Alteration of surfactant protein A expression in renal cell carcinoma

Surfactant protein-A (SP-A) belongs to a family of collagen-containing C-type lectins called collectins. SP-A is expressed by renal tubule epithelial cells. We investigated the distribution of SP-A in renal cell carcinomas (RCC) using immunohistochemical techniques and western blotting. We used 35 formalin fixed, paraffin embedded (FFPE) RCC tissue samples. We compared results with clinico-pathological parameters of RCC including age, sex, Fuhrman grade, tumor volume, tumor node metastasis (TNM) and clinical stage. SP-A was localized in the glomerulus and renal tubule epithelium in nontumor tissue and strong SP-A immunoreactivity was observed in tumor tissue. SP-A was expressed in the RCC tumor cells (64%) and nontumor cells (34%) in males and RCC tumor cells (90%) and nontumor cells (30%) in females. There was a significant correlation between SP-A immunoreactivity in tumor cells and gender, age, tumor diameter, Fuhrman grade and tumor diameter. Western blot analysis supported the immunohistochemical findings. We present evidence for involvement of SP-A in RCC and suggest that increased SP-A expression in RCC is associated with favorable prognosis.     

Bioactives from probiotics for dermal health: functions and benefits

Probiotics have been extensively reviewed for decades, emphasizing on improving general gut health. Recently, more studies showed that probiotics may exert other health‐promoting effects beyond gut well‐being, attributed to the rise of the gut–brain axis correlations. Some of these new benefits include skin health such as improving atopic eczema, atopic dermatitis, healing of burn and scars, skin‐rejuvenating properties and improving skin innate immunity. Increasing evidence has also showed that bacterial compounds such as cell wall fragments, their metabolites and dead bacteria can elicit certain immune responses on the skin and improve skin barrier functions. This review aimed to underline the mechanisms or the exact compounds underlying the benefits of bacterial extract on the skin based on evidences from in vivo and in vitro studies. This review could be of help in screening of probiotic strains with potential dermal enhancing properties for topical applications.     

三氧化二砷对食管癌细胞增殖和热休克蛋白70表达的影响

目的：研究三氧化二砷（As2O3）对食管癌细胞增殖和热休克蛋白70（HSP70）表达的影响。方法：通过相差显微镜、流式细胞术、免疫细胞化学染色和免疫印迹分析等方法观察As2O3对人食管癌细胞株EC1的作用效果和作用机制。结果：与对照组相比,经2μmol/L和5μmol/Las2O3作用的细胞出现明显的生长抑制,G2/M期细胞比例增加;2μmol/Las2O3作用48h后经Ecl细胞HSP70（heat shock protein70）及HSC70(heat shock cognate protein70)表达均增加。结论：As2O3诱导食管癌细胞G2/M期阻滞抑制细胞增殖和生长;HSP70的升高是细胞对As2O3作用后出现的应激反应,并与细胞周期阻滞相关。     

Sensitization of rhabdo-, lenti-, and spumaviruses to human serum by galactosyl(alpha1-3)galactosylation.

Vesicular stomatitis virus, human immunodeficiency virus type 2, and human foamy virus, which were produced by cell lines expressing galactosyl(alpha1-3)galactosyl (alphaGal) sugars, were found to be less stable in human serum than those from alphaGal-negative cells, indicating that galactosyl(alpha1-3)galactosylation sensitizes these viruses as well as mammalian type C oncoviruses (Rother et al., J. Exp. Med. 182:1345-1355, 1995; Takeuchi et al., Nature (London) 379:85-88, 1996) to complement killing via natural anti-alphaGal antibodies. Thus, virus killing mediated by anti-alphaGal antibodies may play a role as a barrier to animal-to-human infection of various enveloped viruses. Virus vectors for human in vivo gene therapy based on the viruses mentioned above should be produced from alphaGal-negative cells.     

Lactobacillus plantarum USM8613 Aids in Wound Healing and Suppresses Staphylococcus aureus Infection at Wound Sites

Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins - This study aimed to elucidate the targets and mechanisms of anti-staphylococcal effects from bioactive metabolites produced by lactic acid bacteria. We aimed...     

