Natural medical plant is considered as a good source of tyrosinase inhibitors. Red vine leaf extract (RVLE) can be applied to a wide variety of medical disciplines, such as treatments for chronic venous insufficiency over many decades. This study investigated the tyrosinase inhibitory activity of RVLE containing gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, rutin, and resveratrol which are effective for skin hyperpigmentation. The five components contents are 1.03, 0.2, 18.55, 6.45, and 0.48 mg/g for gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, rutin, and resveratrol. The kinetic study showed the tyrosinase inhibitory of RVLE via a competitive reaction mechanism. RVLE solution has an IC50 (the half inhibitory concentration) value of 3.84 mg/mL for tyrosinase inhibition, that is, an effective tyrosinase inhibitory activity, and can be used as a whitening agent for cosmetic formulations in the future.
The effects of the stiffness of substrates on the cell behaviours of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSC) have been investigated, but the effects of the secondary structures of proteins in the substrates on the morphological transformation and differentiation of hBMSC have yet been elucidated. To investigate these issues, silk fibroin-poly(ε-caprolactone) SP cardiac patches of poly(ε-caprolactone; P), on which is grafted by silk fibroin (SF) with various β-sheet contents (or crystallinity) to provide various degrees of stiffness, were produced to examine the in vitro behaviours of hBMSC during proliferation, and cardiomyogenesis on the SP patches. β-sheet contents of SF from 20% to 44% (SP20 to SP44, respectively) were induced on patches, which were examined by attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, and analysed using the Fourier self-deconvolution method. The stiffness of the SP patches, quantified by their Young's moduli and elasticities, increased with the crystallinity of the SF. During 3 days of proliferation, hBMSC migrated and morphologically transformed into 3D microtissues with diameters of approximately 150-200 μm on low-stiffness SP20 and SP30 patches, whereas 2D monolayers were observed on the SP37 and SP44 patches. The 3D microtissues/patch yielded more extensive in vitro cardiomyogenesis of hBMSC than the 2D cell monolayer with significantly higher expressions of all examined cardiac-specific proteins after induction by 5-aza. Notably, in vivo subcutaneously growing 3D microtissues on SP20 patches and a 2D monolayer on SP44 patches were preliminarily demonstrated in a rat model. Morphological transformations of hBMSC from a 2D monolayer to a 3D microtissue by low-stiffness SP cardiac patches, promoting cardiomyogenesis, provide a new opportunity for cardiac tissue engineering.
A lot of industrial genes can be explored from the metagenomic sequences. In this study, metagenome sequencing of paddy soil was carried out, and several putative open reading frames (ORFs) involved in the lipolytic activity can be identified. Lipolytic enzymes are widely used in different industrial applications, such as biodiesel production, bioremediation, and waste treatment. To verify the lipolytic enzymes of assembly ORFs, two putative genes encoding esterase, namely Lip900 and Lip3594, which shared 47.6% and 43.7% identities with the uncharacterized esterase proteins, were synthesized and constructed with pET-30a for Escherichia coli overexpression. Lip900 and Lip3594 belonging to VI and XII families were successfully obtained and characterized. The results of recombinant proteins indicated that Lip900 and Lip3594 preferred to hydrolyze short-length p-nitrophenyl (p-NP) esters such as p-NP butyrate (C4). The optimal temperature and pH for both Lip900 and Lip3594 were 30°C and pH 7, respectively. Nevertheless, Lip3594 had a higher relative activity than Lip900 when the temperature was over 40°C. The effect of various reagents on Lip900 and Lip3594 activities was determined. The inhibition of Lip900 and Lip3594 was observed in the presence of MgSO4, MnSO4, NiSO4, and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). However, the addition of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) can improve the lipolytic activity, indicating these esterases without metal ions as the cofactor. Moreover, Lip900 and Lip3594 were resistant to methanol, ethanol, and butanol. Over 81.6% of the relative activity of Lip900 can be attained when these organic solvents of alcohol were added to 10%. These results revealed that Lip900 and Lip3594 have potential applications in various industries.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.