MFSynDCP: multi-source feature collaborative interactive learning for drug combination synergy prediction.

Drug combination therapy is generally more effective than monotherapy in the field of cancer treatment. However, screening for effective synergistic combinations from a wide range of drug combinations is particularly important given the increase in the number of available drug classes and potential drug-drug interactions. Existing methods for predicting the synergistic effects of drug combinations primarily focus on extracting structural features of drug molecules and cell lines, but neglect the interaction mechanisms between cell lines and drug combinations. Consequently, there is a deficiency in comprehensive understanding of the synergistic effects of drug combinations. To address this issue, we propose a drug combination synergy prediction model based on multi-source feature interaction learning, named MFSynDCP, aiming to predict the synergistic effects of anti-tumor drug combinations. This model includes a graph aggregation module with an adaptive attention mechanism for learning drug interactions and a multi-source feature interaction learning controller for managing information transfer between different data sources, accommodating both drug and cell line features. Comparative studies with benchmark datasets demonstrate MFSynDCP's superiority over existing methods. Additionally, its adaptive attention mechanism graph aggregation module identifies drug chemical substructures crucial to the synergy mechanism. Overall, MFSynDCP is a robust tool for predicting synergistic drug combinations. The source code is available from GitHub at https://github.com/kkioplkg/MFSynDCP .

Protective effect of an arabinogalactan from black soybean against carbon tetrachloride-induced acute liver injury in mice.

In vivo hepatoprotective effect of a novel arabinogalactan (AG) from black soybean on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced acute liver injury was evaluated for the first time. Our results showed that administration of AG could significantly attenuate the increase in the levels of alkaline phosphatase, alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase in the serum caused by CCl4 treatment. AG treatment not only significantly elevated the levels of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase; but also increased the levels of non-enzyme antioxidants (glutathione and total antioxidant capacity in liver tissues) when compared with CCl4-induced acute liver injury model. In addition, AG significantly reduced lipid peroxidation levels in liver tissues. The hepatoprotective effect of high-dose of AG was comparable to that of silymarin, which served as a positive standard. This study indicated that AG had a protective effect on CCl4-induced acute liver injury.

Extraction, characterization and in vitro antioxidant activity of polysaccharides from black soybean.

Optimization of extraction conditions, preliminary characterization and in vitro antioxidant activity of polysaccharides from black soybean (BSPS) were investigated. The results of Box-Behnken design showed that the optimal extraction conditions for BSPS were as follows: ratio of water to material of 20 ml/g, extraction time of 6.4h and extraction temperature of 92 °C, with a corresponding yield of 2.56%. The crude BSPS were further fractionated on DEAE-52 and Sepharose CL-4B chromatography to afford three purified fractions (BSPS-1, BSPS-2 and BSPS-3). Chemical analysis showed that the three purified fractions were mainly composed of carbohydrate and uronic acid. In addition, BSPS-1 was composed of arabinose, rhamnose, galactose, glucose and mannose in the molar ratio of 1.79:1.00:2.59:26.54:1.01. BSPS-2 was composed of arabinose, rhamnose, xylose, galactose and mannose in the molar ratio of 8.10:4.80:9.15:13.38:1.00. BSPS-3 was composed of arabinose, rhamnose, galactose and mannose in the molar ratio of 16.80:3.60:33.66:1.00. The results of Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy further confirmed the characteristic polysaccharide structures of the three purified fractions. Moreover, antioxidant assays showed crude BSPS and its purified fractions had potential superoxide anion and DPPH radical scavenging activities, and their antioxidant activity decreased in the order of crude BSPS > BSPS-3 > BSPS-2 > BSPS-1.

Antioxidant and protective effect of inulin and catechin grafted inulin against CCl4-induced liver injury.

