Effects of different solid particle sizes on oat protein isolate and pectin particle-stabilized Pickering emulsions and their use as delivery systems.

Oat protein isolate (OPI)/high methoxyl pectin (HMP) complexes (OPP) were prepared to stabilized Pickering emulsions and applied as nutraceutical delivery systems. The different mass ratios and pH changed the interactions between OPI and HMP that caused the different size of OPP. Specifically, smaller particle size of OPP (125.7-297.6 nm) were formed when hydrophobic interactions along with electrostatic forces predominant in OPP (OPI:HMP = 3:1, pH 4, 5). Among these particles, OPP-2 could stabilize Pickering emulsion efficiently through formation of dense interfacial film, which exhibited the highest apparent viscosity and the smallest average droplet size (23.39 µm). Moreover, OPP-2 stabilized Pickering emulsions with superior stability not only exhibited higher encapsulation efficiency of 85.63%, but also could control curcumin release in simulated gastrointestinal fluids to improve curcumin's bioaccessibility. These results verified the possibility of OPP to be a Pickering emulsions stabilizer, and also identified its potential to be a stable delivery system for bioactive compounds.

[Expression and significance of Ezrin gene in pancreatic carcinoma tissues].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Ezrin protein is a membrane cytoskeletal crosslinker between the cell membrane and cytoskeleton. Increasing evidence has shown that Ezrin may be associated with tumor invasion and progression. This study was to explore the correlation of Ezrin to metastasis of pancreatic carcinoma. METHODS: The expression of Ezrin mRNA in fresh specimens of 32 pancreatic carcinoma, 19 metastatic lesions and 10 non-cancerous pancreatic tissues were assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain (RT-PCR). RESULTS: The mRNA expression of Ezrin was significantly higher in pancreatic carcinoma tissues (1.9+/-1.1) than in non-cancerous tissues (0.9+/-0.5)(P<0.05), significantly higher in metastatic lesions (2.6+/-0.8) than in the primary tumor focus (1.9+/-1.1) (P<0.05), and significantly higher in pancreatic carcinoma lesions with metastasis (2.1+/-1.2) than in those without (1.4+/-0.7) ( P<0.05). Ezrin mRNA was differently expressed in tumors with different clinical pathologic characters. It was highly expressed in poorly differentiated or distantly metastatic carcinomas. CONCLUSIONS: Ezrin gene is closely related to invasion and metastasis of pancreatic carcinoma, which might be used as a marker in predicting the metastasis of pancreatic carcinoma.