Synergistic inhibitory effects of the oxyresveratrol and dacarbazine combination against melanoma cells.

Various therapies have been developed to target malignant melanoma, which is associated with a high mortality rate worldwide. Although dacarbazine (DTIC) is employed for treating melanoma, it is associated with several side effects. Hence, patients with melanoma are co-treated with additional drugs to mitigate the side effects of DTIC. In the present study, synergistic therapeutic effects of the DTIC/oxyresveratrol (ORT) combination were examined using the human malignant melanoma WM-266-4 cell line. Treatment with ORT and DTIC inhibited the proliferation of WM-266-4 cells. Compared with those in the ORT- and DTIC-treated groups, the proportion of cells arrested at the S phase, as well as apoptotic rates, were increased in the ORT and DTIC co-treatment group. In WM-266-4 cells, synergistic proliferation-inhibitory activities of the ORT/DTIC combination were assessed based on cell viability and migration, antioxidant capacity, cytokine production, cell cycle arrest, apoptotic rate and protein expression through WST-1 assay, wound healing assay, flow cytometry and western blotting. Furthermore, the expression levels of proteins, including NOTCH, involved in the pathogenesis of solid cancers, such as melanoma, were examined. Overall, the ORT/DTIC combination synergistically promoted cell cycle arrest at the S phase and the apoptosis of WM-266-4 cells. Thus, this combination treatment may serve as a novel therapeutic strategy for treating malignant melanoma.

Hemoglobin peroxidase reaction of hemoglobin efficiently catalyzes oxidation of benzo[a]pyrene.

Its high molecular weight endows benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) with strong adsorption to soil, causing serious soil contamination. Our previous study has reported that hemoglobin (Hb) is able to oxidize organic pollutants in the presence of H2O2. This present study showed that Hb catalytic mechanism for BaP oxidation was similar to that of lignin peroxidase. 2-Methyl-3-vinylmaleimide was confirmed as a major degradation intermediate of BaP by Hb catalysis. In addition, BaP was shown to be degraded by heme (Hm)-catalyzed reaction, suggesting that Hm of Hb is the essential catalytic center. Rate constants (k) for BaP oxidation by Hm-catalyzed reaction were 0.4954 h-1. The major degradation intermediate by Hm-catalyzed reaction is 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbiphenyl. While values of Km and Vmax of Hb and Hm are very similar, kcat values was 100 times higher with Hb than with Hm. But kcat value for Hb was much lower than that for lignin peroxidase H2. All the results above suggested that Hb-catalyzed reactions efficiently degrade BaP in aqueous condition. Thus, we suggest that Hb for oxygen carrier in blood could be employed as a biocatalyst (i.e., hemoglobin peroxidase) for BaP degradation in the environment, due to the high availability of Hb.

UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS screening and identification of bioactive compounds in fresh, aged, and browned Magnolia denudata flower extracts.

The Magnolia denudata flower is used to prepare tea and is often fermented to improve its flavor. Herein, fresh, aged, and browned M. denudata flower extracts were characterized using ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with a hybrid quadrupole orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometer (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS/MS). The 1223 and 458 mass ions of ESI+ and ESI- modes that were significantly changed by the fermentation process were selected using three criteria. Sixteen compounds including flavonoids, phenylethanoid glycoside derivatives (PhGs), caffeoylquinic acids (CQAs), and others were identified based on their accurate mass and MS/MS spectra and analyzed as the main chemical components. The levels of the main chemical components changed after fermentation. The comparative quantity and composition of the phytochemicals differed for the three extract types. For example, flavonols were affected by fermentation, resulting in an increase or decrease (fold change value of negative ion: rutin -0.47; keioside 1.00). The CQAs were low during fermentation (1-CQA, -1.62; chlorogenic acid, -1.48). However, the quinic acid content was significantly high (quinic acid, 1.36). Isomers of PhGs like isoverbasoside and isoacteoside were produced during fermentation (isoverbasoside, 5.42; isoacteoside, B 3.33). These observations may provide a basis for studying the physiological effects of non-fermented and fermented M. denudata flower.

Grape Seed Proanthocyanidin Inhibits Mucin Synthesis and Viral Replication by Suppression of AP-1 and NF-κB via p38 MAPKs/JNK Signaling Pathways in Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Infected A549 Cells.

Airway epithelial cells are often infected by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), one of the most common causes of asthma, bronchiolitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pneumonia. During the infection process, excessive mucins instigate airway inflammation. However, the mechanism underlying RSV-induced airway hyper-responsiveness and inflammation is poorly understood. Furthermore, no reliable vaccines or drugs for antiviral therapy are available. In this study, the effect of the natural compound grape seed proanthocyanidin (GSP) on RSV-infected human airway epithelial cells A549 was evaluated. After pretreatment of the cells with or without exposure to RSV with 5-10 µg GSP/mL, the expression of various mucins (MUC1, MUC2, MUC5AC, MUC5B, and MUC8) was evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blotting, as well as confocal microscopy. We found that GSP significantly decreased RSV-induced mucin synthesis at the mRNA and protein levels. In addition, GSP suppressed the RSV-induced signaling pathways, including extracellular signal-regulated kinase, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and p38, together with nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and activating protein-1 family members (c-Jun and c-Fos). Concomitantly, GSP inhibited the replication of RSV within A549 cells. Taken together, all our results suggest that GSP could be a potent therapeutic agent to suppress excessive mucus production and viral replication in RSV-induced airway inflammatory disorders.

