During fall term of 2015 and winter and spring term of 2016 I assisted in research within Dr. Emily Ho’s lab. The project that I assisted in looked at the effects of low zinc status and arsenic exposure in mice. Zinc is an essential micronutrient involved in numerous cellular processes...
Introduction. Age is the primary risk factor for major human chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disorders, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases. Chronic, low-grade, systemic inflammation is associated with aging and the progression of immunosenescence. Immunosenescence may play an important role in the development of age-related chronic disease and the...
Background:
The dietary agent sulforaphane (SFN) has been reported to induce nuclear factor erythroid 2 (NF-E2)-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-dependent pathways as well as inhibiting histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity. The current investigation sought to examine the relationships between Nrf2 status and HDAC expression in preclinical and translational studies.
Results:
Wild type...
Consuming cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli sprouts, kale, Brussels sprouts, and bok choy is associated with several health benefits, such as a decreased risk of certain cancers. Cruciferous vegetables contain the glucosinolate, glucoraphanin (GFN). Cutting, chopping or chewing these vegetables releases the enzyme myrosinase, which transforms GFN into sulforaphane (SFN)....
Epigenetic changes, including aberrant DNA methylation, result in altered gene expression and play an important role in carcinogenesis. Phytochemicals such as sulforaphane (SFN) and 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM) are promising chemopreventive agents for the treatment of prostate cancer. Both have been shown to induce re-expression of genes, including tumor suppressor genes silenced...
Epidemiological evidence has demonstrated a reduced risk of prostate cancer associated with cruciferous vegetable intake. Follow-up studies have attributed this protective activity to the metabolic products of glucosinolates, a class of secondary metabolites produced by crucifers. The metabolic products of glucoraphanin and glucobrassicin, sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol respectively, have been the...
Prostate cancer is one of the most prevalent types of cancer in the U.S. and is among the leading causes of death in men of all races. One predictor of advanced prostate cancer and aggressive tumor behavior is the overexpression of the histone methyl transferase EZH2.
EZH2 functions in the...
Zinc (Zn) deficiency is a problem world-wide. Current methods for assessing Zn status are limited to measuring plasma or serum Zn within populations suspected of deficiency. Despite the high prevalence of Zn deficiency in the human population there are no methods currently available for sensitively assessing Zn status among individuals....
Aging is a complex process associated with physiological changes in numerous organ systems. In particular, aging of the immune system is characterized by progressive dysregulation of immune responses, resulting in increased susceptibility to infectious diseases, impaired vaccination efficacy, as well as systemic low grade chronic inflammation. Increasing evidence suggest that...
Certain bioactive food components, including indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM) from cruciferous vegetables, have been shown to target cellular pathways regulating carcinogenesis. Previously, our laboratory showed that dietary I3C is an effective transplacental chemopreventive agent in a dibenzo[def,p]chrysene (DBC)-dependent model of murine T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. The primary objective of the...