Van L. T. Hoang

Mango fruit peel and flesh extracts affect adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells

Obesity is associated with many chronic disease states, such as diabetes mellitus, coronary disease and certain cancers, including those of the breast and colon. There is a growing body of evidence that links phytochemicals with the inhibition of adipogenesis and protection against obesity. Mangoes (Mangifera indica L.) are tropical fruits that are rich in a diverse array of bioactive phytochemicals. In this study, methanol extracts of peel and flesh from three archetypal mango cultivars; Irwin, Nam Doc Mai and Kensington Pride, were assessed for their effects on a 3T3-L1 pre-adipocyte cell line model of adipogenesis. High content imaging was used to assess: lipid droplets per cell, lipid droplet area per cell, lipid droplet integrated intensity, nuclei count and nuclear area per cell. Mango flesh extracts from the three cultivars did not inhibit adipogenesis; peel extracts from both Irwin and Nam Doc Mai, however, did so with the Nam Doc Mai extract most potent at inhibiting adipogenesis. Peel extract from Kensington Pride promoted adipogenesis. The inhibition of adipogenesis by Irwin (100 μg mL(-1)) and Nam Doc Mai peel extracts (50 and 100 μg mL(-1)) was associated with an increase in the average nuclear area per cell; similar effects were seen with resveratrol, suggesting that these extracts may act through pathways similar to resveratrol. These results suggest that differences in the phytochemical composition between mango cultivars may influence their effectiveness in inhibiting adipogenesis, and points to mango fruit peel as a potential source of nutraceuticals.

Antimicrobial peptides from marine sources.

Despite the success in antimicrobial development, the rapid emergence of pathogenic bacteria resistance to conventional antibiotics calls for an increased focus on the purification and characterization of new antimicrobials. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising candidates in future therapeutics. In addition to their broad array of antimicrobial activity, these peptides show multi advent function to human health. The marine environment is relatively poorly explored in terms of potential pharmaceuticals. It contains a tremendous organism diversity which would be a good source of novel AMPs. In this present review we discuss recent antimicrobial peptides isolated from both marine fish and marine invertebrates. We also mention the isolation and benefit of these marine-derived natural antibiotics.

Polyphenolic contents and the effects of methanol extracts from mango varieties on breast cancer cells

Bioactivities of peel and flesh extracts of 3 genetically diverse mango (Mangifera indica L.) varieties were studied. Nam Doc Mai peel extracts, containing the largest amounts of polyphenols, were associated with an effect on MCF-7 viable cell numbers with an IC50 (dose required for 50% inhibition of cell viability) of 56 μg/mL and significantly (p<0.01) induced cell death in MDA-MB-231 cells, compared with other varieties. Hydrophilic fractions of Nam Doc Mai peel extracts had the highest bioactivity values against both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Soluble polyphenols were present in the largest amounts in most hydrophilic fractions. The Nam Doc Mai mango variety contains high levels of fruit peel bioactivity, which appears to be related to the nature of the polyphenol composition.

RNA-seq reveals more consistent reference genes for gene expression studies in human non-melanoma skin cancers

Identification of appropriate reference genes (RGs) is critical to accurate data interpretation in quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) experiments. In this study, we have utilised next generation RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to analyse the transcriptome of a panel of non-melanoma skin cancer lesions, identifying genes that are consistently expressed across all samples. Genes encoding ribosomal proteins were amongst the most stable in this dataset. Validation of this RNA-seq data was examined using qPCR to confirm the suitability of a set of highly stable genes for use as qPCR RGs. These genes will provide a valuable resource for the normalisation of qPCR data for the analysis of non-melanoma skin cancer.

Microbiopsy Biomarker Profiling in a Superficial Melanoma Resembling a Pigmented Basal Cell Carcinoma

Microbiopsy Biomarker Profiling in a Superficial Melanoma Resembling a Pigmented Basal Cell Carcinoma The skin microbiopsy device is a minimally invasive and painless technique used as an alternative to conventional biopsy techniques for collecting cells from the epidermis to the papillary dermis for molecular diagnosis and research.1 We used microbiopsy samples and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis to differentiate between a histopathologically proven superficial pigmented basal cell carcinoma (BCC) (Figure 1A and B) and a superficial melanoma resembling a pigmented BCC (index lesion from the case patient) (Figure 1C and D).

Skin microbiopsy for HPV DNA detection in cutaneous warts

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