Hepatic stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 deficiency induces fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma-related gene activation under a high carbohydrate low fat diet.

Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1) is a pivotal enzyme in lipogenesis, which catalyzes the synthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) from saturated fatty acids, whose ablation downregulates lipid synthesis, preventing steatosis and obesity. Yet deletion of SCD1 promotes hepatic inflammation and endoplasmic reticulum stress, raising the question of whether hepatic SCD1 deficiency promotes further liver damage, including fibrosis. To delineate whether SCD1 deficiency predisposes the liver to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we employed in vivo SCD1 deficient global and liver-specific mouse models fed a high carbohydrate low-fat diet and in vitro established AML12 mouse cells.

Identification of antiviral phytochemicals from cranberry as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M).

Cranberry phytochemicals are known to possess antiviral activities. In the current study, we explored the therapeutic potential of cranberry against SARS-CoV-2 by targeting its main protease (M) enzyme. Firstly, phytochemicals of cranberry origin were identified from three independent databases.