Browsing by Author "Chen, S."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Abrogating cholesterol esterification suppresses growth and metastasis of pancreatic cancer
    (SpringerNature, 2016-12-15) Li, J.; Gu, D.; Lee, SS-Y.; Song, B.; Bandyopadhyay, S.; Chen, S.; Konieczny, SF.; Ratliff, TL.; Liu, X.; Xie, J.; Cheng, J-X.; Department of Pediatrics, IU School of Medicine
    Cancer cells are known to execute reprogramed metabolism of glucose, amino acids and lipids. Here, we report a significant role of cholesterol metabolism in cancer metastasis. By using label-free Raman spectromicroscopy, we found an aberrant accumulation of cholesteryl ester in human pancreatic cancer specimens and cell lines, mediated by acyl-CoA cholesterol acyltransferase-1 (ACAT-1) enzyme. Expression of ACAT-1 showed a correlation with poor patient survival. Abrogation of cholesterol esterification, either by an ACAT-1 inhibitor or by shRNA knockdown, significantly suppressed tumor growth and metastasis in an orthotopic mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Mechanically, ACAT-1 inhibition increased intracellular free cholesterol level, which was associated with elevated endoplasmic reticulum stress and caused apoptosis. Collectively, our results demonstrate a new strategy for treating metastatic pancreatic cancer by inhibiting cholesterol esterification.
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    Cell adhesion molecule cadherin-6 function in zebrafish cranial and lateral line ganglia development
    (Wiley, 2011-07) Liu, Q.; Dalman, M.R.; Sarmah, S.; Chen, S.; Chen, Y.; Hurlbut, A. K.; Spencer, M.A.; Pancoe, L.; Marrs, J. A.; Biology, School of Science
    Cadherins regulate the vertebrate nervous system development. We previously showed that cadherin-6 message (cdh6) was strongly expressed in the majority of the embryonic zebrafish cranial and lateral line ganglia during their development. Here, we present evidence that cdh6 has specific functions during cranial and lateral line ganglia and nerve development. We analyzed the consequences of cdh6 loss-of-function on cranial ganglion and nerve differentiation in zebrafish embryos. Embryos injected with zebrafish cdh6 specific antisense morpholino oligonucleotides (MOs, which suppress gene expression during development; cdh6 morphant embryos) displayed a specific phenotype, including (i) altered shape and reduced development of a subset of the cranial and lateral line ganglia (e.g., the statoacoustic ganglion and vagal ganglion) and (ii) cranial nerves were abnormally formed. These data illustrate an important role for cdh6 in the formation of cranial ganglia and their nerves.
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    Magnetic-field-synchronized wireless modulation of neural activity by magnetoelectric nanoparticles
    (Elsevier, 2022) Zhang, E.; Abdel-Mottaleb, M.; Liang, P.; Navarrete, B.; Akin Yildirim, Y.; Alberteris Campos, M.; Smith, I. T.; Wang, P.; Yildirim, B.; Yang, L.; Chen, S.; Smith, I.; Lur, G.; Nguyen, T.; Jin, X.; Noga, B. R.; Ganzer, P.; Khizroev, S.; Anesthesia, School of Medicine
    The in vitro study demonstrates wirelessly controlled modulation of neural activity using magnetoelectric nanoparticles (MENPs), synchronized to magnetic field application with a sub-25-msec temporal response. Herein, MENPs are sub-30-nm CoFe2O4@BaTiO3 core-shell nanostructures. MENPs were added to E18 rat hippocampal cell cultures (0.5 μg of MENPs per 100,000 neurons) tagged with fluorescent Ca2+ sensitive indicator cal520. MENPs were shown to wirelessly induce calcium transients which were synchronized with application of 1200-Oe bipolar 25-msec magnetic pulses at a rate of 20 pulses/sec. The observed calcium transients were similar, in shape and magnitude, to those generated through the control electric field stimulation with a 50-μA current, and they were inhibited by the sodium channel blocker tetrodotoxin. The observed MENP-based magnetic excitation of neural activity is in agreement with the non-linear M - H hysteresis loop of the MENPs, wherein the MENPs' coercivity value sets the threshold for the externally applied magnetic field.