The Administration of Panax Ginseng Berry Extract Attenuates High-Fat-Diet-Induced Sarcopenic Obesity in C57BL/6 Mice.

Sarcopenia and obesity are serious health problems that are highly related to several metabolic diseases. Sarcopenic obesity, a combined state of sarcopenia and obesity, results in higher risks of metabolic diseases and even mortality than sarcopenia or obesity alone. Therefore, the development of therapeutic agents for sarcopenic obesity is crucial. C57BL/6 mice were fed with a high-fat diet (HFD) for 9 weeks. Then, mice were administered with Panax ginseng berry extract (GBE) for an additional 4 weeks, with continuous HFD intake. GBE significantly decreased the food efficiency ratio, serum lipid and insulin levels, adipose tissue weights, and adipocyte size. It significantly increased the grip strength, muscle masses, and myofiber cross-sectional area. It deactivated the protein kinase C (PKC) theta and zeta, resulting in activation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway, which is known to regulate muscle synthesis and degradation. Furthermore, it inhibited the production of inflammatory cytokines in the muscle tissue. GBE attenuated both obesity and sarcopenia. Thus, GBE is a potential agent to prevent or treat sarcopenic obesity.

Oyster Hydrolysates Attenuate Muscle Atrophy via Regulating Protein Turnover and Mitochondria Biogenesis in C2C12 Cell and Immobilized Mice.

Sarcopenia, also known as skeletal muscle atrophy, is characterized by significant loss of muscle mass and strength. Oyster (Crassostrea gigas) hydrolysates have anti-cancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammation properties. However, the anti-sarcopenic effect of oyster hydrolysates remains uninvestigated. Therefore, we prepared two different oyster hydrolysates, namely TGPN and PNY. This study aimed to determine the anti-muscle atrophy efficacy and molecular mechanisms of TGPN and PNY on both C2C12 cell lines and mice. In vitro, the TGPN and PNY recovered the dexamethasone-induced reduction in the myotube diameters. In vivo, TGPN and PNY administration not only improved grip strength and exercise endurance, but also attenuated the loss of muscle mass and muscle fiber cross-sectional area. Mechanistically, TGPN and PNY increased the expression of protein synthesis-related protein levels via phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of the rapamycin pathway, and reduced the expression of protein degradation-related protein levels via the PI3K/Akt/forkhead box O pathway. Also, TGPN and PNY stimulated NAD-dependent deacetylase sirtuin-1(SIRT1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1 alpha (PGC-1α), nuclear respiratory factor 1,2, mitochondrial transcription factor A, along with mitochondrial DNA content via SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling. These findings suggest oyster hydrolysates could be used as a valuable natural material that inhibits skeletal muscle atrophy via regulating protein turnover and mitochondrial biogenesis.

The Novel Benzothiazole Derivative PB11 Induces Apoptosis via the PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway in Human Cancer Cell Lines.

Among several anti-cancer therapies, chemotherapy can be used regardless of the stage of the disease. However, development of anti-cancer agents from potential chemicals must be executed very cautiously because of several problems, such as safety, drug resistance, and continuous administration. Most chemotherapeutics selectively cause cancer cells to undergo apoptosis. In this study, we tested the effects of a novel chemical, the benzothiazole derivative N-[2-[(3,5-dimethyl-1,2-oxazol-4-yl)methylsulfanyl]-1,3-benzothiazol-6-yl]-4-oxocyclohexane-1-carboxamide (PB11) on the human cell lines U87 (glioblastoma), and HeLa (cervix cancer). It was observed that this chemical was highly cytotoxic for these cells (IC50s < 50 nM). In addition, even 40 nM PB11 induced the classical apoptotic symptoms of DNA fragmentation and nuclear condensation. The increase of caspase-3 and -9 activities also indicated an increased rate of apoptosis, which was further confirmed via Western blotting analysis of apoptosis-associated proteins. Accordingly, PB11 treatment up-regulated the cellular levels of caspase-3 and cytochrome-c, whereas it down-regulated PI3K and AKT. These results suggest that PB11 induces cytotoxicity and apoptosis in cancer cells by suppressing the PI3K/AKT signaling pathways and, thus, may serve as an anti-cancer therapeutic.

