Capsaicin, a spicy component of hot peppers, modulates adipokine gene expression and protein release from obese-mouse adipose tissues and isolated adipocytes, and suppresses the inflammatory responses of adipose tissue macrophages

AbstractAdipokines are involved in the obesity-induced chronic inflammatory response that plays a crucial role in the development of obesity-related pathologies such as type II diabetes and atherosclerosis. We here demonstrate that capsaicin, a naturally occurring phytochemical, can suppress obesity-induced inflammation by modulating adipokine release from and macrophage behavior in obese mice adipose tissues. Capsaicin inhibited the expressions of IL-6 and MCP-1 mRNAs and protein release from the adipose tissues and adipocytes of obese mice, whereas it enhanced the expression of the adiponectin gene and protein. The action of capsaicin is associated with NF-κB inactivation and/or PPARγ activation. Moreover, capsaicin suppressed not only macrophage migration induced by the adipose tissue-conditioned medium, but also macrophage activation to release proinflammatory mediators. Capsaicin may be a useful phytochemical for attenuating obesity-induced inflammation and obesity-related complications

Capsaicin inhibits the production of tumor necrosis factor α by LPS-stimulated murine macrophages, RAW 264.7: a PPARγ ligand-like action as a novel mechanism

AbstractCapsaicin, a major ingredient of hot pepper, is considered to exhibit anti-inflammatory properties. Our previous study demonstrated that capsaicin inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory mediators through NF-κB inactivation in LPS-stimulated macrophages. In order to further clarify the mechanism underlying the anti-inflammatory action of capsaicin, we investigated whether capsaicin alters PPARγ activity, which regulates the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNFα. Capsaicin significantly inhibited the production of TNFα by macrophages in a dose-dependent manner. Simultaneous exposure of the cells to capsaicin and PPARγ agonist troglitazone or RXR agonist LG100268 resulted in stronger inhibition of TNFα production compared to the cells treated with either capsaicin, troglitazone, or LG100268 alone. Luciferase reporter assay revealed that capsaicin induced GAL4/PPARγ chimera and full length PPARγ (PPRE) transactivations in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, a specific PPARγ antagonist T0070907 abrogated the inhibitory action of capsaicin on LPS-induced TNFα production by RAW 264.7 cells, indicating that capsaicin acts like a ligand for PPARγ. Our data demonstrate for the first time that the anti-inflammatory action of capsaicin may be mediated by PPARγ activation in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Phytochrome A Regulates the Intracellular Distribution of Phototropin 1–Green Fluorescent Protein in Arabidopsis thaliana[W]

It has been known for decades that red light pretreatment has complex effects on subsequent phototropic sensitivity of etiolated seedlings. Here, we demonstrate that brief pulses of red light given 2 h prior to phototropic induction by low fluence rates of blue light prevent the blue light–induced loss of green fluorescent protein–tagged phototropin 1 (PHOT1-GFP) from the plasma membrane of cortical cells of transgenic seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana expressing PHOT1-GFP in a phot1-5 null mutant background. This red light effect is mediated by phytochrome A and requires ∼2 h in the dark at room temperature to go to completion. It is fully far red reversible and shows escape from photoreversibility following 30 min of subsequent darkness. Red light–induced inhibition of blue light–inducible changes in the subcellular distribution of PHOT1-GFP is only observed in rapidly elongating regions of the hypocotyl. It is absent in hook tissues and in mature cells below the elongation zone. We hypothesize that red light–induced retention of the PHOT1-GFP on the plasma membrane may account for the red light–induced increase in phototropic sensitivity to low fluence rates of blue light

Cellular Anti-Melanogenic Effects of a Euryale ferox Seed Extract Ethyl Acetate Fraction via the Lysosomal Degradation Machinery

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ethyl acetate fraction of Euryale ferox seed extracts (Efse-EA) on melanogenesis in immortalized mouse melanocyte cell line, melan-a. Efse-EA showed strong dose-dependent mushroom tyrosinase inhibitory activity. Treatment of melan-a cells with 30 μg/mL Efse-EA produced strong inhibition of cellular tyrosinase and melanin synthesis. Efse-EA significantly reduced the levels of melanogenesis-related proteins, such as tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related proteins 1 and 2, and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor. Because Efse-EA treatment reduced tyrosinase protein levels without changing its mRNA expression, we investigated whether this decrease was related to proteasomal or lysosomal degradation of tyrosinase. We found that chloroquine, a lysosomal proteolysis inhibitor, almost completely abolished both the down-regulation of tyrosinase and the inhibition of melanin synthesis induced by Efse-EA. These results suggested that Efse-EA may contribute to the inhibition of melanogenesis by altering lysosomal degradation of tyrosinase, and that this extract may provide a new cosmetic skin-whitening agent

Improvement of lignin oil properties by combination of organic solvents and formic acid during supercritical depolymerization

Supercritical treatment of ethanol organosolv lignin was conducted to produce lignin-derived bio-oil. The reaction was performed at 350 °C for 40 min with 3 MPa hydrogen gas pressure. To improve the yield of lignin oil and inhibit repolymerization during supercritical treatment, formic acid was added to the solvent. The effect of formic acid was examined by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and elemental analysis. The maximum yield of lignin oils was shown to reach up to 70 wt% with the addition of formic acid. When 7% formic acid was used, the resulting lignin oil exhibited the highest monomer content at approximately 56 mg/g and the lowest oxygen/carbon molar ratio (O/C) of 0.26. The main degradation products in the lignin oil were syringol, 4-methylsyringol, and p-cresol. The lignin oil contained a larger proportion of syringyl unit monomers than guaiacyl because yellow poplar is hardwood, consisting primarily of syringyls. The molecular weight of lignin oils increased with the addition of formic acid since lignin-derived oligomers were also produced. Meanwhile, experiments were performed using methanol and isopropanol to investigate the relationship between the solvent type and lignin depolymerization. Isopropanol led to a higher yield of lignin oil compared to ethanol, but amounts of monomeric products were much lower. Therefore, supercritical ethanol treatment with 7% formic acid under pressure from hydrogen gas is considered to be more effective when compared to other conditions, and this procedure demonstrated the possibility for better production of lignin-derived products during thermal decomposition reactions.This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (NRF-2012R1A1A2008592).OAIID:RECH_ACHV_DSTSH_NO:T201623481RECH_ACHV_FG:RR00200001ADJUST_YN:EMP_ID:A079993CITE_RATE:3.652DEPT_NM:국제농업기술학과EMAIL:[email protected]_YN:YCONFIRM: