In order to evaluate the efficiency of ITS2 and psbA-trnH sequences used as DNA barcodes to distinguish Plantaginis Semen from its adulterants, we collected 71 samples of Plantaginis Semen and its adulterants. The ITS2 and psbA-trnH sequences were aligned through Clustal W, and the genetic distances were calculated by kimura 2-parameter (K2P) model and the Neighbor-Joining (NJ) phylogenetic trees were constructed using MEGA 5.1. The results indicated that the ITS2 sequence lengths of Plantago asiatica and P. depressa were 199 bp and 200 bp, respectively; the maximum intra-specific K2P distance were lower than the minimum inter-specific K2P distance; the NJ tree based on ITS2 sequence indicated that Plantaginis Semen and its adulterants could be distinguished clearly. The sequence lengths of psbA-trnH of both P. asiatica and P. depressa were 340 bp; the maximum intra-specific K2P distances were lower than the minimum inter-specific K2P distance; the NJ tree based on psbA-trnH sequence showed that Plantaginis Semen can be distinguished clearly from its adulterants except for P. major. Therefore, ITS2 sequences can be used as an ideal DNA barcode to distinguish Plantaginis Semen from its adulterants.
Base Sequence ; DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic ; methods ; DNA, Plant ; genetics ; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer ; genetics ; Drug Contamination ; prevention & control ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; classification ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; Plantago ; classification ; genetics ; Quality Control ; Seeds ; classification ; genetics

Objective To summarize our experience of simple neuroendoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenoma and discuss its advantages. Methods Forty-two patients with pituitary adenoma diagnosed by CT or MRI detection (diameters of the tumor: <1cm in 11 patients, 1-2cm in 11, 2-3cm in 18, >3cm in 8) were treated by simple neuroendoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery. During transsphenoidal approach, the nasal mucosa was not incised and the nasal septum and median nasal conchae were not dissected. Under neuroendoscopic assistance, the anterior wall of the sphenoidal sinus and sellae base was opened directly and adenoma resection was performed. Results All the patients were followed up for 1-12 months. By postoperative MRI detection, adenomas were resected completely in 38 patients, subtotally in 4 cases. Rapid improvement of vision was noted postoperatively. The increased hormonal level in 18 of 22 patients was decreased to normal postoperatively and another 4 cases improved clinically in serum hormone levels during follow-up. Postoperative transient CSF leakage occurred in 6 cases and transient diabetes insipidus in 23 cases. Conclusions The simple neuroendoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adanoma is safe, time-saving and without severe complications, provides a satisfactory deep illumination and a panoramic operative field. The injury to the patient and postoperative complications are less. The clinical application of the neuroendoscopy for pituitary adenoma is worthy of recommending.

Objective To analysis the clinical efficacy of alteplase com-bined with butylphthalide sodium chloride injection on patients with acute cerebral infarction and its effect on the expression of serum stress factors. Methods A total of 142 patients with acute cerebral infarction were ran-domly divided into treatment group and control group, with 71 cases each.Patients in two groups were all treated with butylphthalide sodium chloride injection100 mL each time, twice a day, with over 6 h interval, injection time was 50-70 min.Alteplase was added in treatment group on the basis of control group, 5 mg alteplase was dissolved in 10 mL 0.9%NaCl for intravenous injection within 10 seconds.The remaining 45 mg was dissolved 0.9% NaCl in 100 mL for intravenous injection within 60 min, the injections were proceeded once a day.The course was 2 weeks of the two groups.The clinical efficacy and the changes of neu-rological function and expression of stress factor of the 2 groups were compared.Results The total effective rate in treatment group was 95.8%, and 83.1% in control group ( P<0.05 ) .Cerebral infarction volume and US National institutes of health stroke scale ( NHISS ) significantly reduced at 1 and 2 weeks after treatment in both groups, Barthel index ( BI) significantly increased ( P<0.05).The improvement in the treatment group was more obvious (P<0.05).Interleukin -6 (IL-6), IL-8, IL-10, C-reaction protein significantly decreased (P<0.05) after 1 and 2 weeks treatment in both groups, treat-ment group obviously decreased( P<0.05).Conclusion Alteplase combined with butylphthalide sodium chloride in-jection could reduce the expression of serum stress factor in patients with acute cerebral infarction, and could control the volume of cerebral infarction and improve the neural function.

OBJECTIVETo observe the efficacy and safety of Qianlieantong Tablets in the treatment of chronic prostatitis.

METHODSA multi-center, self-controlled open clinical trial was conducted. A total of 280 subjects with chronic prostatitis were enrolled and treated by Qianlieantong Tablets, 3 times a day, 5 tablets each time. Before and after 2 and 4 weeks after the administration, NIH-CPSI scores and white blood cell counts in the prostate secretion were recorded.

