Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are highly prevalent conditions characterized by inflammation and fibrosis of the liver, which can progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma if left untreated. Conventional modalities are mainly symptomatic, with no definite solution. Beta-glucan-based biological response modifiers are a potential strategy in lieu of their beneficial metabolic effects. strains AFO-202 and N-163 beta-glucans were evaluated for anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory hepatoprotective potentials in a NASH animal model in this study.
Methods: In the STAM™ murine model of NASH, five groups were studied for 8 weeks: (1) vehicle (RO water), (2) AFO-202 beta-glucan; (3) N-163 beta-glucan, (4) AFO-202+N-163 beta-glucan, and (5) telmisartan (standard pharmacological intervention). Evaluation of biochemical parameters in plasma and hepatic histology including Sirius red staining and F4/80 immunostaining were performed.
Results: AFO-202 beta-glucan significantly decreased inflammation-associated hepatic cell ballooning and steatosis. N-163 beta-glucan decreased fibrosis and inflammation significantly ( value < 0.05). The combination of AFO-202 with N-163 significantly decreased the NAFLD Activity Score (NAS) compared with other groups.
Conclusion: This preclinical study supports the potential of N-163 and AFO-202 beta-glucans alone or in combination as potential preventive and therapeutic agent(s), for NASH.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9630018 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jceh.2022.06.008 | DOI Listing |
Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol
January 2025
College of Sport and Health, Shandong Sport University, Jinan, Shandong, 250102, China.
Obesity can change the immune microenvironment of adipose tissue and induce inflammation. This study is dedicated to exploring the internal mechanism by which different intensities of exercise reprogram the immune microenvironment of epididymal adipose tissue in nutritionally obese mice. C57BL/6J male obese mouse models were constructed by high-fat diet, which were respectively obese control group (OC), moderate intensity continuous exercise group (HF-M), high intensity continuous exercise group (HF-H) and high intensity intermittent exercise group (HF-T).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvest Ophthalmol Vis Sci
January 2025
Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Purpose: This study aimed to identify a novel recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) capsid variant that can widely transfect the deep retina through intravitreal injection and to assess their effectiveness and safety in gene delivery.
Methods: By adopting the sequences of various cell-penetrating peptides and inserting them into the capsid modification region of AAV2, we generated several novel variants. The green fluorescent protein (GFP)-carrying variants were screened following intravitreal injection.
J Neurophysiol
January 2025
School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a prevalent and challenging neurodegenerative disorder, and may involve impaired autophagy. Nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is crucial for regulating autophagy-related genes, maintaining cellular homeostasis. Electroacupuncture (EA), a complementary and alternative therapy for PD, has gained widespread clinical application.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethods Mol Biol
January 2025
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
The HOX and PBX genes encode transcription factors that have key roles in development and cancer, both independently and as a heterodimer within a complex of proteins that recognizes specific sequences in DNA and can both activate and repress transcription of target genes. Due to functional redundancy amongst HOX proteins, knock down or knock out studies of individual genes often do not result in an altered phenotype. An alternative approach is to target the interaction between HOX and PBX proteins, which is dependent on a conserved hexapeptide region within HOX.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Physiol Cell Physiol
January 2025
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan.
It has been proposed that bone marrow contributes to the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis. Nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR) is expressed in bone marrow stromal cells; it is also present in peripheral blood and ischemic coronary arteries. We hypothesized that bone marrow-derived NGFR-positive (NGFR) cells regulate arterial remodeling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!