The immunity-promoting activity of porcine placenta in mice as an immunomodulator for functional foods

This study was to explore the immunity-promoting activity of porcine placenta as a potential raw material for functional foods.Porcine placenta was subjected to the analysis for its bioactive substances,and their immunity-promoting activity was determined in mice supplemented with porcine placenta extract(PPE)and freeze-dried porcine placenta powder at high(PPH)and low(PPL)dosage.Results showed that porcine placenta contained placental peptides and 15 free amino acids,and the amounts of estrogen and progesterone in products developed from porcine placenta were within the limit of national standard.Mice model experiment revealed that compared with the control,the PPH treatment significantly improved the spleen index(P<0.05)by increasing the phagocytic rate of macrophages from 20%to 60%and the conversion rate of T lymphocytes from 8%to 60%.The q PCR analysis disclosed that the porcine placenta powder enhanced mice immunity via promoting the expression of Th1 cytokines of interleukin-2(IL-2)and IFN-γ,especially the former,by almost 8 times in the spleens of male mice,while inhibited Th2 cytokines of IL-4 and IL-10.This investigation has provided a reference for the development of porcine placenta as a raw material applied in functional foods to improve human immunity.

MiR-122 in hepatic function and liver diseases

As the most abundant liver-specific microRNA,mi-croRNA-122(miR-122)is involved in various physio-logical processes in hepatic function as well as in liver pathology.There is now compelling evidence that miR-122,as a regulator of gene networks and pathways in hepatocytes,plays a central role in diverse aspects of hepatic function and in the progress of liver diseases.This liver-enriched transcription factors-regulated miRNA promotes differentiation of hepatocytes and regulates lipid metabolism.With regard to liver diseases,miR-122 was shown to stimulate hepatitis C virus(HCV)replication through a unique and unusual interaction with two binding sites in the 5′-UTR of HCV genome to mediate the stability of the viral RNA,whereas inhibit the expression and replication of hepatitis B virus(HBV)by a miR-122-cylin G1/p53-HBV enhancer regulatory pathway.In addition,miR-122 acts as a suppressor of cell prolif-eration and malignant transformation of hepatocytes with remarkable tumor inhibition activity.Notably,a clinical trial targeting miR-122 with the anti-miR-122 oli-gonucleotides miravirsen,the first miRNA targeted drug,has been initiated for treatment of HCV infection.With further understanding of the comprehensive roles of miR-122 in hepatic functions and the mechanisms in-volved in miR-122 down-regulation in chronic hepatitis or hepatocellular carcinoma,miR-122 appears to be a promising candidate for effective therapeutic ap-proaches against tumor and infectious diseases.