• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.2.1-2.18
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• 2022

Background: Co-infections of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and the Haemophilus parasuis (HPS) are severe in Chinese pigs, but the immune response genes against co-infected with 2 pathogens in the lungs have not been reported. Objectives: To understand the effect of PRRSV and/or HPS infection on the genes expression associated with lung immune function. Methods: The expression of the immune-related genes was analyzed using RNA-sequencing and bioinformatics. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected and identified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western blotting assays. Results: All experimental pigs showed clinical symptoms and lung lesions. RNA-seq analysis showed that 922 DEGs in co-challenged pigs were more than in the HPS group (709 DEGs) and the PRRSV group (676 DEGs). Eleven DEGs validated by qRT-PCR were consistent with the RNA sequencing results. Eleven common Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways related to infection and immune were found in single-infected and co-challenged pigs, including autophagy, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, and antigen processing and presentation, involving different DEGs. A model of immune response to infection with PRRSV and HPS was predicted among the DEGs in the co-challenged pigs. Dual oxidase 1 (DUOX1) and interleukin-21 (IL21) were detected by IHC and western blot and showed significant differences between the co-challenged pigs and the controls. Conclusions: These findings elucidated the transcriptome changes in the lungs after PRRSV and/or HPS infections, providing ideas for further study to inhibit ROS production and promote pulmonary fibrosis caused by co-challenging with PRRSV and HPS.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.200-207
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• 2015

Various natural products or their derivatives, mostly originating from plants, fungi, and bacteria, have been exploited as therapeutic drugs to treat various human diseases. In addition to previously explored organisms, research on natural compounds has now expanded into unexamined living organisms in order to identify novel bioactive substances. Here, we determined whether or not the larval form of the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle, contains cytotoxic substances that exclusively affect cancer cell viability. Ethanol extract and its solvent partitioned fractions, hexane and ethyl acetate fractions, showed anticancer effects against various human cancer cells derived from the prostate (PC3 and 22Rv1), cervix (HeLa), liver (PLC/PRF5, HepG2, Hep3B, and SK-HEP-1), colon (HCT116), lung (NCI-H460), breast (MDA-MB231), and ovary (SKOV3). Cell death induced by the fractions was a mix of apoptosis, necrosis, and autophagy. The hexane fraction was administered intraperitoneally to nude mice bearing a hepatocellular carcinoma SK-HEP-1 and showed inhibition of tumor growth in vivo. Therefore, we concluded that worm extracts contain cytotoxic substances, which can be enriched by proper fractionation protocols, and further separation and purification could lead to the identification of novel molecules to treat human cancers.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.307-316
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• 2015

Beetle larvae have been used as a traditional medicine to treat various human liver diseases. To prove the liver protective function of Allomyrina dichotoma larvae (ADL), we induced liver damage by the intraperitoneal injection of a hepatotoxic reagent, diethylnitrosamine (DEN), to C3H/HeN male mice and orally administered freeze-dried ADL powder. ADL powder lessened DEN-induced hepatotoxicity considering the reduced signs of acute and chronic hepatotoxicities, such as the ALP level in the blood serum, TUNEL-positive hepatocytes, ductural reactions, steatotic hepatocytes, and collagen deposition of the Masson’s trichrome staining. In addition to hepatoprotection, the anti-cancer activity of ADL has been examined. The ADL powder was extracted with ethanol and then fractionated with hexane, ethyl acetate, and water by a solvent partition technique. The ethyl acetate fraction showed cytotoxicity to various cancer cells through induction of apoptosis and necrosis, as well as the perturbed metabolism of the cancer cell to trigger autophagy. Collectively, ADL contains bioactive substances that can protect hepatocytes from toxic chemicals and trigger cell death in cancer cells. Thus, further purification and analyses of ADL fractions could lead to the identification of novel bioactive compounds.