There have been no published studies concerning the anti-inflammatory effects of corn silk on colon cancer cells. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of corn silk extract containing high levels of maysin on inflammation and its mechanism of action in colon cancer cells. SW 480 human colon cancer cells were treated with 1 µg/mL of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce inflammation, and next they were treated with different concentrations of corn silk extract (0, 5, 10 and 15 µg/mL). The concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) were determined. The mRNA expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), were determined. Western blot analysis was performed to determine the protein expressions of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinases, and the latter consists of extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK), c-jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 MAP kinase (p38). The concentration of NO and the mRNA expression of iNOS were significantly and dose-dependently decreased in the corn silk-treated groups (P<0.05). The mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were significantly increased in the LPS-treated group (P<0.05), but these expressions were significantly and dose-dependently decreased in the corn silk treated groups (P<0.05). The protein expressions of NF-κB (in a dose-dependent fashion), ERK (at 10 and 15 µg/mL), JNK (at 15 µg/mL) and p38 (at 10 and 15 µg/mL) were significantly decreased with corn silk treatments (P<0.05). In conclusion, corn silk extract containing high levels of maysin seems to inhibit the LPS-induced inflammatory responses in SW480 colon cancer cells via the NF-κB pathway.
Blotting, Western ; Colon ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; Cytokines ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-1beta ; Interleukin-6 ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; Phosphotransferases ; RNA, Messenger ; Saccharin ; Silk ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Zea mays

Objective: The cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (Cng) regulates synaptic efficacy in brain neurons by modulating Ca2＋ levels in response to changes in cyclic nucleotide concentrations. This study investigated whether the expression of Cng channel, cyclic nucleotide-gated channel subunit beta 1 (Cngb1) exhibited any relationship with the pathophysiology of schizophrenia in an animal model and whether genetic polymorphisms of the human gene were associated with the progression of schizophrenia in a Korean population. Methods: We investigated whether Cngb1 expression was related to psychiatric disorders in a mouse model of schizophrenia induced by maternal immune activation. A case-control study was conducted of 275 schizophrenia patients and 410 controls with single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 5′-near region of CNGB1. Results: Cngb1 expression was decreased in the prefrontal cortex in the mouse model. Furthermore, the genotype frequency of a SNP (rs3756314) of CNGB1 was associated with the risk of schizophrenia. Conclusion Our results suggest that CNGB1 might be associated with schizophrenia susceptibility and maternal immune activation. Consequently, it is hypothesized that CNGB1 may be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.