ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES@#Morusin, a marker component of Morus alba L., possesses anticancer activity. The objective of this study was to determine autophagy-inducing effect of morusin in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and investigate the underlying mechanism. @*SUBJECTS/METHODS@#Autophagy induction and the expression of autophagy-related proteins were analyzed by LC3 immunofluorescence and western blot, respectively. The role of autophagy and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) was determined by treating NSCLC cells with bafilomycin A1, an autophagy inhibitor, and compound C, an AMPK inhibitor.Cytotoxicity and apoptosis induction were determined by MTT assay, trypan blue exclusion assay, annexin V-propidium iodide (PI) double staining assay, and cell cycle analysis. @*RESULTS@#Morusin increased the formation of LC3 puncta in the cytoplasm and upregulated the expression of autophagy-related 5 (Atg5), Atg12, beclin-1, and LC3II in NSCLC cells, demonstrating that morusin could induce autophagy. Treatment with bafilomycin A1 markedly reduced cell viability but increased proportions of sub-G1 phase cells and annexin V-positive cells in H460 cells. These results indicate that morusin can trigger autophagy in NSCLC cells as a defense mechanism against morusin-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, we found that AMPK and its downstream acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) were phosphorylated, while mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and its downstream p70S6 kinase (p70S6K) were dephosphorylated by morusin. Morusin-induced apoptosis was significantly increased by treatment with compound C in H460 cells. These results suggest that morusin-induced AMPK activation could protect NSCLC cells from apoptosis probably by inducing autophagy. @*CONCLUSIONS@#Our findings suggest that combination treatment with morusin and autophagy inhibitor or AMPK inhibitor might enhance the clinical efficacy of morusin for NSCLC.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The present study explored novel methods in visual field tests that actively induce the gaze of the examinee to the fixation target in the center vision and compared their effectiveness. METHODS: Four gaze induction methods (dot-on, dot-off, number-on, and number-off) were prepared by combining 2 types of fixation targets (dot and number) and 2 conditions of sound presence (on and off). The gaze induction methods were implemented to a PC-based visual field testing system and the 24-2 visual field testing protocol was administered to 14 participants without glaucoma. The performance of the gaze induction method was evaluated in terms of fixation error rate, target detection rate, and subjective satisfaction (7-point scale, 1 for least satisfied and 7 for most satisfied). RESULTS: The fixation error rates of dot-on (5.7%) and number-on (6.4%) were relatively lower than the other methods; the target detection rates of the induction methods were very high (95-96%) without significant differences, and the subjective satisfaction levels of dot-on (5.7) and number-on (5.4) were significantly higher than the other methods. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study we determined number-on as the preferred effective gaze induction method compared to the conventional dot-off method when fixation error rates and subjective satisfaction were considered.
Subject(s)
Glaucoma , Vision, Ocular , Visual Field Tests , Visual FieldsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Low body weight was one of the risk factors of osteoporosis. Little is known about the correlation between body weight change and bone mineral density (BMD) in Korean women. Therefore, this study was designed to reveal the impact of body weight change on BMD of the lumbar spine in perimenopausal women. METHODS: 105 healthy perimenopausal women aged between 44 and 50 years old were enrolled from August 2002 to March 2009. BMD was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Partial correlation coefficients between body weight change and BMD change were calculated after the adjustments for several variables. BMD changes among groups based on BMI and the percentage change in body weight during 1-year follow-up period were compared. RESULTS: At both baseline and year 1, BMD of lumbar spine tended to be associated more with body weight. There was a significant association between body weight change and BMD change in lumbar spine during 1-year follow-up period. The weight gain group relatively showed an increase in BMD of lumbar spines than weight loss group. There was no BMD change in BMI less than 23 kg/m2 group, but in case of BMI more than 23 kg/m2 group, BMD in weight gain group increased more than the weight maintaining group. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that body weight change is associated with change in BMD of lumbar spine in perimenopausal women especially if they are overweight.