Structural and Biophysical Dynamics of Fungal Plasma Membrane Proteins and Implications for Echinocandin Action in Candida glabrata.

Fungal plasma membrane proteins represent key therapeutic targets for antifungal agents, yet their structure and spatial distribution in the native context remain poorly characterized. Herein, we employ an integrative multimodal approach to elucidate the structural and functional organization of plasma membrane protein complexes in Candida glabrata , focusing on prominent and essential membrane proteins, the polysaccharide synthase ß-(1,3)-glucan synthase (GS) and the proton pump Pma1. Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) and live cell imaging reveal that GS and Pma1 are heterogeneously distributed into distinct plasma membrane microdomains. Treatment with caspofungin, an echinocandin antifungal that targets GS, alters the plasma membrane and disrupts the native distribution of GS and Pma1. Based on these findings, we propose a model for echinocandin action that considers how drug interactions with the plasma membrane environment lead to inhibition of GS. Our work underscores the importance of interrogating the structural and dynamic characteristics of fungal plasma membrane proteins in situ to understand function and facilitate precisely targeted development of novel antifungal therapies.

Optically Triggered Emergent Mesostructures in Monolayer WS2.

The ultrahigh surface area of two-dimensional materials can drive multimodal coupling between optical, electrical, and mechanical properties that leads to emergent dynamical responses not possible in three-dimensional systems. We observed that optical excitation of the WS2 monolayer above the exciton energy creates symmetrically patterned mechanical protrusions which can be controlled by laser intensity and wavelength. This observed photostrictive behavior is attributed to lattice expansion due to the formation of polarons, which are charge carriers dressed by lattice vibrations. Scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements and density functional theory calculations reveal unconventional charge transport properties such as the spatially and optical intensity-dependent conversion in the WS2 monolayer from apparent n- to p-type and the subsequent formation of effective p-n junctions at the boundaries between regions with different defect densities. The strong opto-electrical-mechanical coupling in the WS2 monolayer reveals previously unexplored properties, which can lead to new applications in optically driven ultrathin microactuators.

Human allogenic γδ T cells kill patient-derived glioblastoma cells expressing high levels of DNAM-1 ligands.

Adoptive transfer of γδ T cells is a novel immunotherapeutic approach to glioblastoma. Few recent studies have shown the efficacy of γδ T cells against glioblastoma, but no previous studies have identified the ligand-receptor interactions between γδ T cells and glioblastoma cells. Here, we identify those ligand-receptor interactions and provide a basis for using γδ T cells to treat glioblastoma. Vγ9Vδ2 T cells were generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy donors using artificial antigen presenting cells. MICA, ULBP, PVR and Nectin-2 expression in 10 patient-derived glioblastoma (PDG) cells were analyzed. The in vitro cytokine secretion from the γδ T cells and their cytotoxicity toward the PDG cells were also analyzed. The in vivo anti-tumor effects were evaluated using a U87 orthotopic xenograft glioblastoma model. Expression of ligands and cytotoxicity of the γδ T cells varied among the PDG cells. IFN-γ and Granzyme B secretion levels were significantly higher when γδ Tcells were co-cultured with high-susceptible PDG cells than when they were co-cultured with low-susceptible PDG cells. Cytotoxicity correlated significantly with the expression levels of DNAM-1 ligands of the PDG cells. Blocking DNAM-1 resulted in a decrease in γδ T cell-mediated cytotoxicity and cytokine secretion. Intratumoral injection of γδ T cells showed anti-tumor effects in an orthotopic mouse model. Allogenic γδ T cells showed potent anti-tumor effects on glioblastoma in a DNAM-1 axis dependent manner. Our findings will facilitate the development of clinical strategies using γδ T cells for glioblastoma treatment.

Pharmacological Treatment for Neuroinflammation in Stress-Related Disorder.

Stress is an organism's response to a biological or psychological stressor, a method of responding to threats. The autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) regulate adaptation to acute stress and secrete hormones and excitatory amino acids. This process can induce excessive inflammatory reactions to the central nervous system (CNS) by HPA axis, glutamate, renin-angiotensin system (RAS) etc., under persistent stress conditions, resulting in neuroinflammation. Therefore, in order to treat stress-related neuroinflammation, the improvement effects of several mechanisms of receptor antagonist and pharmacological anti-inflammation treatment were studied. The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonist, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor etc., effectively improved neuroinflammation. The interesting fact is that not only can direct anti-inflammation treatment improve neuroinflammation, but so can stress reduction or pharmacological antidepressants. The antidepressant treatments, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), also helped improve stress-related neuroinflammation. It presents the direction of future development of stress-related neuroinflammation drugs. Therefore, in this review, the mechanism of stress-related neuroinflammation and pharmacological treatment candidates for it were reviewed. In addition, treatment candidates that have not yet been verified but indicate possibilities were also reviewed.

Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 and 2 deficiency reduces high-fat diet-induced hypertrophic obesity and inhibits the differentiation of preadipocytes into mature adipocytes.

Obesity is now recognized as a disease. This study revealed a novel role for pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) in diet-induced hypertrophic obesity. Mice with global or adipose tissue-specific PDK2 deficiency were protected against diet-induced obesity. The weight of adipose tissues and the size of adipocytes were reduced. Adipocyte-specific PDK2 deficiency slightly increased insulin sensitivity in HFD-fed mice. In studies with 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, PDK2 and PDK1 expression was strongly increased during adipogenesis. Evidence was found for epigenetic induction of both PDK1 and PDK2. Gain- and loss-of-function studies with 3T3-L1 cells revealed a critical role for PDK1/2 in adipocyte differentiation and lipid accumulation. PDK1/2 induction during differentiation was also accompanied by increased expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1α) and enhanced lactate production, both of which were absent in the context of PDK1/2 deficiency. Exogenous lactate supplementation increased the stability of HIF1α and promoted adipogenesis. PDK1/2 overexpression-mediated adipogenesis was abolished by HIF1α inhibition, suggesting a role for the PDK-lactate-HIF1α axis during adipogenesis. In human adipose tissue, the expression of PDK1/2 was positively correlated with that of the adipogenic marker PPARγ and inversely correlated with obesity. Similarly, PDK1/2 expression in mouse adipose tissue was decreased by chronic high-fat diet feeding. We conclude that PDK1 and 2 are novel regulators of adipogenesis that play critical roles in obesity.

Exploring applicability of end member mixing approach for predicting environmental reactivity of dissolved organic matter.

Despite the wide applications of end member mixing analysis (EMMA) for assigning the sources of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in aquatic environment, there was no study attempting to test the applicability of EMMA for predicting environmental reactivity of DOM. This study aimed to explore the feasibility of EMMA, or the concept of ideal mixing behavior of end members, for describing several well-known DOM reactivities using two DOM end member sources (i.e., soil and algae) at varying mixing ratios. The selected DOM reactivities were trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP), mineral adsorption amount, pyrene binding, membrane resistance, and biodegradation potential. Among the tested DOM functions, all were found to follow the ideal mixing behavior, presenting the linear relationships between the source mixing ratios and the tested reactivity with the R2 value of >0.80. The ideal mixing behavior of the DOM functions was more pronounced than that based on several spectroscopic indicators derived from UV absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. This study provided insight into potential applicability and limitation of EMMA approach in monitoring and predicting environmental functions of DOM in aquatic systems where identified DOM sources are mixed and vary dynamically with the mixing ratios.

Quantitative Visualization of the Nanomechanical Young's Modulus of Soft Materials by Atomic Force Microscopy.

The accurate measurement of nanoscale mechanical characteristics is crucial in the emerging field of soft condensed matter for industrial applications. An atomic force microscope (AFM) can be used to conduct nanoscale evaluation of the Young's modulus on the target surface based on site-specific force spectroscopy. However, there is still a lack of well-organized study about the nanomechanical interpretation model dependence along with cantilever stiffness and radius of the tip apex for the Young's modulus measurement on the soft materials. Here, we present the fast and accurate measurement of the Young's modulus of a sample's entire scan surface using the AFM in a newly developed PinPointTM nanomechanical mode. This approach enables simultaneous measurements of topographical data and force-distance data at each pixel within the scan area, from which quantitative visualization of the pixel-by-pixel topographical height and Young's modulus of the entire scan surface was realized. We examined several models of contact mechanics and showed that cantilevers with proper mechanical characteristics such as stiffness and tip radius can be used with the PinPointTM mode to accurately evaluate the Young's modulus depending on the sample type.

γδ T cells cultured with artificial antigen-presenting cells and IL-2 show long-term proliferation and enhanced effector functions compared with γδ T cells cultured with only IL-2 after stimulation with zoledronic acid.

