Pediococcus pentosaceus-Fermented Cordyceps militaris Inhibits Inflammatory Reactions and Alleviates Contact Dermatitis.

Cordyceps militaris is a medicinal mushroom used to treat immune-related diseases in East Asia. We investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of the extract of C. militaris grown on germinated Rhynchosia nulubilis (GRC) fermented with Pediococcus pentosaceus ON89A isolated from onion (GRC-ON89A) in vivo as well as in vitro. The anti-inflammatory effect of GRC-ON89A was investigated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The total polyphenol content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) in the GRC-ON89A ethanol extract were significantly increased compared to that in GRC. GRC-ON89A hexane fraction (GRC-ON89A-Hex) inhibited the release of nitric oxide (NO) compared to that of the LPS-treated control without cytotoxicity in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. GRC-ON89A-Hex decreased the inducible NO synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α mRNA expression in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. In addition, pre-treatment with GRC-ON89A-Hex significantly inhibited LPS-stimulated phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB. To induce allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), 1-fluoro-2, 4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) was applied to the surface of the right ears of C57BL/6N mice. GRC-ON89A reduced the ear swelling and thickness in DNFB-induced ACD mice. This study demonstrates the potential usefulness of GRC-ON89A as an anti-inflammatory dietary supplement or drug.

Label-free electrochemical detection of the human adenovirus 40/41 fiber gene.

A nanoporous silicon-based label-free DNA biosensor was fabricated to monitor rapidly enteric adenovirus types 40 and 41, a leading cause of viral gastroenteritis in children. Nanoporous silicon (NPS) was formed by an anodic etching process in a mixture solution containing hydrofluoric acid and ethanol. The polypyrrole (PPy) film was directly electropolymerized on The NPS substrate. Twenty-five base pairs of probe DNA (pDNA), derived from the fiber gene, was electrochemically doped on the PPy-coated NPS substrate. The conductivity change due to the immobilized pDNA and hybridized target DNA (tDNA) was expressed as an arbitrary factor, γ, which is a normalized numerical term used for the selective quantification of the tDNA. γ was inversely proportional to the concentration of complementary tDNA, but independent of the non-complementary tDNA. The sensitivity slope for detecting tDNAc was -1.54 µM(-1), based on the factor γ in the range of 0.4 to 1.0 µM of tDNA. The surface roughness was characterized using atomic force microscopy.

CKIT mutation in therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia with MLLT3/MLL chimeric transcript from t(9;11)(p22;q23).

Gain-of-function mutations of the CKIT gene have been reported to specifically occur in core-binding factor (CBF) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a poor prognostic implication. Here we report a case of therapy-related AML with t(9;11)(p22;q23) who had CKIT mutation. A 48-year-old woman with breast cancer received partial mastectomy followed by 6 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy. At 28 months from the diagnosis of breast cancer, she was diagnosed as having AML with blasts 81% in bone marrow. Cytogenetic analysis revealed t(9;11)(p22;q23), and FISH showed 96.5% of MLL break-apart signals. RT-PCR study revealed MLL(11q23)/MLLT3(9p22) chimeric transcript. FLT3-ITD and NPM1 mutations were both negative. Unexpectedly, mutation analyses for CKIT identified D816Y mutation. The patient received induction chemotherapy and achieved complete remission at 1 month. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on CKIT mutation in therapy-related AML with MLL rearrangement.