Methods for regulating transcription of multiple genes and expression of multiple targets

Abstract

Methods for regulating multiple organs, multiple genes and multiple targets by using a polypeptide. The polypeptide includes the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 and/or homology thereof. The polypeptide reveals the potency to regulate transcription of multiple genes and expression of multiple targets. Therefore, a composition having the polypeptide can be applied to regulate the expression of multiple targets in multiple organs of patients. Furthermore, the composition having the polypeptide can be applied in therapies of inflammation and inflammatory disorders, suppression of fatty liver disease progression, suppression of the diseases caused by fatty accumulation, prevention and therapy of muscular atrophy, and avoiding the complications of diabetes.

Claims

1. A method for treating a disease resulting from abnormal expression of a gene, comprising administering to a subject in need of such treatment an effective amount of a polypeptide to treat the disease of multiple organ failure by regulating transcription of multiple genes selected from the group consisting of Ccl2, Icam1, Pecam1, Tnfrsfl1b, Cdh2, Bcl3, Mapk3, ADIPOQ, Casp3, Ikbke, Irs1, Mapk9, Rxra, Ltf, Socs1, CD40, Mdk, Mmp13, Spp1, Vegfa, Cabin1, Igfbp5, Myh1, Map2k2, Nfatc3, Adprt1, Pik3r1, Rps6 kb1, Twist1, Akt1, Cd36, Acsl1 Nfkbia, Prkag1, Ptpn11, Stat3, Acox1, Cpt1a, Cpt2, Hsd17b4, Acsl4, Sirt1, Apoc3, Ctla4, Fabp2, Fgb, Hp, Mmp2, Aldh2, Ctla4, Cypl7a1, Mttp, Sod2, PPAR-γ, and NF-κB; wherein the polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1; wherein the disease is selected from the group consisting of muscular dystrophy, inflammation, fatty liver, obesity, diabetes-induced retinopathy, and diabetes-induced nephrosis, and wherein the multiple organs include at least two organs selected from the group consisting of muscle, fatty, lung, liver, kidney, and intestines.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple organs exclude ovary and heart.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the polypeptide consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the effective amount is from 2×10.sup.−7 μmol/kg-body weight of the polypeptide to 1 μmol/kg-body weight of the polypeptide by intraperitoneal injection.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the effective amount to an adult is at least daily oral administration of 0.055 mg/kg-body weight of the polypeptide.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein treating the disease of multiple organ failure comprises regulating expression of multiple targets selected from the group consisting of PPAR-γ, NF-κB and Sirt1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.

(2) FIG. 1 shows the homologous polypeptides extracted from various Cucurbitaceous plants with capacity for glycemic regulation by SDS-PAGE.

(3) FIG. 2A shows a part of the result of the polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 in this invention synthesized by automated peptide synthesizer.

(4) FIG. 2B shows a part of the result of the polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 in this invention synthesized by automated peptide synthesizer. It is in continue with the FIG. 2A.

(5) FIG. 2C shows a part of the result of the polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 in this invention synthesized by automated peptide synthesizer. It is in continue with the FIG. 2B.

(6) FIG. 3 shows the recombinant polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 in this invention by SDS-PAGE.

(7) FIG. 4A shows the luciferase activity in the mice of the each group by in vivo imaging system.

(8) FIG. 4B shows the statistic result of the quantified luciferin value in the mice of the each group.

(9) FIG. 5 shows the quantified luciferin value detected from the indicated organs in the mice of the each group.

(10) FIG. 6 shows the results of immunohistochemistry staining with antibodies against p65, TNF-a and IL-1b in the mice's organ of the each group.

(11) FIG. 7A shows the results of the hepatic tissues in the mice of the each group by H&E staining.

(12) FIG. 7B shows the results of the hepatic fat accumulation in the mice of the each group by Oil-Red staining.

(13) FIG. 8A shows the results of immunohistochemistry staining with antibodies against 4-Hydroxynonenal is performed on the hepatic tissues in the mice of the each group.

(14) FIG. 8B shows the results of immunohistochemistry staining with antibodies against Malondialdehyde is performed on the hepatic tissues in the mice of the each group.

(15) FIG. 9 shows the dorsal views of the experimental mice and the control mice.

(16) FIG. 10 shows the gross view of the fat pads collected from the experimental mice and the control mice.

(17) FIG. 11 shows the results of the adipose tissues in the experimental mice and the control mice by H&E staining.

(18) FIG. 12 shows the results of the muscular tissues in the experimental mice and the control mice by H&E staining.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(19) This invention disclosed the polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 or its homologies reveal potency for regulating the expressions of multiple genes and multiple targets. In other words, the polypeptide and/or its homologies have the applications including:

(20) (1) the polypeptide affects the expression of multiple genes in multiple organs;

(21) (2) the polypeptide can be provided to the therapy for inflammation and inflammation associated diseases;

(22) (3) the polypeptide can suppress hepatic lipid accumulation;

(23) (4) the polypeptide can inhibit fat accumulation;

(24) (5) the polypeptide can prevent muscular dystrophy; and

(25) (6) the polypeptide can reduce the incidence of diabetes complications.

