Geranylgeraniol and Neurological Impairment: Involvement of Apoptosis and Mitochondrial Morphology

Deregulation of the cholesterol pathway is an anomaly observed in human diseases, many of which have in common neurological involvement and unknown pathogenesis. In this study we have used Mevalonate Kinase Deficiency (MKD) as a disease-model in order to investigate the link between the deregulation of the mevalonate pathway and the consequent neurodegeneration. The blocking of the mevalonate pathway in a neuronal cell line (Daoy), using statins or mevalonate, induced an increase in the expression of the inflammasome gene (NLRP3) and programmed cell death related to mitochondrial dysfunction. The morphology of the mitochondria changed, clearly showing the damage induced by oxidative stress and the decreased membrane potential associated with the alterations of the mitochondrial function. The co-administration of geranylgeraniol (GGOH) reduced the inflammatory marker and the damage of the mitochondria, maintaining its shape and components. Our data allow us to speculate about the mechanism by which isoprenoids are able to rescue the inflammatory marker in neuronal cells, independently from the block of the mevalonate pathway, and about the fact that cell death is mitochondria-related.     

降胆固醇乳酸菌的筛选及其在内蒙古发酵香肠中的应用

通过对乳酸菌降胆固醇生物学特性及对发酵肉制品中胆固醇降解作用进行研究,结果表明,从内蒙古传统肉肠中分离筛选得到的8 株乳酸菌中,菌株X3-2B有较强的胆固醇降解能力。且在MRS培养基中添加3 g/L胆盐、20 g/L胆固醇和 20 g/L葡萄糖时菌株X3-2B的胆固醇降解能力最大,在不同培养基中发酵不同时间菌株X3-2B对胆固醇的降解能力显著高于标准菌株。在以菌株X3-2B为发酵剂的发酵香肠中,其胆固醇含量显著低于对照组。故菌株X3-2B可作为一株降胆固醇性能较好的肉制品发酵剂。     

Association between Single Nucleotide Polymorphism rs1044925 and the Risk of Coronary Artery Disease and Ischemic Stroke

The present study was performed to clarify the association between the acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase-1 (ACAT-1) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1044925 and the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) and ischemic stroke (IS) in the Guangxi Han population. Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism was performed to determine the genotypes of the ACAT-1 SNP rs1044925 in 1730 unrelated subjects (CAD, 587; IS, 555; and healthy controls; 588). The genotypic and allelic frequencies of rs1044925 were significantly different between the CAD patients and controls (p = 0.015) and borderline different between the IS patients and controls (p = 0.05). The AC/CC genotypes and C allele were associated with a decreased risk of CAD and IS (CAD: p = 0.014 for AC/CC vs. AA, p = 0.022 for C vs. A; IS: p = 0.014 for AC/CC vs. AA; p = 0.017 for C vs. A). The AC/CC genotypes in the healthy controls, but not in CAD or IS patients, were associated with an increased serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration. The present study shows that the C allele carriers of ACAT-1 rs1044925 were associated with an increased serum HDL-C level in the healthy controls and decreased risk in CAD and IS patients.     

Role of Serum Cholesterol and Statin Use in the Risk of Prostate Cancer Detection and Tumor Aggressiveness

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between statin use along with serum cholesterol levels and prostate cancer (PCa) detection and aggressiveness. Statin users of three years or more and serum cholesterol levels (SC) were assessed in 2408 men scheduled for prostate biopsy. SC was classified as normal (NSC: <200 mg/dL) or high (HSC: >200 mg/dL). High-grade PCa (HGPCa) was considered if the Gleason score was greater than 7. Statin users comprised 30.9% of those studied. The PCa detection rate was 31.2% of men on statins and 37% of non-statin users (p < 0.006). The PCa detection rate was 26.3% in men with NSC and 40.6% in those with HSC (p < 0.001). In the subset of NSC men, the PCa rate was 26.5% for statin users and 26.2% for non-users (p = 0.939), while in men with HSC, the PCa rate was 36.4% for statin users and 42.0% for non-statin users (p = 0.063). The HGPCa rate was 41.8% for statin users and 32.5% for non-users (p = 0.012). NSC men had a 53.8% rate of HGPCa, while the rate was only 27.6% in HSC men (p < 0.001). NSC men on statins had an HGPCa rate of 70.2%, while non-statin users had a rate of 41.2% (p < 0.001). The HGPCa rate for HSC men on statins was 18.8%, while the rate was 30.0% (p = 0.011) for non-users. Logistic regression analysis suggested that serum cholesterol levels could serve as an independent predictor of PCa risk, OR 1.87 (95% CI 1.56–2.24) and HGPCa risk, OR 0.31 (95% CI 0.23–0.44), while statin usage could not. Statin treatment may prevent PCa detection through serum cholesterol-mediated mechanisms. A disturbing increase in the HGPCa rate was observed in statin users who normalized their serum cholesterol.     

