Alcohol consumption leads to injury in multiple organs and systems,including the liver,brain,heart,skeletal muscle,pancreas,bone,immune system,and endocrine system.Emerging evidence indicates that alcohol also promotes adipose tissue dysfunction,which may contribute to injury progression in other organs and systems.Autophagy is a lysosomal degradation pathway that has been shown to regulate adipose tissue homeostasis and adipogenesis.Increasing evidence also demonstrates that alcohol consumption affects autophagy in multiple tissues.This review summarizes current knowledge regarding the effect of autophagy on adipose tissue and its potential roles in alcohol-induced adipose tissue atrophy as well as its contribution to alcohol-induced liver injury.

Objective To investigate how vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) up-regulates intercellular adhesion molecule-1 via protein kinase C(PKC)/ nitric oxide(NO) pathway in the retina of diabetic rats.Methods All the rats were divided into 4 groups: normal,diabetes,diabetes+PKCI and control groups.Diabetes was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of STZ.PKC inhibitor GF109203X was injected intravitreally after 5 months of streptozotocin induced diabetes.NO was determined by nitrate reductase method.VEGF and intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1) were measured by Western blot.Results VEGF and NO expressions increased obviously in the retina of diabetic rats compared with those in the normal group(P

Objective To explore the in vitro isolation of ?2m-/Thy-1+ bone marrow-derived liver stem cells(BDLSCs) which bear double features of stem and liver cells from bone marrow stem cells(BMSCs)as so to provide suitable donor cells for the treatment of liver diseases by cellular transplant. Methods ?2m-/Thy-1+ BDLSCs were isolated by magnetic bead cell sorting(MACS) method from cholestatic rats in vitro,and cell purity was detected using flow cytometry.Liver associated phenotype markers were characterized by RT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining. Results BDLSCs isolated by MACS were purified and viable,and possessed hepatocyte-like features at gene and protein levels. Conclusion ?2m-/Thy-1+ BDLSCs are special subsets of BMSCs which may have promising potentials in the stem cell-based treatment of liver diseases.

Objective To explore the value of time-invariant CTA in assessing collateral circulation of patients with acute ischemic stroke and assisting clinicians in predicting clinical outcomes.Methods The score of collateral circulation was compared between single-phase and time-invariant CTA.NIHSS score was calculated at admission and two weeks after admission.A 50% or greater decrease in NIHSS score over two weeks was considered as major neurologic improvement,which showed good clinical outcome;otherwise,it indicated bad outcome.The predictive ability of time-invariant CTA for clinical outcomes was assessed based on ROC curves.Results Compared with single-phase CTA,more collateral vessels could be viewed on time-invariant CTA.The average score of collateral circulation on time-invariant and single-phase CTA was 1.50±0.69 and 1.15±0.49 respectively (P=0.006<0.05 ).Time-invariant CTA had the moderate predictive ability for clinical outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AUC=0.810;P=0.032<0.05). Conclusion The time-invariant CTA showed potential value in assessing collateral circulation of patients with acute ischemic stroke and assisting clinicians in predicting clinical outcomes.

The study is to develop a method to determine 3 batches leaves of Nauclea officinalis and stems of N. officinalis by HPLC. The differences between strictosamide contents and fingerprints was compared, then chromatographic peak of fingerprints was validated with the assistance of LC-MS. The strictosamide contents in stems of N. officinalis were higher than leaves of N. officinalis. The main chemical composition in leaves of N. officinalis and stems of N. officinalis were alkaloid which revealed by LC-MS. There are 7 chemical compositions were same between them, but the chemical composition in leaves of N. officinalis is more than stems of N. officinalis. This provides a scientific basis for the development of the potential medicinal value of leaves of N. officinalis and the sustainable utilization of N. officinalis.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Plant Stems ; chemistry ; Rubiaceae ; chemistry ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

Nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) fingerprint of Rhodiola rosea medicinal materials was established, and used to distinguish the quality of raw materials from different sources. Pulse sequence for water peak inhibition was employed to acquire 1H-NMR spectra with the temperature at 298 K and spectrometer frequency of 400.13 MHz. Through subsection integral method, the obtained NMR data was subjected to similarity analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). 10 batches raw materials of Rhodiola rosea from different origins were successfully distinguished by PCA. The statistical results indicated that rhodiola glucoside, butyl alcohol, maleic acid and alanine were the main differential ingredients. This method provides an auxiliary method of Chinese quality approach to evaluate the quality of Rhodiola crenulata without using natural reference substances.
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; methods ; Principal Component Analysis ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; Rhodiola ; chemistry

