Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Ginseng, a key ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine, shows great promise as a new treatment option. As listed by the U.S. National ...Institutes of Health as a complementary and alternative medicine, its anti-cancer functions are being increasingly recognized. This review covers the mechanisms of action of ginsenosides and their metabolites, which can modulate signaling pathways associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, angiogenesis, metastasis, and stem/progenitor-like properties of cancer cells. The emerging use of structurally modified ginsenosides and recent clinical studies on the use of ginseng either alone or in combination with other herbs or Western medicines which are exploited as novel therapeutic strategies will also be explored.
Highlights • The tumor microenvironment is the key determining factor to cancer development. • Exosomes are present in ovarian cancer and closely related with tumorigenesis, metastasis, and ...prognosis. • This review discusses the multifaceted and centric role of exosomes in ovarian cancer microenvironment. • This review discusses the application of exosomes as a biomarker for diagnosis and a target for treatment.
In this study, we develop a method to detect multiple DNAs of foodborne pathogens by encapsulating emulsion droplets for loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). In contrast to the traditional ...bulk-phase LAMP, which involves a labor-intensive mixing process, with our method, different primers are automatically mixed with DNA samples and LAMP buffers after picoinjection. By directly observing and analyzing the fluorescence intensity of the resultant droplets, one can detect DNA from different pathogens, with a detection limit 500 times lower than that obtained by bulk-phase LAMP. We further demonstrate the ability to quantify bacteria concentration by detecting bacterial DNA in practical samples, showing great potential in monitoring water resources and their contamination by pathogenic bacteria.
The therapeutic potential of ginseng has been studied extensively, and ginsenosides, the active components of ginseng, are shown to be involved in modulating multiple physiological activities. This ...article will review the structure, systemic transformation and bioavailability of ginsenosides before illustration on how these molecules exert their functions via interactions with steroidal receptors. The multiple biological actions make ginsenosides as important resources for developing new modalities. Yet, low bioavailability of ginsenoside is one of the major hurdles needs to be overcome to advance its use in clinical settings.
The limitations of current anti-angiogenic therapies necessitate other targets with complimentary mechanisms. Here, we show for the first time that soluble E-cadherin (sE-cad) (an 80-kDa soluble ...form), which is highly expressed in the malignant ascites of ovarian cancer patients, is a potent inducer of angiogenesis. In addition to ectodomain shedding, we provide further evidence that sE-cad is abundantly released in the form of exosomes. Mechanistically, sE-cad-positive exosomes heterodimerize with VE-cadherin on endothelial cells and transduce a novel sequential activation of β-catenin and NFκB signaling. In vivo and clinical data prove the relevance of sE-cad-positive exosomes for malignant ascites formation and widespread peritoneal dissemination. These data advance our understanding of the molecular regulation of angiogenesis in ovarian cancer and support the therapeutic potential of targeting sE-cad. The exosomal release of sE-cad, which represents a common route for externalization in ovarian cancer, could potentially be biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis.
Ovarian cancer is most deadly gynecologic malignancies worldwide. Chemotherapy is the mainstay treatment for ovarian cancer. Despite the initial response is promising, frequent recurrence in patients ...with advanced diseases remains a therapeutic challenge. Thus, understanding the biology of chemoresistance is of great importance to overcome this challenge and will conceivably benefit the survival of ovarian cancer patients. Although mechanisms underlying the development of chemoresistance are still ambiguous, accumulating evidence has supported an integral role of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in recurrence following chemotherapy. Recently, tumor metabolism has gained interest as a reason of chemoresistance in tumors and chemotherapeutic drugs in combination with metabolism targeting approaches has been found promising in overcoming therapeutic resistance. In this review, we will summarize recent studies on CSCs and metabolism in ovarian cancer and discuss possible role of CSCs metabolism in chemoresistance.
Fatigue is a common symptom in the general population and has a substantial effect on individuals' quality of life. The Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) has been widely used to quantify the ...impact of fatigue, but no Traditional Chinese translation has yet been validated. The goal of this study was to translate the MFI from English into Traditional Chinese ('the MFI-TC') and subsequently to examine its validity and reliability.
The study recruited a convenience sample of 123 people from various age groups in Taiwan. The MFI was examined using a two-step process: (1) translation and back-translation of the instrument; and (2) examination of construct validity, convergent validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and measurement error. The validity and reliability of the MFI-TC were assessed by factor analysis, Spearman rho correlation coefficient, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), minimal detectable change (MDC), and Bland-Altman analysis. All participants completed the Short-Form-36 Health Survey Taiwan Form (SF-36-T) and the Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) concurrently to test the convergent validity of the MFI-TC. Test-retest reliability was assessed by readministration of the MFI-TC after a 1-week interval.
