Home / Journals / BIOCELL / Vol.44, No.3, 2020
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  • Open AccessOpen Access

    REVIEW

    Development of anthracnose disease resistance and heat tolerance chili through conventional breeding and molecular approaches: a review

    MST FARHANA NAZNEEN CHOWDHURY1, MOHD RAFII YUSOP1,2,*, SITI IZERA ISMAIL3, SHAIRUL IZAN RAMLEE1, YUSUFF OLADOSU2, MONIR HOSEN2, GOUS MIAH4
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 269-278, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.09627
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: )
    Abstract Chili (Capsicum annuum L.) is the popular spicy vegetable crops belonging to family Solanaceae. Chili peppers are known for their pungency characteristic due to the presence of capsaicinoids that classifies them into hot or sweet pepper. Chili is used as spices, folk remedies for diseases, vegetables, and coloring agent showing a diverse role in human’s life. However, its production is hampered by different biotic stress and abiotic factors. Similarly, the unavailability of high yielding varieties, high temperature, and disease incidence, particularly, anthracnose disease, are the major constraints responsible for the low production of chili pepper. The advents of molecular markers,… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Component spectroscopic properties of light-harvesting complexes with DFT calculations

    SHYAM BADU1, SANJAY PRABHAKAR1,2, RODERICK MELNIK1,3,*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 279-291, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.010916
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: )
    Abstract Photosynthesis is a fundamental process in biosciences and biotechnology that influences profoundly the research in other disciplines. In this paper, we focus on the characterization of fundamental components, present in pigment-protein complexes, in terms of their spectroscopic properties such as infrared spectra, nuclear magnetic resonance, as well as nuclear quadrupole resonance, which are of critical importance for many applications. Such components include chlorophylls and bacteriochlorophylls. Based on the density functional theory method, we calculate the main spectroscopic characteristics of these components for the Fenna-Matthews-Olson light-harvesting complex, analyze them and compare them with available experimental results. Future outlook is discussed in… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Fractions of a chloroform extract of ajenjo leaves (Artemisia mendozana DC. var. mendozana) inhibit the proliferation, viability and clonogenicity of B16-F0 melanoma cells

    MARÍA ELISA MILLÁN1, MARÍA FERNANDA MARRA1, LEONARDO ANDRÉS SALVARREDI1,2,3, EMILIO FERNANDO LIZARRAGA4,*, LUIS ALBERTO LOPEZ1,*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 293-299, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.012342
    Abstract The ajenjo, Artemisia mendozana DC. var. mendozana (Asteraceae), grows in the Andean foothills of Mendoza and San Juan, Argentina, and is used as a medicinal plant for its antispasmodic and antifungal properties. The aim of this work was to obtain fractions of a chloroform extract of ajenjo leaves and to evaluate the in vitro effects on proliferation, viability and clonogenicity of B16-F0 melanoma cells. Using a silica gel chromatography column, 120 fractions were collected and grouped according to the chromatographic profile in 9 main fractions (F1–F9). Their major compounds identified were: terpenes (F1), terpenes and sesquiterpene lactones (F2–F3), sesquiterpenes (F4–F6)… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Elemental sulfur upregulated testicular testosterone biosynthesis by associating with altered gut microbiota in mice

    YUAN BI1,2,#, TIANQI LI2,#, HONGJIE PAN2, MING GUO2, LIANGKANG CHEN2, QI QI1, MEIXIN ZHANG2, LINGLING ZHANG2, LININ YU2, XIAOFENG WAN2, HUAJUN ZHENG2,*, RUNSHENG LI2,*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 301-313, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.011208
    Abstract Elemental sulfur has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine to treat the late-onset hypogonadism and impotence without a clarified mechanism for many hundreds of years. In the present study, mice were received sulfur or distilled water for 35 days by daily intragastric gavage at a dose of 250 mg/kg body weight. Then, the serum testosterone level and genes associated with testicular testosterone biosynthesis (TTB) were detected. The gut microbiota was also analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Serum testosterone level was significantly increased by 291.1% in sulfur-treated mice. The H2S levels in serum and feces were significantly increased. The… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Decreased serum HMGB1 associated with M2 macrophage polarization and patients with calcific aortic valve disease

    DONG ZHAO, QIANG JI*, SHIJIE ZHU, KAI ZHU, CHUNSHENG WANG*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 315-321, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.09169
    Abstract Except for the standard aortic valve replacement, no effective medical treatment is available to prevent or delay calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) progression. Recently, macrophages and high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) are the most intriguing candidates in various inflammatory disorders. However, the association between serum HMGB1, CAVD, and macrophage polarization remains unclear. Therefore, we examined whether the level of serum HMGB1 is clinically associated with aortic valve calcification and whether HMGB1 treatment can promote macrophage differentiation toward M1 or M2 phenotype. This experimental study included 19 CAVD patients and 20 healthy controls whose serum HMGB1 levels were examined by ELISA… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Effect of peroxiredoxin 6 on total and progressive motility of human spermatozoa after cryopreservation

