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Chick (CE) or duck embryo eggs are known for nutritional supplement foods in traditional East countries for physical fitness enhancement and postpartum conditioning for many years. In this study, we evaluated the effects of different parts of the 10-day CE (embryo: CEr, yolk: CEw, and chorioallantoic membrane: CEp) on the antifatigue and antiaging activities in a D-galactose- (D-gal) induced aging mice model. The results showed CEp obviously increased the muscle weight and the liver and muscle glycogen content and enhanced exercise performance. In the antiaging assay, CEp significantly increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx). Moreover, the immunohistochemistry results of NRF-2 and HO-1 were also detected in the livers of mice in the D-gal/CEp group. The only partially potential such as CEr might improve OFT function with TG level, and CEw had strange grip strength. Therefore, we suggest that CEp has a potent antifatigue ability and could minimize the occurrence of age-associated disorders, more than other parts of the 10 days chicken embryo egg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteroides fragilis (BF) plays a critical role in developing and maintaining the mammalian immune system. We previously found that BF colonization could prevent inflammation and tumor formation in a germ-free (GF) colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC) mouse model. The role of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in CAC development has not been clearly elucidated in BF mono-colonized gnotobiotic mice. The wild-type (WT) and TLR4 knockout (T4K) germ-free mice were raised with or without BF colonization for 28 days (GF/WT, GF/T4K, BF/WT, and BF/T4K) and then CAC was induced under azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) administration. The results showed that tumor formation and tumor incidence were significantly inhibited in the BF/WT group compared to those observed in the GF/WT group. However, the tumor prevention effect was not observed in the BF/T4K group unlike in the BF/WT group. Moreover, the CAC histological severity of the BF/WT group was ameliorated, but more severe lesions were found in the GF/WT, GF/T4K, and BF/T4K groups. Immunohistochemistry showed decreased cell proliferation (PCNA, β-catenin) and inflammatory markers (iNOS) in the BF/WT group compared to those in the BF/T4K group. Taken together, BF mono-colonization of GF mice might prevent CAC via the TLR4 signal pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: As prognosis for patients with metastatic ovarian cancer is generally poor, advances in treatment are needed. Here, we studied the mechanism of action of a recombinant viral capsid protein (rVP1) and explored its effect against ovarian tumour growth and metastasis in vivo.Experimental Approach: The human ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 and BALB/cAnN-Foxn1 female nude mice were used. Effects of rVP1 on the viability, invasive ability, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 activity and cancer cell proliferation and metastasis were determined by cell proliferation assay, Matrigel invasion assay, gelatin zymographic analysis, as well as bioluminescence imaging and immunohistological analysis in xenograft mouse models respectively. Levels of total and phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase (FAK), PKB/Akt, phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) were detected by Western blotting.Key Results: rVP1 promoted apoptosis and decreased invasion of human ovarian cancer cells. This effect of rVP1 was accompanied by activation of PTEN and GSK-3β as well as down-regulation of FAK, Akt and MMP-2. Anti-integrin antibodies or overexpression of constitutively active Akt reversed the cellular effects of rVP1. Orthotopic and intraperitoneal xenograft mouse models demonstrated that rVP1 attenuated survival and metastasis of human ovarian cancer SKOV3 cell line in vivo through selective regulation of Akt and GSK-3β activity as shown by bioluminescence imaging of mice and immunohistochemical analysis.Conclusion and Implications: These results indicate that negative regulation of Akt signalling and MMP-2 by rVP1 may have the potential to suppress ovarian tumour growth and metastasis in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a serious liver disorder and characterized by the hepatic accumulation of excess fatty acids. Clinical studies and animal models have shown a shift of gut microbiota from bacteroidetes to firmicutes in NAFLD patients and a diet-induced NAFLD mouse model. Therefore, we hypothesized that these 2 groups of bacteria may have differential effects on lipid metabolism in the liver, which further contributed to pathogenesis of NAFLD. To elucidate these effects, we inoculated two species of Bacteroidetes (B-group) or five species of Firmicutes (F-group) which were isolated from healthy individuals into germ-free mice. We found that the F-group induced elevated body weight, liver weight, and hepatic steatosis compared to the B-group under high-fat diet (HFD) conditions. The mRNA expression level of cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36) was elevated in the F-group compared to that in the B-group. Increased mRNA expression levels of fatty acid synthase (FAS), stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1), and diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2) were also seen under HFD conditions in the F-group compared to that in the B-group. In addition, the expression level of miR802-5p was only elevated in the F-group under HFD conditions. Taken together, our results suggested that these specific species of Firmicutes may induce more hepatic steatosis by modulating fatty acid influx and lipogenesis compared to those of Bacteroidetes. These results may provide more understanding of the effects of gut microbiota on NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]