This study examined the signaling events induced by shikonin that lead to the induction of apoptosis in Bcr/ Abl-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells (e.g., K562, LAMA84). Treatment of K562 cells with shikonin (e.g., 0.5 μM) resulted in profound induction of apoptosis accompanied by rapid generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), striking activation of c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38, marked release of the mitochondrial proteins cytochrome c and Smac/DIABLO, activation of caspase-9 and -3, and cleavage of PARP. Scavenging of ROS completely blocked all of the above-mentioned events (i.e., JNK and p38 phosphorylation, cytochrome c and Smac/DIABLO release, caspase and PARP cleavage, as well as the induction of apoptosis) following shikonin treatment. Inhibition of JNK and knock-down of JNK1 significantly attenuated cytochrome c release, caspase cleavage and apoptosis, but did not affect shikonin-mediated ROS production. Additionally, inhibition of caspase activation completely blocked shikonin-induced apoptosis, but did not appreciably modify shikonin-mediated cytochrome c release or ROS generation. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that shikonin-induced oxidative injury operates at a proximal point in apoptotic signaling cascades, and subsequently activates the stress-related JNK pathway, triggers mitochondrial dysfunction, cytochrome c release, and caspase activation, and leads to apoptosis. Our data also suggest that shikonin may be a promising agent for the treatment of CML, as a generator of ROS.

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Objectives: The accelerated shedding of extracellular domains of syndecan-4 ( SDC4) is associated with central obesity and insulin resistance, while the association between serum SDC4 and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is unknown. We aimed to examine the association between SDC4 and NAFLD.Methods: Adults undergoing a health examination from 1 June 2019 to 31 December 2019 were enrolled. A diagnosis of NAFLD was made with an abdominal ultrasound. Logistic regression models and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curveswere used to evaluate the role of SDC4 in predicting NAFLD.Results: In total, 533 eligible participants were finally enrolled, among them 157 (29.46%) had NAFLD. The proportion of patients with NAFLD increased with the increasing quartiles of serum SDC4. With the increase of serum SDC4 levels, metabolic features including waist circumference, serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance were significantly increased. SDC4 was an independent factor for NAFLD (odds ratio 1.963, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.628-2.367, P < 0.001). The area under the ROC curve of SDC4 for predicting NAFLD was 0.934 (95% CI 0.910-0.959). The optimal cut-off value was 6.575 ng/mL at Youden's index of 0.767. SDC4 had the highest diagnostic sensitivity (84.1%), positive predictive value (82.5%), negative predictive value (93.3%) and positive likelihood ratio (11.356) among all the variables.Conclusions: Elevated serum SDC4 level is associated with metabolic disorders and the prevalence of NAFLD among general population. Serum SDC4 may serve as a biomarker of NAFLD.

In this paper, nickel nanopowder was prepared by liquid phase reduction method, where nickel acetate and hydrazine hydrate was used as nickel source and reducing agent, respectively. The resulting Ni nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that nickel acetate can be effectively reduced by hydrazine hydrate. The as-prepared nickel nanoparticles are in spherical shape, with size ranging from 100 to 200nm and good dispersion. By changing the reaction conditions, the morphology and size of nickel particles can be controlled. The synthesized nickel nanopowders meet the general requirements of nickel powder that would be used for conductive paste, which can be prepared for nickel-based conductive paste. This method has some advantages such as inexpensive, non-pollution to environment; it can be used for industry.