A novel translation inhibitor, mersicarpine, inhibits S-phase progression and induces apoptosis in HL60 cells.

Mersicarpine is an aspidosperma alkaloid isolated from the Kopsia genus of plants. Its intriguing structural features have attracted much attention in synthetic organic chemistry, but no biological activity has been reported. Here, we report the effects of mersicarpine on human leukemia cell line HL60.

The reversible increase in tight junction permeability induced by capsaicin is mediated via cofilin-actin cytoskeletal dynamics and decreased level of occludin.

Previous results demonstrated that capsaicin induces the reversible tight junctions (TJ) opening via cofilin activation. The present study investigated the mechanisms underlying the reversible TJ opening and compared the effect to the irreversible opening induced by actin inhibitors. Capsaicin treatment induced the F-actin alteration unique to capsaicin compared to actin-interacting agents such as latrunculin A, which opens TJ irreversibly.