In this study, the antioxidant activity and hepatoprotective effect of inulin and catechin grafted inulin (catechin-g-inulin) against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced acute liver injury were investigated. Results showed that both inulin and catechin-g-inulin had moderate scavenging activity on superoxide radical, hydroxyl radical and H2O2, as well as lipid peroxidation inhibition effect. The antioxidant activity decreased in the order of Vc > catechin >catechin-g-inulin > inulin. Administration of inulin and catechin-g-inulin could significantly reduce the elevated levels of serum aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase and alkaline phosphatase as compared to CCl4 treatment group. Moreover, inulin and catechin-g-inulin significantly increased the levels of hepatic superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione and total antioxidant capacity, whereas markedly decreased the malondialdehyde level when compared with CCl4 treatment group. Notably, catechin-g-inulin showed higher hepatoprotective effect than inulin. In addition, the hepatoprotective effect of catechin-g-inulin was comparable to positive standard of silymarin. Our results suggested that catechin-g-inulin had potent antioxidant activity and potential protective effect against CCl4-induced acute liver injury.

Structural characterization of two water-soluble polysaccharides from black soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.).

Black soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) have been widely used as a health food and medicinal herb in oriental medicine. In the present study, the chemical structures of two water-soluble polysaccharides (black soybean polysaccharide 1 (BSPS-1) and black soybean polysaccharide 3 (BSPS-3)) isolated from black soybeans were characterized by high performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC), methylation analysis, and 1D (1H, 13C) and 2D (COSY, TOCSY, HSQC, NOESY, and HMBC) NMR spectra. The molecular weights of BSPS-1 and BSPS-3 were 1.95 × 105 and 1.88 × 105 Da, respectively. Methylation analysis and NMR spectra indicate that BSPS-1 is composed of 1,6-α-d-glucopyranosyl residues. By contrast, BSPS-3 is mainly composed of a 1,3-ß-d-galactopyranosyl residue backbone with side chains substituted at the O-6 position consisting of large content of T-α-l-Araf-(1→ residues, and small contents of →5)-α-l-Araf-(1→, →2)-α-l-Rhap-(1→, and 4-O-Me-ß-d-GlcAp-(1→ residues. Our results suggest that BSPS-1 is a linear (1→6)-α-d-glucan, whereas BSPS-3 is a type II arabinogalactan. The unique structures of BSPS-1 and BSPS-3 indicate that they might have wide applications in food and pharmaceutical industries.

Free radical mediated grafting of chitosan with caffeic and ferulic acids: structures and antioxidant activity.

In this study, two water soluble chitosan derivatives were synthesized by grafting caffeic acid (CA) and ferulic acid (FA) onto chitosan via a free radical mediated method. The structural characterization, antioxidant activity in vitro and in vivo of chitosan derivatives were determined. Results showed that the UV-vis absorption peaks of chitosan derivatives shifted toward longer wavelengths. FT-IR spectroscopy exhibited the typical phenolic characteristics within 1450-1600 cm(-1). (1)H NMR spectroscopy showed new peaks of phenyl protons at 6.2-7.6 ppm. (13)C NMR spectroscopy showed additional peaks between 110 and 150 ppm assigned to the C=C of phenolic groups. These results all confirmed the successful grafting of CA and FA onto chitosan backbones. The chitosan derivatives had decreased thermal stability and crystallinity as compared to chitosan. In vitro assays showed that the antioxidant activity decreased in the order of CA-g-chitosan>FA-g-chitosan>chitosan. Moreover, administration of the chitosan derivatives could significantly increase antioxidant enzymes activities and decrease malondialdehyde levels in both serums and livers of d-galactose induced aging mice. Our results indicated the potential of CA-g-chitosan and FA-g-chitosan in the development of novel antioxidant agents.

Synthesis, characterization and in vitro anti-diabetic activity of catechin grafted inulin.

