Objective: A high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet-fluorescence (HPLC-UV-FLD) derivative system was established and the anti-oxidant activity of the extract of Gongcheng Tea was preliminarily evaluated by using a micro-injector imaging system combined with a fluorescent probe. Methods: Hydrogen peroxide assay and hydroxyl radical scavenging ability experiments were carried out on the anti-oxidant activity of Gongcheng Tea. The anti-oxidant components of Gongcheng Tea were screened by HPLC-UV-FLD post column derivation system and analyzed by an ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF MS). At the same time, the hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity of tea and active components were tested by a micro-injector imaging system combined with a hydrogen peroxide fluorescent probe (NBCD) in living Drosophila melanogaster. Results: The method was simple and rapid, and three main anti-oxidant compounds, epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin gallate, and epicatechin gallate were found in Gongcheng Tea. And it was found that they could significantly reduce the level of hydrogen peroxide in D. melanogaster. Conclusion: It laid a material basis for the further study of the anti-oxidant activity of Gongcheng Tea, and provided a reference for the screening of anti-oxidants in natural products.

Background The pathological change of the anterior uveitis is the disruption of blood-aqueous barrier.Slit lamp examination appears to be limited for the evaluation of inflammatory response,and fluorescine angiography is an objective approach.However,there are few relative studies up to now in China.Objective Aim of this study was to observe the characteristics and assess the clinical applications of iris fluorescein angiography (IFA)in Chinese uveitis with brown iris.Methods Forty eyes of 40 normal subjects and 21 eyes of 13 patients with the anterior uveitis were collected in this study.IFA,slit-lamp examination and iris photograph were performed on the subjects.All individuals were informed consented at the initiation of this study.Results In normal eyes,fluorescence in iris vessels was blocked by the melanin pigment,but peripupillary weak fluorescent leakage was seen in the normal eyes with the age of ＞60 years old.The multiple patterns of fluorescence leakage were found in the patients suffered from uveitis of various etiologies although the negative slit-lamp finding,including the leakage of fluorescein around the pupillary margin and radial iris vessels in the eyes with mild diseases,transmitted fluorescence of regular iris vessels in the eyes with diffuse and local iris atrophy,and vascular tufts of the pupillary margin with coiled interwind tight clusters of thin vessels at the early phase in the eyes with dilated capillaries,microvascular anomalies and new vessel formation.The hyperfluorescence remained throughout the IFA duration.Conclusions IFA findings in uveitis vary depending on the topography,type and severity of inflammation.IFA has a good clinical applying value because of its objective assessment ability of the degree of the blood-aqueous barrier breakdown and iris neovascularization breakdown.It can exhibit the unvisible lesion under the slit-lamp and monitor the efficacy of medical theraphy in patients with active or quiescent uveitis.

BACKGROUNDNeuropathic pain is induced by injury or disease of the nervous system. Most studies have so far focused only on a few known molecules and signaling pathways among neurons. However, all signal transmissions involved in neuropathic pain appear to be an integral system at different molecular levels. This study was designed to screen the differentially expressed genes of the hypothalamus in chronic constriction injury (CCI) rats and analyze their functions in developing neuropathic pain.

METHODSTen adult female Sprague-Dawley rats ((200 +/- 10) g) were used in experimental group and sham group (n = 5 in each group). Mechanical allodynia tests were performed to ensure that the CCI rat model was constructed successfully. Total hypothalamus RNAs were isolated from each group. Forward suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) library of rat hypothalamus was constructed and up-regulated cDNA clones at neuropathic pain states were obtained via suppressed subtractive hybridization technique and the functions of these genes were analyzed bioinformatically.

RESULTSMechanical allodynia tests showed that the experimental rats had a significantly reduced mechanical allodynia threshold 3 to 13 days after CCI vs sham surgery rats (P < 0.01), indicating that the model was successful. Forward SSH library of the rat hypothalamus was constructed successfully and 26 over-expressed expression sequence tags (ESTs) were obtained from these up-regulated cDNA clones.

CONCLUSIONTwenty-six up-regulated genes, involved in the regulation of cell cycle and apoptosis, signal transduction, and neuroprotection, may play key roles in decreasing mechanical withdraw thresholds in CCI rats, which implicates a multidimensional and integrated molecular mechanism at gene level in developing neuropathic pain with the supraspinal contributions.

