Ikbε

The development of testicular inflammation affects the normal male reproductive function. The proteasome activator complex subunit 3 (REGγ) has been suggested to regulate experimental colitis. However, to the best of our knowledge, a potential association between REGγ and testicular inflammation has not been demonstrated. The present study successfully established inflammatory models in C57 mice, primary Leydig cells and the TM3 cell line. It was observed that the absence of REGγ conveyed a significantly protective effect toward testosterone secretion in Leydig cells...

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of REGγ knockdown on the proliferation, apoptosis and migration of multiple myeloma (MM) cells, and reveal the potential regulatory mechanisms. METHODS: The expression of REGγ on myeloma cells of 28 MM patients was detected by Western blot. shRNA-REGγ-1 and shRNA-REGγ-2 were constructed to downregulate REGγ in RPMI-8226 cells. The proliferation, apoptosis and migration of transfected cells were analyzed by Cell Counting Kit 8 (CCK8), flow cytometry and transwell chamber, respectively...

In this study the effects of commercial bovine and soybean milks and their bioactive compounds, namely genistein, daidzein and equol, on the inflammatory responses induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment of human intestinal Caco-2 cells were examined, in terms of nitric oxide (NO) release and inducible nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS) expression. Both milks and their bioactive compounds significantly inhibited, dose-dependently, the expression of iNOS mRNA and protein, resulting in a decreased NO production...

The aim of the present study was to analyze the action of metformin on short-term memory, glial cell activation and neuroinflammation caused by experimental diabetic encephalopathy in C57BL/6 mice. Diabetes was induced by the intraperitoneal injection of a dose of 90mg/kg of streptozotocin on two successive days. Mice with blood glucose levels ≥200dl/ml were considered diabetic and were given metformin hydrochloride at doses of 100mg/kg and 200mg/kg (by gavage, twice daily) for 21 days. On the final day of treatment, the mice underwent a T-maze test...

Bone is a dynamic tissue that undergoes continuous remodeling coupled with the action of osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Osteoclast activity is elevated during osteoporosis and periodontitis resulting in excessive loss of trabecular and alveolar bone. Osteoclasts are formed in an inflammatory response to cytokine production receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) ligand (RANKL) and bacterial challenge lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Carvacrol, a monoterpenic phenol present in Origanum vulgare and Thymus vulgaris, is a natural compound with known medicinal properties...

Triterpenoids extracted from Cimicifuga foetida have been reported to inhibit cancer by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. In this study, KHF16 (24-acetylisodahurinol-3-O-β-D-xylopyranoside), a cycloartane triterpenoid isolated from the rhizomes of C. foetida, showed potent anti-cancer activity in multiple ERα/PR/HER2 triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines. KHF16 significantly induces cell cycle G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis in both MDA-MB-468 and SW527 TNBC cell lines. KHF16 reduces the expression levels of XIAP, Mcl-1, Survivin and Cyclin B1/D1 proteins...

Activating transcription factor 3 (Atf3) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various diseases, including cancer and inflammation, as well as in the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation. However, the involvement of Atf3 in developmental skeletogenesis and joint disease has not been well studied to date. Here, we show that Atf3 is a critical mediator of osteoarthritis (OA) development through its expression in chondrocytes. ATF3 expression was markedly up-regulated in the OA cartilage of both mice and humans...

Spasmolytic polypeptide-expressing metaplasia (SPEM) and intestinal metaplasia are considered neoplastic precursors of gastric adenocarcinoma in humans. Loss of parietal cells causes the development of SPEM in the gastric corpus and then chronic inflammation drives SPEM toward a more proliferative lineage. Mongolian gerbils infected with Helicobacter pylori develop chronic gastritis and metaplasia, mimicking aspects of human gastritis with H. pylori infection. We therefore examined metaplastic lineages in the gastric corpus mucosa of gerbils infected by H...

Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), a special food for medical purposes, has anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. Nevertheless, PEA lacks direct ability to prevent free radical formation. Polydatin (PLD), a natural precursor of resveratrol, has antioxidant activity. The combination of PEA and PLD could have beneficial effects on oxidative stress induced by inflammatory processes. In the present study, we compared the effects of micronized PEA (PEA-m) and PLD association (PEA-m+PLD) with a new co-micronized composite containing PEA and PLD (m(PEA/PLD)) in the rat paw model of carrageenan (CAR)-induced acute inflammation...

OBJECTIVE: The study was conducted to observe whether brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has cytoprotective actions against alloxan (AL), streptozotocin (STZ), doxorubicin (DB) and benzo(a)pyrene (BP) compounds in vitro that may account for its beneficial action in diabetes mellitus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This in vitro study was performed using rat insulinoma (RIN5F) cells. Possible cytoprotective action of BDNF (using pre-treatment, simultaneous and post-treatment schedules of RIN5F cells with BDNF) against the four chemicals tested was evaluated using MTT and apoptosis assays...

