Background Context: In the United States, the most prevalent cause of disability of workers under 45 years of age is low back pain. Past research suggests that there is a link between low back pain and intervertebral disc degeneration. One of the earliest known components of disc degeneration is a decrease in proteoglycan content in the nucleus pulposus, which in turn leads to changes in mechan...

A continuous process based on the combination of ultrasounds and/or microwaves pretreatments followed by enzymatic hydrolysis and simultaneous extraction (EHSE) has been proposed to recover genipin from Eucommia ulmoides bark. At first, in the pretreatment step, the mixture of 1.0 g dried bark powder and 10 mL deionized water were irradiated by microwave under 500 W for 10 min. Then, in hydroly...

The trabecular meshwork (TM) tissue controls drainage of aqueous humor from the anterior chamber of the eye primarily by regulating extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Glaucomatous TM tissue is stiffer than age-matched controls, which may be due to alterations in ECM cross-linking. In this study, we used genipin or beta-aminopropionitrile (BAPN) agents to ...

Recent research has identified genipin as a promising natural crosslinking agent for biocompatible hydrogels as genipin is significantly less cytotoxic than current synthetic crosslinking agents, such as glutaraldehyde. Conveniently, fluorophores can be produced when genipin crosslinks. In this study, fluorescence intensity measurements of genipin crosslinked chitosan-poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) hy...

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most common causes of end stage renal disease (ESRD) in China, which requires renal replacement therapy. Recent investigations have suggested an essential role of podocyte injury in the initial stage of DN. This study investigated the potential therapeutic role of genipin, an active extract from a traditional Chinese medicine, on progression of DN in diab...

Accumulation of unfolding or misfolded proteins within the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) triggers ER stress, and sustained ER stress ultimately leads to cell death. Both of these events are involved in the activation of glucose-regulated protein of 78 kDa (GRP78, also known as Bip), CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) homologous protein (CHOP, also known as growth arrest and DNA da...

Treatment of damaged intervertebral discs is a significant clinical problem and, despite advances in the repair and replacement of the nucleus pulposus, there are few effective strategies to restore defects in the annulus fibrosus. An annular repair material should meet three specifications: have a modulus similar to the native annulus tissue, support the growth of disc cells, and maintain adhe...

Decellularization techniques have been widely used as an alternative strategy for organ reconstruction. This study investigated the mechanical, pro-angiogenic and in vivo biocompatibility properties of decellularized airway matrices cross-linked with genipin. New Zealand rabbit tracheae were decellularized and cross-linked with genipin, a naturally derived agent. The results demonstrated that, ...

UCP2 plays a physiological role by regulating mitochondrial biogenesis, maintaining energy balance, ROS elimination, and regulating cellular autophagy in numerous tissues. But the exact roles of UCP2 in cumulus cells are still not clear. Genipin, a special UCP2 inhibitor, was added into the cultural medium to explore the roles of UCP2 in human cumulus cells. There were no significant difference...

OBJECTIVE Calcification plays a major role in the failure of bioprosthetic and other tissue heart valve substitutes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the anticalcification effect of decellularization and detoxification in glutaraldehyde (GA)/genipin- and solvent-fixed bovine pericardium using a rabbit intramuscular model which is effective for assessing calcification in bioprosthetic...