Mitochondrial Dynamics Impairment in Dexamethasone-Treated Neuronal Cells

Neurochemical Research - Dexamethasone is an approved steroid for clinical use to activate or suppress cytokines, chemokines, inflammatory enzymes and adhesion molecules. It enters the brain,...     

Effectiveness of experiential learning with empowerment strategies and social support from grandmothers on breastfeeding among Thai adolescent mothers

Background

Grandmothers are important to successful breastfeeding because their knowledge, attitudes and experiences influence adolescent mothers’ decision to initiate and to continue breastfeeding. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an experiential learning with empowerment strategies and social support (ELESSS) programme for grandmothers according to improvements in the rate and duration of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF); knowledge and attitude (KA) regarding breastfeeding; and perceived social support among adolescent mothers.

Methods

A quasi-experimental study was conducted in two hospitals, Banmi as an intervention hospital and Inburi as a control hospital, between May 2015 and March 2016. Forty-two pairs of adolescent mothers and grandmothers were recruited from each hospital. At the baseline, grandmothers in the intervention group attended 2 days of an ELESSS programme, and they attended a refresher course 2 and 4 months after delivery. The grandmothers in the control group and adolescent mothers in both groups received the routine programme. Participants were assessed at the baseline and at two and 6 months after delivery to determine the rate and duration of EBF, KA regarding breastfeeding and perceived social support.

Results

Adolescent mothers in the intervention group had the EBF rate at 6 months of around 29%, whereas the control group had the EBF rate at 6 months of about 5%, and the proportion of EBF in the intervention group was six times that of the control group. The median EBF duration in the intervention group was 90 days, while the control group was 0 day. A repeated measure ANOVA analysis showed that the intervention group’s participants had significantly better knowledge and attitudes towards breastfeeding, while the adolescent mothers in the intervention group had a significantly higher perceived level of social support.

Conclusion

The ELESSS programme proved to be effective in increasing the rate and duration of EBF in adolescent mothers. Grandmothers are key to promoting, protecting and supporting breastfeeding.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.in.th: TCTR20161001002

     

Fabrication of 3D calcium-alginate scaffolds for human glioblastoma modeling and anticancer drug response evaluation

The three-dimensional (3D) cell culture model has been increasingly used to study cancer biology and screen for anticancer agents due to its close mimicry to in vivo tumor biopsies. In this study, 3D calcium(Ca)-alginate scaffolds were developed for human glioblastoma cell culture and an investigation of the responses to two anticancer agents, doxorubicin and cordycepin. Compared to the 2D monolayer culture, glioblastoma cells cultured on these 3D Ca-alginate scaffolds showed reduced cell proliferation, increased tumor spheroid formation, enhanced expression of cancer stem cell genes (CD133, SOX2, Nestin, and Musashi-1), and improved expression of differentiation potential-associated genes (GFAP and β-tubulin III). Additionally, the vascularization potential of the 3D glioblastoma cells was increased, as indicated by a higher expression of tumor angiogenesis biomarker (VEGF) than in the cells in 2D culture. To highlight the application of Ca-alginate scaffolds, the 3D glioblastomas were treated with anticancer agents, including doxorubicin and cordycepin. The results demonstrated that the 3D glioblastomas presented a greater resistance to the tested anticancer agents than that of the cells in 2D culture. In summary, the 3D Ca-alginate scaffolds for glioblastoma cells that were developed in this study offer a promising platform for anticancer agent screening and the discovery of drug-resistant mechanisms of cancer.     

Pilot-scale experiment of down-flow hanging sponge for direct treatment of low-strength municipal wastewater in Bangkok,Thailand

A pilot-scale experiment of a down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor for treatment of low-strength municipal wastewater was conducted over 1 year in Bangkok, Thailand, to establish an appropriate method for treatment under tropical climate conditions. Municipal wastewater with an average BOD of 19 mg/L was fed directly into the DHS reactor. Superior effluent quality (5.1 ± 3.4 mg/L TSS, 21.1 ± 9.0 mg/L COD, 2.8 ± 1.4 mg/L BOD, and 4.1 ± 1.0 mg/L TN) was achieved at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 1 h under an average temperature of 30 °C. The DHS reactor reached an actual HRT of 19.0 min, indicating good contact efficiency between wastewater and retained sludge. The DHS reactor retained dense sludge at 15.3–26.4 g VSS/L based on the sponge media volume. The sludge activity in terms of specific oxygen uptake rate was good. Excess sludge was produced as 0.051 g TSS/g COD removed (0.11 g TSS/g BOD removed), and a good SVI of 28 mL/g was observed. The sufficient performance was attributed to dense sludge with high activity, regardless of the low-strength wastewater. Overall, the DHS was advantageous owing to its simple operation, lack of operational problems, and low power consumption.     

