Genome-wide identification and comparative analysis of lipocalin families in Lepidoptera with an emphasis on Bombyx mori.

Lipocalins exhibit functional diversity, including roles in retinol transport, invertebrate cryptic coloration, and stress response. However, genome-wide identification and characterization of lipocalin in the insect lineage have not been thoroughly explored. Here, we found that a lineage-specific expansion of the lipocalin genes in Lepidoptera occurred in large part due to tandem duplication events and several lipocalin genes involving insect coloration were expanded more via tandem duplication in butterflies. A comparative analysis of conserved motifs showed both conservation and divergence of lepidopteran lipocalin family protein structures during evolution. We observe dynamic changes in tissue expression preference of paralogs in Bombyx mori, suggesting differential contribution of paralogs to specific organ functions during evolution. Subcellular localization experiments revealed that lipocalins localize to the cytoplasm, nuclear membrane, or nucleus in BmN cells. Moreover, several lipocalin genes exhibited divergent responses to abiotic and biotic stresses, and 1 lipocalin gene was upregulated by 300 fold in B. mori. These results suggest that lipocalins act as signaling components in defense responses by mediating crosstalk between abiotic and biotic stress responses. This study deepens our understanding of the comprehensive characteristics of lipocalins in insects.

Bioinformatic analysis of miR-4792 regulates Radix Tetrastigma hemsleyani flavone to inhibit proliferation, invasion, and induce apoptosis of A549 cells.

BACKGROUND: Radix Tetrastigma hemsleyani, a kind of Chinese medicinal herb, contains multiple medicinal ingredients and can exert a variety of pharmacological activities. Our previous study revealed that miR-4792 was significantly upregulated in Radix Tetrastigma hemsleyani flavone (RTHF)-treated A549 cells; however, the regulatory mechanism of RTHF-treated A549 cells remains unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we investigated the antitumor mechanism and regulatory pathway of miR-4792 in RTHF-treated A549 cells, and the target genes were predicted and pathway enrichment of miR-4792 was performed using bioinformatic analysis. RESULTS: Our results confirmed that the upregulated expression of miR-4792 could inhibit cell proliferation and invasion, provoke cell cycle arrest, and induce apoptosis in A549 cells. Gene Ontology analysis showed that target genes of miR-4792 were enriched in protein binding, cytosol, cytoplasm, plasma membrane, and metal ion binding. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that target genes of miR-4792 were enriched in aminoacyltRNA biosynthesis, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, sphingolipid signaling pathway, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, glycosaminoglycan degradation, and regulation of lipolysis in adipocytes. Additionally, FOXC1 was identified as an important target gene of miR-4792 in RTHF-treated A549 cells, and miR-4792 may be the target of some apoptotic-related proteins involved in induction of apoptosis in A549 cells by RTHF. Moreover, the intracellular Ca2+ levels of A549 cells were increased after RTHF treatment, which may be involved in the anticancer regulatory process of miR-4792 in RTHF-treated A549 cells. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest a novel therapeutic approach for lung cancer that will be investigated in future studies.

Antitumor and immunomodulation activities of polysaccharide from Phellinus baumii.

A homogeneous polysaccharide (PPB) was purified from fruiting bodies of Phellinus baumii. And in vitro antitumor and immunomodulation activities were investigated on HeLa, SGC-7901 and RAW264.7 cell lines. PPB inhibited the proliferation of HeLa and SGC-7901 cells significantly, and flow cytometric studies revealed that PPB could mediate the cell cycle in the G0/G1 and S phases. Furthermore, PPB could promote the growth and phagocytosis of RAW264.7 cells, activate the secretion of cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-6, which indicated that PPB had low toxicity. The results make PPB as a candidate adjuvant in cancer therapy.

[Detection of antioxidant active compounds in mori ramulus by HPLC-MS-DPPH].

OBJECTIVE: To study major antioxidant active compounds in Mori Ramulus. METHOD: The combination of on-line HPLC method and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to identify major antioxidant compounds and their content was determined by HPLC-DAD (detection wavelength of 320 nm). RESULT: Oxyresveratrol was proved to be the major antioxidant compound in Mori Ramulus ethanolic extracts. Using the HPLC-DAD quantitative determination, Mori Ramulus oxyresveratrol had a good linear range of 14-1 260 mg x L(-1) (r = 0.999 96). The average recovery was 98.2% with RSD of 1.2%. This method is simple, rapid, accurate and sensitive. There was rich oxyresveratrol in Mori Ramulus and the content was significantly different according to the mulberry varieties. CONCLUSION: The on-line HPLC-MS-DPPH method is applicable for the determination of antioxidant compounds in Mori Ramulus.

Saponins from Panax japonicus protect against alcohol-induced hepatic injury in mice by up-regulating the expression of GPX3, SOD1 and SOD3.

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible mechanism(s) of saponins from Panax japonicus (SPJ) on alcohol-induced hepatic damage in mice. METHODS: SPJ were identified by high performance liquid chromatography-evaporative light scattering detection-mass spectrometry (LC-ELSD-MS). Non-toxic concentrations of SPJ were assayed on alcohol-induced hepatic injury in male ICR mice and human hepatic cells. The protective effects were evaluated by biochemical values, histopathological observations and the relative gene expression. Results. In vitro, SPJ showed significant hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity. In vivo, SPJ (50 mg/kg) could rectify the pathological changes of aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, malondialdehyde, reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) caused by alcohol metabolism to normal levels except for hepatic GSH and CAT. In hepatic cells, the results were in agreement with foregoing results determined in mice after pretreatment of SPJ (100 microg/ml). RT-PCR results showed that CAT, GPX and SOD mRNA decreased by alcohol metabolism were reversed, in which GPX3, SOD1 and SOD3 could return to a normal level, but CAT, GPX1 and SOD2 mRNA were still evidently lower than the control. Histopathological observations provided supportive evidence for biochemical analyses. CONCLUSIONS: SPJ plays an important role in the protection of the structure and function of hepatic mitochondria and karyon by directly scavenging reactive oxygen species/free radicals and up-regulating the expression of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, GPX and CAT), especially to GPX3, SOD1 and SOD3.