Molecular and allergenic properties of natural hemocyanin from Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis).

Hemocyanin in crustaceans is an allergen for humans. However, little information was available on its molecular, structural and allergenic properties. In this study, the purified natural protein was identified as Eriocheir sinensis HC by LC-MS/MS, which was allergenic because its reaction with the serum IgE of crustacean patients. Results of the molecular properties showed that, HC was resistant to trypsin digestion, but not a heat-stable protein. Boiling (55.05 ± 3.50 %) and steaming (66.84 ± 1.65 %) induced an increase in ß-sheet and decreased allergenicity of HC. By comparing the amino acid sequences of eight crustaceans, HC was found to be highly conserved. Five epitopes of HC were identified and validated by murine sensitization model, and two of them (P3 and P10) were exactly as the predicted by six types of bioinformatics. Multiple bioinformatics analysis combining with murine sensitization model seemed to be effective way for identification of allergenic epitopes.

Ameliorating Effect on Glycolipid Metabolism of Spirulina Functional Formulation Combination from Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Insulin resistance is the major factor involved in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Although the oral drug metformin (MH) is widely used to reduce hyperglycemia, it is associated with adverse effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need to search for safe and natural foods that do not cause adverse effects as alternatives to commercial drugs. In this study, the active substances from Spirulina platensis, Grifola frondosa, Panax ginseng, and chromium-rich yeast were used to obtain Spirulina functional formulations (SFFs), and its therapeutic effects on mice with glycolipid metabolism disorder (GLD) were investigated. Results showed that SFFs not only improved glycolipid metabolism and reduced inflammation in mice with GLD but also showed good regenerative effects on the liver, jejunum, and cecum tissues. Moreover, SFFs could inhibit the growth of harmful microbes in the intestine and promote the proliferation of beneficial bacteria, thereby promoting the production of short-chain fatty acids and further regulating GLD. Additionally, SFFs significantly increased the expression of INS, INSR, IRS-1, PI3K, AKT-1, and GLUT-4 genes and significantly decreased that of GSK-3ß in the INS/PI3K/GLUT-4 signaling pathway. Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that SFFs can be further developed as a new class of therapeutic agents against GLD.

Hypolipidemic properties of Chlorella pyrenoidosa organic acids via AMPK/HMGCR/SREBP-1c pathway in vivo.

The aim of this study was to explore the effects and mechanisms of 95% ethanol extract of Chlorella pyrenoidosa (CPE95) on lipid metabolism in hyperlipidemic rats. For the sake of chemical composition analysis of CPE95, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was used for determination. After treatment with CPE95, serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol content of the hyperlipidemic rats was increased, while the contents of cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were decreased strikingly. Moreover, the result of histopathology analysis showed that the accumulation and fatty deformation of the livers were relieved. Real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting were used to determine the expression levels of lipid metabolism-related genes. The gene expression level of adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase was descended, and expressions of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase were all downregulated in the CPE95-treated rats. It suggested that CPE95 may effectively improve the hyperlipidemia in rats and would be potential for functional food component to reduce blood lipid.

Luteolin cooperated with metformin hydrochloride alleviates lipid metabolism disorders and optimizes intestinal flora compositions of high-fat diet mice.

Luteolin (LU) is a flavonoid compound and metformin hydrochloride (MH) is a kind of drug. Studies have shown that both LU and MH have the function of hypoglycemic effect. However, there are few reports indicating that LU cooperated with MH (LU·MH) can relieve lipid metabolism disorders and optimize intestinal flora compositions of high-fat diet mice. In this research, we investigated the effects of LU, MH and LU·MH on lipid metabolism disorders and intestinal flora composition in high-fat diet mice. The study found that compared with high-fat diet (HFD) alone, LU, MH and LU·MH could significantly reduce the lipid metabolism disorder. Furthermore, compared with LU or MH alone, the biochemical indicators of LU·MH were significantly improved and the results of the histopathological section also showed that LU·MH has stronger liver repair ability. It revealed that the potential mechanisms of the LU·MH alleviating lipid metabolism disorders were involved in the simultaneous regulation of SREBP-1c/FAS and SREBP-1c/ACC/Cpt-1. In addition, LU·MH could regulate the intestinal flora compositions. This includes significantly reducing the ratio of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes(F/B) and at the family level, increasing the relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae, Helicobacteraceae, Marinifilaceae and Peptococcaceae to relieve lipid metabolism disorders. In conclusion, the work found that LU·MH regulates the signal pathway of SREBP-1c/FAS and SREBP-1c/ACC/Cpt-1 simultaneously and decreases the ratio of F/B, as well as increases the relative abundance of certain microbiota to alleviate the lipid metabolism disorders of HFD-fed mice.

