Curcumin, a major bioactive compound in turmeric, has a broad spectrum of antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, antimutagenic and anti-inflammatory properties. At the molecular level, curcumin modulates many structurally unr...Curcumin, a major bioactive compound in turmeric, has a broad spectrum of antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, antimutagenic and anti-inflammatory properties. At the molecular level, curcumin modulates many structurally unrelated membrane proteins through several signaling pathways. Curcumin has been suggested to change the properties of cell membranes and affect the membrane-bound proteins indirectly; however, the detailed mechanism has yet to be investigated. In this paper, self-assembled bilayer lipid membranes are artificially constructed on the surface of a gold electrode to miinic biomembranes, and interaction between the supported membranes and curcumin is studied electrochemically. Results show that curcumin interacts with the membranes strongly, in a concentration-dependent manner. At low concentrations, curcumin tends to insert into the outer monolayer only, while at high concentrations, it may also begin to penetrate the inner monolayer. The results obtained in this work may enhance our understanding of the effect of curcumin, and possibly flavonoids, on ceU membranes and membrane proteins.展开更多
Multidrug resistance（MDR） is a main factor to make the failure of chemotherapy. It is closely related to the over-expression of P-glycoprotein（P-gp）, multidrug resistance protein（MRP） and breast cancer resistanc...Multidrug resistance（MDR） is a main factor to make the failure of chemotherapy. It is closely related to the over-expression of P-glycoprotein（P-gp）, multidrug resistance protein（MRP） and breast cancer resistance protein（BCRP）. Herein we reported a novel method to characterize MDR, taking advantage of the electrochemical properry of chemotherapeutic drugs. Meanwhile, the definition of accumulation phase and retention phase has been improved. Furthermore, with specific modulators introduced to inhibit the relevant efflux pumps, the exact protein that mainly works in the cells employed in this study can be identified.展开更多
Some 600 scholars and students in protein science from around 40 institutions across China gathered at the 4th Symposium of the Chinese Protein Society held during October 12-14, 2013, in the city of Hefei, Anhui Prov...Some 600 scholars and students in protein science from around 40 institutions across China gathered at the 4th Symposium of the Chinese Protein Society held during October 12-14, 2013, in the city of Hefei, Anhui Province, China, with the theme ＂Protein and Human Health＂. This symposium was organized by the Chinese Protein Society, and locally sponsored by the University of Science and Technology of China and Anhui University. The topics of this symposium covered almost all areas in protein science, from structure to function, from mechanism to regulation, from single molecule to computer simulation, from in vitro （in the test tube） to in vivo （in living cells）, from qualitative to quantitative studies, from basic research to medical application, and from protein engineering to agriculture.展开更多
Hepatitis C virus (HCV), a positive single-stranded RNA virus, is a major cause of liver disease in humans. Herein we report a novel strategy to inhibit the reproduction and translation of HCV using a short RNA, named...Hepatitis C virus (HCV), a positive single-stranded RNA virus, is a major cause of liver disease in humans. Herein we report a novel strategy to inhibit the reproduction and translation of HCV using a short RNA, named an Additional RNA, to activate the endonuclease activity of Argonaute 2 (Ago2). In the presence of the Additional RNA, the HCV genome RNA has the requisite 12 nucleotides of base-pairing with microRNA-122. This activates the endonuclease activity of Ago2, resulting in cleavage and release of the HCV genome RNA from Ago2 and microRNA-122. The free HCV genome RNA would be susceptible to intracellular degradation, effectively inhibiting its reproduction and translation. This study presents a new method to inhibit HCV that may hold great potential for HCV treatment in the future.展开更多
基金supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars(Grant No.20925520)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.81070511)the Leading Academic Discipline Project of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission(Grant No.J50108)
文摘Curcumin, a major bioactive compound in turmeric, has a broad spectrum of antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, antimutagenic and anti-inflammatory properties. At the molecular level, curcumin modulates many structurally unrelated membrane proteins through several signaling pathways. Curcumin has been suggested to change the properties of cell membranes and affect the membrane-bound proteins indirectly; however, the detailed mechanism has yet to be investigated. In this paper, self-assembled bilayer lipid membranes are artificially constructed on the surface of a gold electrode to miinic biomembranes, and interaction between the supported membranes and curcumin is studied electrochemically. Results show that curcumin interacts with the membranes strongly, in a concentration-dependent manner. At low concentrations, curcumin tends to insert into the outer monolayer only, while at high concentrations, it may also begin to penetrate the inner monolayer. The results obtained in this work may enhance our understanding of the effect of curcumin, and possibly flavonoids, on ceU membranes and membrane proteins.
基金Supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China（No.20925520） and the National Natural Science Foundation of China（Nos.21235003, 81172503）.
文摘Multidrug resistance（MDR） is a main factor to make the failure of chemotherapy. It is closely related to the over-expression of P-glycoprotein（P-gp）, multidrug resistance protein（MRP） and breast cancer resistance protein（BCRP）. Herein we reported a novel method to characterize MDR, taking advantage of the electrochemical properry of chemotherapeutic drugs. Meanwhile, the definition of accumulation phase and retention phase has been improved. Furthermore, with specific modulators introduced to inhibit the relevant efflux pumps, the exact protein that mainly works in the cells employed in this study can be identified.
文摘Some 600 scholars and students in protein science from around 40 institutions across China gathered at the 4th Symposium of the Chinese Protein Society held during October 12-14, 2013, in the city of Hefei, Anhui Province, China, with the theme ＂Protein and Human Health＂. This symposium was organized by the Chinese Protein Society, and locally sponsored by the University of Science and Technology of China and Anhui University. The topics of this symposium covered almost all areas in protein science, from structure to function, from mechanism to regulation, from single molecule to computer simulation, from in vitro （in the test tube） to in vivo （in living cells）, from qualitative to quantitative studies, from basic research to medical application, and from protein engineering to agriculture.
基金supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (20925520)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21235003)the Leading Academic Discipline Project of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (J50108)
文摘Hepatitis C virus (HCV), a positive single-stranded RNA virus, is a major cause of liver disease in humans. Herein we report a novel strategy to inhibit the reproduction and translation of HCV using a short RNA, named an Additional RNA, to activate the endonuclease activity of Argonaute 2 (Ago2). In the presence of the Additional RNA, the HCV genome RNA has the requisite 12 nucleotides of base-pairing with microRNA-122. This activates the endonuclease activity of Ago2, resulting in cleavage and release of the HCV genome RNA from Ago2 and microRNA-122. The free HCV genome RNA would be susceptible to intracellular degradation, effectively inhibiting its reproduction and translation. This study presents a new method to inhibit HCV that may hold great potential for HCV treatment in the future.
