IL-33 promotes IL-10 production in macrophages: a role for IL-33 in macrophage foam cell formation

Hai-Feng Zhang,Mao-Xiong Wu,Yong-Qing Lin,Shuang-Lun Xie,Tu-Cheng Huang,Pin-Ming Liu,Ru-Qiong Nie,Qin-Qi Meng,Nian-Sang Luo,Yang-Xin Chen,Jing-Feng Wang 생화학분자생물학회 2017 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.49 No.-

We evaluated the role of IL-10- in IL-33-mediated cholesterol reduction in macrophage-derived foam cells (MFCs) and the mechanism by which IL-33 upregulates IL-10. Serum IL-33 and IL-10 levels in coronary artery disease patients were measured. The effects of IL-33 on intra-MFC cholesterol level, IL-10, ABCA1 and CD36 expression, ERK 1/2, Sp1, STAT3 and STAT4 activation, and IL-10 promoter activity were determined. Core sequences were identified using bioinformatic analysis and sitespecific mutagenesis. The serum IL-33 levels positively correlated with those of IL-10. IL-33 decreased cellular cholesterol level and upregulated IL-10 and ABCA1 but had no effect on CD36 expression. siRNA-IL-10 partially abolished cellular cholesterol reduction and ABCA1 elevation by IL-33 but did not reverse the decreased CD36 levels. IL-33 increased IL-10 mRNA production but had little effect on its stability. IL-33 induced ERK 1/2 phosphorylation and increased the luciferase expression driven by the IL-10 promoter, with the highest extent within the − 2000 to − 1752 bp segment of the 5′-flank of the transcription start site; these effects were counteracted by U0126. IL-33 activated Sp1, STAT3 and STAT4, but only the STAT3 binding site was predicted in the above segment. Site-directed mutagenesis of the predicted STAT3-binding sites (CTGCTTCCTGGCAGCAGAA→CTGCCTGGCAGCAGAA) reduced luciferase activity, and a STAT3 inhibitor blocked the regulatory effects of IL-33 on IL-10 expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (CHIP) confirmed the STAT3-binding sequences within the − 1997 to − 1700 and − 1091 to − 811 bp locus regions. IL-33 increased IL-10 expression in MFCs via activating ERK 1/2 and STAT3, which subsequently promoted IL-10 transcription and thus contributed to the beneficial effects of IL-33 on MFCs.

Dynamics of rate of returns for postgraduate education in Taiwan: the impact of higher education expansion

Chih-Hai Yang,Chun-Hung A. Lin,Chien-Ru Lin 서울대학교 교육연구소 2011 Asia Pacific Education Review Vol.12 No.3

This paper analyzes the dynamics of rate of returns for postgraduate education and the determinants of wage premiums for postgraduate labor, especially for the impact of higher education expansions, in terms of quantity and quality, since the late 1990s in Taiwan. Utilizing quasi-panel data over the 1990-2004 period and employing the double fixed effect model, the empirical results first confirm the existence of wage premiums for workers with postgraduate degrees. However, the analysis on the dynamics of wage premiums finds that it ranged from only 1.40 to 11.67% and decreased sharply in 2004, indicating that the pecuniary reward for postgraduate qualification seems not to be as high as expected. Along with the rapid expansion of higher education, the concern about its negative impact on rate of returns to education is witnessed in this study. The sharp increase in the supply of postgraduate labors appears to have a negative impact on an individual's wage premium. Similarly, a decline in the postgraduate labor quality along with higher education expansion has contributed to a negative wage effect.

