The beneficial effects of tea consumption on cancer prevention have been generally reported, while (−)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is the major active component from green tea. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play a crucial role in the process of cancer development. Targeting CSCs may be an effective way for cancer intervention. However, the effects of EGCG on colorectal CSCs and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Spheroid formation assay was used to enrich colorectal CSCs from colorectal cancer cell lines. Immunoblotting analysis and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were used to measure the alterations of critical molecules expression. Immunofluorescence staining analysis was also used to determine the expression of CD133. We revealed that EGCG inhibited the spheroid formation capability of colorectal cancer cells as well as the expression of colorectal CSC markers, along with suppression of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis. Moreover, we illustrated that EGCG downregulated the activation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway, while upregulation of Wnt/β-catenin diminished the inhibitory effects of EGCG on colorectal CSCs. Taken together, this study suggested that EGCG could be an effective natural compound targeting colorectal CSCs through suppression of Wnt/β-catenin pathway, and thus may be a promising agent for colorectal cancer intervention.

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a common micronutrient deficiency among pregnant women with severe consequences including impaired immuno-inflammatory system, premature birth, fetal death etc. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of three iron supplements on IDA female rats and their offspring. The IDA female rat model was established with low iron diet and the rats were then mated. After pregnancy, rats were fed diets containing different iron supplements (iron polysaccharide complex, iron protein succinylate and ferrous sulfate) until their offspring were 42 days old. Pregnancy outcomes, haematological, iron metabolism, physical and neurological development indexes were determined. The results showed that all three iron supplements improved the levels of hematological parameters of both mother and offspring rats. After iron supplementation, serum iron, transferrin saturation and serum ferritin levels were increased compared with the IDA group. The level of ferritin light chain in the liver and spleen of both mother and offspring rats in iron supplemented groups was significantly higher than that of the IDA group. The average number of born alive per litter in the iron treatment groups was significantly higher than that in the IDA group. Iron supplements also improved the physical growth and neurobehavioral development of offspring rats. It was also found that iron supplementation improved the expression of ferritin light chain and the synaptic growth associated proteins in the brain and hippocampus. No significant difference was found in the efficacy of three iron supplements. These results suggest that pregnant and postpartum IDA affects pregnancy outcomes, offspring physical development and causes neural impairment. Sufficient iron supplementation can significantly improve IDA and its adverse effects on both mother and offspring.

The health effects of diet are long term and persistent. Few cohort studies have investigated the influence of maternal dietary patterns during different gestational periods on offspring’s health outcomes. This study investigated the associations between maternal dietary patterns in the mid- and late-gestation and infant’s neurodevelopment at 1 year of age in the Jiangsu Birth Cohort (JBC) Study. A total of 1178 mother–child pairs were available for analysis. A semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to investigate dietary intake at 22–26 and 30–34 gestational weeks (GWs). Neurodevelopment of children aged 1 year old was assessed using Bayley-Ⅲ Screening Test. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Poisson regression were used to extract dietary patterns and to investigate the association between dietary patterns and infant neurodevelopment. After adjusting for potential confounders, the maternal ‘Aquatic products, Fresh vegetables and Homonemeae’ pattern in the second trimester was associated with a lower risk of being non-competent in cognitive and gross motor development, respectively (cognition: aRR = 0.84; 95% CI 0.74–0.94; gross motor: aRR = 0.80; 95% CI 0.71–0.91), and the similar pattern, ‘Aquatic products and Homonemeae’, in the third trimester also showed significant association with decreased risk of failing age-appreciate cognitive and receptive communication development (cognition: aRR = 0.89; 95% CI 0.80–0.98; receptive communication: aRR = 0.91; 95% CI 0.84–0.99). Notably, adherence to the dietary pattern with relatively high aquatic and homonemeae products in both trimesters demonstrated remarkable protective effects on child neurodevelopment with the risk of being non-competent in cognitive and gross motor development decreasing by 59% (95% CI 0.21–0.79) and 63% (95% CI 0.18–0.77), respectively. Our findings suggested that adherence to the ‘Aquatic products and Homonemeae’ dietary pattern during pregnancy may have optimal effects on offspring’s neurodevelopment.

