Browsing by Author "Wu, Hsin-Yi"

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7,7 ''-Dimethoxyagastisflavone-induced Apoptotic or Autophagic Cell Death in Different Cancer Cells
(2012-04-01)
Hwang, Chia-Hsiang
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Lin, Yu-Ling
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Liu, Yen-Ku
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Chen, Chia-Hung
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Wu, Hsin-Yi
7,7''-Dimethoxyagastisflavone (DMGF), a biflavonoid isolated from the needles of Taxus X media cv. Hicksii, was evaluated for its antiproliferative and antineoplastic effects in three human cancer cell lines. Interestingly, DMGF caused cell death via different pathways in different cancer cells. DMGF induced apoptosis, activated caspase-3 activity and changed the mitochondrial membrane potential in HT-29 human colon cancer cells. However, the apoptotic pathway is not the major pathway involved in DMGF-induced cell death in A549 human lung cancer cells and HepG2 human hepatoma cells. Treatment with 3-MA, an inhibitor of autophagy, significantly decreased DMGF-induced cell death in HepG2 and A549 cells, but did not affect DMGF-induced cell death in HT-29 cells. Following DMGF treatment, the HepG2 cells increased expression of LC3B-II, a marker used to monitor autophagy in cells. Thus, DMGF induced apoptotic cell death in HT-29 cells, triggered both apoptotic and autophagic death in A549 cells and induced autophagic cell death in HepG2 cells. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Antibodies against Helicobacter pylori heat shock protein 60 aggravate HSP60-mediated proinflammatory responses
(2011-08-01)
Liao, Kuang-Wen
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Lin, Chen-Si
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Chen, Wen-Liang
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Yang, Chu-Ting
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Lin, Ching-Min
Anti-Helicobacter pylori heat shock protein 60 (HpHSP60) antibodies are Usually found in H. pylori-infected patients and are known to be associated with the progression of gastric diseases. However, the effects of these antibodies on the functions of HpHSP60 have not been identified. This study aims to investigate the effects of the interaction between anti-HSP60 antibodies and HpHSP60 on inflammatory responses. Anti-HpHSP60 polyclonal sera and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were produced to evaluate their effects on HpHSP60-induced IL-8 and TNF-alpha activity. The results indicated that anti-HpHSP60 polyclonal sera collected from patients infected with H. pylori or from rabbit and mice immunized with HpHSP60 could significantly enhance HpHSP60-mediated IL-8 and TNF-alpha secretion from monocytic THP-1 cells. Similar effects were also found with anti-HpHSP60 mAbs. Further analysis revealed that this phenomenon was only carried out by anti-HpHSP60 antibody but not by other non-specific mAbs. Moreover, the non-specific mAbs decreased the synergism of HpHSP60 and anti-HpHSP60 mAbs in proinflammatory cytokine induction. Herein, we have examined the role of anti-HpHSP60 antibody in host immune responses for the first time. This study demonstrated that H. pylori HSP60/mAbs could modulate helico-bacterial pathogenesis by increasing IL-8 and TNF-alpha production. The pathogen-specific antibodies may execute potential immune functions rather than recognize or neutralize microbes. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Blockade of ITGA2 Induces Apoptosis and Inhibits Cell Migration in Gastric Cancer
(2018-05-01)
Chuang, Yu-Chang
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Wu, Hsin-Yi
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Lin, Yu-Ling
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Tzou, Shey-Cherng
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Chuang, Cheng-Hsun
Background: Gastric cancer is currently the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Gastric cancer is often diagnosed at advanced stages and the outcome of the treatment is often poor. Therefore, identifying new therapeutic targets for this cancer is urgently needed. Integrin alpha 2 (ITGA2) subunit and the beta 1 subunit form a heterodimer for a transmembrane receptor for extracellular matrix, is an important molecule involved in tumor cell proliferation, survival and migration. Integrin alpha 2 beta 1 is over-expressed on a variety of cancer cells, but is low or absent in most normal organs and resting endothelial cells. Results: In this report, we assessed the ITGA2 as the potential therapeutic target with the bioinformatics tools from the TCGA dataset in which composed of 375 gastric cancer tissues and 32 gastric normal tissues. According to the information from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) database, the AGS cell line with ITGA2 high expression and the SUN-1 cell line with low expression were chosen for the further investigation. Interestingly, the anti-ITGA2 antibody (at 3 mu g/ml) inhibited approximately 50% survival of the AGS cells (over-expressed ITGA2), but had no effect in SNU-1 cells (ITGA2 negative). The extents of antibody-mediated cancer inhibition positively correlated with the expression levels of the ITGA2. We further showed that the anti-ITGA2 antibody induced apoptosis by upregulating the RhoA-p38 MAPK signaling to promote the expressions of Bim, Apaf-1 and Caspase-9, whereas the expressions of Ras and Bax/Bcl-2 were not affected. Moreover, blocking ITGA2 by the specific antibody at lower doses also inhibited cell migration of gastric cancer cells. Blockade of ITGA2 by a specific antibody down-regulated the expression of N-WASP, PAK and LIMK to impede actin organization and cell migration of gastric cancer cells. Conclusions: Here, we showed that the mRNA expression levels of ITGA2 comparing to normal tissues significantly increased. In addition, the results revealed that targeting integrin alpha 2 subunit by antibodies did not only inhibit cell migration, but also induce apoptosis effect on gastric cancer cells. Interestingly, higher expression level of ITGA2 led to significant effects on apoptosis progression during anti-ITGA2 antibody treatment, which indicated that ITGA2 expression levels directly correlate with their functionality. Our findings suggest that ITGA2 is a potential therapeutic target for gastric cancer.
