Browsing by Author "Acevedo, Waldo"

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    In vitro evaluation and molecular docking of QS-21 and quillaic acid from Quillaja saponaria Molina as gastric cancer agents
    (NATURE RESEARCH, 2020) Guzman, Leda; Villalon, Katherine; Jose Marchant, Maria; Elena Tarnok, Maria; Cardenas, Pilar; Aquea, Gisela; Acevedo, Waldo; Padilla, Leandro; Bernal, Giuliano; Molinari, Aurora; Corvalan, Alejandro
    The cytotoxic mechanism of the saponin QS-21 and its aglycone quillaic acid (QA) was studied on human gastric cancer cells (SNU1 and KATO III). Both compounds showed in vitro cytotoxic activity with IC50 values: 7.1 mu M (QS-21) and 13.6 mu M (QA) on SNU1 cells; 7.4 mu M (QS-21) and 67 mu M (QA) on KATO III cells. QS-21 and QA induce apoptosis on SNU1 and KATO III, as demonstrated by TUNEL, Annexin-V and Caspase Assays. Additionally, we performed in silico docking studies simulating the binding of both triterpenic compounds to key proteins involved in apoptotic pathways. The binding energies (G(bin)) thus calculated, suggest that the pro-apoptotic protein Bid might be a plausible target involved in the apoptotic effect of both triterpenic compounds. Although QA shows some antiproliferative effects on SNU1 cells cultured in vitro, our results suggest that QS-21 is a more powerful antitumor agent, which merits further investigation regarding their properties as potential therapeutic agents for gastric cancer.
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    Revealing the Salmo salar NLRP3 Inflammasome: Insights from Structural Modeling and Transcriptome Analysis
    (MDPI, 2023) Acevedo, Waldo; Moran-Figueroa, Rodrigo; Vargas-Chacoff, Luis; Morera Galleguillos, Francisco Javier; Pontigo, Juan Pablo
    The NLRP3, one of the most heavily studied inflammasome-related proteins in mammals, remains inadequately characterized in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), despite the significant commercial importance of this salmonid. The NLRP3 inflammasome is composed of the NLRP3 protein, which is associated with procaspase-1 via an adapter molecule known as ASC. This work aims to characterize the Salmo salar NLRP3 inflammasome through in silico structural modeling, functional transcript expression determination in the SHK-1 cell line in vitro, and a transcriptome analysis on Atlantic salmon. The molecular docking results suggested a similar arrangement of the ternary complex between NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 in both the Atlantic salmon and the mammalian NLRP3 inflammasomes. Moreover, the expression results confirmed the functionality of the SsNLRP3 inflammasome in the SHK-1 cells, as evidenced by the lipopolysaccharide-induced increase in the transcription of genes involved in inflammasome activation, including ASC and NLRP3. Additionally, the transcriptome results revealed that most of the inflammasome-related genes, including ASC, NLRP3, and caspase-1, were down-regulated in the Atlantic salmon following its adaptation to seawater (also known as parr-smolt transformation). This is correlated with a temporary detrimental effected on the immune system. Collectively, these findings offer novel insights into the evolutionarily conserved role of NLRP3.
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    Selecting optimal mixtures of natural sweeteners for carbonated soft drinks through multi-objective decision modeling and sensory validation
    (2018) Acevedo, Waldo; Capitaine, Chloé; Rodríguez, Ricardo; Araya Durán, Ingrid; González Nilo, Fernando; Pérez C., José Ricardo; Agosin T., Eduardo