The phytotherapeutic protein stem bromelain (SBM) is used as an anti-obesity alternative medicine. We show at the cellular level that SBM irreversibly inhibits 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation by reducing adipogenic gene expression and induces apoptosis and lipolysis in mature adipocytes. At the molecular level, SBM suppressed adipogenesis by downregulating C/EBPα and PPARγ independent of C/EBP...

It is now well established that the cysteine proteinases of plants (e.g. papain, actinidin, bromelain) and animals (e.g. cathepsins B, H and L) are homologous (see Takio et al., 1983) and almost certainly evolved from a common ancestral protein. For all but one of the cysteine proteinases sequenced to date the N-terminal residues can be exactly aligned with one another at a distance of 25-29 re...

Emerging on the horizon in cancer therapy is an expansion of the scope of treatment beyond cytotoxic approaches to include molecular management of cancer physiopathology. The goal in these integrative approaches, which extends beyond eradicating the affected cells, is to control the cancer phenotype. One key new approach appears to be modulation of the inflammatory cascade, as research is expan...

Maggot debridement therapy (MDT) is effective for treating intractable wounds, but its precise molecular mechanism, including the association between MDT and growth factors, remains unknown. We administered MDT to nine patients (66.3 ± 11.8 yr, 5 male and 4 female) with intractable wounds of lower extremities because they did not respond to conventional therapies. Significant increases of hepat...

BACKGROUND nutraceuticals are common support therapy for management of tendinopathies. Even if they are widely diffused, our knowledge is still poor. The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the most commonly used nutraceuticals and their effects on tendons. METHODS glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate, vitamin C, hydrolazed type 1 collagen, arginine alpha-keto-glutarate, bromelain, cu...

UNLABELLED Protease supplementation has been purported to reduce the damaging effects of eccentric exercise and accelerate recovery of muscle function, possibly by regulating inflammation. PURPOSE To determine the effectiveness of protease supplementation in attenuating eccentric exercise-induced skeletal muscle damage and inflammation. METHODS After standard physical and hemodynamic assess...

Intraperitoneal chemotherapy together with cytoreductive surgery is the standard of care for a number of peritoneal surface malignancies. However, this approach fails to maintain the complete response and disease recurs due to microscopic residual disease. Although safer than systemic chemotherapy regimens, locoregional treatment with chemotherapeutics can induce toxicity which is a major conce...

BACKGROUND Bromelain is a pineapple stem extract with a variety of therapeutic benefits arising from interaction with a number of different biological processes. Several preclinical studies and anecdotal clinical observations have reported the anticancer properties of bromelain. In the present study, we investigated the cytotoxic effects of bromelain in four human cancer cell lines of gastroint...

L-selectin, the peripheral lymph node "homing receptor," is an adhesion protein that mediates lymphocyte binding to lymph node high endothelial venules. Ligands for this protein have been identified only on endothelial cells, and recent murine studies indicate that CD34 on endothelial cells is an L-selectin ligand. To investigate whether CD34 expressed on hematopoietic cells functions as an L-s...

BACKGROUND Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key regulator of physiologic and pathogenic angiogenesis in diseases such as cancer and diabetic retinopathy. It is known that cysteine proteases from plants, like bromelain and papain are capable to suppress inflammatory activation. Recent studies have demonstrated that they may interfere with angiogenesis related pathways as well. The ...