scholarly journals Morinda Officinalis Polysaccharides Attenuate Varicocele-Induced Spermatogenic Impairment through the Modulation of Angiogenesis and Relative Factors

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhu Zhu ◽  
Xiaozhen Zhao ◽  
Feng Huang ◽  
Feng Wang ◽  
Wei Wang

Evidence supporting best treatment practices for varicocele is lacking. The effects of a water-soluble polysaccharide extracted from Morinda officinalis (MOP) on the progression of varicocele were evaluated in the present study. The extracted MOP was confirmed as having a high purity of 98% with scant protein contamination, and it mainly consisted of glucose, lactose, and xylose at a molar ratio of 7.63:1.23:0.95 glucose:lactose:xylose. MOPs were administered to experimental left varicocele rats immediately after surgery at doses ranging from 25 to 200 mg/kg. As detected by sperm analysis and histopathological staining, the intragastric administration of 100 mg/kg MOPs significantly improved the sperm parameters of bilateral cauda epididymis, attenuated seminiferous epithelial structures, and inhibited germ cell apoptosis. The results of immunofluorescence and immunoblot showed that administration of 100 mg/kg MOPs effectively inhibited angiogenesis in the bilateral testes but modulated the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2), and MMP9 mildly. These results indicate that inhibition of angiogenesis may be one of the mechanisms by which MOP exerts its inhibitive activities on the progression of varicocele, whereas a relative upregulation of VEGF and MMP-9 may be crucial for the spermatogenetic protective effects of 100 mg/kg MOP administration.

2002 ◽  
Vol 115 (17) ◽  
pp. 3427-3438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc A. Lafleur ◽  
Madeleine M. Handsley ◽  
Vera Knäuper ◽  
Gillian Murphy ◽  
Dylan R. Edwards

Macro- and microvascular endothelial cells (EC) formed tubular structures when cultured within a 3D fibrin matrix, a process that was enhanced by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2),hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) and an angiogenic cocktail composed of nine angiogenic factors. Endothelial tubulogenesis was also increased in co-culture with tumour cells such as U87 glioma cells, but not with non-tumorigenic cell types such as Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK)epithelial cells. VEGF/FGF-2-stimulated tube formation was dependent on metalloproteinase function [it is inhibited by the addition of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2)], whereas aprotinin, E64[trans-epoxysuccinyl-L-leucylamido (4-guanidino)-butane] and pepstatin had no effect. In addition, TIMP-4 also inhibited tubulogenesis, but TIMP-1 or the C-terminal haemopexin domain of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) (PEX) and an anti-MMP-2 function-blocking antibody were unable to block tube formation. This suggests that MMP-2 and other soluble MMPs are not essential for tubulogenesis in fibrin gels, instead TIMP-1-insensitive MMPs, such as members of the membrane type-MMPs (MT-MMP) sub-group (MT1-, MT2-, MT3- or MT5-MMP),are required for this process. Further support for a role for MT1-MMP in endothelial tubulogenesis is that recombinant Y36G N-terminal TIMP-2 mutant protein, which retains an essentially unaltered apparent inhibition constant(Kiapp) for several MMPs compared to wild-type N-TIMP-2 but is a 40-fold poorer inhibitor of MT1-MMP, was unable to block tubulogenesis. Furthermore, when EC were cultured within fibrin gels, the mRNA levels of several MMPs (including MT1-MMP, MT2-MMP, MT3-MMP and MMP-2)increased during tubulogenesis. Therefore MT-MMPs and specifically MT1-MMP are likely candidates for involvement during endothelial tubulogenesis within a fibrin matrix, and thus their blockade may be a viable strategy for inhibition of angiogenesis.


