Jun Sheng

High quality reference genome of drumstick tree ( Moringa oleifera Lam.), a potential perennial crop

The drumstick tree (Moringa oleifera Lam.) is a perennial crop that has gained popularity in certain developing countries for its high-nutrition content and adaptability to arid and semi-arid environments. Here we report a high-quality draft genome sequence of M. oleifera. This assembly represents 91.78% of the estimated genome size and contains 19,465 protein-coding genes. Comparative genomic analysis between M. oleifera and related woody plant genomes helps clarify the general evolution of this species, while the identification of several species-specific gene families and positively selected genes in M. oleifera may help identify genes related to M. oleifera’s high protein content, fast-growth, heat and stress tolerance. This reference genome greatly extends the basic research on M. oleifera, and may further promote applying genomics to enhanced breeding and improvement of M. oleifera.

Cytotoxic bibenzyl dimers from the stems of Dendrobium fimbriatum Hook

The bioassay-guided chemical investigation of the stems of Dendrobium fimbriatum Hook led to the isolation of seven first reported bibenzyl dimers with a linkage of a methylene moiety, fimbriadimerbibenzyls A-G (1-7), together with a new dihydrophenanthrene derivative (S)-2,4,5,9-tetrahydroxy-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene (8) and thirteen known compounds (9-21). The structure of the new compound was established by spectroscopic analysis. Biological evaluation of bibenzyl derivatives against five human cell lines indicated that seven of those compounds exhibited broad-spectrum and cytotoxic activities with IC50 values ranging from 2.2 to 21.2 μM. Those rare bibenzyl dimers exhibited cytotoxic activities in vitro and the cytotoxicity decreased as the number of oxygen-containing groups in the structure decreases.

Caffeine is responsible for the bloodglucose-lowering effects of green tea and Puer tea extractsin BALB/c mice.

The present study was designed to determine the effects of Puer tea and green tea on blood glucose level. Male BALB/c mice were administered green tea extract (GTE) or Puer tea extract (PTE), either intragastrically or in their drinking water. The major components of these teas are epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and caffeine, respectively. Blood glucose measurement results showed that mice fed intragastrically or mice that drank GTE, PTE or caffeine showed significantly lower blood glucose levels compared to the control group. However, EGCG exhibited no influence on the blood glucose levels. When caffeine was eliminated from the GTE and PTE, the effect on the blood glucose levels was abolished, but the effect was recovered when caffeine was re-introduced into the extracts. Evaluation of hematological and biochemical indices at the time of the greatest caffeine-induced decrease in blood glucose levels showed that the effect of caffeine was specific. Microarray analyses were performed in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and mature adipocytes treated with 0.1 mg · mL(-1) caffeine to identify factors that might be involved in the mechanisms underlying these effects. The results showed that few genes were changed after caffeine treatment in adipocytes, and of them only phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP) may be ralated to blood glucose. In conclusion, this study indicates that caffeine may be the key constituent of tea that decreases blood glucose levels, and it may be used to treat type 2 diabetes.

Pu-Erh Tea Extract Induces the Degradation of FET Family Proteins Involved in the Pathogenesis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

FET family proteins consist of fused in sarcoma/translocated in liposarcoma (FUS/TLS), Ewings sarcoma (EWS), and TATA-binding protein-associated factor 15 (TAF15). Mutations in the copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1), TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), and FET family proteins are associated with the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurodegenerative disease. There is currently no cure for this disease and few effective treatments are available. Epidemiological studies indicate that the consumption of tea is associated with a reduced risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases. The results of this study revealed that components of a pu-erh tea extract (PTE) interacted with FET family proteins but not with TDP-43 or SOD1. PTE induced the degradation of FET family proteins but had no effects on TDP-43 or SOD1. The most frequently occurring ALS-linked FUS/TLS mutant protein, R521C FUS/TLS, was also degraded in the presence of PTE. Furthermore, ammonium chloride, a lysosome inhibitor, but not lactacystin, a proteasome inhibitor, reduced the degradation of FUS/TLS protein by PTE. PTE significantly reduced the incorporation of R521C FUS/TLS into stress granules under stress conditions. These findings suggest that PTE may have beneficial health effects, including preventing the onset of FET family protein-associated neurodegenerative diseases and delaying the progression of ALS by inhibiting the cytoplasmic aggregation of FET family proteins.

