OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constituents of Gekko swinhonis.

METHODThe compounds were isolated and purified by several column chromatographic methods with silica gel, ODS, Sephadex LH-20 and preparative HPLC, Their structures were identified by physicochemical properties and spectral data.

RESULTThirteen compounds were isolated and elucidated as cyclo-(Pro-Leu) (1), cyclo-(Ala-Pro) (2),cyclo-(Gly-Pro) (3),cyclo-(Ala-Val) (4),6-amino-9-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-9H-purine (5), uridine (6), thymidine (7),hypoxanthine-9-beta-D-ribofuranosid (8),L-phenylalanine (9),5alpha-cholest-3,6-dione (10),cholesterol (11), 1-O-hexadecanolenin (12),octadecanoic acid (13),respectively.

CONCLUSIONAll compounds were isolated from G. swinhonis for the first time.

Animals ; Dipeptides ; analysis ; Lizards ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the main cause of cervical cancer and with the advent of genotype specific vaccines, there is increased need for accurate, broad-spectrum and high-throughput methods for HPV genotyping. A MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS)-based restriction fragment mass polymorphism (RFMP) assay has proven to accurately and reliably genotype a wide variety of HPV. METHODS: We evaluated the clinical utility of the RFMP assay in HPV genotyping by testing a total of 2,689 specimens taken from liquid-based cytology, which was composed of normal cytology, atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) and invasive squamous cervical cancer (SCC). RESULTS: Overall HPV positive rate of total specimens was 32.5% and the high-risk positivity was 16.4%. The HPV positive rates were increased as increasing severity level of cervical lesion. Predominant high-risk HPV genotypes were found as following order; 52 (18.6%), 16 (13.7%), 18 (3.8%), 58 (3.4%), 56 (2.6%) and 31 (2.5%). The high-risk HPV positivities according to cytologic diagnosis were 10.7% (238/2229), 31.7% (76/240), 50.0% (88/176), 86.0% (37/43), 100% (1/1) in normal, ASCUS, LSIL, HSIL and SCC subgroups, respectively. The concordance rate and Kappa value between sequencing and RFMP assays were 96.6% and 0.932 (95%CI: 0.908-0.956). CONCLUSIONS: The RFMP HPV genotyping assays showed high concordance with sequencing. The assay is simple, and can accurately detect and identify HPV genotypes in samples with various levels of cytological lesions. The results demonstrated that RFMP assay should be clinically suitable for HPV genotyping in laboratories.
Dipeptides ; Genotype ; Humans ; Mass Spectrometry ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; Vaccines

Seventeen dogs were treated with L-ornithin-L-aspartate (LOLA; experimental group). Three dogs were treated with lactulose recognized therapy (control group). Following LOLA administration, 15 dogs experienced a significant decrease in ammonia level (p < 0.05) and showed clinical signs of improvement. However, there were no clinical signs of improvement in two dogs, even though the ammonia level decreased. Conversely, the clinical signs of the control group also improved and the ammonia level decreased, although these changes were not significant (p > 0.05). These results suggest that LOLA is an effective drug to treat hyperammonemia in veterinary medicine.
Ammonia ; Animals ; Dogs* ; Dipeptides* ; Hepatic Encephalopathy* ; Hyperammonemia ; Lactulose ; Veterinary Medicine

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical effect of alanyl-glutamine-enriched nutritional support in the treatment of children with abdominal Henoch-Schönlein purpura. METHODS: Children with abdominal Henoch-Schönlein purpura who needed nutritional support were enrolled and stratified according to age, sex and the severity of disease, and were randomly divided into a control group (n=118) and an enriched nutritional support group (n=107). The control group was given nutritional support without using alanyl-glutamine, while the enriched nutritional support group was given alanyl-glutamine-enriched nutritional support. Intravenous steroids were used according to the severity of disease in both groups. Other therapies were the same in the two groups. The two groups were compared in terms of the length of hospital stay, the rate and duration of use of intravenous steroids, the recurrence rate of symptoms during hospitalization, the rate of total parenteral nutrition (TPN), the rate of weight loss and the rate of fasting for more than 5 days. All patients were followed up for 3 months after discharge to monitor the recurrence of symptoms. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the length of hospital stay, the rate of TPN and the rate of fasting for more than 5 days between the two groups (P>0.05). Compared with the enriched nutritional support group, the control group showed significant increases in the rate and duration of use of intravenous steroids, the recurrence rate of symptoms and the rate of weight loss (P<0.05). After the 3-month follow-up, all the children resumed normal diet, and the recurrence rate of digestive symptoms was less than 20% in each group. Abdominal pain was the most common symptom (83.33%, 30/36), followed by vomiting and abdominal distention. No digestive hemorrhage was observed. All the symptoms were relieved after symptomatic treatment. No significant difference was found between the two groups in the recurrence rate of digestive symptoms (P=0.693). CONCLUSIONS Alanyl-glutamine-enriched nutritional support in the treatment of children with abdominal Henoch-Schönlein purpura can reduce the use of intravenous steroids and weight loss, but without impact on the length of hospital stay and post-discharge recurrence.
Child ; Dipeptides ; Humans ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total ; Purpura, Schoenlein-Henoch ; Recurrence

OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical effect of L-ornithine L-aspartate (LOLA) granules in treating chronic liver disease in patients with high-level serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (G-GT) using a 24-week treatment course.

METHODSTwo-hundred patients with chronic liver disease and above normal G-GT were given a 12-week course of LOLA granules (9 g/d) and then classified into the following three groups according to the change in serum Gamma-GT:group I:patients with Gamma-GT level returned to normal;group II:patients with serum Gamma-GT level that was reduced during the treatment; group III:patients with serum Gamma-GT level that did not decrease or that increased to a higher level than at start of treatment.After the 12-week treatment course, the patients in group I were divided into three subgroups for receipt of a control drug (compound glycyrrhizin, 50mg/d) or an additional 12-week course of Gamma-GT at a reduced dose (LOLA granules 3 g/d) or at the original dose; groups II and III were maintained on the initial dose for an additional 12 weeks.The groups were reassessed at the end of the second 12-week course (at the end of week 24 of the study's observation period).Count data were compared using the x2 test and measurement data were compared using the t-test.

RESULTSIn group I, the serum Gamma-GT level was 90.9% at the end of the first 12-week course and dropped to a mean level of 52.2% for both of the subgroups that received the reduced and original dose after the additional 12 weeks of LOLA granules treatment; the difference from week 12 to week 24 was significant (x2=8.213, P less than 0.05).The 24-week change in serum Gamma-GT levels for the group I reduced and original dose subgroups vs.the control subgroup were also significantly different from those seen in groups II and III (P less than 0.05).The percentage of patients in group I who achieved normal level serum Gamma-GT after 24 weeks of treatment (78.6%) was significantly higher than that for the control group (vs.55.0%, x2=11.452, P less than 0.05).When the patients in group 1 who had received the 12 additional weeks of LOLA granules treatment were measured again at two weeks after the treatments had been discontinued (end of week 26), the percentage of patients with normal serum Gamma-GT level was 92.7%, with only three cases showing obviously abnormal levels; in contrast, the group I patients in the control group of the second 12-week study period had on 66.7% of patients with normal-level serum Gamma-GT.The difference in change between the treated groups (both reduced and original dose) and the control group was significant (x2=14.964, P less than 0.05).

CONCLUSIONPatients whose serumGamma-GT levels returned to normal after receipt of LOLA granules for 12 weeks benefitted from an additional 12 weeks of consolidation treatment, and those given the treatment at the original dose benefitted most.Compared with the compound glycyrrhizin, LOLA granules provided a better maintenance of resolved Gamma-GT level.Therefore, the effect of LOLA appears to be reliable and stable as well as safe for clinical use.

Chronic Disease ; Dipeptides ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; drug therapy ; Liver Function Tests ; gamma-Glutamyltransferase ; blood

OBJECTIVE[corrected] To study the cyclic peptides from Psammosilene tunicoides.

METHODThe constituents were separated and purified with chromatographic methods, identified by NMR, MS, UV and IR.

RESULTThree cyclic dipeptides: cyclo(-Pro-Val-) (1), cyclo(-Pro-Ala-) (2) and cyclo(-Pro-Pro-) (3), were isolated and identified.

CONCLUSIONCompound 1 and 2 are new natural products, compound 3 was isolated for the first time from Psammosilene tunicoides.