Sexual dimorphism-related gene expression analysis based on the transcriptome in Gynaephora qinghaiensis, a pest of grassland on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Wang Hai-Zhen,Zhang Ru-yi,Yuyu-Li,Liu Xin 한국응용곤충학회 2023 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.26 No.2

Gynaephora qinghaiensis is a pest in the alpine meadows of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) that seriously harms grassland vegetation. Sexual dimorphism (SD) is common in insects, but its molecular mechanism at the tran scriptome level in insects, especially in G. qinghaiensis, has not been reported. In this study, we conducted transcriptome analysis of pupae and adults of the two sexes (male and female) of G. qinghaiensis. A total of 204,557,900 clean reads assembled into 114,944 unigenes were obtained by RNA-Seq. To explore differences in the transcriptome levels of molecular characteristics related to SD between the two sexes of G. qinghaiensis, gene expression profiling was performed. A total of 88 differentially expressed unigenes related to sex determination were found in the pupae of G. qinghaiensis; of these, 74 were upregulated and 14 were downregulated in the female pupae compared to the male pupae. Forty-five unigenes related to sex determination were found in the adults of G. qinghaiensis; of these, 15 were upregulated and 30 were downregulated in the female adults compared to the male adults. This indicated some differences in the expression of genes involved in sex deter mination between male and female individuals of G. qinghaiensis. Therefore, we speculated that sex-determining genes may play an important role in the formation of sexual dimorphism in G. qinghaiensis. Our report provides a valuable genomic resource for further studies of grassland caterpillars and improves our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying sexual dimorphism between male and female insects.

Chemical transformation and target preparation of saponins in stems and leaves of Panax notoginseng

Wang, Ru-Feng,Li, Juan,Hu, Hai-Jun,Li, Jia,Yang, Ying-Bo,Yang, Li,Wang, Zheng-Tao The Korean Society of Ginseng 2018 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.42 No.3

Background: Notoginsenoside Ft1 is a promising potential candidate for cardiovascular and cancer disease therapy owing to its positive pharmacological activities. However, the yield of Ft1 is ultralow utilizing reported methods. Herein, an acid hydrolyzing strategy was implemented in the acquirement of rare notoginsenoside Ft1. Methods: Chemical profiles were identified by ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with quadruple-time-of-flight and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF-ESI-MS). The acid hydrolyzing dynamic changes of chemical compositions and the possible transformation pathways of saponins were monitored by ultrahigh-performance LC coupled with tandem MS (UHPLC-MS/ MS). Results and conclusion: Notoginsenoside Ft1 was epimerized from notoginsenoside ST4, which was generated through cleaving the carbohydrate side chains at C-20 of notoginsenosides Fa and Fc, and vinaginsenoside R7, and further converted to other compounds via hydroxylation at C-25 or hydrolysis of the carbohydrate side chains at C-3 under the acid conditions. High temperature contributed to the hydroxylation reaction at C-25 and 25% acetic acid concentration was conducive to the preparation of notoginsenoside Ft1. C-20 epimers of notoginsenoside Ft1 and ST4 were successfully separated utilizing solvent method of acetic acid solution. The theoretical preparation yield rate of notoginsenoside Ft1 was about 1.8%, which would be beneficial to further study on its bioactivities and clinical application.

Combination of FDG PET/CT and Contrast-Enhanced MSCT in Detecting Lymph Node Metastasis of Esophageal Cancer

Tan, Ru,Yao, Shu-Zhan,Huang, Zhao-Qin,Li, Jun,Li, Xin,Tan, Hai-Hua,Liu, Qing-Wei Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.18