Efficacious Doxorubicin Delivery Using Glutathione-Responsive Hollow Non-phospholipid Vesicles Bearing Lipoyl Cholesterols

In this study, we developed redox-sensitive vesicles using synthesised lipoyl cholesterol derivatives, a non-ionic surfactant and an optimum level of free cholesterol. Interestingly, concentration-dependent self-assembly was observed by scanning electron microscopy, wherein vesicles manifested as hollow spherical (at 0.15 mm ) and triangular (0.50 mm ). The redoxresponsive characteristics of the vesicles was probed in the presence of dithiothreitol; they underwent a clear increase in size as observed by dynamic light scattering measurements. These vesicles could easily encapsulate an anticancer drug, doxorubicin, and were observed to be stable in the presence of serum. They showed substantial release of the drug in response to biologically relevant stimulus, that is, glutathione. A toxicity assessment on HeLa and HepG2 cancer cells demonstrated activities of the drug-loaded vesicles comparable to that of free drug, whereas significantly enhanced toxicity and apoptotic induction were observed against drug-resistant HeLa cells, which was determined by studying the cellular internalisation of doxorubicin.     

利用胆固醇氧化酶转化胆固醇制备胆甾-4-烯-3-酮

用酶法催化氧化胆固醇制备胆甾-4-烯-3-酮相对于化学法合成具有反应简单、成本较低等优点.作者探讨了在正辛烷作为有机相的两相反应体系中,以胆固醇氧化酶催化氧化胆固醇制备胆甾-4-烯-3-酮的方法.在胆固醇质量浓度为40g/L,反应时间40min、反应温度40℃、磷酸缓冲液-正辛烷体积比32、通氧40L/h及搅拌转速300r/min下,胆固醇转化率达到92%,经薄板层析及紫外扫描,发现转化产物为单一的胆甾-4-烯-3-酮.     

胆固醇氧化物的鉴定、制备及其对大鼠肝细胞的毒性

本文用气相色谱-质谱联用仪对胆固醇高温氧化物进行鉴定,采用硅胶柱色谱法对氧化物进行分离,并由MTT法检测其对大鼠肝细胞BRL的毒性。结果显示:胆固醇在高温下的主要氧化物有5种,分别为:7α-羟基胆固醇、7β-羟基胆固醇、5,6β-环氧基胆固醇、5,6α-环氧基胆固醇、7-酮基胆固醇。单因素实验表明在160℃下加热30 min可以产生最大量的胆固醇氧化物,并在此条件下对胆固醇氧化物进行制备。粗制品经过硅胶柱色谱洗脱收集,可得纯度约为90%的胆固醇氧化物(组成为:7α-羟基胆固醇9.96%、7β-羟基胆固醇23.24%、5,6β-环氧基胆固醇15.34%、5,6α-环氧基胆固醇14.36%、7-酮基胆固醇26.77%、胆固醇3.12%、其它杂质7.21%)。MTT法实验结果表明纯化后的胆固醇氧化物在80μg/m L浓度下对大鼠肝细胞BRL表现出显著毒性作用(p0.05),在100μg/m L时,细胞活性仅有空白对照的7.49%,胆固醇氧化物的毒性机理有待进一步研究。     

Dietary cholesterol impairs memory and memory increases brain cholesterol and sulfatide levels.

Cholesterol and sulfatides play many important roles in learning and memory. To date, our observations about the effects of cholesterol on learning have been assessed during response acquisition; that is, the learning of a new memory. Here, we report for the first time to our knowledge, on the effect of a cholesterol diet on a previously formed memory. Rabbits were given trace conditioning of the nictitating membrane response for 10 days, then fed a 2% cholesterol diet for 8 weeks, and then assessed for memory recall of the initially learned task. We show that dietary cholesterol had an adverse effect on memory recall. Second, we investigated whether dietary cholesterol caused an increase in brain cholesterol and sulfatide levels in four major brain structures (hippocampus, frontal lobe, brainstem, and cerebellum) using a technique for analyzing myelin and myelin-free fractions separately. Although our data confirm previous findings that dietary cholesterol does not directly affect cholesterol and establish that it does not affect sulfatide levels in the brain, these levels did increase rather significantly in the hippocampus and frontal lobe as a function of learning and memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antifriction plastic greases based on intermediate products of oil refining and liquid crystalline compounds

The rheological and triboengineering properties are presented of hydrated calcium plastic greases based on intermediate products of oil refining (hydrofined vacuum gas oil and vacuum distillate). It is shown that application of liquid crystalline cholesterol compounds as an additional component of the dispersion medium of plastic greases permits significant reduction of the wear and losses for friction and boosts the load—bearing capacity of tribocouples.