QIN LIU^1,#, CHUNYAN NIU^2,#,*, QIANG ZHANG³, SHIQIN SUN⁴, YUE CHEN², YONGQIANG SHI²

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.5, pp. 759-769, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2024.048551 - 06 May 2024

Abstract Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a global health concern with the acid sphingomyelinase (ASM)/ceramide (CE) pathway and the NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome identified as pivotal players in lipid disorders and inflammation. This study explores the interaction mechanism between the ASM/CE pathway and NLRP3 in NAFLD cell models, aiming to understand the impact of amitriptyline (Ami), an ASM inhibitor, on lipid deposition and hepatocyte injury by regulating the ASM/CE-NLRP3 pathway. Methods: HepG2 and HL-7702 cells were exposed to free fatty acids (FFAs) to establish the NAFLD model. The cells… More >

JINJIN FU^1,#, XIAOYUE FENG^2,#, JUAN WEI², XIANG GENG¹, YU GONG¹, FENGDONG LI¹, SHAOHUA ZHUANG¹, JIN HUANG¹, FANGYU WANG^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.12, pp. 2627-2639, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.042586 - 27 December 2023

Abstract Background: This study aimed to elucidate the potential mechanisms through which bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) may be effective in alleviating experimental colitis induced by treatment with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene-sulfonate acid (TNBS), specifically through autophagy modulation. Methods: BM-MSCs were collected from BALB/c mice for subsequent experiments. The study employed cell counting kits (CCK-8) to investigate the impact of the MSC-conditioned medium (M medium) on the proliferation of RAW264.7 macrophages. The GFP-mRFP-LC3 adenovirus was transfected into RAW264.7 to detect autophagic flux. The gene expression of cytokines was assessed through quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Western blot… More >

BINFEN HOU¹, LI ZHAO¹, T IANHAO ZHAO¹, MINGMING YANG¹, WANWAN ZHU¹, XIAODONG CHEN², XIQUAN KE¹, ZHENZENG MA¹, LIN GU¹, MENG WANG¹, MIN DENG^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.1, pp. 175-186, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.021359 - 26 September 2022

Abstract Aim: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignant tumors. Chrysophanol has been reported to possess antitumor effects on a variety of cancers; however, its role in GC remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of chrysophanol on the proliferation, pyroptosis, migration, and invasion of GC cells. Methods: Human GC cell lines MKN 28 and AGS cells were treated with different concentrations of chrysophanol, then cell proliferation, migration, invasion and pyroptosis were determined by CCK-8, colony-forming assay, wound healing assay, Transwell assay, and flow cytometry. Cell migration and invasion were reassessed in… More >

LEI FU¹, JINGWEN JIANG², XUEWU CHEN², FENGTING ZHU², HUI ZHANG²

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.5, pp. 1289-1297, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.016726 - 06 January 2022

Abstract The levels of hsa circular RNA_0002198 (hsa_circ_0002198) have been found to be significantly upregulated in keloid dermal fibroblasts. However, the functional role of hsa_circ_0002198 in keloid fibroblasts and the underlying molecular mechanism for its effects have not been reported. In this study, the levels of hsa_circ_0002198 and nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain, leucine rich repeat and pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) expression in keloid scar tissues and adjacent normal skin tissues were determined by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting, respectively. In vitro models of keloid tissue were created by culturing primary keloid fibroblasts obtained from patients.… More >

Qing Wei¹, Rui Zhu¹, Junying Zhu, Rongping Zhao, Min Li

Oncology Research, Vol.27, No.7, pp. 827-834, 2019, DOI:10.3727/096504018X15462920753012

Abstract Emerging evidence suggests that 17β-estradiol (E2) and estrogen receptor (ER) signaling are protective against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In our previous study, we showed that E2 suppressed the carcinogenesis and progression of HCC by targeting NLRP3 inflammasome activation, whereas the molecular mechanism by which the NLRP3 inflammasome initiated cancer cell death was not elucidated. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of NLRP3 inflammasome activation on cell death pathways and autophagy of HCC cells. First, we observed an increasing mortality in E2-treated HCC cells, and then apoptotic and pyroptotic cell death were both detected. The… More >

Pingping Ma¹, Wanqian Liu^1,*, Li Yang^1,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 95-95, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07363

Abstract Globally, consumption of sodium (5.8 g per day) was far above the optimal levels (2.3 g per day). High intake of sodium was the leading dietary risk factor for deaths, which caused by cardiovascular disease [1]. Nevertheless, how high-salt intake leads to the occurrence of many cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis is still not very clear. Dmitrieva has reported that elevated sodium concentration promoted thrombogenesis by activating the signal pathway of NFAT5 (nuclear factor of activated T cells 5), a transcription factor which orchestrates cellular defense against osmotic stress [2]. Inflammatory is accompanied with the… More >