Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Animals ; Bone Marrow ; metabolism ; Brain ; metabolism ; Brain Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; CDC2 Protein Kinase ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Glioma ; classification ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Neoplastic Stem Cells ; metabolism ; Young Adult

N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) capped quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized by a hydrothermal method and coated with 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucose (DG), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and 9-D-arginine (9R). The optical properties, morphology and structure of 9R/DG-coated CdTe QDs were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectrometry, fluorescence spectrum, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (LC-MS), sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and transmission electron micrographs (TEM). Furthermore, the biocompatibility, tumor targeted ability and transmembrane action of 9R/DG-coated CdTe QDs were studied. Results indicated that 9R/DG-coated CdTe QDs was constructed successfully by ligand exchange. The 9R/DG-coated CdTe QDs with the size of 8-10 nm had good dispersity and the absorbance and fluorescence peaks of CdTe QDs after modification were red shifted from 480 nm to 510 nm and 627 nm to 659 nm, respectively. In addition, the CdTe QDs modified by PEG, DG and 9R displayed good biocompatibility, high targeted ability to the cancer cells with glucose transporter type 1 (GLUT1) receptor high expression and obvious transmembrane ability.
Acetylcysteine ; chemistry ; Cadmium Compounds ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Polymers ; chemistry ; Quantum Dots ; chemistry ; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet ; Tellurium ; pharmacology

Transcription factor is one of the key factors in the regulation of gene expression at the transcriptional level. It plays an important role in plant growth, active components biosynthesis and response to environmental change. This paper summarized the structure and classification of bHLH transcription factors and elaborated the research progress of bHLH transcription factors which regulate the active components in plants, such as flavonoids, alkaloids, and terpenoids. In addition, the possibility of increasing the concentration of active substances by bHLH in medicinal plants was assessed. The paper emphasized great significance of model plants and multidisciplinary research fields including modern genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics and bioinformatics, providing the contribution to improve the discovery and function characterization of bHLH transcription factors. Accelerating the research in the mechanism of bHLH transcription factors on the regulation of active components biosynthesis will promote the development of breeding and variety improvement of Chinese medicinal materials, also ease the pressure of resources exhaustion of traditional Chinese medicine home and abroad.
Alkaloids ; biosynthesis ; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors ; chemistry ; classification ; genetics ; metabolism ; Flavonoids ; biosynthesis ; Plants, Medicinal ; genetics ; metabolism ; Terpenes ; metabolism

The medicinal fungi, which are of great importance in traditional medicine, are facing the problems of wild resources scarcity and low concentration of bioactive compounds. Velvet family and LaeA global regulator play a vital role in secondary metabolism and developmental programs, which are found in a wide variety of fungi ranging from Chytridiomycota to Basidiomycota. This review elaborates the structures and functions between Velvet family and LaeA protein. The Velvet family which shares the Velvet protein domain, including VeA (Velvet), VelB (Velvet like B), VosA (viability of spores A) and VelC (Velvet like C), acts on the regulation function is secondary metabolism and developmental programs such as asexual and sexual development. Furthermore, the function is affected by environmental factors such as light and temperature. LaeA protein which owns S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferase domain, coordinately regulates development and secondary metabolism by regulating and modifying the Velvet proteins. The regulation of LaeA is mediated by light receptor proteins. Therefore, clarifying the mechanism of Velvet and LaeA proteins in medicinal fungi will pave the way for nurturing medicinal fungi and improving production of bioactive compounds.
Fungal Proteins ; metabolism ; Fungi ; chemistry ; Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal ; Genes, Regulator ; Protein Structure, Tertiary ; Secondary Metabolism ; Structure-Activity Relationship

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the retina of 8-week-old diabetic rats, and explore the potential molecular mechanisms for the role of NO in diabetic retinopathy (DR).

METHODSRetinal gene expression profile of normal and 8-week-old diabetic rats was constructed with restriction fragment differential display polymerase chain reaction (RFDD-PCR). Bioinformatic analysis of the differentially expressed gene identified the genes coding for 3 subtypes of NOS, namely eNOS, nNOS and iNOS as the candidate genes related to DR, which was verified using semi-quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSThe results of RFDD-PCR revealed down-regulated expression of eNOS and nNOS and up-regulated iNOS expression in diabetic rat retina. RT-PCR showed that the expression levels of eNOS and nNOS in diabetic rat retina were obviously lower than that in normal retina (0.23-/+0.03 vs 0.32-/+0.03 for eNOS, P<0.05; 0.25-/+0.02 vs 0.36-/+0.02 for nNOS, P<0.05), but the expression level of iNOS obviously higher (0.27-/+0.02 vs 0.20-/+0.03, P<0.05). Immunohistochemistry of healthy retina visualized eNOS-, nNOS- and iNOS-positive cells, all located in the inner nuclear layer (INL) and ganglion cell layer (GCL), and eNOS-positive cells were also found in vascular endothelium. In diabetic retina, the number of eNOS- and nNOS-positive cells was significantly lowered in comparison with normal rat retina (14.33-/+3.19 vs 22.13-/+3.60 for eNOS, P<0.05; 21.87-/+3.62 vs 34.40-/+7.09 for nNOS, P<0.05), but the number of iNOS-positive cells significantly increased (17.60-/+2.58 vs 11.73-/+2.70, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe alterations in eNOS, nNOS and iNOS expression are associated with the deuelopmant and progression of DR.