(26) Therefore, it is achievable to improve or treat the multiple genes-associated or multiple targets-associated diseases by administering to a subject a pharmaceutical composition comprising an effective amount of the polypeptide or the homologies thereof, wherein the diseases are resulted from the dysfunctions of lipid metabolism, myogenesis and inflammatory reaction. For example, the disease may be inflammation, muscular dystrophy, obesity, metabolic syndrome and fatty liver.

(27) According to the experiments of this invention, the effective amount of the polypeptide for an adult (60 kg) is at least daily oral administration 0.055 mg/kg-body weight of the polypeptide.

(28) Furthermore, the polypeptide or homologies thereof could be obtained by extraction technology, artificially synthesis or expressed by recombinant organism model.

(29) As used herein, each of the following terms has the meaning associated with it as described below.

(30) The term of homologous polypeptide means the derived polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide with replacement, deletion, or insertion of one or multiple amino acids.

(31) The terms “polypeptide” and “protein” are used interchangeably.

(32) The term of extraction technology means the extracted substance is isolated from the indicated organism such as plant materials upon the difference of solubility in different solvents. Herein, the technologies for isolation and purification in this invention are the known to the person ordinarily skilled in the art. For example, SDS-PAGE is utilized to separate the polypeptide upon the predictive molecular weight. Moreover, liquid chromatography is also used to separate the polypeptides upon different membrane filters. According to the previous studies, several polypeptides obtained from liquid-extraction of Cucurbitaceous plants reveal the function in glycemic control, wherein the polypeptides for glycemic control include the polypeptide of this invention comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 and the homologous polypeptides thereof. The Cucurbitaceous plant materials include, but are not limited to, M. charantia, M. charantia Linn., C. moschata, C. lanatus, C. sativus, L. siceraria, and T. Radix. In addition, the result of SDS-PAGE in FIG. 1 reveals that the polypeptides with capacity for glycemia regulation in liquid-extraction of Cucurbitaceous plants are homology. Furthermore, the polypeptide disclosed in this invention comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 in this invention or the homologous polypeptides thereof could be also extracted from non-Cucurbitaceous plant materials. For example, the non-Cucurbitaceous plants include Z. elegans, M. truncatula, C. X paradisi, V. vinifera, S. nigra, O. sativa, A. thaliana and/or any recombine comprising at least two materials thereof. Collectively, it suggests that the material source to extract the polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 or the homologous polypeptides thereof is not restricted in Cucurbitaceous plants.

(33) The term of artificial synthesis is known to the person ordinarily skilled in the art. For more, artificial synthesis is to sequentially link amino acids into a polypeptide, wherein the methods of artificial synthesis include chemical peptide synthesis and peptide synthesizer. The artificial synthesis has the following advantages including alteration of primary structure of polypeptide during synthesis processes, addition of specific amino acid and modification on the terminal of polypeptide. Generally, chemical peptide synthesis includes solid phase peptide synthesis and liquid phase peptide synthesis. Herein, purification process of the synthesized peptide intermediates is required when each amino acid is linked into the growing peptide in liquid peptide synthesis. However, the purified peptide intermediates are usually mixture that requires the further purification processes by chromatography. Therefore, the complicated isolation and purification processes are required to obtain the final product with high purity in liquid phase peptide synthesis. The solid phase peptide synthesis is achieved through polymerization of peptide chain that is immobilized on the small porous beads (or the solid particles) in the solvent. In solid phase peptide synthesis, the amino-terminal end is covalently conjugated on the small porous beads and is sequentially linked with the specific amino acids to synthesize the polypeptide. Because the beads are not dissolved in the solvent, the beads could be separated from reagents and side-products by wash and filtration. Therefore, the solid phase peptide synthesis reveals the advantages in better productivity and shorter reaction time cost without the complicated purification to purify the peptide intermediates during the synthesis process compared to the liquid phase peptide synthesis.

(34) The term of recombinant organism model refers to any organism having been genetically modified or genetically engineered. The recombinant organism of the present invention express foreign DNA encoding the polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 and/or homology thereof, wherein the recombinant organism can be such as E. coli, yeast, lactobacillus and so on.

(35) The term of foreign DNA refers to genetic material native to one organism that has been placed within a host organism by various means.

(36) The terms of encoding and coding refer to the process by which a gene, through the mechanisms of transcription and translation, produces an amino acid sequence. It is understood that the process of encoding a specific amino acid sequence includes DNA sequences that may involve base changes that do not cause a change in the encoded amino acid, or which involve base changes which may alter one or more amino acids, but do not affect the functional properties of the protein encoded by the DNA sequence. It is therefore understood that the invention encompasses more than the specific exemplary sequences. Modifications to the sequence, such as deletions, insertions, or substitutions in the sequence which produce silent changes that do not substantially affect the functional properties of the resulting protein molecule are also contemplated. The terms of expression and express refer to the transcription and translation to gene product from a gene coding for the sequence of the gene product.

