Preparation of the Extracellular Domain of Recombinant Human Toll-like Receptor 6.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) mediate immune responses upon recognition of a variety of ligands. To further elucidate the function of TLRs, it is important to identify novel ligands and their action mechanisms including polymer assembly. In this study, we propose an efficient method for preparation of the extracellular domain of human Toll-like receptor 6 (TLR6) in Escherichia coli using the bubbling cultivation method.

Wasabi-derived 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate induces apoptosis in human breast cancer by possible involvement of the NF-κB pathways.

6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate (6-MSITC) is a bioactive ingredient of wasabi (Wasabia japonica), which is a popular spice in Japan. 6-MSITC has been reported to inhibit the proliferation of breast cancer and melanoma cell lines. We inoculated 30 female Balb-nu/nu mice with MDA-MB-231 or -453 cells, and orally administered varying concentrations of 6-MSITC for 12 days following tumor growth.

Intracellular accumulation of structurally varied isothiocyanates correlates with inhibition of nitric oxide production in proinflammatory stimuli-activated tumorigenic macrophage-like cells.

In the present study, we analyzed the intracellular accumulation of 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate (6MITC) and its analogs in proinflammatory stimuli-activated J774.1 cells to predict the biological potencies of the ITCs. Our present analyses exhibited that the intracellular accumulation was in the order of 6MITC>2b>2e≈2c>2g>2d>2f>2h.

Utilization of 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate for sensitization of tumor cells to antitumor agents in combination therapies.

In the present study, we performed in silico and in vitro analyses to evaluate the chemosensitizing effects of 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate (6-MITC) on tumor cells. Our in silico analyses of the ligand-receptor interactions between 6-MITC and the glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL) catalytic subunit (GCLC) revealed that 6-MITC possibly inhibited GCL enzyme activity, and that Cys-249 and Gln-251 were important residues for stable binding of ligands to GCLC. It was further found that 6-MITC interfered with the hydrogen bonds of the cysteinyl and glutamyl moieties of GSH with Cys-249 and Gln-251, respectively, and possibly overrode the feedback inhibition of GCL enzyme activity by GSH.

The IL6 gene polymorphism -634C>G and IL17F gene polymorphism 7488T>C influence bone mineral density in young and elderly Japanese women.

Osteoporosis is an important public health problem because of the significant morbidity and mortality associated with its complications, particularly fractures. An important clinical risk factor in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis is the presence of genetic polymorphisms in susceptibility genes. However, few studies have investigated the relevance of these polymorphisms in premenopausal women.

Alkyl isothiocyanates suppress epidermal growth factor receptor kinase activity but augment tyrosine kinase activity.

Aim: We have reported the in vitro and in vivo anticancer activities of 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate (6-MITC) derived from a Japanese spice, wasabi. In order to obtain some clues about the mechanism of the anticancer activity, we have studied the effect of alkyl isothiocyanates (MITCs) on protein kinase activities.

Methods: The anti-autophosphorylation activity of MITCs with respect to the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-stimulated receptor kinase of A431 epidermoid carcinoma cells was examined by incorporation of radioactive ATP into an acid-insoluble fraction.

The augmenting activity of 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate on cellular glutathione levels is less sensitive to thiol compounds than its cytotoxic activity.

We analyzed the effects of thiol compounds on the biological activities of 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate (6-MITC). Thiol compounds abolished the cytotoxic activity of 6-MITC, but did not abolish its activity augmenting cellular total glutathione levels and gamma-glutamylcysteine ligase gene expression. Thiol compounds might play an important role in the augmentation of several significant biological activities by overcoming the inherent limitations of 6-MITC.

Detection of 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate (6-MITC) and its conjugate with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) by high performance liquid chromatograpy-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/APCI).

A method using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) mass spectrometry (MS) was established for the detection of 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate (6-MITC) and its conjugate with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC). The optimal chromatographic conditions were obtained on an ODS column (150 x 4.6 mm, 3 microm) with the column temperature at 37 degrees C.

Increase of visceral fat area in Indonesians and Japanese with normal BMI.

We compared the visceral fat accumulation between Indonesians and Japanese. Non-obese (25>BMI> or =18.5) men aged between their 20s and 50s were collected in Toban including moderately populated middle-sized cities of Hyogo Prefecture in Japan, and Sangsit town and Pedawa village in Indonesia.

Preventive effect of oral administration of 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate derived from wasabi (Wasabia japonica Matsum) against pulmonary metastasis of B16-BL6 mouse melanoma cells.

Aim: Effect of oral administration of 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate (6-MITC) or a 6-MITC-containing T-wasabi fraction from wasabi root (Wasabia japonica Matsum) to inhibit the macroscopic pulmonary metastasis was studied with a murine B16-BL6 melanoma model.

Method: Two administration routes, subcutaneous or intravenous, and two administration times, prior to or concomitant with tumor inoculation, of 6-MITC or T-wasabi against the metastatic foci formation in C57BL/6J mouse lungs were compared.

Results: The number of metastasized foci per lung in either subcutaneous or intravenous injection was significantly reduced by intake of 6-MITC or a T-wasabi fraction.

Selective sensitivity to wasabi-derived 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate of human breast cancer and melanoma cell lines studied in vitro.

Recently, attention has focused on the anticancer properties of an aromatic component 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate (6-MITC) in a typical Japanese spice, wasabi. In this paper, anticancer activity of 6-MITC in vitro was studied by using a human cancer cell (HCC) panel. 6-MITC directly affected the cells in the HCC panel and inhibited their growth in culture.

Augmented gene expression of quinone reductase by 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate through avoiding its cytotoxicity.

We examined both the induction of quinone reductase (QR) by 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate and its cytotoxicity in Hepa1c1c7 cells, and compared the sensitivity of these two responses to NAC. QR activity was increased by 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate in a dose-dependent manner. At 80 microM, the compound was significantly toxic to cells, but the resulting QR inhibition was dose-dependently overcome by NAC.