OBJECTIVE: To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effect of electroacupuncture (EA) in experimental models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in vivo. METHODS: Senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice were used as AD models and received EA at Yingxiang (LI 20, bilateral) and Yintang (GV 29) points for 20 days. For certain experiments, SAMP8 mice were injected intravenously with human fibrin (2 mg). The Morris water maze test was used to assess cognitive and memory abilities. The changes of tight junctions of blood-brain barrier (BBB) in mice were observed by transmission electron microscope. The expressions of fibrin, amyloid- β (Aβ), and ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (IBa-1) in mouse hippocampus (CA1/CA3) were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blot or immunohistochemical staining. The expression of fibrin in mouse plasma was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expressions of tight junction proteins zonula occludens-1 and claudin-5 in hippocampus were detected by qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining. Apoptosis of hippocampal neurons was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining. RESULTS: Fibrin was time-dependently deposited in the hippocampus of SAMP8 mice and this was inhibited by EA treatment (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Furthermore, EA treatment suppressed the accumulation of Aβ in the hippocampus of SAMP8 mice (P<0.01), which was reversed by fibrin injection (P<0.05 or P<0.01). EA improved SAMP8 mice cognitive impairment and BBB permeability (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Moreover, EA decreased reactive oxygen species levels and neuroinflammation in the hippocampus of SAMP8 mice, which was reversed by fibrin injection (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Mechanistically, EA inhibited the promoting effect of fibrin on the high mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1)/toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE)/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) signaling pathways (P<0.01). CONCLUSION EA may potentially improve cognitive impairment in AD via inhibition of fibrin/A β deposition and deactivation of the HMGB1/TLR4 and RAGE/NADPH signaling pathways.
Mice ; Humans ; Animals ; NADP/metabolism* ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; HMGB1 Protein/metabolism* ; Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products/metabolism* ; Blood-Brain Barrier/metabolism* ; Neuroinflammatory Diseases ; Electroacupuncture ; Alzheimer Disease/therapy* ; Hippocampus/metabolism* ; Amyloid beta-Peptides/metabolism*

During cancer progression, cancer cells are repeatedly exposed to metabolic stress conditions in a resource-limited environment which they must escape. Increasing evidence indicates the importance of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) homeostasis in the survival of cancer cells under metabolic stress conditions, such as metabolic resource limitation and therapeutic intervention. NADPH is essential for scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS) mainly derived from oxidative phosphorylation required for ATP generation. Thus, metabolic reprogramming of NADPH homeostasis is an important step in cancer progression as well as in combinational therapeutic approaches. In mammalian, the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and one-carbon metabolism are major sources of NADPH production. In this review, we focus on the importance of glucose flux control towards PPP regulated by oncogenic pathways and the potential therein for metabolic targeting as a cancer therapy. We also summarize the role of Snail (Snai1), an important regulator of the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), in controlling glucose flux towards PPP and thus potentiating cancer cell survival under oxidative and metabolic stress.
Adenosine Triphosphate ; Cell Survival ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Glucose ; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase ; Homeostasis ; Metabolism ; NADP ; Oxidative Phosphorylation ; Pentose Phosphate Pathway ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Snails ; Stress, Physiological ; United Nations

Emerging evidence has emphasized the importance of cancer therapies targeting an abnormal metabolic state of tumor-initiating cells (TICs) in which they retain stem cell-like phenotypes and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) metabolism. However, the functional role of NAD⁺ metabolism in regulating the characteristics of TICs is not known. In this study, we provide evidence that the mitochondrial NAD⁺ levels affect the characteristics of glioma-driven SSEA1⁺ TICs, including clonogenic growth potential. An increase in the mitochondrial NAD⁺ levels by the overexpression of the mitochondrial enzyme nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (NNT) significantly suppressed the sphere-forming ability and induced differentiation of TICs, suggesting a loss of the characteristics of TICs. In addition, increased SIRT3 activity and reduced lactate production, which are mainly observed in healthy and young cells, appeared following NNT-overexpressed TICs. Moreover, in vivo tumorigenic potential was substantially abolished by NNT overexpression. Conversely, the short interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of NNT facilitated the maintenance of TIC characteristics, as evidenced by the increased numbers of large tumor spheres and in vivo tumorigenic potential. Our results demonstrated that targeting the maintenance of healthy mitochondria with increased mitochondrial NAD⁺ levels and SIRT3 activity could be a promising strategy for abolishing the development of TICs as a new therapeutic approach to treating aging-associated tumors.
Glioblastoma* ; Lactic Acid ; Metabolism ; Mitochondria ; NAD ; NADP Transhydrogenases ; Phenotype ; Tics ; Up-Regulation*

