A multiple switching fluorescent photochromic bisthienylethene bridged naphthalimide bearing cholesteryl groups was synthesized and its organogelator showed excellent photo-responsive and thermal reversible performance by light, thermal.

Flavonoids are a class of important bioactive natural products and are being extensively used in functional foods. In the present study, the effects of four Citrus flavonoids (i.e., hesperidin, naringin, neohesperidin, and nobiletin) on amylase-catalyzed starch digestion, major digestive enzyme activities (e.g., pancreatic α-amylase and α-glucosidase), and glucose use in HepG2 cells were investigated. The results showed that all of the tested Citrus flavonoids significantly inhibited amylase-catalyzed starch digestion. Moreover, naringin and neohesperidin mainly inhibited amylose digestion, whereas hesperidin and nobiletin inhibited both amylose and amylopectin digestion. However, these flavonoids showed weak inhibitory activities against digestive enzymes. Furthermore, glucose consumption, glycogen concentration, and glucokinase activity were significantly elevated, and glucose-6-phosphatase activity was markedly decreased by Citrus flavonoids. These results demonstrate that Citrus flavonoids play important roles in preventing the progression of hyperglycemia, partly by binding to starch, increasing hepatic glycolysis and the glycogen concentration, and lowering hepatic gluconeogenesis. This work suggests that Citrus flavonoids might be potentially used for the prevention of postprandial hyperglycemia.

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a key regulator for cell growth through modulating components of the translation machinery. Previously, numerous pharmacological studies using rapamycin suggested that mTOR has an important role in regulating cardiac hypertrophic growth. To further investigate this assumption, we have generated two lines of cardiac specific mTOR transgenic mice, kinase-dead (kd) mTOR and constitutively active (ca) mTOR, using ␣-myosin heavy chain promoter. ␣-Myosin heavy chain (␣MHC)-mTOR kd mice had a near complete inhibition of p70 S6k and 4E-BP1 phosphorylation, whereas ␣MHC-mTOR ca had a significant increase in p70 S6k and 4E-BP1 phosphorylation. Although the cardiac function of ␣MHC-mTOR kd mice was significantly altered, the cardiac morphology of these transgenic mice was normal. The cardiac hypertrophic growth in response to physiological and pathological stimuli was not different in ␣MHC-mTOR kd and ␣MHC-mTOR ca transgenic mice when compared with that of nontransgenic littermates. These findings suggest that the mTOR-mediated signaling pathway is not essential to cardiac hypertrophic growth but is involved in regulating cardiac function. Additional analysis of cardiac responses to fasting-refeeding or acute insulin administration indicated that ␣MHC-mTOR kd mice had a largely impaired physiological response to nutrient energy supply and insulin stimulation.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of insulin and IGF-I on protein synthesis and translation initiation in C2C12 myotubes in nutrient-deprived Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline (DPBS). The results showed that insulin and IGF-I increased protein synthesis by 62% and 35% respectively in DPBS, and the effect was not affected by rapamycin, but was blocked by LY294002. Insulin and IGF-I stimulated eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) binding protein (4EBP1) phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner, and the stimulation was independent of availability of external amino acids. Both LY294002 and rapamycin blocked the insulin and IGF-Iinduced increases in 4EBP1 phosphorylation. The results also showed that insulin and IGF-I were able to stimulate PKB/Akt phosphorylation, glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) 3 phosphorylation and mTOR phosphorylation in DPBS. Insulin and IGF-I increased the amount of eIF4G associated with eIF4E in nutrient-deprived C2C12 myotubes. The amount of 4EBP1 associated with eIF4E was decreased after insulin or IGF-I stimulation. We conclude that in C2C12 myotubes, insulin and IGF-I may regulate protein synthesis and translation initiation independent of external amino acid supply via the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase-PKB/Akt-mTOR pathway.

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