β-ionone inhibits nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and its association with hepatocarcinogenesis in male Wistar rats

Apocarotenoids from Equisetum debile Roxb. ex Vaucher regulate the lipid metabolism via the activation of the AMPK/ACC/SREBP-1c signaling pathway

Sixteen undescribed apocarotenoids (1-16), along with 22 known analogues, were isolated from the aerial parts of Equisetum debile. Their structures, including absolute configurations, were elucidated by NMR, HRESIMS, X-ray diffraction analysis, the modified Mosher's method and the quantum-chemical calculation of electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. Compounds 1-9, 11-12 are the first example of C16-apocarotenoids appeared in nature. The plausible biosynthetic pathway of 1-16 was proposed. Moreover, the isolates were evaluated for their lipid-lowering activity, and the results showed that 13, 14, 15, 22, 31, 32 and 33 could remarkably decrease the levels of both TC and TG in FFA induced HepG2 cells at 20 μM. The oil red staining assay further demonstrated the lipid-lowering effects of 13, 14 and 15. The western blot results indicated that compounds 13, 14 and 15 could regulate the lipid metabolism via the activation of the AMPK/ACC/SREBP-1c signaling pathway. A preliminary structure-activity relationship (SAR) study of the isolates indicated that the apocarotenoids with 6/5 ring system displayed more potent lipid-lowering effects.

In Vivo and In Vitro Models of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Current Strategies for Translational Modeling

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer-related death globally. HCC is a complex multistep disease and usually emerges in the setting of chronic liver diseases. The molecular pathogenesis of HCC varies according to the etiology, mainly caused by chronic hepatitis B and C virus infections, chronic alcohol consumption, aflatoxin-contaminated food, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease associated with metabolic syndrome or diabetes mellitus. The establishment of HCC models has become essential for both basic and translational research to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology and unravel new molecular drivers of this disease. The ideal model should recapitulate key events observed during hepatocarcinogenesis and HCC progression in view of establishing effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to be translated into clinical practice. Despite considerable efforts currently devoted to liver cancer research, only a few anti-HCC drugs are available, and patient prognosis and survival are still poor. The present paper provides a state-of-the-art overview of in vivo and in vitro models used for translational modeling of HCC with a specific focus on their key molecular hallmarks.

Comparative Analysis of Traditional and Modern Fermentation for Xuecai and Correlations Between Volatile Flavor Compounds and Bacterial Community

Differences in flavor compounds and bacterial communities of Xuecai by traditional and modern fermentation are poorly understood. Allyl isothiocyanate (E9), ethyl acetate (E1), 3-butenenitrile (N1), phenol (P1), ethanol (A1), and 3-(2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexen-1-yl) acrylaldehyde (L11) were the main flavor compounds that differed between Xuecai produced by traditional and modern fermentation. Among these compounds, the contents of N1 and E9 were higher in modern fermentation Xuecai. Traditional fermentation Xuecai possessed higher contents of A1, P1, E1, and L11. High-throughput sequencing showed that Lactobacillus-related genera was the most abundant genus (50%) in modern fermentation Xuecai. However, in traditional fermentation Xuecai, Halanaerobium (29.06%) and Halomonas (12.96%) were the dominant genera. Halophilic bacteria (HB) positively contribute to the flavor of Xuecai. Carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid metabolism were the most abundant pathways associated with the bacterial communities of the Xuecai. This indicated that Xuecai flavor formation is mainly dependent on protein and carbohydrate degradation. This study provides a novel insight that HB may be important for flavor formation of Xuecai.