Despite overall progress in improving cancer treatments, the complete response of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is still limited due to the inevitable development of drug resistance. More than half of patients did not attain response to bortezomib (BTZ), the approved treatment for relapsed or refractory MCL. Understanding how MCL cells acquire BTZ resistance at the molecular level may be a key to the long-term management of MCL patients and new therapeutic strategies. We established a series of de novo BTZ-resistant human MCL-derived cells with approximately 15- to 60-fold less sensitivity than those of parental cells. Using gene expression profiling, we discovered that putative cancer-related genes involved in drug resistance and cell survival tested were mostly downregulated, likely due to global DNA hypermethylation. Significant information on dysregulated lipid metabolism was obtained from synchrotron-based Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of single cells. We demonstrated for the first time an upregulation of CD36 in highly BTZ-resistant cells in accordance with an increase in their lipid accumulation. Ectopic expression of CD36 causes an increase in lipid droplets and renders BTZ resistance to various human MCL cells. By contrast, inhibition of CD36 by neutralizing antibody strongly enhances BTZ sensitivity, particularly in CD36-overexpressing cells and de novo BTZ-resistant cells. Together, our findings highlight the potential application of CD36 inhibition for BTZ sensitization and suggest the use of FTIR spectroscopy as a promising technique in cancer research.

Oroxylum indicum (L.) Kurz (O. indicum) is found in Thailand. It has been used for the treatment of obesity. This study aimed to investigate the effects of an O. indicum extract (OIE) on the adipogenic and biomolecular change in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Initial studies examined the chemical components of OIE. The cell line 3T3-L1 was used to establish potential toxic effects of OIE during the differentiation of pre-adipocytes to adipocytes. The inhibitory effect of OIE on lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells was investigated. Moreover, the impact of OIE on pancreatic lipase activity was determined. In further experiments, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) was used to monitor and discriminate biomolecular changes caused by the potential anti-adipogenic effect of OIE on 3T3-L1 cells. Chemical screening methods indicated that OIE was composed of flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids, glycosides, and tannins. The percentage viability of 3T3-L1 cells was not significantly decreased after exposure to either 200 or 150 μg/mL of OIE for 2 and 10 days, respectively compared to control cells. The OIE exhibited a dose-dependent reduction of lipid accumulation compared to the control (p < 0.05). The extract also demonstrated a dose-dependent inhibitory effect upon lipase activity compared to the control. The inhibitory effect of the OIE on lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells was also confirmed using FTIR microspectroscopy. The signal intensity and the integrated areas relating to lipids, lipid esters, nucleic acids, glycogen and carbohydrates of the OIE-treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes were significantly lower than the non-treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes (p < 0.05). Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated four distinct clusters for the FTIR spectra of 3T3-L1 adipocytes based on biomolecular changes (lipids, proteins, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates). This observation was confirmed using Unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis (UHCA). These novel findings provide evidence that the OIE derived from the fruit pods of the plant is capable of inhibiting lipid and carbohydrate accumulation in adipocytes and also has the potential to inhibit an enzyme associated with fat absorption. The initial observations indicate that OIE may have important properties which in the future may be exploited for the management of the overweight or obese.

This study was to determine the effect of the organic raising system (OR) on growth performance, meat quality, and physicochemical properties of slow-growing chickens. Three hundred and sixty (one-day-old) Korat chickens (KRC) were randomly assigned to control (CO) and OR groups. The groups comprised six replicates of thirty chickens each. The chickens were housed in indoor pens (5 birds/m²), wherein those in OR had free access to Ruzi pasture (1 bird/4 m²) from d 21 to d 84 of age. In the CO group, chickens were fed with a mixed feed derived from commercial feedstuffs, while those in the OR group were fed with mixed feed derived from organic feedstuffs. The results revealed a lower feed intake (p < 0.0001) and feed conversion ratio (p = 0.004) in the OR. The OR increased total collagen, protein, shear force, color of skin and meat, and decreased abdominal fat (p < 0.05). The OR improved fatty acid with increased DHA, n-3 PUFA, and decreased the ratio of n-6 to n-3 PUFA in KRC meat (p < 0.05). The synchrotron radiation-based Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and correlation loading analyses confirmed these results. In conclusion, our results proved that OR could improve growth performance and meat quality and suggested the raising system be adopted commercially. In addition, the observed differences in biochemical molecules could also serve as markers for monitoring meat quality.