Grape seed proanthocyanidin inhibits inflammatory responses in hepatic stellate cells by modulating the MAPK, Akt and NF-κB signaling pathways.

In the present study, we aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms and prophylactic effects of grape seed proanthocyanidin (GSP) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Cell counting and MTT assays were used to assess cell viability in the absence or presence of GSP. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was performed for several inflammation-related genes (NOD1, NOD2, TLR2, TLR4, IL-1 ß, IL-6, IL-8, iNOS and COX-2). The expression of anti-inflammatory cell signaling molecules, including c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38, extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK), Akt, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), inhibitory-κBα (IκBα), iNOS and COX-2, was evaluated by western blot analysis. Finally, IL-8 levels in the culture supernatant of HSCs were measured by ELISA. Pretreatment with GSP before LPS treatment significantly suppressed the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1ß, IL-6 and IL-8. GSP inhibited mRNA expression of LPS-induced TLR4, NOD2 and COX-2, in addition to inhibiting the expression of iNOS. GSP also inhibited LPS-induced NF-κB activation and IκBα phosphorylation. Concomitantly, GSP dose-dependently suppressed the activation of MAP kinases (JNK, ERK and p38) and Akt in LPS-stimulated HSCs. These data suggest that GSP inhibits inflammatory responses in HSCs by inactivating the NF-κB signaling pathway via MAP kinases. Thus, GSP may be considered as a novel drug for the treatment of hepatic inflammation, infectious diseases and fibrosis.

In vitro and in vivo comparison of the immunotoxicity of single- and multi-layered graphene oxides with or without pluronic F-127.

Graphene oxide (GO) has been a focus of research in the fields of electronics, energy, and biomedicine, including drug delivery. Thus, single- and multi-layered GO (SLGO and MLGO) have been produced and investigated. However, little information on their toxicity and biocompatibility is available. In the present study, we performed a comprehensive study of the size- and dose-dependent toxicity of GOs in the presence or absence of Pluronic F-127 on THP-1 cells by examining their viability, membrane integrity, levels of cytokine and ROS production, phagocytosis, and cytometric apoptosis. Moreover, as an extended study, a toxicity evaluation in the acute and chronic phases was performed in mice via intravenous injection of the materials. GOs exhibited dose- and size-dependent toxicity. Interestingly, SLGO induced ROS production to a lesser extent than MLGO. Cytometric analysis indicated that SLGO induced necrosis and apoptosis to a lesser degree than MLGO. In addition, cell damage and IL-1ß production were influenced by phagocytosis. A histological animal study revealed that GOs of various sizes induced acute and chronic damage to the lung and kidney in the presence or absence of Pluronic F-127. These results will facilitate studies of GO prior to its biomedical application.

Antitumor effects of herbal mixture extract in the pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line PANC1.

A recent study showned that complementary medicine is gradually gaining wide acceptance. In the present study, the herbal mixture extract (H3) composed of 3 oriental herbal plants was investigated for anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo. H3 inhibited PANC1 cell growth by promoting G0/G1 arrest (11% increase) and apoptotic cell death (9% increase). H3 also suppressed stem cell-like side population cells (4% decrease) and migration activity (24% decrease). In contrast, gemcitabine decreased side population cells and migration activity by 3 and 11%, respectively. These effects of H3 and gemcitabine were further studied by examining the expression of apoptosis-associated genes (CXCR4, JAK2 and XIAP) and stem cell-associated genes (ABCG2, POU5F1 and SOX2). We also found that H3 suppressed tumor growth by 46% in a PANC1­xenograft model, while gemcitabine caused a 36% decrease. The antitumor effects of H3 were confirmed by western blot analysis for COX-2 and cytochrome c expression. Furthermore, necrotic cell death and erythrocyte-containing cavities were detected in tumor tissue by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Notably, the combinatorial therapy (H3 and gemcitabine) increased tumor growth compared to that in the control. In conclusion, the present study shows that H3 has promise as a therapeutic agent against pancreatic cancer and its cancer stem cells.

Diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the assessment of tumor invasion depth in oral/oropharyngeal cancer.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of MRI for measuring invasion depth in oral/oropharyngeal carcinoma. We retrospectively reviewed pathologic specimens and MRI findings of 114 patients who were diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and oropharynx. Invasion depths were evaluated in pathologic specimens and by MRI. The mean histologic and MRI invasion depths were 13.57 ± 8.476 and 15.24 ± 10.700 mm, respectively. The overall Pearson's correlation coefficient for histologic and MRI (T1W-MRI) invasion depths was 0.825, which was statistically significant (P<0.001). Pearson's correlation coefficients for histologic and MRI invasion depths in oral tongue, tongue base, and tonsil cancers were 0.949, 0.941, and 0.578, respectively. The MRI invasion depth was significantly different according to nodal status in cancers of the oral tongue (P=0.001(∗)) and tongue base (P=0.003(∗)). With MRI, the invasion depth cutoff values for determining positive nodes were 9.5 and 14.5mm in cancers of the oral tongue and tongue base, respectively. Preoperative MRI is an accurate method for measuring tumor invasion depth in oral tongue and tongue base cancers. Furthermore, it has predictive value for nodal metastasis in the oral tongue and tongue base.