral tissue.

Genotoxic effects of 1-nitropyrene in macrophages are mediated through a p53-dependent pathway involving cytochrome c release, caspase activation, and PARP-1 cleavage.

Genotoxic stress from environmental pollutants plays a critical role in cytotoxicity. The most abundant nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in environmental pollutants, 1-nitropyrene (1-NP), is generated during fossil fuel, diesel, and biomass combustion under sunlight. Macrophages, the key regulators of the innate immune system, provide the first line of defense against pathogens.

Nerolidol Suppresses the Inflammatory Response during Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Lung Injury via the Modulation of Antioxidant Enzymes and the AMPK/Nrf-2/HO-1 Pathway.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life-threatening disease that is characterised by the rapid onset of inflammatory responses. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is an endotoxin that plays an important role in triggering ALI via pneumonia and sepsis. However, no effective therapeutic strategies are currently available to treat ALI.

Cadmium nitrate-induced neuronal apoptosis is protected by N-acetyl-l-cysteine via reducing reactive oxygen species generation and mitochondria dysfunction.

Cigarette smoking is a well-established risk factor for various diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, neurodegeneration, and cancer. Cadmium nitrate (Cd(NO)) is one of the major products from the cigarette smoke. Up to now, no supporting evidence on Cd(NO)-induced apoptosis and its related working mechanism in neurons has been found.

Bioactive Phenolic Components from the Twigs of Atalantia buxifolia.

Five new compounds named buxifoximes A-C (1-3), buxifobenzoate (4), and 7- O-(7'-peroxygeranyl) coumarin (5), together with 25 known compounds, were identified from the twigs of Atalantia buxifolia. Compounds 1-3 are unique secondary metabolites with the aldoxime functionality. The structures of the isolates were determined on the basis of spectroscopic data analyses, and the structure of 1 was confirmed by an X-ray single-crystallographic analysis.

Zerumbone from Zingiber zerumbet Ameliorates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced ICAM-1 and Cytokines Expression via p38 MAPK/JNK-IκB/NF-κB Pathway in Mouse Model of Acute Lung Injury.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a clinical syndrome with high morbidity and mortality rates mainly caused by Gram-negative bacteria. Nevertheless, an effective treatment strategy for ALI is yet to be developed. Zerumbone, a sesquiterpene isolated from Zingiber zerumbet Smith, possesses several advantageous bioeffects such as antioxidation, anti-inflammation, and antiulcer.

Resveratrol Can Be Stable in a Medium Containing Fetal Bovine Serum with Pyruvate but Shortens the Lifespan of Human Fibroblastic Hs68 Cells.

This study is aimed at developing a method that can inhibit resveratrol (Res) degradation in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM) and at evaluating the effects of Res on the replicative lifespan of Hs68 cells. We hypothesized that Res can extend the lifespan of Hs68 cells if we can inhibit the oxidative degradation of Res in the medium. We found that the addition of ≥5 U/mL SOD to the medium could completely inhibit Res degradation in DMEM.

Zerumbone reduced the inflammatory response of acute lung injury in endotoxin-treated mice via Akt-NFκB pathway.

Zerumbone, a cyclic eleven-membered sesquiterpene, is the major component of the essential oil isolated from the wild ginger, Zingiber zerumbet. There are several beneficial pharmacological activities of zerumbone including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer activities. Acute lung injury (ALI) is an acute pulmonary inflammatory disorder with high morbidity and mortality rate.

Protective effect of zerumbone reduces lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury via antioxidative enzymes and Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a serious disease with high morbidity and mortality rate. Although there are effective strategies for treatment of ALI; a widely accepted specific pharmacotherapy has not yet established. Zerumbone, the major active phytochemical compound from Zingiber zerumbet Smith, exhibits various beneficial biological and pharmacological activities, such as antioxidation, anti-inflammation, immunomodulation, and anti-cancer.

