Aim To evaluate the inhibitive and induc-tive effects of Polygonum capitatum water extract on main cytochrome P450 isoforms in human and liver mi-crosomes of mouse in vitro for predicting the herb-drug interactions in clinical application. Methods The in vitro inhibitory effect was evaluated by incubating Po-lygonum capitatum water extract with the probe sub-strates of main phase I metabolic enzymes in human liver microsomes, including CYP1A2, CYP2E1, CYP2C9,CYP2C19 and CYP3A4. Mice were adminis-tered with Polygonum capitatum water extract at dosage of 0 . 58 g · kg-1 and 1 . 16 g · kg-1 by gastric lavage for successive 7 days and 14 days, then the cocktail-LC-MS/MS method was applied to assess the inductive effect of main CYP450 isoforms in mouse liver micro-somes. Results The IC50 values of Polygonum capita-tum water extract on main CYP450 isoforms in human liver microsomes were from 849 . 6 mg · L-1 to 2 287 mg·L-1 . Compared with the blank control group, the activites of CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 in 1. 16 g·kg-1 7 d group were about 49 . 9 % and 21. 1 % higher ( P <0. 01, P < 0. 05 ) respectively, the activities of CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 in 0. 58 g·kg-1 7 d group were 27. 6 % and 15. 5 % higher ( P <0. 01 , P <0. 05 ) respectively, the activities of CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 in 1. 16 g·kg-1 14 d group were 67. 5 % and 32. 1 %higher (P<0. 01) respectively, while the activities of CYP1 A2 , CYP2 E1 and CYP2 C19 were not increased significantly in Polygonum capitatum treatment group. Conclusions Polygonum capitatum water extract do not show the inhibitory effect on main CYP450 in hu-man liver microsomes. There is induction on CYP2C9 and CYP3 A4 in mouse liver microsomes by Polygonum capitatum water extract.

OBJECTIVETo study the effect and molecular mechanism of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in vitro induced by human recombinant TGF-β1 protein in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

METHODSEMT morphological changes of Tu686 cells were observed after sequential treatment of 5 ng/ml TGF-β1 and 20 µmol/L EGCG. Tu686 cells were collected after the treatment of 5 ng/ml TGF-β1 for 24 h and EGCG with different concentrations (0, 10, 20, 30 µmol/L) for another 24 h or 20 µmol/L EGCG treatment for different time phase (6, 12, 24 h). Then RT-PCR and Western-blot were applied to detect mRNA and protein expression level of epithelial cell marker E-cadherin, mesenchymal cell marker Vimentin and Smad7, an inhibit molecule of TGF-β1 mediated pathway in Tu686 cells.

RESULTSTGF-β1 successfully induced characterized EMT morphological and molecular changes in Tu686 cells, in which expression of E-cadherin decreased, Vimentin increased and Smad7 declined. However, EGCG could reverse the TGF-β1 mediated process of EMT by downregulating the expression of Vimentin and upregulating the expression of E-cadherin and Smad7.

CONCLUSIONEGCG significantly inhibits TGF-β1-mediated EMT inTu686 cell lines of SCCHN, which maybe associated with the upregulated-expression of Smad7, an inhibitor in TGF-β1 signaling pathway.

Cadherins ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; metabolism ; Catechin ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; drug effects ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Humans ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; Smad7 Protein ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism ; Vimentin ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of long pulse 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser therapy in the treatment of onychomycosis of the toenails.

METHODSA total of 104 patients with onychomycosis (461 toenails) were divided by age into ≥60 years group and <60 years group, and each group was further divided into subgroups according to Scoring Clinical Index of Onychomycosis (SCIO) scoring and the location of the compromised toenails. All the toenails were treated with 10 to12 sessions of long pulse 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser therapy at the interval of 1 week. All the patients were followed up for 48 weeks after the initial treatment to assess the clinical efficacy and adverse reactions.

RESULTSThe overall clinical response rate in these patients was 72.5% by the end of the 48-week follow-up. In patients aged <60 years, the clinical response rate and mycological cure rate were significantly higher than the rates in patients aged ≥60 years (P<0.05). No significant differences were observed in the response rates between different SCIO subgroups (P>0.05); the 2nd to 4th toenails showed better outcomes after the therapy than the 1st and 5th toenails (P<0.05). No adverse reactions related with the therapy were recorded in these patients.

CONCLUSIONLong pulse 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser is an effective and safe approach for treatment of onychomycosis of the toenails.

Humans ; Lasers, Solid-State ; Middle Aged ; Nails ; microbiology ; Onychomycosis ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of 0.9-ms 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser alone or combined with itraconazole for treatment of toenail onychomycosis.

METHODSA total of 37 patients with onychomycosis (178 toenails) were randomly assigned to groups A and B, and each group was further divided into different subgroups according to the Scoring Clinical Index of Onychomycosis (SCIO) and Onychomycosis Severity Index (OSI) scoring. All the patients were treated with 0.9-ms Nd:YAG laser once a week for 8 times. The patients in group A were treated with laser alone, and those in group B were treated with laser combined with itraconazole. The clinical effect, clinical scores, appearance of the toenails and adverse reactions in the two groups were analyzed, and the patients' satisfaction rate was also investigated.

RESULTSAt the 12th months of follow-up, the clinical response rate and mycological cure rate in group A were 31.33% and 30.00%, respectively, similar to the rates in group B (35.79% and 41.18%, respectively) (P>0.05). After the treatments, the SCIO and OSI scores showed no significant changes in group A (P>0.05) but both increased significantly in group B (P<0.05). The response rates did not differ significantly among the subgroups with SCIO<12 or with OSI<16 (P>0.05), but showed significant differences among the subgroups with SCIO≥12 or with OSI≥16 (P<0.05). Of the total of 178 toenails, 33.71%, 74.72% and 70.79% toenails showed improvements in terms of clear nail growth, shape and color, respectively. The overall patients' satisfaction rate was 62.16%, and no adverse reactions related with the therapy were recorded in these patients.

CONCLUSIONFor treatment of toenail onychomycosis, 0.9-ms 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser can effectively improve the aesthetic appearance of the toenails, and a combined treatment with Nd:YAG laser and itraconazole can be better option in severe cases of onychomycosis.