(37) The term of effective dose refers to the weight percentage of the compounds or active constituents in the composition to achieve the prospected effects. According to the well-known knowledge in this field, the effective dose is different due to different deliver manner for different prospected effects. Generally, the weight percentage of active ingredients or compounds in the composition is 1% to 100%, herein, the better effective dose is 30% to 100%.

(38) The term of pharmaceutical composition includes an active pharmaceutical ingredient within at least one pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle. The pharmaceutical composition could be formulated in tablet, powder or injection medicine for different prospective effectiveness. Moreover, the vehicle of the pharmaceutical composition could be solid, semi-solid or liquid. For example, the vectors include, but not restricted by, gelatin, emulsifier, hydrocarbon compounds, water, glycerol, saline solution, PBS, lanoline, paraffin wax, beeswax, dimethyl-silicon oil and ethanol.

(39) The articles “a” and “an” are used herein to refer to one or to more than one (i.e. to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, “an element” means one element or more than one element.

(40) The invention is further illustrated by the following examples. These examples are intended to be representative of the invention and are not to limit the invention, its application, or uses.

(41) In addition, the mice use protocol listed below has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Car and Use Committee (IACUC) in China Medical University.

Example 1. Preparation of the Polypeptide Comprising the Amino Acid Sequence of SEQ ID No. 1

(42) The present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 is prepared by solid phase peptide synthesis, recombinant organism model or extraction from plant material, wherein the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 shown in FIG. 2 could be synthesized by commercial equipment such as solid phase peptide synthesizer, liquid phase peptide synthesizer and/or microwave phase peptide synthesizer.

(43) By using bioreactor, plasmid that contains expression cDNA encoding the present polypeptide is transformed into host to express the polypeptide comprising amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 shown in FIG. 3. Herein, the hosts for expressing the present polypeptide in this invention could be the bacteria including E. coli and/or yeast. In addition, the plasmid is selected from the commercial plasmids including pQStrep2, pQStrep4, pGEX-6 μl and/or pQTEV.

(44) The procedure to isolate the present polypeptide from plant material such as Momordica charantla is demonstrated as the example for examination. In this example, the present polypeptide in this invention is isolated from extraction liquid of M. charantla by using the well-established technologies such as SDS-PAGE and chromatograph. The isolated polypeptide is stored at −80° C. and can be added the preservative such as sodium benzoate or salicylic acid if necessary depending on the situation.

(45) The processes for acquiring the extract liquor include the following steps: First, maceration of M. charantla was performed to obtain the crude suspension with solvent such as PBS, citrate buffer solution and/or water. In addition, homogenizer and grinder could be utilized for the maceration. Following, the solid particles were separated from liquid phase by centrifugation with 12,000˜15,000 revolution per minute (rpm) and filtration through the membrane with pores about 0.1˜0.5 um to obtain a supernatant. Then, the supernatant is sequentially passed through the 10 kDa filter and 1 kDa filter to obtain the filtrate including the extract liquor with the polypeptide of this invention. For example, the filters can be available from Amicon or Millipore.

Example 2. In Vivo Experiments Show the Multiple-Position and Multiple Targets Effects of the Present Polypeptide

(46) Materials

(47) Mice: The wild-type FVB mice used in the in vivo experiment were purchased from National Laboratory Animal Center. In addition, the mice use protocol listed below has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Car and Use Committee (IACUC) in China Medical University.

(48) Polypeptide: the polypeptide prepared in example 1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1.

(49) Methods

(50) The wild-type FVB mice were divided into the control group and the experimental group, wherein the mice in the experimental group were daily administered with 20 μl peptide-containing solution that contains 2.5 mmol/kg of the present peptide for 7 days. Moreover, the mice in the control group were daily administrated with 20 μl PBS solution for 7 days.

(51) After the daily administration, the tissues of column, muscle, fat pad, liver and kidney were collected for analyzing the expression of multiple targets by system biology analysis. Herein, the altered expressions of the targets in the genome were determined by using DNA microarray which is a well-established tool for systematic biology analysis. Furthermore, the results of the DNA microarray were further categorized and analyzed by bioinformatics analysis to determine the effect and affected signaling pathways of the present polypeptide. Therefore, it can determine the downstream targets of the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 by the mechanism investigation through microarray analysis and gene expression profile. The detail steps including:

(52) (1) RNA preparation: The total RNA was extracted from the tissue by using RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen, Valencia, Calif., USA). The amount of the extracted total RNA was measured by Beckman DU800 spectrophotometer (Beckman Coulter, Fullerton, Calif., USA). In the next step, the quality of the RNA sample with A260/A280 ratio more than 1.8 was further evaluated by Agilent 2100 bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, Calif., USA). When with the RNA integrity number of the sample is more than 8.0, it would be analyzed by the following microarray analysis.

