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Biomedical subjects

Hongxia Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Hongxia Zhang.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Metallothionein, antioxidant enzymes and DNA strand breaks as biomarkers of Cd exposure in a marine crab, Charybdis japonica.

Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most toxic heavy metals that are widespread in inshore sediments of China, and can induce the production of toxic hydroxyl radicals that cause cell damage. The present study investigated the effect of two Cd concentrations (the final Cd concentration of 0.025 and 0.05 mg/L, prepared with CdCl2 x 2.5H2O) on metallothioneins (MT), antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)) and DNA integrity (DNA strand breaks) for up to 15 days in the gills and hepatopancreas of the portunid crab Charybdis japonica. The result indicated that MT was significantly induced after 3 days, with a dose-response relation between MT contents and Cd concentrations in two tissues and has a time-response relation in hepatopancreas during the experimental period; SOD, CAT and GPx activities could be stimulated after 0.5 day, all attained peak value and then reduced during the experimental period, but were not inhibited at day 15, except SOD and CAT in gills. Gill was more sensitive to Cd than hepatopancreas, and the hepatopancreas was the main detoxification tissue to deal with oxyradicals. DNA strand breaks were induced after 0.5 day, and there was a positive dose-response relation between DNA damage levels and Cd concentrations in gills, rather than hepatopancreas due to higher DNA repair activities. These results suggest the mechanisms of Cd toxicity and detoxification strategies in both tissues of C. japonica; in addition, the use of the biomarkers as indices for biomonitoring potential toxic effect of Cd in situ is discussed.

Animals↗

Troglitazone inhibits tumor growth in hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) has been implicated in the differentiation and growth inhibition of cancer cells. We examined the effects of PPARgamma activation by troglitazone on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell growth, proliferation, and apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. We also studied relationships between PPARgamma activation and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. Human HCC cell lines Huh7 and Hep3B were cultured in the presence or absence of troglitazone. Cell growth was determined via WST-1 assay, proliferation by cell cycle analysis and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) Western blotting, and apoptosis by flow cytometry and TUNEL. Tumor growth after subcutaneous implantation of Huh7 cells in nude mice was monitored, and the effects of treatment with troglitazone were determined. In resected HCCs, PPARgamma expression was less compared with the histologically normal surrounding liver. In cultures of Hep3B and Huh7 cells, basal expression of PPARgamma was relatively low, but troglitazone caused dose-dependent induction of PPARgamma expression. Cell cycle analysis revealed a decreased proportion of cells in S phase, with arrest at G0/G1. Concomitant downregulation of PCNA and an increase in TUNEL staining, cells were consistent with decreased proliferation and induction of apoptosis by troglitazaone. Troglitazone-mediated PPARgamma activation also suppressed COX-2 expression and induced p27 in HCC cells. Administration of troglitazone to Huh7 tumor-bearing mice significantly reduced tumor growth and caused tumor regression. In conclusion, collectively, these results indicate that PPARgamma could be a regulator of cell survival and growth in HCC. PPARgamma therefore represents a putative molecular target for chemopreventive therapy or inhibition of liver cancer growth.

Animals↗

Constitutive activation of NF-kappaB in human hepatocellular carcinoma: evidence of a cytoprotective role.

Activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) can promote or inhibit apoptosis. Oxidative stress is an important mechanism by which certain anticancer drugs kill cancer cells, and is also one of the mechanisms that activate NF-kappaB. We therefore examined hepatic expression of the NF-kappaB monomer p65 in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue samples from eight patients and compared it with their respective samples of surrounding liver tissues. We also studied the effect of NF-kappaB inhibition in human HCC cells exposed to oxidative stress, by infecting HuH7 cells with a recombinant adenovirus carrying mutant IkappaBalpha (mIkappaBalpha). Cultured HuH7 cells were infected with mIkappaBalpha or beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal) for 24 hr followed by treatment with increasing concentrations of H2O2. Cytotoxicity, NF-kappaB translocation, NF-kappaB DNA binding, cell proliferation, and apoptosis were determined. The monomer p65 was overexpressed in six of eight human HCC tissues. In HuH7 cells, introduction of mIkappaBalpha potently inhibited the translocation, activation, and DNA binding of NF- kappaB. In control (beta-Gal-infected) HuH7 cells, exposure to H2O2 produced a dose-dependent increase in apoptosis, regardless of NF-kappaB status. mIkappaBalpha-mediated inhibition of NF-kappaB activation sensitized HuH7 cells to H2O2-induced inhibition of cell growth, and further promoted cell death. Addition of H2O2 (200-500 microM) to control or mIkappaBalpha-infected HuH7 cells enhanced caspase-3 activity and cleavage. Adenovirus-mediated transfer of mIkappaBalpha potently inhibits NF-kappaB activity in HuH7 cells, and this enhances oxidative stress-induced cell killing.

