1.Multivalent hyaluronic acid bioconjugates improve sFlt-1 activity in vitro.
Altiok EI1, Santiago-Ortiz JL2, Svedlund FL3, Zbinden A1, Jha AK1, Bhatnagar D1, Loskill P4, Jackson WM1, Schaffer DV5, Healy KE6. Biomaterials. 2016 Mar 12;93:95-105. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2016.03.017. [Epub ahead of print]
Anti-VEGF drugs that are used in conjunction with laser ablation to treat patients with diabetic retinopathy suffer from short half-lives in the vitreous of the eye resulting in the need for frequent intravitreal injections. To improve the intravitreal half-life of anti-VEGF drugs, such as the VEGF decoy receptor sFlt-1, we developed multivalent bioconjugates of sFlt-1 grafted to linear hyaluronic acid (HyA) chains termed mvsFlt. Using size exclusion chromatography with multiangle light scattering (SEC-MALS), SDS-PAGE, and dynamic light scattering (DLS), we characterized the mvsFlt with a focus on the molecular weight contribution of protein and HyA components to the overall bioconjugate size. We found that mvsFlt activity was independent of HyA conjugation using a sandwich ELISA and in vitro angiogenesis assays including cell survival, migration and tube formation. Using an in vitro model of the vitreous with crosslinked HyA gels, we demonstrated that larger mvsFlt bioconjugates showed slowed release and mobility in these hydrogels compared to low molecular weight mvsFlt and unconjugated sFlt-1.
2.Accelerating full thickness wound healing using Collagen Sponge of Mrigal Fish (Cirrhinus cirrhosus) scale Origin.
Pal P1, Srivas PK1, Dadhich P1, Das B1, Maity PP1, Moulik D2, Dhara S3. Int J Biol Macromol. 2016 Apr 13. pii: S0141-8130(16)30340-3. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2016.04.032. [Epub ahead of print]
The potentiality of collagen sponge as a skin substitute, derived from mrigal (Cirrhinus cirrhosus) scale has been explored in this study. Acid soluble collagen (ASC) and pepsin soluble collagen (PSC) from the scale of mrigal were isolated and characterized. The yields of ASC and PSC were ∼3% and ∼7% based on the dry weight of scale while the hydroxyproline content was ∼90mg/g. Scanning electron microscope revealed progressive demineralization with EDTA on time dependent scale. Further, the D-Spacing in fibril bundles were calculated to be ∼67nm. Fourier transform infrared and circular dichroism spectra confirmed extracted protein to be collagen I, where both ASC and PSC comprised of two different α-chains (α1 and α2). The denaturation temperature (Td) of the collagen solution was 35°C closer to Td of mammalian collagen. In vitro cell culture studies on the extracted collagen sponge showed efficient cell growth and proliferation. Additionally, co-culture with fibroblast and keratinocyte cells showed development of stratified epidermal layer in vitro.
3.Lipoic Acid Exerts Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Effects in Response to Heat Shock in C2C12 Myotubes.
Lee CT1, Chang LC2, Wu PF3. Inflammation. 2016 Apr 16. [Epub ahead of print]
This study explored that lipoic acid treatment for 24 h significantly upregulated and promoted heat shock-induced catalase expression and downregulated GPx1 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression, indicating that lipoic acid exhibits antioxidant activity in the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide by upregulating catalase expression. Moreover, lipoic acid treatment for 3 h increased and promoted heat shock-induced interleukin (IL)-6 mRNA and protein levels and that for 24 h downregulated IL-6 mRNA expression, suggesting a dual effect of lipoic acid on IL-6 regulation. Lipoic acid alone failed to increase or reduce tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α mRNA and protein levels, whereas heat shock alone downregulated TNF-α mRNA and protein expression. These data suggest that lipoic acid does not have a proinflammatory role and that heat shock acts as an anti-inflammatory agent by downregulating TNF-α expression in C2C12 myotubes. Moreover, lipoic acid or heat shock alone upregulated the IL-6 receptor (IL-6R-α) and glycoprotein 130 (gp130) mRNA expression followed by IL-6 expression; these data indicate that the regulation of lipoic acid or heat shock is mediated by IL-6R signaling, thus suggesting that C2C12 myotubes possesses a mechanism for regulating IL-6R and gp130 expression following lipoic acid treatment or heat shock.
4.Antihyperlipidemic and Antioxidant Activities of Edible Tunisian Ficus carica L. Fruits in High Fat Diet-Induced Hyperlipidemic Rats.
Belguith-Hadriche O1,2, Ammar S3,4, Contreras MD4, Turki M5, Segura-Carretero A4, El Feki A6, Makni-Ayedi F5, Bouaziz M7. Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2016 Apr 16. [Epub ahead of print]
The phenolic constituents of the aqueous-ethanolic extract of Tunisian Ficus carica (F. carica) fruit (FE) and its antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant activities in high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemic rats (HFD) were evaluated. The obtained results demonstrated that the FE improved the lipid profile by decreasing the total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. It also reduced the content of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances and increased the antioxidant enzymes in liver, heart and kidney in HFD-fed rats. These antihyperlipidemic effects and in vivo antioxidative effects correlated with the in vitro phenolic content scavenging ability. Thus, the major phenolic compounds were identified using reversed-phase ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-UHPLC) coupled with two detection systems: diode-array detection (DAD) and quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry (MS).