Animals ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; metabolism ; Diabetic Retinopathy ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; metabolism ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Retina ; metabolism ; pathology

Autistic Disorder ; genetics ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 15 ; Humans ; Infant ; Male

OBJECTIVETo study the effect on anti-respiratory syncytial virus of an active compound (AP3) from a Chinese medicinal herb-Herba patriniae in vitro.

METHODSActive component of herba patriniae (AP3) was extracted and its anti-respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) effect was tested. A water soluble substance (AP3) was isolated from a Chinese herb Herba patriniae, by hot water extraction, ethol precipitation and gel permeation column chromatography. The cytotoxicity of AP3 was tested by adding it to HeLa cells directly. Its effect against RSV was estimated by CPEI assay while ribavirin was used as positive control.

RESULTSChemical test showed that the nature of substance AP3 was polysaccharide. The median cytotoxic concentration (TC(50)) of AP3 was 11.45 mg/ml by morphological observation and the median effective concentration (50% effective concentration, EC(50)) of it against replication of the long strain of RSV in HeLa cells was 0.0986 mg/ml. The Therapeutic index (TI = TC(50)/EC(50)) of AP3 was 116.12, much higher than the TI of herba patriniae (AP1) (TI = 59.26) and ribavirin (TI = 53.45). Moreover, AP3 gave a dose-dependent response in inhibiting RSV. In the assay, the effect of AP3 against RSV growth was also tested. In addition, the effect of AP3 on virus growth, AP3 inhibited replication of RSV in HeLa cells, when added at 0 h, 2 h, 4 h after virus infection, were also tested.

CONCLUSIONThis study suggested that the AP3 exerted an obvious inhibitory effect to RSV in HeLa cell culture. This study furnished a reliable evidence for development of a new antiviral drug.

Antiviral Agents ; pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses ; drug effects ; Time Factors

Animals ; Fibrosis ; Genetic Testing ; Interleukin-1 ; genetics ; Kidney ; pathology ; Kidney Diseases ; complications ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; genetics ; Ureteral Obstruction ; complications ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 ; genetics ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo investigate the incidence of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes.

METHODSA retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 224 children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, and according to the presence or absence of DKA, these children were divided into DKA group and non-DKA group, with 112 children in each group. The DKA group was further divided into ≥5-year group (65 children) and <5-year group (47 children), and according to the blood gas parameters, this group was divided into mild group (26 children), moderate group (29 children), and severe group (57 children). The factors influencing the development of DKA were analyzed, as well as the clinical and laboratory features of DKA children with different ages.

RESULTSThe most common symptoms in these 224 children with type 1 diabetes were polydipsia (86.2%), polyuria (78.6%), and weight loss (57.1%). Compared with the non-DKA group, the DKA group had a significantly higher percentage of children who were aged <5 years, who had low family income, or whose parents had an educational level of senior high school or below. The DKA group had significantly higher levels of random blood glucose and HbA1C and significantly lower levels of pH, HCO3, and C-peptide than the non-DKA group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the percentage of children with severe DKA between the ≥5-year group and the <5-year group (P>0.05). Compared with the <5-year group, the ≥5-year group sufferred from symptoms for a significantly prolonged period, and had a significantly lower level of random blood glucose and significantly higher levels of HbA1C and C-peptide (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSDKA has a high incidence rate in children with type 1 diabetes, and the development of DKA is associated with age, parents' educational level, and family income.

Adolescent ; Child ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 ; complications ; Diabetic Ketoacidosis ; epidemiology ; Female ; Glycated Hemoglobin A ; analysis ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies

Objective To investigate the value of diffusion weighted imaging(DWI)in predicting delayed encephalopathy of the rabbits brain after carbon monoxide(CO)poisoning.Methods Sixty healthy rabbits were put into self-made poisoning cabinet and were poisoned by inhalation of CO.Aeration of CO was stopped when the rabbits became comatous,and the cabinet was kept airpoof for 6 h.The rabbits underwent MRI before poisoning,at 1 h,3 d,5 d,7 d,15 d,30 d,45 d,and 60 d after poisoning respectively. Axial and sagittal T_2WI,axial T_1WI and DWI were performed.In the rabbits that did not show symptoms of delayed encephalopathy,the observation was discontinued on the 60~(th)day.In the rabbit that showed the symptoms,the observation was discontinued on the 30~(th)——45~(th)day.The changing pattern of cortical ADC values before and after CO poisoning was observed and its relationship with delayed encephalopathy was investigated.Results In the group without delayed encephalopathy(15 rabbits),the ADC value at 1 h after poisoning[(7.58?0.36)?10~(-4)mm~2/s]decreased significantly compared with the pre-poisoning value[(8.02?0.35)?10~(-4)mm~2/s](q=0.4441,P0.05).In the group with delayed encephalopathy(15 rabbits),the ADC value at 1 h after poisoning [(7.40?0.32)?10~(-4)mm~2/s]decreased significantly compared with the pre-poisoning value[(8.08? 0.32)?10~(-4)mm~2/s](q=0.6728,P