[High-throughput screening of 54 alternative plasticizers in sesame oil using gas chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry].

Restrictions on the use of phthalates have led to the wide use of alternative plasticizers (APs) such as organophosphate, adipate, citrate, and sebacate. However, because plasticizers combine with polymers in plastic products via unstable noncovalent bonds, they can easily migrate out of these products, causing environmental pollution. In particular, their migration out of food packaging, containers, and other food-contact materials and into food has raised great concerns. Toxicological studies have shown that APs contain potentially toxic substances that can affect endocrine functions and cause neurotoxicity, genotoxicity, and other adverse effects. Thus, their potential risks to food should not be underestimated. Sesame oil is a necessity in daily cooking. The results of risk monitoring in recent years have indicated that sesame oil often contains phthalates in excess of the standard limits. However, the potential risks of APs in sesame oil have not yet been reported. Some common detection methods for APs include gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, and liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Unfortunately, these methods use low-resolution mass spectrometry and are limited by the resolution, scan rate, and analysis mode. Gas chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-Q-TOF/MS) has the advantages of high resolution, sensitivity, and analysis speed. In full-scan mode, GC-Q-TOF/MS can accurately collect the full-spectrum mass number of target compounds with low content levels in complex substrates, thereby realizing efficient screening and quantitative analysis. It shows outstanding advantages in the trace analysis of pesticide residues and pollutants. Furthermore, it features strong qualitative and high screening abilities. Establishment of a personal compound database and library (PCDL) addresses limitations in the number of compounds that can be measured and enables the rapid identification of targets without the use of standard products. In addition, increasing the number of targets for synchronous screening enables the retrospective analysis of new targets. In this study, a method based on GC-Q-TOF/MS was developed for the determination of 54 APs in sesame oil. The samples were extracted with acetonitrile and purified using a PSA/silica solid-phase extraction column. The mass-spectral information of the samples was then collected by GC-Q-TOF/MS in full-scan mode, and the 54 APs were searched using an established high-resolution mass-spectrum database to simultaneously achieve the broad-spectrum screening, qualitative identification, and quantitative analysis of multiple targets. The effects of different extraction solvents and purification methods on sample extraction and purification were compared. The accuracy of the screening results was improved by optimizing the GC-separation conditions, quality-extraction window, retention-time deviation, and other screening parameters. The screening detection limits (SDLs) of the 54 APs ranged from 0.01 to 0.02 mg/kg; specifically, the SDL of 41 compounds was 0.01 mg/kg and that of 13 compounds were 0.02 mg/kg. The limits of quantification were in the range of 0.02-0.04 mg/kg. A total of 80 sesame-oil samples were rapidly screened using this method under optimal conditions. Five APs were identified from the 80 sesame-oil samples and quantitatively analyzed using the matrix-matched external-standard method. The results of this quantitative methodology showed that the five APs had good linear relationships in the range of 0.01-0.2 mg/L, with all correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. The accuracy and precision of the method were verified using a standard recovery test with blank sesame-oil samples. Under the three standard levels of 0.04, 0.08, and 0.2 mg/kg, the recoveries of the five APs ranged from 71.3% to 97.8%, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranged from 0.4% to 6.1%(n=6). The developed method is fast, accurate, sensitive, and has high throughput. Thus, it can realize the efficient screening, qualitative identification, and quantitative analysis of the 54 APs in sesame oil and provides a potential solution for the monitoring of other contaminants in food.

Adipocyte-Specific Ablation of PU.1 Promotes Energy Expenditure and Ameliorates Metabolic Syndrome in Aging Mice.

Objective: Although PU.1/Spi1 is known as a master regulator for macrophage development and function, we have reported previously that it is also expressed in adipocytes and is transcriptionally induced in obesity. Here, we investigated the role of adipocyte PU.1 in the development of the age-associated metabolic syndrome. Methods: We generated mice with adipocyte-specific PU.1 knockout, assessed metabolic changes in young and older adult PU.1fl/fl (control) and AdipoqCre PU.1fl/fl (aPU.1KO) mice, including body weight, body composition, energy expenditure, and glucose homeostasis. We also performed transcriptional analyses using RNA-Sequencing of adipocytes from these mice. Results: aPU.1KO mice have elevated energy expenditure at a young age and decreased adiposity and increased insulin sensitivity in later life. Corroborating these observations, transcriptional network analysis indicated the existence of validated, adipocyte PU.1-modulated regulatory hubs that direct inflammatory and thermogenic gene expression programs. Conclusion: Our data provide evidence for a previously uncharacterized role of PU.1 in the development of age-associated obesity and insulin resistance.

Murine Sirt3 protein isoforms have variable half-lives.

Sirt3 is a NAD+-dependent protein deacetylase mainly localized in mitochondria. Recent studies indicate that the murine Sirt3 gene expresses different transcript variants resulting in three possible Sirt3 protein isoforms with variable lengths at the N-terminus: M1 (aa 1-334), M2 (aa 15-334), and M3 (aa 78-334). In this study, we stably expressed these variants in several cell lines. We found that Sirt3 M1 or M2 can be stably expressed with predominant mitochondrial localization. However, stable expression of Sirt3 M3 protein was consistently at very low levels. Fast proteasomal degradation contributes to the low expression of Sirt3 M3 protein, as proteasome inhibitor treatment increased Sirt3 M3 protein levels in these cells. Sirt3 M3 protein is ubiquitinated and the E3 ubiquitin ligase subunit Skp2 is involved in Sirt3 M3 protein degradation. Additionally, we found Sirt3 M3 protein can be produced from Sirt3 transcripts encoding longer M1 and M2 isoforms. To explore the mechanism underlying the instability of Sirt3 M3 protein, we found that Sirt3 M1 and M2 proteins, but not M3, specifically interact with HSP60. This suggests that heat shock proteins might play a role in the maintenance of Sirt3 protein stability.