Mass spectrometry reveals specific and global molecular transformations during viral infection

Mass spectrometry analysis was used to target three different aspects of the viral infection process: the expression kinetics of viral proteins, changes in the expression levels of cellular proteins, and the changes in cellular metabolites in response to viral infection. The combination of these methods represents a new, more comprehensive approach to the study of viral infection revealing the complexity of these events within the infected cell. The proteins associated with measles virus (MV) infection of human HeLa cells were measured using a label-free approach. On the other hand, the regulation of cellular and Flock House Virus (FHV) proteins in response to FHV infection of Drosophila cells was monitored using stable isotope labeling. Three complementary techniques were used to monitor changes in viral protein expression in the cell and host protein expression. A total of 1500 host proteins was identified and quantified, of which over 200 proteins were either up- or down-regulated in response to viral infection, such as the up-regulation of the Drosophila apoptotic croquemort protein, and the down-regulation of proteins that inhibited cell death. These analyses also demonstrated the up-regulation of viral proteins functioning in replication, inhibition of RNA interference, viral assembly, and RNA encapsidation. Over 1000 unique metabolites were also observed with significant changes in over 30, such as the down-regulated cellular phospholipids possibly reflecting the initial events in cell death and viral release. Overall, the cellular transformation that occurs upon viral infection is a process involving hundreds of proteins and metabolites, many of which are structurally and functionally uncharacterized.     

Neuroprotective Effects of Phenolic and Carboxylic Acids on Oxidative Stress-Induced Toxicity in Human Neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y Cells

An increase in oxidative stress is a key factor responsible for neurotoxicity induction and cell death leading to neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Plant phenolics exert diverse bioactivities i.e., antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. Herein, phenolic compounds, namely protocatechuic aldehyde (PCA) constituents of Hydnophytum formicarum Jack. including vanillic acid (VA) and trans-ferulic acid (FA) found in Spilanthes acmella Murr., were explored for anti-neurodegenerative properties using an in vitro model of oxidative stress-induced neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Exposure of the neuronal cells with H₂O₂ resulted in the decrease of cell viability, but increasing in the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) together with morphological changes and inducing cellular apoptosis. SH-SY5Y cells pretreated with 5 µM of PCA, VA, and FA were able to attenuate cell death caused by H₂O₂-induced toxicity, as well as decreased ROS level and apoptotic cells after 24 h of treatment. Pretreated SH-SY5Y cells with phenolic compounds also helped to upregulate H₂O₂-induced depletion of the expressions of sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) and forkhead box O (FoxO) 3a as well as induce the levels of antioxidant (superoxide dismutase (SOD) 2 and catalase) and antiapoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) proteins. The findings suggest that these phenolics might be promising compounds against neurodegeneration.     

Selective metabolite and peptide capture/mass detection using fluorous affinity tags

A new and general methodology is described for the targeted enrichment and subsequent direct mass spectrometric characterization of sample subsets bearing various chemical functionalities from highly complex mixtures of biological origin. Specifically, sample components containing a chemical moiety of interest are first selectively labeled with perfluoroalkyl groups, and the entire sample is then applied to a perfluoroalkyl-silylated porous silicon (pSi) surface. Due to the unique hydrophobic and lipophobic nature of the perfluorinated tags, unlabeled sample components are readily removed using simple surface washes, and the enriched sample fraction can then directly be analyzed by desorption/ionization on silicon mass spectrometry (DIOS-MS). Importantly, this fluorous-based enrichment methodology provides a single platform that is equally applicable to both peptide as well as small molecule focused applications. The utility of this technique is demonstrated by the enrichment and mass spectrometric analysis of both various peptide subsets from protein digests as well as amino acids from serum.