(53) (2) DNA microarray analysis: The procedure of DNA microarray analysis was conducted according to the reference (Cheng, 2007). Briefly, 5 μg of total RNA was amplified by in vitro transcription using MessageAmp™ aRNA kit (Ambion). In the following, the fluorescence dye, Cy5, was chemically labeled on the amplified RNA (aRNA). After the labeling, the fluorescence labeled aRNA was hybridized with Whole Genome OneArray™ in hybridization buffer (Phalanx Biotech Group, Taiwan) on cover slide. Following the hybridization reaction at 50° C. over-night, the non-specific binding on the chip was washed by three washing steps. The washed chip was dried by centrifugation and was scanned by Axon 4000 scanner (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, Calif., USA) to measure the fluorescence signals. The fluorescence intensity of Cy5 on each spots was further analyzed by genepix 4.1 (Molecular Devices). First, the signals of each spot were adjusted by deducting the intensity of background. In the next step, the spots including the probes of internal controls or the spots with the signal-to-noise ratios less than 0 would be removed. The qualified spots were normalized by limma package which is belonged to R console (Smyth, 2005).

(54) (3). Analysis of the functional mechanism and affected signaling pathways by using bioinformatics software: The altered downstream targets, functional mechanisms, affected signaling pathways and the disease relevance were investigated by using the bioinformatics software such as Medical Subject Headings (MeSH, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html) and BiblioSphere Pathway Edition.

(55) The results of bioinformatics analysis were shown in table 1. It results suggested that the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 in this invention actually achieved its functions that affect the signaling pathways and diseases occurrence through a multiple organs and multiple targets manner.

(56) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 The altered expression profile of the targets that involve in various signaling pathways in indicated organs. Signal P Represented genes Organs pathway value Genes Gene description Fold Column IL-1β 6.48E−03 Ccl2 Chemokine(C-C Down-regulated signaling motif)ligand 2 1.71 folds pathway Icam1 Intercellular adhesion Down-regulated molecule 1 2.27 folds Pecam1 Platelet/endothelial cell Down-regulated adhesion molecule 1 1.99 folds Tnfrsf11b Tumor necrosis factor Down-regulated receptor superfamily 2.74 folds 11b (also known as osteoclastogenesis inhibitory factor) Cdh2 Cadherin-2 Down-regulated 1.73 folds TNF 5.21E−06 Bcl3 B-cell lymphoma 3 Down-regulated signaling 1.72 folds pathway Mapk3 Mitogen-activated protein Down-regulated kinase 3 2.32 folds Tnfrsf11b Tumor necrosis factor Down-regulated receptor superfamily 11B 2.74 folds (also known as osteoclastogenesis inhibitory factor) ADIPO Adiponectin, C1Q Down-regulated Q and collagen 1.78 folds domain containing Casp3 Caspase-3 Down-regulated 1.71 folds Ikbke Inhibitor of kappa kinase Down-regulated epsilon 1.95 folds Irs1 Insulin receptor substrate 1 Down-regulated 1.73 folds Mapk9 Mitogen activated protein Down-regulated kinase 9 1.53 folds Rxra Retinoid X receptor α Down-regulated 1.89 folds Ltf Lactotransferrin Down-regulated 1.99 folds Socs1 Suppressor of cytokine Down-regulated signaling 1 2.46 folds CD40 Cell surface antigen, CD40 Down-regulated 1.79 folds Muscle IGF 2.65E−03 Mdk Midkine Up-regulated 3.4 signaling 6 folds pathway Mmp13 Matrix metallopeptidase 13 Up-regulated 3.0 8 folds Spp1 Secreted phosphoprotein 1 Up-regulated 3.6 1 folds Vegfa Vascular endothelium Up-regulated 1.5 growth factor alpha 1 folds Cabin1 Calcineurin-binding protein Up-regulated 2.4 1 9 folds Igfbp5 Insulin-like growth factor Up-regulated 1.9 binding protein 5 9 folds Myh1 Myosin, heavy Up-regulated 3.2 polypeptide 1, skeleton 4 folds muscle, adult Irs1 Insulin-receptor substrate 1 Up-regulated 3.7 1 folds Map2k2 Mitogen-activated protein Up-regulated 1.6 kinase kinase 2 5 folds Nfatc3 Nuclear factor of Up-regulated 1.5 activated T-cells, cytoplasm 6 folds andcalcineurin-dependent 3 Adprt1 Poly ADP-ribose Up-regulated 1.9 polymerase family 1 4 folds Pik3r1 Phosphatidylinositol Up-regulated 1.8 3-kinase regulated subunit 7 folds 1 (p85 alpha) Rps6kb1 Ribosomal protein S6 Up-regulated 4.7 kinase polypeptide 1 9 folds Twist 1 Twist homology 1 Up-regulated 2.1 (Drosophila) 6 folds Adipocyto- 6.84E−03 Akt1 Thymoma viral Down-regulated kine proto-oncogene 1 1.57 folds signaling Cd36 Cell surface antigen CD36 Down-regulated pathway 2.42 folds Acsl1 Acetyl-CoA synthetase Down-regulated long-chain family member 1 4.56 folds Nfkbia Nuclear factor of kappa Down-regulated light chain gene enhancer in 2.55 folds B-cells inhibitor, alpha Prkag1 Protein kinase, Down-regulated AMP-activated, gamma 1 1.93 folds non-catalytic subunit Ptpn11 Protein tyrosine Down-regulated phosphatase, non-receptor 2.31 folds type 11 Stat3 Signal transducer Down-regulated and activator of 1.55 folds transcription 3 Fat pad Fatty 1.10E−04 Acox1 Acyl-coenzyme A oxidase 1 Up-regulated 2.0 acid (palmitoyl) 5 folds metabolism Cpt1a Carnitine Up-regulated 3.1 palmitoyltransferase 1A, folds liver Cpt2 Carnitine Up-regulated 1.5 palmitoyltransferase 2 9 folds Hsd17b4 Cell surface antigen CD63 Up-regulated 1.7 7 folds Acsl4 Acyl-CoA synthetase Up-regulated 5.1 long-chain family member 4 9 folds Sirt1 Sirtuin 1 (silent mating type Up-regulated 3.0 information regulation 2, 9 folds homolog) 1 (S. cerevisiae) Kidney Diabetes; 0.997505 Apoc3 Apolipoprotein C-III Down-regulated Nephrosis 2.5 folds Ctla4 Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte- Down-regulated associated protein 4 1.65 folds Fabp2 Fatty acid-binding protein 2, Down-regulated intestine 1.62 folds Fgb Fibrinogen β chain Down-regulated 1.91 folds Hp Heptoglobin Down-regulated 2.35 folds Liver Fatty liver 0.978033 Mmp2 Matrix metalloproteinase 2 Down-regulated 2.11 folds Aldh2 aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 Down-regulated 2.5 folds Ctla4 Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte- Down-regulated associated protein 4 1.56 folds Cyp17a1 Cytochrome P450 family Down-regulated 17, subfamily A, 1.52 folds polypeptide 1 Mttp Microsomal triglyceride Down-regulated transfer protein 3.53 folds Sod2 Superoxide dismutase 2, Down-regulated mitochondria 1.71 folds