OBJECTIVETo observe the efficacy and safety of chemotherapy regimens oxaliplatin combined with capecitabine (CAPOX) or oxaliplatin combined with tegafur, gimeracil and oteracil potassium capsules (S-1)(SOX), and to investigate the value of expression of thymidine phosphorylase (TP) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) proteins in tumor tissue for predicting the efficacy of CAPOX and SOX regimens in advanced gastric cancer patients.

METHODSA total of 107 newly-diagnosed, stage Ⅲc/Ⅳ gastric cancer patients (no surgical indication, ECOG performance scores 0-2 and expected survival time ≥3 months) were recruited with 101 patients evaluated. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. One was study group in which the patients received CAPOX regimen. The other was control group received SOX regimen. Each patient received four cycles, at least two cycles chemotherapy every three weeks and followed up until death or lost. Tumor biopsies were obtained by gastroscopy for immunohistochemical examination of the expression of TP and DPD proteins before chemotherapy. Response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS) and time to tumor progression (TTP) of the patients were assessed.

RESULTSThe objective response rate (ORR) of the study and control groups was 49.0% (5/51) vs. 46.0% (23/50), respectively (P>0.05). The overall survival (OS) was 357.36±24.69 days in the study group and 349.87±22.63 days in the control group, and the time-to-progression (TTP) was 216.75±19.32 days in the study group and 220.54±18.47 days in the control group (P>0.05 for both). Stratified analysis showed that the ORR of TP-positive patients in the study group was significantly higher than that in the control group (72.0 % vs. 41.7 %, P=0.032). There was no significant difference in ORR between the TP-negative patients in the study and control groups (26.9% vs. 50.0%, P=0.087), while the ORR of DPD-positive patients in the control group was significantly higher than that of the study group (51.9% vs. 34.6%, P=0.046). There was no significant difference in the ORR between DPD-negative patients in the study and control groups (64.0% vs. 39.1%, P=0.084). The follow-up showed that the OS (378.42±22.56 days) and TTP (271.77±24.92 days) in the TP-positive patients of the study group were significantly longer than those of the control group (OS: 326.57±19.84 days, and TTP: 229.13±22.68 days)( P<0.05). The OS was 371.25±23.97 days and TTP was 264.66±21.36 days in the DPD-positive patients of control group, significantly longer than those of the study group (OS: 334.73±21.47days, and TTP: 208.58±20.70 days) (P<0.05). But there was no significant difference in the OS and TTP between the TP- and DPD-negative patients in the two groups (P>0.05). In respect of adverse events, both the rates of hematological and non-hematological toxicities were low and similar between the two groups (P>0.05), and well-tolerated by the patients.

CONCLUSIONSBoth CAPOX and SOX regimens are effective chemotherapeutic protocols in treatment of patients with advanced gastric cancer. The expression levels of TP and DPD in tumor tissue can be used as a predictive factor for the efficacy of capecitabine or tegafur, gimeracil and oteracil potassium capsules combined with oxaliplatin regimens. CAPOX chemotherapy regimen is more suitable for the TP-positive gastric cancer patients, and SOX regimen is more suitable for the DPS-positive gastric cancer patients.

Antineoplastic Agents ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Capecitabine ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Capsules ; Dihydrouracil Dehydrogenase (NADP) ; metabolism ; Disease Progression ; Humans ; Neoplasm Proteins ; metabolism ; Organoplatinum Compounds ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Oxonic Acid ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Pyridines ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Stomach Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; mortality ; pathology ; Tegafur ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Thymidine Phosphorylase ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo assess the association of plasma homocysteine (Hcy) level and 66A/G and 524C/T polymorphisms of methionine synthase reductase (MSR) gene with essential hypertension (EH) in ethnic Uygurs and Hans from Xinjiang.

