Crocetin Induces Cytotoxicity in Colon Cancer Cells Via p53-independent Mechanisms

Li, Cai-Yan,Huang, Wen-Feng,Wang, Qun-Li,Wang, Fan,Cai, E.,Hu, Bing,Du, Jia-Cheng,Wang, Jing,Chen, Rong,Cai, Xiao-Jing,Feng, Jing,Li, Hui-Hui Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.8

Objective: Crocin has been proposed as a promising candidate for cancer chemoprevention. The purpose of this investigation was to investigate the chemopreventive action and the possible mechanisms of crocin against human colon cancer cells in vitro. Methods: Cell proliferation was examined using MTT assay and the cell cycle distribution fractions were analyzed using fow cytometric analysis after propidium iodide staining. Apoptosis was detected using theTUNEL Apoptosis Detection Kit with laser scanning confocal microscope. DNA damage was assessed using the alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis assay, while expression levels of p53, cdk2, cyclinA and P21 were examined by Western blot analysis. Results: Treatment of SW480 cells with crocetin (0.2, 0.4, 0.8 mmol/L) for 48 h signifcantly inhibited their proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner. Crocetin (0.8 mmol/L) signifcantly induced cell cycle arrest through p53-independent mechanisms accompanied by P21 induction. Crocetin (0.8 mmol/L) caused cytotoxicity in the SW480 cells by enhancing apoptosis and decreasing DNA repair capacity in a time-dependent manner. Conclusions: This report provides evidence that crocetin is a potential anticancer agent, which may be used as a chemotherapeutic drug.

The Mathematic Model of "Pressing Complexion" Differential Coefficient Countermeasure Decision for Collision-avoidance

Cai Feng,Shi Aiguo,Yang Baozhang,Zhou Lixin 한국항해항만학회 2001 한국항해항만학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.3 No.-

In this article, we have done some analysis about the collision-avoidance specialty of "pressing complexion" and "pressing danger" in the meet process of two boats, and offered a mathematic model of differential coefficient countermeasure decision for collision-avoidance. which adapt to the right complexion. The basal idea is, in the right condition whatever do the coming boat do, and our boat will always adopt dynamic, continuous and the best countermeasure. When both the controlling capabilities of two boats have advantage and inferior position, we can working-out with the qualitative differential coefficient countermeasure.

Introduction of Yutangba Selenium Deposit in Enshi, China

( Cai Xia Feng ),( Jia Jun Liu ),( Rui Zhong Hu ),( Shen Liu ) 대한지질공학회 2007 대한지질공학회 학술발표회논문집 Vol.2007 No.-

Molecular Cloning and Function Analysis of an Anthocyanidin Synthase Gene from Ginkgo biloba, and Its Expression in Abiotic Stress Responses

Feng Xu,Hua Cheng,Rong Cai,Lin Ling Li,Jie Chang,Jun Zhu,Feng Xia Zhang,Liu Ji Chen,Yan Wang,Shu Han Cheng,Shui Yuan Cheng 한국분자세포생물학회 2008 Molecules and cells Vol.26 No.6

Anthocyanidin synthase (ANS, leucoanthocyanidin oxygenase), a 2-oxoglutarate iron-dependent oxygenase, catalyzed the penultimate step in the biosynthesis of the anthocyanin class of flavonoids, from the colorless leucoanthocyanidins to the colored anthocyanidins. The full-length cDNA and genomic DNA sequences of ANS gene (designated as GbANS) were isolated from Ginkgo biloba for the first time. The full-length cDNA of GbANS contained a 1062-bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 354-amino-acid protein. The genomic DNA analysis showed that GbANS gene had three exons and two introns. The deduced GbANS protein showed high identities to other plant ANSs. The conserved amino acids (H-X-D) ligating ferrous iron and residues (R-X-S) participating in 2-oxoglutarate binding were found in GbANS at the similar positions like other ANSs. Southern blot analysis indicated that GbANS belonged to a multi-gene family. The expression analysis by real-time PCR showed that GbANS expressed in a tissue-specific manner in G. biloba. GbANS was also found to be up-regulated by all of the six tested abiotic stresses, UV-B, abscisic acid, sucrose, salicylic acid, cold and ethylene, consistent with the promoter region analysis of GbANS. The recombinant protein was successfully expressed in E. coli strain with pET-28a vector. The in vitro enzyme activity assay by HPLC indicated that recombinant GbANS protein could catalyze the formation the cyanidin from leucocyanidin and conversion of dihydroquercetin to quercetin, suggesting GbANS is a bifunctional enzyme within the anthocyanidin and flavonol biosynthetic pathway.

