Tumor Grafting Induces Changes of Gut Microbiota in Athymic Nude Mice in the Presence and Absence of Medicinal Gynostemma Saponins

Recent findings have revealed that gut microbiota plays a substantial role in modulating diseases such as autism, rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, and cancer that occur at sites distant to the gut. Athymic nude mice have been employed for tumorigenic research for decades; however, the relationships between the gut microbiome and host’s response in drug treatment to the grafted tumors have not been explored. In this study, we analyzed the fecal microbiome of nonxenograft and xenograft nude mice treated with phytosaponins from a popular medicinal plant, Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Gp). Analysis of enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR data showed that the microbiota profile of xenograft mice departed from that of the nonxenograft mice. After ten days of treatment with Gp saponins (GpS), the microbiota of the treated mice was closer to the microbiota at Day 0 before the implantation of the tumor. Data obtained from 16S pyrosequencing of fecal samples reiterates the differences in microbiome between the nonxenograft and xenograft mice. GpS markedly increased the relative abundance of Clostridium cocleatum and Bacteroides acidifaciens, for which the beneficial effects on the host have been well documented. This study, for the first time, characterizes the properties of gut microbiome in nude mice responding to tumor implant and drug treatment. We also demonstrate that dietary saponins such as GpS can potentially regulate the gut microbial ecosystem by increasing the number of symbionts. Interestingly, this regulation of the gut ecosystem might, at least in part, be responsible for or contribute to the anticancer effect of GpS.published_or_final_versio

Arabidopsis Qc‑SNARE genes BET11 and BET12 are required for fertility and pollen tube elongation

ORCID IDs: 0000-0003-1729-0561 (P.B.-V.); 0000-0003-3459-1331 (G.-Y.J.)Pollen tubes are rapidly growing specialized structures that elongate in a polar manner. They play a crucial role in the delivery of sperm cells through the stylar tissues of the flower and into the embryo sac, where the sperm cells are released to fuse with the egg cell and the central cell to give rise to the embryo and the endosperm. Polar growth at the pollen tube tip is believed to result from secretion of materials by membrane trafficking mechanisms. In this study, we report the functional characterization of Arabidopsis BET11 and BET12, two genes that may code for Qc-SNAREs (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors). Double mutants (bet11/bet12) in a homozygous/heterozygous background showed reduced transmission of the mutant alleles, reduced fertilization of seeds, defective embryo development, reduced pollen tube lengths and formation of secondary pollen tubes. Both BET11 and BET12 are required for fertility and development of pollen tubes in Arabidopsis. More experiments are required to dissect the mechanisms involved.Academia Sinica (Taiwan)National Science and Technology Program for Agricultural Biotechnology (NSTP/AB, 098S0030055-AA), TaiwanNational Science Council (NSF; 99-2321-B-001-036-MY3), TaiwanUniversidad de Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Agroalimentarias::Estación Experimental Agrícola Fabio Baudrit Moreno (EEAFBM

Selective formation of Sed5p-containing SNARE complexes is mediated by combinatorial binding interactions

Sed5p is the only syntaxin family member required for protein transport through the yeast Golgi and it is known to bind up to nine other soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment receptor (SNARE) proteins in vivo. We describe in vitro binding experiments in which we identify ternary and quaternary Sed5p-containing SNARE complexes. The formation of SNARE complexes among these endoplasmic reticulum- and Golgi-localized proteins requires Sed5p and is syntaxin-selective. In addition, Sed5p-containing SNARE complexes form selectively and this selectivity is mediated by Sed5p-containing intermediates that discriminate among subsequent binding partners. Although many of these SNAREs have overlapping distributions in vivo, the SNAREs that form complexes with Sed5p in vitro reflect their functionally distinct locales. Although SNARE-SNARE interactions are promiscuous and a single SNARE protein is often found in more than one complex, both the biochemical as well as genetic analyses reported here suggest that this is not a result of nonselective direct substitution of one SNARE for another. Rather our data are consistent with the existence of multiple (perhaps parallel) trafficking pathways where Sed5p-containing SNARE complexes play overlapping and/or distinct functional roles

Study of DLC1 regulates oxidative stress for tumor suppression

Theme: Modern Hepatolog

Bioinformatics identification of regulatory genes and mechanism related to hypoxia-induced PD-L1 inhibitor resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma

202408 bcchVersion of RecordOthersFaculty of Health and Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityPublishedC

Tumor grafting induces changes of gut microbiota in athymic nude mice in the presence and absence of medicinal Gynostemma saponins

202211 bckwVersion of RecordRGCPublishe

Beneficial and immunomodulatory effects of heat-killed Lactobacillus plantarum L137 in normal and acute colitis mice

202411 bcchVersion of RecordOthersHong Kong Polytechnic UniversityPublishedC

Protective effects of exopolysaccharide of a medicinal fungus on probiotic bacteria during cold storage and simulated gastrointestinal conditions

202308 bckwAccepted ManuscriptOthersShenzhen Basic Research Program Project; The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityPublishe

Functional characterization of novel tumour suppressor galectin-2 in hepatocellular carcinoma

This journal suppl. entitled: 24th Biennial Congress of the European Association for Cancer Research, 9–12 July 2016, Manchester, UKPoster Session: Cell and Tumour Biology 1: no. 318Conference Theme: From basic research to precision medicineBACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second most common cause of cancer mortality in the world. The development of HCC, hepatocarcinogenesis, is a multistep progression. However, the prognosis of HCC is predominantly poor and has a low survival rate because of its late presentation, high incidence of recurrence and metastasis resulting in limited therapeutic options. From our previous studies, tumour suppressor Deleted in liver cancer 1 (DLC1) is a crucial RhoGTP activating protein (RhoGAP) for HCC development. In our screening study, we identified galectin-2 as a downstream target protein of the DLC1 pathway. Hence, the characteristic of galectin-2 expression has triggered us to study its clinical significance and functional role in HCC in further details. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This project is divided into two main sections: 1) analysis of clinical correlation of galectin-2 expression in HCC cell lines and tissues and 2) functional characterization of galectin-2 in HCC tumourigenesis and metastasis. RESULTS: For clinical analysis of galectin-2 expression in HCC, around fifty HCC patient samples were examined. The results showed that the expression of galectin-2 was significantly underexpressed in HCC tumorous tissues when compared to the corresponding non-tumorous liver tissues. Galectin-2 expression was also directly correlated to DLC1 expression. Additionally, underexpression of galectin-2 was significantly associated with poor overall survival. In HCC cell line panel, galectin-2 was dramatically expressed in an immortalized liver cell line MIHA; in contrast, it was downregulated in both the non-metastatic and metastatic HCC cell lines. To address the functional roles of galectin-2 in HCC, the abilities of galectin-2 to regulate cell proliferation, cell migration and cell invasion were analyzed in the tetracycline inducible (Tet-on) cell line model by expressing galectin-2 in metastatic MHCC-97L cells. The results illustrated that galectin-2 significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion in HCC metastatic cells. Furthermore, the ability of galectin-2 in suppressing tumor development was revealed in the in vivo study via subcutaneous injection in nude mice performed with galectin-2 expressing metastatic MHCC-97L cells. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the clinical relevance of galectin-2 revealed its underexpression in HCC and its association with poorer prognosis. Functionally, galectin-2 was demonstrated to inhibit growth, motility and tumorigenesis of HCC. Further investigation for the detail underlying the interplay between DLC1 and galectin-2 will also be discussed and will be crucial in the understanding of underlying basis of HCC tumorigenesis

Brevilin a induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

201907 bcrcVersion of RecordPublishe