Siphonaxanthin is a specific keto-carotenoid in green algae whose bio-functional properties are yet to be identified. This review focuses on siphonaxanthin as a bioactive compound and outlines the evidence associated with functionality. Siphonaxanthin has been reported to potently inhibit the viability of human leukemia HL-60 cells via induction of apoptosis. In comparison with fucoxanthin, siphonaxanthin markedly reduced cell viability as early as 6 h after treatment. The cellular uptake of siphonaxanthin was 2-fold higher than fucoxanthin. It has been proposed that siphonaxanthin possesses significant anti-angiogenic activity in studies using human umbilical vein endothelial cells and rat aortic ring. The results of these studies suggested that the anti-angiogenic effect of siphonaxanthin is due to the down-regulation of signal transduction by fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 in vascular endothelial cells. Siphonaxanthin also exhibited inhibitory effects on antigen-induced degranulation of mast cells. These findings open up new avenues for future research on siphonaxanthin as a bioactive compound, and additional investigation, especially in vivo studies, are required to validate these findings. In addition, further studies are needed to determine its bioavailability and metabolic fate.

Background Trophoblasts as a specific cell lineage are crucial for the correct function of the placenta. Human trophoblast stem cells (hTSCs) are a proliferative population that can differentiate into syncytiotrophoblasts and extravillous cytotrophoblasts. Many studies have reported that chemical supplements induce the differentiation of trophoblasts from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). However, there have been no reports of the establishment of proliferative hTSCs from hiPSCs. Our previous report showed that culturing hiPSCs on micromesh as a bioscaffold induced cystic cells with trophoblast properties. Here, we aimed to establish hTSCs from hiPSCs. Methods We used the micromesh culture technique to induce hiPSC differentiation into trophoblast cysts. We then reseeded and purified cystic cells. Results The cells derived from the reseeded cysts were highly proliferative. Low expression levels of pluripotency genes and high expression levels of TSC-specific genes were detected in proliferative cells. The cells could be passaged, and further directional differentiation into syncytiotrophoblast- and extravillous cytotrophoblast-like cells was confirmed by marker expression and hormone secretion. Conclusions We established hiPSC-derived hTSCs, which may be applicable for studying the functions of trophoblasts and the placenta. Our experimental system may provide useful tools for understanding the pathogenesis of infertility owing to trophoblast defects in the future. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13287-019-1339-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

These results provide evidence that siphonaxanthin may effectively regulate adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells and diabetic KK-Ay mice.

Foodborne disease caused by Salmonella is an important public health concern worldwide. Animal-based food, especially poultry meat, is the main source of human salmonellosis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and epidemiology of Salmonella contamination in raw poultry meat commercialized in China. Following the principle of systematic review, 98 sets of prevalence data were extracted from 74 publications conducted in 21 Chinese provincial regions. The random-effect model was constructed for subgrouping analysis by meat category, preservation type, and geographical location. The prevalence levels differed from high to low among raw poultry meat, including chicken, 26.4% (95% CI: 22.4–30.8%); pigeon, 22.6% (95% CI: 18.2–27.8%); duck, 10.1% (95% CI: 5.3–18.2%); and other poultry meat, 15.4% (95% CI: 12.0–19.5%). Prevalence data on the preservation type revealed that chilled poultry meat might be more likely to experience cross-contamination than non-chilled poultry meat in China. The distribution map of Salmonella for raw poultry meat showed that a higher prevalence level was found in the Shaanxi, Henan, Sichuan, and Beijing regions. All subgroups possessed high amounts of heterogeneity (I2 > 75%). The scientific data regarding the differences in prevalence levels between meat category, preservation method, and geographical region sources might be useful to improve specific interventions to effectively control the incidence of Salmonella in poultry meat.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has shown an increasing morbidity in recent years. Here, we demonstrated that siphonaxanthin (SPX), a rare marine carotenoid, exhibits a strong inhibitory effect on aggravated hepatic lipogenesis in vitro and would be a promising candidate in the prevention and alleviation of NAFLD in the future. In this study, we conducted a preliminary assessment of the effect of SPX on hepatic lipogenesis by using the HepG2 cell line, derived from human liver cancer, as a model of the liver. SPX significantly suppressed the excess accumulation of triacylglycerol induced by liver X receptor α (LXRα) agonist by downregulating a nuclear transcription factor named sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c and a set of related genes. Moreover, fatty acid translocase (CD36) and fatty acid-binding protein-1, which regulates fatty acid uptake, also exhibited significant decrease in transcriptional levels. Furthermore, we found that SPX blocked LXRα activation and would be a promising candidate for antagonist of LXRα.