METHODSFrom September 2011 to July 2014, 199 Uyghur and 216 Han patients were collected, while 195 healthy Uyghur ethnics and 217 healthy Han ethnics were recruited as the controls. Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RELP) was adopted to detect the above polymorphisms. Enzyme immunological assay was applied to measure the levels of plasma Hcy.

RESULTSCompared with the control, plasma Hcy levels were significantly higher in EH group in both Uyghur and Han ethnics (P<0.05). In both ethnic groups, there were also significant differences in MSR 524C/T polymorphism between the patients and controls (Uyghur: chi-square=6.559, P=0.038; Han: chi-square=12.684, P=0.002). No significant difference was found in MSR 66A/G polymorphism between the patients and controls in both ethnic groups (P>0.05). Plasma Hcy level in those with a 66G/524C genotype was statistically higher than that with 66A/524T (P<0.05). After adjusting confounding factors such as gender and age, Logistic regression analysis indicated that age (OR=1.924, 95% CI:1.177- 3.164, P=0.009), obesity (OR=2.491, 95% CI: 1.584-3.920, P<0.01), hyperhomocysteine (OR=1.609, 95% CI: 1.016-2.548, P=0.043) were independent risk factors for EH in Uygurs, while age (OR=1.133, 95% CI: 1.010-81.272, P=0.033), hyperhomocysteine level (OR=3.894, 95% CI: 2.432-6.237, P<0.01), and obesity (OR=1.864, 95% CI: 1.141-3.046, P=0.013) were independent risk factors for EH in Han ethnics. No association was found between the polymorphisms and EH in Uygurs and Hans.

CONCLUSIONAge, hyperhomocysteine and obesity were common independent risk factors for EH in both Uygur and Han ethnics from Xinjiang. The MSR 66G genotype can increase the plasma concentration of Hcy, while MSR 524T genotype may reduce it. MSR 524C/T TT genotype may be a protective factor for EH. MSR polymorphisms 66A/G and 524C/T are not independent risk factors for EH in Uygur and Han ethnics from Xinjiang.

Adult ; Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; ethnology ; genetics ; China ; ethnology ; Essential Hypertension ; Female ; Ferredoxin-NADP Reductase ; genetics ; metabolism ; Homocysteine ; blood ; Humans ; Hypertension ; blood ; enzymology ; ethnology ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

Carcinoma, Medullary ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine ; Humans ; NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone) ; metabolism ; NADP ; metabolism ; Neoplasm Proteins ; metabolism ; Prognosis ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; metabolism

The metabolic characteristics of ligustrazin (TMPz) in liver microsomes were investigated in the present study. The reaction phenotyping of TMPz metabolism was also identified by in vitro assessment using recombinant human cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP) and UDP glucuronosyltransferases (UGT). TMPz was incubated at 37 degrees C with human (HLM) and rat liver microsomes (RLM) in the presence of different co-factors. The metabolic stability and enzyme kinetics of TMPz were studied by determining its remaining concentrations with a LC-MS/MS method. TMPz was only metabolically eliminated in the microsomes with NADPH or NADPH+UDPGA. In the HLM and RLM with NADPH+UDPGA, t1/2, K(m) and V(max) of TMPz were 94.24 +/- 4.53 and 105.07 +/- 9.44 min, 22.74 +/- 1.89 and 33.09 +/- 2.74 micromol x L(-1), 253.50 +/- 10.06 and 190.40 +/- 8.35 nmol x min(-1) x mg(-1) (protein), respectively. TMPz showed a slightly higher metabolic rate in HLM than that in RLM. Its primary oxidative metabolites, 2-hydroxymethyl-3, 5, 6-trimethylpyrazine (HTMP), could undergo glucuronide conjugation. The CYP reaction phenotyping of TMPz metabolism was identified using a panel of recombinant CYP isoforms (rCYP) and specific CYP inhibitors in HLM. CYP1A2, 2C9 and 3A4 were found to be the major CYP isoforms involved in TMPz metabolism. Their individual contributions were assessed b) using the method of the total normalized rate to be 19.32%, 27.79% and 52.90%, respectively. It was observed that these CYP isoforms mediated the formation of HTMP in rCYP incubation. The UGT reaction phenotyping of HTMP glucuronidation was also investigated preliminarily by using a panel of 6 UGT isoforms (rUGT). UGT1A1, 1A4 and 1A6 were the predominant isoforms mediated the HTMP glucuronidation. The results above indicate that the metabolism of TMPz involves multiple enzymes mediated phase I and phase II reactions.
Animals ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A2 ; metabolism ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2C9 ; metabolism ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A ; metabolism ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme Inhibitors ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System ; metabolism ; Drug Interactions ; Glucuronosyltransferase ; metabolism ; Humans ; Ligusticum ; chemistry ; Microsomes, Liver ; enzymology ; NADP ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Pyrazines ; metabolism ; pharmacokinetics ; Rats ; Uridine Diphosphate Glucuronic Acid ; metabolism ; pharmacology

Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) is a key element in the Ganoderma triterpenoid biosynthetic pathway. The catalytic reaction process for CYP450 requires NADPH / NADH for electron transfer. After searching the genome dataset of Ganoderma lucidum, the unique sequence encoding CYP450 and NADPH were discovered, separately. The open reading frames of GLCYP450 and GLNADPH were cloned separately using RT-PCR strategy from G lucidum. The appropriate restriction enzyme cutting sites were introduced at the 5' and 3' ends of gene sequence. The genes of GLCYP450 and GLNADPH were recombined into the yeast expression vector pESC-URA, leading to the formation of the yeast expression plasmid pESC-GLNADPH-GLCYP450. This study provides a foundation for researching Ganoderma triterpene biosynthesis using the approach of synthetic biology.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Cloning, Molecular ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System ; genetics ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal ; Genetic Vectors ; NADP ; genetics ; Open Reading Frames ; Plasmids ; Reishi ; enzymology ; genetics ; metabolism ; Synthetic Biology ; Triterpenes ; metabolism ; Yeasts ; genetics ; metabolism

Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD) is an enzyme that regulates the rate-limiting step in pyrimidine metabolism, especially catabolism of fluorouracil, a chemotherapeutic agent for cancer. In order to determine the genetic distribution of DPYD, we directly sequenced 288 subjects from five ethnic groups (96 Koreans, 48 Japanese, 48 Han Chinese, 48 African Americans, and 48 European Americans). As a result, 56 polymorphisms were observed, including 6 core polymorphisms and 18 novel polymorphisms. Allele frequencies were nearly the same across the Asian populations, Korean, Han Chinese and Japanese, whereas several SNPs showed different genetic distributions between Asians and other ethnic populations (African American and European American). Additional in silico analysis was performed to predict the function of novel SNPs. One nonsynonymous SNP (+199381A > G, Asn151Asp) was predicted to change its polarity of amino acid (Asn, neutral to Asp, negative). These findings would be valuable for further research, including pharmacogenetic and drug responses studies.
African Americans/genetics ; Alleles ; Amino Acids/metabolism ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group/genetics ; Dihydrouracil Dehydrogenase (NADP)/*genetics ; Ethnic Groups/*genetics ; European Continental Ancestry Group/genetics ; Fluorouracil/metabolism ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD) is an enzyme that regulates the rate-limiting step in pyrimidine metabolism, especially catabolism of fluorouracil, a chemotherapeutic agent for cancer. In order to determine the genetic distribution of DPYD, we directly sequenced 288 subjects from five ethnic groups (96 Koreans, 48 Japanese, 48 Han Chinese, 48 African Americans, and 48 European Americans). As a result, 56 polymorphisms were observed, including 6 core polymorphisms and 18 novel polymorphisms. Allele frequencies were nearly the same across the Asian populations, Korean, Han Chinese and Japanese, whereas several SNPs showed different genetic distributions between Asians and other ethnic populations (African American and European American). Additional in silico analysis was performed to predict the function of novel SNPs. One nonsynonymous SNP (+199381A > G, Asn151Asp) was predicted to change its polarity of amino acid (Asn, neutral to Asp, negative). These findings would be valuable for further research, including pharmacogenetic and drug responses studies.
African Americans/genetics ; Alleles ; Amino Acids/metabolism ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group/genetics ; Dihydrouracil Dehydrogenase (NADP)/*genetics ; Ethnic Groups/*genetics ; European Continental Ancestry Group/genetics ; Fluorouracil/metabolism ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Sequence Analysis, DNA