Inhibition of glucose uptake and suppression of glucose transporter 1 mRNA expression in L929 cells by tumour necrosis factor-alpha

Recombinant human tumour necrosis factor-alpha (rhTNF-alpha) arrested the growth and suppressed glucose uptake of mouse fibrosarcoma L929 cells in vitro. When the cells were treated with rhTNF-alpha for 24 hours, the mRNA level of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT 1), which is the only GLUT found to be present in L929 cells in our study, was suppressed in a dose-dependent manner. Since the growth of tumour cells depends mainly on glucose catabolism, our findings may indicate that rhTNF-alpha inhibits L929 cells growth by lowering the glucose transport through suppression of GLUT 1 mRNA expression in the cells.     

Engineering soluble proteins for structural genomics

Structural genomics has the ambitious goal of delivering three-dimensional structural information on a genome-wide scale. Yet only a small fraction of natural proteins are suitable for structure determination because of bottlenecks such as poor expression, aggregation, and misfolding of proteins, and difficulties in solubilization and crystallization. We propose to overcome these bottlenecks by producing soluble, highly expressed proteins that are derived from and closely related to their natural homologs. Here we demonstrate the utility of this approach by using a green fluorescent protein (GFP) folding reporter assay to evolve an enzymatically active, soluble variant of a hyperthermophilic protein that is normally insoluble when expressed in Escherichia coli, and determining its structure by X-ray crystallography. Analysis of the structure provides insight into the substrate specificity of the enzyme and the improved solubility of the variant.     

Effect of unilateral and bilateral resistance exercise on maximal voluntary strength,total volume of load lifted,and perceptual and metabolic responses

The present study investigated the effect of unilateral and bilateral resistance exercise (RE) on maximal voluntary strength, total volume of load lifted (TVLL), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and blood lactate concentration of resistance-trained males. Twelve healthy men were assessed for the leg extension one-repetition maximum (1RM) strength using bilateral and unilateral contractions. Following this assessment, an RE session (3 sets of repetitions to failure) was conducted with bilateral and unilateral (both limbs) contractions using a load of 50% 1RM. The TVLL was calculated by the product of the number of repetitions and the load lifted per repetition. RPE and blood lactate were measured before, during and after each set. Session RPE was measured 30 minutes after RE sessions. There was a significant difference in the bilateral (120.0±11.9) and unilateral (135.0±20.2 kg) 1RM strength (p < 0.05). The TVLL was similar between both RE sessions. Although the repetitions decreased with each successive set, the total number of repetitions completed in the bilateral protocol (48) was superior to the unilateral (40) protocol (p < 0.05). In both bouts, RPE increased with each subsequent set whilst blood lactate increased after set 1 and thereafter remained stable (p < 0.05). The RPE and lactate responses were not significantly different between both sessions. In conclusion, a bilateral deficit in leg extension strength was confirmed, but the TVLL was similar between both RE sessions when exercising to voluntary fatigue. This outcome could be attributed to the number of repetitions completed in the unilateral RE bout. The equal TVLL would also explain the similar perceptual and metabolic responses across each RE session.     

Specific pathogen detection using bioorthogonal chemistry and diagnostic magnetic resonance

The development of faster and more sensitive detection methods capable of identifying specific bacterial species and strains has remained a longstanding clinical challenge. Thus to date, the diagnosis of bacterial infections continues to rely on the performance of time-consuming microbiological cultures. Here, we demonstrate the use of bioorthogonal chemistry for magnetically labeling specific pathogens to enable their subsequent detection by nuclear magnetic resonance. Antibodies against a bacterial target of interest were first modified with trans-cyclooctene and then coupled to tetrazine-modified magnetic nanoprobes, directly on the bacteria. This labeling method was verified by surface plasmon resonance as well as by highly specific detection of Staphylococcus aureus using a miniaturized diagnostic magnetic resonance system. Compared to other copper-free bioorthogonal chemistries, the cycloaddition reaction reported here displayed faster kinetics and yielded higher labeling efficiency. Considering the short assay times and the portability of the necessary instrumentation, it is feasible that this approach could be adapted for clinical use in resource-limited settings.