Attenuates the Progression of Metabolic Syndrome in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Rats: Enzymatic Pre-Digestion Technology Is Superior to Superfine Grinding Method.

(AAJ) has been cultivated for food in China for centuries, and is also used as a folk medicine for the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism. However, there are few studies on the effects of different processing technologies on the therapeutic efficacy of AAJ to date. This study investigated the effectiveness of the AAJ made by using superfine grinding and enzymatic pre-digestion technologies, respectively, in a high-fat diet obese rat model.

7-Amino acid peptide (7P) decreased airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness in a murine model of asthma.

A 7-amino acid peptide (7P), (Gly-Gln-Thr-Tyr-Thr-Ser-Gly) is one of the synthesized mimic polypeptides, which is the second envelope protein at hypervariable region 1 of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV HVR1). It contributed to the anti-inflammatory reaction and inhibited lung Th9 responses in asthma through binding to CD81. In this study, we examined the effects of 7P on bronchoconstriction, acute inflammation of the airways, and lung Th2-type responses during allergic lung inflammation.

A 7-Amino Acid Peptide Mimic from Hepatitis C Virus Hypervariable Region 1 Inhibits Mouse Lung Th9 Cell Differentiation by Blocking CD81 Signaling during Allergic Lung Inflammation.

T helper (Th) cells orchestrate allergic lung inflammation in asthma pathogenesis. Th9 is a novel Th cell subset that mainly produces IL-9, a potent proinflammatory cytokine in asthma. A 7-amino acid peptide (7P) of the hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) of hepatitis C virus has been identified as an important regulator in the type 2 cytokine (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) immune response.

Oridonin derivatives as potential anticancer drug candidates triggering apoptosis through mitochondrial pathway in the liver cancer cells.

The biological function of the natural ent-kaurene diterpenoid isolated from genus Isodon, oridonin, has been intensively studied. However, its mechanism studies and clinical applications were hampered by its moderate biological activities. In order to enlarge the applied range of oridonin and explore its mechanism of action, a series of derivatives were designed and synthesized based on the structure of oridonin.

3-acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid decreases the malignancy of taxol resistant human ovarian cancer by inhibiting multidrug resistance (MDR) proteins function.

Objective: Recurrence of ovarian cancer is mainly due to multidrug resistance (MDR). 3-acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA) could reverse the multidrug resistance in human ileocecal adenocarcinoma cells, but whether AKBA could modulate acquired MDR in ovarian cancer needs to be elucidated.

Methods: The current study examined the effect of AKBA on ovarian cancer MDR using a Taxol resistant human ovarian cancer cell line A2780/Taxol.

Breast Cancer Recurrence Risk Assessment: Is Non-Invasive Monitoring an Option?

Background: Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) represents a life-threatening disease with a median survival time of 18-24 months that often can only be treated palliatively. The majority of women suffering from MBC are those who had been previously diagnosed with locally advanced disease and subsequently experienced cancer recurrence in the form of metastasis. However, according to guidelines, no systemic follow-up for monitoring purposes is recommended for these women.

Structural modification of oridonin DAST induced rearrangement.

A simple and efficient protocol was developed for the syntheses of oridonin analogues, 6,20-epoxy -kaurane diterpenoid analogues from oridonin diethylaminosulfur trifluoride (DAST) promoted rearrangement, most of which exhibited superior anticancer activities compared with their precursor.

High WAVE3 expression correlates with proliferation, migration and invasion in human ovarian cancer.

Background: Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome verprolin-homologous (WAVE) 3, a member of the WASP/WAVE family of proteins, plays a critical role in cell motility and acts as an oncogene in some human cancers, but no sufficient information available to illustrate its involvement in ovarian cancer tumorigenesis and progression.

Methods: The expression of WAVE3 in human ovarian cancer and normal tissue was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. WAVE3 gene and protein expression in different human ovarian cancer cell lines was tested by RT-PCR and western blotting.

Pro-atherogenic role of smooth muscle Nox4-based NADPH oxidase.

Unlabelled: Nox4-based NADPH oxidase is a major reactive oxygen species-generating enzyme in the vasculature, but its role in atherosclerosis remains controversial.

Objective: Our goal was to investigate the role of smooth muscle Nox4 in atherosclerosis.

Approach And Results: Atherosclerosis-prone conditions (disturbed blood flow and Western diet) increased Nox4 mRNA level in smooth muscle of arteries.

NF-kappa B modulation is involved in celastrol induced human multiple myeloma cell apoptosis.