Low-dose diethylhexyl phthalate exposure does not impair the expressive patterns of epigenetics-related genes and DNA methylation of breast cancer-related genes in mouse mammary glands

Shun-Feng Cheng,Ling Li,Bo Li,Jing-Cai Liu,Fang-Nong Lai,Yong Zhao,Xi-Feng Zhang,Wei Shen,Lan Li 대한독성 유전단백체 학회 2018 Molecular & cellular toxicology Vol.14 No.2

Backgrounds: Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), as an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC), is widely used in plasticizer and other productions. Ubiquitous human exposure to DEHP has been proposed to be a potential risk to public health. Developmental exposure to DEHP could alter epigenetic programming and result in adult-onset disease. Methods: In this study, we investigated whether DEHP exposure to pregnant mice affected epigenetic changes as a result of increase in breast cancer incidence. Results: Our results showed that the expression of total 143 epigenetics-related genes in mammary gland cells, have no significantly altered after short time and low-dose treated with DEHP from 0.5 days post-coitum (dpc) to 3.5 dpc of pregnant mice. DNA methylation status of some neoplastic development genes, such as EGFr, Esr1, Pgr, Fos and Rassf5 also had no obvious change. Conclusion: These finding showed no impact of DEHP on the expressive patterns of epigenetics-related genes and DNA methylation of breast cancer-related genes in pregnant mouse mammary gland cells.

Changes in the physicochemical properties and in vitro protein digestibility of peanut hulls treated via mechanical activation

Miao-miao Feng,Ya-fen Wang,Xuan Cai,Hong-cai Zhang,Jian-xiong Xu 한국식품과학회 2022 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.31 No.6

In this study, peanut hulls powder (PHP) wastreated via mechanical activation (MA) and divided intothree groups (control, PHP150 and PHP250). Physicochemicalproperties including mean particle size distribution(MPSD), powder properties, solubility and in vitro proteindigestibility of PHP were then investigated. The resultsshowed that MA could decrease the particle size of PHP bydestroying its crystal structure, resulting in an increase ofamorphization and a decrease of crystallinity and crystallinesize. The results of in vitro protein digestibility and crudefi ber contents showed that MA increased the protein digestibilityof PHP by 43.32% and 74.70% ( P < 0.05), while crudefi ber content was decreased by 0.42% and 26.65% ( P < 0.05). These fi ndings indicated a large application potential of MAin PHP treatment.

Enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under visible light using noble metalfree ZnS NPs/Ni@Trimellitic acid porous microsphere heterojunction

Wei-Qin Cai,Feng-Jun Zhang,Ying-Rui Wang,Dong-Cai Li 한국화학공학회 2022 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.39 No.5

The construction of late-model non-noble metal catalysts with above average performance and stability isthe best choice to implement visible light decomposition of water for hydrogen production and solve the problem ofclean energy. Herein, novel ZnS nanoparticles (ZnS NPs) grown in situ on the surface of porous Ni@Trimellitic acid(Ni-TA) microspheres were successfully synthesized. The structure, optical properties, element composition and othersof ZnS/Ni-TA composites were systematically analyzed by experimental characterization. The experimental resultsshowed that pure ZnS showed very weak photocatalytic performance. However, the photocatalytic performance wasgreatly increased with the addition of Ni-TA. The yield of the best sample (3% ZnS/Ni-TA) reached 1,098 mol/g/h,about 12 times higher than that of ZnS. Among them, Ni-TA not only can be used as the main body of exotic metalnanoparticles, but also the porous channels can prevent the agglomeration of nanoparticles. The enhanced H2 yield ismainly attributed to the resulting tight interface contact and well-matched band position which are conducive to effectivecarrier separation; moreover, the electrons quickly diverted to the exposed edge of Ni-TA for reducing to producehydrogen. The combination of inorganic and new organic semiconductors provides an idea for hydrogen productionunder visible light.

