Ameliorative effects of pepsin-digested chicken liver hydrolysates on development of alcoholic fatty livers in mice.

With developments in economics and increasing work loads, alcohol abuse becomes more and more severe, leading to occurrences of alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Pepsin-digested chicken liver hydrolysates (CLHs) contain high amounts of glutamic acid, leucine, lysine, and alanine while the contents of taurine, anserine, and carnosine are also elevated after pepsin hydrolyzation. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the protective effects of CLHs against chronic alcohol consumption. The results indicated that the enlarged (p < 0.05) sizes of liver and spleen, and serum AST, ALT, and ALKP levels of mice fed with an alcoholic diet were ameliorated by supplementing with CLHs. Moreover, increased hepatic immunocyte infiltration shown on the H&E staining and higher (p < 0.05) hepatic triglyceride contents, TBARS values, and proinflammatory cytokine levels in alcoholic diet fed mice were also reduced (p < 0.05) by supplementing with CLHs. Those benefits were attributed to up-regulated fatty acid ß-oxidation and down-regulated fatty acid synthesis, as well as increased (p < 0.05) SOD, CAT, and GPx activities, TEAC levels, and elevated alcohol metabolic enzymatic activities (ALDH).

Ribosomal protein S27-like in colorectal cancer: a candidate for predicting prognoses.

BACKGROUND: The development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC) involve a complex process of multiple genetic changes. Tumor suppressor p53 is capable of determining the fate of CRC cells. However, the role of a p53-inducible modulator, ribosomal protein S27-like (RPS27L), in CRC is unknown. METHODS: Here, the differential expression of RPS27L was examined in the feces and colonic tissues of CRC patients, to explore its possible correlation with patient survival and to investigate the cellular mechanisms underlying their clinical outcomes. Eighty intermediate-stage CRC patients (42 at stage II and 38 at stage III) were divided into two groups according to their fecal RPS27L mRNA levels. The survival probabilities of the groups were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The RPS27L protein in the colonic tissues of stage III patients with different prognoses was further examined immunohistochemically. RPS27L expression in LoVo cells was manipulated to examine the possible cellular responses in vitro. RESULTS: Elevated RPS27L expression, in either feces or tissues, was related to a better prognosis. In vitro, RPS27L-expressing LoVo cells ceased DNA synthesis and apoptotic activity while the expression of their DNA repair molecules was upregulated. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated RPS27L may improve the prognoses of certain CRC patients by enhancing the DNA repair capacity of their colonic cells, and can be determined in feces. By integrating clinical, molecular, and cellular data, our study demonstrates that fecal RPS27L may be a useful index for predicting prognoses and guiding personalized therapeutic strategies, especially in patients with intermediate-stage CRC.