The Efficacy of Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus Supplementation in Managing Body Weight and Blood Lipids of People with Overweight: A Randomized Pilot Trial.

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus (L. bulgaricus) in improving body weight, obesity-related outcomes, and lipid profiles of overweight people. Thirty-six overweight participants were randomly assigned to either a probiotic or a placebo group. A placebo powder or L. bulgaricus powder (containing 1 × 108 colony-forming unit (CFU) of the probiotic) was administered daily for 12 weeks. Body composition was determined, and blood tests were performed before and after the intervention. L. bulgaricus supplementation under the present condition did not affect the body weight, fat percentage, or body mass index (BMI) of the participants, while it resulted in a notable decrease in blood triglyceride (TG) levels, which corresponded to a lowering of the TG proportion in the composition of large VLDL (L-XXL sized fractions) and HDL (M and L fractions) in the probiotic-treated group. These results suggest that L. bulgaricus supplementation under the current conditions may not be helpful for losing weight, but it has the potential to decrease blood TG levels by modulating TG accumulation in or transport by VLDL/HDL in obese patients. L. bulgaricus supplements may have health-promoting properties in preventing TG-related diseases in overweight people.

Effects of Citrus depressa Hayata juice on high-fat diet-induced obesity in HBV transgenic mice.

The present study investigated the potential anti-obesity properties of Citrus depressa Hayata (CDH) juice in HBV transgenic mice, as well as the impact of fermentation on the effectiveness of the juice. The results revealed that fermentation increased the levels of polyphenols and hesperidin in CDH juice. The animal study demonstrated that both juices were effective in mitigating the weight gain induced by a high-fat diet by correcting metabolic parameter imbalances, reducing hepatic lipid accumulation, and reversing hepatic immune suppression. Furthermore, fermented juice exhibited superior efficacy in managing body weight and inhibiting the expansion of white adipose tissue (WAT). Fermented juice significantly enhanced adiponectin production and PPARγ expression in WAT, while also reducing hypertrophy. This study offers valuable insights into the potential role of CDH juices in combating obesity associated with high fat consumption and underscores the promise of CDH juice as a functional beverage.

19-(Benzyloxy)-19-oxojolkinolide B (19-BJB), an ent-abietane diterpene diepoxide, inhibits the growth of bladder cancer T24 cells through DNA damage.

Diterpenoids jolkinolide A and B, were first isolated from Euphorbia fischeriana. In our previous research, 19-(Benzyloxy)-19-oxojolkinolide B (19-BJB), a derivative of jolkinolides, was synthesized as a novel ent -abietane diterpene diepoxide. In this study, 19-BJB showed strong in vitro activity against bladder cancer cell lines. DNA damage which was observed through the interaction of 19-BJB with nucleotide chains and affected DNA repair resulted in the activation of checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) and checkpoint kinase 2 (Chk2) in bladder cancer cell lines. In vivo testing in nude mice also proved that 19-BJB revealed a potential inhibitory effect on tumor growth. Additionally, the 3D-QSAR models of jolkinolides were established. Briefly, we proved that 19-BJB could potentially be used as a drug to inhibit the growth of bladder tumor.

Drug Screening of Potential Multiple Target Inhibitors for Estrogen Receptor-α-positive Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Estrogen receptor α (ERα) antagonist is the most common treatment for ERα-positive breast cancer. However, compensatory signaling contributes to resistance to ERα antagonists. Thus, to explore the potential agents for targeting compensatory signaling, we screened multiple target inhibitors for breast cancer treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We attempted to build a structure-based virtual screening model that can find potential compounds and assay the anticancer ability of these drugs by overall cell survival assay. The downstream compensatory phosphorylated signaling was measured by immunoblotting. RESULTS: Hamamelitannin and glucocheirolin were hits for ERα, phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and KRAS proto-oncogene, GTPase (KRAS), which were active against estrogen and epidermal growth factor-triggered proliferation. Additionally, we select aminopterin as a hit for ERα, PI3K, KRAS, and SRC proto-oncogene, non-receptor tyrosine kinase (SRC) with inhibitory activities toward AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT) and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) signaling. CONCLUSION: Our structure-based virtual screening model selected hamamelitannin, glucocheirolin, aminopterin, and pemetrexed as compounds that may act as potential inhibitors for improving endocrine therapies for breast cancer.

Preparation and evaluation of curcumin-loaded self-assembled micelles.

OBJECTIVE: Curcumin being used to treat various chronic diseases while its poor bioavailability issue limited its wide clinical application as a therapeutic agent. The aim of this work was to prepare curcumin-loaded self-assembled micelles using soluplus and solutol®HS15 (SSCMs) to enhance curcumin's solubility and thus oral bioavailability. METHODS: Optimum formulation was investigated and the optimized ratio of drugs and excipients was obtained and the SSCMs were prepared via ethanol solvent evaporation method. The optimal SSCMs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, drug content analysis including loading efficiency (LE%) and entrapment efficiency (EE%), and the cumulative amount of curcumin released from the micelles were all calculated using HPLC method. The in vitro cytotoxicity and the permeability of SSCMs were measured by Caco-2 cell monolayers and the oral bioavailability was evaluated by SD rats. KEY FINDINGS: The solubility of curcumin in self-assembled micelles was dramatically increased by 4200 times as compared to free curcumin. Caco-2 cells transport experiment exhibited that while soluplus and solutol®HS15 were self-assembled into micelles, it could not only promote the permeability of curcumin across membrane for better absorption, but also could restrain the curcumin pumped outside due to the role of P-gp efflux mechanism of soluplus and solutol®HS15. Furthermore, the prepared SSCMs formulation was almost nontoxic and had safety performance on Caco-2 cells model. Moreover, curcumin's oral bioavailability of SSCMs formulation in SD rats had doubled than that of free curcumin. CONCLUSIONS: The prepared SSCMs were characterized by PS, PDI, LE%, EE% data analysis. After the soluplus and solutol®HS15 were self assembled into micelles, both the solubility and membrane permeability of curcumin were evaluated to have been enhanced, as well as the effect of efflux pump of curcumin was inhibited, hence to promote oral absorption and generate an increased bioavailability.