Background: Lymph node metastasis is believed to be a dependent negative prognostic factor of esophageal cancer. To explore detection methods with high sensitivity and accuracy for metastases to regional and distant lymph nodes in the clinic is of great significance. This study focused on clinical application of FDG PET/CT and contrast-enhanced multiple-slice helical computed tomography (MSCT) in lymph node staging of esophageal cancer. Materials and Methods: One hundred and fifteen cases were examined with enhanced 64-slice-MSCT scan, and FDG PET/CT imaging was conducted for neck, chest and upper abdomen within one week. The primary lesion, location and numbers of metastatic lymph nodes were observed. Surgery was performed within one week after FDG PET/CT detection. All resected lesions were confirmed histopathologically as the gold standard. Comparative analysis of the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy based on FDG PET/CT and MSCT was conducted. Results: There were 946 lymph node groups resected during surgery from 115 patients, and 221 were confirmed to have metastasis pathologically. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy of FDG PET/CT in detecting lymph node metastasis were 74.7%, 97.2% and 92.0%, while with MSCT they were 64.7%, 96.4%, and 89.0%, respectively. A significance difference was observed in sensitivity (p=0.030), but not the others (p>0.05). The accuracy of FDG PET/CT in detecting regional lymph node with or without metastasis were 91.9%, as compared to 89.4% for MSCT, while FDG PET/CT and MSCT values for detecting distant lymph node with or without metastasis were 94.4% and 94.7%. No significant difference was observed for either regional or distant lymph node metastasis. Additionally, for detecting para-esophageal lymph nodes metastasis, the sensitivity of FDG PET/CT was 72%, compared with 54.7% for MSCT (p=0.029). Conclusions: FDG PET/CT is more sensitive than MSCT in detecting lymph node metastasis, especially for para-esophageal lymph nodes in esophageal cancer cases, although no significant difference was observed between FDG PET/CT and MSCT in detecting both regional and distant lymph node metastasis. However, enhanced MSCT was found to be of great value in distinguishing false negative metastatic lymph nodes from FDG PET/CT. The combination of FDG PET/CT with MSCT should improve the accuracy in lymph node metastasis staging of esophageal cancer.

Preoperative Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio as a Prognostic Factor in Patients with Non-metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma

Wen, Ru-Min,Zhang, Yi-Jing,Ma, Sha,Xu, Ying-Li,Chen, Yan-Su,Li, Hai-Long,Bai, Jin,Zheng, Jun-Nian Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.9

Background: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a strong predictor of mortality in patients with colorectal, lung, gastric cancer, pancreatic and metastatic renal cell carcinoma. We here evaluated whether preoperative NLR is an independent prognostic factor for non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Materials and Methods: Data from 327 patients who underwent curative or palliative nephrectomy were evaluated retrospectively. In preoperative blood routine examination, neutrophils and lymphocytes were obtained. The predictive value of NLR for non-metastatic RCC was analyzed. Results: The NLR of 327 patients was $2.72{\pm}2.25$. NLR <1.7 and NLR ${\geq}1.7$ were classified as low and high NLR groups, respectively. Chi-square test showed that the preoperative NLR was significantly correlated with the tumor size (P=0.025), but not with the histological subtype (P=0.095)and the pT stage (P=0.283). Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Effects of NLR on OS (P=0.007) and DFS (P=0.011) were significant. To evaluate the independent prognostic significance of NLR, multivariate COX regression models were applied and identified increased NLR as an independent prognostic factor for OS (P=0.015), and DFS (P=0.019). Conclusions: Regarding patient survival, an increased NLR represented an independent risk factor, which might reflect a higher risk for severe cardiovascular and other comorbidities. An elevated blood NLR may be a biomarker of poor OS and DFS in patients with non-metastatic RCC.

Dammarane-type triterpene oligoglycosides from the leaves and stems of Panax notoginseng and their antiinflammatory activities

Juan Li,Ru-Feng Wang,Yue Zhou,Hai-Jun Hu,Ying-Bo Yang,Li Yang,Zheng-Tao Wang 고려인삼학회 2019 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.43 No.3

Background: Inflammation is widespread in the clinical pathology and closely associated to the progressof many diseases. Triterpenoid saponins as a key group of active ingredients in Panax notoginseng (Burk.)F.H. Chen were demonstrated to show antiinflammatory effects. However, the chemical structures ofsaponins in the leaves and stems of Panax notoginseng (PNLS) are still not fully clear. Herein, the isolation,purification and further evaluation of the antiinflammatory activity of dammarane-type triterpenoidsaponins from PNLS were conducted. Methods: Silica gel and reversed-phase C8 column chromatography were used. Furthermore, preparativeHPLC was used as a final purification technique to obtain minor saponins with high purities. MS, NMRexperiments, and chemical methods were used in the structural identifications. The antiinflammatoryactivities of the isolated saponins were assessed by measuring the nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharides. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction wasused to measure the gene expressions of inflammation-related gene. Results: Eight new minor dammarane-type triterpene oligoglycosides, namely notoginsenosides LK1-LK8 (1e8) were obtained from PNLS, along with seven known ones. Among the isolated saponins,gypenoside IX significantly suppressed the nitric oxide production and inflammatory cytokines includingtumor necrosis factor-a, interleukin 10, interferon-inducible protein 10 and interleukin-1b. Conclusion: The eight saponins may enrich and expand the chemical library of saponins in Panax genus. Moreover, it is reported for the first time that gypenoside IX showed moderate antiinflammatory activity.