RESULTSOf the 273 subjects evaluated, the rates of excellence, effectiveness and ineffectiveness were 35.2% (n = 96), 47.6% (n = 130) and 17.2% (n = 47), respectively, with a total effectiveness rate of 82.8%. After 4 weeks'medication, the scores of the subjects on NIH-CPSI pain, voiding and quality of life and white blood cell counts in prostate secretion were significantly decreased compared with pre-treatment (P < 0.01). No adverse events or laboratory abnormality related to the medication were observed.

CONCLUSIONQianlieantong Tablets has a significant effect on chronic prostatitis with high safety, particularly indicated in chronic prostatitis with pelvic pain.

Adult ; Chronic Disease ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Prostatitis ; drug therapy ; Quality of Life ; Tablets ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo analyze the changes in endogenous small molecule metabolites after benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) exposure in rat cerebral cortex and explore the mechanism of B[a]P neurotoxicity.

METHODSFive-day-old SD rats were subjected to gavage administration of 2 mg/kg B[a]P for 7 consecutive weeks. After the exposure, the rats were assessed for spatial learning ability using Morris water maze test, ultrastructural changes of the cortical neurons under electron microscope, and metabolite profiles of the cortex using GC/MS. The differential metabolites between the exposed and control rats were identified with partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and the metabolic pathways related with the differential metabolites were analyzed using Cytoscape software.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, the rats exposed to B[a]P showed significantly increased escape latency (P<0.05) and decreased time spent in the target area (P<0.05). The exposed rats exhibited widened synaptic cleft, thickened endplate membrane and swollen cytoplasm compared with the control rats. Eighteen differential metabolites (VIP>1, P<0.05) in the cortex were identified between the two groups, and 9 pathways associated with B[a]P neurotoxicity were identified involving amino acid metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle and Vitamin B3 (niacin and nicotinamide) metabolism.

CONCLUSIONB[a]P can cause disturbance in normal metabolisms and its neurotoxicity is possibly related with disorders in amino acid metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle and vitamin metabolism.

OBJECTIVETo study the antigenicity of SARS associated coronavirus (CoV) spike S1 (12-672Aa) domain.

METHODSBALB/c mice were immunized with a plasmid bearing codon-optimized SARS-CoV (Tor2 strain) S1 domain and then boosted with purified S1 protein; the SARS-CoV specific IgG antibody was tested by ELISA and neutralization antibody was determined by in vitro microneutralization assay.

RESULTSS1 domain of SARS-CoV spike, which has been demonstrated harboring the receptor binding domain, successfully elicited SARS-CoV specific IgG antibody in mouse after combined immunization with DNA and purified S1 protein; the antibody elicited solely by S1 could potently neutralize SARS-CoV (HKU-39849) in vitro, 50% of 1 000 TCID50 SARS-CoV challenged cells were protected from viral infection by a 1:1499.68 dilution of mice sera immunized with S1 protein, but negative control sera showed no protection.

CONCLUSIONS1 domain of SARS-CoV spike protein, which is responsible for receptor binding, can efficiently and sufficiently induce highly potent neutralizing antibody in mice. This result suggested that S1 domain could be an effective subunit vaccines against SARS-CoV.

Animals ; Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; Cell Line ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Epithelial Cells ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Immunization ; Immunoglobulin G ; blood ; Kidney ; cytology ; Membrane Glycoproteins ; genetics ; immunology ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Neutralization Tests ; SARS Virus ; genetics ; immunology ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; immunology ; virology ; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus ; Transfection ; Viral Envelope Proteins ; genetics ; immunology ; metabolism

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: It is essential to develop a reliable predictive serum biomarker for Parkinson's disease (PD). The accumulation of alpha-synuclein (αSyn) and up-regulated expression of Rab35 participate in the etiology of PD. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the combined assessment of serum αSyn and Rab35 is a useful predictive biomarker for PD. METHODS: Serum levels of αSyn or Rab35 were determined in serum samples from 59 sporadic PD patients, 19 progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients, 20 multiple system atrophy (MSA) patients, and 60 normal controls (NC). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were calculated to determine the diagnostic accuracy of αSyn or/and Rab35 in discriminating PD patients from NC or atypical parkinsonian patients. RESULTS: The levels of αSyn and Rab35 were increased in PD patients. The serum level of Rab35 was positively correlated with that of αSyn in PD patients. Compared to analyzing αSyn or Rab35 alone, the combined analysis of αSyn and Rab35 produced a larger area under the ROC curve and performed better in discriminating PD patients from NC, MSA patients, or PSP patients. When age was dichotomized at 55, 60, 65, or 70 years, the combined assessment of αSyn and Rab35 for classifying PD was better in the group below the cutoff age than in the group above the cutoff age. CONCLUSIONS: Combined assessment of serum αSyn and Rab35 is a better biomarker for discriminating PD patients from NC or atypical parkinsonian patients, and is a useful predictive biomarker for younger sporadic PD patients.
alpha-Synuclein ; Humans ; Multiple System Atrophy ; Parkinson Disease ; ROC Curve ; Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive

Aim To determine the effect of cornel iri-doid glycoside ( CIG ) on human hepatocyte cell line (L-02) injured by D-galactosamine (GalN) and tumor necrosis factor-α( TNF-α) .Methods Firstly, CIG was extracted , separated and purified . Cell lesion model injured by D-GalN/TNF-αwas tested by MTT method.T-AOC, SOD, MDA and calcium ion concen-tration were taken as indicators to study the effects of CIG on L-02 cell injured by D-GalN/TNF-α.The ex-pression of p-PERK, p-eIF-2α, caspase-3 protein were detected by Western blot .Results 44 mg · L-1 D-GalN and 100 μg · L-1 TNF-αwere suitable for L-02 cell lesion model.CIG high, middle, low concentra-tion group could significantly increase the L-02 cell ac-tivity by 21％, 13％, 8％, respectively and SOD activity and T-AOC ability as well compared with model group.At the same time, they markedly reduced the MDA activity except the low concentration .Three con-centrations of CIG could reduce the expression of endo-plasmic reticulum stress related protein PERK , eIF-2αand apoptosis-associated protein caspase-3. Conclu-sions CIG could protect L-02 cells injured by D-GalN/TNF-α.Increasing the cellular antioxidant abili-ty, reducing the damage of endoplasmic reticulum stress and the expression of apoptosis-associated protein may be the possible mechanism .

Dysosmia affects not only odour identification, but also memory, appetite, immunity and affection. Moreover, it suggests the occurrence of some diseases. The etiology of dysosmia is various and the treatment with western medicine is limited. In this paper, by analyzing the relevant research articles on olfactory disorders treatment with acupuncture and moxibustion, the clinical application of acupuncture and moxibustion, the thought of its diagnosis and treatment as well as relevant effect mechanism were explored. It is anticipated to provide the clinical physicians with the references to the treatment of dysosmia.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; Olfaction Disorders ; therapy

Objective:To explore the therapeutic mechanism of Canhuang tablets on the mRNA and protein expression of farnesoid X receptor (FXR), uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1) and multidrug resistance associated protein 2 (MRP2) in the liver of jaundiced rats induced by α-naphthalene isothiocyanate (ANIT). Method:The rats were divided into normal group, model group, Canhuang tablets (CHP) group and ursodeoxycholic acid tablets (UDCA) group. The jaundice model was reproduced by ANIT. After the intervention of the corresponding drugs, the contents of total bilirubin (TBIL), total bile acid (TBA), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in serum and the liver histopathology were examined to evaluate the therapeutic effect of CHP. The relative mRNA and protein expressions of FXR, UGT1A1 and MRP2 in rat liver tissues were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot. Result:CHP can significantly reduce the increase of TBIL, TBA, ALT, AST and ALP caused by ANIT in rat serum, and inhibit the liver pathological changes, which showed that the removing jaundice effect of CHP was better than UDCA. Compared with the normal group, ANIT significantly inhibited the mRNA levels of FXR, UGT1A1 and MRP2 in rat liver tissues after modeling (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, CHP and UDCA significantly increased the mRNA levels of target genes of each protein after intervention (P<0.01), and CHP was superior to UDCA in improving the mRNA level of bilirubin metabolizing enzyme UGT1A1 (P<0.01). In the aspect of affecting protein expression, compared with the normal group, ANIT modeling significantly increased the expression of FXR in rats (P<0.05). CHP intervention showed a tendency to promote the expression of FXR, while UDCA did not, but there was no significant difference between them. In the aspects of promoting bilirubin metabolism and bile excretion, the expressions of UGT1A1 and MRP2 were significantly decreased by ANIT modeling (P<0.01), while the expressions of UGT1A1 and MRP2 proteins were significantly increased after treatment of CHP (P<0.01). CHP was superior to UDCA in increasing the expression of bilirubin and bile acid efflux protein MRP2 (P<0.01). Conclusion:The jaundice abating mechanism of CHP is related to activating FXR mRNA expression in liver, promoting the mRNA and protein expression of bilirubin metabolizing enzyme UGT1A1 and bile acid transporter MRP2, improving liver metabolism of free bilirubin and promoting bile acid excretion from the liver, and alleviating cholestatic liver injury.