National Chung Hsing University

About: National Chung Hsing University is a education organization based out in Taichung, Taiwan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Catalysis & Thin film. The organization has 19443 authors who have published 24060 publications receiving 540154 citations. The organization is also known as: NCHU.

The location and translocation of ndh genes of chloroplast origin in the Orchidaceae family

Abstract: The NAD(P)H dehydrogenase complex is encoded by 11 ndh genes in plant chloroplast (cp) genomes. However, ndh genes are truncated or deleted in some autotrophic Epidendroideae orchid cp genomes. To determine the evolutionary timing of the gene deletions and the genomic locations of the various ndh genes in orchids, the cp genomes of Vanilla planifolia, Paphiopedilum armeniacum, Paphiopedilum niveum, Cypripedium formosanum, Habenaria longidenticulata, Goodyera fumata and Masdevallia picturata were sequenced; these genomes represent Vanilloideae, Cypripedioideae, Orchidoideae and Epidendroideae subfamilies. Four orchid cp genome sequences were found to contain a complete set of ndh genes. In other genomes, ndh deletions did not correlate to known taxonomic or evolutionary relationships and deletions occurred independently after the orchid family split into different subfamilies. In orchids lacking cp encoded ndh genes, non cp localized ndh sequences were identified. In Erycina pusilla, at least 10 truncated ndh gene fragments were found transferred to the mitochondrial (mt) genome. The phenomenon of orchid ndh transfer to the mt genome existed in ndh-deleted orchids and also in ndh containing species.

Lycopene inhibits matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression and down-regulates the binding activity of nuclear factor-kappa B and stimulatory protein-1.

Abstract: The carotenoid lycopene has been associated with decreased risks of several types of cancer, such as hepatoma. Although lycopene has been shown to inhibit metastasis, its mechanism of action is poorly understood. Here, we used SK-Hep-1 cells (from a human hepatoma) to test whether lycopene exerts its anti-invasion activity via down-regulation of the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, an important enzyme in the degradation of basement membrane in cancer invasion. The activity and expressions of MMP-9 protein and mRNA were detected by gelatin zymography, Western blotting and RT-PCR, respectively. The binding abilities of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB), activator protein-1 and stimulatory protein-1 (Sp1) to the binding sites in the MMP-9 promoter were measured by the electrophoretic mobility shift assay. We showed that lycopene (1-10 microM) significantly inhibited SK-Hep-1 invasion (P<.05) and that this effect correlated with the inhibition of MMP-9 at the levels of enzyme activity (r(2)=.94, P<.001), protein expression (r(2)=.80, P=.007) and mRNA expression (r(2)=.94, P<.001). Lycopene also significantly inhibited the binding abilities of NF-kappaB and Sp1 and decreased, to some extent, the expression of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) and the intracellular level of reactive oxygen species (P<.05). The antioxidant effect of lycopene appeared to play a minor role in its inhibition of MMP-9 and invasion activity of SK-Hep-1 cells because coincubation of cells with lycopene plus hydrogen peroxide abolished the antioxidant effect but did not significantly affect the anti-invasion ability of lycopene. Thus, lycopene decreases the invasive ability of SK-Hep-1 cells by inhibiting MMP-9 expression and suppressing the binding activity of NF-kappaB and Sp1. These effects of lycopene may be related to the down-regulation of IGF-1R, while the antioxidant activity of lycopene appears to play a minor role.