BACKGROUND AIMS: Immunotherapeutic approaches using γδ T cells have emerged as the function of γδ T cells in tumor surveillance and clearance has been discovered. In vitro expansion methods of γ9δ2 T cells have been based on phosphoantigens and cytokines, but expansion methods using feeder cells to generate larger numbers of γδ T cells have also been studied recently. However, there are no studies that directly compare γδ T cells cultured with phosphoantigens with those cultured with feeder cells. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the expansion, characteristics and effector functions of γδ T cells stimulated with K562-based artificial antigen-presenting cells (aAPCs) (aAPC-γδ T cells) and γδ T cells stimulated with only zoledronic acid (ZA) (ZA-γδ T cells). METHODS: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated with ZA for 7 days, and aAPC-γδ T cells were stimulated weekly with K562-based aAPCs expressing CD32, CD80, CD83, 4-1BBL, CD40L and CD70, whereas ZA-γδ T cells were stimulated with only IL-2. Cultured γδ T cells were analyzed by flow cytometry for the expression of co-stimulatory molecules, activating receptors and checkpoint inhibitors. Differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis was also performed to determine the difference in gene expression between aAPC-γδ T cells and ZA-γδ T cells. In vitro cytotoxicity assay was performed with calcein AM release assay, and in vivo anti-tumor effect was compared using a U937 xenograft model. RESULTS: Fold expansion on day 21 was 690.7 ± 413.1 for ZA-γδ T cells and 1415.2 ± 1016.8 for aAPC- γδ T cells. Moreover, aAPC-γδ T cells showed continuous growth, whereas ZA-γδ T cells showed a decline in growth after day 21. The T-cell receptor Vγ9+δ2+ percentages (mean ± standard deviation) on day 21 were 90.0 ± 2.7% and 87.0 ± 4.5% for ZA-γδ T cells and aAPC-γδ T cells, respectively. CD25 and CD86 expression was significantly higher in aAPC-γδ T cells. In DEG analysis, aAPC-γδ T cells and ZA-γδ T cells formed distinct clusters, and aAPC-γδ T cells showed upregulation of genes associated with metabolism and cytokine pathways. In vitro cytotoxicity revealed superior anti-tumor effects of aAPC-γδ T cells compared with ZA-γδ T cells on Daudi, Raji and U937 cell lines. In addition, in the U937 xenograft model, aAPC-γδ T-cell treatment increased survival, and a higher frequency of aAPC-γδ T cells was shown in bone marrow compared with ZA-γδ T cells. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this study demonstrates that aAPC-γδ T cells show long-term proliferation, enhanced activation and anti-tumor effects compared with ZA-γδ T cells and provides a basis for using aAPC-γδ T cells in further studies, including clinical applications and genetic engineering of γδ T cells.

Depletion of Prmt1 in Adipocytes Impairs Glucose Homeostasis in Diet-Induced Obesity.

Protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) 1 is involved in the regulation of various metabolic pathways such as glucose metabolism in liver and atrophy in the skeletal muscle. However, the role of PRMT1 in the fat tissues under the disease state has not been elucidated to date. In this study, we delineate the function of this protein in adipocytes in vivo. PRMT1 expression was abundant in the white adipose tissues (WAT), which was induced upon a high-fat diet in mice and by obesity in humans. We found that adipocyte-specific depletion of Prmt1 resulted in decreased fat mass without overall changes in body weight in mice. Mechanistically, the depletion of Prmt1 in WAT led to the activation of the AMPK pathway, which was causal to the increased lipophagy, mitochondrial lipid catabolism, and the resultant reduction in lipid droplet size in WAT in vivo. Interestingly, despite the increased energy expenditure, we observed a promotion of adipose tissue inflammation and an ectopic accumulation of triglycerides in the peripheral tissues in Prmt1 adipocyte-specific knockout mice, which promoted the impaired insulin tolerance that is reminiscent of mouse models of lipodystrophy. These data collectively suggest that PRMT1 prevents WAT from excessive degradation of triglycerides by limiting AMPK-mediated lipid catabolism to control whole-body metabolic homeostasis in diet-induced obesity conditions.

Continuous quality improvement program and its results of Korean Society for Cytopathology.