This study aimed to isolate biosurfactant from CO2-sequestering Bacillus subtilis VSG4 and to evaluate its immunostimulatory effect in Labeo rohita fingerlings. Fish were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with 0.1 mL of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) containing the water-soluble fraction of purified biosurfactant at 50 (S50), 100 (S100), 200 (S200), or 300 (S300) μg mL(-1). Fish injected with PBS served as controls. Various immunological parameters, including immune-related gene expression, were measured at 14, 21, and 28 days post administration (dpa)...

OBJECTIVE: To observe mainfestations of syndrome and biochemical indices of hypertensive model rats with excessive accumulation of phlegm-dampness syndrome (EAPDS), and to explore its possible pathological mechanism. METHODS: EAPDS rat model was prepared in 50 Wistar rats by feeding with high fat forage. Meanwhile, a normal control group consisting of 10 Wistar rats was set up by feeding with normal forage. After 25-week continuous feeding, 22 rats with body weight (BW) and blood pressure (BP) exceeding 25% those of the control group were selected as a model group...

The protective effect of procyanidine and its oligomers against high glucose-mediated oxidative stress injury in endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), and effect of procyanidin on vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) expression and downstream signal pathway were analyzed in vitro. Rat bone marrow mononuclear cells were isolated, cultured under normal and high glucose (HG) conditions, and the changes in cell morphology observed. The EPCs were identified, and the oxidative stress products produced by EPCs (under normal and HG conditions) were quantified...

BACKGROUND: Osteomeles schwerinae C. K. Schneid. (Rosaceae, OSSC) is a medicinal plant traditionally used to treat various diseases in Asia. The chemical constituents of OSSC have an inhibitory effect on aldose reductase activity, which has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. However, the protective effects of the pharmacological activity and potential mechanisms in diabetic nephropathy are still not known. OBJECTIVE: In the present study, OSSC extracts and major compounds were examined for their effects on binding to the receptors of advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and on transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1) expression-related signal mechanisms in mouse glomerular mesangial cells (GMCs)...

Obesity contributes to systemic inflammation, which is associated with the varied pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Growing evidence has demonstrated that endurance exercise (EE) mitigates obesity-induced brain inflammation. However, exercise-mediated anti-inflammatory mechanisms remain largely unknown. We investigated how treadmill exercise (TE) reverses obesity-induced brain inflammation, mainly focusing on toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4)-dependent neuroinflammation in the obese rat brain after 20 weeks of a high-fat diet (HFD)...

BACKGROUND: Hericium erinaceus is an edible mushroom; its various pharmacological effects which have been investigated. This study aimed to demonstrate whether efficacy of oral administration of H. erinaceus mycelium (HEM) and its isolated diterpenoid derivative, erinacine A, can act as an anti-neuroinflammatory agent to bring about neuroprotection using an MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine) mouse model of Parkinson's disease, which results in motor disturbances, in addition to elucidating the mechanisms involved...

IkB kinase β (IKKβ) is a key signaling kinase for inflammatory responses, but it also plays diverse cell type-specific roles that are not yet fully understood. Here we investigated the role of IKKβ in the cornea using Ikkβ(ΔCS) mice in which the Ikkβ gene was specifically deleted in the corneal stromal keratocytes. The Ikkβ(ΔCS) corneas had normal morphology, transparency and thickness; however, they did not heal well from mild alkali burn injury. In contrast to the Ikkβ(F/F) corneas that restored transparency in 2 weeks after injury, over 50% of the Ikkβ(ΔCS) corneas failed to fully recover...

The tumor suppressor gene RASSF1A is epigenetically silenced in most human cancers. As a binding partner of the kinases MST1 and MST2, the mammalian orthologs of the Drosophila Hippo kinase, RASSF1A is a potential regulator of the Hippo tumor suppressor pathway. RASSF1A shares these properties with the scaffold protein SAV1. The role of this pathway in human cancer has remained enigmatic inasmuch as Hippo pathway components are rarely mutated in tumors. Here we show that Rassf1a homozygous knockout mice develop liver tumors...

This work presents a model of rats fed a high-cholesterol diet, receiving a long-term oral administration of cilostazol, a PDE3-inhibitor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the molecular mechanisms by which cilostazol interferes with platelets signaling pathways to avoid atherosclerosis early development. Male Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups: Control group received standard rat chow (C), hypercholesterolemic group (HCD), and HCD+CIL (cilostazol group) received hypercholesterolemic diet for 45 days...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of icariin on myocardial hypoxia reoxygenation injury and the possible mechanism. METHODS: Neonatal Sprague-Dawley rat cardiomyocytes in primary culture were treated with different concentrations of icariin for 24 h prior to hypoxia/reoxygenation injury. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis was evaluated with Tunel staining. The expression levels of apoptosis proteins were detected by Western blotting. The nuclear translocation of p65 was evaluated by immunofluorescence...