Objective To establish HPLC fingerprints of Jinzepaishi Granules from ten different batches and a preliminary method for its anti-inflammatory biological activity titer detection, and construct a dose-effect relationship between cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and Jinzepaishi Granules for scientific evaluation and effective control of granules quality. Methods The HPLC method was used to analyze the similarity of common peaks in different batches of granules and assigned 19 common peaks to herbs. The fingerprints were further analyzed by the chemometric method of hierarchical clustering analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). The EIA method was used to determine the half-inhibitory concentration (IC50) of Jinzepaishi Granules. Results The similarity of HPLC fingerprints of all the ten batches was ≥ 0.955, which were consistent with the results of cluster analysis and PCA. Jinzepaishi Granules had a significant inhibitory effects on COX-2 with a IC50 of 10.272 mg/mL, which demonstrated a significant dose-effect relationship. Conclusion The multiple quality control system of chemical fingerprinting and biological activity detection has the characteristics of high efficiency, rapidness, accuracy, sensitivity, and good reproducibility. It can effectively evaluate the anti-inflammatory biological activity of Jinzepaishi Granules and achieve more scientific and reasonable control of its quality. It also provides a reference for the establishment of more scientific quality control for other Chinese materia medica preparations.

Eleven C21 steroids were isolated from chloroform extract of roots of Cynanchum otophyllumby silica gel, MCI, ODS columns, and semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic data analysis as otophylloside B(1), caudatin-3-O-beta-D-cymaropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-oleandropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranoside (2), caudatin-3-O-beta-D-oleandropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-oleandropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranoside (3), caudatin-3-O-beta-D-oleandropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-digitoxopyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranoside (4), otophylloside O (5), gagamine-3-O-beta-D-oleandropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranoside (6), sinomarinoside B (7), mucronatosides C (8), wallicoside J (9), stephanoside H (10), and qinyangshengenin-3-O-beta-D-oleandropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-digitoxopyranoside (11). Among them, compounds 2-3, and 6-11 were separated from the roots of this plant for the first time.
Cynanchum ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Steroids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

Objective To investigate the in vitro inhibitory effects of regulatory T cells ( Treg ) from unpregnant mice and pregnancy-induced regulatory T cells ( piTreg) on the proliferation of na?ve T cells and their differences .Methods The numbers of piTreg cells from allogeneic pregnant mice ( C57/B6 fe-male×BALB/c male) on day 12.5 (E12.5d) of gestation and Treg cells from unpregnant C57/B6 mice were detected respectively by flow cytometry .The percentages of piTreg cells and Treg cells in CD 4+T cells of age-matched female mice and their intracellular expression of Foxp 3 were analyzed .The in vitro inhibitory effects of piTreg cells and Treg cells on the CFSE-labeled na?ve T cells ( effector cells ) were compared in a one-way mixed lymphocyte culture system using mitomycin C-inactivated CD4-T cells as stimulator cells . Results The level of piTreg cells in splenic mononuclear cells was significantly higher than that of Treg cells (P<0.001) from normal mice.Foxp3 was highly expressed in both piTreg cells and Treg cells , howev-er slightly increased in piTreg cells .Moreover , piTreg cells had a significant stronger in vitro inhibitory effect on na?ve T cells proliferation than that of Tregs cells (P<0.006), which was in a cell-dependent manner. Conclusion The present study suggests that the piTreg cells have a stronger inhibitory effect on na ?ve T cell proliferation as compared with Terg cells from unpregnant mice , The differential activity of CD 4+CD25+Treg might be mediated by the paternal antigens during pregnancy .

Objective To investigate the distribution ofβ2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR)genetic polymorphisms among the included parturient women and observe the relationship between the genetic polymorphisms and labor progress after labor analgesia.Methods A prospective observational study was conducted from March to June in 2014 at Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospi-tal.A total of 1 65 nulliparous women were enrolled in the study,and finally 1 52 patients were includ-ed after exclusion for several reasons.Theβ2-AR gene polymorphic variations at nucleotides encoding amino acids 1 6 and 27 were detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length poly-morphism technique.And the demographic data,rate of oxytocin usage,length of labor progress and the incidence of cesarean section after labor analgesia were observed and recorded.Results The allele frequencies ofβ2-AR genetic polymorphism in the parturient women were dominantly presented in the form of Arg1 6Arg (AA)and Arg1 6Gly (AG)at 1 6 position and Gln27Gln(CC)at 27 position respec-tively.The demographic and background characteristics of the subjects didn’t present any significant differences among the groups with differentβ2-AR genetic polymorphism.And the differences of labor progress among β2-AR 27 genetic polymorphisms parturient women were not significant.However, the length of the first stage and the total labor progress in the β2-AR Arg1 6Arg homozygous were both significantly longer than that in the other two groups (P <0.05),and the incidence of cesarean section was also significantly higher (P <0.05 ).Furthermore,we also found that β2-AR Arg1 6Arg homozygous was related to cesarean delivery after labor analgesia through multivariate logistic regres-sion analysis (OR 2.87,95%CI 2.69-3.09).Conclusion The labor progress of the parturient women with β2-AR Arg1 6Arg homozygous is relatively slower,which maybe an important risk for the nullip-arous women transforming to cesarean delivery after labor analgesia.

