Calorie Restriction Effect of Heat-Processed Onion Extract (ONI) Using In Vitro and In Vivo Animal Models.

Onion ( L.) is widely consumed as food or medicinal plant due to its well-defined health benefits. The antioxidant and antihyperlipidemic effects of onion and its extracts have been reported well.

Effect of supplementation of low-molecular-weight chitosan oligosaccharide, GO2KA1, on postprandial blood glucose levels in healthy individuals following bread consumption.

The effect of chitosan oligosaccharide (GO2KA1) administration on postprandial blood glucose levels of subjects with normal blood glucose levels was evaluated following bread consumption. Postprandial blood glucose levels were determined for 2 h after bread ingestion with or without 500 mg of GO2KA1. GO2KA1 significantly lowered the mean, maximum, and minimum levels of postprandial blood glucose at 30 min after the meal.

Identification and characterization of a new type of inhibitor against the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 nucleocapsid protein.

Background: The human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) nucleocapsid protein (NC) is an essential and multifunctional protein involved in multiple stages of the viral life cycle such as reverse transcription, integration of proviral DNA, and especially genome RNA packaging. For this reason, it has been considered as an attractive target for the development of new anti-HIV drugs. Although a number of inhibitors of NC have been reported thus far, the search for NC-specific and functional inhibitor(s) with a good antiviral activity continues.

Identification of in vivo interaction between Hepatitis C Virus core protein and 5' and 3' UTR RNA.

Here, we investigated the ability of the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) core protein to interact specifically with the 5' and 3' untranslated regions (UTRs) of HCV using an in vivo cell-based translation inhibition assay. HCV core protein interacts weakly but specifically with the SLIII stem loop in the 5' UTR in which the SLIIIb subdomain is the major determinant and the SL2 loop in the X region of the 3' UTR. These results revealed for the first time in vivo interaction of the core protein with 5' and 3' UTRs involved in the viral life cycle.

Investigation of requirements for efficient gene delivery using the HIV-1 based lentiviral transduction system.

The specific recognition and selection of the HIV-1 packaging signal psi (Psi) sequence which is mediated by Gag protein is believed to be pivotal for selective viral genomic RNA packaging and has been a basis for the development of HIV-based transgene delivery systems. However, the requirement of the psi sequence has been questioned recently by a report postulating that the psi element is not absolutely required for transgene transduction. Here, we used a four-plasmid transgene delivery system and analyzed the results by HIV p24 antigen assay, MT4 infection assay, HT1080 colony assay, and reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR).

Examination of specific binding activity of aptamer RNAs to the HIV-NC by using a cell-based in vivo assay for protein-RNA interaction.

The nucleocapsid (NC) protein of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 plays a key role in viral genomic packaging by specifically recognizing the Psi(Psi) RNA sequence within the HIV-1 genome RNA. Recently, a novel cell-based assay was developed to probe the specific interactions in vivo between the NC and Psi-RNA using E.coli cells (J.

Expression profiles and pathway analysis in HEK 293 T cells overexpressing HIV-1 Tat and nucleocapsid using cDNA microarray.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infections are responsible for a substantial number of deaths annually and represent a significant threat to public health. According to the latest study, the Tat (Transactivator of transcription) protein is essential in transcription and replication of viral genes, and is among the early expression genes involved in the life cycle of HIV. The virion NC (nucleocapsid) plays an important role in early mRNA expression and contributes to the rapid viral replication that occurs during HIV-1 infection.

Development of a cell-based assay probing the specific interaction between the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 nucleocapsid and psi RNA in vivo.

Here, we describe a cell-based in vivo assay that probes the specific interaction between nucleocapsid (NC) protein and Psi (Psi) RNA, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) packaging signal. The results demonstrate for the first time a specific NC-Psi interaction within living cells. The specificity and applicability of the assay were confirmed by mutational studies of NC and deletion-mapping analyses of Psi-RNA as well as by testing the in vivo NC-binding effects of NC-aptamer RNAs identified previously in vitro.