0
selected
-
1.
The Bioavailability and Biological Activities of Phytosterols as Modulators of Cholesterol Metabolism.
Li, X, Xin, Y, Mo, Y, Marozik, P, He, T, Guo, H
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). 2022;(2)
Abstract
Phytosterols are natural sterols widely found in plants that have a variety of physiological functions, and their role in reducing cholesterol absorption has garnered much attention. Although the bioavailability of phytosterols is only 0.5-2%, they can still promote cholesterol balance in the body. A mechanism of phytosterols for lowering cholesterol has now been proposed. They not only reduce the uptake of cholesterol in the intestinal lumen and affect its transport, but also regulate the metabolism of cholesterol in the liver. In addition, phytosterols can significantly reduce the plasma concentration of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), with a dose-response relationship. Ingestion of 3 g of phytosterols per day can reach the platform period, and this dose can reduce LDL-C by about 10.7%. On the other hand, phytosterols can also activate the liver X receptor α-CPY7A1 mediated bile acids excretion pathway and accelerate the transformation and metabolism of cholesterol. This article reviews the research progress of phytosterols as a molecular regulator of cholesterol and the mechanism of action for this pharmacological effect.
-
2.
A single dual-targeting fluorescent probe enables exploration of the correlation between the plasma membrane and lysosomes.
Yu, S, Wu, S, Zhang, J, Zhao, X, Liu, X, Yi, X, Li, X
Journal of materials chemistry. B. 2022;(4):582-588
Abstract
The interactions between organelles can maintain normal cell activity. Lysosomes, as waste disposal systems of cells, have many important interactions with the plasma membrane, especially in the repair of cracked plasma membrane. Unfortunately, a way to study the relationship between them synchronously is still lacking. Therefore, in this work, we constructed a dual-targeting probe (Mem-Lyso) to simultaneously visualize the plasma membrane and lysosomes for the first time. Taking advantage of dual-targeting, the probe Mem-Lyso could successfully track and analyze the dynamic changes of the plasma membrane and lysosomes in different bioprocesses. The experimental results demonstrated that, compared to the normal status, there was obvious fusion between the plasma membrane and lysosomes in the apoptosis process. Furthermore, because of the sensitivity to polarity, Mem-Lyso could label the plasma membrane and lysosomes with red and yellow colors in cells, respectively. Moreover, the skeleton and gastrointestinal wall of zebrafish were visualized by dual-color imaging, respectively. More importantly, the dual-targeting property endowed Mem-Lyso with the ability to spatially distinguish the cholesterol (CL) content in the plasma membrane, which provided a potential detection tool for biological research and diagnosis of related diseases.
-
3.
[Screening and functional properties of cholesterol-degrading lactic acid bacteria from Jiangshui].
Li, X, Li, J, Li, M, Meng, X
Wei sheng wu xue bao = Acta microbiologica Sinica. 2015;(8):1001-9
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We intended to obtain and characterize lactic acid bacteria with high capacity of cholesterol-degrading. METHODS We chose Jiangshui as the experimental material, screened lactic acid bacteria by the culture medium with high cholesterol, and studied other features of lactic acid bacteria like salt-tolerant, acid resistance, then identified the species of lactic acid bacteria by combining physiological and biochemical methods and 16S rDNA sequence. RESULTS All lactic acid bacteria isolated had the capacity of cholesterol-degrading to some extent. There were 4 strains had high cholesterol-degrading rate (> 75%). Four strains were Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, two were Brevibacterium casei, and one was Lactococcus raffinolactis. CONCLUSION Cholesterol-degrading lactic acid bacteria were screened from Jiangshui, with application potential for cholesterol degradation.
-
4.
Spectroscopic intravascular photoacoustic imaging of lipids in atherosclerosis.
Jansen, K, van der Steen, AF, Wu, M, van Beusekom, HM, Springeling, G, Li, X, Zhou, Q, Shung, KK, de Kleijn, DP, van Soest, G
Journal of biomedical optics. 2014;(2):026006
Abstract
The natural history of atherosclerosis is marked by changes in the lipid biochemistry in the diseased arterial wall. As lesions become more vulnerable, different cholesterol species accumulate in the plaque. Understanding unstable atherosclerosis as a pharmacological and interventional therapeutic target requires chemically specific imaging of disease foci. In this study, we aim to image atherosclerotic plaque lipids and other vessel wall constituents with spectroscopic intravascular photoacoustics (sIVPA). sIVPA imaging can identify lipids in human coronary atherosclerotic plaque by relying on contrast in the near-infrared absorption spectra of the arterial wall components. Using reference spectra acquired on pure compounds, we analyzed sIVPA data from human coronary plaques ex vivo, to image plaque composition in terms of cholesterol and cholesterol ester content. In addition, we visualized the deeper lying connective tissue layers of the adventitia, as well as the fatty acid containing adipose cells in the peri-adventitial tissue. We performed simultaneous coregistered IVUS imaging to obtain complementary morphological information. Results were corroborated by histopathology. sIVPA imaging can distinguish the most prevalent lipid components of human atherosclerotic plaques and also visualize the connective tissue layers of the adventitia and the fatty acid containing adipose cells in the peri-adventitial tissue.
-
5.
[Study on the impacts of different time of moxibustion on regulating lipid effects of hyperlipidemia].
Chen, ZJ, Wu, ZC, Li, CF, Wang, QM, Wang, JJ, Pang, L, Wang, WY, Li, X
Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion. 2012;(11):995-9
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To observe the impacts of different time of moxibustion on its regulating lipid effects and safety of hyperlipidemia. METHODS Seventy-six cases of hyperlipidemia patients were randomly divided into three groups: including moxibustion 10 min group (group A, 25 cases), moxibustion 20 min group (group B, 25 cases) and moxibustion 30 min group (group C, 26 cases). All of these three groups choose the same acupoints, Shenque (CV 8),Zusanli (ST 36), Fenglong (ST 40) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) were selected. These three groups were treated with moxibustion for 10 min, 20 min and 30 min, respectively, three times a week, 12 times constituted one course, two courses were required for each group. All indices of blood lipid and fasting blood glucose were observed before and after treatment, and the preliminary evaluation was made on the safety of hepatic and renal function. RESULTS There were significant decrease in total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and blood sugar after moxibustion treatment (all P<0.001), there was no significant difference of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) before and after treatment (P>0.05). The group C played more prominent role than group A in regulating the TC (P<0.01) and LDL-C (P<0.05), there was no significant difference between group C and group B (P>0.05). The blood urea nitrogen(BUN) was significantly reduced after moxibustion treatment (P<0.05), and there were no significant differences of other safety indices before and after treatment (all P>0.05). CONCLUSION Moxibustion can effectively and safely reduce the blood lipid level of hyperlipidemia patients, the decreasing degree of lipid is different with different time of moxibustion after treatment, and the decreasing degree in moxibustion 30 min group is significantly better than that in moxibustion 10 min group.