Author(s):  
Shabnam Ain ◽  
V Gupta ◽  
Babita K ◽  
Q Ain ◽  
J Dahiya

Aqueous solubility is a critical factor for optimum drug delivery. In the present study, we investigated the potential of drug-cyclodextrin complexation as an approach for improving the solubility and bioavailability of famotidine, an H2-receptor antagonist and acid reducing drug which has poor solubility and bioavailability. Solubility improvement of drug by β-cyclodextrin was done by simple complexation approach using physical, kneading and co-precipitation methods and compared with physical mixture. Phase solubility profile indicated that the solubility of famotidine was significantly increased in presence of β-cyclodextrin and shows a linear graph with β-cyclodextrin indicating formation of inclusion complexes in a 1:1 molar ratio. β-Cyclodextrin-famotidine mixture have maximum stability constant 1477.6 M-1. The inclusion complex ratio 1:1 of kneading mixture was selected based on drug release profile and compared with physical mixture. Further characterization was done by  using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to identify the physicochemical interaction between drug and carrier and its effect on dissolution. Dissolution rate studies for selected inclusion complex was performed in 0.1 N HCl (pH 1.2), phosphate buffer (pH 7.5) and distilled water (pH 6.8) and compared these to pure drug profile which was found to be 2.34 fold increase in distilled water, 1.83 fold in HCl and 2.01 fold in phosphate buffer (pH 7.5). These results suggest that the kneaded complex of famotidine with β-cyclodextrin as hydrophilic complexation agent can substantially enhance the solubility and dissolution rate. Such complex has promising potential to improve the bioavailability of famotidine.  


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-171
Author(s):  
Feng Xue ◽  
Tingting Chen

Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common malignancy of central nervous system. Herein we have evaluated the effect of L-tetrahydropalmatine, an isoquinoline alkaloid, on the tumor growth both in vivo and in vitro using C6 glioblastoma multiforme cells and BALB/c mice injected subcutaneously with C6/luc2 cells. The results of these studies show that L-tetrahydropalmatine exhibited cytotoxic effect on C6 glioblastoma multiforme cells, suppressed nuclear factor-kappa B activity, suppressed the levels of tumor-linked proteins such as matrix metalloproteinase-2/9, Cyclin-D1, vascular endothelial growth factor, and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein via ERK/nuclear factor-kappa B cascade. Further, L-tetrahydropalmatine inhibited the cell migration and invasion properties of C6 cells, and also suppressed the tumor weight and volume in mice. Immunohistochemical staining of tumor tissues suggested that L-tetrahydropalmatine inhibited the extracellular-signal-regulated kinase/nuclear factor-kappa B cascade and suppressed the levels of Cyclin-D1; matrix metalloproteinase-2/9; X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein; and vascular endothelial growth factor, and also the progression and growth of glioblastoma multiforme in mice. In summary, L-tetrahydropalmatine inhibits the ERK/nuclear factor-kappa B cascade, decreases the tumor volume, and inhibits the proteins responsible for tumor growth both in vivo and in vitro.


Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 965
Author(s):  
Grazia Maugeri ◽  
Agata Grazia D’Amico ◽  
Salvatore Saccone ◽  
Concetta Federico ◽  
Daniela Maria Rasà ◽  
...  

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) exerts different effects in various human cancer. In glioblastoma (GBM), PACAP has been shown to interfere with the hypoxic micro-environment through the modulation of hypoxia-inducible factors via PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK pathways inhibition. Considering that hypoxic tumor micro-environment is strictly linked to angiogenesis and Epithelial–Mesenchymal transition (EMT), in the present study, we have investigated the ability of PACAP to regulate these events. Results have demonstrated that PACAP and its related receptor, PAC1R, are expressed in hypoxic area of human GBM colocalizing either in epithelial or mesenchymal cells. By using an in vitro model of GBM cells, we have observed that PACAP interferes with hypoxic/angiogenic pathway by reducing vascular-endothelial growth factor (VEGF) release and inhibiting formation of vessel-like structures in H5V endothelial cells cultured with GBM-conditioned medium. Moreover, PACAP treatment decreased the expression of mesenchymal markers such as vimentin, matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) as well as CD44 in GBM cells by affecting their invasiveness. In conclusion, our study provides new insights regarding the multimodal role of PACAP in GBM malignancy.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (20) ◽  
pp. 13321-13340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingjun Fan ◽  
Siye Wei ◽  
Mengbo Zhu ◽  
Jianzhong Song ◽  
Ping'an Peng