Background: Tobacco smoke (TS) critically contributes to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) induced by TS is an early event in the initiation of carcinogenesis. Tumor specific microenvironment including inflammatory factors is key mediator for maintaining the stemness of CSCs through various pathways such as p38 MAPK. However, the mechanisms of inflammatory factors in TS-induced acquisition of liver CSCs properties remain undefined. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of IL-33/p38 axis in long term TS-induced acquisition of hepatic CSCs properties in mouse liver tissues and human liver cells. Methods: BALB/c mice were exposed to TS for 12 weeks, along with or without 1 mg/kg SB203580 (p38 inhibitors) treatment. Histopathological analysis, alterations in the levels of IL-33, liver CSCs markers, EMT-like changes and p38 MAPK activation in liver tissues of mice were analyzed by immunohistochemical staining, immunofluorescence assay and Western blot analysis. Moreover, LO2 immortalized human liver cells were exposed to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) and the tumorsphere formation ability was determined. LO2 cells were further treated with IL-33 or CSE and the expression of phosphorylated p38, liver CSCs markers and EMT-related proteins was examined. Results: Long term TS exposure increased the levels of CSCs markers, induced epithelial-to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and inflammatory factor IL-33 expression. Moreover, we showed that p38 MAPK modulated TS-stimulated hepatic CSC-like properties, as evidenced by the findings that long term TS exposure activated p38, and that TS-induced stemness was abolished by p38 inhibition. In addition, data from in vitro model showed that similar to cigarette smoke extract (CSE), IL-33 treatment promoted the activation of p38, increased the levels of liver CSCs markers expression and EMT-like changes. Conclusions: Collectively, these data suggested that IL-33/p38 axis plays an important role in long term TS exposure-induced acquisition of hepatic CSC-like properties.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in bisphenol A (BPA) – induced hepatic lipid accumulation as well as the protective effects of Sulforaphane (SFN) in this process. Human hepatocyte cell line (LO2) and C57/BL6J mice were used to examine BPA-triggered hepatic lipid accumulation and the underlying mechanism. Hepatic lipid accumulation, triglycerides (TGs) levels, the expression levels of lipogenesis-related genes and proteins in the ER stress pathway were measured. It was revealed that BPA treatment increased the number of lipid droplets, the levels of TG and mRNAs expression of lipogenesis-related genes, and activated the ER stress pathway. These changes were inhibited by an ER stress inhibitor 4-phenylbutyric acid. SFN treatment abrogated BPA-altered hepatic lipid metabolism and ameliorated BPA-induced ER stress-related markers. Together, these findings suggested that BPA activated ER stress to promote hepatic lipid accumulation, and that SFN reversed those BPA effects by alleviating ER stress.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have an established role in cancer progression and therapeutic resistance. The p63 proteins are important transcription factors which belong to the p53 family, but their function and mechanism in CSCs remain elusive. Here, we investigated the role of TAp63α in colorectal CSCs and the effects of sulforaphane on TAp63α. We found that TAp63α was upregulated in spheres with stem cell properties compared to the parental cells. Overexpression of TAp63α promoted self-renewal capacity and enhanced CSC markers expression in colorectal sphere-forming cells. Furthermore, we showed that TAp63α directly bound to the promoter region of Lgr5 to enhance its expression and activate its downstream β-catenin pathway. Functional experiments revealed that sulforaphane suppressed the stemness of colorectal CSCs both in vitro and in vivo. Upregulation of TAp63α attenuated the inhibitory effect of sulforaphane on colorectal CSCs, indicating the role of TAp63α in sulforaphane suppression of the stemness in colorectal cancer. The present study elucidated for the first time that TAp63α promoted CSCs through targeting Lgr5/β-catenin axis and participated in sulforaphane inhibition of the stem cell properties in colorectal cancer.