Iron is abnormally accumulated in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. The disorder of iron metabolism and the neurotoxicity induced by excessive iron are proved in PD patients, and these indicate that iron is closely correlative with PD. This article presented an overview of research advances of three aspects including the distribution and metabolism of iron in the brain, the neurotoxicity of iron, and the relationship between the disorder of iron metabolism in central nervous system and PD.

0.05) before administration and after 8 weeks and 16 weeks of administration. Cell pyknosis and neurodegeneration in substantial nigra were observed in the PQ+MB group for 8 weeks and 16 weeks (P

As an important nucleus of basal ganglia, globus pallidus was concerned to involve in the neural mechanism of Parkins's disease (PD). Previous studies of PD patients and animal model indicate that neurotransmitters and receptors are changed in globus pallidus neurons, the balance between inhibition and excitation is broken in the output nuclei of basal ganglia, and globus pallidus neurons display bursting and oscillatory discharge, the synchronous tendency of neighboring neurons enhances. These neurophysiological changes are associated with PD symptoms, such as bradykinesia, rigidity and tremor, which reflects that globus pallidus plays an important role in the process of PD. In the present paper, the recent advances in pathophysiology in globus pallidus, its clinical application in treatment of Parkinson's disease, and the study direction in the future are reviewed.

AIM: To investigate the effect of ethanol and chemical carcinogen N,N'-dinitrosopiperazine(DNP) on the exogenous expression of CYP2E1.METHODS: Exogenous hCYP2E1 was introduced into NIH3T3 mediated by lipofectamine. Then the integration of exogenous gene was showed by Southemrn blot. After treated with different concentration of ethanol and DNP,RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to analyze the expression change of hCYP2E1 in NIH 3T3. RESULTS: Two cell clones with integration and stable expression of exogenous hCYP2E1 were obtained. The RT-PCR and Western blotting showed that human CYP2E1 mRNA and protein expression was enhanced with increase in ethanol and DNP concentration. CONCLUSION: Exogenous expression of hCYP2E1 was steadily induced by ethanol and DNP. The mechanism may be due to the activation of its transcription. The DNP carcinogenesis might be related to its in situ activation by CYP2E1.

OBJECTIVE To study the effects of Ganbao capsules on intestinal mucosal barrier and gut microbiota in rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease （NAFLD）， and to explore its mechanism of prevention and treatment of NAFLD. METHODS Eight of 26 SD rats were randomly selected as blank group and fed with ordinary diet， and the remaining 18 rats were fed with high diet to establish NAFLD model （2 for modeling inspection）； after successful modeling， they were divided into model group and Ganbao group， with 8 rats in each group. Ganbao group were given Ganbao capsules solution （1 440 mg/kg） intragastrically， and the blank group and model group were given the constant volume of distilled water intragastrically， once a day， for consecutive 5 weeks. The contents of alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST） and triglyceride （TG） in serum of rats were detected by automatic analyzer； the contents of lipopolysaccharide， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin-6 （IL-6） and IL-1β in serum of rats were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The pathological morphology of liver and ileum tissues were observed by HE staining， the expressions of Occludin and zonula occludens-1 （ZO-1） were detected by immunohistochemistry method， and the intestinal flora were detected by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing technology. RESULTS Compared with the model group， the serum contents of ALT， AST， TG， lipopolysaccharide， TNF-α， IL-6 and IL-1β in Ganbao group were decreased significantly （P＜0.01）， the pathological changes of liver and ileum tissues were improved 262 significantly， and the expressions of Occludin and ZO-1 were increased significantly （P＜0.01）. Intestinal microbiotaanalysis revealed that compared with the model group， Ganbao capsules could recover the abundance and diversity of the gut E-mail：hdf8833@126.com microbiota in rats. At the phylum level， Ganbao capsules could significantly increase the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes， and significantly reduce the relative abundance of Firmicutes and the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes （P＜0.01）. At the genus level， Ganbao capsules could significantly increase the relative abundance of Lactobacillus， Blautia， Bacteroides and Akkermansia， and significantly reduce the relative abundance of Prevotella， Turicibacter， Weissella， SMB53 and Desulfovibrio （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. There were different species among the gut microbiota of rats in each group. CONCLUSIONS Ganbao capsules may improve NAFLD by protecting intestinal mucosal barrier function and regulating gut probiotics/harmful bacteria structure.