No abstract

We screened active compounds from natural marine products able to increase PPARa/c transcriptional activity. Sargaquinoic acid (SQA) and sargahydroquinoic acid (SHQA) from Sargassum yezoense were identified as novel PPARa/c dual agonists. The binding affinity of SQA with PPARc was higher than that of the specific PPARc agonist troglitazone, leading to an activation of PPARc transcriptional activity. In parallel, treatment of 3T3-L1 cells with SQA and SHQA led to an increase in adipocyte differentiation and increased expression of adipogenic marker genes such as aP2, PPARc, resistin, adiponectin, C/EBPa and Glut4. Collectively, our data suggest that SQA and SHQA are novel PPARa/c dual agonists and may be beneficial for reducing insulin resistance through regulation of adipogenesis.

No abstract

Hepatobiliary cystadenoma is an uncommon lesion that is difficult to diagnose preoperatively. Here we report a 34-year-old woman who presented with enlargement of a cyst that had been observed for the previous 6 months. Diagnostic imaging revealed a 7-cm diameter cystic mass with irregular multiple septation in her liver. All laboratory test results were normal except for serum carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 (62.5 U/ml). Because of the malignant potential and the history of enlargement, a complete surgical excision was performed. The patient was discharged after a good recovery; 2 months after surgery her serum CA19-9 level had returned to normal (32.9 U/ml). Regardless of the diagnostic modalities used, cystadenoma and cystadenocarcinoma cannot be differentiated with accuracy. Therefore complete surgical resection is the recommended therapy.

Eukaryotic algae and cyanobacteria produce hydrogen under anaerobic and limited aerobic conditions. Here we show that novel microalgal strains (Chlorella vulgaris YSL01 and YSL16) upregulate the expression of the hydrogenase gene (HYDA) and simultaneously produce hydrogen through photosynthesis, using CO 2 as the sole source of carbon under aerobic conditions with continuous illumination. We employ dissolved oxygen regimes that represent natural aquatic conditions for microalgae. The experimental expression of HYDA and the specific activity of hydrogenase demonstrate that C. vulgaris YSL01 and YSL16 enzymatically produce hydrogen, even under atmospheric conditions, which was previously considered infeasible. Photoautotrophic H 2 production has important implications for assessing ecological and algae-based photolysis.