Rearrangement of membrane structure induced by dengue virus (DENV) is essential for replication, and requires host cellular machinery. Adaptor protein complex (AP)-1 is a host component, which can be recruited to components required for membrane rearrangement. Therefore, dysfunction of AP-1 may affect membrane organization, thereby decreasing replication of virus in infected cells. In the prese...

Aflatoxins are mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus spp. Although AFB1 is implicated as a carcinogen in hepatocellular carcinoma, brain autopsies in affected areas have revealed its presence in 81% of cases. Given its haematogenous spread, here we determined the cytotoxic effects of AFB1 on primary human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC), which constitute the blood-brain barrier, huma...

Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infects human hepatocytes already infected with the hepatitis B virus increasing about ten fold the risk of cirrhosis and fulminant hepatitis. The lack of an appropriate cell culture system capable of supporting virus replication has so far impaired the detailed investigation of the HDV biology including the identification of host factors involved in pathogenesis. He...

CIAPIN1 is recently recognized as a key player in a variety of prevalent cancers. In this study, we sought to explore the correlation of CIAPIN1 expression with cell apoptosis in liver cancer cell line. SI CIAPIN1 was transfected into HepG2 and Huh7 cell line to interfere the expression of CIAPIN1. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to determine the expression level of C...

Human primary hepatocytes are the gold standard for investigating lipid metabolism in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); however, due to limitations including availability and donor variability, the hepatoma cell lines Huh7 and HepG2 are commonly used. Culturing these cell lines in human serum (HS) has been reported to improve functionality; however, direct comparison of fatty acid (FA) ...

BACKGROUND Xiao-Chai-Hu Tang (XCHT) is an extract of seven herbs with anticancer properties, but its mechanism of action is unknown. In this study, we evaluated XCHT-treated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects. MATERIALS AND METHODS Using a hepatic cancer xenograft model, we investigated the in vivo efficacy of XCHT against tumor growth by evaluatin...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect and the mechanism of gamma linolenic acid (GLA) treatment on human hepatocellular (HCC) cell lines. The human HCC cell line HuH7 was exposed to GLA. Cell proliferation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation including lipid peroxidation and apoptosis were compared. We then used a cDNA microarray analysis to investigate the molecular chang...

BACKGROUND Sperm-associated antigen 9 (SPAG9) is upregulated in several malignancies and its overexpression is positively correlated with cancer cell malignancies. However, the specific biological roles of SPAG9 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are less understood. METHODS We analyzed SPAG9 and ETS-like gene 1, tyrosine kinase (ELK1) expression in 50 paired HCC specimens and adjacent noncanc...

Hepcidin negatively regulates systemic iron homeostasis in response to inflammation and elevated serum iron. Conversely, hepcidin expression is diminished in response to hypoxia, oxidative stress, and increased erythropoietic demand, though the molecular intermediates involved are incompletely understood. To address this, we have investigated hypoxic hepcidin regulation in HuH7 hepatoma cells e...