Fu Jen Catholic University

About: Fu Jen Catholic University is a education organization based out in Taipei, Taiwan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 6842 authors who have published 9512 publications receiving 171005 citations. The organization is also known as: FJU & Fu Jen.

Cisplatin induces protective autophagy through activation of BECN1 in human bladder cancer cells.

Abstract: Purpose Cisplatin-based chemotherapy is the first line treatment for several cancers including bladder cancer (BC) Autophagy induction has been implied to contribute to cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer; and a high basal level of autophagy has been demonstrated in human bladder tumors Therefore, it is reasonable to speculate that autophagy may account for the failure of cisplatin single treatment in BC This study investigated whether cisplatin induces autophagy and the mechanism involved using human BC cell lines Materials and methods Human BC cells (5637 and T24) were used in this study Cell viability was detected using water soluble tetrazolium-8 reagents Autophagy induction was detected by monitoring the levels of light chain 3 (LC3)-II and p62 by Western blot, LC3-positive puncta formation by immunofluorescence, and direct observation of the autophagolysosome (AL) formation by transmission electron microscopy Inhibitors including bafilomycin A1 (Baf A1), chloroquine (CQ), and shRNA-based lentivirus against autophagy-related genes (ATG7 and ATG12) were utilized Apoptosis level was detected by caspase 3/7 activity and DNA fragmentation Results Cisplatin decreased cell viability and induced apoptosis of 5637 and T24 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner The increased LC3-II accumulation, p62 clearance, the number of LC3-positive puncta, and ALs in cisplatin-treated cells suggested that cisplatin indeed induces autophagy Inhibition of cisplatin-induced autophagy using Baf A1, CQ, or ATG7/ATG12 shRNAs significantly enhanced cytotoxicity of cisplatin toward BC cells These results indicated that cisplatin induced protective autophagy which may contribute to the development of cisplatin resistance and resulted in treatment failure Mechanistically, upregulation of beclin-1 (BECN1) was detected in cisplatin-treated cells, and knockdown of BECN1 using shRNA attenuated cisplatin-induced autophagy and subsequently enhanced cisplatin-induced apoptosis Conclusion Collectively, the study results indicated that cisplatin-induced autophagy is mediated by BECN1 in BC cells Therefore, combinative treatment using cisplatin and autophagy inhibitors could potentially overcome cisplatin resistance related to autophagy induction

Discrimination and Classification of Nonstationary Time Series Using the SLEX Model

Abstract: Statistical discrimination for nonstationary random processes is important in many applications. Our goal was to develop a discriminant scheme that can extract local features of the time series, is consistent, and is computationally efficient. Here, we propose a discriminant scheme based on the SLEX (smooth localized complex exponential) library. The SLEX library forms a collection of Fourier-type bases that are simultaneously orthogonal and localized in both time and frequency domains. Thus, the SLEX library has the ability to extract local spectral features of the time series. The first step in our procedure, which is the feature extraction step based on work by Saito, is to find a basis from the SLEX library that can best illuminate the difference between two or more classes of time series. In the next step, we construct a discriminant criterion that is related to the Kullback–Leibler divergence between the SLEX spectra of the different classes. The discrimination criterion is based on estimates of the...

Revisiting the Advances in Isolation, Characterization and Secretome of Adipose-Derived Stromal/Stem Cells.

Abstract: Adipose-derived stromal/stem cells (ASCs) seems to be a promising regenerative therapeutic agent due to the minimally invasive approach of their harvest and multi-lineage differentiation potential. The harvested adipose tissues are further digested to extract stromal vascular fraction (SVF), which is cultured, and the anchorage-dependent cells are isolated in order to characterize their stemness, surface markers, and multi-differentiation potential. The differentiation potential of ASCs is directed through manipulating culture medium composition with an introduction of growth factors to obtain the desired cell type. ASCs have been widely studied for its regenerative therapeutic solution to neurologic, skin, wound, muscle, bone, and other disorders. These therapeutic outcomes of ASCs are achieved possibly via autocrine and paracrine effects of their secretome comprising of cytokines, extracellular proteins and RNAs. Therefore, secretome-derivatives might offer huge advantages over cells through their synthesis and storage for long-term use. When considering the therapeutic significance and future prospects of ASCs, this review summarizes the recent developments made in harvesting, isolation, and characterization. Furthermore, this article also provides a deeper insight into secretome of ASCs mediating regenerative efficacy.