Caryophyllaceae ; chemistry ; Dipeptides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure ; Peptides, Cyclic ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

Dipeptides ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; End Stage Liver Disease ; drug therapy ; virology ; Female ; Hepatitis B virus ; Humans ; Male

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective effects of glycyl-glutamine dipeptide supplement on the function of myocardial dynamics in severely burned rats, and to explore its mechanism.

METHODSOne hundred and thirty-six Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: i. e, control group (C, n = 8, without burns), burn group (B, n = 32), Gln group (Gln, n = 32), Gly group (Gly, n = 32) and Gly-Gln group (Gly-Gln, n = 32). The rats in the latter four groups were respectively treated with tyrosine (1.5 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)), glutamine (1.0 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)) and tyrosine (0.5 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)), glycine (0.5 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)) and tyrosine (1.0 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)), and Glycyl-glutamine dipeptide (1.5 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)) after receiving a 30% TBSA full-thickness burn on the back. Glutathione (GSH), adenosine monophosphate (AMP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), adenosine triphosphate (ATP), cell energy charge (EC) and the index of myocardial dynamics (ASOP, AODP, LVSP, + dp/dtmax) were measured at 12, 24, 48, 72 post-burn hours (PBH).

RESULTSThe content of GSH, ATP, EC and the level of aortic systolic pressure (ASOP), aortic diastolic blood pressure (AODP), left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and maximum rate of intraventricular pressure rise/down (+ dp/dtmax) in B, Gln, Gly, Gly-Gln groups were obviously lower than those in C group (P < 0.01), while the levels of AMP and ADP showed an opposite tendency. Compared with B group, the above indices were ameliorated. The content of GSH (72.7 +/- 1.7) micromol/g in Gly-Gln group at 12 PBH was obviously higher than that in Gln group (67.8 +/- 3.8) micromol/g (P < 0.01). The levels of EC and AOSP were obviously higher in Gly-Gln group than that in Gln group (P < 0.01). The level of GSH, EC, AOSP in Gly-Gln groups were obviously higher than those in Gly group at 48 PBH.

CONCLUSIONGlycyl-glutamine dipeptide, Gly and Gln supplementation after burns can improve the content of GSH and high energy phosphate compound, and suppress the decline of myocardial dynamics function. The effects of Glycyl-glutamine dipeptide is better than single Gly or Gln, indicating that the protective effect on myocardial function after severe burns by Gln and Gly is synergistic.

Animals ; Burns ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Dipeptides ; pharmacology ; Glutathione ; metabolism ; Glycine ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

In this work, the dipeptide composition of 3216 thermophilic and 4007 mesophilic protein sequences was systematically analyzed. We found that the thermophilic proteins contained more dipeptides such as EE, EK, KE, VE, EI, KI, EV, KK, VK and IE, whereas less dipeptides such as AA, LL, LA, AL, QA, QL, AQ, LT, TL and EQ. Based on this information, a statistical method for discriminating thermophilic and mesophilic proteins was developed. Our approach correctly picked up the thermophilic proteins with the accuracy of 94.0% and 89%, respectively, for the testing sets of 382 and 73 thermophilic proteins. And for the testing 325 and 73 mesophilic proteins, the accuracy was 85.2% and 89%, respectively. The influence of specific dipeptides on discrimination was also discussed.
Amino Acids ; chemistry ; Bacteria ; chemistry ; Bacterial Proteins ; chemistry ; Dipeptides ; chemistry ; Discriminant Analysis ; Hot Temperature ; Sequence Analysis, Protein ; Thermodynamics

OBJECTIVETo isolate and identify compounds from Picria fel-tarrae in order to utilize it better.

METHODConstituents from Picria fel-tarrae were isolated by several column chromatography and their structures were elucidated on the basis of chemical and spectral analysis.

RESULTSix compounds, N-benzoylphenylalanyl-L-phenylalaninol acetate (1), 1-hydroxy-7-hydroxymethyl-9,10-anthraquinone (2), 9, 16-dioxo-10,12,14-octadeca-trienoic acid (3), 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-flavone (4), beta-sitosterol (5), and daucosterol (6) were obtained from the fraction with relatively low polarity of EtOH extract of Picria fel-tarrae.

CONCLUSIONCompounds 1-6 were isolated from picria fel-tarrae Lour for the first time, and the 13C-NMR data of compounds 1-3 are provided firstly in the literature.

Apigenin ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Dipeptides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Scrophulariaceae ; chemistry ; Sitosterols ; chemistry ; isolation & purification