No abstract

Probiotics are increasingly being used as a nutritional supplement by athletes to improve exercise performance and reduce post-exercise fatigue. Lactobacillus salivarius is a natural flora in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals. Lactobacillus salivarius subspecies salicinius (SA-03) is an isolate from the 2008 Olympic women’s 48 kg weightlifting gold medalist’s gut microbiota. In this study, we investigated its beneficial effects on physical fitness. Male ICR mice were divided into four groups (n = 10 per group) and orally administered with SA-03 for 4 weeks at 0, 2.05 × 109, 4.10 × 109, or 1.03 × 1010 CFU/kg/day. Results showed that 4 weeks of SA-03 supplementation significantly improved muscle strength and endurance performance, increased hepatic and muscular glycogen storage, and decreased lactate, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), ammonia, and creatine kinase (CK) levels after exercise. These observations suggest that SA-03 could be used as a nutritional supplement to enhance exercise performance and reduce.

Renal transplantation (RTx) recipients have a high incidence of cancer, including transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). Posttransplantation urologic malignancies still present a challenge for transplant surgeons. Using the Dialysis and Transplant Registry of Taichung Veterans General Hospital, a total of 55 cancers were diagnosed in 52 RTx recipients between May 1983 and September 2001. Of these, 24 RTx recipients developing TCC were identified and presented the distinctly high percentage (43.6%) of TCC that were malignancies after RTx in Taiwan. The mean time between transplantation and initial diagnosis was 46 months in our series. Painless hematuria with pyuria is the most common mode of presentation. Transitional cell carcinoma of RTx recipients had multiple foci. Moreover, synchronous TCC in bilateral upper urinary tracts were confirmed in 9 (41%) recipients. The pathologic status of disease is invasive at diagnosis (pTa: 2, pT1: 7, pT2: 4, pT3: 6, pT4: 2, graft metastasis: 1 and distant metastasis: 2). Disseminated metastasis occurred in 6 recipients, all of whom died of their disease within 16 months. Five recipients received adjuvant chemotherapy and retained stable renal function. We conclude that RTx recipients have a markedly increased incidence of TCC in Taiwan, and that prophylactic bilateral nephroureterectomy of native kidneys with bladder cuff excision can be performed simultaneously in RTx recipients with TCC.

Mulberry, the fruit of Morus alba, is commonly used in Chinese medicines because of its many pharmacologic effects. Mulberry leaves contain many phenolic antioxidants that can reduce cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis involves proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC). Thus, we investigated the mechanisms by which mulberry leaf extract (MLE) might inhibit migration of VSMC. MLE was rich in polyphenols (44.82%), including gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, catechin, gallocatechin gallate, caffeic acid, epicatechin, rutin, and quercetin. MLE could inhibit the migration of A7r5 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. MLE also inhibited the activities of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) MMP-2 and MMP-9, protein expressions, and phosphorylation of FAK and Akt, and protein expressions of small guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases: c-Raf, Ras, Rac1, Cdc42, and RhoA) in a dose-dependent manner. NF-kappaB expression was also inhibited by MLE. MLE could effectively inhibit the migration of VSMC by blocking small GTPase and Akt/NF-kappaB signals.

The objective of this study was to investigate the lipid-lowering effects of mulberry water extracts (MWEs). To evaluate the hypolipidemic effect of MWEs, hamsters were fed with either high fat/cholesterol diets (HFCD) or HFCD supplemented with 1 and 2% MWEs for 12 weeks. Plasma total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels of hamsters fed HFCD with MWEs were significantly reduced by about 30−37% and 16−35%, respectively, as compared to those without MWEs. Similar results were also measured in hepatic TC and TG of hamsters fed HFCD with MWEs. Low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene expression and the uptake ability of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in HepG2 cells were also upregulated by additions of MWEs. MWEs also decreased the gene expressions of enzymes involved in the TG and TC biosyntheses. Results suggest that hypolipidemic effects of MWEs are via an enhancement of LDLR gene expression and the clearance ability of LDL and a decrease in the lipid biosynthesis. Therefore, MWEs could be used as a natural agent against hyperlipidemia.

OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that combined intracavernosal injection with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) with adeno‐associated virus‐mediated brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (AAV‐BDNF) synergistically facilitates the neural regeneration and erectile function after cavernosal nerve injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty Sprague‐Dawley male rats were randomly divided into five equal groups: eight had a sham operation while 32 had bilateral cavernosal nerve freezing followed by an immediate intracavernosal injection with either phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS), VEGF, AAV‐BDNF, or AAV‐BDNF + VEGF. Erectile function was assessed by cavernosal nerve electrostimulation at 3 months, and samples of the major pelvic ganglia and penile tissue were evaluated histologically. RESULTS In this animal model of impotence from nerve injury, the recovery of erectile function was greatest in those receiving AAV‐BDNF + VEGF; the mean (sd) maximal intracavernosal pressure in this group was 87.2 (20.78) cmH2O, compared with 37.3 (11.39) for VEGF alone and 49.8 (29.58) for AAV‐BDNF alone. No erectile dysfunction was identified in the sham group, with a pressure of 100.7 (22.70) cmH2O, while all treatment groups significantly outperformed the PBS (control) group, at 29.3 (13.52) cmH2O. Furthermore, all animals receiving monotherapy or combined treatment had more NADPH‐diaphorase‐positive nerve fibres than controls but less than in the sham group. CONCLUSION Bilateral cavernosal nerve freezing causes erectile dysfunction with accompanying neurological changes. Intracavernosal injection with either VEGF or AAV‐BDNF alone enhances nerve regeneration, with combined therapy (VEGF and AAV‐BDNF) promoting neural and erectile recovery additively.

Objective To identify genes that are affected by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), as an intracavernosal injection with VEGF improved the recovery of erectile function in a rat model of arteriogenic impotence, specifically examining the three nitric oxide synthase (NOS) genes, nNOS, eNOS, and iNOS. Materials and methods Male rats had their pudendal arteries ligated or underwent a sham operation. They were then treated by an intracavernosal injection with 4 mg of VEGF in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or PBS alone. At 6 and 24 h after treatment electrostimulation was applied to the cavernosal nerve and the intracorporal pressure measured. The erectile tissue was then harvested for RNA isolation and cryo-sectioning. The isolated RNA was used for microarray and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses, and the tissue sections for immunohistochemical analysis. Results Microarray analysis detected nNOS, eNOS and iNOS at very low expression levels in PBS-treated rats; expression levels were higher for eNOS and iNOS in all VEGF-treated rats. These results were further confirmed by RT-PCR analysis. Immunohistochemical analysis identified the cavernosal endothelium and smooth muscle as the tissue types where eNOS and iNOS were up-regulated, respectively. Conclusions This is the first report of the induction of both eNOS and iNOS in the penis after intracavernosal VEGF. These events may help support a significant recovery of erectile function after interrupting the blood supply to the penis.

Ligation of bilateral internal iliac arteries produced a reliable animal model of traumatic arteriogenic erectile dysfunction. Intracavernous injection of VEGF minutes after arterial ligation facilitated the recovery of erectile function.