Objective To explore the effects of sodium ferulate injection on CTGF, MMP-9 and TIMP-I in the serum of the patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF). Methods 46 cases with IPF were randomly divid-ed into control group of 20 eases and treatment group of 26 cases. Control group was given the usual treatment and the treatment group was given the usual treatment and sodium ferulate injection. The levels of CTGF, MMP-9 and TIMP-1 in the serum were measured before and after treatment. Results After treatment,the concentration of CTGF,MMP-9 and TIMP-1 in patients in the treatment group was significantly improved than that in the control group(P < 0.05). Conclusion The treatment with sodium ferulate injection could improve the IPF through improving the production of CTGF,MMP-9 and TIMP-1.

Saussurea medusa is a rare traditional Chinese medicinal herb. Besides anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities, it has effects of disinhibiting cold, dispelling dampness and promoting blood circulation. Flavonoids are the main medicinal compounds in S. medusa. Contents of flavonoids and expression of flavonoids biosynthesis related genes in white and red (induced by low temperature, high sucrose and high light) callus were analyzed. The results showed that the total flavone in red line was 3.60 times higher compared to white line. The accumulation of rutin in red line (0.25% of dry weight) was 2.40 times higher compared to white line. Anthocyanins were abundant in red line, with the contents of cyanidin 3-O-glucosidechloride and cyanidin 3-O-succinyl glycoside 0.12% and 0.19% of dry weight respectively. CHS, F3'H, FNS, FLS, DFR and ANS genes were highly expressed in red line compared to white line. Expression of three transcription factors (MYB, bHLH and WD40) in red line was significantly higher than that in white line, especially the expression of MYB (19.70 times higher compared to white line). These results indicated that high expression levels of transcription factors induced high expression of structural genes in red line, thereby enhancing the flavonoids biosynthesis. The expression of bHLH and WD40 was similar, whereas it was significantly different from that of MYB, indicating that bHLH and WD40 could form a binary complex to regulate expression of structural genes and flavonoids biosynthesis.
Anthocyanins ; chemistry ; Cell Line ; Flavonoids ; chemistry ; Glucosides ; chemistry ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Saussurea ; chemistry ; genetics ; Transcription Factors ; genetics ; metabolism

Saussurea medusa is a rare traditional Chinese medicinal herb, of which luteolin is the niain active medicinal compound for cancer prevention and treatment. A full-length FNSII gene, namely SmFNSII (GenBank Accession No. KF170286), was obtained from green cell line of Saussurea medusa by RT-PCR and RACE-PCR. Sequence analysis indicated that SmFNSII is 1 710 bp in full length, containing a 34 bp 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR), a 125 bp 3'-UTR, and a 1 551 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding 516 amino acid residues. Amino acid sequence analysis indicated that SmFNSII belonged to subfamily CYP93B of plant cytochrome P450. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that amino acid sequences of SmFNSII shared 87% homology with the protein in Hieracium pilosella. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that SmFNSII expression is the highest in red cell line and the lowest in white cell line, corresponding to quantitative analysis of luteolin concentration. pET-SmFNSII, a prokaryotic expression recombinant plasmid, was constructed and transferred into Escherichia coli, and the expressed protein band was the same size with predicted protein. Saussurea medusa cultivars with high anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer activities and health care function would be cultivated through filtering cell lines and plants with high expression level of FNSII gene and luteolin accumulation.
5' Untranslated Regions ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Cell Line ; Cloning, Molecular ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System ; genetics ; Open Reading Frames ; Phylogeny ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Recombination, Genetic ; Saussurea ; enzymology ; genetics ; Sequence Alignment ; Sequence Analysis, Protein

A fragment of chalcone synthase gene (SmCHS) was cloned from the cDNA library constructed in Saussurea medusa. The full-length cDNA sequence of SmCHS was obtained by RT-PCR. Sequence analysis showed that the full length of SmCHS was 1313 bp, containing an open reading frame (1170 bp) encoding 389 amino acids. The molecular weight of the protein was estimated to be 43 kDa. The prokaryotic expression plasmids pET28a(+)-SmCHS was constructed and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) for expression. SDS-PAGE indicated that the fusion protein was expressed partially in soluble form after induction by IPTG. The recombinant protein was collected and purified by Ni-NTA affinity column. The enzymatic activity assay of the purified recombinant protein showed that the fusion protein had chalcone synthase activity. It could catalyze the condensation of a 4-coumaroyl-CoA with three malonyl-CoAs to produce naringenin chalcone.
Acyltransferases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Catalysis ; Chalcones ; biosynthesis ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Saussurea ; enzymology ; genetics

Objective: To provide a largescale assessment the prevalence of poor vision in 2020 among children and adolescents in Wuhan City, Hubei province and to provide basis for healthy vision promotion. Methods: This crosssectional epidemiological study was conducted among 156 783 students, who lived in Wuhan during the COVID-19 period participated the vision screening through the online applet designed by Wuhan Center for Adolescent Poor Vision Prevetion and Control under the guidance of their guardians between June 19 and July 6, 2020. The demographic information and daily hours spent on various activities in the past week were investigated. The corresponding visual acuity data of students in 2019 before the COVID-19 outbreak was extracted from school vision monitoring records for each semester, which was measured by the experienced eye care professionals. Results: The detection rate of poor vision (51.04%) in 2020 was significantly higher than that in 2019(43.04%)( χ 2=68 944.95, P <0.01). After adjustment for covariates, the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval for poor vision were 1.17(1.13-1.20), 1.07(1.04-1.10), 0.67 (0.65-0.69) and 0.62(0.60-0.64) in students with online class time, recreational screen time, indoor and outdoor activity time in the highest tertile, compared with the lowest tertile groups. Conclusion Increased rate of poor vision among primary and secondary schoool students deserves further concern. It is necessary to strengthen intervention of eyesight protection. Policies and programs aimed at improving opportunities for physical activities and decreasing multiple screen behaviors should be given priority.