BACKGROUND:Numerous studies have demonstrated that estrogen can regulate the proliferation and migration of endothelial progenitor cel s (EPCs), while EPCs can also promote the function and activity of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s (BMSCs) in vitro. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the ability of the BMSCs and EPCs which construct the composite cel sheet in the repair of alveolar bone defect in ovariectomized rats. METHODS:BMSCs/EPCs composite sheet, EPCs sheet and BMSCs sheet were respectively implanted into the defects of the alveolar bone in ovariectomized rats. Rats with no implantation served as control group. Repaired alveolar bone was assessed by gross examination, histological observation and micro-CT scan at 2, 4, 8 weeks after operation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:BMSCs/EPCs composite sheet has greater osteogensis activity and bone repair capacity than BMSCs or EPCs sheet alone.

Inosiplex is a compound formulation composed of inosine and p-acetaminobenzoic acid (PABA) salt of N,N-dimethylamino-2-propanol (DIP). This study was to investigate the clinical plasma pharmacokinetic properties of DIP and PABA after single and multiple oral doses of inosiplex tablets in healthy Chinese volunteers. The established LC/MS/MS method for plasma DIP determination had a linear range of 0.02-10 mg/mL, and the HPLC method for plasma PABA determination had a linear range of 0.05-40 mg/mL. Linear pharmacokinetic characteristics were found with single oral doses of 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 g. No obvious accumulation effects were observed for DIP and PABA.

Objective To study the effects of N-acetyl-seryl-aspartyl-lysyl-proline(AcSDKP) on proliferation and synthesis and secretion of extracellular matrix(ECM) in rat active hepatic stellate cells(HSCs). Methods Primary cultures of HSCs when actived were subjected to AcSDKP(0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 nmol/L, respectively) treatment, and control group was established. The expression of collagen Ⅰ(ColⅠ) and collagen Ⅲ(Col Ⅲ) mRNA were analyzed with RT-PCR. The proliferation of HSCs was detected by MTT. Hyaluronic acid (HA) and laminin(LN) in the supernatant were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Compared with control group, the proliferation of active HSCs was significantly inhibited by 1 and 10 nmol/L AcSDKP. 1, 10 nmol/L AcSDKP and 0.1 to 100 nmol/L AcSDKP significantly inhibited the expression of HSCs ColⅠ mRNA and Col Ⅲ mRNA, respectively. Expression of HA and LN in the supernatant were significantly inhibited by 0.1, 1, 10 nmol/L and 0.1, 1 nmol/L AcSDKP, respectively. ConclusionAcSDKP can inhibit synthesis and secretion of ECM in active HSCs in a dose-dependent manner, with a maximum inhibition effect at 1 nmol/L AcSDKP. The mechanism may involve the inhibition of the proliferation of HSCs,which leads to the decrease of HSCs that synthesize and secrete ECM.

Objective:To study the effects and mechanisms of acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid ( AKBA) in myocardial ischemic model induced by isoproterenol hydrochloride ( ISO) in rats. Methods:The SD rats were randomly divided into the sham group, model group, AKBA low dose group and AKBA high dose group. Myocardial injury model was induced by subcutaneous injection of ISO (100 mg·kg-1 ) . The change of ST segment in ECG was observed. Creatine kinase ( CK-MB) , cardiac troponin I ( cTnI) , lactate dehydro-genase( LDH) , malondialdehyde( MDA) and superoxide dismutase( SOD) in the blood were detected by ELISA. The change of histo-logical tissue was determined by HE staining, and cell apoptosis was analyzed by TUNEL assay. Results: Serum CK-MB, cTnI and LDH were decreased significantly in AKBA high dose group when compared with those in the model group. Compared with that in the model group, MDA content was lowered and the SOD activity was increased in AKBA high dose group. Furthermore, AKBA high dose group improved the pathologic changes of myocardium. TUNEL assay revealed significant reduction of cardiomyocytes apoptosis in the hearts of the ischemic rats in AKBA high dose group. Conclusion:AKBA has excellent cardioprotective effect on myocardial ischemic induced by ISO and protection of myocardial cells from injury.