Validity and reliability of the Korean version of the gender-friendliness barriers in nursing programs scale.

Introduction: The gender-friendliness barriers in nursing programs (GFB-NP) were used to measure perceived gender affinity among male nursing students in nursing education programs. Originally developed in Taiwan, this scale has not been used in Korea. The purpose of this study is to confirm the reliability and validity of the GFB-NP scale for Korean male nursing students. Methods: A convenience sample of male nursing students enrolled in the 1st to 4th year of nursing departments at five four-year universities located in three cities in Korea was used in the study. To confirm the validity and factor structure of the scale, both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were employed. Results: The results support a four-factor structure: Professional acquisition opportunity, peer interaction, sociocultural prejudice, and gender role attitude. We confirmed that the Korean version of the GFB-NP is an appropriate tool for measuring the gender-friendliness educational environment perceived by male nursing students in nursing education. Discussion: The GFB-NP will serve as a framework for developing counseling and management strategies to help male nursing students successfully adapt to school life within the nursing education curriculum. Research with a longitudinal study design is recommended to investigate the progression of school adaptation through undergraduate program courses.

Quality assessment of systematic reviews with meta-analysis in undergraduate nursing education.

BACKGROUND: Little attention has been given to the methodological quality of meta-analyses in nursing education. This warrants further improvements in meta-analyses in nursing education. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the methodological quality of meta-analysis in the field of undergraduate nursing education. DESIGN: This was a methodological study to review the methodological quality of systematic reviews (SRs) with meta-analysis. METHODS: Exhaustive literature searches were performed using five comprehensive databases. Between 1994 and 2022, 11,827 studies were identified, and 41 full-text articles met the inclusion criteria. Two researchers extracted data using A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR)-2. The Chi-square test was conducted to make comparisons before and after 2017, the year AMSTAR-2 was released. RESULTS: A comprehensive literature retrieval strategy, inclusion and exclusion criteria, literature selection, and data extraction were observed in nursing education more than in other disciplines. Improvements to be made include pre-specifying the protocol, providing a list of excluded studies with their exclusion reasons, reporting the source of funding for the included studies, assessing and discussing the potential impact of risk of bias, as well as investigating and discussing publication bias and its impact. CONCLUSIONS: The number of SRs with meta-analyses in nursing education is increasing. This warrants efforts to improve the quality of research. In addition, guidelines for reporting SRs in the field of nursing education should be constantly updated.

[Effect of Virtual Reality Program for Alleviating Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia Patients].

PURPOSE: This study examined the impact of a virtual reality intervention program based on psychological needs on behavioral and psychological symptoms, apathy, and quality of life (QOL) in patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment living in nursing facilities. METHODS: This study is nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design of quasi-experimental study. The study collected data from November 18, 2020 to July 24, 2021 from patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment (30 in the experimental group and 30 in the control group) at three nursing facilities in G city using self-reporting and caregiver-informant reporting methods. The analysis employed the chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, paired t-test, independent t-test, Wilcoxon signed rank test, Mann-Whitney U, repeated measures ANOVA, GEE, using SPSS/WIN 27.0. RESULTS: The severity of behavioral and psychological symptoms (Wald χ² = 2.68, p = .102) and the care burden of caregivers (Wald χ² = 1.72, p = .190) were not significant and was no significant time and group interaction effect (Wald χ² = 0.63, p = .426, Wald χ² = 0.52, p =. 471). The difference in apathy and QOL score were statistically significant for the group-time interaction (F = 43.65, p < .001; F = 4.35, p = .041). CONCLUSION: The virtual reality intervention program of this study shows a positive effect on the apathy reduction and QOL of patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment residing in nursing facilities.

Moringa oleifera mitigates ethanol-induced oxidative stress, fatty degeneration and hepatic steatosis by promoting Nrf2 in mice.