Redox Reactivity of a Mononuclear Manganese-Oxo Complex Binding Calcium Ion and Other Redox-Inactive Metal Ions.

Mononuclear nonheme manganese(IV)-oxo complexes binding calcium ion and other redox-inactive metal ions, [(dpaq)MnIV(O)]+-M n+ (1-Mn+, M n+ = Ca2+, Mg2+, Zn2+, Lu3+, Y3+, Al3+, and Sc3+) (dpaq = 2-[bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)]amino- N-quinolin-8-yl-acetamidate), were synthesized by reacting a hydroxomanganese(III) complex, [(dpaq)MnIII(OH)]+, with iodosylbenzene (PhIO) in the presence of redox-inactive metal ions (M n+). The Mn(IV)-oxo complexes were characterized using various spectroscopic techniques. In reactivity studies, we observed contrasting effects of M n+ on the reactivity of 1-M n+ in redox reactions such as electron-transfer (ET), oxygen atom transfer (OAT), and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reactions. In the OAT and ET reactions, the reactivity order of 1-M n+, such as 1-Sc3+ ≈ 1-Al3+ > 1-Y3+ > 1-Lu3+ > 1-Zn2+ > 1-Mg2+ > 1-Ca2+, follows the Lewis acidity of M n+ bound to the Mn-O moiety; that is, the stronger the Lewis acidity of M n+, the higher the reactivity of 1-M n+ becomes. In sharp contrast, the reactivity of 1-M n+ in the HAT reaction was reversed, giving the reactivity order 1-Ca2+ > 1-Mg2+ > 1-Zn2+ > 1-Lu3+> 1-Y3+> 1-Al3+ ≈ 1-Sc3+; that is, the higher is Lewis acidity of M n+, the lower the reactivity of 1-M n+ in the HAT reaction. The latter result implies that the Lewis acidity of M n+ bound to the Mn-O moiety can modulate the basicity of the metal-oxo moiety, thus influencing the HAT reactivity of 1-M n+; cytochrome P450 utilizes the axial thiolate ligand to increase the basicity of the iron-oxo moiety, which enhances the reactivity of compound I in C-H bond activation reactions.

A mononuclear manganese(iii)-hydroperoxo complex: synthesis by activating dioxygen and reactivity in electrophilic and nucleophilic reactions.

We report the synthesis of manganese(iii)-peroxo (MnIII(O2)) and manganese(iii)-hydroperoxo (MnIII(O2H)) complexes by activating dioxygen (O2) and the amphoteric reactivity of the Mn(iii)-hydroperoxo complex in electrophilic and nucleophilic reactions.

An amphoteric reactivity of a mixed-valent bis(µ-oxo)dimanganese(III,IV) complex acting as an electrophile and a nucleophile.

A mixed-valent bis(µ-oxo)dimanganese(III,IV) complex, [(dpaq)Mn(III)(O)2Mn(IV)(dpaq)](+) (1), was prepared by reacting a hydroxomanganese(III) complex, [(dpaq)Mn(III)(OH)](+), with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of triethylamine. The mixed-valent bis(µ-oxo)dimanganese(III,IV) complex (1) was well characterised by UV-vis, EPR and CSI-MS techniques. The electrophilic reactivity of 1 was investigated in the oxidation of 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol derivatives by 1, in which the relative rate afforded a good Hammett correlation with a ρ value of -1.0. The nucleophilic character of 1 was then investigated in aldehyde deformylation reactions, using 2-phenylpropionaldehyde (2-PPA) and benzaldehyde derivatives as substrates. In contrast to the case of the reaction of 1 with 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol derivatives, a positive ρ value of 0.89 was obtained in the Hammett plot, demonstrating that the bis(µ-oxo)-dimanganese(III,IV) complex is an active nucleophilic oxidant. Thus, 1 exhibited an amphoteric reactivity in both electrophilic and nucleophilic oxidative reactions.