Telomere Shortening in Alzheimer's Disease Patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sporadic Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is considered an age-related disease, and telomere length has been shown to decrease with age in animal and human studies. Shortening of telomere length has also been reported to beis associated with numerous neurodegenerative diseases, including AD. The aim of this study is to confirm and further elucidate the relationship between peripheral telomere length and Alzheimer's disease, cognitive function, and duration of Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: In this study, we recruited 165 Han Chinese subjects, consisting of 79 normal controls and 86 patients with AD without family history of AD or vascular dementia cases. We measured telomere length (T/S ratio) at baseline using quantitative PCR. RESULTS: Our data showed that the negative correlation between telomere length and age become much stronger in AD patients (n=86, r=-0.382, p<0.001) compared to the control group (n=79, r=-0.024, p=0.833), presenting an estimated telomere loss rate of 0.003 T/S ratio/year (p<0.001). Moreover, we observed that the duration of AD is significantly negatively correlated with telomere length (n=86, r=-0.224, p=0.039), especially in female patients (n=43, r=-0.375, p=0.013) and ApoE4-noncarrier patients (n=52, r=-0.368, p=0.007). We also had some unexpected results, namely that in AD patients, higher Minimum Mental State Examination (MMSE) score were associated with shorter telomere length (n=76, r=-0.281, p=0.014). CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed an accelerated rate of telomere shortening in AD, as well as strong influence of gender and ApoE status on telomere length in the context of this disease.

Polymorphisms of the neurotrophic factor-3 (NTF-3) in Alzheimer's disease: rs6332 associated with onset time and rs6489630 T allele exhibited a protective role.

Because of its implications in neuroprotection, formation of long lasting memories and a disturbed function in Alzheimer's disease (AD), neurotrophin-3 (NTF-3) may represent an appropriate candidate gene conferring risk to AD. Recently, two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs6489630 and rs6332) within the NTF-3 gene have been associated with AD in a Japanese population. Because of the importance of this finding, we analyzed the NTF-3 polymorphism in a Han Chinese sample consisting of 138 AD patients and 115 age-matched normal controls (NCs). In ApoE-ɛ4 non-carriers, a negative gene dose-association was found between the A allele of rs6332 and the onset time of AD. Individuals homozygous for the A allele developed AD significantly earlier than those homozygous for the G allele (mean age ± SD: 63.72 ± 9.08 versus 69.75 ± 6.03, p = 0.023). Moreover, in male subjects, we found the rs6489630 T allele to be protective against AD (OR 0.494; 95% CI 0.274-0.891; p value = 0.018) compared to C allele carriers. Due to a small number of patients showing homozygosity for the T allele in rs6489630 (n = 5), all of which were normal subjects, the result needs to be confirmed in a larger sample. The results suggest a gene dose-association between the A allele of rs6332 and the onset of AD in ɛ4 non-carriers, as well as the NTF-3 rs6489630 polymorphism being a relevant risk factor for AD in patients lacking the ApoE-ɛ4 allele in this Chinese sample.

Influence of the rs1080985 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism of the CYP2D6 Gene and APOE Polymorphism on the Response to Donepezil Treatment in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease in China.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Recent data have indicated that the rs1080985 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2D6 and the common apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene may affect the response to donepezil in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). We investigated this association in Chinese patients with mild-to-moderate AD. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, analyses of CYP2D6 and APOE were conducted in 208 native Chinese patients with mild-to-moderate AD. All patients were treated with donepezil 5 mg/day for 6 months, and the response to treatment was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination. RESULTS: No significant differences between responders (68.9%) and nonresponders (31.1%) to donepezil treatment (6 months' duration) were observed in the distribution of the CYP2D6 rs1080985 SNP, common APOE polymorphism or a combination of the two. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that neither the CYP2D6 nor the APOE polymorphism influences the 6-month response to donepezil treatment in a Chinese population with AD.

Effects of catalpol on ATPase and amino acids in gerbils with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of catalpol on ATPase and amino acids in gerbils following cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (CI/R) injury. Gerbil model of CI/R was prepared by bilateral common carotid occlusion for 10 min followed by 6 h of reperfusion. Catalpol (5, 10 or 20 mg/kg per day) was injected intraperitoneally for 3 days before the carotid occlusion. Stroke index was measured during the reperfusion. ATPase activity, glutamate (Glu) and aspartate contents in brain tissue homogenate were examined. The results showed that catalpol significantly improved the stroke index compared with sham group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Catalpol markedly increased the activities of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase and Ca(2+)-ATPase (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), and significantly decreased the content of Glu in brain tissue (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). These data suggest that the efficacy of catalpol pretreatment on CI/R injury is associated with the enhancement of ATPase activity and the inhibition of excitatory amino acid toxicity.