Objective:To perform textual researches on name, origin and distribution of Maidong to clarify the medicinal varieties and history recorded in ancient literatures and provide evidence for clinical use. Methods:Ancient herbal works were performed textual research, and the resource investigation and modern data were analyzed. Results:According to the ancient herbal records and modern researches, Maidong had lots of alias, while only Maimendong and Maidong were used as the medicine common names. According to the records of main origin, original plant morphological and medicinal characteristics of Maimendong, it was preliminarily concluded that Maidong recorded in the ancient herbal records was mainly produced in Jiande of Zhejiang province, Mianyang of Sichuan prov-ince, Xiangyang of Hubei province and the surrounding areas. The chemical compositions and pharmacological activities of Maidong and Shanmaidong were similar;therefore, they both could be used as the medicines. Conclusion:In the light of the ancient and mod-ern medicinal customs, modern chemistry and pharmacology researches and clinical practice of TCM, it deserves further discussion on whether Maidong and Shanmaidong can be used as multi source varieties of traditional Chinese medicines just like Polygonaceae plants palmatum L. , Rheum tanguticum Maxim, ex Balf. and Rheum officinale Baill. , and Ranunculaceae plants Coptis chinensis Franch. , Coptis deltoidea C. Y. Cheng et Hsiao and Coptisteeta Wall.

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of growth hormone (GH) gene on skeletal muscle cell proliferation of Guizhou cattle. The coding sequence of cattle GH gene was amplified by reverse transcription PCR, cloned into the pUCM-T vector and then used to construct the GH gene overexpression vector pEGFP-N3-GH. The expression of the GH gene in skeletal muscle-related tissues (psoas major and longissimus dorsi) of Guizhou cattle was determined by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). This was followed by culturing and identification of the bovine primary skeletal muscle cells. Subsequently, we introduced the GH gene overexpression vector into the cells to investigate its effect on the proliferation of bovine skeletal muscle cells and the expression of insulin like growth factor 1 and 2 genes related to skeletal muscle growth and development. RT-qPCR results showed that the expression level of GH gene was higher in the psoas major than in the longissimus dorsi of Guizhou cattle, and the expression level in the psoas major of Guanling cattle and Weining cattle was significantly higher than in the longissimus dorsi (P<0.05). The transfection and proliferation results showed that pEGFP-N3-GH significantly increased the expression of GH, IGF-1, and IGF-2 genes in skeletal muscle cells compared to pEGFP-N3 (PP<0.05), and that overexpression of the GH gene also significantly increased the proliferation rate of skeletal muscle cells at the four periods examined (PP<0.01). Our results suggest that GH gene can promote the proliferation of skeletal muscle cells of Guizhou cattle and exerts a positive regulatory effect. This lays the foundation for further exploring the mechanism by which the GH gene affects the growth and development of Guizhou cattle.
Animals ; Cattle ; Cell Proliferation ; Cloning, Molecular ; Growth Hormone/genetics* ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I/genetics* ; Muscle, Skeletal

Cathepsin D (CTSD), the major lysosomal aspartic protease that is widely expressed in different tissues, potentially regulates the biological behaviors of various cells. Follicular granulosa cells are responsive to the increase of ovulation number, hence indirectly influencing litter size. However, the mechanism underlying the effect of CTSD on the behaviors of goat granulosa cells has not been fully elucidated. This study used immunohistochemistry to analyze CTSD localization in goat ovarian tissues. Moreover, western blotting was applied to examine the differential expression of CTSD in the ovarian tissues of monotocous and polytocous goats. Subsequently, the effects of CTSD knockdown on cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle, and the expression of candidate genes of the prolific traits, including bone morphogenetic protein receptor IB (