In vivo amelioration of endogenous antitumor autoantibodies via low-dose P4N through the LTA4H/activin A/BAFF pathway
(2016-11-29)
Lin, Yu-Ling
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Tsai, Nu-Man
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Hsieh, Cheng-Hao
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Ho, Shu-Yi
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Chang, Jung
Cancer progression is associated with the development of antitumor autoantibodies in patients\' sera. Although passive treatment with antitumor antibodies has exhibited remarkable therapeutic efficacy, inhibitory effects on tumor progression by endogenous antitumor autoantibodies (EAAs) have been limited. In this study, we show that P4N, a derivative of the plant lignan nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), enhanced the production of EAAs and inhibited tumor growth at low noncytotoxic concentrations via its immunoregulatory activity. Intratumoral injection of P4N improved the quantity and quality of EAAs, and passive transfer of P4N-induced EAAs dramatically suppressed lung metastasis formation and prolonged the survival of mice inoculated with metastatic CT26 tumor cells. P4N-induced EAAs specifically recognized two surface antigens, 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78) and F1F0 ATP synthase, on the plasma membrane of cancer cells. Additionally, P4N treatment led to B-cell proliferation, differentiation to plasma cells, and high titers of autoantibody production. By serial induction of autocrine and paracrine signals in monocytes, P4N increased B-cell proliferation and antibody production via the leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H)/activin A/B-cell activating factor (BAFF) pathway. This mechanism provides a useful platform for studying and seeking a novel immunomodulator that can be applied in targeting therapy by improving the quantity and quality of the EAAs.
Inhibition of breast cancer with transdermal tamoxifen-encapsulated lipoplex
(2016-02-19)
Lin, Yu-Ling
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Chen, Chia-Hung
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Wu, Hsin-Yi
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Tsai, Nu-Man
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Jian, Ting-Yan
Background: Tamoxifen is currently used for the treatment of both early and advanced estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer in pre- and post-menopausal women. However, using tamoxifen routinely to inhibit endogenous or exogenous estrogen effects is occasionally difficult because of its potential side effects. Objectives: The aim of this study is to design a local drug delivery system to encapsulate tamoxifen for observing their efficacy of skin penetration, drug accumulation and cancer therapy. Methods: A cationic liposome-PEG-PEI complex (LPPC) was used as a carrier for the encapsulation of tamoxifen and forming 'LPPC/TAM' for transdermal release. The cytotoxicity of LPPC/TAM was analyzed by MTT. The skin penetration, tumor growth inhibition and organ damages were measured in xenograft mice following transdermal treatment. Results: LPPC/TAM had an average size less than 270 nm and a zeta-potential of approximately 40 mV. LPPC/TAM displayed dramatically increased the cytotoxic activity in all breast cancer cells, especially in ER-positive breast cancer cells. In vivo, LPPC drug delivery helped the fluorescent dye penetrating across the skim and accumulating rapidly in tumor area. Administration of LPPC/TAM by transdermal route inhibited about 86 % of tumor growth in mice bearing BT474 tumors. This local treatment of LPPC/TAM did not injury skin and any organs. Conclusion: LPPC-delivery system provided a better skin penetration and drug accumulation and therapeutic efficacy. Therefore, LPPC/TAM drug delivery maybe a useful transdermal tool of drugs utilization for breast cancer therapy.
Inhibitory Effects of Chloroform Extracts Derived from Corbicula fluminea on the Release of Pro-inflammatory Cytokines
(2012-04-25)
Lin, Ching-Min
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Lin, Yu-Ling
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Tsai, Nu-Man
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Wu, Hsin-Yi
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Ho, Shu-Yi
Corbicula fluminea, the primary freshwater bivalve cultivated in Taiwan, was formerly used as a remedy for hepatitis. Recent reports indicate that C. fluminea has many bioactivities, but it remains unknown whether C. fluminea affects inflammation. This study explored the anti-inflammatory activity of C.fluminea. C. fluminea was first treated with chloroform to obtain clam chloroform extracts (CCEs). On the basis of the assay for the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines in vitro and in vivo, the results show that the CCEs significantly lowered the release of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines. Additionally, the CCEs reduced LPS-induced organ damage. Real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis suggested that CCEs inhibit the LPS-induced mRNA expression of interleukin-1 beta and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Western blot analysis indicated that the CCEs increased expression of I kappa B and attenuated the phosphorylation of I kappa B. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry suggests that phytosterols and fatty adds are responsible for the anti-inflammatory properties of CCEs. Taken together, CCEs have the potential to be developed as an anti-inflammatory functional food.
