Inhibition of Amyloid β Accumulation by Protease-Digested Whitebait (Shirasu) in a Murine Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

The number of people with dementia is increasing annually worldwide. Alzheimer's disease (AD), which accounts for the highest percentage of dementia-causing diseases, remains difficult to cure, and prevention of its onset is important. We aimed to discover new AD-preventive ingredients and investigate the inhibitory effects of ten different species of seafood digests prepared by protease treatment on β-secretase 1 (BACE1) activity.

Pomolic acid in persimmon peel suppresses the increase in glycerol-3 phosphate dehydrogenase activity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

Persimmon peels, though usually discarded, are useful sources of nutraceuticals. In this study, persimmon peel-derived pomolic acid was found to suppress the increase in the activity of glycerol-3 phosphate dehydrogenase, a neutral fat synthesis-related enzyme, in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, whereas oleanolic and ursolic acids did not exert this effect. Therefore, persimmon peel may be an effective functional food material.

Fetal androgen signaling defects affect pancreatic β-cell mass and function, leading to glucose intolerance in high-fat diet-fed male rats.

We previously demonstrated that androgen signaling expands pancreatic β-cell mass in the sexual maturation period ( 314: E274-E286, 2018). The aim of this study was to elucidate whether fetal androgen signaling plays important roles in β-cell mass development and β-cell function in adulthood, defects of which are associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. In the pancreas of male fetuses, androgen receptor (AR) was strongly expressed in the cytoplasm and at the cell membrane of Nkx6.

Androgen signaling expands β-cell mass in male rats and β-cell androgen receptor is degraded under high-glucose conditions.

A deficient pancreatic β-cell mass increases the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Here, we investigated the effects of testosterone on the development of pancreatic β-cell mass in male rats. The β-cell mass of male rats castrated at 6 wk of age was reduced to ~30% of that of control rats at 16 wk of age, and castration caused glucose intolerance.

Androgen receptor silences thioredoxin-interacting protein and competitively inhibits glucocorticoid receptor-mediated apoptosis in pancreatic β-Cells.

Androgen receptor (AR) is known to bind to the same cis-element that glucocorticoid receptor (GR) binds to. However, the effects of androgen signaling on glucocorticoid signaling have not yet been elucidated. Here, we investigated the effects of testosterone on dexamethasone (DEX, a synthetic glucocorticoid)-induced apoptosis of pancreatic β-cells, which might be involved in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus in males.