BACKGROUND: Since 1995, the Korean Society for Cytopathology has overseen the Continuous Quality Improvement program for cytopathology laboratories. The Committee of Quality Improvement has carried out an annual survey of cytology data for each laboratory and set standards for proficiency tests. METHODS: Evaluations were conducted four times per year from 2008 to 2018 and comprised statistics regarding cytology diagnoses of previous years, proficiency tests using cytology slides provided by the committee, assessment of adequacy of gynecology (GYN) cytology slides, and submission of cytology slides for proficiency tests. RESULTS: A total of 206 institutes participated in 2017, and the results were as follows. The number of cytology tests increased from year to year. The ratio of liquid-based cytology in GYN gradually decreased, as most of the GYN cytology had been performed at commercial laboratories. The distribution of GYN diagnoses demonstrated nearly 3.0% as atypical squamous cells. The rate for squamous cell carcinoma was less than 0.02%. The atypical squamous cell/squamous intraepithelial lesion ratio was about 3:1 and showed an upward trend. The major discordant rate of cytology-histology in GYN cytology was less than 1%. The proficiency test maintained a major discordant rate less than 2%. The rate of inappropriate specimens for GYN cytology slides gradually decreased. CONCLUSIONS: The Continuous Quality Improvement program should be included in quality assurance programs. Moreover, these data can contribute to development of national cancer examination guidelines and facilitate cancer prevention and treatment.

Rheological properties of a neutral polysaccharide extracted from maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.) roots with prebiotic and anti-inflammatory activities.

The rheological, prebiotic, and anti-inflammatory properties of neutral polysaccharide extracted from maca roots (MP) were investigated. MP was composed of arabinose, galactose, rhamnose, and glucose. In steady shear rheological properties, an increasing concentration of MP solution exhibited higher apparent viscosity (ηa,100) and consistency index (K) under acidic condition (pH 4). In dynamic rheological properties, the dynamic moduli (G' and G″) in the frequency sweep test from the MP solution were increased with increasing concentration and decreasing pH. The changes in dynamic moduli of the MP solution with various concentrations and pH values were stable during 1 h storage at 4 °C due to the enhancement of hydrogen bonding. According to the results of the temperature sweep test, an increasing concentration of MP solution increased dynamic moduli under acidic conditions. The prebiotic properties of MP induced a higher growth of Bifidobacterium longum ATCC15707 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus ATCC 7469 than inulin and increased acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid more than inulin in vitro. Furthermore, MP inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 cells, which indicated that an increasing concentration of MP enhanced anti-inflammatory activities. Therefore, MP is a potential functional material for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Microencapsulation of a maca leaf polyphenol extract in mixture of maltodextrin and neutral polysaccharides extracted from maca roots.

The aim of the present study was to use microencapsulation technologies to create microcapsules containing polyphenol extracted from maca leaves, which were coated with maltodextrin (MD) and neutral polysaccharides extracted from maca roots (NPMR). NPMR was composed of arabinose, galactose, rhamnose, and glucose, with the main linkage types of →5)-α-L-Araf-(1→, →2,5)-α-L-Araf-(1→, α-L-Araf-(1→, →3)-ß-D-Galp-(1→, and ß-D-Rhap-(1→. The microencapsulation efficiency of the powdered microcapsules increased with an increasing MP concentration in the coating materials. SEM images showed that, according to the increase in the MP concentration, the powdered microcapsules were more spherical and smoother, with a smaller particle size. The polyphenols extracted from the maca leaves were successfully microencapsulated in an MD-NPMR coat, as confirmed by FT-IR spectra analysis. The storage stability was greater at several temperatures for the powdered microcapsules coated with MD-MP than for those of the microcapsules coated with only MD. In an in vitro study, the powdered microcapsules coated with MD-NPMR released a smaller amount of polyphenol than the microcapsules coated with only MD in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids. Furthermore, the powdered microcapsules coated with MD-NPMR produced greater Bifidobacterium longum probiotic growth than did the microcapsules coated only with MD.

Physicochemical and sensory properties of milk supplemented with lactase microcapsules coated with enteric coating materials.