miRTarBase 2016: updates to the experimentally validated miRNA-target interactions database
(2016-01-04)
Chou, Chih-Hung
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Chang, Nai-Wen
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Shrestha, Sirjana
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Hsu, Sheng-Da
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Lin, Yu-Ling
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs of approximately 22 nucleotides, which negatively regulate the gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. This study describes an update of the miRTarBase (http://miRTarBase.mbc.nctu.edu.tw/) that provides information about experimentally validated miRNA-target interactions (MTIs). The latest update of the miRTarBase expanded it to identify systematically Argonaute-miRNA-RNA interactions from 138 crosslinking and immunoprecipitation sequencing (CLIP-seq) data sets that were generated by 21 independent studies. The database contains 4966 articles, 7439 strongly validated MTIs (using reporter assays or western blots) and 348 007 MTIs from CLIP-seq. The number of MTIs in the miRTarBase has increased around 7-fold since the 2014 miRTarBase update. The miRNA and gene expression profiles from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) are integrated to provide an effective overview of this exponential growth in the miRNA experimental data. These improvements make the miRTarBase one of the more comprehensively annotated, experimentally validated miRNA-target interactions databases and motivate additional miRNA research efforts.
miRTarBase update 2018: a resource for experimentally validated microRNA-target interactions
(2018-01-04)
Chou, Chih-Hung
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Shrestha, Sirjana
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Yang, Chi-Dung
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Chang, Nai-Wen
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Lin, Yu-Ling
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs of similar to 22 nucleotides that are involved in negative regulation of mRNA at the post-transcriptional level. Previously, we developed miRTarBase which provides information about experimentally validated miRNA-target interactions (MTIs). Here, we describe an updated database containing 422 517 curated MTIs from 4076 miRNAs and 23 054 target genes collected from over 8500 articles. The number of MTIs curated by strong evidence has increased similar to 1.4-fold since the last update in 2016. In this updated version, target sites validated by reporter assay that are available in the literature can be downloaded. The target site sequence can extract new features for analysis via a machine learning approach which can help to evaluate the performance of miRNA-target prediction tools. Furthermore, different ways of browsing enhance user browsing specific MTIs. With these improvements, miRTarBase serves as more comprehensively annotated, experimentally validated miRNA-target interactions databases in the field of miRNA related research. miRTarBase is available at http://miRTarBase.mbc.nctu.edu.tw/.
RegPhos 2.0: an updated resource to explore protein kinase-substrate phosphorylation networks in mammals
(2014-04-25)
Huang, Kai-Yao
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Wu, Hsin-Yi
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Chen, Yi-Ju
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Lu, Cheng-Tsung
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Su, Min-Gang
Protein phosphorylation catalyzed by kinases plays crucial roles in regulating a variety of intracellular processes. Owing to an increasing number of in vivo phosphorylation sites that have been identified by mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics, the RegPhos, available online at http://csb.cse.yzu.edu.tw/RegPhos2/, was developed to explore protein phosphorylation networks in human. In this update, we not only enhance the data content in human but also investigate kinase-substrate phosphorylation networks in mouse and rat. The experimentally validated phosphorylation sites as well as their catalytic kinases were extracted from public resources, and MS/MS phosphopeptides were manually curated from research articles. RegPhos 2.0 aims to provide a more comprehensive view of intracellular signaling networks by integrating the information of metabolic pathways and protein-protein interactions. A case study shows that analyzing the phosphoproteome profile of time-dependent cell activation obtained from Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis, the RegPhos deciphered not only the consistent scheme in B cell receptor (BCR) signaling pathway but also novel regulatory molecules that may involve in it. With an attempt to help users efficiently identify the candidate biomarkers in cancers, 30 microarray experiments, including 39 cancerous versus normal cells, were analyzed for detecting cancer-specific expressed genes coding for kinases and their substrates. Furthermore, this update features an improved web interface to facilitate convenient access to the exploration of phosphorylation networks for a group of genes/proteins. Database URL: http://csb.cse.yzu.edu.tw/RegPhos2/
Utilization of I kappa B-EGFP Chimeric Gene as an Indicator to Identify Microbial Metabolites with NF-kappa B Inhibitor Activity
(2010-12-01)
Lin, Yu-Ling
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Chen, Yen-Shun
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Hsieh, Jui-Hung
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Lin, Ching-Min
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Wu, Hsin-Yi
NF-kappa B regulates several important expressions, such as cytokine release, anti-apoptosis, adhesion molecule expression, and cell cycle processing. Several NF-kappa B inhibitors have been discovered as an anti-tumor or anti-inflammatory drug. The activity of NF-kappa B transcription factor is negatively regulated by I kappa B binding. In this study, I kappa B assay system was established and I kappa B-EGFP fusion protein was used as an indicator to monitor the effects of substances on the I kappa B degradation. The results indicated that the chosen hydroquinone could inhibit the I kappa B degradation and cause the cell de-attachment from the bottom of culture plate. In addition, this system could also monitor the I kappa B degradation of microbial metabolite of natural mixtures of propolis. Thus, the I kappa B assay system may be a good system for drug discovery related to microbial metabolite.