Apigenin, abundantly present in fruits and vegetables, is recognized as a flavonoid with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer properties. In this study, we first investigated the anti-neoplastic effects of apigenin on papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) cell line BCPAP cells. Our results show that apigenin inhibited the viability of BCPAP cells in a dose-dependent manner. A large body of evidence demonstrates that autophagy contributes to cell death in certain contexts. In the present study, autophagy was induced by apigenin treatment in BCPAP cells, as evidenced by Beclin-1 accumulation, conversion of LC3 protein, p62 degradation as well as the significantly increased formation of acidic vesicular organelles (AVOs) compared to the control group. 3-MA, an autophagy inhibitor, rescued the cells from apigenin-induced cell death. Notably, apigenin enhanced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and subsequent induction of significant DNA damage as monitored by the TUNEL assay. In addition, apigenin treatment caused a significant accumulation of cells in the G2/M phase via down-regulation of Cdc25C expression. Our findings reveal that apigenin inhibits papillary thyroid cancer cell viability by the stimulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, induction of DNA damage, leading to G2/M cell cycle arrest followed by autophagic cell death. Thus, our results provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying apigenin-mediated autophagic cell death and suggest apigenin as a potential chemotherapeutic agent which is able to fight against papillary thyroid cancer.

D-allulose has a significant application value as a sugar substitute, not only as a food ingredient and dietary supplement, but also with various physiological functions, such as improving insulin resistance, anti-obesity, and regulating glucolipid metabolism. Over the decades, the physiological functions of d-allulose and the corresponding mechanisms have been studied deeply, and this product has been applied to various foods to enhance food quality and prolong shelf life. In recent years, biotransformation technologies for the production of d-allulose using enzymatic approaches have gained more attention. However, there are few comprehensive reviews on this topic. This review focuses on the recent research advances of d-allulose, including (1) the physiological functions of d-allulose; (2) the major enzyme families used for the biotransformation of d-allulose and their microbial origins; (3) phylogenetic and structural characterization of d-allulose 3-epimerases, and the directed evolution methods for the enzymes; (4) heterologous expression of d-allulose ketose 3-epimerases and biotransformation techniques for d-allulose; and (5) production processes for biotransformation of d-allulose based on the characterized enzymes. Furthermore, the future trends on biosynthesis and applications of d-allulose in food and health industries are discussed and evaluated in this review.

Although the strain-dependent effects of Bacteroides vulgatus on alleviating intestinal inflammatory diseases have been demonstrated, the literature has rarely focused on the underlying causes of this effect. In this study, we selected four B. vulgatus strains (FTJS5K1, FTJS7K1, FSDTA11B14, and FSDLZ51K1) with different genomic characteristics and evaluated their protective roles against dextran sulfate sodium- (DSS-) induced colitis. Compared to the other three tested strains, B. vulgatus 7K1 more strongly ameliorated the DSS-induced weight loss, shortening of the colon length, increased disease activity index scores, colonic tissue injury, and immunomodulatory disorder. In contrast, B. vulgatus 51K1 significantly worsened the DSS-induced alterations in the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) concentration and colonic histopathology. A comparative genomic analysis of B. vulgatus 7K1 and 51K1 showed that the beneficial effects of B. vulgatus 7K1 may be associated with some of its specific genes involved in the production of short-chain fatty acids or capsular polysaccharides and enhancement of its survivability in the gut. In conclusion, these findings indicate that the supplementation of B. vulgatus 7K1 is a potentially efficacious intervention for alleviating colitis and provides scientific support for the screening of probiotics with anticolitis effect.