Search

Abstract The incidence and mortality of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are gradually increasing during the past years. Recently, some studies have reported that malic enzyme (ME) plays an important role in cancer development, while the involvement of ME2 in HCC remains still undetermined. Here, we demonstrated that ME2 played an oncogenic role in HCC. ME2 was overexpressed in HCC tissues. TCGA database showed that the ME2 transcript level was inversely associated with the survival of HCC patients. Loss‐of‐function and gain‐of‐function assays showed that ME2 promoted HCC cell growth and migration. Furthermore, the xenografted tumorigenesis of MHCC97H cells was retarded by ME2 knockdown. ME2 silencing also suppressed the cell cycle process and induced apoptosis. Mechanistically, ME2 potentiated triglyceride synthesis, inhibition of which suppressed the proliferation and migration. We propose that ME2 promotes HCC progression by increasing triglyceride production.

Saponins from bitter melon (BMS) exert potential bioactivities and pharmacological activities, including anti-oxidation and lifespan extension. However, the exact mechanisms of BMS in response to oxidative stress remain unknown. Results demonstrated that bitter melon saponins could strengthen locomotive activities (body bend and head thrashing) accompanied by delaying the muscle fiber damage with age in Caenorhabditis elegans. In addition, BMS inhibited the ROS accumulation, improved the activities of antioxidant enzymes like SOD (by 57.90% and 94.34% for 100 μg/ml and 200 μg/ml BMS, respectively) and CAT (by 51.45% and 56.91% for 100 μg/ml and 200 μg/ml BMS, respectively), and extend the lifespan of N2 and CL2006 worms under paraquat-induced oxidative stress. Mechanism study suggested that BMS modulated the mRNA expressions of oxidation-related regulators, like the upregulation of cat-1, hsf-1, sir-2.1, and hlh-30. Furthermore, gene-deficient mutants verified that IIS (insulin/insulin-like growth factor-1 signaling) pathway linked with sir-2.1 and hlh-30 factors were involved in the BMS's lifespan-extension effects under oxidative stress. In general, this study supplemented the explanation of BMS in promoting oxidation-resistance and lifespan-extension activities, which could be served as a potential candidate for anti-aging. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Our previous studies have suggested that saponins from bitter melon exhibited fat-lowering activity in C. elegans. However, little was known about the mechanism underlying the anti-oxidation effects of BMS in C. elegans. Current results indicated that the IIS pathway linked with sir-2.1 and hlh-30 transcriptional factors jointly to increase the lifespan in BMS' responses to oxidative stress. Our findings are beneficial to understand the main nutritional ingredients in bitter melon, which are ideal and expected in functional foods for aging., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Volvariella volvacea has bioactivities in improving immunity, anti-oxidation, and alleviating obesity, which is an excellent functional food. Polysaccharide from Volvariella volvacea (VPS), one of the main bioactive components, exerts a potential fat-lowering effect, but its exact mechanism remains unclear. In this study, the effects and molecular pathways of VPS regulate the fat deposition of Caenorhabditis elegans. Results showed that VPS at low (250 μg/ml), medium (500 μg/ml) and high (750 μg/ml) concentrations all reduced the overall fat, without inhibitory effects on the growth and movement abilities of nematode. VPS at 500 μg/ml could dramatically decrease the triglyceride (TG) level of wild-type nematode, while no significant changes in TG content were observed in mutants deficient in aak-2 (energy receptor), nhr-49 (nuclear transcription factor), fat-5, and fat-7 genes. VPS declines fat storage of C. elegans, largely through the aak-2/nhr-49-mediated fatty acid synthesis pathway, and partially the acs-2-mediated fatty acid oxidation pathway. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: A model illustrates the mechanism of polysaccharide from Volvariella volvacea (VPS) inhibiting fat accumulation in Caenorhabditis elegans. VPS may directly or indirectly activate the energy sensor aak-2, which governs lipid metabolism. Results demonstrate that VPS regulates fat metabolism including fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and fatty acid synthesis (FAS), rather than lipolysis. In the FAO, VPS promotes FAO by up-regulating the mRNA and protein levels of acs-2. In FAS, VPS significantly down-regulated the transcriptional regulator nhr-49 and the downstream targets fat-5, fat-6, and fat-7, thereby declining the overall fat deposition. In conclusion, VPS inhibits the fat accumulation of C. elegans largely dependent on an aak-2/nhr-49-mediated FAS pathway., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Barley, a kind of cereal, is rich in polysaccharides, phenols, proteins, β-glucan, etc. Our previous studies discovered that extracts from Lactobacillus plantarum dy-1-fermented barley (LFBE) held strong anti-obesity property in obese rats through inhibiting inflammation and suppressing the differentiation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes; however, the precise mechanism of LFBE regulating lipid metabolism remains elusive. Results suggested LFBE and its main active components, especially the total phenols, exhibited fat-lowering effects in glucose treated Caenorhabditis elegans at a certain concentration. Additionally, LFBE and the main components changed related genes in the insulin signaling pathway, fatty acid oxidation, and synthesis. Following verification study using mutants confirmed that the daf-2 gene rather than the daf-16 gene was required in LFBE and main components regulating lipid metabolism, which also involved in the process of fatty acid β-oxidation and unsaturated fatty acid synthesis. Results demonstrated that LFBE and its main bioactivate compounds inhibited fat accumulation partly in a daf-2-dependent mechanism. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Our previous studies have reported that extracts of fermented barley exhibited anti-obesity activity. However, little is known about which functional factors play a leading role in decreasing fat deposition and its precise mechanism. Results indicated that daf-2 mediated signaling pathways involved in the fat-lowering effects of LFBE and its main components. Our findings are beneficial to understand the main nutritional ingredients in LFBE which are ideal and expected in functional foods for the obese., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Fermented barley (FB) flour by Lactobacillus plantarum is richer in dietary fiber, polyphenols, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and other biologically active ingredients. This study aimed to determine the impacts of fermented barley - wheat flour compound noodle (FBWN) on glucose and fat metabolism in subjects with metabolic syndrome. This was a single-blinded and parallel 10-week clinical trial study. Subjects were randomly assigned into the trial group (FBWN) and whole wheat noodles group (WWN), and were measured on the beginning of week 3 and the ending of week 10. The glucose level at 30 and 60 min was significantly decreased after FBWN intervention. Levels of fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, and TG were all declined after FBWN intervention compared to before in the trial group. Moreover, the fat mass, fat rate, and visceral fat were decreased by 6.48, 7.19, 6.3 kg after FBWN intervention, respectively, while muscle mass and basal metabolic rate rose 7.44 kg and 252.60 kcal. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Many studies have illustrated that the extraction of fermented barley held the activities of anti-obesity, antitumor, and so on. Moreover, this present study evaluated the effects of fermented barley by Lactobacillus plantarum on patients with metabolic syndrome. Results indicated that FB benefits the subjects on improving plasma glycolipids and insulin sensitivity, decreasing visceral fat level, and increasing satiety. The findings showed that the products of FB may be beneficial to dietary manipulations, thus, reducing the burden of patients., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The objective of this study was to understand the changes of nutrition constituents in extracts of four varieties of barley fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum dy-1 (LFBEs) and to uncover the potential apoptosis-related mechanism induced by LFBE to inhibit the proliferation of HT-29 cells. The contents of total polysaccharide, polyphenol, and protein in the four LFBEs significantly changed as the fermentation time went by and exerted different inhibitory effects on the proliferation of HT-29 cells. Results indicated that LFBE (YangSi No.3) inhibited proliferation of HT-29 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manners. The scanning electron micrograph illustrated that LFBE caused representative apoptotic trait and flow cytometric analysis suggested that LFBE brought about apoptosis by ceasing cell cycle at S phase. Western-blotting results indicated that LFBE promoted apoptosis was relevant to the regulation of apoptosis-related proteins, such as B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), and the release of Cytochrome-C from mitochondria. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Abundant studies have reported that extracts of fermented barley held the activities of anti-obesity, antitumor, and so on. However, little information about the comparison in the chemical profile and antiproliferation property among different barley varieties (namely, YangSi barley No.1, YangSi barley No.3, DaZhong 88-91, XiYin No.2) was observed. Results indicated that LFBE (YangSi No.3 barley) exhibited the best inhibitory property by inducing the apoptosis of HT-29 cells. These findings may be beneficial to select a higher nutritional value barley and optimize the fermentation conditions to maximize the bioactive concentration expected in foods for the human., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

PRRSV strain SH1211 was isolated from the lung tissue of a piglet on a large-scale pig farm with approximately 30% morbidity and 50% mortality in mid-eastern China in 2012. The full-length genome of SH1211 was 15 313 nt in size, excluding the polyadenylated sequences, and shared 94.9% nucleotide sequence identity with the HP-PRRSV strain, JXA1. The GP2 and GP5 proteins of SH1211 shared only 91.5% and 85.1% amino acid sequence identities with those of the JXA1, respectively. A deletion at amino acid positions 68 and 69 was identified in the GP3 protein of SH1211, compared with the GP3 of Type-2 PRRSV isolates. A phylogenetic tree based on the nucleotide sequence of the complete genome showed that SH1211 is the most closely related to other HP-PRRSV strains isolated in China. However, phylogenetic analysis based on the GP2 and GP5 proteins showed that SH1211 is the most closely related to the QYYZ strain. A recombination analysis indicated that SH1211 might have been generated through recombination events between the JXA1 and QYYZ in which the GP2 and GP5 coding sequences were exchanged. Thus, SH1211 is a novel PRRSV strain with significant variation. Our analysis of SH1211 provides insight into the role of genetic variation in the antigenicity of PRRSVs in China.