In this paper, we report the physicochemical and sensory properties of milk supplemented with a powder of microencapsulated lactase. The core material was lactase (ß-galactosidase), the primary coating material was medium-chain triglyceride (MCT), and the secondary (enteric) coating material was either hydroxypropyl methylcellulose phthalate (HPMCP) or shellac, comparing both against market milk as a control. The physicochemical properties of both types of microcapsules were analyzed, including the particle size, zeta potential, and in vitro release behavior. To survey the stability of the microcapsules in milk during storage, we studied the residual lactose content and pH. Furthermore, to determine the properties of milk supplemented with the microcapsules, changes in color and sensory properties were evaluated during storage. The particle sizes (volume-weighted mean; D[4,3]) of the microcapsules coated with HPMCP or shellac were 2,836 and 7,834 nm, respectively, and the zeta potential of the capsules coated with shellac was higher than the zeta potential of those coated with HPMCP. The pH levels of milk supplemented with the lactase microcapsules were similar to those of the control (unsupplemented market milk); however, for milk supplemented with HPMCP-coated microcapsules, the pH was slightly lower. The core material, lactase, was released from the microcapsules during 12-d storage, and 18.82 and 35.09% of lactose was hydrolyzed in the samples for HPMCP- and shellac-coated microcapsules, respectively. The sensory characteristics of milk containing microcapsules coated with HPMCP did not show significant differences from the control, in terms of sweetness or off-taste, until 8 d of storage. However, shellac-coated microcapsules showed significant difference in sweetness and off-taste at d 8 and 6 of storage, respectively. The color of milk containing HPMCP-coated microcapsules did not show a significant difference during storage. However, that containing shellac-coated microcapsules was somewhat higher in color values than others. In particular, it showed significance from 0 to 4 d storage in L* and C* values. In conclusion, a powder of lactase microcapsules coated with HPMCP can be suitable as a supplement for milk.

Structural and in vitro digestibility properties of esterified maca starch with citric acid and its application as an oil-in-water (O/W) pickering emulsion stabilizer.

The objective of the present study was to determine structural and in-vitro digestibility properties of esterified maca starch with citric acid (EMSC) and explore its application in oil-in-water (O/W) pickering emulsion. EMSC was prepared by esterifying native maca starch (NMS) with different concentrations of citric acid (0, 10, 20, and 30%, w/w). The structural properties were characterized by SEM, FT-IR, XRD, and 13C and 1H NMR spectroscopy, which demonstrated that EMSC exhibited new ester linkages from citric acid in NMS. The in vitro digestibility results showed that EMSC had the significantly lower rapidly digestible starch contents and higher resistant starch contents compared to NMS. The properties of O/W pickering emulsion stabilized with NMS and EMSC were evaluated by microscopy, particle size, and zeta-potential. The results showed that the emulsion formed with EMSC had smaller particle size and improved stability than that formed with NMS. Therefore, EMSC could be used as source of the emulsifier or stabilizer in the food industry.

Butyrate attenuated fat gain through gut microbiota modulation in db/db mice following dapagliflozin treatment.

We investigated the effect of a combination treatment with dapagliflozin (Dapa), a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor and butyrate on weight change in db/db mice. Six-week-old male db/db mice were assigned to four groups: vehicle with normal chow diet (NCD), Dapa with NCD, vehicle with 5% sodium butyrate-supplemented NCD (NaB), or Dapa with 5% NaB. After six weeks of treatment, faecal microbiota composition was analysed by sequencing 16S ribosomal RNA genes. In the vehicle with NaB and Dapa + NaB groups, body weight increase was attenuated, and amount of food intake decreased compared with the vehicle with the NCD group. The Dapa + NaB group gained the least total and abdominal fat from baseline. Intestinal microbiota of this group was characterized by a decrease of the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio, a decrease of Adlercreutzia and Alistipes, as well as an increase of Streptococcus. In addition, the proportion of Adlercreutzia and Alistipes showed a positive correlation with total fat gain, whereas Streptococcus showed a negative correlation. Inferred metagenome function revealed that tryptophan metabolism was upregulated by NaB treatment. We demonstrated a synergistic effect of Dapa and NaB treatment on adiposity reduction, and this phenomenon might be related to intestinal microbiota alteration.

Characterization and storage stability of chlorophylls microencapsulated in different combination of gum Arabic and maltodextrin.

Detailed investigations on the physicochemical and structural characterization of chlorophyll loaded microcapsules and their storage stability have not previously been conducted. Therefore, our objective was to encapsulate unstable chlorophylls using different blends of gum Arabic (GA) and maltodextrin (MD) (GA-MD ratios of 5:5, 3:7, and 0:10) by spray-drying to improve storage stability of chlorophylls. An increase in concentration of MD in wall materials was associated with lower moisture content (0.56%), higher encapsulation efficiency (77.19%), chlorophyll content (46.78 µg/g dry powder), degree of crystallinity, and thermal stability of microcapsules. Furthermore, FTIR, XRD, and DSC analyses confirmed inclusion of chlorophylls within microcapsules. The entrapment of chlorophylls within microcapsules enhanced their storage stability at all temperatures (4, 20, and 40 °C) for ten days; notably, microcapsules coated with MD alone showed the highest storage stability (94.7-97.5%). In conclusion, microencapsulation of chlorophylls using MD alone was optimal for enhancing chlorophylls' storage stability.