Factor analysis confirmed the four dimensions of fatigue: general/physical fatigue, reduced activity, reduced motivation, and mental fatigue. A four-factor model was extracted, combining general fatigue and physical fatigue as one factor. The results demonstrated moderate convergent validity when correlating fatigue (MFI-TC) with quality of life (SF-36-T) and sleep disturbances (PSQI) (Spearman's rho = 0.68 and 0.47, respectively). Cronbach's alpha for the MFI-TC total scale and subscales ranged from 0.73 (mental fatigue subscale) to 0.92 (MFI-TC total scale). ICCs ranged from 0.85 (reduced motivation) to 0.94 (MFI-TC total scale), and the MDC ranged from 2.33 points (mental fatigue) to 9.5 points (MFI-TC total scale). The Bland-Altman analyses showed no significant systematic bias between the repeated assessments.
The results support the use of the Traditional Chinese version of the MFI as a comprehensive instrument for measuring specific aspects of fatigue. Clinicians and researchers should consider interpreting general fatigue and physical fatigue as one subscale when measuring fatigue in Traditional Chinese-speaking populations.
Ginseng is a group of cosmopolitan plants with more than a dozen species belonging to the genus
in the family
that has a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Among the bioactive ...constituents extracted from ginseng, ginseng saponins are a group of natural steroid glycosides and triterpene saponins found exclusively throughout the plant. Studies have shown that these ginseng saponins play a significant role in exerting multiple therapeutic effects. This review covers their chemical structure and classification, as well as their pharmacological activities, including their regulatory effects on immunomodulation, their anticancer effects, and their functions in the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. The general benefits of ginseng saponins for boosting physical vitality and improving quality of life are also discussed. The review concludes with fruitful directions for future research in the use of ginseng saponins as effective therapeutic agents.
The treatment for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients remains a great challenge in the clinic and continuously demands discoveries of new targets and therapies. Here, we assess ...the function and therapeutic value of SIRT6 in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
The expression of SIRT6 was examined in prostate cancer tissue microarray by immunohistochemistry staining. The functions of SIRT6 and underlying mechanisms were elucidated by
and
experiments. We also developed an efficient method to silence SIRT6 by aptamer-modified exosomes carrying small interfering RNA and tested the therapeutic effect in the xenograft mice models.
SIRT6 expression is positively correlated with prostate cancer progression. Loss of SIRT6 significantly suppressed proliferation and metastasis of prostate cancer cell lines both
and
. SIRT6-driven prostate cancer displays activation of multiple cancer-related signaling pathways, especially the Notch pathway. Silencing SIRT6 by siRNA delivered through engineered exosomes inhibited tumor growth and metastasis.
SIRT6 is identified as a driver and therapeutic target for metastatic prostate cancer in our findings, and inhibition of SIRT6 by engineered exosomes can serve as a promising therapeutic tool for clinical application.
The hippocampus has been highly implicated in depression symptoms. Recent findings suggest that the expression and susceptibility of depression symptoms are related to the enhanced functioning of the ...hippocampus. We reasoned that hippocampal engrams, which represent ensembles of neurons with increased activity after memory formation, could underlie some contributions of the hippocampus to depression symptoms. Using the chronic social defeat stress model, we examined social defeat-related hippocampal engrams in mice that are either susceptible or resilient to the stressor.
mice were used to label social defeat-related hippocampal ensembles by LacZ. Engram cells correspond to ensembles that were reactivated by the same stressor. Compared with resilient and nonstressed control mice, susceptible mice exhibited a higher reactivation of social defeat-related LacZ-labeled cells (i.e., engram cells) in both the dorsal and ventral hippocampal CA1 regions. The density of CA1 engram cells correlated with the level of social avoidance. Using DREADD and optogenetic approaches to activate and inactivate social defeat-related CA1 engram cells enhanced and suppressed social avoidance, respectively. Increased engram cells in susceptible mice could not be found in the dentate gyrus. Susceptible mice exhibited more negative stimuli-related, but not neutral stimuli-related, CA1 engram cells than resilient mice in the dorsal hippocampus. Finally, chronic, but not a short and subthreshold, social defeat protocol was necessary to increase CA1 engram cell density. The susceptibility to chronic social defeat stress is regulated by hippocampal CA1 engrams for negative memory. Hippocampal negative memory engrams may underlie the vulnerability and expression of cognitive symptoms in depression.
We provided evidence that negative memory hippocampal engrams contribute to the susceptibility to developing depression-related behavior after chronic social defeat stress. The activation of positive memory engrams has been shown to alleviate depression-related behaviors, while our findings reveal the pathological roles of negative memory engrams that could lead to those behaviors. Increased negative memory engrams could be a downstream effect of the reported high hippocampal activity in animal models and patients with depression. Unlike affective symptoms, we know much less about the cellular mechanisms of the cognitive symptoms of depression. Given the crucial roles of hippocampal engrams in memory formation, enhanced reactivation of negative memory engrams could be an important cellular mechanism that underlies the cognitive symptoms of depression.
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