    TIECHENG SUN1,#, LUYANG CHENG2,#, JING MA3,#, SHANJIE ZHOU1, YANDONG ZHANG1, WENDI ZHOU4, SHOULONG DENG5, SHUSONG WANG3,*, TIAN LI1,6,*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 323-327, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.011890
    Abstract Sperm cryopreservation is useful in assisted reproductive technology and male fertility preservation. However, freezing and thawing significantly reduces the total and progressive motility of human spermatozoa. In the present study, we explored the effects of peroxiredoxin 6 (PRDX6) on total and progressive motility of human spermatozoa after cryopreservation. Semen samples of 20 males with normal parameters were collected and frozen in media supplemented with different concentrations of PRDX6 (0 mM, 10−5 mM, 10−7 mM, and 10−9 mM, respectively). Postthaw total and progressive motility of sperms were measured. The results showed that in comparison with 0 mM, the concentrations of 10−5More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells conditioned media inhibits hypoxia-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cells by activation of the survival protein Akt

    XUHE GONG1, GUANGPU FAN2, HUI LIU1, SIJIA WANG3, RONGCHONG HUANG1,*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 329-336, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.09639
    Abstract This work aimed to study the beneficial role of human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cellconditioned medium (MSC-CM) in hypoxia-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts, in which the serine/heroine kinases (Akt) pathway would be involved. For this, CM was collected by culturing MSCs in serum-free DMEM medium for 24 h, and paracrine factors were analyzed by protein chip. H9c2 cells were divided into the following groups: control group, hypoxia group, MSC-CM intervention group (CM group), MSC-CM + Akt phosphorylation inhibitor (LY294002) group (LY group). Apoptosis of the H9c2 cells was tested with chromatin dye Hoechst 33342 and FITC-conjugated Annexin V apoptosis… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    The role of HBD-2, HBD-3, and calprotectin in the relationship between chronic periodontitis and atherosclerosis

    MEHMET TASPINAR1,2,*, ALIHAN BOZOGLAN3,4, ABDULLAH SECKIN ERTUGRUL5, LEVENT ELMAS6
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 337-344, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.011470
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Stem Cells, Protein Therapeutics, and Regenerative Medicine)
    Abstract This study was carried out to compare individuals diagnosed with atherosclerosis and periodontal periodontitis based on the degree of change in the human beta-defensins (HBD) HBD-2, HBD-3, and calprotectin. Atherosclerosis is the most frequently observed cardiovascular disease. Dental and periodontal infections are known to provide a considerable basis for atheroma plaque formation. The study group consists of a total number of 40 subjects, with 20 patients diagnosed with atherosclerosis and chronic periodontitis and 20 systemically healthy patients diagnosed with chronic periodontitis. Clinical periodontal and blood parameters and HBD-2, HBD-3, and calprotectin biomarkers in the gingival crevicular fluid were measured. In… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Silencing of long non-coding RNA CCHE1 inhibits the ovarian cancer SKOV3 cell invasion and migration and inactivates the p38-MAPK signaling pathway

    HONGWEI CHEN#, XUAN SONG#, HEMEI LI*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 345-351, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.08944
    Abstract Ovarian cancer (OC) is a major cause of cancer-related deaths among gynaecological malignancies. Emerging studies suggest that the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) may be the potential biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of the cancer. The current study was carried out to investigate the role of lncRNA CCHE1 silencing in OC cell invasion and migration. Expression of lncRNA CCHE1 in normal ovarian cell Hose and OC cell lines HO 8910, A2780 and SKOV3 was detected. LncRNA were transfected with siRNA, and then the proliferation of cells was detected by using MTT assay. Cell invasion and migration was measured by using… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Piceatannol attenuates streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetes in mice

    MENGSHU ZHAO1, PINGSHI GAO1, LIANG TAO1, JINGJING WEN1, LEI WANG1, YUGUO YI1, YUXIN CHEN2, JUNSONG WANG1, XI XU1, JIANFA ZHANG1, DAN WENG1,*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 353-361, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.08955
    Abstract As a natural analog of resveratrol, piceatannol (Pic) exhibits good antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in different disease models. However, the role of Pic in type 1 diabetes mouse model has not been reported yet. In this study, we investigated the in vivo effect of Pic in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetic mice. Mice were injected with STZ to establish the type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) model. After stable hyperglycemia was achieved, mice were then orally treated with Pic (40 mg/kg b.w., i.g.) for 30 days. The results indicated that Pic supplementation efficiently alleviated the typical symptoms associated with T1DM, including… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    REVIEW

