Effect of Aspirin on the Expression of Hepatocyte NF-κB and Serum TNF-α in Streptozotocin-Induced Type 2 Diabetic Rats
Aspirin is a kind of anti-inflammatory drug and may be used to reverse hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and dyslipidemia by improving insulin resistance. We hypothesized that aspirin improves insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes by inhibiting hepatic nuclear factor kappa-β (NF-κB) activation and serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: control, untreated diabetic, diabetic treated with metformin (100 mg/kg/day), and diabetic treated with aspirin (120 mg/kg/day). Diabetes was induced by high-fat feeding and a low dose of streptozotocin (30 mg/kg). After treatment, plasma glucose, insulin, lipids, free fatty acids (FFAs) concentrations and serum TNF-α were determined. The expression of NF-κB in hepatocytes was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and western blot. The results showed administration of aspirin caused no significant lowering in fasting glucose level but significant reduction of hepatic NF-κB expression and serum TNF-α level with improved insulin resistance compared to the diabetic group. The relevant analysis showed positive correlation between the expression of homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and NF-κB (r = 0.799, P < 0.01); HOMA-IR and serum TNF-α (r = 0.790, P < 0.01). It is concluded that aspirin improves insulin resistance by inhibiting hepatic NF-κB activation and TNF-α level in streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rats.

title: Effect of high free fatty acids on the anti-contractile response of perivascular adipose tissue in rat aorta.
abstract: To determine whether high free fatty acids (FFA) could affect the anti-contractile properties of perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) in rat aortas. Wistar rats were divided into normal, obesity and fenofibrate groups and fed a normal, high-fat, and high-fat plus fenofibrate diet, respectively. Thoracic aortas with or without PVAT (PVAT+ and PVAT-) were prepared with either intact endothelium (E+) or with endothelium removed (E-). Aortas pre-treated with either 500μmol/L of palmitic acid (PA) or physiological salt solution (PSS), as a control, were used for in vitro study. Concentration-dependent responses of aortas to norepinephrine were measured. The anti-contractile effects of PVAT were attenuated in both obese rats with high FFA levels and in the PA group in the presence of endothelium, but not in the absence of endothelium. The attenuation of the anti-contractile effect was restored by reducing FFA levels in the fenofibrate group (P<0.05). Incubation of aortas (PVAT+ E+) with nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in the normal group caused attenuation of the anti-contractile effect of PVAT (P<0.05). Incubation of aortas (PVAT+ E+) in the obese and PA groups with a NO donor, anti-TNF-α antibodies or free radical scavengers partially restored the anti-contractile effect of PVAT (P<0.05). Under both acute and chronic conditions, high FFA levels could attenuate the anti-contractile properties of PVAT by an endothelium-dependent rather than an endothelium-independent mechanism, in which inflammation and oxidative stress may play important roles.

title: Decision-analytical modelling in health-care economic evaluations
abstract: ObjectiveDecision-analytical modelling is widely used in health-care economic evaluations, especially in situations where evaluators lack clinical trial data, and in circumstances where such evaluations factor into reimbursement pricing decisions. This paper aims to improve the understanding and use of modelling techniques in this context, with particular emphasis on Markov modelling.MethodsWe provide an overview, in this paper, of the principles and methodological details of decision-analytical modelling. We propose a common route for practicing modelling that accommodates any type of decision-analytical modelling techniques. We use the treatment of chronic hepatitis B as an example to indicate the process of development, presentation and analysis of the Markov model, and discuss the strengths, weaknesses and pitfalls of different approaches.ConclusionsGood practice of modelling requires careful planning, conduct and analysis of the model, and needs input from modellers and users.

title: “Iron-saturated” bovine lactoferrin improves the chemotherapeutic effects of tamoxifen in the treatment of basal-like breast cancer in mice
abstract: BackgroundTamoxifen is used in hormone therapy for estrogen-receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, but also has chemopreventative effects against ER-negative breast cancers. This study sought to investigate whether oral iron-saturated bovine lactoferrin (Fe-Lf), a natural product which enhances chemotherapy, could improve the chemotherapeutic effects of tamoxifen in the treatment of ER-negative breast cancers.MethodsIn a model of breast cancer prevention, female Balb/c mice treated with tamoxifen (5 mg/Kg) were fed an Fe-Lf supplemented diet (5 g/Kg diet) or the base diet. At week 2, 4T1 mammary carcinoma cells were injected into an inguinal mammary fat pad. In a model of breast cancer treatment, tamoxifen treatment was not started until two weeks following tumor cell injection. Tumor growth, metastasis, body weight, and levels of interleukin 18 (IL-18) and interferon γ (IFN-γ) were analyzed.ResultsTamoxifen weakly (IC50 ~ 8 μM) inhibited the proliferation of 4T1 cells at pharmacological concentrations in vitro. In the tumor prevention study, a Fe-Lf diet in combination with tamoxifen caused a 4 day delay in tumor formation, and significantly inhibited tumor growth and metastasis to the liver and lung by 48, 58, and 66% (all P < 0.001), respectively, compared to untreated controls. The combination therapy was significantly (all P < 0.05) more effective than the respective monotherapies. Oral Fe-Lf attenuated the loss of body weight caused by tamoxifen and cancer cachexia. It prevented tamoxifen-induced reductions in serum levels of IL-18 and IFN-γ, and intestinal cells expressing IL-18 and IFN-γ. It increased the levels of Lf in leukocytes residing in gut-associated lymphoid tissues. B, T and Natural killer (NK) cells containing high levels of Lf were identified in 4T1 tumors, suggesting they had migrated from the intestine. Similar effects of Fe-Lf and tamoxifen on tumor cell viability were seen in the treatment of established tumors.ConclusionsThe results indicate that Fe-Lf is a potent natural adjuvant capable of augmenting the chemotherapeutic activity of tamoxifen. It could have application in delaying relapse in tamoxifen-treated breast cancer patients who are at risk of developing ER-negative tumors.