Example 3. The Present Polypeptide in the Management of Inflammation and Inflammation-Associated Diseases

(57) In example 3, the efficacy of the present polypeptide in the treated mice was determined by whole animal bioluminescent imaging, in vivo bioluminescent imaging in specific organs and immunohistochemistry staining.

(58) Materials

(59) Mice: The NF-κB/luc transgenic mice bearing the luciferase transgene driven by two copies of the NF-kappaB regulatory elements were mated with wild-type FVB mice to generate the hybrid NF-κB/luc transgenic offspring for the experiments.

(60) Polypeptide: The prepared polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 was utilized in this example.

(61) Methods

(62) (1) In Vivo Bioluminescent Imaging

(63) Whole animal bioluminescent imaging: 15 mice with age of 6˜8 weeks were randomly divided into three groups. The group 1 was the blank group; the group 2 was control group; and the group 3 was experimental group. The mice of the group 2 and the group 3 were administration with 100 ul of 4 mg/g lipopolysaccharide (LSP) solution to induce the inflammation in the mice by intraperitoneal injection (IP injection). As the blank control, the mice of group 1 were administered with 100 μl of PBS by IP injection. After the LPS-injection for 5 minutes, the mice of the group 3 were further injected with 20 μl solution that contains 0.5 mg/Kg of the present polypeptide by IP injection. In contrast, the mice of the group 2 and the group 3 were injected with 20 μul of water. After 4 hours of the injection, the injected mice were observed for the luciferase activity by whole animal bioluminescent imaging.

(64) For in vivo imaging mice were anesthetized with isoflurane and injected intraperitoneally with 150 mg/kg luciferin. After 10 minutes, the mice were placed face up and imaged for 1 min with the camera set at the highest sensitivity by IVIS Imaging System-200 (Series Xenogen Hopkinton, Mass.). The photons emitted from the tissues were quantified by Living Images software (Xenogen, Hopkinton, Mass.) and were shown in FIG. 4A. In the FIG. 4A, the Y-axis shown the signal strength (photons/sec) that stands for total photons diffused from the mice. Moreover, FIG. 4B showed the comparison of the quantified value of luciferin detected from the mice of the each group.

(65) According to the previous studies, NF-κB transcription factor has been shown to activate NF-κB signaling pathway with the presence of LPS in NF-κB/luc hemizygous transgenic mice. In addition, the nuclear NF-κB and the activated NF-κB signaling pathway play the critical role in the immunomodulation. Activation of NF-κB would further activate the expression of inflammation-associated genes. As the results shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the average of luciferin value detected from the mice of the group 1 was 2.92×10.sup.7 photons/sec. In addition, the average of luciferin value detected from the mice of the group 2 was 31.97×10.sup.7 photons/sec that was stronger than the group 1. Interestingly, the reduced average of luciferin value detected from the mice of the group 3 was 19.82×10.sup.7 photons/sec. Taken together, the luciferin value detected from the mice of the group 3 was the baseline without LPS-induction. Moreover, the luciferin value diffused from the LPS-injected mice of the group 2. Interestingly, the luciferin value was reduced in the mice of the group 3 with treatments of LPS and present polypeptide.