Tetrazolium Violet Induces Apoptosis via Caspases-8, -9 Activation and Fas/FasL Up-regulation in Rat C6 Glioma Cells

Cheng-fa Cai,Yun-feng Zhao,Lei Feng,Lei Wang,Qing-zhong Kong 대한약학회 2009 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.32 No.4

Tetrazolium violet (TV), a tetrazolium salt, was synthesized as a novel and potent anticancer agent with a broad spectrum of anticancer activity against many cancer cells. A previous study showed that tetrazolium violet inhibited cell growth, and induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in C6 Rat glioma cells. It also showed that treatment of cells with TV for 24 h resulted in a dramatic up-regulation of p53, and an increase in the activity of caspase-3, accompanied with a significant increase of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. In this study, we further investigated which Fas/FasL and caspase were activated by TV during the apoptosis. Annexin-V-propidium iodide (PI) binding assay and nucleosome ELISA assay further indicated that TV induced a typical apoptosis, in a time-dose-dependent manner. The data showed that the activity of Fas/FasL and caspase-8 and -9 were significantly enhanced by the compound, which suggested that TV might be used as a Fas/FasL and caspases promoter to initiate brain cancer cell apoptosis.

Low Counts of γδ T Cells in Peritumoral Liver Tissue are Related to More Frequent Recurrence in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Curative Resection

Cai, Xiao-Yan,Wang, Jia-Xing,Yi, Yong,He, Hong-Wei,Ni, Xiao-Chun,Zhou, Jian,Cheng, Yun-Feng,Jin, Jian-Jun,Fan, Jia,Qiu, Shuang-Jian Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.2

Objectives: TCR-gamma-delta+T cells (${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells) are non-conventional T lymphocytes that can recognize and eradicate tumor cells. Our previous studies showed that infiltration and function of ${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells were substantially attenuated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, their prognostic value was not clarified. Methods: The association between ${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells and the clinical outcomes was determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in a HCC patient cohort (n = 342). Results:Immunohistochemistry showed decreased infiltration of ${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells in tumoral tissues compared with paired peritumoral tissues. The counts of ${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells in peritumoral tissues were negatively correlated with tumor size (P = 0.005). Survival analysis showed that the levels of peritumoral ${\gamma}{\delta}$T cells were related to both time to recurrence (TTR) and overall survival (OS) (P = 0.010 and P = 0.036, respectively) in univariate analysis, and related to TTR in multivariate analysis (P = 0.014, H.R. [95% CI] = 0.682 [0.502-0.927]). Furthermore, the level of peritumoral ${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells showed independent prognostic value for TTR in Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage A patients (P = 0.038, H.R. [95% CI] = 0.727 [0.537-0.984]). However, tumoral ${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells did not show independent prognostic value for either TTR or OS in HCC patients. Conclusions: Low counts of ${\gamma}{\delta}$ T cells in peritumoral liver tissue are related to a higher incidence of recurrence in HCC and can predict postoperative recurrence, especially in those with early-stage HCC.

Postfire reliability analysis of axial load bearing capacity of CFRP retrofitted concrete columns

Cai, Bin,Hao, Liyan,Fu, Feng Techno-Press 2020 Advances in concrete construction Vol.10 No.4

A reliability analysis of the axial compressive load bearing capacity of postfire reinforced concrete (RC) columns strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets was presented. A 3D finite element (FE) model was built for heat transfer analysis using software ABAQUS. Based on the temperature distribution obtained from the FE analysis, the residual axial compressive load bearing capacity of RC columns was worked out using the section method. Formulas for calculating the residual axial compressive load bearing capacity of the columns after fire exposure and the axial compressive load bearing capacity of postfire columns retrofitted with CFRP sheets were developed. Then the Monte Carlo method was used to analyze the reliability of the axial compressive load bearing capacity of the RC columns retrofitted with CFRP sheets using a code developed in MATLAB. The effects of fire exposure time, load ratio, number of CFRP layers, concrete cover thickness, and longitudinal reinforcement ratio on the reliability of the axial compressive load bearing capacity of the columns after fire were investigated. The results show that within 60 minutes of fire exposure time, the reliability index of the RC columns after retrofitting with two layers of CFRPs can meet the requirements of Chinese code GB 50068 (GB 2001) for safety level II. This method is effective and accurate for the reliability analysis of the axial load bearing capacity of postfire reinforced concrete columns retrofitted with CFRP.