Cathelicidin-encoding Lactococcus lactis promotes mucosal repair in murine experimental colitis.

Background And Aim: The preventive effect of intrarectal administration of mouse cathelicidin (mCRAMP) and oral administration of mCRAMP-encoding Lactococcus lactis (N4I) has been shown in murine experimental colitis. It is pivotal to understand the ability of N4I whether it can promote mucosal repair in existing colitis.

Methods: Mice with dextran sulfate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) were treated orally with L.

Critical Role of Antimicrobial Peptide Cathelicidin for Controlling Helicobacter pylori Survival and Infection.

The antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin is critical for protection against different kinds of microbial infection. This study sought to elucidate the protective action of cathelicidin against Helicobacter pylori infection and its associated gastritis. Exogenous cathelicidin was found to inhibit H.

Vascular-targeted TNFα improves tumor blood vessel function and enhances antitumor immunity and chemotherapy in colorectal cancer.

Delivery and penetration of chemotherapeutic drugs into neoplasm through the tumor vasculature are essential mechanisms to enhance the efficiency of chemotherapy. "Vascular targeting" strategy focuses on promoting the infiltration of chemotherapeutic drugs into neoplastic tissues. In this study, we achieved a targeted therapy by coupling tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) with TCP-1, a novel vascular-targeting peptide, in an orthotopic colorectal cancer model in mice.

Sensitivity of apoptosis-resistant colon cancer cells to tanshinones is mediated by autophagic cell death and p53-independent cytotoxicity.

Background: Multidrug resistance (MDR) develops in nearly all patients with colon cancer. The reversal of MDR plays an important role in the success of colon cancer chemotherapy. One of the commonest mechanisms conferring MDR is the suppression of apoptosis in cancer cells.

Deteriorating effect on bone metabolism and microstructure by passive cigarette smoking through dual actions on osteoblast and osteoclast.

There is no clear evidence to show the direct causal relationship between passive cigarette smoking and osteoporosis. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism is unknown. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the effects of long-term passive cigarette smoking on bone metabolism and microstructure by a mouse model and cell culture systems.

Epigenetic silencing of miR-490-3p reactivates the chromatin remodeler SMARCD1 to promote Helicobacter pylori-induced gastric carcinogenesis.

Chromatin remodeling has emerged as a hallmark of gastric cancer, but the regulation of chromatin regulators other than genetic change is unknown. Helicobacter pylori causes epigenetic dysregulation to promote gastric carcinogenesis, but the roles and functions of microRNAs (miRNA) in this multistage cascade are not fully explored. In this study, miRNA expression in preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions in murine stomachs induced by H.

Reversal of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) mediated multidrug resistance in colon cancer cells by cryptotanshinone and dihydrotanshinone of Salvia miltiorrhiza.

Objective: Multidrug resistance (MDR) of cancer cells to a broad spectrum of anticancer drugs is an obstacle to successful chemotherapy. Overexpression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) membrane transporter, can mediate the efflux of cytotoxic drugs out of cancer cells, leading to MDR and chemotherapy failure. Thus, development of safe and effective P-gp inhibitors plays an important role in circumvention of MDR.

Animal models of gastrointestinal inflammation and cancer.

Inflammation and cancer are the two major disorders in the gastrointestinal tract. They are causally related in their pathogenesis. It is important to study animal models' causal relationship and, in particular, to discover new therapeutic agents for such diseases.

FK-16 derived from the anticancer peptide LL-37 induces caspase-independent apoptosis and autophagic cell death in colon cancer cells.

Host immune peptides, including cathelicidins, have been reported to possess anticancer properties. We previously reported that LL-37, the only cathelicidin in humans, suppresses the development of colon cancer. In this study, the potential anticancer effect of FK-16, a fragment of LL-37 corresponding to residues 17 to 32, on cultured colon cancer cells was evaluated.

Host immune defense peptide LL-37 activates caspase-independent apoptosis and suppresses colon cancer.

Cathelicidins are a family of bacteriocidal polypeptides secreted by macrophages and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN). LL-37, the only human cathelicidin, has been implicated in tumorigenesis, but there has been limited investigation of its expression and function in cancer. Here, we report that LL-37 activates a p53-mediated, caspase-independent apoptotic cascade that contributes to suppression of colon cancer.

miRNAs in gastrointestinal and liver cancers: their perspectives and clinical applications.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. They have been found to be dysregulated in many pathological conditions including cancer and play an important role during the progression of such disease. Recent efforts have been directed in translating the primary findings of miRNAs into clinical uses.

Antibacterial peptides and gastrointestinal diseases.

Defensins and cathelicidins are small cationic peptides produced by neutrophils and epithelial cells. They are highly expressed during infection. The role of constitutive and inducible antibacterial peptides has been extensively studied over the recent years; especially in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, where the balance between the luminal bacteria and antibacterial peptides is crucial in the maintenance of a healthy GI tract.