    Effect of structure and function of paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) on organophosphate pesticides metabolism

    HAZAEL RAMIRO CEJA-GÁLVEZ1, ERANDIS DHENI TORRES-SÁNCHEZ1, JUAN HERIBERTO TORRES-JASSO2, ARTURO VILLALOBOS ORNELAS1, JOEL SALAZAR-FLORES1,*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 363-370, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.09147
    Abstract Paraoxonase-1 (PON1) is an important enzyme in various pathologies such as pesticide poisoning, diabetes, atherosclerosis, neuronal disorders, and cancer, due to its multifunctional activity since it acts on different metabolites. However, one of its main functions is the hydrolysis of organophosphate (OP) compounds from pesticides that cause fatal poisoning at the level of the central nervous system (CNS). The objective of this review was to investigate whether the structure, genetics, and function of PON1 affect the metabolism of organophosphate pesticides or other abnormalities. Information was selected from articles in the database PubMed–NCBI (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/) with a publication date between 2011… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    YB-1 downregulation attenuates UQCRC1 protein expression level in H9C2 cells and decreases the mitochondrial membrane potential

    HUIFANG CHEN1,2, XIAOYING ZHOU2, ZONGHONG LONG2, XIANGLONG TANG2, HONG LI2,*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 371-379, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.08893
    Abstract UQCRC1 is one of the 10 mitochondrial complex III subunits, this protein has a role in energy metabolism, myocardial protection, and neurological diseases. The upstream mechanism of the UQCRC1 protective effect on cardiomyocytes is currently unavailable. In order to explore the upstream molecules of UQCRC1 and elucidate the protective mechanism of UQCRC1 on cardiomyocytes in more detail, we focused on the nuclease-sensitive elementbinding protein 1 (YB-1). We hypothesized YB-1 acts as an upstream regulatory molecule of UQCRC1. This study found that YB-1 RNAi significantly reduces the expression of the UQCRC1 protein level (p < 0.05) and obviously decreases the mitochondrial… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Construction of castor functional markers fingerprint and analysis of genetic diversity

    TING YANG#, JIANNONG LU#, AKWASI YEBOAH, SHUAILEI GU, DONGNA LI, YUZHEN SHI, XUEGUI YIN*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 381-388, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.09112
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: )
    Abstract In order to provide a molecular basis for selecting good hybrid combinations for the identification of castor bean germplasm resources, fingerprint and genetic diversity analysis of 52 castor bean materials from 12 regions in 5 countries were constructed by using the Functinal Markers (FMs) associated with fatty acid metabolism-related genes. A total of 72 alleles were amplified by 29 pairs of FMs with an average of 2.483 per marker and the polymorphic information content was 0.103–0.695. Shannon’s information index (I), observed heterozygosity (Ho) and expected heterozygosity (He) were 0.699, 0.188 and 0.436 respectively. The clustering results indicated that the castor… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Enhanced osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem cells by suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid

    YUNZE XUAN1,#, BIN JIN1,#, SAYAN DEB DUTTA5,#, MENGMENG LIU2, ZAIXIAN SHEN1, XIWEN LIU3, YANG KANGJUAN4,*, LIM KI-TAEK5,*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 389-400, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.09170
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Stem Cells, Protein Therapeutics, and Regenerative Medicine)
    Abstract Periodontitis is a type of chronic inflammation in the gingival tissue caused by infectious bacteria colonizing the surface of the teeth, leading to the destruction of tooth-supporting tissues and loss of alveolar bone. Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), a class of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, has the potential to stimulate osteoblast differentiation by acetylating histone proteins, and thus suppressing the expression of adipogenic and chondrogenic genes. However, the effect of SAHA on the differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSCs) is yet to be elucidated. Herein, we investigated the effects of SAHA on in vitro proliferation and differentiation of hPDLSCs… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Improvement of transfection with reprogramming factors in urinederived cells

    OLIVIA A. ROBLES-RODRÍGUEZ1, MARÍA J. LOERA-ARIAS1,*, JOSÉ J. PÉREZ-TRUJILLO1, ARNULFO VILLANUEVA-OLIVO1, ERNESTO PICÓN-GALINDO1, LAURA VILLARREAL-MARTÍNEZ2, ADOLFO SOTO-DOMÍNGUEZ1, HUMBERTO RODRÍGUEZ-ROCHA1, ARACELY GARCÍA-GARCÍA1, ODILA SAUCEDO-CÁRDENAS1,3, ROBERTO MONTES DE OCA-LUNA1,*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 401-409, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.010064
    Abstract Human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are an accessible source of adult-derived, patient-specific pluripotent stem cells for use in basic research, drug discovery, disease modeling, and stem cell therapy. Improving the accessibility of methods to obtain iPSCs regardless of the cell source can enhance their clinical application. Therefore, our purpose is to report a simple protocol to obtain iPS-like cells from urine-derived renal epithelial cells (RECs) using different extracellular matrices and transfection reagents. In this study, we began by culturing urine-derived cells from healthy donors to establish a primary culture of renal epithelial cells, followed by their characterization. Subsequently, we generated… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Molecular typing of methicillin and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from clinical specimens by doublelocus sequence typing (DLST) method

