Project description:Glioma is one of the most fatal and complex cancer types. Patients have poor prognosis due to aggressive disease progression or tumor recurrence, resulting in poor survival. Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is extensively regarded as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine or condiment in cooking in Asia. 6-shogaol, the most abundant ingredient in ginger, has antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. However, there are no data on 6-shogaol against glioma, and its potential mechanism has not been thoroughly elucidated. Our study demonstrated that 6-shogaol significantly inhibited glioma cell growth, migration and invasion, and induced cell apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Transcriptomic analysis and western blot data indicated that 6-shogaol significantly upregulated the p38-MAPK pathway, which plays a key factor in its powerful antitumor effect. These findings demonstrated that 6-shogaol has a strong anti-tumor activity in glioma, which through regulating the p38-MAPK signaling pathway.
Project description:This study investigated the transcriptomic effects of the ginger-derived compounds 6-Shogaol and 6-Gingerol on inflammation-associated gene expression in LPS-stimulated BV2 mouse microglial cells. RNA-seq was performed to compare gene expression profiles among untreated control cells, LPS-treated cells, and cells co-treated with LPS and different concentrations of 6-Shogaol or 6-Gingerol.
Project description:Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen and responsible for candidiasis. C. albicans readily forms biofilms on various biotic and abiotic surfaces, and these biofilms can cause local and systemic infections. C. albicans biofilms are more resistant than its free yeast to antifungal agents and less affected by host immune responses. Transition of yeast cells to hyphal cells is required for biofilm formation and is believed to be a crucial virulence factor. In this study, six components of ginger were investigated for antibiofilm and antivirulence activities against a fluconazole-resistant C. albicans strain. It was found 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, and 6-shogaol effectively inhibited biofilm formation. In particular, 6-shogaol at 10 µg/ml significantly reduced C. albicans biofilm formation but had no effect on planktonic cell growth. Also, 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol inhibited hyphal growth in embedded colonies and free-living planktonic cells, and prevented cell aggregation. Furthermore, 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol reduced C. albicans virulence in a nematode infection model without causing toxicity at the tested concentrations. Transcriptomic analysis using RNA-seq and qRT-PCR showed 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol induced several transporters (CDR1, CDR2, and RTA3), but repressed the expressions of several hypha/biofilm related genes (ECE1 and HWP1), which supported observed phenotypic changes. These results highlight the antibiofilm and antivirulence activities of the ginger components, 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol, against a drug resistant C. albicans strain.
Project description:Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease characterized by airway inflammation and remodeling. The role of 15-oxo-5Z,8Z,11Z,13E-eicosatetraenoic acid (15-oxoETE), a 15-HETE metabolite catalyzed by 15-prostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH), has been relatively unexplored in asthma. In this study, we used RNA-seq to explore the effect of 15-KETE on the transcriptome of airway epithelial cells, aiming to identify its potential downstream targets and mechanisms of action.
Project description:Gene expression profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells with hTERT/E6/E7 transfected MSCs. hTERT may change gene expression in MSCs. Goal was to determine the gene expressions of immortalized MSCs.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of human mesenchymal stem cells comparing normoxic MSCs cells with hypoxic MSCs cells. Hypoxia may inhibit senescence of MSCs during expansion. Goal was to determine the effects of hypoxia on global MSCs gene expression.
Project description:Gene methylation profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells comparing HPV E6/E7-transfected MSCs cells with human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT)- and HPV E6/E7-transfected MSCs. hTERT may increase gene methylation in MSCs. Goal was to determine the effects of different transfected genes on global gene methylation in MSCs.
Project description:Apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is closely related to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease, and oxidative stress is an important cause for VSMCs death. Inhibiting VSMCs apoptosis is an effective preventive strategy in slowing down the development of cardiovascular disease, especially for atherosclerosis. In this study, we found OXR1 (oxidation resistance protein 1), a crucial participator for responding for oxidative stress, could modulate the expression of p53, a key regulator of apoptosis. Our results revealed that oxidative stress promoted VSMCs apoptosis by overexpression of OXR1-p53 axis, and 6-shogaol (6S), a major biologically active compound present in ginger, could effectively attenuate cell death by preventing the up-regulated expression of OXR1-p53 axis. Quantitative proteomics analysis revealed that the degradation of p53 mediated by OXR1 might related with the enhanced assembly of SCF ubiquitin ligase complexes, which is reported to closely relate with the modification of ubiquitination or neddylation, and subsequent degradation of p53.