BACKGROUND: Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) is cultivated throughout the world and it is known by numerous regional names and is consumed as medication for various diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, HIV and is potential source of nutrients and natural antioxidants making it among the most useful trees. METHODS: We evaluated the therapeutic potential of M. oleifera on ethanol-induced fatty liver. The mice were treated with 30% ethanol (EtOH) alone or in combination with different concentration of M. oleifera extracts (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg). We performed biochemical estimation for the serum of important liver damage markers such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and triglyceride (TG). We performed histopathological analysis from the liver tissues of different mice groups. We also performed ELISA assay, western blotting analysis and SPECT imaging to obtain our results. RESULTS: The results for serum (AST, p < 0.0001), (ALT, p < 0.0006) and triglyceride (TG, p < 0.0003) were found to be significantly reduced in all doses of M. oleifera extract treatment groups in comparison with the ethanol group. H&E staining analysis and scoring revealed a significant reduction in lipid droplet accumulation and a significant reduction of liver steatosis (p < 0.0001), lobular inflammation (p < 0.0013), ballooning (p < 0.0004) and immunohistochemistry for TNF-α. M. oleifera also ameliorated ethanol-induced oxidative stress evaluated through MDA (p < 0.0001), H2DCFDA, JC-1 staining and a significant down-regulation of CYP2E1 enzyme (p < 0.0001) in the 200 and 400 mg/kg groups in comparison with EtOH groups. M. oleifera extract also boosted the antioxidant response evaluated through total GSH assay (p < 0.0001) and nuclear translocation of Nrf2. Furthermore, we performed SPECT imaging and evaluated the liver uptake value (LUV) to assess the extent of liver damage. LUV was observed to be lower in the ethanol group, whereas LUV was higher in control and M. olifera treated groups. CONCLUSION: In summary, from this experiment we conclude that M. oleifera extract has the potential to ameliorate ethanol-induced liver damage.

Correction: Chang et al. Decursinol Angelate Arrest Melanoma Cell Proliferation by Initiating Cell Death and Tumor Shrinkage via Induction of Apoptosis. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22, 4096.

The author wishes to make the following correction to this paper [...].

Decursinol Angelate Arrest Melanoma Cell Proliferation by Initiating Cell Death and Tumor Shrinkage via Induction of Apoptosis.

Melanoma is known to aggressively metastasize and is one of the prominent causes of skin cancer mortality. This study was designed to assess the molecular mechanism of decursinol angelate (DA) against murine melanoma cell line (B16F10 cells). Treatment of DA resulted in growth inhibition and cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 (p < 0.001) phase, evaluated through immunoblotting. Moreover, autophagy-related proteins such as ATG-5 (p < 0.0001), ATG-7 (p < 0.0001), beclin-1 (p < 0.0001) and transition of LC3-I to LC3-II (p < 0.0001) were markedly decreased, indicating autophagosome inhibition. Additionally, DA treatment triggered apoptotic events which were corroborated by the occurrence of distorted nuclei, elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and reduction in the mitochondrial membrane potential. Subsequently, there was an increase in the expression of pro-apoptotic protein Bax in a dose-dependent manner, with the corresponding downregulation of Bcl-2 expression and cytochrome C expression following 24 h DA treatment in A375.SM and B16F10 cells. We substantiated our results for apoptotic occurrence through flow cytometry in B16F10 cells. Furthermore, we treated B16F10 cells with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC). NAC treatment upregulated ATG-5 (p < 0.0001), beclin-1 (p < 0.0001) and LC3-I to LC3-II (p < 0.0001) conversion, which was inhibited in the DA treatment group. We also noticed a systematic upregulation of important markers for progression of G1 cell phase such as CDK-2 (p < 0.029), CDK-4 (p < 0.036), cyclin D1 (p < 0.0003) and cyclin E (p < 0.020) upon NAC treatment. In addition, we also observed a significant fold reduction (p < 0.05) in ROS fluorescent intensity and the expression of Bax (p < 0.0001), cytochrome C (p < 0.0001), cleaved caspase-9 (p > 0.010) and cleaved caspase-3 (p < 0.0001). NAC treatment was able to ameliorate DA-induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest to support our finding. Our in vivo xenograft model also revealed similar findings, such as downregulation of CDK-2 (p < 0.0001) and CDK-4 (p < 0.0142) and upregulation of Bax (p < 0.0001), cytochrome C (p < 0.0001), cleaved caspase 3 (p < 0.0001) and cleaved caspase 9 (p < 0.0001). In summary, our study revealed that DA is an effective treatment against B16F10 melanoma cells and xenograft mice model.

