Publications by authors named "Zhong-ning Lin"

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia worldwide. Due to its uncertain pathogenesis, there is currently no treatment available for AD. Increasing evidences have linked cellular senescence to AD, although the mechanism triggering cellular senescence in AD requires further exploration.

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Environmental aflatoxin B (AFB) exposure has been proposed to contribute to hepatocellular carcinoma by promoting liver fibrosis, but the potential mechanisms remain to be further elucidated. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) were recognized as crucial traffickers for hepatic intercellular communication and play a vital role in the pathological process of liver fibrosis. The AFB-exposed hepatocyte-derived EVs (AFB-EVs) were extracted, and the functional effects of AFB-EVs on the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) were explored to investigate the molecular mechanism of AFB exposure-induced liver fibrogenesis.

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Evidence recently showed that pleiotropic cytokine interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) in the tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a positive role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression through the regulation of liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) in HCC. The present study explored the role and potential mechanism of mitochondrial programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and its regulation of ferroptosis in modulating the cancer stemness of LCSCs. It was shown that mimicking TME IFN-γ exposure increased the LCSCs ratio and cancer stemness phenotypes in HCC cells.

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As a key endogenous negative regulator of ferroptosis, glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) can regulate its antioxidant function through multiple post-translational modification pathways. However, the effects of the phosphorylation/dephosphorylation status of GPX4 on the regulation of inducible ferroptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. To investigate the effects and molecular mechanism of GPX4 phosphorylation/dephosphorylation modification on ferroptosis in HCC cells.

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Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is one of the most toxic mycotoxins widely found in food contaminants, and its target organ is the liver. It poses a major food security and public health threat worldwide. However, the lipotoxicity mechanism of AFB1 exposure-induced liver injury remains unclear and requires further elucidation.

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Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a common contaminant in many foodstuffs and is considered a public health concern worldwide due to its hepatotoxicity caused by lipid metabolism disorders. However, the molecular mechanism underlying AFB1-induced lipotoxicity-dependent liver injury via regulating cholesterol metabolism remains unclear. We established a cholesterol trafficking disorder-mediated hepatic lipotoxicity model with AFB1 mixture exposure in vitro (HepaRG and HepG2 cells, 1.

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Few epidemiological studies have focused on prenatal phthalates (PAEs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) exposure to neonatal health in China. This study aimed to assess the associations between prenatal PAEs and PBDEs exposure and neonatal health in Guangxi, a Zhuang autonomous region of China. Concentrations of 4 PAEs metabolites (mPAEs) and 5 PBDEs congeners were measured in the serum of 267 healthy pregnant women.

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Lipid metabolic dysregulation and liver inflammation have been reported to be associated with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Hepatitis B virus x protein (HBx) is a risk factor for NASH. Based on metabolomic and transcriptomic screens and public database analysis, we found that HBx-expressing hepatocyte-derived prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) induced macrophage polarization imbalance via prostaglandin E2 receptor 4 (EP4) through in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo models.

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Objectives: Hepatitis B virus X (HBx) is closely associated with HBV-related hepatocarcinogenesis via the inactivation of tumour suppressors. Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) regulatory subunit B56 gamma (B56γ), as a tumour suppressor, plays a critical role in regulating cellular phosphorylation signals via dephosphorylation of signalling proteins. However, the underlying mechanism that B56γ involved in regulating HBx-associated hepatocarcinogenesis phenotypes and mediating anti-HBx antibody-mediated tumour suppression remains unknown.

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Mitochondria-lysosome crosstalk is an intercellular communication platform regulating mitochondrial quality control (MQC). Activated dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) with phosphorylation at serine 616 (p-Drp1) plays a critical role in mitophagy-dependent cell survival and anti-cancer therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the underlying mechanisms that p-Drp1 involved in regulating mitochondria-lysosome crosstalk and mediating anti-HCC therapy remain unknown.

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Mitochondria are highly dynamic organelles and undergo constant fission and fusion, which are both essential for the maintenance of cell physiological functions. Dysregulation of dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1)-dependent mitochondrial dynamics is associated with tumorigenesis and the chemotherapeutic response in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is overexpressed in most cancer types and correlates with a poor prognosis.

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Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and mitochondrial dysfunction are known to affect the structural and functional damage in the neural system. Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental contaminant that is widely found in numerous environmental matrices and exhibits potential neurotoxic risk. However, it remains unclear how mitochondrial redox status induces, and whether Cd destabilizes, the ER-mitochondria crosstalk to have a toxic effect on the nervous system.

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Exposure to toxic metal contaminants, such as cadmium compounds (Cd), has been shown to induce adverse effects on various organs and tissues. In particular, blood vessels are severely impacted by Cd exposure, which may lead to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). According to previous studies, CVDs are associated with increased cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) levels.

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Background: Since the use of antibiotics in animal feed has become a critical concern worldwide due to severe threats to human health and environment, we are in need of finding alternatives to antibiotics in pig breeding, maintaining the health of pigs, and getting high-quality pork. As traditional Chinese herbs (TCH) are rich natural resources in China and show great benefits to human health we propose to transfer this abundant resource into animal production industry as additives.

