XIAOYU WANG^1,2,#,*, TAKESHI YAMAMOTO^2,#, MAKOTO KADOWAKI², YIFU YANG¹

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.2, pp. 395-415, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.012280

Abstract Mast cells are the main effector cells in IgE-associated allergic disorders, and we have reported that mucosal mast cells (MMCs) play a more important role in the development of food allergy (FA). IgE with antigen or calcium ionophore stimulation can lead to the activation of MMCs via a calcium-dependent pathway. The purpose of the present study was to identify gene signatures with IgE/antigen (dinitrophenyl-bovine serum albumin, DNP-BSA) or calcium ionophore (A23187) on the activation of MMCs. Differentially expressed genes between the two types of samples were identified with microarray analysis. Gene ontology functional and pathway… More >

TIANXIANG ZHANG^1,#, MEISHAN ZHANG^1,#, MINGHUI SHI^1,#, WEIJIANG JIN^1,#, SHUMIAO ZHANG^2,#, MENGYUAN FAN³, YIMENG LI¹, YUPING MENG², XUELIN TIAN⁴, SHUQIANG LIU^1,*, DEFU HU^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.2, pp. 281-306, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.010277

Abstract Male muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus L.) secrete musk from their scent glands during musk secretion season. Musk plays an important role as a communication pheromone during the breeding season. In this study, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was used to analyze the main components of musk. The GC–MS results after methyl esterification showed that 71.55% of the musk is composed of fatty acids. The other components of muskrat musk include cholesterol (9.31%) and other organics. Transcriptome comparison between musk secretion and non-secretion seasons showed significant changes in the scent glands for 53 genes involved in fatty acid and More >

Xiaona Li^1,*, Sijia Wang¹, Jie Song¹, Yixian Qin², Jizhong Yang³, Rui He^4,*, Weiyi Chen¹

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.18, No.1, pp. 11-19, 2021, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2021.014071

Abstract The cornea is a load-bearing tissue. Lower biomechanical properties in the local tissue of keratoconic cornea evoke mechanical stress increase. Inflammatory cytokines have been shown to be over-expressed in patients with keratoconus. However, how mechanical stimuli are involved in the production of inflammatory cytokines in keratoconus remains unclear. The objective of the study is to determine the role of mechanical stretch in the regulation of inflammatory cytokines and the underlying mechanisms in keratoconus. Human keratoconic fibroblasts (hKCFs) were subjected to 12% cyclic mechanical stretch at 0.1 Hz or in static conditions as controls. N-acetyl cysteine… More >

Yangmei Zhang^*1, Xichang Zhou^†1, Long Cheng^†, Xiang Wang^*, Qinglin Zhang^‡, Youwei Zhang^*, Sanyuan Sun^*

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.3, pp. 213-223, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504019X15668125347026

Abstract PRKAA1 (protein kinase AMP-activated catalytic subunit 1) is a catalytic subunit of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which plays a key role in regulating cellular energy metabolism through phosphorylation, and genetic variations in the PRKAA1 have been found to be associated with gastric cancer risk. However, the effect and underlying molecular mechanism of PRKAA1 on gastric cancer tumorigenesis, especially the proliferation and apoptosis, are not fully understood. Our data showed that PRKAA1 is highly expressed in BGC- 823 and MKN45 cells and is expressed low in SGC-7901 and MGC-803 cells in comparison with the other gastric… More >

Chang Li^*, Shuohui Gao^*, Xiaoping Li^†, Chang Li^‡, Lianjun Ma^§

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.6, pp. 675-679, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504021X16137463165406

Abstract Colon cancer is one of the most lethal varieties of cancer. Chemotherapy remains as one of the principal treatment approaches for colon cancer. The anticancer activity of procaine (PCA), which is a local anesthetic drug, has been explored in different studies. In our study, we aimed to explore the anticancer effect of PCA on colon cancer and its underlying mechanism. The results showed that PCA significantly inhibited cell viability, increased the percentage of apoptotic cells, and decreased the expression level of RhoA in HCT116 cells in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01).… More >