Synthesis and Biological Testing of Novel Glucosylated Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) Derivatives

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the most abundant component of green tea catechins and has strong physiological activities. In this study, two novel EGCG glycosides (EGCG-G1 and EGCG-G2) were chemoselectively synthesized by a chemical modification strategy. Each of these EGCG glycosides underwent structure identification, and the structures were assigned as follows: epigallocatechin gallate-4′′-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (EGCG-G1, 2) and epigallocatechin gallate-4′,4′′-O-β-d-gluco-pyranoside (EGCG-G2, 3). The EGCG glycosides were evaluated for their anticancer activity in vitro against two human breast cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) using MTT assays. The inhibition rate of EGCG glycosides (EGCG-G1 and EGCG-G2) is not obvious. The EGCG glycosides are more stable than EGCG in aqueous solutions, but exhibited decreasing antioxidant activity in the DPPH radical-scavenging assay (EGCG > EGCG-G2 > EGCG-G1). Additionally, the EGCG glycosides exhibited increased water solubility: EGCG-G2 and EGCG-G1 were 15 and 31 times as soluble EGCG, respectively. The EGCG glycosides appear to be useful, and further studies regarding their biological activity are in progress.

Two new dendrocandins with neurite outgrowth-promoting activity from Dendrobium officinale.

Two new bibenzyl derivatives, dendrocandin T (1) and dendrocandin U (2), together with eight known bibenzyls, were isolated from the stems of Dendrobium officinale. Those compounds were sent for the first time for central nervous system-related bioassay and the results indicated that compounds 3, 4, and 5 have a certain degree of neurite outgrowth-promoting activity, and compounds 1, 2, 6, and 7 also have weak activity. The results indicated that D. officinale used as health food and traditional Chinese medicine “Tiepi Shihu” has a health function of neurotrophic effects.

Pu-erh Tea Extract Ameliorates Ovariectomy-Induced Osteoporosis in Rats and Suppresses Osteoclastogenesis In Vitro

Background and Objective: Tea drinking is associated with positive effects on bone health and may protect against osteoporosis, especially in elderly women. Pu-erh tea has many beneficial effects on human health; however, whether Pu-erh tea has anti-osteoporotic potential remains unclear. Thus, we investigated the effects of Pu-erh tea extract (PTE) on ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats and on osteoclastogenesis in vitro. Methods: Female Wistar rats were divided into six groups: the sham, model, and Xian-Ling-Gu-Bao capsule (XLGB) groups, and the low-, medium-, and high-dose PTE groups. Ovariectomized (OVX) rats were used as an animal model of osteoporosis. The animals were intragastrically administered distilled water, XLGB, or different concentrations of PTE for 13 weeks. Body weight, blood biochemical indicators, relative organ coefficients, femoral bone mineral density (BMD), bone biomechanical properties, and bone microarchitecture were examined and analyzed. Additionally, the in vitro effects of PTE on osteoclastic activities were investigated using the RAW 264.7 cell line as an osteoclast differentiation model. The effects of PTE on osteoclast differentiation and the expression of osteoclast-specific genes and proteins were determined. Results: PTE reduced OVX-induced body weight gain after 6 weeks of treatment, and the high-dose exerted a significant effect. High-dose PTE significantly ameliorated OVX-induced estradiol (E2) deficiency. PTE treatment maintained calcium and phosphorus homeostasis and improved other blood biochemical parameters to various degrees. In addition, PTE treatment improved organ coefficients of the femur, uterus, and vagina and improved femoral BMD and bone biomechanical properties. PTE treatment strikingly ameliorated bone microarchitecture. Moreover, in the in vitro studies, osteoclast differentiation using the differentiation cell model was significantly inhibited by PTE without cytotoxic effects. Additionally, PTE efficaciously suppressed the expression of key osteoclast-specific genes and proteins. Conclusion: PTE can ameliorate ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats and suppress osteoclastogenesis in vitro.

Anti-Skin-Aging Effect of Epigallocatechin Gallate by Regulating Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Pathway on Aging Mouse Model Induced by D-Galactose.