Abstract. Humic-like substances (HULIS) in smoke fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emitted from the combustion of biomass materials (rice straw, corn straw, and pine branch) and fossil fuels (lignite coal and diesel fuel) were comprehensively studied in this work. The HULIS fractions were first isolated with a one-step solid-phase extraction method, and were then investigated with a series of analytical techniques: elemental analysis, total organic carbon analysis, UV–vis (ultraviolet–visible) spectroscopy, excitation–emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The results show that HULIS account for 11.2–23.4 and 5.3 % of PM2.5 emitted from biomass burning (BB) and coal combustion, respectively. In addition, contributions of HULIS-C to total carbon and water-soluble carbon in smoke PM2.5 emitted from BB are 8.0–21.7 and 56.9–66.1 %, respectively. The corresponding contributions in smoke PM2.5 from coal combustion are 5.2 and 45.5 %, respectively. These results suggest that BB and coal combustion are both important sources of HULIS in atmospheric aerosols. However, HULIS in diesel soot only accounted for  ∼  0.8 % of the soot particles, suggesting that vehicular exhaust may not be a significant primary source of HULIS. Primary HULIS and atmospheric HULIS display many similar chemical characteristics, as indicated by the instrumental analytical characterization, while some distinct features were also apparent. A high spectral absorbance in the UV–vis spectra, a distinct band at λex∕λem ≈  280∕350 nm in EEM spectra, lower H ∕ C and O ∕ C molar ratios, and a high content of [Ar–H] were observed for primary HULIS. These results suggest that primary HULIS contain more aromatic structures, and have a lower content of aliphatic and oxygen-containing groups than atmospheric HULIS. Among the four primary sources of HULIS, HULIS from BB had the highest O ∕ C molar ratios (0.43–0.54) and [H–C–O] content (10–19 %), indicating that HULIS from this source mainly consisted of carbohydrate- and phenolic-like structures. HULIS from coal combustion had a lower O ∕ C molar ratio (0.27) and a higher content of [Ar–H] (31 %), suggesting that aromatic compounds were extremely abundant in HULIS from this source. Moreover, the absorption Ångström exponents of primary HULIS from BB and coal combustion were 6.7–8.2 and 13.6, respectively. The mass absorption efficiencies of primary HULIS from BB and coal combustion at 365 nm (MAE365) were 0.97–2.09 and 0.63 m2 gC−1, respectively. Noticeably higher MAE365 values for primary HULIS from BB than coal combustion indicate that the former has a stronger contribution to the light-absorbing properties of aerosols in the atmospheric environment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaoyang Shi ◽  
Yong Jin ◽  
Haishan Song ◽  
Xiaolong Chen

Pathological angiogenesis in the retina is one of the main ocular diseases closely associated with vision loss. This work investigated the roles of microRNA-34a (miR-34a) and its potential target Notch1, in retinal angiogenesis. For this we used oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) rats and human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs) stimulated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). We performed hematoxylin–eosin staining, Western blot for VEGF, and immunofluorescence staining for CD31 to verify the establishment of our OIR model. We observed down-regulation of miR-34a, and up-regulation of Notch1 and Hey1 in retinas from OIR rats. We found similar results with the VEGF-stimulated HRMECs. By performing MTT assay, cell scratch assay, tube formation assay, and by detecting the expression of matrix-metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), MMP-9, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1), and TIMP-2, we found that transfection of miR-34a ameliorated VEGF-mediated angiogenesis of HRMECs. We further observed that siRNA-induced gene silencing of Notch1 prevented VEGF-induced angiogenesis via regulating cell proliferation, cell migration, and tube formation of HRMECs. Additionally, activation of Notch1 by transfection of Notch1 plasmid attenuated the inhibitory effects of miR-34a on tube formation, in the present of VEGF. Results from our dual-luciferase reporter gene assay suggested that miR-34a targets Notch1. In summary, our data demonstrate that miR-34a attenuates retinal angiogenesis via targeting Notch1.


Polymers ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 207
Author(s):  
Jiaojiao Liu ◽  
Huiping Xing ◽  
Yajun Zhou ◽  
Xiaolian Chao ◽  
Yuhu Li ◽  
...  

Paper acidification causes paper relics to undergo embrittlement and decay, to form dregs, and even to break upon a single touch; therefore, reinforcement and deacidification treatments are essential steps for paper conservation and to retard the deterioration and prolong the life of objects. Polymeric adhesives play an essential role in reinforcement and deacidification treatments, although it is not well studied. In this work, the effect of polymeric adhesives on the conservation process and their protective effects on acidified paper relics were studied. Firstly, three polymeric adhesives, including wheat starch paste, polyvinyl butyral (PVB), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), were selected as research objects. Subsequently, their effects on four popular conservation methods were further discussed, including traditional mounting, hot-melt with silk net, alcohol-soluble cotton mesh, and water-soluble cotton mesh. Additionally, as an example, the reversibility and long-term durability of water-soluble adhesive PVA-217 were assessed. Using a computer measured and controlled folding endurance tester, pendulum tensile strength tester, tear tester, burst tester, FT-IR, video optical contact angle tester, and other instruments, the conservation application of water-soluble adhesives in paper relics was evaluated. This study provides a scientific basis and experimental data for the application of polymeric adhesives in the conservation of paper relics.


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