ATR-Chk1 signaling inhibition as a therapeutic strategy to enhance cisplatin chemosensitivity in urothelial bladder cancer.

DNA damage responses contribute to cisplatin resistance; however, therapeutic strategies to overcome cisplatin resistance have not yet been established. Here, we demonstrate that inhibition of ATR-Chk1 pathway with the potent inhibitor WYC0209 sensitizes bladder cancer cells to cisplatin. In the clinical microarray profile, high ATR expression is associated with poor prognosis in bladder cancer patients who receive chemotherapy. We show that pharmacological and genetic suppressing of ATR sensitized cells to cisplatin. Treatment with WYC0209 or siATR increased levels of cisplatin-DNA adducts, concomitant with decreased levels of p-glycoprotein expression. Additionally, Combinations of cisplatin and WYC0209 show synergistic activity against bladder cancer. Ultimately, WYC0209 enhanced the anti-tumor effects of cisplatin and suppressed p-glycoprotein expression in bladder cancer xenografts. These results indicate that inhibiting ATR-Chk1 activation with WYC0209 suppresses p-glycoprotein expression and increases cisplatin activity in bladder cancer. Our findings collectively suggest that ATR-Chk1 is a target for improving the efficacy of cisplatin in bladder cancer.

[Effect of D-cellobiose on oral bioavailability of gentiopicroside].

In this study, the effect of D-cellobiose on oral bioavailability of gentiopicroside (GPS) was investigate. The influence of D-cellobiose on GPS was achieved by calculating the residual GPS after being degraded with ß-glucosidase or intestinal flora, and the data demonstrated D-cellobiose could inhibit the degradation of GPS in intestines; in bioavailability experiment, D-cellobiose could significantly improve the oral bioavailability (P<0.05) of GPS at the mass ratio of 1∶5, 1∶10 (GPS-D-cellobiose). D-cellobiose applied in this study may improve the oral bioavailability of GPS through delaying the degradation in intestines.

[Solidification of magnolol phospholipid complex with polyvingypyrrolidone].

In this study, magnolol phospholipid complex (MPC) was prepared and solidified with polyvingypyrrolidone (PVPP). The influence of PVPP on MPC's flowability, dissolution and oral bioavailability was investigated. The results of phase characterization using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), infrared spectroscopy (IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that magnolol existed in solidified powder and MPC in an amorphous state. In flowability and dissolution experiments, solidified powder showed significant superiority. At the same time, it showed a higher oral bioavailability compared with MPC, with AUC0-∞ of 73.47 µg•h•mL⁻¹ vs. 63.48 µg•h•mL⁻¹. This process for solidifying powder with PVPP is simple and convenient.

A gene delivery system for insect cells mediated by arginine-rich cell-penetrating peptides.

Most bioactive macromolecules, such as protein, DNA and RNA, basically cannot permeate into cells freely from outside the plasma membrane. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are a group of short peptides that possess the ability to traverse the cell membrane and have been considered as candidates for mediating gene and drug delivery into living cells. In this study, we demonstrate that three arginine-rich CPPs (SR9, HR9 and PR9) are able to form stable complexes with plasmid DNA and deliver DNA into insect Sf9 cells in a noncovalent manner. The transferred plasmid DNA containing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and red fluorescent protein (RFP) coding regions could be expressed in cells functionally assayed at both the protein and RNA levels. Furthermore, treatment of cells with CPPs and CPP/DNA complexes resulted in a viability of 84-93% indicating these CPPs are not cytotoxic. These results suggest that arginine-rich CPPs appear to be a promising tool for insect transgenesis.

Gene transport and expression by arginine-rich cell-penetrating peptides in Paramecium.

Owing to the cell membrane barriers, most macromolecules and hydrophilic molecules could not freely enter into living cells. However, cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) have been discovered that can translocate themselves and associate cargoes into the cytoplasm. In this study, we demonstrate that three arginine-rich CPPs (SR9, HR9 and PR9) can form stable complexes with plasmid DNA at the optimized nitrogen/phosphate ratio of 3 and deliver plasmid DNA into Paramecium caudatum in a noncovalent manner. Accordingly, the transported plasmid encoding the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene could be expressed in cells functionally assayed at both the protein and DNA levels. The efficiency of gene delivery varied among these CPPs in the order of HR9>PR9>SR9. In addition, these CPPs and CPP/DNA complexes were not cytotoxic in Paramecium detected by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diohenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Thus, these results suggest that the functionality of arginine-rich CPPs offers an efficient and safe tool for transgenesis in eukaryotic protozoans.