• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.625-631
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• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a high cholesterol (HC) dietary challenge on cholesterol tissue accumulation, inflammation, adipocyte differentiation, and macrophage infiltration in guinea pigs. A second objective was to assess whether macronutrient manipulation would reverse these metabolic alterations. MATERIALS/METHODS: Male Hartley guinea pigs (10/group) were assigned to either low cholesterol (LC) (0.04g/100g) or high cholesterol (HC) (0.25g/100g) diets for six weeks. For the second experiment, 20 guinea pigs were fed the HC diet for six weeks and then assigned to either a low carbohydrate (CHO) diet (L-CHO) (10% energy from CHO) or a high CHO diet (H-CHO) (54% CHO) for an additional six weeks. RESULTS: Higher concentrations of total (P < 0.005) and free (P < 0.05) cholesterol were observed in both adipose tissue and aortas of guinea pigs fed the HC compared to those in the LC group. In addition, higher concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the adipose tissue (P < 0.005) and lower concentrations of anti-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-10 were observed in the HC group (P < 0.05) compared to the LC group. Of particular interest, adipocytes in the HC group were smaller in size (P < 0.05) and showed increased macrophage infiltration compared to the LC group. When compared to the H-CHO group, lower concentrations of cholesterol in both adipose and aortas as well as lower concentrations of inflammatory cytokines in adipose tissue were observed in the L-CHO group (P < 0.05). In addition, guinea pigs fed the L-CHO exhibited larger adipose cells and lower macrophage infiltration compared to the H-CHO group. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study strongly suggest that HC induces metabolic dysregulation associated with inflammation in adipose tissue and that L-CHO is more effective than H-CHO in attenuating these detrimental effects.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.281-288
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• 2015

This paper researches the features of blood stasis theory of Wangqingren, who wrote 『Yilingaicuo』 that greatly contributed in the development of blood stasis theory at Qing dynasty period. And the disease cause, disease mechanism of blood stasis and scope of modern diseases related with blood stasis are studied by research on clinical papers which used 33 prescriptions in 『Yilingaicuo』 in modern times. Research on the features of blood stasis theory of Wangqingren is proceeded by referring to the annotations of 『Yilingaicuopingyi』 and the papers which related with blood stasis from Korea and China. And clinical papers are searched in China Academic Journals(CAJ) of China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI) to analyse the scope of modern diseases related with blood stasis. The features of blood stasis theory in 『Yilingaicuo』 expanded the range of existing theory. Wangqingren thought that chronic disease, weird disease, the disease of no effect from normal treatments were related with blood stasis. And he attached great importance to qi and blood and thought that the main pathogenesis of blood stasis was qi deficiency. And a lot of Astragalus membranaceus Bunge were combined in many prescriptions to reinforce qi. He also used different herbs according to the location of the disease. Musk and Allium fistulosum were used for the disease located at head or upper part of the patient's trunk. Bupleurum falcatum L., Aurantii Fructus Pericarpium and Platycodon grandiflorum A. De Candolle were used for the disease located at thorax. Cyperus rotundus L., Linderae Radix and Aurantii Fructus Pericarpium were used for the disease located at the stomach or below the costal angle. Foeniculi Fructus and Corydalis remota were used for the disease located at belly or lower part of the patient's trunk. Trogopterorum Faeces, myrrha, Cyperus rotundus L. and Cnidium officinale were used for the disease located at extremity or joint.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1557-1564
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• 2009

Human CDX2 is known as a caudal-related homeodomain transcription factor that is expressed in the intestinal epithelium and is important in differentiation and maintenance of the intestinal epithelial cells. The caudal-related homeobox proteins bind DNA according to a helix-turn-helix structure, thereby increasing the structural stability of DNA. A cancer-tumor suppressor role for Cdx2 has been shown by a decrease in the level of the expression of Cdx2 in colorectal cancer, but the mechanism of transcriptional regulation has not been examined at the molecular level. We developed a large-scale system for expression of the recombinant, novel CDX2, in Escherichia coli. A highly purified and soluble CDX2 protein was obtained in E. coli strain BL21(DE3)RIL and a hexahistidine fusion system using Ni-NTA affinity column, anion exchange, and gel filtration chromatographies. The identity and secondary structure of the purified CDX2 protein were confirmed by MALDI-TOF MS, Western blot, and a circular dichroism analyses. In addition, we studied the DNA-binding activity of recombinant CDX2 by ELISA experiment and isolated human CDX2-binding proteins derived from rat cells by an immobilized GST-fusion method. Three CDX2-binding proteins were found in the gastric tissue, and those proteins were identified to the homeobox protein Hox-D8, LIM homeobox protein 6, and SMC1L1 protein.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.23
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• pp.10085-10089
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• 2015

Background: The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system comprises a group of proteins that play key roles in regulating cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis in a variety of cellular systems. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) in hepatocellular carcinoma. Materials and Methods: Expression of IGF2, IGFBP3, and PTEN was analyzed by qRT-PCR. Lentivirus vectors were used to overexpress IGFBP3 in hepatocellular carcinoma cell (HCC) lines. The effect of IGFBP3 on proliferation was investigated by MTT and colony formation assays. Results: Expression of IGF2, IGFBP3, and PTEN in several HCC cell lines was lower than in normal cell lines. After 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine/trichostatin A treatment, significant demethylation of the promoter region of IGFBP3 was observed in HCC cells. Overexpression of IGFBP3 induced apoptosis and reduced colony formation in HUH7 cells. Conclusions: Expression of IGF2, IGFBP3, and PTEN in several HCC cell lines was lower than in normal cell lines. After 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine/trichostatin A treatment, significant demethylation of the promoter region of IGFBP3 was observed in HCC cells. Overexpression of IGFBP3 induced apoptosis and reduced colony formation in HUH7 cells.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.253-258
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• 2002

The androgenic gland secretes a hormone, androgenic gland hormone, which is believed to act on the differentiation of the primary, secondary, and behavioral sex characteristics in most malacostracan crustaceans. Based on the changes in gonado-somatic indexe and histological observation of testis and androgenic gland cell, testicular maturation and spermatogenesis of M. nipponense occurred early in summer (May to July), and generally spermatogenesis was absent in August. It could be, concluded that May to July is the period when adult males of this species are sexually active, and androgenic gland showed signs of increased secretory activity.