Comparing the functional components, SOD-like activities, antimutagenicity, and nutrient compositions of Phellinus igniarius and Phellinus linteus mushrooms.

Many species of the genus Phellinus possess beneficial properties, including antioxidant, immune-enhancing, and antimutagenic effects. Phenolic compounds and polysaccharides are two kinds of bioactive compounds; however, few studies have compared the differences between Phellinus igniarius and Phellinus linteus in their functional components, functional activities, and nutrient compositions. Herein, the proximate compositions and microelements of the fruiting body of P.

Galangin Prevents Acute Hepatorenal Toxicity in Novel Propacetamol-Induced Acetaminophen-Overdosed Mice.

Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose causes severe liver and kidney damage. APAP-induced liver injury (AILI) represents the most frequent cause of drug-induced liver failure. APAP is relatively insoluble and can only be taken orally; however, its prodrug, propacetamol, is water soluble and usually injected directly.

Chemical constituents and bioactivities of Clinacanthus nutans aerial parts.

Four new sulfur-containing compounds, named clinamides A-C (1-3), and 2-cis-entadamide A (4), were isolated together with three known compounds from the bioactive ethanol extract of the aerial parts of Clinacanthus nutans. These secondary metabolites possess sulfur atoms and acrylamide functionalities. The structures of the isolated components were established by interpretation of their spectroscopic data, especially 1D and 2D NMR.

Complementary usage of Rhodiola crenulata (L.) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients: the effects on cytokines and T cells.

Although chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an inflammatory disease predominantly involving T cells, no study of Rhodiola as an immunomodulator in COPD patients has been reported. In this study, COPD patients took Rhodiola crenulata 500 mg (n = 38) or placebo (starch/phosphate buffered saline) (n = 19) daily for 12 weeks and were compared with untreated, age-matched, and sex-matched non-COPD control subjects. Our results showed that serum levels of IL-2, IL-10, and IFN-γ in COPD patients before treatment are significantly higher than levels in non-COPD controls (p < 0.

Selective apoptotic cell death effects of oral cancer cells treated with destruxin B.

Background: Recent studies have revealed that destruxins (Dtx) have potent cytotoxic activities on individual cancer cells, however, data on oral cancer cells especial human are absent.

Methods: Destruxin B (DB) was isolated and used to evaluate the selective cytotoxicity with human oral cancer cell lines, GNM (Neck metastasis of gingival carcinoma) and TSCCa (Tongue squamous cell carcinoma) cells, and normal gingival fibroblasts (GF) were also included as controls. Cells were tested with different concentrations of DB for 24, 48, and 72 h by MTT assay.

Reduction of TLR4 mRNA stability and protein expressions through inhibiting cytoplasmic translocation of HuR transcription factor by E₂ and/or ERα in LPS-treated H9c2 cardiomyoblast cells.

Our previous results have indicated that Akt mediates 17β-estradiol (E₂) and/or estrogen receptor α (ERα) to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced JNK activity, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) protein expression, and exhibits cardioprotective effects. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) mRNAs often contain AU-rich elements (AREs) in their 3'-untranslated regions (3'UTR) which have a high affinity for RNA-binding proteins. It is not known whether E₂ and ERα affect TLR4 mRNA stability and TLR4 protein expression through regulating the RNA-binding proteins, human antigen R (HuR), tristetraprolin (TTP) and AU-binding factor 1 (AUF-1) in myocardial cells.

Glycoproteomic analysis of WGA-bound glycoprotein biomarkers in sera from patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Differential protein expression profiles in the serum samples from patients with lung adenocarcinoma may be associated with glycosylation during cancer development. In this study, we used various glycoproteomic approaches to investigate the different glycoproteomic profiles of human normal and lung adenocarcinoma serum samples and to investigate putative altered glycoprotein biomarkers. In our preliminary screening, FITC-labeled lectin staining was used for the detection of specific glycoprotein profiles.

Proteomics analysis of A375 human malignant melanoma cells in response to arbutin treatment.

