Cisplatin is an effective chemotherapy agent against various solid malignancies; however, it is associated with irreversible bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, emphasizing the need for drug development to prevent this complication, with the current options being very limited. Rho-associated coiled-coil-containing protein kinase (ROCK) is a serine-threonine protein kinase involved in various cellular processes, including apoptosis regulation. In this study, we used a transgenic zebrafish model (Brn3C: EGFP) in which hair cells within neuromasts are observed in green under fluorescent microscopy without the need for staining.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Autologous fat grafting is one of the most common procedures used in plastic surgery to correct soft tissue deficiency or depression deformity. However, its clinical outcomes are often suboptimal, and lack of metabolic and architectural support at recipient sites affect fat survival leading to complications such as cyst formation, calcification. Extracellular matrix-based scaffolds, such as allograft adipose matrix (AAM) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA), have shown exceptional clinical promise as regenerative scaffolds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the past 2 years, since the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged. Whenever a new variant emerges, considerable time is required to analyze the binding affinity of the viral surface proteins to human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) and monoclonal antibodies. To efficiently predict the binding affinities associated with hACE2 and monoclonal antibodies in a short time, herein, we propose a method applying statistical analysis to simulations performed using molecular and quantum mechanics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPFN1 is an actin-binding protein that regulates actin polymerization, cell proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and carcinogenesis. Its dysregulation has been reported in diverse pathologic diseases; however, the role of PFN1 in psoriasis has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we show that PFN1 expression is increased in both skin and serum of patients with psoriasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSix kuwanon derivatives (A/B/C/E/H/J) extracted from the roots of L. were evaluated to determine their cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and 2 inhibitory effects. Cyclooxygenase (COX) is known as the target enzyme of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are the most widely used therapeutic agents for pain and inflammation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStandard diagnostic methods of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) rely on RT-qPCR technique which have limited point-of-care test (POCT) potential due to necessity of dedicated equipment and specialized personnel. LAMP, an isothermal nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), is a promising technique that may substitute RT-qPCR for POCT of genomic materials. Here, we provide a protocol to perform reverse transcription LAMP targeting SARS-CoV-2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe evaluated the anti-inflammatory effects of SNAH in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages by performing nitric oxide (NO) assays, cytokine enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, Western blotting, and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis. SNAH inhibited the production of NO (nitric oxide), reactive oxygen species (ROS), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interleukin (IL)-6.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging mosquito-borne flavivirus that has attracted global attention and international awareness. ZIKV infection exhibits mild symptoms including fever and pains; however, ZIKV has recently been shown to be related to increased birth defects, including microcephaly, in infants. In addition, ZIKV is related to the onset of neurological disorders, such as a type of paralysis similar to Guillain-Barré syndrome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic now has >2,000,000 confirmed cases worldwide. COVID-19 is currently diagnosed using quantitative RT-PCR methods, but the capacity of quantitative RT-PCR methods is limited by their requirement of high-level facilities and instruments. We developed and evaluated reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assays to detect genomic RNA of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative virus of COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Fat grafting has been widely used for facial rejuvenation and soft tissue reconstruction. However, it is associated with a lower retention rate than expected and complications such as fat necrosis or calcification. Several techniques that may increase the survival rate of fat grafts have been proposed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Melanin protects the skin against the harmful effects of ultraviolet irradiation. However, melanin overproduction can result in several aesthetic problems, including melasma, freckles, age spots and chloasma. Therefore, development of anti-melanogenic agents is important for the prevention of serious hyperpigmentation diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFermented garlic, often called black garlic, is a traditional food ingredient used in Asian cuisine and possesses various health benefits including anti-obesity activity. The anti-obesity effects of fermented garlic might, in part, might be mediated through direct actions of its components on adipocytes. To test this hypothesis, we examined whether fermented garlic extract might stimulate the metabolic activity of human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) in culture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile recovery from remifentanil is fast due to its rapid metabolism, it can induce hyperalgesia by activation of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors. Therefore, administration of NMDA receptor antagonists such as ketamine is effective in relieving hyperalgesia caused by remifentanil. A previous study showed that nefopam administration before anesthesia combined with low-dose remifentanil reduced pain and analgesic consumption during the immediate postoperative period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSoy-leaf extracts exert their cardioprotective effects by inducing endothelium-dependent vasodilation in the arteries, and they favorably modulate the serum lipid profile. In this study, we investigated the atheroprotective effects of an ethanol extract of soy leaf (ESL) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and high-cholesterol diet (HCD)-fed low-density lipoprotein receptor deficient (LDLR-/-) mice. ESL induced the expression of Krüppel-like factor 2 (KLF2), an endothelial transcription factor, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), and suppressed the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) through moderate inflammatory signal activation, not only in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-stimulated HUVECs but also in 7-ketocholesterol (7-KC)-stimulated HUVECs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are widely used as inhibitors of gastric juice secretion for treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease. However, there are no previous studies of the effects on melanogenesis resulting from PPI treatments. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of PPIs on melanogenesis in melan-a cells derived from immortalized mouse melanocytes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe development of antimelanogenic agents is important for the prevention of serious aesthetic problems such as melasma, freckles, age spots and chloasma. The aim of this study was to investigate the antimelanogenic effect of sesamol, an active lignan isolated from Sesamum indicum, in melan-a cells. Sesamol strongly inhibited melanin biosynthesis and the activity of intracellular tyrosinase by decreasing cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) accumulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ethyl acetate fraction of Euryale ferox seed extracts (Efse-EA) on melanogenesis in immortalized mouse melanocyte cell line, melan-a. Efse-EA showed strong dose-dependent mushroom tyrosinase inhibitory activity. Treatment of melan-a cells with 30 μg/mL Efse-EA produced strong inhibition of cellular tyrosinase and melanin synthesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecombinant human bone morphogenetic protein (rhBMP)-2 has been approved by the FDA for clinical application, but its use is limited due to high cost and a supra-physiological dose for therapeutic efficacy. Therefore, recent studies have focused on the generation of new therapeutic small molecules to induce bone formation or potentiate the osteogenic activity of BMP-2. Here, we show that [4-(7-chloroquinolin-4-yl) piperazino][1-phenyl-5-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-4-yl]methanone (KM11073) strongly enhances the BMP-2-stimulated induction of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), an early phase biomarker of osteoblast differentiation, in bi-potential mesenchymal progenitor C2C12 cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe development of antimelanogenic agents is important for the prevention of serious aesthetic problems such as melasmas, freckles, age spots, and chloasmas. In the course of screening for melanin synthesis inhibitors, we found that the culture broth from an insect morphopathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana CS1029, exhibits potent antimelanogenic activity. We isolated and purified an active metabolite and identified it as S-(-)-10,11-dihydroxyfarnesoic acid methyl ester (dhFAME), an insect juvenile hormone.
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