Effects of Exercise and Zinc Supplementation on Cytokine Release in Young Wrestlers

The present study aims to examine the effect of zinc supplementation on the release of some cytokines in young wrestlers actively involved in wrestling. A total of 40 male subjects of the same age group were included in the study: half were wrestlers and the other half were not involved in sports. The subjects were equally divided into four groups and treated during an 8-week period as follows: group 1, zinc-supplemented athletes; group 2, non-supplemented athletes; group 3, zinc-supplemented sedentary subjects, and group 4, non-supplemented sedentary group. Blood samples were taken from each subject at the beginning and at the end of the study period. The serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and interpheron-γ levels (IFN-γ) were determined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. At the beginning of the study, there were no significant differences of the measured parameters between the four study groups. At the end of the study, the levels of TNF-α, IL-2, and IFN-γ were significantly higher in the two zinc-supplemented groups compared to those that did not receive supplementation, regardless of the activity status (p < 0.01).     

Detecting one-hundred-year environmental changes in Western China using seven-year repeat photography

Due to its diverse, wondrous plants and unique topography, Western China has drawn great attention from explorers and naturalists from the Western World. Among them, Ernest Henry Wilson (1876 -1930), known as 'Chinese' Wilson, travelled to Western China five times from 1899 to 1918. He took more than 1,000 photos during his travels. These valuable photos illustrated the natural and social environment of Western China a century ago. Since 1997, we had collected E.H. Wilson's old pictures, and then since 2004, along the expedition route of E.H. Wilson, we took 7 years to repeat photographing 250 of these old pictures. Comparing Wilson's photos with ours, we found an obvious warming trend over the 100 years, not only in specific areas but throughout the entire Western China. Such warming trend manifested in phenology changes, community shifts and melting snow in alpine mountains. In this study, we also noted remarkable vegetation changes. Out of 62 picture pairs were related to vegetation change, 39 indicated vegetation has changed to the better condition, 17 for degraded vegetation and six for no obvious change. Also in these photos at a century interval, we found not only rapid urbanization in Western China, but also the disappearance of traditional cultures. Through such comparisons, we should not only be amazed about the significant environmental changes through time in Western China, but also consider its implications for protecting environment while meeting the economic development beyond such changes.     

Evidence for sustained ATP release from liver cells that is not mediated by vesicular exocytosis

Extracellular ATP regulates many important cellular functions in the liver by stimulating purinergic receptors. Recent studies have shown that rapid exocytosis of ATP-enriched vesicles contributes to ATP release from liver cells. However, this rapid ATP release is transient, and ceases in ~30 s after the exposure to hypotonic solution. The purpose of these studies was to assess the role of vesicular exocytosis in sustained ATP release. An exposure to hypotonic solution evoked sustained ATP release that persisted for more than 15 min after the exposure. Using FM1-43 (N-(3-triethylammoniumpropyl)-4-(4-(dibutylamino)styryl)pyridinium dibromide) fluorescence to measure exocytosis, we found that hypotonic solution stimulated a transient increase in FM1-43 fluorescence that lasted ~2 min. Notably, the rate of FM1-43 fluorescence and the magnitude of ATP release were not correlated, indicating that vesicular exocytosis may not mediate sustained ATP release from liver cells. Interestingly, mefloquine potently inhibited sustained ATP release, but did not inhibit an increase in FM1-43 fluorescence evoked by hypotonic solution. Consistent with these findings, when exocytosis of ATP-enriched vesicles was specifically stimulated by 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid (NPPB), mefloquine failed to inhibit ATP release evoked by NPPB. Thus, mefloquine can pharmacologically dissociate sustained ATP release and vesicular exocytosis. These results suggest that a distinct mefloquine-sensitive membrane ATP transport may contribute to sustained ATP release from liver cells. This novel mechanism of membrane ATP transport may play an important role in the regulation of purinergic signaling in liver cells.     

Synthesis,antibacterial and antifungal activities of 3-(1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)-4-thiazolidinones

A new series of 3-(1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)-4-thiazolidinone derivatives has been synthesized by the reaction of Schiff bases of 3-amino-1,2,4-triazoles with mercaptoacetic acid and 2-mercaptopropionic acid. Their antibacterial and antifungal activities were evaluated against S. aureus, S. epidermidis, C. albicans and C. glabrata     

Simvastatin Potently Induces Calcium-dependent Apoptosis of Human Leiomyoma Cells

Statins are drugs commonly used for the treatment of high plasma cholesterol levels. Beyond these well known lipid-lowering properties, they possess broad-reaching effects in vivo, including antitumor effects. Statins inhibit the growth of multiple tumors. However, the mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here we show that simvastatin inhibits the proliferation of human leiomyoma cells. This was associated with decreased mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling and multiple changes in cell cycle progression. Simvastatin potently stimulated leiomyoma cell apoptosis in a manner mechanistically dependent upon apoptotic calcium release from voltage-gated calcium channels. Therefore, simvastatin possesses antitumor effects that are dependent upon the apoptotic calcium release machinery.     