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy was used to evaluate the growth of human melanoma cells (SK-MEL-2) in two-dimensional (2D) versus three-dimensional (3D) spheroid culture systems. FTIR microspectroscopy, coupled with multivariate analysis, could be used to monitor the variability of spheroid morphologies prepared from different cell densities. The characteristic shift in absorbance bands of the 2D cells were different from the spectra of cells from 3D spheroids. FTIR microspectroscopy can also be used to monitor cell death similar to fluorescence cell staining in 3D spheroids. A change in the secondary structure of protein was observed in cells from the 3D spheroid versus the 2D culture system. FTIR microspectroscopy can detect specific alterations in the biological components inside the spheroid, which cannot be detected using fluorescence cell death staining. In the cells from 3D spheroids, the respective lipid, DNA, and RNA region content represent specific markers directly proportional to the spheroid size and central area of necrotic cell death, which can be confirmed using unsupervised PCA and hierarchical cluster analysis. FTIR microspectroscopy could be used as an alternative tool for spheroid cell culture discrimination, and validation of the usual biochemical technique.

Here, molecular pathways and genes involved in the feed efficiency (FE) and thigh-meat quality of slow-growing Korat chickens were investigated. Individual feed intake values and body weights were collected weekly to the calculate feed conversion ratios (FCR) and residual feed intake. The biochemical composition and meat quality parameters were also measured. On the basis of extreme FCR values at 10 weeks of age, 9 and 12 birds from the high and the low FCR groups, respectively, were selected, and their transcriptomes were investigated using the 8 × 60 K Agilent chicken microarray. A weighted gene co-expression network analysis was performed to determine the correlations between co-expressed gene modules and FE, thigh-meat quality, or both. Groups of birds with different FE values also had different nucleotide, lipid, and protein contents in their thigh muscles. In total, 38 modules of co-expressed genes were identified, and 12 were correlated with FE and some meat quality traits. A functional analysis highlighted several enriched functions, such as biological processes, metabolic processes, nucleotide metabolism, and immune responses. Several molecular factors were involved in the interactions between FE and meat quality, including the assembly competence domain, baculoviral IAP repeat containing 5, cytochrome c oxidase assembly factor 3, and myosin light chain 9 genes.

This study focuses on a commercial plant elicitor based on chitooligosaccharides (BIG^®), which aids in rice plant growth and disease resistance to bacterial leaf blight (BLB). When the pathogen (Xoo) vigorously attacks rice that has suffered yield losses, it can cause damage in up to 20% of the plant. Furthermore, Xoo is a seed-borne pathogen that can survive in rice seeds for an extended period. In this study, when rice seeds were soaked and sprayed with BIG^®, there was a significant increase in shoot and root length, as well as plant biomass. Furthermore, BIG^®-treated rice plants showed a significant reduction in BLB severity of more than 33%. Synchrotron radiation-based Fourier transform infrared (SR-FTIR) analysis was used to characterize BIG^®’s mechanism in the chemical structure of rice leaves. The SR-FTIR results at 1650, 1735, and 1114 cm⁻¹ indicated changes in biochemical components such as pectins, lignins, proteins, and celluloses. These findings demonstrated that commercial BIG^® not only increased rice growth but also induced resistance to BLB. The drug’s target enzyme, Xoo 1075 from Xanthomonas oryzae (PDB ID: 5CY8), was analyzed for its interactions with polymer ingredients, specifically chitooligosaccharides, to gain molecular insights down to the atomic level. The results are intriguing, with a strong binding of the chitooligosaccharide polymer with the drug target, revealing 10 hydrogen bonds between the protein and polymer. Overall, the computational analysis supported the experimentally demonstrated strong binding of chitooligosaccharides to the drug target.