5-O-Demethylnobiletin Alleviates CCl4-Induced Acute Liver Injury by Equilibrating ROS-Mediated Apoptosis and Autophagy Induction.

Polymethoxyflavanoids (PMFs) have exhibited a vast array of therapeutic biological properties. 5-O-Demethylnobiletin (5-DN) is one such PMF having anti-inflammatory activity, yet its role in hepatoprotection has not been studied before. Results from in vitro study revealed that 5-DN did not exert a high level of cytotoxicity on HepG2 cells at 40 µM, and it was able to rescue HepG2 cell death induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Subsequently, we investigated acute liver injury on BALB/c mice induced by CCl4 through the intraperitoneal injection of 1 mL/kg CCl4 and co-administration of 5-DN at (1 and 2 mg/kg) by oral gavage for 15 days. The results illustrated that treatment with 5-DN attenuated CCl4-induced elevated serum aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio and significantly ameliorated severe hepatic damage such as inflammation and fibrosis evidenced through lesser aberrations in the liver histology of 5-DN dose groups. Additionally, 5-DN efficiently counteracted and equilibrated the production of ROS accelerated by CCl4 and dramatically downregulated the expression of CYP2E1 vitally involved in converting CCl4 to toxic free radicals and also enhanced the antioxidant enzymes. 5-DN treatment also inhibited cell proliferation and inflammatory pathway abnormally regulated by CCl4 treatment. Furthermore, the apoptotic response induced by CCl4 treatment was remarkably reduced by enhanced Bcl-2 expression and noticeable reduction in Bax, Bid, cleaved caspase 3, caspase 9, and apaf-1 expression. 5-DN treatment also induced the conversion of LC3 and promoted the autophagic flux. Conclusively, 5-DN exhibited hepatoprotective effects in vitro and in vivo and prevented liver fibrosis induced by CCl4.

Quantitative proteomic analysis of trypsin-treated extracellular vesicles to identify the real-vesicular proteins.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nano-sized vesicles surrounded by a lipid bilayer and released into the extracellular milieu by most of cells. Although various EV isolation methods have been established, most of the current methods isolate EVs with contaminated non-vesicular proteins. By applying the label-free quantitative proteomic analyses of human colon cancer cell SW480-derived EVs, we identified trypsin-sensitive and trypsin-resistant vesicular proteins. Further systems biology and protein-protein interaction network analyses based on their cellular localization, we classified the trypsin-sensitive and trypsin-resistant vesicular proteins into two subgroups: 363 candidate real-vesicular proteins and 151 contaminated non-vesicular proteins. Moreover, the protein interaction network analyses showed that candidate real-vesicular proteins are mainly derived from plasma membrane (46.8%), cytosol (36.6%), cytoskeleton (8.0%) and extracellular region (2.5%). On the other hand, most of the contaminated non-vesicular proteins derived from nucleus, Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. In addition, ribosomal protein complexes and T-complex proteins were classified as the contaminated non-vesicular proteins. Taken together, our trypsin-digested proteomic approach on EVs is an important advance to identify the real-vesicular proteins that could help to understand EV biogenesis and protein cargo-sorting mechanism during EV release, to identify more reliable EV diagnostic marker proteins, and to decode pathophysiological roles of EVs.