Epigallocatechin gallate(EGCG) is a monomer separated from tea catechins, as an well-known antioxidant, which helps fight wrinkles and rejuvenate skin cells. In this study, we investigated the anti-aging effect of EGCG, and to clarify underlying mechanism of skin aging in a d-galactose-induced aging mouse model. Forty-five male mice were divided into 5 groups and treated with different dose of EGCG, Vitamin C (VitC) to mice as a positive control. All groups except vehicle were established aging model induced by d-galactose (200mg/kg/day) that was subcutaneously injected to mice for 8 weeks. Two weeks after injection of d-galactose, EGCG and Vit C groups were simultaneously administered once a day by subcutaneously inject after 5h for injecting d-galactose. The results show that EGCG can be absorbed by the skin. Overall, the conditions of the skin of EGCG-treatment groups were improved, the whole structure of skin were better than control groups, and the levels of oxidative stress and the expression of relate with EGFR proteins were significantly higher than control group after EGCG treatment. All these findings suggest that EGCG can resist skin senility effectively. And the EGFR with relate of downstream proteins are implicated in the skin aging.

Tea polysaccharide inhibits RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis in RAW264.7 cells and ameliorates ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Tea drinking has positive effects on bone health and may prevent and treat osteoporosis, especially in older and postmenopausal women. Tea polysaccharide (TPS) is a major bioactive constituent in tea. Despite its profound effects on human health, whether TPS has anti-osteoporotic effects remains largely unknown. As such, we investigated the anti-osteoporotic effects of TPS. METHODS In vitro, TPS effects on osteoclastogenesis were examined using osteoclast precursor RAW264.7 cells. TPS effects on osteoclastogenesis-related expression of marker genes and proteins were determined by gene expression and immunoblotting analyses, respectively. For in vivo studies, 12-week-old female Wistar rats were divided randomly into a sham-operated group (sham) and four ovariectomized (OVX) subgroups: OVX with vehicle (model) and OVX with low-, medium-, and high-dose TPS (0.32, 0.64 and 1.28 g/kg body weight/day, respectively). TPS was administered intragastrically to rats for 13 weeks. Body weight, blood biochemical parameters, organ weight, organ coefficients, femoral length, bone mineral density (BMD), biomechanical properties, and bone microarchitecture were documented. RESULTS TPS inhibited osteoclast differentiation significantly and dose-dependently, and its inhibitory effect was not due to toxicity to RAW264.7 cells. TPS suppressed expression of osteoclastogenesis-related marker genes and proteins significantly. In in vivo studies, medium-dose TPS treatment ameliorated OVX-induced calcium loss significantly. Low-dose TPS treatment decreased the activity of acid phosphatase (ACP) in OVX rats significantly. In addition, TPS treatment improved other blood biochemical parameters and femoral biomechanical properties to a certain extent. More importantly, TPS treatment ameliorated bone microarchitecture in OVX rats strikingly because of increased cortical bone thickness and trabecular bone area in the femur. CONCLUSION TPS can inhibit receptor activator nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis in RAW264.7 cells and ameliorate ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats.

Epigallocatechin Gallate Targets Notch to Attenuate the Inflammatory Response in the Immediate Early Stage in Human Macrophages

Inflammation plays important roles at different stages of diabetes mellitus, tumorigenesis, and cardiovascular diseases. (−)-Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) can attenuate inflammatory responses effectively. However, the immediate early mechanism of EGCG in inflammation remains unclear. Here, we showed that EGCG attenuated the inflammatory response in the immediate early stage of EGCG treatment by shutting off Notch signaling and that the effect did not involve the 67-kDa laminin receptor, the common receptor for EGCG. EGCG eliminated mature Notch from the cell membrane and the nuclear Notch intercellular domain, the active form of Notch, within 2 min by rapid degradation via the proteasome pathway. Transcription of the Notch target gene was downregulated simultaneously. Knockdown of Notch 1/2 expression by RNA interference impaired the downregulation of the inflammatory response elicited by EGCG. Further study showed that EGCG inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation and turned off Notch signaling in human primary macrophages. Taken together, our results show that EGCG targets Notch to regulate the inflammatory response in the immediate early stage.