Rare sugars were defined as monosaccharides and their derivatives that rarely exist in nature. They played an important role in food, health, medicine and etc A strategy for bioproduction of rare sugars, namely Izumoring, was described. By the Izumoring method, all monosaccharides and polyols could be linked, using enzymatic reaction with D-tagatose 3-epimerase, aldose isomerases and polyol dehydrogenases. Izumoring for hexoses, pentoses and tetroses were designed respectively. According to this strategy, the bioproduction routes of various rare sugars, using microbial and enzymatic reactions, could be obtained. In addition, the future research tendency of biotransformation of rare sugars was put forward.

Thermostable L-arabinose isomerase (L-AI) is the most potential enzyme for the biological production of D-tagatose from D-galactose, a novel functional factor. Gene araA encoding the L-arabinose isomerase from Bacillus stearothermophilis IAM 11001 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The araA gene of 1491 bp has 95% identity with L-AI from Thermus sp. IM6501. The GenBank accession number for the nucleotide sequence of this araA gene determined in this work is EU394214.The bacterium was induced by IPTG and analyzed by SDS-PAGE, approximately 59 kDa exogenous protein was observed on the SDS-PAGE. The recombinant L-AI was purified to electrophoretical homogeneity with affinity chromatography, and the activity of recombinant L-AI was also studied. The bioconversion rate of D-galactose to D-tagatose reached 39.4% after 24h whole cell reaction.

An extracellar fibrinolytic strain was isolated from fermented shrimp paste. In addition to general physiological and biochemical properties, the strain was identified by 16S rDNA sequence and systematic analysis. The results showed that 16S rDNA sequence of the strain had high similarity with AY601723 and AB195282, suggesting that the strain is a subspecies of Bacillus sp. It was named as Bacillus sp. nov. SK006 by CCTCC. The medium composition and fermentation conditions for fibrinolytic enzyme production were also optimized in the research.

L-arabinose isomerase (L-AI) can isomerize L-arabinose and D-galactose into L-ribulose and D-tagatose, respectively, which is currently the most effective biological catalyst for D-tagatose production. The crystal structure of L-AI has been solved recently and its gene has been cloned, sequenced and overex- pressed. L-AI improved by protein engineering will be the dominant enzyme for industrial production of D-tagatose. This paper reviewed researches on protein structure and function, properties and application in D-tagatose production of L-AI, and the long-term potential development of L-AI was prospected.

To investigate the structure disruption of BSA (1mg/ml, dissolved in PBS) induced by ultrasonication and the French press. The BSA solution was passed through the French press and received ultrasound irradiation, and then detected by HPLC(High-performance liquid chromatography),DLS(Dynamic Light Scattering),CD(Circular Dichroism)and nondenaturing SDS-PAGE. Detection results showed that BSA was polymerized after ultrasound irradiation and the polymerization can be reduced by adding mannitol (free radical scavenger). This means that the free radical play an important role in this process. However, the BSA passing through the French press for several times wasn’t polymerized, and the secondary structure was somewhat destroyed. These results suggested that ultrasound irradiation and French press destroy the molecular structure in different manners, so that the suitable cell lyses methods should be selected according to the characteristics of the protein.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of the HAA regimen (homoharringtonine, cytarabine and aclarubicin) as induction chemotherapy in de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

METHODSThe efficacy and safety of 236 de novo AML patients who received the HAA regimen as induction chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed. The complete remission (CR) rate was assayed. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate overall survival (OS) and relapse free survival (RFS), and the differences were compared by Log-rank test.

RESULTSThe overall CR rate was 78.0%, and 65.7% of the patients attained CR in the first induction cycle. The early death rate was 4.7%. The median followup time was 41(1-161) months. The estimated 5-year OS and 5-year RFS rates were 44.9% and 45.5%, respectively. The CR rates of patients with favorable, intermediate and unfavorable cytogenetics were 92.9%,78.6%and 41.7%, respectively. The 5-year OS of favorable and intermediate group were 61.1% and 45.1%, respectively. The 5- year RFS of favorable and intermediate group were 49.0% and 45.4%, respectively. The median survival time of unfavorable group was only 5 months. The side effects associated with the HAA regimen were tolerable, in which the most common toxicities were myelosuppression and infection.