Lipoapoptosis induced by saturated free fatty acids stimulates monocyte migration: a novel role for Pannexin1 in liver cells

Recruitment of monocytes in the liver is a key pathogenic feature of hepatic inflammation in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), but the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. Here, we studied migration of human monocytes in response to supernatants obtained from liver cells after inducing lipoapoptosis with saturated free fatty acids (FFA). Lipoapoptotic supernatants stimulated monocyte migration with the magnitude similar to a monocyte chemoattractant protein, CCL2 (MCP-1). Inhibition of c-Jun NH₂-terminal kinase (JNK) in liver cells with SP600125 blocked migration of monocytes in a dose-dependent manner, indicating that JNK stimulates release of chemoattractants in lipoapoptosis. Notably, treatment of supernatants with Apyrase to remove ATP potently inhibited migration of THP-1 monocytes and partially blocked migration of primary human monocytes. Inhibition of the CCL2 receptor (CCR2) on THP-1 monocytes with RS102895, a specific CCR2 inhibitor, did not block migration induced by lipoapoptotic supernatants. Consistent with these findings, lipoapoptosis stimulated pathophysiological extracellular ATP (eATP) release that increased supernatant eATP concentration from 5 to ~60 nM. Importantly, inhibition of Panx1 expression in liver cells with short hairpin RNA (shRNA) decreased supernatant eATP concentration and inhibited monocyte migration, indicating that monocyte migration is mediated in part by Panx1-dependent eATP release. Moreover, JNK inhibition decreased supernatant eATP concentration and inhibited Pannexin1 activation, as determined by YoPro-1 uptake in liver cells in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that JNK regulates activation of Panx1 channels, and provide evidence that Pannexin1-dependent pathophysiological eATP release in lipoapoptosis is capable of stimulating migration of human monocytes, and may participate in the recruitment of monocytes in chronic liver injury induced by saturated FFA.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11302-015-9456-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

The effects of aerobic exercise frequencies on liver fibrosis, α-fetoprotein and cytokeratin 19 in experimental type 2 diabetes-induced rats: an immunohistochemistry study

We investigated using immunohistochemistry the effects of frequency of aerobic exercise on liver fibrosis and measured the expression of the oval cell marker, alpha fetoprotein (AFP), and the hepatocellular carcinoma marker, CK 19, in rats with early-period induced type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Rats were divided into four groups: control sedentary rats, diabetic sedentary rats, diabetic rats with continuous exercise (30 min/day, 5 days/week) and diabetic rats with short periods of exercise (3 x 10 min/day, 5 days/week). T2DM was induced using an intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of nicotinamide (NA) and streptozotocin (STZ). Liver samples were obtained 8 weeks after injection. Tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, periodic acid-Schiff and Masson’s trichrome. We also used immunochemical staining for AFP, smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and CK19. Continuous and short periods of aerobic exercise produced similar effects during the early period of liver damage in the STZ-NA model, i.e., decreased blood glucose levels and improved body weight, improved liver histology and reduced fibrosis, necrosis and steatosis; and reduced expression of AFP and α-SMA. Moderate aerobic exercise for 150 min/week appeared to reduce early liver damage in a rat model of T2DM.     

Neural driven angiogenesis by overexpression of nerve growth factor

Mechanisms regulating angiogenesis are crucial in adjusting tissue perfusion on metabolic demands. We demonstrate that overexpression of nerve growth factor (NGF) in brown adipose tissue (BAT) of NGF-transgenic mice elevates both mRNA and protein levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF-receptors. Increased vascular permeability, leukocyte–endothelial interactions (LEI), and tissue perfusion were measured using intravital microscopy. NGF-stimulation of adipocytes and endothelial cells elevates mRNA expression of VEGF and its receptors, an effect blocked by NGF neutralizing antibodies. These data suggest an activation of angiogenesis as a result of both: stimulation of adipozytes and direct mitogenic effects on endothelial cells. The increased nerve density associated with vessels strengthened our hypothesis that tissue perfusion is regulated by neural control of vessels and that the interaction between the NGF and VEGF systems is the critical driver for the activated angiogenic process. The interaction of VEGF- and NGF-systems gives new insights into neural control of organ vascularization and perfusion.