Structural and rheological properties of pectic polysaccharide extracted from Ulmus davidiana esterified by succinic acid.

The present study was carried out to investigate the physicochemical and structural properties of pectic polysaccharide extracted from Ulmus davidiana (UDP) and to determine the physicochemical, structural, and rheological properties of esterified UDP with succinic acid (ES-UDP). The results indicated that UDP had high amounts of galacturonic acids and various neutral sugars, such as galactose, rhamnose, and glucose. UDP was identified as a low methoxyl pectin, consisting of 1,4-linked α-d-GalpA (the main backbone chain), supported by the results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction, and 1D Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In the FT-IR and XRD, no difference was detected between UPD and ES-UDPs. However, 1H and 13C NMR spectra revealed that the new ester bonds were formed between a hydroxyl group of UDP and a carboxyl group of succinic acid during esterification. In the steady shear rheological analysis, the consistency index (K) of ES-UDP was significantly higher than that of UDP and increased significantly with increasing concentration of succinic acid. In the dynamic rheological analysis, the tan δ values of all ES-UDP solutions were significantly lower than those of the UDP solution.

Physicochemical, molecular, emulsifying and rheological characterizations of sage (Salvia splendens) seed gum.

The objective was to investigate the physicochemical, molecular, rheological, and emulsifying properties of water soluble-sage seed gum (WSG). WSG mainly comprised galacturonic acid and xylose. FTIR and NMR analyses confirmed the presence of pectic polysaccharides in WSG. Additionally, the molecular weight of WSG was higher than that of pectin standard. Compared to pectin standard solutions, WSG solutions exhibited higher shear thinning behavior and higher values of apparent viscosity (ηa,100) and consistency index (K) in steady shear measurements. According to the results of frequency sweep test, the dynamic moduli (G' and G″) for WSG solutions were increased with increasing frequency and concentration. The changes in dynamic moduli of WSG solutions as a function of aging time at 4 °C indicated that WSG could form a more rigid network than pectin standard. According to the results of temperature sweep test, the dynamic moduli of WSG solutions were higher than those of pectin standard solutions. Emulsion capacity and stability analyses indicated that WSG (58 and 56%, respectively) had better emulsifying properties than pectin standard (46 and 37%). In conclusion, compared to pectin standard, superior rheological and emulsifying properties observed in WSG might be related to higher molecular weight and protein content, respectively.

The characterization, selenylation and anti-inflammatory activity of pectic polysaccharides extracted from Ulmus pumila L.

The specific objective of this study was to investigate characterization, selenylation, and anti-inflammatory activities of pectic polysaccharides extracted from Ulmus pumila L. (PPU). Four different monosaccharides were found in PPU, including galacturonic acid, galactose, rhamnose, and glucose. FT-IR spectra indicated that pectic polysaccharides were successfully extracted from Ulmus pumila L., and were probably low methoxyl pectin. GC-MS and NMR analysis of PPU suggested the major monosaccharide of PPU was α-1,4-linked galacturonic acid with α-1,2-linked rhamnose as the backbone and glucose or galactose residues as branches at C-3 and C-4 positions of rhamnose. Selenylation of PPU was synthesized by 0.2 and 0.4% of sodium selenites. Selenized-PPU (Se-PPU) inhibited LPS-induced nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 cells, and increasing selenium content enhanced anti-inflammatory properties of PPU. Therefore, Se-PPU can be used as a potential source of bioactive compounds for nutraceuticals and pharmaceutical applications.

The preventive effects of nanopowdered red ginseng on collagen-induced arthritic mice.

This study was carried out to investigate the efficiency of red ginseng nanopowder in preventing collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice. The mice were divided into five groups: normal group (no immunisation), control (CIA), powdered red ginseng (PRG), nanopowdered red ginseng (NRG) and methotrexate (MTX). Administering MTX, PRG and NRG to arthritic mice significantly decreased spleen indexes, clinical and histological scores compared to control group. Serum analysis of NRG and MTX groups showed a reduction in the cytokines such as the levels of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß) in comparison to PRG group. The levels of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) in the NRG group were significantly lower than those of the PRG group. In summary, the present study indicated that NRG can be effective in preventing type II collagen-induced rheumatoid arthritis in mice.