Animals ; Computational Biology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Hypothalamus ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide ; physiology ; Nucleic Acid Hybridization ; Pain ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sciatic Neuropathy ; metabolism

Objective To explore the regulatory mechanism of Macelignan on oxidative stress-mediated neuronal injury in autophagy and apoptosis.Methods Murine hippocampal neuronal HT22 cells were treated with 2.5 mmol·L-1 glutamic acid(Glu)to establish an oxidative stress cell model.The cells were divided into normal group(normal cultured cells),model group(2.5 mmol·L-1 Glu)and experimental-L,-M,-H groups(2.5,5,10 μmol·L-1Macelignan treatment),inhibitor group(2.5 mmol·L-1 Glu+10 μmol·L-1 Macelignan+10 μmol·L-1 LY294002).Aoptosis rate was detected by flow cytometry;the protein expression level of autophagy-related protein LC3B(LC3B),anti-SQSTM1/p62(p62),p21,B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2)and Bcl-2 associated X protein(Bax)was detected by Western blot.Results The apoptosis rates in the normal group,model group and experimental-L,-M,-H groups were(4.58±1.25)％,(8.75±0.55)％,(6.30±1.71)％,(5.97±2.27)％and(5.49±1.71)％.The difference between model group and normal group was statistically significant(P＜0.01).The difference between experimental-L,-M,-H groups and model group was statistically significant(all P＜0.01).The levels of LC3B in normal group,model group,experimental-L,experimental-M,experimental-H groups and inhibitor group were 0.28±0.02,0.74±0.02,1.02±0.04,0.70±0.03,0.26±0.02 and 0.21±0.01;p62 levels were 0.49±0.08,0.33±0.03,0.50±0.07,0.59±0.01,0.64±0.13 and 0.65±0.06;p21 levels were 0.87±0.02,1.18±0.03,0.98±0.03,0.88±0.03,0.72±0.06 and 0.81±0.02;Bcl-2/Bax levels were 1.74±0.23,1.11±0.10,1.38±0.05,1.66±0.26,1.58±0.29 and 1.53±0.09,respectively.The differences between model group and normal group,between model group and experimental-H group,between model group and inhibitor group,were also statistically significant(all P＜0.01).Conclusion Macelignan can reduce the damage of hippocampal neurons induced by glutamate acid by regulating the process of autophagy and apoptosis,and has obvious neuroprotective effect.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the disease spectrums underlying orthostatic intolerance (OI) and sitting intolerance (SI) in Chinese children, and to understand the clinical empirical treatment options. METHODS: The medical records including history, physical examination, laboratory examination, and imagological examination of children were retrospectively studied in Peking University First Hospital from 2012 to 2021. All the children who met the diagnostic criteria of OI and SI were enrolled in the study. The disease spectrums underlying OI and SI and treatment options during the last 10 years were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 2 110 cases of OI and SI patients were collected in the last 10 years, including 943 males (44.69%) and 1 167 females (55.31%) aged 4－18 years, with an average of (11.34±2.84) years. The overall case number was in an increasing trend over the year. In the OI spectrum, postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) accounted for 826 cases (39.15%), followed by vasovagal syncope (VVS) (634 cases, 30.05%). The highest proportion of SI spectrum was sitting tachycardia (STS) (8 cases, 0.38%), followed by sitting hypertension (SHT) (2 cases, 0.09%). The most common comorbidity of OI and SI was POTS coexisting with STS (36 cases, 1.71%). The highest proportion of treatment options was autonomic nerve function exercise (757 cases, 35.88%), followed by oral rehydration salts (ORS) (687 cases, 32.56%), metoprolol (307 cases, 14.55%), midodrine (142 cases, 6.73%), ORS plus metoprolol (138 cases, 6.54%), and ORS plus midodrine (79 cases, 3.74%). The patients with POTS coexisting with VVS were more likely to receive pharmacological intervention than the patients with POTS and the patients with VVS (41.95% vs. 30.51% vs. 28.08%, χ²= 20.319, P < 0.01), but there was no significant difference in the proportion of treatment options between the patients with POTS and the patients with VVS. CONCLUSION POTS and VVS in children are the main underlying diseases of OI, while SI is a new disease discovered recently. The number of children with OI and SI showed an increasing trend. The main treatment methods are autonomic nerve function exercise and ORS. Children with VVS coexisting with POTS were more likely to take pharmacological treatments than those with VVS or POTS only.
Child ; Electrolytes ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Metoprolol ; Midodrine ; Orthostatic Intolerance/therapy* ; Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome/diagnosis* ; Retrospective Studies ; Salts ; Sitting Position ; Syncope, Vasovagal/diagnosis* ; Tilt-Table Test