(66) Therefore, the result from whole animal bioluminescent imaging indicates that LPS was capable of inducing the inflammation in the NF-κB/luc transgenic mice that caused the luminescent signals at the abdomen of the mice. Furthermore, by treating the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1, it can obviously decrease the luminescent intensity at the abdomen of NF-κB/luc transgenic mice. As shown in the FIGS. 4A and 4B, LPS induced an approximately 10.95-fold increase of NF-κB-driven luminescent intensity in mice. Moreover, compared to the group 1, the group 3 can has decrease the luminescent intensity, and the suppression was about 38%. Therefore, treatment of the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 can be able to inhibit NF-κB activity for efficient suppression of acute inflammation induced by exogenous stimulations.

(67) (2) Ex Vivo Bioluminescent Imaging

(68) The mice of the three groups manipulated in example 3 were abdominally injected with 150 mg/Kg luciferin. After luciferin injection for 5 minutes, the mice were sacrificed and the tissues including brain, heart, lung, liver, spleen, stomach, kidney, ovary and intestine were rapidly removed. The collected tissues were placed in the IVIS Imaging System-200 Series (Xenogen, Hopkinton, Mass.) and imaged with the same setting used for in vivo bioluminescent imaging. Furthermore, the photons emitted from the tissues were quantified by Living Images software (Xenogen, Hopkinton, Mass.) and shown in FIG. 5, wherein the Y-axis showed the signal strength (photons/sec) that stands for the total detected photons diffused from all indicated tissues in the mice of each group.

(69) The results in FIG. 5 showed that the alterations of luciferin emitted from the various tissues in the mice of the each group revealed different trends. With the exception of ovary, the luminescent intensity of the other tissues in the mice of the control group (the group 2) were obviously increased when compared to the blank group (the group 1). With comparison of the control group, the luminescent intensities detected from lung, liver, kidney and intestine in the mice of the experimental group (the group 3) were obviously decreased.

(70) In order to further identify the targeted organs of the present polypeptide in suppression of the inflammation, the quantified luminescent intensities detected from the tissues of the each group were presented as fold change and were shown in the table 2 and table 3 as below. In the table 2, the average of luciferin value in the mice of the group 2 was divided to average of luciferin value in the mice of the group 1 to obtain the fold change. In table 3, the average of luciferin value in the mice of the group 3 was divided to the average of luciferin value in the mice of the group 2 to obtain the fold change.

(71) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 The fold change of the luciferin value in the indicated organs of group 2 with comparison of group 1. Tissue Brain Heart Lung Liver Spleen Stomach Kidney Ovary Intestine Fold 18.87 6.03 11.90 4.06 5.57 4.95 93.78 5.35 55.63 change folds folds folds folds folds folds folds folds folds up- up- up- up- up- up- up- up- up- regulation regulation regulation regulation regulation regulation regulation regulation regulation

(72) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 The fold change of the luciferin value in the indicated organs of each group 3 with comparison of group 2. Tissue Brain Heart Lung Liver Spleen Stomach Kidney Ovary Intestine Fold 1.40 1.13 1.68 1.57 1.08 1.11 1.08 1.17 1.96 change up- up- down- down- up- up- down- up- down- regulation regulation regulation regulation regulation regulation regulation regulation regulation

(73) These results showed that LPS can induce the inflammation and luciferase expression in various indicated organs in NF-κB/luc transgenic mice. However, treatment of the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 can suppress the luciferin value in lung, liver, kidney and intestine. This result indicated that treatment of the present polypeptide can suppress NF-κB activity and the following inflammation reactions induced by LPS in lung, liver, kidney and intestine.

(74) (3) Immunohistochemistry (IHC) Staining Analysis

(75) Immunohistochemistry (IHC) would be known by an ordinary person skilled in the art. The organs were collected from the mice of the each group for paraffin embedding and histology section. The parafilm-embedded organs were cut into 5-lm sections, deparaffinized in xylene and then rehydrated in graded alcohol. Endogenous peroxidase was quenched with 3% hydrogen peroxide in methanol for 15 mins and the nonspecific binding was blocked with 1% bovine serum albumin at room temperature for 1 hour. The blocked sections were further incubated with 50-folds diluted mouse monoclonal antibodies against p56, TNF-α or IL-1β proteins at 4° C. for 16-18 hours, respectively and then incubated with biotinylated secondary antibodies (Zymed Laboratories, South San Francisco, Calif.) that against the Fc fragment of the co-responding first antibody at room temperature for 20 minutes. Finally, the slides were incubated with avidin-biotin complex reagent and stained with 3,3′-diaminobenzidine according to manufacturer's protocol (Histostain®-Plus Kit, Zymed Laboratories, South San Francisco, Calif.).