    SOHEILA HASANIAN1, NOUR AMIRMOZAFARI2, AHMAD FARAJZADEH SHEIKH3,*, IRAJ MEHREGAN1
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 411-419, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.08976
    Abstract Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains are the essential cause of infections in communities and hospitals. The present study was conducted to determine the molecular typing of MRSA, isolated from hospitalized patients, using the double-locus sequence typing (DLST). In total, 280 S. aureus isolated from clinical specimens by phenotypic (catalase, coagulase, DNase, oxacillin, vancomycin screening agar and antibiotic disk diffusion), and molecular methods (PCR for determining the mecA, vanA and nuc genes). The DLST and sequencing was performed for MRSA containing mecA. Out of 280 specimens, confirmed as Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), 123 (43.9%) strains were MRSA. The highest resistance toward… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Changes in neuropeptides related to food intake in the rat arcuate nucleus after chronic immobilization stress and the effect of comfortable music exposure

    HAO WANG1,2,#, FANG FANG1,#, CHAOYI FANG1, RUNSHENG ZHAO1,*, SHAOXIAN WANG1,*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 421-429, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.010257
    Abstract Stress is an inevitable interference factor that seriously affects health. Listening to music is an economical, noninvasive, and highly accepted tool for easing stress. However, physiological studies investigating the ability of music to reduce stress in daily life are limited. We established rat models of chronic immobilization stress (CIS) to observe changes in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC) neurons involved in the regulation of food intake and the effect of comfortable classical music exposure. Twenty-one days of stress resulted in decreased food intake and delayed body weight gain; up-regulation of leptin receptor (Ob-R), cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART), proopiomelanocortin (POMC),… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Cardioprotective effect of ivabradine via the AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling pathway in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury induced in H9c2 cell

    XINGXING ZHU1,2, TIANFENG HUA1,2, MINGFEI WU3, JIATIAN WU1,2, JIANCHAO HONG1,2, MIN YANG1,2,*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 431-441, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.010323
    Abstract Post-resuscitation myocardial dysfunction (PRMD) is the most severe myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) and is characterized by difficult treatment and poor prognosis. Research has shown the protective effects of the rational use of ivabradine (IVA) against PRMD; however, the molecular mechanisms of IVA remain unknown. In this study, an ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) model was established using hypoxic chambers. The results demonstrated that pretreatment with IVA reduced IRI-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis. IVA attenuated mitochondrial damage, eliminated excess reactive oxygen species (ROS), suppressed IRI-induced ATP and NAD+ , and increased the AMP/ATP ratio. We further found that IVA increased the mRNA levels of… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Leptin promotes proliferation and invasion of osteosarcoma cells by upregulating the expression of SIRT1

    HELIN FENG1,2, XIAOCHONG ZHANG3, QIANQIAN ZHANG4, ZE LI5, LILI ZHAO1,6,*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 443-450, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.010705
    Abstract Osteosarcoma (OS) is a primary high-grade malignant bone neoplasm, and the prognosis of OS remains poor due to early metastasis. Leptin plays an essential role in tumorigenesis, but the role of leptin in the development of OS is still not fully understood. In this study, we used a human osteosarcoma MG-63 cell line as an experimental model. MG-63 cells were treated with leptin, and cell proliferation, apoptosis, adhesion, invasion, and gene expression, were evaluated. The results showed that leptin promoted proliferation, decreased adhesion, suppressed apoptosis, and promoted invasion, of MG-63 cells. Moreover, the expression of SIRT1 was upregulated in MG-63… More >

  • Open AccessOpen Access

    ARTICLE

    Genetic separation of chalkiness by hybrid rice of Huanghuazhan and CS197

    LU GAN, XIAOSHU DENG, YAN LIU, ANCAI LUO, JIAO CHEN, JING XIANG, ZHENGWU ZHAO*
    BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 451-459, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.08007
    Abstract The present study focused on the segregation of the percentage of grains with chalkiness (PGWC), using Huanghuazhan as the female parent and CS197 as the male parent to construct the hybrid rice F2 population. Molecular markers were used for genotype analysis among the extremely low and extremely high PGWC individuals from the F2 population. The results revealed that the genotypes of 10 extremely low PGWC individuals were 80.00% and 3.33%, which is identical to Huanghuazhan and CS197, respectively. The heterozygotes accounted for 16.67%. On the contrary, the genotypes of 10 extremely high PGWC individuals were 37.78% and 32.22%, which is… More >

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