• BMB Reports
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.32-37
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• 2012

Alternative splicing generates several interleukin-6 (IL-6) isoforms; for them an antagonistic activity to the wild-type IL-6 has been proposed. In this study we quantified the relative abundance of IL-6 mRNA isoforms in a panel of mouse tissues and in C2C12 cells during myoblast differentiation or after treatment with the $Ca^{2+}$ ionophore A23187, the AMP-mimetic AICAR and TNF-${\alpha}$. The two mouse IL-6 isoforms identified, IL-6${\delta}$5 (deletion of the first 58 bp of exon 5) and IL-6${\delta}$3 (lacking exon 3), were not conserved in rat and human, did not exhibit tissue specific regulation, were expressed at low levels and their abundance closely correlated to that of full-length IL-6. Species-specific features of the IL-6 sequence, such as the presence of competitive 3' acceptor site in exon 5 and insertion of retrotransposable elements in intron 3, could explain the production of IL-6${\delta}$5 and IL-6${\delta}$3. Our results argued against biological significance for mouse IL-6 isoforms.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.3691-3696
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• 2015

Background: Cancer loci comprise heterogeneous cell populations with diverse cellular secretions. Therefore, disseminating cancer-specific or cancer-associated protein antigens from tissue lysates could only be marginally correct, if otherwise not validated against precise standards. Materials and Methods: In this study, 2DE proteomic profiles were examined from lysates of 13 lung-adenocarcinoma tissue samples and matched against the A549 cell line proteome. A549 matched-cancer-specific hits were analyzed and characterized by MALDI-TOF/MS. Results: Comparative analysis identified a total of 13 protein spots with differential expression. These proteins were found to be involved in critical cellular functions regulating pyrimidine metabolism, pentose phosphate pathway and integrin signaling. Gene ontology based analysis classified majority of protein hits responsible for metabolic processes. Among these, only a single non-predictive protein spot was found to be a cancer cell specific hit, identified as Armadillo repeat-containing protein 8 (ARMC8). Pathway reconstruction studies showed that ARMC8 lies at the centre of cancer metabolic pathways. Conclusions: The findings in this report are suggestive of a regulatory role of ARMC8 in control of proliferation and differentiation in lung adenocarcinomas.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.129-134
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• 2015

Schistosoma haematobium is one of the most prevalent parasitic flatworms, infecting over 112 million people in Africa. However, little is known about the genetic diversity of natural S. haematobium populations from the human host because of the inaccessible location of adult worms in the host. We used 4 microsatellite loci to genotype individually pooled S. haematobium eggs directly from each patient sampled at 4 endemic locations in Africa. We found that the average allele number of individuals from Mali was significantly higher than that from Nigeria. In addition, no significant difference in allelic composition was detected among the populations within Nigeria; however, the allelic composition was significantly different between Mali and Nigeria populations. This study demonstrated a high level of genetic variability of S. haematobium in the populations from Mali and Nigeria, the 2 major African endemic countries, suggesting that geographical population differentiation may occur in the regions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.20
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• pp.8823-8828
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• 2014

Objective: To explore the most appropriate treatment for patients with hepatocellular cancer (HCC) >10 cm by using the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) classification. Materials and Methods: A total of 124 HCC patients undergoing surgery were selected. Disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS) and prognostic factors were respectively assessed. Results: This study showed that the cumulative 1-, 3-, 5-year survival rates were 79.7%, 59.8% and 41.6% in BCLC-A patients, 76.2%, 9.5% and 0% in BCLC-B patients and 44.9%, 0% and 0% in BCLC-C patients, respectively. The 1-, 3-, 5-year DFS rates were 49%, 24.5% and 9.1% in BCLC-A patients, 7.5%, 0% and 0% in BCLC-B patients, respectively. No BCLC-C patients survived 1 year after surgery. Multivariate analysis indicated that hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), vascular invasion, intra-hepatic metastasis, curative resection, tumor rupture and pathologic differentiation were independent prognostic factors. Conclusions: Surgery is effective and safe for patients with HCC >10 cm with sufficient hepatic reserve.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.51-59
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• 1998

The apoptosis-inducing activity of ursolic acid (UA) was examined in mouse F9 teratocarcinoma cells on the bases of biochemical and morphological characteeristics. UA, pentacyclic trierpene acid, exhibits antitumor activities including inhibition of skin tumorigenesis, induction of tumor cell differentiation and antitumor promotion. Treatment with UA showed that the decrease of cell viability was dose-dependent. UA also induced genomic DNA fragmetation, a hallmark of apoptosis, indicating that the mechanism of UA-induced F9 cell death was through apoptosis. When the morphology of the F9 cells was examined by electron microscopy, the cells treated with UA showed the charcteristic morphological features of apoptosis such as chromatin condensation and nuclear fragmentation. DNA fragmentations by UA were inhibired by cycloheximide, which suggest that de novo protein synthesis was required for DNA fragmentation by UA. Inaddition, the expression of c-jun was increased, but those of c-myc and laminin B1 were decreased during apoptosis induced by UA in F9 cells. These results suggest that UA causes an apoptosis in F9 cells. Further, the increased expression of c-jun may be involved in the UA-induced apoptosis of f9 cells.