(76) The expression patterns of p65, TNF-α and IL-1βcharacterized by IHC were shown in FIG. 6. The results in FIG. 6 showed that the brown signals of TNF-α or IL-1β in the tissue of the control group (the group 2) were obviously increased with comparison of the blank group (the group 1). However, the brown zone that means the active TNF-α and active IL-1β signal pathways in the tissue of the experimental mice (the group 3) were obviously less than the group 2. It disclosed that TNF-α and IL-1β are pro-inflammatory cytokines in acute inflammation and inflammation. Therefore, these results indicated that treatment of the present polypeptide comprising amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 is capable of suppressing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokine and LPS-induced inflammation.

Example 4. The Present Polypeptide in the Therapy of Fatty Liver

(77) Materials:

(78) Mice: The wild-type FVB mice used in this example were purchased from National Laboratory Animal Center.

(79) Polypeptide: The present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 was prepared in example 1.

(80) Methods:

(81) 30 wild-type FVB mice were randomly divided into three groups, wherein the mice of the group 1 were the blank group that were fed with normal condition. The mice of the control group (the group 2) and the experimental group (the group 3) were fed with high fat diet. In addition, weekly peritoneal injection with 1041 of 10 mmol/kg of the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 was performed on the mice of the group 3 twice for 4 weeks. The mice in the group 2 and the group 3 were peritoneally injected with 100 μl of PBS.

(82) After the administration, livers in the mice of the each group were collected for the histology sections. The hepatic histology of livers in the mice of the each group was subtracted for H&E staining and oil red-O staining to examined the lipid accumulation in liver, respectively. The hepatic histology of the each group was shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B. Furthermore, the product of lipid oxidation in hepatocytes was examined by IHC staining described in example 3 with antibodies against 4-hydroxynonenal (NHE) or malondialdehyde (MDA) on the hepatic tissues of the each group. The expression patterns of NHE and MDA in hepatocytes of the each group were shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B.

(83) The results in FIG. 7 showed obvious fat vacuoles and massive lipid accumulation in liver of the group 2 with comparison of the group 1. Inspiringly, the mice of the group 3 revealed less lipid accumulation in the liver with comparison of the group 2.

(84) The results in FIG. 8 showed that the control mice of the group 2 acquired more products of lipid oxidation such as HNE and MDA in hepatic tissue with comparison of the group 1. In contrast, the products of lipid oxidation in hepatic tissue were obviously decreased in the mice of the group 3 with comparison of the group 2.

(85) One of an ordinary person skilled in the art knows that the excessive production of lipid oxidation products in the cell would lead to cytopathogenesis and fibrosis. Moreover, HNE and MDA are both products of lipid oxidation that could be the diagnosis biomarker for oxidative damage. Therefore, the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 could efficiently improve the hepatic lipid accumulation and reduce the products of lipid oxidation in hepatocytes. In other words, the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 could be applied for therapy and improvement of fatty liver or hepatic damage-induced disorders.

Example 5. The Present Polypeptide in Suppression of Fat Accumulation

(86) Materials

(87) Mice: In example 5, the genetic deficient mice with massive fat accumulation at abdomen were purchased from National Laboratory Animal Center.

(88) Polypeptide: The present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 was prepared in example 1.

(89) Methods

(90) The mice were divided into control group and experimental group. The mice of the experimental group were peritoneally injections with 100 ul of 2.5 nmol/kg present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 twice a weeks for 4 weeks. In addition, the mice in the control group were peritoneally injections with 100 ul of PBS.

(91) During the treatment period, the body weight and dietary intake of the mice were recorded at the regular time points. After the treatment, the gross views of whole animals were recorded by photographing. In the following, the fat pads of the mice were collected for the measurement of fat pad weight. The histological examination was performed to determine the number and size of the adipocytes in the mice of the both groups. Furthermore, the percentage of body fat was calculated according the formulation: (fat weight/body weight)×100%, and shown in table 4.

(92) TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 The body weight, dietary intake, fat weight and body fat of the mice. Control mice Experimental mice Body weight at start point (g) 71.99 ± 6.36  71.96 ± 6.46  Body weight at end point (g) 71.95 ± 6.25  72.54 ± 7.24  Average dietary intake 0.78 ± 0.22 0.88 ± 0.17 (g/day/mice) Fat weight (g) 2.53 ± 0.19 1.90 ± 0.41 Body fat (%) 3.68 ± 0.16 2.74 ± 0.21

(93) According to the table 4, and FIGS. 9 to 11, it indicated that there was no obvious difference in body weight at start point and in dietary intake during the treatment period between the control group and the experimental group. However, the fat weight and percentage of body fat in the mice of the experimental group were obviously decreased with comparison of the control group. Therefore, the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 in this invention can regulate the adipogenesis to prevent and/or improve the metabolic syndrome.

Example 6. The Present Polypeptide in Prevention of Muscular Dystrophy

(94) Materials

(95) Mice: The genetic deficient mice with massive abdominal fat pad accumulation used in this example are purchased from National Laboratory Animal Center.

