Impact of Taurine on the proliferation and apoptosis of human cervical carcinoma cells and its mechanism / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Cervical cancer has the fourth highest incidence and mortality rate of all cancers in women worldwide; it seriously harms their physical and mental health. The aim of this study was to observe the roles and preliminary mechanism of Taurine (Tau)-induced apoptosis in cervical cancer cells.@*METHODS@#Cells from the human cervical cancer cell line SiHa were transfected with the recombinant plasmid pEGFP-N1-MST1 (mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1); then, the cell proliferation activity was analyzed by the MTT assay, cell apoptosis by flow cytometry, and the related protein levels by Western blotting.@*RESULTS@#Tau inhibited the proliferation of SiHa cells and induced apoptosis in these cells (the apoptotic rate was 21.95% in the Tau 160 mmol/L group and 30% in the Tau 320 mmol/L group), upregulated the expression of the MST1 (control, 0.53; Tau 40-320 mmol/L groups, 0.84-1.45) and Bax (control, 0.45; Tau 40-320 mmol/L groups, 0.64-1.51) proteins (P < 0.01), and downregulated the expression of Bcl-2 (control, 1.28, Tau 40-320 mmol/L groups, 0.93-0.47) (P < 0.01). The overexpression of MST1 promoted the apoptosis of SiHa cells, enhanced the apoptosis-inductive effects of Tau (P < 0.01), upregulated the expression of the proapoptotic proteins p73, p53, PUMA (p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis), and caspase-3, and promoted the phosphorylation of YAP (Yes-associated protein).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Tau inhibited the proliferation and induced the apoptosis of cervical cancer SiHa cells. The MST1 protein plays an important role in the Tau-induced apoptosis of cervical cancer cells.

New Insights into the Role of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Breast Cancer Metastasis / 한국유방암학회지

Cellular stress severely disrupts endoplasmic reticulum (ER) function, leading to the abnormal accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the ER and subsequent development of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS). To accommodate the occurrence of ERS, cells have evolved a highly conserved, self-protecting signal transduction pathway called the unfolded protein response. Notably, ERS signaling is involved in the development of a variety of diseases and is closely related to tumor development, particularly in breast cancer. This review discusses recent research regarding associations between ERS and tumor metastasis. The information presented here will help researchers elucidate the precise mechanisms underlying ERS-mediated tumor metastasis and provide new directions for tumor therapies.

Level of Nitric Oxide and Amino Acids in Cerebrospinal Fluid and Serum of Epilepsy Children in Different Time / 中国康复理论与实践

@#Objective To detect the level of nitric oxide (NO) and amino acids in cerebrospinal fluid and serum of epilepsy children in different time. Methods The level of NO and amino acids in cerebrospinal fluid and serum of epilepsy children in different time were determined with nitrate reductase and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorimetric detection. Results The level of NO2 - increased 30 min, 60 min, 120 min after seizures (P<0.01), but dropped to normal 180 min after seizures (P>0.05). The level of glutamate (Glu) significantly increased in all epilepsy groups (P<0.05). The level of glycine (Gly) dropped gradually in all epilepsy groups (P<0.05).Conclusion NO may participate in the generation of seizures and the injury process to brain. The imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory amino acids may play an important role in the pathogenesis of epilepsy. The toxicity of excitatory amino acids may be the main injury to the brain.