In this study, a novel biological macromolecule with strong in vitro anti-diabetic activity was developed by grafting catechin onto inulin via a free radical mediated method. The characterization, α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities of catechin grafted inulin (catechin-g-inulin) were investigated. Results showed that the grafting ratio of catechin-g-inulin was 124.8 mg CAE/g. UV-vis spectrum of catechin-g-inulin exhibited a new band at 280 nm, attributing to B ring of catechin moiety. FT-IR spectrum of catechin-g-inulin showed new absorption bands between 1540 and 1418 cm(-1), attributing to CC stretching vibration of catechin moiety. (1)H NMR spectrum of catechin-g-inulin preserved all the characteristic proton signals of inulin and partial signals of catechin. These all confirmed the successful grafting copolymerization. Conjugation probably occurred between OH of inulin (C-6) and H-6/H-8 of catechin (A ring). Catechin-g-inulin also exhibited increased thermal stability and crystallinity as compared to inulin. Moreover, in vitro anti-diabetic assays showed the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity decreased in the order of catechin-g-inulin>catechin>acarbose>inulin, and α-amylase inhibitory activity decreased in the order of catechin-g-inulin>acarbose>catechin>inulin. These indicated the potential of catechin-g-inulin in the development of a novel effective anti-diabetic agent.

A case-control study on the relationship between salt intake and salty taste and risk of gastric cancer.

AIM: To investigate the relationship between salt intake and salty taste and risk of gastric cancer. METHODS: A 1:2 matched hospital based case-control study including 300 patients with gastric cancer and 600 cancer-free subjects as controls. Subjects were interviewed with a structured questionnaire containing 80 items, which elicited information on dietary, lifestyle habits, smoking and drinking histories. Subjects were tested for salt taste sensitivity threshold (STST) using concentrated saline solutions (0.22-58.4 g/L). Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS: Alcohol and tobacco consumption increased the risk of gastric cancer [OR (95% CI) was 2.27 (1.27-4.04) for alcohol and 2.41 (1.51-3.87) for tobacco]. A protective effect was observed in frequent consumption of fresh vegetable and fruit [OR (95% CI) was 0.92 (0.58-0.98) for fresh vegetable and 0.87 (0.67-0.93) for fruit]. Strong association was found between STST ≥ 5 and gastric cancer [OR = 5.71 (3.18-6.72)]. Increased STST score was significantly associated with salted food intake and salty taste preference (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: A high STST score is strongly associated with gastric cancer risk. STST can be used to evaluate an inherited characteristic of salt preference, and it is a simple index to verify the salt intake in clinic.

Salt taste sensitivity, physical activity and gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is a major health issue in China. Risk factors are mainly related to nutrition and environment, with a particular role for high salt intake. The salt taste sensitivity threshold (STST) can influence salt consumption, and is therefore assumed to have association with gastric cancer. It was therefore assessed, together with other lifestyle factors, in the present study in China. METHODS: A 1:2 matched hospital based case-control study, including 300 cases with a new histological confirmed diagnosis of gastric cancer and 600 controls that were cancer and gastric disease free, was conducted. A self-designed questionnaire was employed to collect information on dietary and lifestyle habit, including physical activity, and a salt taste sensitivity test was used to measure the STST for all subjects. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS: An increased risk of gastric cancer was found related to smoking, alcohol drinking, family history of cancer and consumption of salted food. Walking and sports activity (adjusted OR=0.69(0.51-0.99) for ≥4 times/week) exerted protective effects. A significant positive association between increased STST and gastric cancer was evident, with an adjusted OR of 2.05 (1.68-2.5). When we used STST≥5 as a cut-off, the affected subjects were at 5.71 times greater risk of gastric cancer than those with STST　below 5. STST showed a moderate correlation with physical activity (Correlation coefficient =0.22). The cut point of STST≥5 had a best sensitivity and specificity for predicting gastric cancer risk (sensitivity for 73.7%, specificity of 57%). CONCLUSION: Salt and salted food intake is associated with gastric cancer, while physical activity is protective. A high STST is strongly linked to gastric cancer risk.