Objective　To investigate the mechanism affecting on permeability of vascular endothelial cell by nitric oxide (NO). Methods　Series concentration of sin-1（a donor of NO） were added to ECV 304, a cell line of human umbilical vein endothelium. Cell growth and expression of f-actin, a cytoskeleton protein were observed. Results　Cell growth was inhibited with a dose from 6.25 to 100 μmol/L and was caused to death at the concentration of 50 to 100 μmol/L by sin-1. The expression of f-actin was suppressed obviously after cultured with 100 μmol/L sin-1 for 4 hours. Conclusion　It suggests that anomaly increased NO can increase permeability of blood vessels by suppressing the expression of f-actin, inhibiting cell growth or even resulting in cell death.

OBJECTIVETo investigate effect of particle size on oral absorption of silymarin-loaded solid lipid nanoparuicles.

METHODSolid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) of various sizes (150 nm, 500 nm and 1000 nm) using Compritol 888 ATO as the material and silymarin (SM) as a model drug were prepared. Silybinin concentration in plasma of rats were determined by RP-HPLC with UV detector. The main pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by 3p97.

RESULTResults showed that the AUC of 150 nm SLN was 2.08 fold that of 500 nm SLN and 2.54 fold of 1000 nm SLN treated orally to rats (P < 0.05). The oral bioavailability of 150 nm SLN was remarkably higher than the other two size SLN.

CONCLUSIONThis has important implications in designing of SM-SLN as a new oral drug delivery system.

Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Area Under Curve ; Biological Availability ; Drug Carriers ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Excipients ; Fatty Acids ; Female ; Male ; Milk Thistle ; chemistry ; Nanostructures ; Particle Size ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Silymarin ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; pharmacokinetics

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of eyes closure and closed on the epileptiform discharges, and the relationship between eyes closure or closed sensitivity and photosensitivity.

METHODSDuring video-EEG monitoring, open-close eyes tests and intermittent photic stimulation (IPS) under different eyes conditions were carried out in epilepsy patients. The eyes conditions were divided into eyes opened, eyes closure (the period immediately after closing of the eyes and only lasts for less than 3 s), and eyes closed (the period lasting for more than 3 s and persisting as long as the eyes remain closed). From 135 patients, 13 cases whose EEG showed eyes closure or closed sensitivity had been selected out for our study. The clinical, eyes closure or closed sensitivity and the relationship between eyes closure or closed sensitivity and photosensitivity were analyzed.

RESULTSOf the 13 patients, 8 were female, and 5 were male. The age ranged from 6 years to 17 years (median 11 years). The age at onset of epilepsy ranged from 1.5 years to 14.5 years (median 9 years). Epileptiform discharges could be provoked by eyes closure in 10 of 13 patients, associated with photosensitivity in 8 patients. Of the 8 patients, 6 cases showed photosensitivity under eyes closure and only 4 cases showed photosensitivity under eyes closed. Eyes closed sensitivity had been seen in 3 patients, with photosensitivity in 2 patients. Evoked EEG patterns and discharges regions by eyes closure and eyes closed conditions had not obvious differential and might be strongly related to the types of epilepsies. The intensity and frequencies of photosensitivity under different eyes conditions were different. After valproate acid treatment, the eyes closure or closed sensitivity and photosensitivity improved in 4 cases, with improvement of photosensitivity prior to eyes conditions sensitivity.

CONCLUSIONSEyes closure and eyes closed could induce EEG paroxysms, which involved in some types of epileptic syndromes and appeared common in female patients. Eyes closure or closed sensitivity might coexist or be disassociated with photosensitivity. Testing eyes closure, eyes closed and IPS during EEG monitoring would contribute to finding the EEG discharges, further help to diagnose epilepsies and epileptic syndromes and guide treatment.

Adolescent ; Blinking ; Child ; Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy, Reflex ; diagnosis ; physiopathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Photic Stimulation

BACKGROUNDElectroencephalogram (EEG) activity in normal subjects and epileptic patients is often closely related to the eye's status such as eye opened (EO), eye closure (ECL) and eyes closed (EC). ECL is the period immediately after closing of the eyes and only lasts for less than 3 seconds if the eyes remain closed. EC is the period as long as the eyes are closed. Epileptiform changes on EEG induced by ECL or EC are called the changes of ECL sensitivity (ECLS) or EC sensitivity (ECS). ECLS occurs mainly but not exclusively in photosensitive patients and ECS has been seen rarely in photosensitive patients. This study aimed to investigate the relationships among ECLS, ECS, photosensitivity and epilepsy syndromes in children.