Methods: Three groups of Chinese herbs (groups A, B, and C) were used as feed additives in the diet for pigs.

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Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of predisposing factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The role of HBV x protein (HBx) in mediating the induction and maintenance of cancer stemness during HBV-related HCC attracts considerable attention, but the exact mechanism has not been clearly elucidated. Here, ABCG2-dependent stem-like side population cells, which are thought to be liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs), were present in HCC cells, and the fraction of this subset was increased in HBx-expressing HCC cells.

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Mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes (MAMs) are central microdomains of the ER that interact with mitochondria. MAMs provide an essential platform for crosstalk between the ER and mitochondria and play a critical role in the local transfer of calcium (Ca) to maintain cellular functions. Despite the potential uses of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIO-NPs) in biomedical applications, the hepatotoxicity of these nanoparticles (NPs) is not well characterized and little is known about the involvement of MAMs in ER-mitochondria crosstalk.

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Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a food contaminant derived from Aspergillus fungi, has been reported to cause hepatic immunotoxicity via inflammatory infiltration and cytokines release. As a pro-inflammatory factor, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is widely involved in liver inflammation induced by xenobiotics. However, the mechanism by which AFB1-induced COX-2 regulates liver inflammatory injury via hepatocytes-Kupffer cells (KCs) crosstalk remains unclear and requires further elucidation.

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Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) exposure have been recognized as independent risk factors for the occurrence and exacerbation of hepatic steatosis but their combined impacts and the potential mechanisms remain to be further elucidated. Here, we showed that exposure to AFB1 impaired mitochondrial dynamics and increased intracellular lipid droplets (LDs) in the liver of HBV-transgenic mice in vivo and the hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx)-expressing human hepatocytes both ex vivo and in vitro. HBx combined with AFB1 exposure also up-regulated receptor interaction protein 1 (RIP1), receptor interaction protein 3 (RIP3) and activated mixed lineage kinase domain like protein (MLKL), providing evidence of necrosome formation in the hepatocytes.

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Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small subset of malignant cells, possessing stemness, with strong tumorigenic capability, conferring resistance to therapy and leading to the relapse of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Our previous study suggested that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) would be a novel target for the CSCs-like side population (SP) cells in NPC. In the present study, we further found that COX-2 maintained the stemness of NPC by enhancing the activity of mitochondrial dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1), a mitochondrial fission mediator, by studying both sorted SP cells from NPC cell lines and gene expression analyses in NPC tissues.

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Cancer stem cells play a central role in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and contribute to both disease initiation and relapse. In this study, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) was found to regulate cancer stem-like side population cells of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells and enhance cancer stem-like cells' characteristics such as higher colony formation efficiency and overexpression of stemness-associated genes. The regulatory effect of COX-2 on cancer stem-like characteristics may be mediated by ABCG2.

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Previously, we identified the genetic variant -241 (-/G) (rs11453459) in the PP2A-Aα gene (PPP2R1A) promoter and demonstrated that this variant influences the DNA-binding affinity of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB). In this study, we further confirmed that the transcriptional activity of PPP2R1A may be regulated by NF-κB through the functional genetic variant -241 (-/G). Moreover, we also demonstrated that the methylation status of CpG islands in the promoter of PPP2R1A influences the activity of this gene promoter.

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Previously, we reported five common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), -624G>C, -396G>A, -358A>C, -341C>G, and -294T>C, and six common haplotypes (CGACT, GAACT, GGAGC, GGACC, CAACT, and GAACC) in the 5'-flanking region of the SULT1A1 gene that were associated with altered enzymatic activity. In the present study, we performed in vitro assays to determine the functional impact of these genetic variations on the promoter activity. Dual luciferase reporter assays revealed that these SNPs are located in a negative regulatory fragment of the SULT1A1 gene.

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Serine-threonine protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a trimeric holoenzyme that plays an integral role in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. The substrate specificity and (sub)cellular localization of the PP2A holoenzymes are highly regulated by interaction with a family of regulatory B subunits (PP2A-Bs). The regulatory subunit PP2A-B/PR55δ (PP2A-Bδ) is involving in the dephosphorylation of PP2A substrates and is crucial for controlling entry into and exit from mitosis.

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Objective: To investigate the associations of genetic polymorphisms in GSTs genes of the Hakka population of south China with family histories of certain chronic diseases.

Methods: Five hundred and thirty-nine healthy Hakka natives of Meizhou city of Guangdong province in south China were involved. The genotypes of GSTM1, GSTT1, GSTP1, GSTM3, and GSTA1 were determined using PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

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Objective: To study the activity, protein and gene expression of renal HK-ATPase (HKA) in rats subchronic exposed to trimethyltin chloride (TMT).

Methods: In subchronic toxic test (14-week), 55 female SD rats (age, 6 weeks) were divided randomly into 5 groups: control, low, medium, high and super high dosage, respectively, which drank water with TMT of 0, 8.20, 32.

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