Stichopus japonicus acid mucopolysaccharide (SJAMP) is an important biologically active compound that can be extracted from the body wall of the sea cucumber. The present study investigated the anti-tumor and immunomodulatory effects of SJAMP in an experimental hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) model in rats. Three doses of SJAMP (17.5 mg/kg, 35 mg/kg, and 70 mg/kg administered 5 days/week via oral gavage) were given to rats with diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced HCC. SJAMP treatment significantly inhibited DEN-induced HCC by reducing both the number and mean volume of nodules, decreasing serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression in liver, and increasing p21 expression. Furthermore, SJAMP decreased the serum levels of ALT, AST, GGT and TNF-α and increased serum IL-2. SJAMP administration also improved indices of spleen and thymus function and improved both macrophage phagocytosis and NK cell-mediated tumoricidal activity. Moreover, CD3 + and CD4 + T lymphocyte levels recovered significantly and the CD4 + /CD8 + T cell ratio normalized in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, SJAMP effectively inhibited the growth of HCC through the stimulation of immune organs and tissue proliferation, leading to the enhancement of cellular immunity pathways in rats.

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We study the interior dynamics of a top-down holographic superconductor from M-theory. The condense of the charged scalar hair necessarily removes the inner Cauchy horizon and the spacetime ends at a spacelike singularity. Although there is a smooth superconducting phase transition at the critical temperature, the onset of superconductivity is accompanied by intricate interior dynamics, including the collapse of the Einstein-Rosen bridge, the Josephson oscillations of the condensate, and the final Kasner singularity. We obtain analytically the transformation rule for the alternation of different Kasner epochs. Thanks to the nonlinear couplings of the top-down theory, there is generically a never-ending chaotic alternation of Kasner epochs towards the singularity. We compute the holographic complexity using both the complexity-action and the complexity-volume dualities. In contrast to the latter, the complexity growth rate from the complexity-action duality has a discontinuity at the critical temperature, characterizing the sudden change of the internal structure before and after the superconducting phase transition.