title: Expression of uncoupling protein 3 is upregulated in skeletal muscle during sepsis.
abstract: Uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) is a member of the mitochondrial transporter superfamily that is expressed primarily in skeletal muscle. UCP3 is upregulated in various conditions characterized by skeletal muscle atrophy, including hyperthyroidism, fasting, denervation, diabetes, cancer, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and treatment with glucocorticoids (GCs). The influence of sepsis, another condition characterized by muscle cachexia, on UCP3 expression and activity is not known. We examined UCP3 gene and protein expression in skeletal muscles from rats after cecal ligation and puncture and from sham-operated control rats. Sepsis resulted in a two- to threefold increase in both mRNA and protein levels of UCP3 in skeletal muscle. Treatment of rats with the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU-38486 prevented the sepsis-induced increase in gene and protein expression of UCP3. The UCP3 mRNA and protein levels were increased 2.4- to 3.6-fold when incubated muscles from normal rats were treated with dexamethasone (DEX) and/or free fatty acids (FFA) ex vivo. In addition, UCP3 mRNA and protein levels were significantly increased in normal rat muscles in vivo with treatment of either DEX or FFA. The results suggest that sepsis upregulates the gene and protein expression of UCP3 in skeletal muscle, which may at least in part be mediated by GCs and FFA.

title: Anti-angiogenic therapy subsequent to adeno-associated-virus-mediated immunotherapy eradicates lymphomas that disseminate to the liver.
abstract: Liver cancer has a very poor prognosis and lacks effective therapy. We have previously demonstrated that intraportal injection of adeno-associated-viral (AAV) particles that express angiostatin lead to long-term expression of angiostatin capable of suppressing the outgrowth of EL-4 tumors in the liver. Here we combine AAV-mediated angiostatin therapy with immunotherapy by employing an AAV vector encoding the T-cell costimulator B7.1. Incubation of EL-4 cells with AAV-B7.1 viruses resulted in the rapid expression of B7.1 on the surface of 80% of EL-4 cells. Mice that were vaccinated with B7.1-engineered tumor cells rejected the tumor cells and resisted a secondary challenge with unmodified parental cells. Splenocytes from the vaccinated mice were highly cytotoxic towards parental EL-4 cells in vitro. However, the vaccinated mice failed to resist the challenge of a heavy burden of EL-4 cells. Intraportal injection of AAV particles that express angiostatin into mice that had been vaccinated 1 month earlier with B7.1-engineered tumor cells protected mice against the challenge of a heavy burden of EL-4 cells and eradicated tumors that had disseminated to the liver. The combinational therapy increased the survival rate of mice with advanced liver cancer. These encouraging results warrant investigation of the employment of anti-angiogenic therapy subsequent to cancer immunotherapy for targeting unresectable disseminated liver metastases.

title: Multifarious Roles of Intrinsic Disorder in Proteins Illustrate Its Broad Impact on Plant Biology
abstract: Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are highly abundant in eukaryotic proteomes. Plant IDPs play critical roles in plant biology and often act as integrators of signals from multiple plant regulatory and environmental inputs. Binding promiscuity and plasticity allow IDPs to interact with multiple partners in protein interaction networks and provide important functional advantages in molecular recognition through transient protein–protein interactions. Short interaction-prone segments within IDPs, termed molecular recognition features, represent potential binding sites that can undergo disorder-to-order transition upon binding to their partners. In this review, we summarize the evidence for the importance of IDPs in plant biology and evaluate the functions associated with intrinsic disorder in five different types of plant protein families experimentally confirmed as IDPs. Functional studies of these proteins illustrate the broad impact of disorder on many areas of plant biology, including abiotic stress, transcriptional regulation, light perception, and development. Based on the roles of disorder in the protein–protein interactions, we propose various modes of action for plant IDPs that may provide insight for future experimental approaches aimed at understanding the molecular basis of protein function within important plant pathways.