Adenoviridae↗

Preparative isolation and purification of polymethoxylated flavones from Tangerine peel using high-speed counter-current chromatography.

Several polymethoxylated flavones including nobiletin, 3,5,6,7,8,3',4'-heptamethoxyflavone, tangeretin and 5-hydroxy-6,7,8,3',4'-pentamethoxyflavone were separated from Tangerine peel (Juhong in Chinese) by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) with a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (1:0.8:1:1, v/v). Then, 26 mg of nobiletin, 6 mg of 3,5,6,7,8,3',4'-heptamethoxyflavone, 35 mg of tangeretin and 11 mg of 5-hydroxy-6,7,8,3',4'-pentamethoxyflavone could be obtained from 150 mg crude extracts and their purities were 98.6%, 95.9%, 99.8% and 96.8%, respectively. All these constituents were identified by EI-MS and 1H NMR.

Citrus↗

Ethanol reduces p38 kinase activation and cyclin D1 protein expression after partial hepatectomy in rats.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Chronic ethanol consumption inhibits liver regeneration. We examined the effects of chronic ethanol consumption on two mitogen-activated protein kinases in relation to induction of cell cycle proteins after partial hepatectomy (PH). METHODS: Male Wistar rats were ethanol-fed (EF) or pair-fed (PF) for 16 weeks before PH. Hepatic activation of extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK)1/2, p38 kinase and expression of cyclinD1, cyclin-dependent kinase-4 (cdk4) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were studied. RESULTS: In PF rats, PH-induced p38 activation was evident at 2h and was maximal at 12h. There was a close temporal relationship between p38 activation, cyclin D1 and PCNA expression. Alcohol exposure reduced p38 activation, cyclin D1 and PCNA, each by approximately 50%. ERK1/2 activation occurred during the first 2h post-PH in both EF and PF rats, and there was no later increase in PF rats. In vivo inhibition of p38 suppressed PCNA expression whereas the effect of ERK1/2 inhibition was inconsistent. CONCLUSIONS: p38 kinase activation is linked temporally with cyclin D1 expression after PH and appears to exert cell cycle control in the adult liver. p38 signaling also appears to be a target for the inhibitory effect of chronic alcohol on liver regeneration.

Alcoholism↗

[Effects of heavy metal ions on SOD activity of Litopenaeus vannamei hepatopancreas, gill and blood].

This paper studied the effects of Cu2+ , Zn2+ and Cd2+ on the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of Litopenaeus vannamnei hepatopancreas, gill and blood. The results showed that the SOD activity changed significantly with prolonged exposure of these ions (P < 0.05). The SOD activity of all test objectives changed with a single peak under the exposure of 0.1 - 1 mg Cu2+ x L(-1), that of hepatopancreas and of hepatopancreas and gills was inhibited obviously under 10 mg Zn2+ x L(-1) and 0.5 mg Cd2+ x L(-1), respectively, while 0.25 mg Cd2+ x L(-1) had no significant effect on that of gill. The SOD activity of hepatopancreas, gill and blood all increased first and then decreased under the prolonged exposure of < 10 mg Zn2+ x L(-1) and < 0.25 mg Cd2+ x L(-1). There was an obvious dose-time response relationship between test metal ions and SOD activity. The SOD activity was decreased in order of hepatopancreas > gill > blood, while the toxicity of test metal ions was in order of Cd2+ > Cu2+ > Zn2+.

Animals↗

Coupling development and elution, a new thin-layer chromatography technique.

Three methods of coupling development and elution were studied in this paper. (1) A new mode of solvent supplementation and eluate collection was developed for descending development. By using a new distributor and collector in descending development, components can be separated and eluted continuously. (2) The same effect can be realized with a slope distributor [Su et al., J. Planar Chromatogr. 14 (2001) 203] and a collector by horizontal development. (3) In-situ elution can be used to treat a developed silica plate, which can elute the separated components to the receptor without scraping them off. These three methods can be used individually, and the in-situ elution can be used with other modes of development.

Chromatography, Thin Layer↗