The Prebiotic Effect of Kaempferol in Regulating Bile Acid Metabolism.

Kaempferol (Kae), as a homologous flavonoid, plays a pivotal role in human nutrition and disease treatment. This study endeavors to elucidate the in vivo metabolism of Kae and its potential to modulate the interplay between bile acids (BAs) and gut microbiota (GM). After Kae administration, we analyzed pharmacokinetics, BA levels, and drug metabolic enzymes (DMEs) amount using LC-MS/MS.

Plasma cell-free tumor DNA, PIK3CA and TP53 mutations predicted inferior endocrine-based treatment outcome in endocrine receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Purpose: How to factor both tumor burden and oncogenic genomic mutations as variables to predict the outcome of endocrine-based therapy (ET) in ER-positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer patients (MBC) remains to be explored.

Method: Blood samples prospectively collected from 163 ER-positive/HER2-negative female MBC patients, before ET, were used for cell-free tumor DNA (cfDNA) analysis. cfDNA was subjected to next-generation sequencing (NGS) to interrogate oncogenic PIK3CA hotspot and TP53 DNA-binding domain (DBD) mutations, including single nucleotide variants (SNVs) or small insertions and deletions (InDels).

Mutations in circulating tumor DNA detected in the postoperative period predict poor survival in patients with ovarian cancer.

Background: We investigated whether mutations in plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) can provide prognostic insight in patients with different histological types of ovarian carcinoma. We also examined the concordance of mutations detected in ctDNA samples with those identified in the corresponding formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor specimens.

Methods: Between July 2016 and December 2017, 29 patients with ovarian carcinoma were prospectively enrolled.

Key acceptability attributes of orodispersible films.

The features rendering orodispersible films (ODFs) patient-centric formulations are widely discussed in the scientific literature. However there is a lack of research studies exploring ODF characteristics with a potential impact on end-user acceptability. The aim of this study was to identify the key ODF characteristics affecting end-user acceptability by developing in vitro test methods for the prediction of ODFs acceptability and correlate these formulation characteristics with the data obtained from a human panel study.

Optimization of 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis for proteomic studies of solid tumor tissue samples.

The method of 2‑dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) has been widely used for the proteomic profiling of solid biological samples, however, the analytical conditions have not been optimized. The present study optimized the major conditions of 2‑DE for determining the protein contents of solid tumor tissues, through enhancement of the separation efficiency and resolution. Three major analytical conditions of 2‑DE analysis, namely protein extraction, focusing time for isoelectric focusing (IEF), and pre‑reduction and alkylation prior to IEF, were carefully examined so that the optimal parameters and procedures were achieved.

Evaluation on the effect of different in-gel peptide isoelectric focusing parameters in global proteomic profiling.

Peptide isoelectric focusing (IEF) is a common technique used in two-dimensional liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (2D-LC-MS/MS) proteomic workflow, in which the tryptic peptide is first pre-fractionated based on pI values before being subjected to reverse phase LC-MS analysis. Although this method has been widely used by many research groups, a systemic study on the optimal conditions and fundamental parameters influencing the experimental outcomes has been lacking, including the effect of peptide extraction methods, the extent of pre-fractionation, and the choice of pH range. In this study, we compared the effect of different parameters on the numbers of peptides and proteins identified using two complex mouse proteomes.

Selective G2/M arrest in a p53(Val135)-transformed cell line induced by lithium is mediated through an intricate network of MAPK and β-catenin signaling pathways.

Aims: Lithium is a common mood stabilizer to treat bipolar disorder. It has a narrow window of therapeutic action and its mechanism of action and possible side effects are still not fully understood. Lithium is a potent inhibitor of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β).

Oleanolic acid isolated from Oldenlandia diffusa exhibits a unique growth inhibitory effect against ras-transformed fibroblasts.

Aims: Oldenlandia diffusa (Willd.) Roxb. (O.