Psychometric properties of the geriatric quality of life-dementia in older adults with dementia or mild cognitive impairment living in nursing homes.

BACKGROUND: Given the theoretical and methodological limitations, there is insufficient knowledge about the psychometric properties and internal structure of quality of life (QOL) measurements for patients with dementia living in nursing homes. The present study aimed to confirm the validity and reliability of the Geriatric Quality of Life-Dementia scale (GQOL-D) to measure the QOL of patients with dementia in nursing homes and analyze their QOL based on the validated GQOL-D factor structure. METHODS: The GQOL-D was used to assess QOL. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment from six nursing homes in two cities. In order to confirm the validity and factor structure of the scale, both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were employed. An independent t-test and a one-way analysis of variance were performed to examine the difference in the QOL across general characteristics. RESULTS: The original factor model was not appropriate to assess the QOL of dementia patients living in nursing homes because the models did not show adequate fit indices. The results support a two-factor structure: environmental and personal factors. Our findings suggest that the internal consistency and construct validity of the proposed two-factor model are adequate, and the GQOL-D is a useful tool for assessing the QOL of dementia patients living in nursing homes. CONCLUSIONS: This factor structure model of environmental and personal aspects is a useful theoretical framework for designing and evaluating interventions for people with dementia and providing integrated person-centered care for people with dementia in nursing homes.

Licochalcone D directly targets JAK2 to induced apoptosis in human oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Licochalcone (LC) families have been reported to have a wide range of biological function such as antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, and anticancer effects. Although various beneficial effects of LCD were revealed, its anticancer effect in human oral squamous cancer has not been identified. To examine the signaling pathway of LCD's anticancer effect, we determined whether LCD has physical interaction with Janus kinase (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) signaling, which is critical in promoting cancer cell survival and proliferation. Our results demonstrated that LCD inhibited the kinase activity of JAK2, soft agar colony formation, and the proliferation of HN22 and HSC4 cells. LCD also induced mitochondrial apoptotic events such as altered mitochondrial membrane potential and reactive oxygen species production. LCD increased the expression of apoptosis-associated proteins in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells. Finally, the xenograft study showed that LCD significantly inhibited HN22 tumor growth. Immunohistochemical data supported that LCD suppressed p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 expression and induced cleaved-caspase-3 expression. These results indicate that the anticancer effect of LCD is due to the direct targeting of JAK2 kinase. Therefore, LCD can be used for therapeutic application against OSCC.

Myricetin improves endurance capacity and mitochondrial density by activating SIRT1 and PGC-1α.

Robust mitochondrial respiration provides energy to support physical performance and physiological well-being, whereas mitochondrial malfunction is associated with various pathologies and reduced longevity. In the current study, we tested whether myricetin, a natural flavonol with diverse biological activities, may impact mitochondrial function and longevity. The mice were orally administered myricetin (50 mg/kg/day) for 3 weeks. Myricetin significantly potentiated aerobic capacity in mice, as evidenced by their increased running time and distance. The elevated mitochondrial function was associated with induction of genes for oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial biogenesis in metabolically active tissues. Importantly, myricetin treatment led to decreased PGC-1α acetylation through SIRT1 activation. Furthermore, myricetin significantly improved the healthspan and lifespan of wild-type, but not Sir-2.1-deficient, C. elegans. These results demonstrate that myricetin enhances mitochondrial activity, possibly by activating PGC-1α and SIRT1, to improve physical endurance, strongly suggesting myricetin as a mitochondria-activating agent.

Esculetin exerts anti-proliferative effects against non-small-cell lung carcinoma by suppressing specificity protein 1 in vitro.