CONCLUSIONThe HAA regimen is associated with a higher rate of CR and longer survival time and its toxicity could be tolerated.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

Objective To study the effect of optimized atropine administration regimen on myopia in guinea pigs. Methods Forty six 21-day old guinea pigs were used for this study. Six were randomly selected as blank control, and the remaining 40 were randomly divided into 5 intervention groups: 1% atropine group, 0.01% atropine group, optimized group 1, optimized group 2, and saline group. One eye of the guinea pig in the intervention groups was randomly selected as the model eye and given form deprivation, and the contralateral eye was the self-control. The duration of intervention was 4 weeks. The diopter and axial length of guinea pig eyes were measured before the experiment and at each weekend. Choroid and sclera were measured after the experiment. Results The diopter of the model eyes in the 0.01% atropine group decreased rapidly. There was a significant difference before and after the experiment [(2.82±1.35)D vs (−0.64±0.20)D, P<0.01]. The diopter of model eyes decreased in 1% atropine group and optimized group 1, and the difference was statistically significant [(3. 50±1.14)D vs (1.38±1.15)D, P<0.05; (3.55±1.85)D vs (0.95±1.90)D, P<0.01]. In optimized group 2, the diopter of model eyes decreased, and there was no significant difference before and after the experiment [(1.36±1.61)D vs (2.93±1.42)D, P>0.05). After form deprivation, the axial length in 1% atropine group did not change significantly (P>0.05). The axial length in other intervention groups was extended to varying degrees. The thickness of choroid and sclera in 1% atropine group, optimized group 1 and optimized group 2 were greater than that in 0.01% atropine group. Conclusion The two optimized dosing regimens worked better than 0.01% atropine in inhibiting myopia in guinea pigs with form deprivation, and were similar to 1% atropine.

Menopausal metabolic syndrome (MMS) is a series of syndrome caused by ovarian function decline and hormone insufficiency, and is a high risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Erzhiwan (EZW), composed of Herba Ecliptae and Fructus Ligustri Lucidi, is a traditional Chinese herbal formula that has been used to treat menopausal syndrome for many years. We added Herba Epimedii, Radix Rehmanniae, and Fructus Corni into EZW, to prepare a new formula, termed Jiawei Erzhiwan (JE). The present study was designed to determine the anti-MMS effects of JE using ovariectomized (OVX) adult female rats that were treated with JE for 4 weeks, and β-tc-6 cells and INS cells were used to detected the protect effectiveness of JE. Our results showed JE could increase insulin sensitivity and ameliorated hyperlipidemia. Metabolomics analysis showed that the serum levels of branched and aromatic amino acids were down-regulated in serum by JE administration. Moreover, JE enhanced the function of islet β cells INS-1 and β-tc-6, through increasing the glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), which was abolished by estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist, indicating that JE functions were mediated by ER signaling. Additionally, JE did not induce tumorigenesis in rat mammary tissue or promoted proliferation of MCF-7 and Hela cells. In conclusion, our work demonstrated that JE ameliorated OVX-induced glucose and lipid metabolism disorder through activating estrogen receptor pathway and promoting GSIS in islet β cells, thus indicating that JE could be a safe and effective medication for MMS therapy.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Humans ; Insulin ; metabolism ; Insulin Secretion ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Menopause ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Metabolic Syndrome ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Mice ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

BACKGROUND: Intensive phototherapy (IPT) and exchange transfusion (ET) are the main treatments for extreme hyperbilirubinemia. However, there is no reliable evidence on determining the thresholds for these treatments. This multicenter study compared the effectiveness and complications of IPT and ET in the treatment of extreme hyperbilirubinemia. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in seven centers from January 2015 to January 2018. Patients with extreme hyperbilirubinemia that met the criteria of ET were included. Patients were divided into three subgroups (low-, medium-, and high- risk) according to gestational week and risk factors. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance the data before treatment. Study outcomes included the development of bilirubin encephalopathy, duration of hospitalization, expenses, and complications. Mortality, auditory complications, seizures, enamel dysplasia, ocular motility disorders, athetosis, motor, and language development were evaluated during follow-up at age of 3 years. RESULTS: A total of 1164 patients were included in this study. After PSM, 296 patients in the IPT only group and 296 patients in the IPT plus ET group were further divided into the low-, medium-, and high-risk subgroups with 188, 364, and 40 matched patients, respectively. No significant differences were found between the IPT only and IPT plus ET groups in terms of morbidity, complications, and sequelae. Hospitalization duration and expenses were lower in the low- and medium-risk subgroups in the IPT only group. CONCLUSIONS In this study, our results suggest that IPT is a safe and effective treatment for extreme hyperbilirubinemia. The indication of ET for patients with hyperbilirubinemia could be stricter. However, it is necessary to have a contingency plan for emergency ET as soon as IPT is commenced especially for infants with risk factors. If IPT can be guaranteed and proved to be therapeutic, ET should be avoided as much as possible.
Child, Preschool ; Exchange Transfusion, Whole Blood/adverse effects* ; Humans ; Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal/therapy* ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Kernicterus/therapy* ; Phototherapy/methods* ; Retrospective Studies