Genomic Sequencing and Comparison of Sacbrood Viruses from Apis cerana and Apis mellifera in Taiwan.

Sacbrood virus (SBV) was the first identified bee virus and shown to cause serious epizootic infections in the population of Apis cerana in Taiwan in 2015. Herein, the whole genome sequences of SBVs in A. cerana and A. mellifera were decoded and designated AcSBV-TW and AmSBV-TW, respectively. The whole genomes of AcSBV-TW and AmSBV-TW were 8776 and 8885 bp, respectively, and shared 90% identity. Each viral genome encoded a polyprotein, which consisted of 2841 aa in AcSBV-TW and 2859 aa in AmSBV-TW, and these sequences shared 95% identity. Compared to 54 other SBVs, the structural protein and protease regions showed high variation, while the helicase was the most highly conserved region among SBVs. Moreover, a 17-amino-acid deletion was found in viral protein 1 (VP1) region of AcSBV-TW compared to AmSBV-TW. The phylogenetic analysis based on the polyprotein sequences and partial VP1 region indicated that AcSBV-TW was grouped into the SBV clade with the AC-genotype (17-aa deletion) and was closely related to AmSBV-SDLY and CSBV-FZ, while AmSBV-TW was grouped into the AM-genotype clade but branched independently from other AmSBVs, indicating that the divergent genomic characteristics of AmSBV-TW might be a consequence of geographic distance driving evolution, and AcSBV-TW was closely related to CSBV-FZ, which originated from China. This 17-amino-acid deletion could be found in either AcSBV or AmSBV in Taiwan, indicating cross-infection between the two viruses. Our data revealed geographic and host specificities between SBVs. The amino acid difference in the VP1 region might serve as a molecular marker for describing SBV cross-infection.

The phytogestrogenic stilbenes, arachidin-1 and resveratrol, modulate regulatory T cell functions responsible for successful aging in aged ICR mice.

CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) are recognized as a distinctive T helper cell population which controls immunosuppression during the maintenance of immunological self-tolerance and immunohomeostasis. Sex steroids modulate fundamental immune functions, including immune cell development, differentiation and polarization, and facilitate specific immunophysiological microenvironments, such as pregnancy. The supplementation of exogenous phytoestrogens is beneficial to post-menopausal women. Stilbenes are a potent group of phytoestrogens, of which resveratrol (Res) is a well-known representative exhibiting a variety of immunomodulatory activities, including the attenuation of autoimmune diseases and boosting anti-tumor immunity. In the present study, arachidin-1 (Ara­1) and Res, primary stilbenes, enriched in peanut sprouts as phytoalexins, were investigated for their immunomodulatory properties for successful aging. We found that similar to 17-ß-estradiol (E2), Ara­1 or Res significantly inhibited concanavalin A (ConA)-activated lymphoblastogenesis of cell repertories from splenic or thymic origins. However, these inhibitory effects were partially reversed by the E2 receptor blocker, tamoxifen. While the ratios of the CD4+CD25+ cell population of ConA-activated T cell repertories were not significantly altered, treatment with E2, Ara­1 or Res led to an increase in the number of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA-4; also known as CD152)-positive cells and in the gene expression levels of CTLA-4, Forkhead box P3 (FoxP3), interleukin (IL)-10 and transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß). When low (L-S-PNT) and high (H-S-PNT) levels of stilbene-enriched peanut sprout-fortified diets were provided ad libitum to 12­week-old ICR mice for 48 weeks, their circulating Treg populations were assessed following magnetic bead enrichment. The gene expression levels of CTLA-4 and TGF-ß were significantly (P<0.05) elevated, as assessed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The findings of the present study support the beneficial roles of the phytoestrogenic stilbenes, Res and Ara­1, in facilitating a successful aging immune status which may attribute to longevity.

Oral administration of resveratrol in suppression of pulmonary metastasis of BALB/c mice challenged with CT26 colorectal adenocarcinoma cells.

Anti-cancer activities of resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxylstilbene) have attracted extensive research attention. Suppression of pulmonary metastasis of BALB/c mice challenged with CT26 colorectal adenocarcinoma cells achieved by oral administration of resveratrol was assessed in three separate experiments. Each mouse was challenged by tail vein injection with CT26 cells. Prior to challenge, 8-wk-old mice were fed with a basal diet and orally administered with resveratrol (30 mg/kg/2 days) eight or twelve times. After challenge, oral administration of resveratrol was continued until mice were sacrificed on day 20. As integrated from three experiments, 3.7% of the control mice (n=27) and 68.7% of the resveratrol-treated mice (n=26) exhibited free of metastasis. In a second study, 8-wk-old BALB/c mice were orally administered with resveratrol 12 times and challenged with CT26 cells for 100 days. All control mice died but 50% of the resveratrol-treated mice survived. The surviving mice were challenged with CT26 cells by hypodermic injection, fed with a basal diet for an additional 30 days, and sacrificed. Tumor lumps or nodules were not detected at the injection sites or in the lungs. This reveals that intrinsic vaccination-like defense has resulted from administration of resveratrol and challenge of tumor cells.

Biosynthesis enhancement and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) arachidin-1, arachidin-3, and isopentadienylresveratrol.

UNLABELLED: Peanut is a potent plant to be induced to synthesize bioactive stilbenoids. Bioactivities of those stilbenoids except resveratrol have been meagerly investigated. When peanut kernels (Tainan 14, a Spanish cultivar) were imbibed, incubated 3 days for germination, sliced, incubated with artificial aeration, periodically sampled, lyophilized, extracted with methanol, and subjected to reverse-phase HPLC analysis, four major fractionations were detected and identified as trans-resveratrol (Res), trans-arachidin-1 (Ara-1), trans-arachidin-3 (Ara-3), and trans-isopentadienylresveratrol (IPD). During incubation of the peanut slices, contents of Res, Ara-1, and Ara-3 increased tremendously from initially trace or not detectable amounts up to 147.3, 495.7, and 2414.8 microg/g, corresponding to 20, 16, and 24 h of incubation, while IPD contents continued to increase up to 28 h (4474.4 microg/g). When the four stilbenoids and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) were subjected to antioxidant characterization by various measures, all have exhibited varied potencies of antioxidant activity. In particular, retardation of absorbance increase at 234 nm as formation of the conjugated diene hydroperoxides in a real pork oil system stored at 60 degrees C, supplement of Ara-1 at 100 microM has shown equivalent or even greater activity than did BHT. When the media were supplemented with Res, Ara-1, Ara-3, and IPD at 15 microM for cultivation of mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the LPS-induced extracellular production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and nitric oxide (NO) was significantly inhibited by Ara-1 (p < 0.001), Res (p < 0.001), Ara-3 (p < 0.01), and IPD (p < 0.01). It is noteworthy and of merit that all test stilbenoids have exhibited potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities and varied as affected by number of hydroxyl groups and isopentenyl or isopentadienyl moiety. KEYWORDS: Arachis hypogaea L.; peanut; groundnut; resveratrol; stilbenoids; arachidin; antioxidant; anti-inflammation.