Esculetin, a coumarin derivative, is a phenolic compound isolated from Artemisia capillaris, Citrus limonia, and Euphorbia lathyris. Although it has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-proliferative activities in several human cancers, its anti-proliferative activity against non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and the molecular mechanisms involved have not been adequately elucidated. In this study, we used two NSCLC cell lines (NCI-H358 and NCI-H1299) to investigate the anti-proliferative activity and apoptotic effect of esculetin. Our data showed that esculetin-treated cells exhibited reduced proliferation and apoptotic cell morphologies. Intriguingly, the transcription factor specificity protein 1 (Sp1) was significantly suppressed by esculetin in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, the levels of p27 and p21, two key regulators of the cell cycle, were up-regulated by the esculetin-mediated down-regulation of Sp1; the level of a third cell-cycle regulator, survivin, was decreased, resulting in caspase-dependent apoptosis. Therefore, we conclude that esculetin could be a potent anti-proliferative agent in patients with NSCLC.

Interactomic analysis of REST/NRSF and implications of its functional links with the transcription suppressor TRIM28 during neuronal differentiation.

RE-1 silencing transcription factor (REST) is a transcriptional repressor that regulates gene expression by binding to repressor element 1. However, despite its critical function in physiology, little is known about its interaction proteins. Here we identified 204 REST-interacting proteins using affinity purification and mass spectrometry. The interactome included proteins associated with mRNA processing/splicing, chromatin organization, and transcription. The interactions of these REST-interacting proteins, which included TRIM28, were confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation and immunocytochemistry, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed that neuronal differentiation-related GO terms were enriched among target genes that were co-regulated by REST and TRIM28, while the level of CTNND2 was increased by the knockdown of REST and TRIM28. Consistently, the level of CTNND2 increased while those of REST and TRIM28 decreased during neuronal differentiation in the primary neurons, suggesting that CTNND2 expression may be co-regulated by both. Furthermore, neurite outgrowth was increased by depletion of REST or TRIM28, implying that reduction of both REST and TRIM28 could promote neuronal differentiation via induction of CTNND2 expression. In conclusion, our study of REST reveals novel interacting proteins which could be a valuable resource for investigating unidentified functions of REST and also suggested functional links between REST and TRIM28 during neuronal development.

Kahweol induces apoptosis by suppressing BTF3 expression through the ERK signaling pathway in non-small cell lung cancer cells.

Kahweol, a diterpene molecule, has antiproliferative effects on several types of human cancer cells, but whether it has apoptotic effect in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is not known. To explore this possibility, we incubated cells from two NSCLC cell lines, NCI-H358 and NCI­H1299, with different concentrations of kahweol and used the MTS assay, DAPI staining, propidium iodide staining, Annexin V staining, immunocytochemical test, and western blot analysis to characterize this molecule and the signaling pathway underlying its effects. The kahweol-treated cells showed significantly decreased cell viability, increased nuclear condensation, and an increased number of Annexin V-positive NSCLC cells. Suppression of basic transcription factor 3 (BTF3) was followed by apoptosis induced by kahweol via the ERK-mediated signaling pathway in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In addition, kahweol modulated the protein expression of BTF3 genes involved in cell-cycle regulation and apoptosis-related proteins, resulting in apoptotic cell death. Our results collectively indicated that kahweol inhibited the proliferation of NSCLC cells through ERK-mediated signaling pathways and the downregulation of BTF3.

Regional Differences of Proteins Expressing in Adipose Depots Isolated from Cows, Steers and Bulls as Identified by a Proteomic Approach.

Adipose tissue in the loin muscle area of beef cattle as a marbling factor is directly associated with beef quality. To elucidate whether properties of proteins involved in depot specific adipose tissue were sex-dependent, we analyzed protein expression of intramuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) and omental adipose tissue (OMAT) from Hanwoo cows, steers, and bulls of Korean native beef cattle by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based proteomic analysis, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and western blot analysis. Two different adipose depots (i.e. intramuscular and omental) were collected from cows (n = 7), steers (n = 7), or bulls (n = 7). LC-MS/MS revealed a total of 55 and 35 proteins in IMAT and OMAT, respectively. Of the 55 proteins identified, 44, 40, and 42 proteins were confirmed to be differentially expressed in IMAT of cows, steers, and bulls, respectively. In OMAT of cows, steers, and bulls, 33, 33, and 22 were confirmed to be differentially expressed, respectively. Tropomyosin (TPM) 1, TPM 2, and TPM3 were subjected to verification by quantitative PCR and western blot analysis in IMAT and OMAT of Hanwoo cows, steers, and bulls as key factors closely associated with muscle development. Both mRNA levels and protein levels of TPM1, TPM2, and TPM3 in IMAT were lower in bulls compared to in cows or steers suggesting that they were positively correlated with marbling score and quality grade. Our results may aid the regulation of marbling development and improvement of meat quality grades in beef cattle.

