• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.111-117
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• 2007

This study was designed to investigate the effects of pyroligneous liquor on oxygen radicals and their scavenger enzymes in the liver of Cri/Bgi CD rats (7 rats per group). Male rats were fed a basic diet prepared in our Lab., PL-0 (Control), PL-1, PL-25, PL-50 and PL-75 groups were Prepared to be 0%, 1%, 25%, 50% and 75%with distilled water using pyroligneous liquor (35% of Choa Co. Ltd.), and were administrated orally for 8 weeks. Superoxide radical contents in liver mitochondria and microsomes were significantly decreased to 12-14%, 11-15%, respectively, in these PL-25 and PL-50groups compared with the control group. Hydroxyl radical content in mitochondria and microsomes were markedly decreased to 12-20% and 17%, respectively, in these PL-25 and PL-50% groups compared with the control group. Hydrogen peroxide content in mitochondria and microsomes were significantly decreased about 15-12% and 22-20% in liver of PL-25 and PL-50 groups compared with the control group. Mn-SOD and Cu/Zn-SOD activities in liver of PL-25 and PL-50 groups were remarkably increased to 15-25%, 11-16%, respectively, compared with the control group. GPx activities in mitochondria and microsomes were significantly increased in the liver of PL-25 and PL-50 groups compared with the control group. CAT activities in mitochondria and cytosol were significantly increased to 12-14%, 15-27%, respectively, in the liver of PL-25 and PL-50 groups compared with the control group. These results suggest that long term administration orally of 25 and 50% pyroligneous liquor may effectively inhibit the formation of oxygen free radicals, and also scavenger enzyme activities significantly increase through the administration orally.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.42 no.12
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• pp.906-918
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• 2019

MicroRNA-223-3p (miR-223-3p) is one of the potential microRNAs that have been shown to alleviate inflammatory responses in pre-clinical investigations and is highly encased in exosomes derived from bone mesenchymal stem cells (MSC-exosomes). MSC-exosomes are able to function as carriers to deliver microRNAs into cells. Autoimmune hepatitis is one of the challenging liver diseases with no effective treatment other than steroid hormones. Here, we examined whether MSC-exosomes can transfer miR-223-3p to treat autoimmune hepatitis in an experimental model. We found that MSC-exosomes were successfully incorporated with miR-223-3p and delivered miR-223-3p into macrophages. Moreover, there was no toxic effect of exosomes on the macrophages. Furthermore, treatments of either exosomes or exosomes with miR-223-3p successfully attenuated inflammatory responses in the liver of autoimmune hepatitis and inflammatory cytokine release in both the liver and macrophages. The mechanism may be related to the regulation of miR-223-3p level and STAT3 expression in the liver and macrophages. These results suggest that MSC-exosomes can be used to deliver miR-223-3p for the treatment of autoimmune hepatitis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.1447-1451
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• 2007

Through the screening of marine natural compounds that inhibit cancer cell proliferation, we previously reported that pectenotoxin-2 (PTX-2) isolated from marine sponges exhibits selective cytotoxicity against several cell lines in p53-deficient tumor cells compared to those with functional p53. However, the molecular mechanisms of its anti-proliferative action on malignant cell growth are not completely known. To further explore the mechanisms of its anti-cancer activity and to test whether the status of p53 in liver cancer cells correlates with their chemo-sensitivities to PTX-2, we used two well-known hepatocarcinoma cell lines, p53-deficient Hep3B and p53-wild type HepG2. We have demonstrated that PTX-2 markedly inhibits Hep3B cell growth and induces apoptosis whereas HepG2 cells are much more resistant to PTX-2 suggesting that PTX-2 seems to act by p53-independent cytotoxic mechanism. The apoptosis induced by PTX-2 in Hep3B cells was associated with the modulation of DNA fragmentation factor (DFF) family proteins, up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members such as Bax and Bcl-xS and activation of caspases (caspase-3, -8 and -9). Blockade of the caspase-3 activity by caspase-3 inhibitor, z-DEVD-fmk, prevented the PTX-2-induced growth inhibition in Hep3B cells. Moreover, treatment with PTX-2 also induced phosphorylation of AKT and extracellular-signal regulating kinase (ERK), but not c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MARK). Specific inhibitors of PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) and ERK1/2 inhibitor (PD98059) significantly blocks PTX-2-induced-anti-proliferative effects, whereas a JNK inhibitor (SP600125) and a p38 MAPK inhibitor (SB203580) have no significant effects demonstrating that the pro-apoptotic effect of PTX-2 mediated through activation of AKT and ERK signal pathway in Hep3B cells.