Simultaneous siRNA targeting of Src and downstream signaling molecules inhibit tumor formation and metastasis of a human model breast cancer cell line.

BACKGROUND: Src and signaling molecules downstream of Src, including signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) and cMyc, have been implicated in the development, maintenance and/or progression of several types of human cancers, including breast cancer. Here we report the ability of siRNA-mediated Src knock-down alone, and simultaneous knock-down of Src and Stat3 and/or cMyc to inhibit the neoplastic phenotype of a highly metastatic human model breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-435S, a widely used model for breast cancer research. METHODOLOGY/RESULTS: Src and its downstream signaling partners were specifically targeted and knocked-down using siRNA. Changes in the growth properties of the cultured cancer cells/tumors were documented using assays that included anchorage-dependent and -independent (in soft agar) cell growth, apoptosis, and both primary and metastatic tumor growth in the mouse tumor model. siRNA-mediated Src knock-down alone, and simultaneous knock-down of Src and Stat3 and/or cMyc inhibited the neoplastic phenotype of a highly metastatic human model breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-435S. This knock-down resulted in reduced growth in monolayer and soft agar cultures, and a reduced ability to form primary tumors in NOD/SCID mice. In addition, direct intra-tumoral injection of siRNAs targeting these signaling molecules resulted in a substantial inhibition of tumor metastases as well as of primary tumor growth. Simultaneous knock-down of Src and Stat3, and/or Myc exhibited the greatest effects resulting in substantial inhibition of primary tumor growth and metastasis. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of simultaneous targeting of Src and the downstream signaling partners Stat3 and/or cMyc to inhibit the growth and oncogenic properties of a human cancer cell line. This knowledge may be very useful in the development of future therapeutic approaches involving targeting of specific genes products involved in tumor growth and metastasis.

[Influence of nutrient sources on Anabaena spiroides growth and odorous compounds production characteristics].

The occurrence of taste and odors, produced by secondary metabolites of cyanobacteria, has been one of the major water quality problems in drinking water. However, the odorous compounds produced by cyanobacteria usually differ significantly with different species. One cyanobacterium isolated from Yanghe reservoir was identified as Anabaena sp., which can produce high level of geosmin consistently during laboratory culture. By culture expanding experiments, the algal growth and geosmin production characteristics of the Anabaena sp. were studied on different conditions of nitrogen and phosphorus sources. The results indicated that geosmin mainly remained in the intracellular algal cells regardless of the nutrient sources, and the extracellular content was only in th range of 0.2% - 9.6%. Compared with ammonia nitrogen conditions, the growth of Anabaena sp. in nitrate nitrogen conditions was much higher, with a 1.4-fold variation in geosmin production. While ammonia nitrogen concentration was 0.5 mg/L, the algal biomass and geosmin production achieved the highest level of 3.8 x 10(4) cells, mL(-1) and 1.1 x 10(4) ngL(-1), respectively. When the nitrate nitrogen concentration was 2.0 mg/L, the algal biomass and geosmin production achieved the highest level of 6.6 x 10(4) cells x mL(-1) and 1.3 x 10(4) ng x L(-1), respectively. Compared with nitrogen sources, the growth of Anabaena sp. could be promoted significantly until phosphorus level attained 0.12 mg/L, indicating that phosphorus is the main limiting nutrient source for Anabaena sp.. For Yanghe reservoir, the nutrient level has already been enough for the growth of Anabaena sp. Therefore, the nutrient source content, especially phosphorus, should be reduced effectively to control the cyanobacterium bloom and taste and odor problems.

Diet and exercise signals regulate SIRT3 and activate AMPK and PGC-1alpha in skeletal muscle.

SIRT3 is a member of the sirtuin family of NAD(+)-dependent deacetylases, which is localized to the mitochondria and is enriched in kidney, brown adipose tissue, heart, and other metabolically active tissues. We report here that SIRT3 responds dynamically to both exercise and nutritional signals in skeletal muscle to coordinate downstream molecular responses. We show that exercise training increases SIRT3 expression as well as associated CREB phosphorylation and PGC-1alpha up-regulation. Furthermore, we show that SIRT3 is more highly expressed in slow oxidative type I soleus muscle compared to fast type II extensor digitorum longus or gastrocnemius muscles. Additionally, we find that SIRT3 protein levels in skeletal muscle are sensitive to diet, for SIRT3 expression increases by fasting and caloric restriction, yet it is decreased by high-fat diet. Interestingly, the caloric restriction regimen also leads to phospho-activation of AMPK in muscle. Conversely in SIRT3 knockout mice, we find that the phosphorylation of both AMPK and CREB and the expression of PGC-1alpha are down regulated, suggesting that these key cellular factors may be important components of SIRT3-mediated biological signals in vivo.