Proteomic Assessment of the Relevant Factors Affecting Pork Meat Quality Associated with Longissimus dorsi Muscles in Duroc Pigs.

Meat quality is a complex trait influenced by many factors, including genetics, nutrition, feeding environment, animal handling, and their interactions. To elucidate relevant factors affecting pork quality associated with oxidative stress and muscle development, we analyzed protein expression in high quality longissimus dorsi muscles (HQLD) and low quality longissimus dorsi muscles (LQLD) from Duroc pigs by liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based proteomic analysis. Between HQLD (n = 20) and LQLD (n = 20) Duroc pigs, 24 differentially expressed proteins were identified by LC-MS/MS. A total of 10 and 14 proteins were highly expressed in HQLD and LQLD, respectively. The 24 proteins have putative functions in the following seven categories: catalytic activity (31%), ATPase activity (19%), oxidoreductase activity (13%), cytoskeletal protein binding (13%), actin binding (12%), calcium ion binding (6%), and structural constituent of muscle (6%). Silver-stained image analysis revealed significant differential expression of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) between HQLD and LQLD Duroc pigs. LDHA was subjected to in vitro study of myogenesis under oxidative stress conditions and LDH activity assay to verification its role in oxidative stress. No significant difference of mRNA expression level of LDHA was found between normal and oxidative stress condition. However, LDH activity was significantly higher under oxidative stress condition than at normal condition using in vitro model of myogenesis. The highly expressed LDHA was positively correlated with LQLD. Moreover, LDHA activity increased by oxidative stress was reduced by antioxidant resveratrol. This paper emphasizes the importance of differential expression patterns of proteins and their interaction for the development of meat quality traits. Our proteome data provides valuable information on important factors which might aid in the regulation of muscle development and the improvement of meat quality in longissimus dorsi muscles of Duroc pigs under oxidative stress conditions.

Licochalcone B induces apoptosis of human oral squamous cell carcinoma through the extrinsic- and intrinsic-signaling pathways.

Licochalcone B (Lico B), which belongs to the retrochalcone family, is isolated from the roots of Chinese licorice. Lico B has been reported to have several other useful pharmacological properties, such as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, antiulcer, anticancer, and anti-metastasis activities. We elucidated the underlying mechanism by which Lico B can induce apoptosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Our results showed that exposure of OSCC cells (HN22 and HSC4) to Lico B significantly inhibited cell proliferation in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Lico B caused cell cycle arrest at G1 phase along with downregulation of cyclin D1 and upregulation of p21 and p27 proteins. Lico B also facilitated the diffusion of phospholipid phosphatidylserine (PS) from inner to outer leaflets of the plasma membrane with chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation, accumulated sub-G1 population in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, Lico B promoted the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which, in turn, can induce CHOP, death receptor (DR) 4 and DR5. Lico B treatment induced downregulation of anti-apoptotic proteins (Bid and Bcl-xl and Mcl-1), and up-regulation of pro-apoptotic protein (Bax). Lico B also led to the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), resulting in cytochrome c release. As can be expected from the above results, the apoptotic protease activating factor-1 (Apaf-1) and survivin were oppositely expressed in favor of apoptotic cell death. This notion was supported by the fact that Lico B activated multi-caspases with cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) protein. Therefore, it is suggested that Lico B is a promising drug for the treatment of human oral cancer via the induction of apoptotic cell death.

