Antifungal activity of bamemacrolactine C against Talaromyces marneffei and its possible mechanisms of action.

Aims: The present study aims to investigate the in vitro antifungal activity and mechanism of action of bamemacrolactine C (BAC), a new 24-membered macrolide compound, against Talaromyces marneffei.

Methods And Results: The test drug BAC initially demonstrated antifungal activity through a paper disk diffusion assay, followed by determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration value of 35.29 μg ml-1 using microdilution.

Identification, In Silico Selection, and Mechanistic Investigation of Anti-Prostatic Hyperplasia Peptides From Syngnathus schlegeli.

Pipefish is traditionally used as a male tonic in China. Recent studies have shown that Syngnathus schlegeli extracts effectively combat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). However, the specific active compounds involved and their mechanisms of action are not fully understood.

Cadophorin C, a new cyclic heptapeptide isolated from a mangrove-derived fungus sp. GXIMD 03101.

One new cyclic heptapeptide, cadophorin C (), and one known analogue cadophorin B () were isolated from the mangrove-derived fungus sp. GXIMD 03101 from the mangrove  L. The chemical structure of was elucidated by comprehensive analysis of the spectroscopic data, including 1D and 2D NMR and HRESIMS, and the known compound was identified by comparing the data with literature values.

Avellanin A Has an Antiproliferative Effect on TP-Induced RWPE-1 Cells via the PI3K-Akt Signalling Pathway.

Cyclic pentapeptide compounds have garnered much attention as a drug discovery resource. This study focused on the characterization and anti-benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) properties of avellanin A from fungus in marine sediment samples collected in the Beibu Gulf of Guangxi Province in China. The antiproliferative effect and molecular mechanism of avellanin A were explored in testosterone propionate (TP)-induced RWPE-1 cells.

KLF5 inhibits the migration and invasion in cervical cancer cell lines by regulating SNAI1.

Background: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an important biological process by which malignant tumor cells to acquire migration and invasion abilities. This study explored the role of KLF5 in the EMT process of in cervical cancer cell lines.

Objective: Krüpple-like factor 5 (KLF5) is a basic transcriptional factor that plays a key role in cell-cycle arrest and inhibition of apoptosis.

Proteomic Identification of Plasma Components in and Their Effects on the Longitudinal Bone Growth Rate in Rats.

() is a marine animal and traditional Chinese medicine. plasma is a valuable resource for important medical and health-based functions. In this experiment, in order to evaluate the effect and mechanism of plasma with respect to the promotion of bone tissue growth in rats, the processes of ultrafiltration and mass spectrometry were first used to separate and identify the components of plasma.

Screening of key methylation-driven genes CDO1 in breast cancer based on WGCNA.

Background: With the rapid development of genomics and molecular biology, not only have biochemical indicators been used as tumour markers, but many new molecular markers have emerged. Epigenetic abnormalities are a new type of molecular marker, and DNA methylation is an important part of epigenetics.

Objective: This study used weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) to analyse key methylation-driven genes in breast cancer.

Screening of cervical cancer-related hub genes based on comprehensive bioinformatics analysis.

Background: Since the molecular mechanisms of cervical cancer (CC) have not been completely discovered, it is of great significance to identify the hub genes and pathways of this disease to reveal the molecular mechanisms of cervical cancer.

Objective: The study aimed to identify the biological functions and prognostic value of hub genes in cervical cancer.

Methods: The gene expression data of CC patients were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database.

ELF5 inhibits the proliferation and invasion of breast cancer cells by regulating CD24.

E74-like factor five (ELF5) is a basic transcription factor that plays a key role in breast tissue and gland development. However, the molecular mechanism of ELF5 in breast cancer cells has not been elucidated. In this study, we examined the effect of ELF5 on the human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and T47D and confirmed that ELF5 can inhibit cell proliferation, migration and invasion.

Biomimetic Dextran-Peptide Vectors for Efficient and Safe siRNA Delivery.

Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based therapeutics have the potential to treat a series of hereditary and acquired diseases. However, one serious obstacle for siRNA therapy is the lack of an efficient strategy to transport the siRNA to the targeted organ/cell with minimal toxicity. To take advantage of the good biocompatibility and degradability of natural polymers, and to understand how the peptide sequence affects the properties of the vector, four biomimetic vectors (D10-K3H7, D10-R3H7, D20-K3H7, and D20-R3H7) were designed and synthesized by conjugating the peptide (K3H7 or R3H7) and dextran with a molecular weight of 10 or 20 kDa.

