Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine

193-200

Authors: Ashwini Malla, Balamurugan Shanmugaraj, Sathishkumar Ramalingam

The unprecedented resurgence and geographical expansion of arboviral infections such as dengue, Chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika have a significant impact on human health and pose a serious threat to public health globally in recent years. Zika virus is a Flavivirus and is transmitted to humans through an infected mosquito bite. The Zika virus has been identified in many countries in Africa, Asia, and Pacific islands and sporadic human cases have been reported since 1947. The non-specific clinical symptoms of Zika fever are often misdiagnosed with other arboviral infections, especially dengue and chikungunya. Till now, there is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for Zika infection. The recent emergence of Zika is alarming and highlights the need for arboviral research to develop an effective treatment. Here in this review, we discussed the epidemiology of Zika, which has re-emerged in the recent decade and caused international concern.

208-215

Authors: Mi-Kyoung You, Gwang-Woong Go, Hwa-Jin Kim, Jin Rhyu, Hyeon A Kim

Objective: To explore the inhibitory effect of water extract from pear pomace on abdominal fat accumulation and its underlying mechanism in high fat diet-fed animals. Methods: Three groups of male C57BL/6J mice were fed with a 60% kcal fat diet for 8 weeks. Pear pomace water extract (200 or 400 mg/kg body weight) was administered once daily via oral gavage. To confirm the possibility of the water extract of pear pomace acting as an activator of adenosine 5’-monophosphate- activated protein kinase (AMPK), differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes was induced in the presence of the water extract of pear pomace with or without compound C. Body weight, food efficacy ratio, insulin resistance, and adipogenic protein expression were measured. Moreover, in the 3T3-L1 cells, lipid content and lipogenesis-related proteins were measured using Oil Red O staining and Western blotting analysis. Results: Body weight gain and total abdominal fat weight were reduced in mice treated with pear pomace water extract. Pear pomace water extract reduced fasting blood glucose and insulin, thereby reducing the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance. It also resulted in dose-dependent decreases in triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein- cholesterol. The protein expression of p-AMPK increased, while the expression of AMPK-downstream proteins including PPAR-γ, C/ EBPa, SREBP-1c, ACC, and FAS decreased in the adipose tissue of mice treated with pear pomace water extract. Furthermore, the inhibition of AMPK by compound C blocked pear pomace water extract-induced reduction of lipid content and the expression of lipogenesis-related genes. Conclusions: Pear pomace water extract prevents fat accumulation both in vivo and in vitro by activating AMPK.

224-231

Authors: Zheng-Wen Wang, Hao Liu, Geng-Tai Ye, Zhi-Yong Sheng, Yan-Feng Hu, Yin-Feng Tan, Guo-Xin Li

Objective: To investigate the cytotoxic effects and the potential mechanisms of crebanine N-oxide in SGC-7901 gastric adenocarcinoma cells. Methods: The cytotoxicity of crebanine N-oxide was evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide assay and cellular morphology was observed under a microscope. Cell apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry using propidium iodide staining. The expression levels of apoptotic-related proteins, cleaved caspase-3, cytochrome C, p53 and Bax, and autophagy- related proteins p62, beclin1 and LC3 were detected by Western blotting assays. Results: Crebanine N-oxide treatment significantly inhibited the proliferation of SGC-7901 cells in a dose-dependent and time- dependent manner via induction of G2-phase cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and autophagy in SGC-7901 cells. Conclusions: Crebanine N-oxide could inhibit the growth of gastric cancer cells by promoting apoptosis and autophagy and could be used as a potential agent for treating gastric cancer.