A One-Step, Monolayer Culture and Chemical-Based Approach to Generate Insulin-Producing Cells From Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells to Mitigate Hyperglycemia in STZ-Induced Diabetic Rats.

The global population of individuals afflicted with diabetes mellitus has been increasing year by year, and this disease poses a serious threat to human health as well as the economies worldwide. Pancreatic or islet transplantations provide one of the most effective and long-term therapies available to treat diabetes, but the scarcity and quality of pancreatic islets limit their use in treatments. Here, we report the development of a one-step, monolayer culture, and chemical-based protocol that efficiently mediates the differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) into insulin-producing cells (IPCs).

MEK2 is a critical modulating mechanism to down-regulate GCIP stability and function in cancer cells.

Loss of tumor suppressor activity and upregulation of oncogenic pathways simultaneously contribute to tumorigenesis. Expression of the tumor suppressor, GCIP (Grap2- and cyclin D1-interacting protein), is usually reduced or lost in advanced cancers, as seen in both mouse tumor models and human cancer patients. However, no previous study has examined how cancer cells down-regulate GCIP expression.

HR23A-knockdown lung cancer cells exhibit epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and gain stemness properties through increased Twist1 stability.

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition is a major cause of cancer metastasis, and deregulation of the transcription factor, Twist1, is a critical molecular event in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. The importance of Twist1 protein turnover in this process has not yet been defined. Here, we show that HR23A directly targets the Twist1 protein without changing its gene transcription.

Capsaicin-induced TRIB3 upregulation promotes apoptosis in cancer cells.

Background: Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) is one of the main pungent components of chili peppers and has been shown to exert various effects on numerous physiological processes. Recent studies have focused on the chemopreventive effects of capsaicin, which can combat growth in various human cancer cell systems. The tribbles-related protein 3 (TRIB3) is evolutionarily conserved from Drosophila to humans.

Human Rad23A plays a regulatory role in autophagy.

Chemotherapeutic agents can upregulate autophagy which contributes to the acquisition of chemoresistance and the recurrence of cancer. The involvement of hHR23A in chemoresistance is unknown. In this study, we provide evidence suggesting that hHR23A may regulate autophagy.

Biocompatibility assessment of nanomaterials for environmental safety screening.

In view of the extensive use of nanoparticles in countless applications, a fast and effective method for assessing their potential adverse effects on the environment and human health is extremely important. At present, in vitro cell-based assays are the standard approach for screening chemicals for cytotoxicity because of their relative simplicity, sensitivity, and cost-effectiveness compared with animal studies. Regrettably, such cell-based viability assays encounter limitations when applied to determining the biological toxicity of nanomaterials, which often interact with assay components and produce unreliable outcomes.

hHR23A is required to control the basal turnover of Chk1.

Among other functions, the Chk1 protein plays an essential role in coordinating the cellular stress response by determining cell cycle arrest. The levels of Chk1 expression and activity are critical for its functions, especially in cell cycle progression, genomic integrity, cell viability and tissue development. Chk1 protein expression should therefore be tightly controlled both during normal growth and under stress situations.

Role of ribophorin II in the response to anticancer drugs in gastric cancer cell lines.

The identification of prognostic markers and establishing their value as therapeutic targets improves therapeutic efficacy against human cancers. Ribophorin II (RPN2) has been demonstrated to be a prognostic marker of human cancer, including breast and pancreatic cancers. The present study aimed to evaluate RPN2 expression in gastric cancer and to examine the possible correlation between RPN2 expression and the response of cells to clinical anticancer drugs, which has received little research attention at present.

Rad23 interaction with the proteasome is regulated by phosphorylation of its ubiquitin-like (UbL) domain.

Rad23 was identified as a DNA repair protein, although a role in protein degradation has been described. The protein degradation function of Rad23 contributes to cell cycle progression, stress response, endoplasmic reticulum proteolysis, and DNA repair. Rad23 binds the proteasome through a UbL (ubiquitin-like) domain and contains UBA (ubiquitin-associated) motifs that bind multiubiquitin chains.

The S100A4 D10V polymorphism is related to cell migration ability but not drug resistance in gastric cancer cells.

Upregulation of the metastasis-promoting S100A4 protein has been linked to tumor migration and invasion, and clinical studies have demonstrated that significant expression of S100A4 in primary tumors is indicative of poor prognosis. However, the involvement of S100A4 in the drug responsiveness of gastric cancer remains unclear. In the present study, we used gastric cancer cell lines as a model to investigate the involvement of S100A4 in drug responsiveness.

Differential cytotoxic effects of gold nanoparticles in different mammalian cell lines.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) possess unique properties that have been exploited in several medical applications. However, a more comprehensive understanding of the environmental safety of AuNPs is imperative for use of these nanomaterials. Here, we describe the impacts of AuNPs in various mammalian cell models using an automatic and dye-free method for continuous monitoring of cell growth based on the measurement of cell impedance.

Extensive evaluations of the cytotoxic effects of gold nanoparticles.

Background: Many in vitro studies have revealed that the interference of dye molecules in traditional nanoparticle cytotoxicity assays results in controversial conclusions. The aim of this study is to establish an extensive and systematic method for evaluating biological effects of gold nanoparticles in mammalian cell lines.

Methods: We establish the cell-impedance measurement system, a label-free, real-time cell monitoring platform that measures electrical impedance, displaying results as cell index values, in a variety of mammalian cell lines.