Protective effects of taurine on myocardial mitochondria and their enzyme activities in rate with severe burn / 中华烧伤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of taurine on myocardial mitochondria and their enzyme activities in rats with severe burn.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and twenty healthy adult Wistar rats were subjected to 30% TBSA full-thickness burn. They were randomly divided into burn group (B, with intraperitoneal injection of isotonic saline), treatment group (T, with intraperitoneal injection of taurine, 200 mg/kg),with 60 rats in each group . Ten rats with sham scald were used as control (S group). The myocardial tissue samples in B and T groups were harvested at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 postburn hours (PBH) for determination of activity respectively of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), cytochrome oxidase (CCO), the superoxide dismutase (SOD), Ca2+ -ATPase in mitochondria, and contents of cytochrome c (Cyt c), cytochrome aa3 (Cyt aa3), malondialdehyde (MDA), and Ca2+ in mitochondria and cytoplasm . The myocardial tissue samples of controls were harvested at 1 PBH for determination of above indices.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The activity of CCO in B group was decreased at 1 PBH , especially at 6 ,12 PBH. The activity of SDH in B group was decreased to lowest level at 6 PBH, and its value was lower than that of S group at each time point. The activity of CCO or SDH in T group was not obviously decreased, and the activity of CCO at 3, 6, 12 PBH showed significant difference compared with B group (P < 0.05). The contents of Cyt aa3 and Cyt c in B group at 3, 6, 12, 24 PBH were obviously decreased, which were significantly lower than those in T group (P < 0.05). The activity of SOD in B group at 3, 6, 12 PBH was obviously decreased, the activity of Ca2+ -ATPase at 3, 6, 12 and 24 PBH was decreased to different extent, which was significantly lower than those in T group (P < 0.05). The MDA contents in B and T groups were higher than that in S group at 3-48 PBH ,and it was highest in B group (P < 0.05). The Ca2+ content of mitochondria in B group at 1 PBH was increased (13.7 +/- 1.5), and it was (24.8 +/- 2.6), (29.7 +/- 3.1), (16.3 +/- 1.9) and (13.5 +/- 1.7) at 3, 6, 12, 24 PBH respectively,and they were all higher than that of S group (10.7 +/- 1.6, P < 0.05). The Ca2 contents of cytoplasm in group B at 3 - 24 PBH were also higher than that in S group (P < 0.05). The Ca2+ content of mitochondria in T group at 3, 6, 12, 24 PBH was (16.8 +/- 2.8), (18.7 +/- 1.9), (10.5 +/- 1.8) and (13.3 +/- 1.7)respectively, which were lower than that in B group at every time point.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Taurine have protective effect on mitochondria and their enzyme activities in myocardium in rats with severe burn, and it may be attributable to improving the ability of eradicating oxygen free radicals and alleviating Ca2+ overload in the mitochondria.</p>

Protective effects of taurine on myocardial injury in severely burned rats / 中华烧伤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of taurine on myocardial injury in severely scalded rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 130 healthy adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: the control group (C, without burns), the burn group (B, subjected to a 30% TBSA III degree scalding) and the treatment group (T, treated with intraperitoneal injection of taurine (400 mg/kg) immediately after scald injury). The plasma and myocardial tissue samples in B and T groups were harvested at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 postburn hours (PBH) for the determination of the contents of cardiac troponin T (cTnT), malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and angiotensin II (AngII) in plasma, and the contents of TNF-alpha, AngII and calcium ion in myocardial tissue. The morphological change in the myocardial tissue was observed with transmission electronic microscope (TEM) and was compared with that in C group. The changes in the plasma TNF-alpha and AngII were analyzed in relation to that of plasma cTnT.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The plasma cTnT content in B group at 3 PBH was markedly higher than that in C group (0.16 +/- 0.03 microg/L) (P < 0.01), and it peaked (6.32 +/- 0.41) at 12 PBH and remained at high level at 48 PBH. While the plasma MDA content and the calcium ion level in B group were evidently higher than those in C group during 3 to 48 PBH (P < 0.01). The TNF-alpha contents in plasma and myocardial tissue during 6 to 48 PBH were significantly higher than those in C group (P < 0.01). The AngII contents in plasma and myocardial tissue during 3 to 24 PBH were obviously higher than those in C group (P < 0.01). All the indices in T group were significantly lower than those in B group (P < 0.01). Histological examination revealed that there was myocardial damage in various degrees during early postburn stage in B group, such as focal dissolution and fragmentation of myofilament, mitochondrial edema, myocyte sarcoplasmic protrusions like piano keys. But all the above changes in T group were evidently ameliorated to near normal. There was close positive correlation between the change in the concentrations of plasma content of TNF-alpha and AngII and cTnT in B group (r = 0.87 and 0.82, P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The production of TNF-alpha, MDA, cTnT, AngII and high calcium ion level of myocardiocytes in severely burned rats can be inhibited by taurine, which was beneficial in the management of myocardial injury after severe burns.</p>