Peptide-grafted dextran vectors for efficient and high-loading gene delivery.

Among various polymeric gene delivery systems, peptide-based vectors demonstrate great potential owing to their unique structure and properties, including flexibility; however, there is insufficient molecular understanding of the role and properties of amino acids as building blocks in gene delivery. In this work, we constructed a series of histidine (H)-containing peptide-grafted dextran (D-RxHy) vectors via a simple two-step reaction of dextran with five RxHyC peptides: R7H3C, R5H3C, R5H5C, R3H5C, and R3H7C. The gel electrophoresis study unveiled the DNA-binding ability of H residues.

SUMOylation of PES1 upregulates its stability and function via inhibiting its ubiquitination.

PES1 is a component of the PeBoW complex, which is required for the maturation of 28S and 5.8S ribosomal RNAs, as well as for the formation of the 60S ribosome. Deregulation of ribosomal biogenesis can contribute to carcinogenesis.

Association between Dietary Vitamin C Intake and Risk of Prostate Cancer: A Meta-analysis Involving 103,658 Subjects.

We attempted to systematically determine the association between dietary intake of vitamin C and risk of prostate cancer. PubMed and Embase were searched to obtain eligible studies published before February 2015. Cohort or case-control studies that reported the relative risk (RR)/odds ratio (OR) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between vitamin C intake and prostate cancer risk were included.

Association between EHBP1 rs721048(A>G) polymorphism and prostate cancer susceptibility: a meta-analysis of 17 studies involving 150,678 subjects.

Background: EHBP1 rs721048(A) was first identified as a prostate cancer (PCa) risk in Caucasians by genome-wide association study, but subsequent replication studies involving Caucasian and other ethnicities did not produce consistent results. The aim of this study was to obtain a more definite association between rs721048(A) and PCa risk.

Methods: We comprehensively searched several databases updated to September 2014, including PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, and Google Scholar.

Association of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1)-2518A>G polymorphism with susceptibility to coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis.

We attempted to systematically elucidate the association between monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) -2518A>G polymorphism and risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). Eligible studies were identified through PubMed, EBSCO, and Web of Science Databases. The magnitude of MCP-1 polymorphism effect and its possible mode of action on CAD were estimated.

Differentiation of reprogrammed human adipose mesenchymal stem cells toward neural cells with defined transcription factors.

Somatic cell reprogramming may become a powerful approach to generate specific human cell types for cell-fate determination studies and potential transplantation therapies of neurological diseases. Here we report a reprogramming methodology with which human adipose stem cells (hADSCs) can be differentiated into neural cells. After being reprogrammed with polycistronic plasmid carrying defined factor OCT3/4, SOX2, KLF4 and c-MYC, and further treated with neural induce medium, the hADSCs switched to differentiate toward neural cell lineages.

Induced pluripotent stem cells generated from human adipose-derived stem cells using a non-viral polycistronic plasmid in feeder-free conditions.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be generated from somatic cells by ectopic expression of defined transcription factors (TFs). However, the optimal cell type and the easy reprogramming approaches that minimize genetic aberrations of parent cells must be considered before generating the iPSCs. This paper reports a method to generate iPSCs from adult human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) without the use of a feeder layer, by ectopic expression of the defined transcription factors OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and C-MYC using a polycistronic plasmid.

[Three-dimensional spheroid model for cultivating WB-F344 cells in simulated microgravity].

Three-dimensional (3D) culture of cells could closely mimic the in vivo situation with regard to cell function and microenvironment compared with plane monolayer cultured cells. In this paper, we established 3D culture of rat WB-F344 cells with rotary cell culture system (RCCS) to simulate microgravity environment, and examined cells proliferation, morphology, microstructure, E-cadherin protein quantity and mRNA expression of adhesion molecules by count the number of cells, optical microscope, transmission electron microscope and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results demonstrated that cells were polyhedron with lots of micovilli and mitochondria, which grow well and packed together densely to form irregular aggregates.

Improved performance of primary rat hepatocytes on blended natural polymers.

Alginate (Alg), chitosan (Chi), collagen (Col), gelatin (Gel), and the mixtures of every two of them were screened to determine their suitability for hepatocyte culture. The test materials were fabricated as films and then evaluated on the basis of their abilities to promote the attachment and functions of rat hepatocytes cultured on them. Cellular attachment on Col and Gel was favorable.