XIAO-JUN ZHOU^1,*, YU-WEI TIAN¹, RUI-HAN LI²

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1907-1913, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.030191 - 28 August 2023

Abstract Background: Acer griseum Pax is an endangered species endemic to China with both ornamental and economic value. However, the lack of information on its genome size and characteristics hinders further work at the genome level. Methods: This paper applied bioinformatics methods to predict the characteristics and patterns of the A. griseum genome, providing an important basis for formulating its whole-genome sequencing scheme. This study also characterized the simple sequence repeats (SSRs) of A. griseum, laying the foundation for the development and application of genome-wide SSR markers. In this study, PE150 sequencing was performed by the BGI MGISEQ platform,… More >

FU-MING TSAI¹, PING-HSUN LU^2,3, LU-KAI WANG⁴, CHAN-YEN KUO¹, MAO-LIANG CHEN¹, CHUN-HUA WANG^5,6,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1793-1802, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.030093 - 28 August 2023

Abstract Background: Cisplatin is a chemotherapeutic agent commonly used clinically for the treatment of various human cancers. Patients often reduce the use of cisplatin due to its side effects, which in turn affects its treatment. This study explored the mechanism of action of safflower extract as an adjuvant traditional Chinese medicine for chemotherapy. Methods: Primary human follicle dermal papilla cells (HFDPCs) were used as target cells for cisplatin-induced damage to hair cells. Western blotting was used to investigate the molecular targets of cisplatin and safflower extract in causing HFDPCs damage. Cell survival and cell cycle were… More >

WAYEZ NAQVI, ANANYA SINGH, PREKSHI GARG, PRACHI SRIVASTAVA^*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1675-1687, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.029624 - 28 August 2023

Abstract Biological entities are involved in complicated and complex connections; hence, discovering biological information using network biology ideas is critical. In the past few years, network biology has emerged as an integrative and systems-level approach for understanding and interpreting these complex interactions. Biological network analysis is one method for reducing enormous data sets to clinically useful knowledge for disease diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The network of biological entities can help us predict drug targets for several diseases. The drug targets identified through the systems biology approach help in targeting the essential biological pathways that contribute to More >

JIAO HU, JIALU MO, XIANGLIN CHENG^*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1689-1701, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.029409 - 28 August 2023

Abstract Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases worldwide with a high prevalence and unknown pathogenesis. Further, its control is challenging. It is generally accepted that an imbalance between the excitatory and inhibitory properties of the central nervous system (CNS) leads to a large number of abnormally synchronized neuronal discharges in the brain. Transient receptor potential vanilloid protein type 1 (TRPV1) is a non-selective cation channel that contributes to the regulation of the nervous system and influences the excitability of the nervous system. This includes the release of neurotransmitters, action potential generation due to More >

FENGMEI QIAN^1,2, PEIYAO REN², LI ZHAO², DANNA ZHENG², WENFANG HE³, JUAN JIN^3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1853-1867, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.029353 - 28 August 2023

Abstract Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a serious complication of diabetes with rising prevalence worldwide. We aimed to explore the anti-DN mechanisms of the compound celastrol derived from the medicinal plant Tripterygium wilfordii. Methods: Celastrol-related targets were obtained from Herbal Ingredients’ Targets (HIT) and GeneCards databases. DN-related targets were retrieved from GeneCards, DisGeNET, and Therapeutic Targets Database (TTD). A Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was established using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) database. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed using ClusterProfiler. The cytoHubba plugin… More > Graphic Abstract

MOHAMAD ZULKEFLEE SABRI¹, JOANNA BOJARSKA², FAI-CHU WONG^3,4, TSUN-THAI CHAI^3,4,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1727-1742, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.029272 - 28 August 2023

Abstract Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is a computational technique that analyzes the movement of a system of particles over a given period. MD can provide detailed information about the fluctuations and conformational changes of biomolecules at the atomic level over time. In recent years, MD has been widely applied to the discovery of peptides and peptide-like molecules that may serve as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) inhibitors. This review summarizes recent advances in such explorations, focusing on four protein targets: angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), spike protein (S protein), main protease (M^pro), and papain-like protease (PL^pro).… More > Graphic Abstract

TONG WANG^1,4,#, JINHUAN HONG^1,5,#, JIAJIE XIE^1,5, QIAN LIU⁴, JINRUI YUE^1,5, XUTING HE^1,5, SHIYU GE⁴, TAO LI⁴, GUOXIN LIU⁴, BENZHI CAI^1,3,5, LINQIANG LI^2,*, YE YUAN^1,3,5,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1811-1820, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.029120 - 28 August 2023

Abstract Background: Phototherapies based on sunlight, infrared, ultraviolet, visible, and laser-based treatments present advantages like high curative effects, small invasion, and negligible adverse reactions in cancer treatment. We aimed to explore the potential therapeutic effects of blue light emitting diode (LED) in human hepatoma cells and decipher the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms. Methods: Wound healing and transwell assays were employed to probe the inhibition of the invasion and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cells in the presence of blue LED. The sphere-forming test was used to evaluate the effect of LED blue light irradiation on cancer… More > Graphic Abstract

AN-SOO JANG^*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1703-1708, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028975 - 28 August 2023

Abstract Exposure to air pollutants such as PM₁₀, PM_2.5, PM_0.1, O₃, CO, NO₂, and SO₂, and biological pollutants are important factors causing the evolution and furtherance of obstructive lung diseases (OLD), including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Asthma is the most frequent chronic inflammatory airway disease, characterized by breathlessness, wheezing, chest tightness, and cough, together with the presence of exaggerated expiratory airflow fluctuation that varies over time. COPD is a heterogeneous lung condition characterized by chronic respiratory symptoms such as dyspnea, cough, expectoration, and/or exacerbations due to abnormalities of the airways and/or alveoli that cause persistent, often… More >

LONGSHENG FU¹, JINFANG HU¹, FENG SHAO², YAOQI WU¹, WEI BAI³, MINGJIN JIANG³, HAO CHEN⁴, LIHUA CHEN², YANNI LV^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1869-1883, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028602 - 28 August 2023

Abstract Background: Biochanin A is an excellent dietary isoflavone that has the concomitant function of both medicine and foodstuff. The attenuation function of biochanin A on blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage induced by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion remains unclear. Methods: C57BL/6 mice were subjected to 1 h middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) followed by 24 h reperfusion. The infarct volume of the brain was stained by TTC, while leakage of the brain was quantitatively stained by Evans blue, and the neurologic deficit score was measured. Microglial-induced morphologic changes were observed via immunofluorescence staining, and rolling and adhering leukocytes in… More >

CARL RANDALL HARREL¹, VALENTIN DJONOV², ANA VOLAREVIC³, DRAGICA PAVLOVIC⁴, VLADISLAV VOLAREVIC^4,5,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1757-1769, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028567 - 28 August 2023

Abstract Exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSC-Exos) are nano-sized extracellular vesicles enriched with bioactive molecules, such as microRNAs, enzymes, cytokines, chemokines, immunomodulatory, trophic, and growth factors. These molecules regulate the survival, phenotype, and function of malignant and tumor-infiltrated immune cells. Due to their nano-size and bilayer lipid envelope, MSC-Exos can easily bypass biological barriers and may serve as drug carriers to deliver chemotherapeutics directly into the tumor cells. Here, we summarize current knowledge regarding molecular mechanisms responsible for MSC-Exos-dependent modulation of tumor progression and discuss insights regarding the therapeutic potential of MSC-Exos in the treatment More > Graphic Abstract