Eruca sativa is a rocket plant and a member of the Brassicaceae, which is considered to be an important chemo-preventive plant family. Although Eruca sativa has positive biological effects, the effect of Eruca sativa extract (ES) on improvement of skin barrier function has not been reported. In this study, we investigated the applicability of functional materials by examining a variety of physiological activities of Eruca sativa extract. ES showed anti-microbial activities against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. In particular, antimicrobial activities of ES against B. subtilis was the highest. Additionally, immunohistochemical analysis of protein marker related to keratinocyte differentiation was determined. The treatment by ES (50 mg/L) showed a significant increase of involucrin expression compared with treatment by 0.1% DMSO as a control in skin equivalents, the ES-treated group showed similar level in the expression of involucrin compared to the group treated with the same concentration of WY14643 in EpiDerm™, a three-dimensional model of skin equivalents. These results indicate that ES promotes the expression of protein related to barrier properties of the skin. Therefore, ES may be an effective ingredient for skin barrier improvement.
In gastric cancer (GC), MET and EGFR amplification have been identified in about 2-24% and 27-64% of GC patients respectively. In this study, we characterized 286 carcinogenesis-related gene alteration and copy number variations (CNVs) in 4 human GC cell line and analyzed difference in the susceptibility of these cells to pelitinib, tepotinib or docetaxel. Utilizing next-generation sequencing panel, we evaluated the 286 gene alteration and CNVs in 4 GC cells. Also, we assessed the antitumor activity of pelitinib, tepotinib and docetaxel in GC cell lines and xenograft model. The effect of pelitinib, tepotinib and docetaxel on cell viability (IC50), apoptotic cell death, tumor volume and H&E staining were evaluated by MTS and flow cytometry. Antitumor efficacy was assessed in MKN45 xenograft mice. Compared to tepotinib, pelitinib inhibited the growth of GC cells with a gained EGFR (CNV > 3, without HRAS, KRAS and NRAS mutation) and amplified MET (CNV > 30) in a dose-dependent manner with a concomitant induction of cell death. In a murine xenograft model, tumor volumes were significantly reduced in the pelitinib, tepotinib or docetaxel-treated groups, when administered by daily oral gavage at a dose of 10, 10, 5 mg/kg/day respectively. Histologically, pelitinib, tepotinib or docetaxel induced more necrosis than in the control group. We found that pelitinib has anti-tumor activity not only in EGFR gain GCs without mutated HRAS, KRAS and NRAS but also MET amplified GCs.
The complete mitochondrial genome of the double-lined fusileer, Pterocaesio digramma, which belongs to the family Caesionidae was determined. The complete mitochondrial genome has a length of 16,504 bp and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and a control region. P. digramma has a mitochondrial gene arrangement that is typical of vertebrates. Phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial genomes of 15 related species revealed that P. digramma formed a well-supported monophyletic group with the other Caesionidae and Lutjanidae species.
The effect of TiO2 layer applied to the conventional Fe2O3/FTO photoanode to improve the photoelectrochemical performance was assessed from the viewpoint of the microstructure and energy band structure. Regardless of the location of the TiO2 layer in the photoanodes, that is, Fe2O3/TiO2/FTO or TiO2/Fe2O3/FTO, high performance was obtained when α-Fe2O3 and H-TiNT/anatase-TiO2 phases existed in the constituent Fe2O3 and TiO2 layers after optimized heat treatments. The presence of the Fe2O3 nanoparticles with high uniformity in the each layer of the Fe2O3/TiO2/FTO photoanode achieved by a simple dipping process seemed to positively affect the performance improvement by modifying the energy band structure to a more favorable one for efficient electrons transfer. Our current study suggests that the application of the TiO2 interlayer, together with α -Fe2O3 nanoparticles present in the each constituent layers, could significantly contribute to the performance improvement of the conventional Fe2O3 photoanode.
The early detection of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) using tumor markers remains an attractive prospect for the potential to downstage the disease. To validate the scale-up clinical performance of potential tumor markers for RCC (as a single marker and as a composite tumor marker composed of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT), L-Plastin (LCP1), and non-metastatic cells 1 protein (NM23A)), the scale-up assay was performed. Patients with RCC from multiple domestic institutes were included in the clinical evaluation for reassessment and improvement of the established triple markers of our product. For the diagnostic performance of the composite markers, the best-split cutoff points of each marker (147 pg/mL for NNMT, 1780 pg/mL for LCP1, and 520 pg/mL for NM23A) were installed. Serum levels of NNMT, LCP1, and NM23A were greatly increased in subjects with RCC (p < 0.0001). In 1042 blind sample tests with control individuals (n = 500) and patients with RCC (n = 542), the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the composite three-marker assay were 0.871 and 0.894, respectively, and the resulting AUC (Area under Curve) of ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) was 0.917. As a single marker, the diagnostic accuracies of NNMT, LCP1, and NM23A, as estimated by ROC, were 0.833, 0.844, and 0.601, respectively. The composite three-marker assay with NNMT, LCP1, and NM23A is a more improved novel serum marker assay for the early detection of RCC in cases of renal mass or unknown condition. The NNMT, LCP1, and NM23A triple marker assay could be a powerful diagnostic tumor marker assay to screen the early stage of RCC.
The complete mitochondrial genome was determined for the Robust tonguefish Cynoglossus robustus belonging to the family Cynoglossidae. The length of the complete mitochondrial genome is 16,720 bp, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and a control region. Rearrangements of the tRNAGln and a control region gene were found and tRNAGln is translocated from the light to the heavy strand. Phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial genomes of 12 species showed that C. robustus formed a well-supported monophyletic group with other Cynoglossus species.