METHODSEEG records from child patients in the EEG Department of Peking University First Hospital during the period of May 2005 to May 2007 were examined for the presence of ECLS or ECS. Open-close eye tests and intermittent photic stimulations were carried out during video-EEG monitoring for examining ECLS, ECS and photosensitivity.

RESULTSBased on ECLS and ECS on their EEGs, 30 patients were divided into ECLS group (16 cases) and ECS group (14 cases). There were more boys than girls in the two groups. The mean age of initial detection of ECLS and ECS was 10 years, and the average onset age of seizures was 9 years. The epilepsy syndromes in the ECLS group included idiopathic photosensitive occipital lobe epilepsy, Panayiotopoulos syndrome, symptomatic occipital lobe epilepsy, juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, juvenile absence epilepsy, eyelid myoclonia with absences, epilepsy with grand mal on awakening and pure photosensitive epilepsy with mainly generalized tonic clonic seizures. Those in the ECS group were juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, idiopathic photosensitive occipital lobe epilepsy, Panayiotopoulos syndrome and Gastaut type-idiopathic children occipital epilepsy. Photosensitivity was detected in 88% of patients with ECLS and 29% of patients with ECS.

CONCLUSIONSECLS and ECS are relatively common in females. Comparing with ECS, ECLS is found in more epilepsy syndromes. However, ECS and ECLS could exist in the same epilepsy syndrome. ECLS and ECS can be associated or dissociated with photosensitivity. The rate of ECLS with photosensitivity is higher than that of ECS with photosensitivity, suggesting that mechanisms for ECLS, ECS and photosensitivity may be different but correlated.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy ; physiopathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Ocular Physiological Phenomena ; Photic Stimulation

OBJECTIVETo investigate the evaluation method for self-emulsifying drug delivery system of volatile oil from rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong (VOC SEDDS).

METHODThe self-emulsifying ability, the efficiency of self-emulsification, the properties of emulsion, the dissolution of volatile oil from Rhizome of Ligusticum Chuanxiong and the stability of the emulsion were determined.

RESULTThe optimized formulation can fully emulsify in 5 min and the particle sizes were around 102 nm. Zeta potential was about -30 mV. The O/W emulsions were stable through centrifugation with high reproducibility. In vitro dissolution test indicated that over 80% of drug dissolved in 30 min and VOC SEDDS was stable under light and high temperature in 10 d.

CONCLUSIONVOC SEDDS has strong self-emulsifying ability, fine stability and high dissolution rate in vitro.

Drug Compounding ; methods ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Drug Stability ; Emulsions ; Light ; Ligusticum ; chemistry ; Oils, Volatile ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Particle Size ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; Solubility ; Surface-Active Agents ; chemistry ; Temperature ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo study the relationship between the serum levels of adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (A-FABP) level and type 2 diabetes mellitus in a community population.

METHODSA total of 255 residents (aged 45-85 years) were randomly selected from 4 communities in Guangzhou to examine the fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-hour postprandial blood glucose (2hPG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), blood pressure (BP), triglyceride (TG), cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) was calculated and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine serum A-FABP and fasting insulin (FINs) levels. The cases were divided into 3 groups according to blood glucose level, namely the normal group (group A, n=90), impaired glucose tolerance group (group B, n=85), and diabetic group (group C, n=80), and the A-FABP levels were compared between them.

RESULTSCompared with group A, the subjects in groups B and C showed significantly increased FPG, 2hPGh, HbA1C, HOMA-IR, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and waist circumference (P=0.000) as well as FINs, WHR, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) , TG, and HDL-C (P=0.038, 0.047, 0.01, and 0.046, respectively). Compared with group B, group C showed significantly higher FPG, 2hPG, HbA1c, TG, and SBP (P=0.00), with also higher levels of FINs, BMI, WC, DBP, and HDL-C (P=0.012, 0.006, 0.03, 0.019, and 0.029, respectively). A-FABP increased significantly in the order of group A, B, and C (P=0.00), and this result was not affected by the differences in age between the 3 groups (P>0.05). A-FABP level was positively correlated to FPB, 2hPG, FINS, WHR, BMI, WC, SBP, and HOMA-IR, but inversely to TG and HDL-C (P=0.00).

CONCLUSIONElevated serum A-FABP is closely related to glucose metabolism disorder, and A-FABP may serve as a useful marker for the occurrence and development of type 2 diabetes in the community population.

Adipocytes ; chemistry ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; blood ; etiology ; Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Serum ; metabolism