Although the toxicogenomics of A375 human malignant melanoma cells treated with arbutin have been elucidated using DNA microarray, the proteomics of the cellular response to this compound are still poorly understood. In this study, we performed proteomic analyses to investigate the anticancer effect of arbutin on the protein expression profile in A375 cells. After treatment with arbutin (8 microg/ml) for 24, 48 and 72 h, the proteomic profiles of control and arbutin-treated A375 cells were compared, and 26 differentially expressed proteins (7 upregulated and 19 downregulated proteins) were identified by MALDI-Q-TOF MS and MS/MS.

Proteomics analysis of kojic acid treated A375 human malignant melanoma cells.

Although the toxicogenomics of kojic acid treated A375 human malignant melanoma cells has been elucidated, the proteomics of cellular response is still poorly understood. We performed proteomic analysis to investigate the anticancer effect of kojic acid on protein expression profile in A375 cells. A375 cells were treated with kojic acid at 8 microg/mL for 24, 48, and 72 h.

Immunoglobulin E and matrix metalloproteinase-9 in patients with different stages of coronary artery diseases.

The aims of this study were to identify levels of total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 in patients with different stages of coronary artery diseases. IgE, MMP-9, creatine phosphokinase (CPK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and triglyceride (TG) were measured by fluorescence enzyme immunoassay, gelatin zymography, and autoanalyzer in normal subjects (n = 40), patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP, n = 40), patients with unstable angina pectoris (UAP, n = 40), patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI, n = 40), or post-CABG-surgery of those acute myocardial infarction (P-CABG, n = 40). Compared with normal subjects, increased IgE but unchanged MMP-9, CPK, LDH were found in SAP group and UAP group, whereas IgE, MMP-9, CPK and LDH levels were all significantly increased in AMI group.

Downregulated cardiac annexin VI mRNA and protein levels in chronically fibrillating human atria.

Objectives: We compared the expression and distribution of atrial annexin VI between patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or sinus rhythm (SR).

Methods: Atrial appendages were obtained during cardiac surgery from 20 patients with chronic AF and 34 matched controls in SR. The expression and distribution of annexin VI were analyzed using semiquantitative RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunoconfocal microscopy.

Toxicogenomics of A375 human malignant melanoma cells.

Toxicogenomics applications are increasingly applied to the evaluation of preclinical drug safety, and to explain toxicities associated with compounds at the mechanism level. In this review, we aim to describe the application of toxicogenomics tools for studying the genotoxic effect of active compounds on the gene-expression profile of A375 human malignant melanoma cells, through the other molecular functions of target genes, regulatory pathways and mechanisms of malignant melanomas. It also includes the current systems biology approaches, which are very useful for analyzing the biological system and understanding the entire mechanisms of malignant melanomas.

Gene expression analysis in LLC-PK1 renal tubular cells by atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP): correlation of homologous human genes with renal response.

We used human DNA microarray to explore the differential gene expression profiling of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP)-stimulated renal tubular epithelial kidney cells (LLC-PK1) in order to understand the biological effect of ANP on renal kidney cell's response. Gene expression profiling revealed 807 differentially expressed genes, consisting of 483 up-regulated and 324 down-regulated genes. The bioinformatics tool was used to gain a better understanding of differentially expressed genes in porcine genome homologous with human genome and to search the gene ontology and category classification, such as cellular component, molecular function and biological process.

Toxicogenomics of A375 human malignant melanoma cells treated with arbutin.

Although arbutin is a natural product and widely used as an ingredient in skin care products, its effect on the gene expression level of human skin with malignant melanoma cells is rarely reported. We aim to investigate the genotoxic effect of arbutin on the differential gene expression profiling in A375 human malignant melanoma cells through its effect on tumorigenesis and related side-effect. The DNA microarray analysis provided the differential gene expression pattern of arbutin-treated A375 cells with the significant changes of 324 differentially expressed genes, containing 88 up-regulated genes and 236 down-regulated genes.