Lili Deng^*1, Xue Yang^†1, Jun Fan^*, Yuedi Ding^*, Ying Peng^*, Dong Xu^*, Biao Huang^*‡, Zhigang Hu^†

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.6, pp. 579-590, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X15942028641011

Abstract Colorectal cancer is an aggressive malignancy for which there are limited treatment options. Oncolytic vaccinia virus is being developed as a novel strategy for cancer therapy. Arming vaccinia virus with immunostimulatory cytokines can enhance the tumor cell-specific replication and antitumor efficacy. Interleukin-24 (IL-24) is an important immune mediator, as well as a broad-spectrum tumor suppressor. We constructed a targeted vaccinia virus of Guang9 strain harboring IL-24 (VG9-IL-24) to evaluate its antitumor effects. In vitro, VG9-IL-24 induced an increased number of apoptotic cells and blocked colorectal cancer cells in the G₂ /M phase of the cell cycle. More >

HANYU SHEN¹, SHIQI REN², WEI WANG², CHENLIN ZHANG³, HAIYAN HAO⁴, QIUYAN SHEN⁵, YINONG DUAN¹, ZIHENG WANG^2,6,*, WENLIANG GE^7,*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 583-589, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.011345

Abstract Sepsis, characterized as life-threatening sequential organ failure, is caused by a dysregulated host immune response to a pathogen. Conventional practice for sepsis is to control the inflammation source and administer highgrade antibiotics. However, the mortality rate of sepsis varies from 25–30% and can reach 50% if a septic shock occurs. In our current study, we used bioinformatics technology to detect immune status profiles in sepsis at the genomic level. We downloaded and analyzed gene expression profiles of GSE28750 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to determine differential gene expression and immune status between sepsis… More >

LINNA TAN^1,2, YUYONG TAN^1,2, DELIANG LIU^1,2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 535-543, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.09171

Abstract ULK1 (unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1), a mammalian serine/threonine kinase, is a key component of autophagy initiation complex and helps to induce all types of autophagy. Canonical autophagy is a process in which, through the interactions of a series of autophagy-related proteins, damaged organelles or misfolded proteins are engulfed by autophagosomes and then merged with lysosomes to be degraded. Thus, canonical autophagy is an important constituent part of the cellular “quality control.” Besides, accumulating evidence indicates that ULK1 exerts autophagy-independent effects in a cell-specific manner. For example, ULK1 facilitates neurite elongation through the regulation More >

Jiali Wei^*, Ying Zou, Ping Li, Xiaojun Yuan

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.89, No.4, pp. 883-891, 2020, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2020.010973

Abstract TiO₂ nanoparticles (nano-TiO₂) are widely used in the world, and a considerable amount of nano-TiO₂ is released into the environment, with toxic effects on organisms. In the various species of higher plants, growth, including seed germination, root elongation, and biomass accumulation, is affected by nano-TiO₂. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, we observed that nano-TiO₂ promoted root elongation in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, we found that nano-TiO₂ elevated auxin accumulation in the root tips of the auxin marker lines DII-VENUS and DR5:: GUS, and, correspondingly, quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed that nano-TiO₂ increased the More >

Jie Wei^*†1, Yuanliang Yan^*†1, Xi Chen^*†, Long Qian^*†, Shuangshuang Zeng^*†, Zhi Li^‡, Shuang Dai^*†, Zhicheng Gong^*†,Zhijie Xu^§

Oncology Research, Vol.27, No.7, pp. 849-858, 2019, DOI:10.3727/096504018X15447833065047

Abstract Over the past decade, natural compounds have been proven to be effective against many human diseases, including cancers. Triptolide (TPL), a diterpenoid triepoxide from the Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, has exhibited attractive cytotoxic activity on several cancer cells. An increasing number of studies have emphasized the antitumor effects of TPL on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here we mainly focused on the key molecular signaling pathways that lead to the inhibitory effects of TPL on human NSCLC, such as mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) modulation, inhibition of NF- B activation, suppression of miRNA expression, More >