(96) Polypeptide: The present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 was prepared in example 1.

(97) Methods

(98) Collecting the muscles from the mice of the both groups stated in example 5. The collected muscles were for histological examination. In the histology examination, the cell number and cellular size of the muscular tissue were examined by H&E staining and microscopy observation. The results were shown in FIG. 12.

(99) According to FIG. 12, it reveals the pathological characteristics of muscular dystrophy in the control mice. Inspiringly, treatment of the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 actually improved the muscular dystrophy. These results suggested that treatment of the present polypeptide actually affected the myogenesis for prevention and/or therapy of muscular dystrophy.

Example 7. The Present Polypeptide is Capable of Reducing the Incidence and Complications of Diabetes

(100) Materials

(101) Mice: The Non-obese diabetic mice (NOD mice) used in this example were purchased from National Laboratory Animal Center.

(102) Polypeptide: The present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 was prepared in example 1.

(103) Method

(104) 23 mice were divided into four groups with different administrations for 20 weeks, wherein 6 mice of the group 1 were control mice that were daily orally administrated with 20 μl of PBS. 6 mice of the group 2 were daily orally administrated with 20 μl of 0.01 umol/kg solution that contained the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1. 6 mice of the group 3 were daily orally administered with 20 μl of 0.1 umol/kg solution that contained the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1. 5 mice of the group 4 were daily orally administrated with 20 μl of 1 umol/kg solution that contained the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1.

(105) During the administration period, the survival rate, incidence of diabetes and diabetes-induced retinopathy in the each group were measured and shown in table 5. After the administration, the blood samples were collected for serological and biochemical analysis. The results were shown in table 6.

(106) TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 The survival rate, incidence of diabetes and rate of diabetes-induced retinopathy in the mice of the each group Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Survival rate (%) 4/6 6/6 6/6 5/5 (66.67%) (100%)  (100%) (100%)  Incidence of diabetes (%) 2/6 0/6 0/6 1/5 (33.33%)  (0%)   (0%) (20%) Diabetes-induced 3/6 0/6 1/6 1/5 retinopathy (%)   (50%)  (0%) (16.66%)  (20%)

(107) The results in table 5 indicated that the survival rate of the group 1 was 4/6 (66.67%). Moreover, the survival rates of the group 2, the group 3, and the group 4 were 6/6 (100%), 6/6 (100%), and 5/5 (100%), respectively. The incidence of diabetes of the group 1 was 2/6 (33.33%). After administration of the present polypeptide, the incidence of diabetes of the group 2, the group 3 and the group 4 were 0/6 (0%), 0/6 (0%) and 1/5 (20%), respectively. In addition, the rate of diabetes-induced retinopathy of the group 1 was 3/6 (50%). After administration of the present polypeptide, the rate of diabetes-induced retinopathy of the group 2, the group 3 and the group 4 were 0/6 (0%), 1/6 (16.67%) and 1/5 (20%), respectively.

(108) These results suggested that treatment of the present polypeptide in this invention could efficiently elevate the survival rate, reduce the diabetes incidence and/or reduce the related complications such as diabetes-induced retinopathy and nephrosis.

(109) TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 The serological and biochemical analysis of the each group Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 BUN (mg/dL) 40.50 ± 4.54 37.38 ± 2.77 38.50 ± 4.69 35.88 ± 6.33 Creatinine in  0.70 ± 0.05  0.64 ± 0.12  0.69 ± 0.06  0.69 ± 0.06 serum (mg/dL)

(110) The results in table 6 showed that the serum BUN in the mice of the group 1 was 40.50±4.54 mg/dL. With administration of the present polypeptide, the serum BUN concentration in the mice of the groups 2 to 4 were 37.38±2.77 mg/dL, 38.50±4.69 mg/dL, 35.88±6.33 mg/dL, respectively. In addition, the serum Creatinin concentration in the mice of the group 1 was 0.70±0.05 mg/dL. With administration of the present polypeptide, the serum Creatinin concentration in the mice of the group 2, the group 3 and the group 4 were 0.64±0.12 mg/dL, 0.69±0.06 mg/dL, and 0.69±0.06 mg/dL, respectively. The results suggested that administration of the present polypeptide could obviously reduce BUN and Creatinin in the serum. Furthermore, the greater treatment amount of the present polypeptide led to more obvious effect in reducing BUN and Creatinin in the serum.

(111) Collectively, the results in table 5 and table 6 indicated that treatment of present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 could actually improve the survival rate, decrease the diabetes incidence, and avoid the diabetes complication and nephrosis. Therefore, treatment of the present polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 in NOD mice could cure and/or prevent the diabetes and related complications.

(112) All of the features disclosed in this specification may be combined in any combination. Each feature disclosed in this specification may be replaced by an alternative feature serving the same, equivalent, or similar purpose. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is only an example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

(113) From the above description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of the present invention, and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions. Thus, other embodiments are also within the scope of the following claims.