No abstract

Telomerase is expressed in ~90% of human cancer cell lines and tumor specimens, whereas its enzymatic activity is not detectable in most human somatic cells, suggesting that telomerase represents a highly attractive target for selective cancer treatment. Accordingly, various classes of telomerase inhibitors have been screened and developed in recent years. We and other researchers have successfully found that some dietary compounds can modulate telomerase activity in cancer cells. Telomerase inhibitors derived from food are subdivided into two groups: one group directly blocks the enzymatic activity of telomerase (e.g., catechin and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol), and the other downregulates the expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), the catalytic subunit of human telomerase, via signal transduction pathways (e.g., retinoic acid and tocotrienol). In contrast, a few dietary components, including genistein and glycated lipid, induce cellular telomerase activity in several types of cancer cells, suggesting that they may be involved in tumor progression. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the effects of dietary factors on telomerase regulation in cancer cells and discusses their molecular mechanisms of action.

1-Deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) is a potent α-glucosidase inhibitor and thus beneficial for prevention of diabetes. While we have succeeded in obtaining the culture supernatant extract (CSE) rich in DNJ from microorganism source, information regarding its anti-hyperglycemic effect and safety were still limited. Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate the anti-hyperglycemic effect and safety of microorganism DNJ. Oral sucrose tolerance test was performed, and the result showed that CSE was able to significantly suppress the blood glucose elevation and suggested DNJ as the main active compound. To determine its safety, the absorption and excretion of microorganism DNJ were evaluated using 15N labeling method. Our findings investigated the recovery rate of 15N from DNJ reached 80% up to 48 hours after oral administration, suggesting its rapid excretion, suggesting the safety of DNJ. This study verified the functional properties and safety of DNJ from microorganisms, suggesting its potential use for functional purpose.

1-Deoxynojirimycin (DNJ)is an effective sugar analogue that suppresses the elevation of postprandial blood glucose. Therefore, food products containing DNJ are expected to be promising functional foods in preventing the onset of diabetes. To examine the absorption kinetics of DNJ, we prepared 15 N-labeled DNJ from the culture medium of a Bacillus amyloliquefaciens DSM7 strain. In the process, we found that lactose markedly increased the production of DNJ at a carbon/nitrogen ratio of 6.25:1, reaching 1140 mg/L with 5 days of cultivation. Comparisons between lactose and glucose on cell growth and DNJ production suggested that lactose made the DSM7 strain grow more slowly and maintained DNJ production in the long term. These findings may be useful for efficient microbial DNJ production or in the development of DNJ-containing fermented food products.

No abstract