Intense X-ray induced formation of silver nanoparticles stabilized by biocompatible polymers

Wang, Chang-Hai,Liu, Chi-Jen,Wang, Cheng-Liang,Chien, Chia-Chi,Hwu, Y.,Liu, Ru-Shi,Yang, Chung-Shi,Je, Jung-Ho,Lin, Hong-Ming,Margaritondo, G. Springer-Verlag 2009 Applied physics. A, Materials science & processing Vol.97 No.2

Degradation of Lignocelluloses in Rice Straw by BMC-9, a Composite Microbial System

( Hongyan Zhao ),( Hai Ru Yu ),( Xu Feng Yuan ),( Ren Zhe Piao ),( Hu Lin Li ),( Xiao Fen Wang ),( Zong Jun Cui ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2014 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.24 No.5

To evaluate the potential utility of pretreatment of raw biomass with a complex microbial system, we investigated the degradation of rice straw by BMC-9, a lignocellulose decomposition strain obtained from a biogas slurry compost environment. The degradation characteristics and corresponding changes in the bacterial community were assessed. The results showed that rapid degradation occurred from day 0 to day 9, with a peak total biomass bacterium concentration of 3.3 × 10(8) copies/ml on day 1. The pH of the fermentation broth declined initially and then increased, and the mass of rice straw decreased steadily. The highest concentrations of volatile fatty acid contents (0.291 mg/l lactic acid, 0.31 mg/l formic acid, 1.93 mg/l acetic acid, and 0.73 mg/l propionic acid) as well as the highest xylanse activity (1.79 U/ml) and carboxymethyl cellulase activity (0.37 U/ml) occurred on day 9. The greatest diversity among the microbial community also occurred on day 9, with the presence of bacteria belonging to Clostridium sp., Bacillus sp., and Geobacillus sp. Together, our results indicate that BMC-9 has a strong ability to rapidly degrade the lignocelluloses of rice straw under relatively inexpensive conditions, and the optimum fermentation time is 9 days.

Dammarane-type triterpene oligoglycosides from the leaves and stems of Panax notoginseng and their antiinflammatory activities

Li, Juan,Wang, Ru-Feng,Zhou, Yue,Hu, Hai-Jun,Yang, Ying-Bo,Yang, Li,Wang, Zheng-Tao The Korean Society of Ginseng 2019 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.43 No.3

Background: Inflammation is widespread in the clinical pathology and closely associated to the progress of many diseases. Triterpenoid saponins as a key group of active ingredients in Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen were demonstrated to show antiinflammatory effects. However, the chemical structures of saponins in the leaves and stems of Panax notoginseng (PNLS) are still not fully clear. Herein, the isolation, purification and further evaluation of the antiinflammatory activity of dammarane-type triterpenoid saponins from PNLS were conducted. Methods: Silica gel and reversed-phase C8 column chromatography were used. Furthermore, preparative HPLC was used as a final purification technique to obtain minor saponins with high purities. MS, NMR experiments, and chemical methods were used in the structural identifications. The antiinflammatory activities of the isolated saponins were assessed by measuring the nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharides. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to measure the gene expressions of inflammation-related gene. Results: Eight new minor dammarane-type triterpene oligoglycosides, namely notoginsenosides LK1-LK8 (1-8) were obtained from PNLS, along with seven known ones. Among the isolated saponins, gypenoside IX significantly suppressed the nitric oxide production and inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$, interleukin 10, interferon-inducible protein 10 and $interleukin-1{\beta}$. Conclusion: The eight saponins may enrich and expand the chemical library of saponins in Panax genus. Moreover, it is reported for the first time that gypenoside IX showed moderate antiinflammatory activity.