Structure-changeable luminescent Eu(III) complex as a human cancer grade probing system for brain tumor diagnosis.

Accurate determination of human tumor malignancy is important for choosing efficient and safe therapies. Bioimaging technologies based on luminescent molecules are widely used to localize and distinguish active tumor cells. Here, we report a human cancer grade probing system (GPS) using a water-soluble and structure-changeable Eu(III) complex for the continuous detection of early human brain tumors of different malignancy grades. Time-dependent emission spectra of the Eu(III) complexes in various types of tumor cells were recorded. The radiative rate constants (kr), which depend on the geometry of the Eu(III) complex, were calculated from the emission spectra. The tendency of the kr values to vary depended on the tumor cells at different malignancy grades. Between T = 0 and T = 3 h of invasion, the kr values exhibited an increase of 4% in NHA/TS (benign grade II gliomas), 7% in NHA/TSR (malignant grade III gliomas), and 27% in NHA/TSRA (malignant grade IV gliomas). Tumor cells with high-grade malignancy exhibited a rapid upward trend in kr values. The cancer GPS employs Eu(III) emissions to provide a new diagnostic method for determining human brain tumor malignancy.

Effects of Eggshell Membrane on Keratinocyte Differentiation and Skin Aging In Vitro and In Vivo.

Skin aging is one of the hallmarks of the aging process that causes physiological and morphological changes. Recently, several nutritional studies were conducted to delay or suppress the aging process. This study investigated whether nutritional supplementation of the eggshell membrane (ESM) has a beneficial effect on maintaining skin health and improving the skin aging process in vitro using neonatal normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK-Neo) and in vivo using interleukin-10 knockout (IL-10 KO) mice. In NHEK-Neo cells, 1 mg/mL of enzymatically hydrolyzed ESM (eESM) upregulated the expression of keratinocyte differentiation markers, including keratin 1, filaggrin and involucrin, and changed the keratinocyte morphology. In IL-10 KO mice, oral supplementation of 8% powdered-ESM (pESM) upregulated the expression of growth factors, including transforming growth factor ß1, platelet-derived growth factor-ß and connective tissue growth factor, and suppressed skin thinning. Furthermore, voltage-gated calcium channel, transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V members were upregulated by eESM treatment in NHEK-Neo cells and pESM supplementation in IL-10 KO mice. Collectively, these data suggest that ESM has an important role in improving skin health and aging, possibly via upregulating calcium signaling.

Effects of Processing Conditions During Manufacture on Retronasal-Aroma Compounds from a Milk Coffee Drink.

To develop a ready-to-drink (RTD) milk coffee retaining the original coffee flavor, the effects of processing conditions during manufacture on retronasal-arma (RA) compounds from the milk coffee were investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using an RA simulator (RAS). Thirteen of 46 detected compounds in the RAS effluent (RAS compounds) decreased significantly following pH adjustment of coffee (from pH 5.1 to 6.8) and 5 compounds increased. RAS compounds from coffee tended to decrease through the pH adjustment and subsequent sterilization. Significantly higher amounts of 13 RAS compounds were released from the milk coffee produced using a blending-after-sterilization (BAS) process without the pH adjustment than from that using a blending-before-sterilization (BBS) process with the pH adjustment. In BAS-processed milk coffee, significantly lower amounts of 8 high-volatility compounds and 1H-pyrrole were released from coffee containing infusion-sterilized (INF) milk than from coffee containing plate-sterilized (PLT) milk, whereas 3 low-volatility compounds were released significantly more from coffee using PLT milk. Principal component analysis revealed that the effect of the manufacturing process (BAS, BBS, or homemade (blending unsterilized coffee without pH adjustment with sterilized milk)) on milk coffee volatiles was larger than that of the sterilization method (INF or PLT) for milk, and that the sterilization method could result in different RAS volatile characteristics in BAS and homemade processes. In conclusion, a BAS process was found to be superior to a BBS process for the manufacture of an RTD milk coffee that retains volatile characteristics similar to that of a homemade milk coffee. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Ready-to-drink (RTD) milk coffee manufactured using the conventional blending-before-sterilization process does not retain its original coffee flavor due to pH adjustment of the coffee during the process. The new blending-after-sterilization (BAS) process enabled the production of RTD milk coffee whose volatiles are closer to that of homemade milk coffee, as demonstrated by the results of RAS-GC-MS analysis. The BAS process has already been applied to the manufacture of RTD milk coffees in Japan.

A procyanidin trimer, C1, promotes NO production in rat aortic endothelial cells via both hyperpolarization and PI3K/Akt pathways.

Procyanidins, which are condensed catechins, have been elucidated as absorbable polyphenols, but their health-benefits remain unclear. The aim of this study was, thus, to clarify the efficacy and mechanism of each procyanidin oligomer in NO activation in rat aortic endothelial cells (RAECs). Treatment of RAECs with 50µM procyanidin C1 (4ß→8 trimer) resulted in a time- and dose-dependent hyperpolarization using the membrane potential-sensitive probe bis-(1,3-dibutylbarbituric acid) trimethine oxonol, while no effect was observed for (-)-epicatechin (a monomer) and procyanidin B2 (4ß→8 dimer). The C1-induced hyperpolarization was inhibited by iberiotoxin, a specific inhibitor of large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (BK(Ca)) channel, as well as 2-aminoethyl diphenylborinate (2-APB), a store-operated Ca(2+) entry inhibitor. Procyanidin C1 caused a significant increase in NO production from RAECs via phosphorylation of both eNOS and Akt, and the effect was completely inhibited by N(G)-monomethyl-l-arginine or combined treatment with iberiotoxin and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) specific inhibitor, wortmannin, as well as combined treatment with 2-APB and wortmannin. Taken together, these findings provide critical evidence that procyanidin C1, but not B2, has potential to induce NO production in RAECs via both Ca(2+)-dependent BK(Ca) channel-mediated hyperpolarization and Ca(2+)-independent PI3K/Akt pathways.