Hepatitis B Virus Pre-S2 Mutant Induces Aerobic Glycolysis through Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Signal Cascade

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) pre-S2 mutant can induce hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) via the induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress to activate mammalian target of rapamycin (MTOR) signaling. The association of metabolic syndrome with HBV-related HCC raises the possibility that pre-S2 mutant-induced MTOR activation may drive the development of metabolic disorders to promote tumorigenesis in chronic HBV infection. To address this issue, glucose metabolism and gene expression profiles were analyzed in transgenic mice livers harboring pre-S2 mutant and in an in vitro culture system. The pre-S2 mutant transgenic HCCs showed glycogen depletion. The pre-S2 mutant initiated an MTOR-dependent glycolytic pathway, involving the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E binding protein 1 (EIF4EBP1), Yin Yang 1 (YY1), and myelocytomatosis oncogene (MYC) to activate the solute carrier family 2 (facilitated glucose transporter), member 1 (SLC2A1), contributing to aberrant glucose uptake and lactate production at the advanced stage of pre-S2 mutant transgenic tumorigenesis. Such a glycolysis-associated MTOR signal cascade was validated in human HBV-related HCC tissues and shown to mediate the inhibitory effect of a model of combined resveratrol and silymarin product on tumor growth. Our results provide the mechanism of pre-S2 mutant-induced MTOR activation in the metabolic switch in HBV tumorigenesis. Chemoprevention can be designed along this line to prevent HCC development in high-risk HBV carriers.     

The behavior of human neutrophils during flow through capillary pores

The passage times of individual human neutrophils through single capillary-sized pores in polycarbonate membranes were measured with the resistive pulse technique, and results were compared to those obtained from the micropipette aspiration of entire cells. Pore transit measurement serves as a useful means to screen populations of cells, and allows for protocols that measure time dependent changes to the population. Neutrophils exhibited a highly linear pressure/flow rate relationship at aspiration pressures from 200 Pa to 1,500 Pa in both the pore and pipette systems. Cellular viscosity, as determined by the method of Hochmuth and Needham, was 89.0 Pa.s for the pore systems and 134.9 Pa.s for the pipette systems. These results are in general agreement with recent values of neutrophil viscosity published in the literature. Extrapolation of the observed linear flow response revealed an apparent minimum pressure for whole cell aspiration significantly above the threshold pressure predicted by Evans' liquid drop model. However, whole cell aspiration was achieved in both the pore and pipette systems at pressures below this extrapolated minimum, although the calculated cellular viscosity was greatly increased. The implications of these two regimes of cell deformation is unclear. This behavior could be explained by shear thinning of the material in the cell body. However the origin of this phenomenon may be in the cortical region of the cell, which exhibits an elastic tension that may be deformation rate dependent.     

Indication of dynamic neurovascular coupling from inconsistency between EEG and fMRI indices across sleep–wake states

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - Neurovascular coupling (NVC), the transient regional hyperemia following the evoked neuronal responses, is the basis of blood oxygenation level-dependent techniques...     

Cyclic AMP-induced inhibition of collagen lattice contraction by fibroblasts may be attenuated by both cyclic AMP dependent and independent mechanisms

The contraction of collagen lattices made with forskin fibroblasts in medium containing 1% fetal bovine serum was inhibited by intracelluar cyclic AMP raising drugs including cholera toxin (CT), forskolin, and dibutyryl-cAMP. The inhibition by CT was attenuated by insulin, acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF), and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). All three peptide factors have previously been reported to promote collagen lattice contraction by arterial smooth muscle cells and/or fibroblasts. Incubation of cells suspended in collagen gels with CT and forskolin resulted in a transient rise of the intracellular cyclic AMP levels, which peaked at 2 hr and 30 min, respectively, after drug exposure. Cholera toxin-induced intracellular cyclic AMP increase was attenuated by TGF-β, but not by aFGF and insulin, when added simultaneously. Thus, TGF-β may attenuate CT's inhibition on collagen lattice contraction by attenuating CTinduced intracellualr cyclic AMP increse, whereas the attenuation by insulin and aFGF on the inhibition of lattice contraction may be mediated by a cyclic AMPindependent mechannism. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Reversible inactivation of soluble liver guanylate cyclase by disulfides

A new amino acid was isolated from the cuticle collagen of $\text{Ascaris lumbricoides}$ and characterized by ultraviolet, mass and nmr spectroscopies and chemical degradation. The results indicate that the compound is an isomer of trityrosine, having an ether linkage. The name “isotrityrosine” is proposed. Its structure suggests that it serves as a crosslink and plays a role in the organization of the collagen structure.     

Effect of thioacetamide on the incorporation of [3H]-thymidine into DNA of 13 tissues and on the mitotic index of the corneal epithelium of BD2F1 in male mice while taking into consideration circadian variation

An investigation was done to assess the effect of a single intraperitoneal (ip) injection of thioacetamide on the incorporation of [3H]TdR into DNA of 13 different tissues and on the mitotic index of the corneal epithelium of mice. Seven-week-old CD2F1 mice, who had been standardized to 12 hours (hr) of light alternating with 12 hr of darkness, and fed ad libitum were used. The experimental design took into consideration the circadian variation that characterizes cell proliferation in all of the tissues studied. This was done by killing subgroups of seven animals every 6 hr for 96 hr. Thirty minutes prior to killing all mice were injected ip with 25 mu Ci of [3H]-thymidine and its incorporation into DNA was determined. The tissues of all thioacetamide and saline treated mice showed marked circadian variation in DNA synthesis. Thioacetamide treatment brought about significant (P less than 0.05) stimulation of DNA synthesis in the liver and kidney thus confirming, but extending an earlier finding. Moreover, the data showed for the first time that DNA synthesis in the bone marrow and spleen and colon were markedly statistically significantly stimulated at specific times after treatment. Synthesis of DNA in the thymus, lung, testes, tongue, esophagus, duodenum, rectum and the mitotic index in the corneal epithelium were not statistically significantly altered by thioacetamide treatment. A preliminary study also was carried out to explore what effect multiple treatment with epidermal growth factor (EGF) had on DNA synthesis in thioacetamide treated mice. Mice were killed 36 hr after thioacetamide treatment, but were treated with EGF which began 15 hr after the thioacetamide was administered and this was repeated at 18, 21 and 24 hr (50 micrograms/mouse/treatment). Under the conditions of this study EGF significantly (P less than 0.05) depressed DNA synthesis 76% in the liver, 64% in the thymus, 22% in the spleen, 30% in the duodenum and 24% in the esophagus. A histological analysis of the livers of four EGF treated and four non-EGF treated mice was done, but no consistent differences in terms of necrosis, inflammation or regeneration were observed between the two groups.