ß-lapachone suppresses the proliferation of human malignant melanoma cells by targeting specificity protein 1.

ß-lapachone (ß-lap), a novel natural quinone derived from the bark of the Pink trumpet tree (Tabebuia avellanedae) has been demonstrated to have anticancer activity. In this study, we investigated whether ß-lap exhibits anti-proliferative effects on two human malignant melanoma (HMM) cell lines, G361 and SK-MEL-28. The effects of ß-lap on the HMM cell lines were investigated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)­5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)­2-(4-sulfophenyl-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assay, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining, Annexin V and Dead cell assay, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) assay and western blot analysis. We demonstrated that ß-lap significantly induced apoptosis and suppressed cell viability in the HMM cells. Intriguingly, the transcription factor specificity protein 1 (Sp1) was significantly downregulated by ß-lap in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, ß-lap modulated the protein expression level of the Sp1 regulatory genes including cell cycle regulatory proteins and apoptosis-associated proteins. Taken together, our findings indicated that ß-lap modulates Sp1 transactivation and induces apoptotic cell death through the regulation of cell cycle- and apoptosis-associated proteins. Thus, ß-lap may be used as a promising anticancer drug for cancer prevention and may improve the clinical outcome of patients with cancer.

Proteomic analysis of extracellular vesicles derived from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The release of extracellular vesicles, also known as outer membrane vesicles, membrane vesicles, exosomes, and microvesicles, is an evolutionarily conserved phenomenon from bacteria to eukaryotes. It has been reported that Mycobacterium tuberculosis releases extracellular vesicles harboring immunologically active molecules, and these extracellular vesicles have been suggested to be applicable in vaccine development and biomarker discovery. However, the comprehensive proteomic analysis has not been performed for M. tuberculosis extracellular vesicles. In this study, we identified a total of 287 vesicular proteins by four LC-MS/MS analyses with high confidence. In addition, we identified several vesicular proteins associated with the virulence of M. tuberculosis. This comprehensive proteome profile will help elucidate the pathogenic mechanism of M. tuberculosis. The data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD001160 (http://proteomecentral.proteomexchange.org/dataset/PXD001160).

Role of transcription factor Sp1 in the 4-O-methylhonokiol-mediated apoptotic effect on oral squamous cancer cells and xenograft.

Recently, biphenolic components derived from the Magnolia family have been studied for anti-cancer, anti-stress, and anti-inflammatory pharmacological effects. However, the pharmacological mechanism of action of 4-O-methylhonokiol (MH) is not clear in oral cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of MH in apoptosis and its molecular mechanism in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines, HN22 and HSC4, as well as tumor xenografts. Here, we demonstrated that MH decreased cell growth and induced apoptosis in HN22 and HSC4 cells through the regulation of specificity protein 1 (Sp1). We employed several experimental techniques such as MTS assay, DAPI staining, PI staining, Annexin-V/7-ADD staining, RT-PCR, western blot analysis, immunocytochemistry, immunohistochemistry, TUNEL assay and in vivo xenograft model analysis. MH inhibited Sp1 protein expression and reduced Sp1 protein levels via both proteasome-dependent protein degradation and inhibition of protein synthesis in HN22 and HSC4 cells; MH did not alter Sp1 mRNA levels. We found that MH directly binds Sp1 by Sepharose 4B pull-down assay and molecular modeling. In addition, treatment with MH or knocking down Sp1 expression suppressed oral cancer cell colony formation. Moreover, MH treatment effectively inhibited tumor growth and Sp1 levels in BALB/c nude mice bearing HN22 cell xenografts. These results indicated that MH inhibited cell growth, colony formation and also induced apoptosis via Sp1 suppression in OSCC cells and xenograft tumors. Thus, MH is a potent anti-cancer drug candidate for oral cancer.