Celastrol is an active compound extracted from the root bark of the traditional Chinese medicine Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F. To investigate the effect of celastrol on human multiple myeloma cell cycle arrest and apoptosis and explore its molecular mechanism of action. The activity of celastrol on LP-1 cell proliferation was detected by WST-8 assay.

Mechanistic analysis of taxol-induced multidrug resistance in an ovarian cancer cell line.

Objectives: To establish a taxol-resistant cell line of human ovarian carcinoma (A2780/Taxol) and investigate its biological features.

Methods: The drug-resistant cell line (A2780/Taxol) was established by continuous stepwise selection with increasing concentrations of Taxol. Cell morphology was assessed by microscopy and growth curves were generated with in vitro and in vivo tumor xenograft models.

Celastrol inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced angiogenesis by suppressing TLR4-triggered nuclear factor-kappa B activation.

Celastrol is an active compound extracted from the root bark of the traditional Chinese medicine Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F. In this study, we investigated the effect of celastrol on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated LP-1 human multiple myeloma cell-induced angiogenesis, and identified its molecular mechanism of action. Migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was tested using a wound-healing assay.

Modulation of drug resistance in ovarian cancer cells by inhibition of protein kinase C-alpha (PKC-α) with small interference RNA (siRNA) agents.

Objective: To determine whether silence of PKC-α expression by small interference RNA (siRNA) might regulate MDR1 expression and reverse chemoresistance of ovarian cancer.

Methods: We measured gene and protein expression of MDR1 and PKC-α in ovarian cancer cells and assessed their correlation with cell drug resistance. We also examined whether blocking PKC-α by RNA interference (RNAi) affected MDR1 expression and reversed drug resistance in drug sensitivity tests.

7-aa peptide mimic from HVR1 of HCV protects hepatic injury in rats by reduced expression of key pro-inflammatory factors.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection related hepatitis remains one of the most serious health problems world-wide. During investigation of hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) of HCV, a seven amino acids mimic peptide (GQTYTSG, named 7-P) was identified within the N-terminal of HVR1 that could protect porcine serum (PS)-induced hepatic injury in rats. 7-P could not only decrease the serum levels of aminotransferases (ALT, AST), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), and billirubin, but were also effective in reversing histopathological evidence of PS-induced rat chronic liver injury.

Immunotherapy of melanoma targeting human high molecular weight melanoma-associated antigen: potential role of nonimmunological mechanisms.

Induction of humoral anti-human high molecular weight melanoma-associated antigen (anti-HMW-MAA) immunity following active specific immunotherapy is associated with a statistically significant prolongation of survival in patients with melanoma. This association does not appear to be mediated by immunological mechanisms because anti-HMW-MAA antibodies are poor mediators of complement- and cell-mediated cytotoxicity of melanoma cells. Therefore, we have been investigating nonimmunological mechanisms by which anti-HMW-MAA antibodies (Abs) affect the biology of melanoma cells.

Procyanidins from grape seeds protect against phorbol ester-induced oxidative cellular and genotoxic damage.

Aim: To evaluate the inhibitory effects of Vitis vinifera procyanidins (PAs) on carcinogen-induced oxidative stress.

Methods: The single cell gel electrophoresis technique (comet assay) was employed to detect DNA damage induced by the carcinogen phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA). The release of hydrogen peroxidase from polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) was assayed by the horseradish peroxidase-mediated oxidation of phenol red.

Taxol inhibits melanoma metastases through apoptosis induction, angiogenesis inhibition, and restoration of E-cadherin and nm23 expression.

An in vivo melanoma spontaneous metastases model was adopted to study the molecular mechanisms of the anti-metastatic effect of Taxol. The morphology of melanoma cells in the melanoma tissue lesions was examined by hematoxylin/eosin (H&E) staining and electron microscopy. The in situ programmed cell death was tested by TUNEL analysis.

Boswellic acid acetate induces differentiation and apoptosis in highly metastatic melanoma and fibrosarcoma cells.

The aim of the study was to investigate the antitumor and/or preventive effect of BC-4, an isomeric compound isolated from the plant Boswellia carteri Birdw. containing alpha- and beta-boswellic acid acetate in 1:1, MW 498.3.

Boswellic acids trigger apoptosis via a pathway dependent on caspase-8 activation but independent on Fas/Fas ligand interaction in colon cancer HT-29 cells.

Boswellic acids are the effective components of gum resin of Boswellia serrata, which has anti-inflammatory properties. Recent studies on brain tumors and leukemic cells indicate that boswellic acids may have antiproliferative and apoptotic effects with the mechanisms being not studied in detail. We studied their antiproliferative and apoptotic effects on colon cancer cells and the pathway leading to apoptosis.