Kinesin spindle protein ( KSP) inhibitors is an important direction for the discovery of anticancer agents. Several KSP in-hibitors have been studied in clinic trials. The discovery of ATP-competitive KSP inhibitors may be a new approach for searching novel a-gents to overcome the mutation-mediated resistance to the allosteric inhibitors. The progress in the discovery of ATP-competitive KSP in-hibitors was reviewed in the paper to provide reference for the further development of KSP inhibitors.

Objective To analyze the difference of laboratory test results between early-onset and late-onset severe preeclampsia and to investigate their clinical application values.Methods Totally 108 blood samples were collected from patients with severe preeclampsia who were diagnosed according to the Diagnostic Standard of Obstetrics and Gynecology(7th Edition) published by People′s Medical Publishing House,in Shandong Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University from March to November 2016,which consisted of 64 early-onset severe preeclampsia before 34 weeks gestation(early onset group) and 44 late-onset severe preeclampsia after 34 weeks gestation(late onset group).In addition,42 women with normal pregnancies as the control group were selected.General clinical data were collected,and the blood sample was analyzed through detecting Hb,PLT,fibrinogen (FIB),D-dimer,AST,ALT,urea,creatinine (Cr),uric acid,CRP,urine protein.The tested results were analyzed and compared.Flow cytometry was used to analyze the proportion of T helper 1 cells(Th1) and T helper 2 cells(Th2),and the ratio of Th1/Th2 was also calculated.All data and F test were performed by use of statistical software SPSS19.0.Results The pre-pregnancy body mass index(29.55±4.49,30.66±5.13,26.62±3.17,F=9.829,P<0.05),diastolic blood pressure[(105.17±14.46)mmHg(1 mmHg=0.133 kPa),(99.80±12.56)mmHg,(74.36±8.42)mmHg,F=82.088,P<0.05],Hb[(123.22±14.38)g/L,(117.03±16.48)g/L,(112.62±11.24)g/L,F=7.133,P<0.05],urea[(6.56±2.36)mmol/L,(4.51±1.35)mmol/L,(3.04±0.87)mmol/L,F=51.733,P<0.05],Cr[(68.47±18.05)μmol/L,(61.37±14.37)μmol/L,(48.54±8.73)μmol/L,F=23.737,P<0.05],CRP[(7.68±8.76)mg/L,(5.88±6.03)mg/L,(3.56±2.41)mg/L,F=4.735,P<0.05],urine protein[(3.66±0.76)g/L,(2.20±1.05)g/L,(0.19±0.40)g/L,F=249.714,P<0.05]had a statistically significant difference among the early-onset,late-onset and control groups.The flow cytometry results demonstrated that the proportion of Th1 in early-onset group(19.83±3.04)was higher than that in both late-onset (14.49±2.79)and control groups(11.78±1.17),on the contrary,the result of Th2 was much lower(early-onset:1.02±0.12,late-onset: 1.11±0.12,control: 1.56±0.11),there was statistical significance among these three groups(Th1: F=135.110,P<0.05;Th2: F=293.687,P<0.05).Conclusions It′s necessary to real-time monitor the laboratory indicators,such as liver and kidney function,especially the immunologic function indicators for evaluating the disease of early-onset and late-onset severe preeclampsia and personal treatment,and for ensuring the health of mother and fetus and improving the prognostic of mother and fetus.

Objective To investigate the effects of artesunate combined with arsenic trioxide (ATO) on the proliferation and apoptosis of NB4 cells.Methods The NB4 cells were treated with different concentrations of artesunate and arsenic trioxide respectively for 48 h.The cell proliferation was detected by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) method.The cells were divided into 4 groups:control group,artesunate group,arsenic trioxide group,and the combination of artesunate and arsenic trioxide group.The cell cycle and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry (FCM).The protein expression levels of Bcl-2 and Bax were detected by Western blot.Results The MTT results showed that compared with the control group,the proliferation inhibition rates of 0.25,0.50,1.00,2.00,4.00 μmol/L artesunate group (19.26％ ± 3.59％,36.53％ ± 2.67％,61.32％ ± 2.50％,70.30％ ± 3.15％,86.92 ± 0.02％) significantly increased (P＜0.05);the proliferation inhibition rates of 1,2,4,8,16 μmol/L arsenic trioxide group (12.69％ ± 2.43％,64.26％ ± 2.02％,85.10％ ± 2.67％,92.06％ ± 2.21％,93.67％ ± 3.36％) significantly increased (P＜0.05);and the proliferation inhibition rate (40.17％ ± 5.49％ vs.32.23％ ± 3.52％) of combination of artesunate and arsenic trioxide group significantly higher than the arsenic trioxide group (P＜0.05).Compared with the arsenic trioxide group,the percentage of G0/G1 phase cells (74.20％ ± 1.43％ vs.66.14％ ± 1.78％),the apoptosis rate (58.00％ ± 2.41％ vs.34.57％ ± 1.22％),and the expression level of Bax protein (1.35 ± 0.09 vs.1.13 ± 0.09) in the combination of artesunate and arsenic trioxide group significantly increased (P＜0.05),the expression level of Bcl-2 protein (0.45 ± 0.09 vs.1.03 ± 0.10) in the combination of artesunate and arsenic trioxide group significantly decreased (P＜0.05).Conclusions Artesunate can significantly enhance the proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induced by arsenic trioxide on NB4 cells.The possible mechanism of proliferation inhibition and apoptosis of NB4 cells by artesunate combined with arsenic trioxide may be related to reduce the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and increase the expression of apoptotic protein Bax.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies by our research group discovered that Jiawei Xiaoyao San has a significant anti-liver cancer effect,but the specific mechanism of action was unclear. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the regulatory effects of the traditional Chinese medicine formula Jiawei Xiaoyao San on the levels of miRNAs in plasma exosomes of rats with diethylnitrosamine chronically induced primary liver cancer,based on high-throughput sequencing combined with bioinformatics. METHODS:SD rats were randomly divided into a blank control group,a liver cancer model group,and a Jiawei Xiaoyao San treatment group.Liver cancer models were induced by continuous administration of diethylnitrosamine for 12 weeks.Starting from the 17th week,rats in the Jiawei Xiaoyao San treatment group were administered Jiawei Xiaoyao San once daily until the end of the 20th week,while rats in the blank control and liver cancer model groups were given an equivalent volume of saline.Anti-hepatocellular carcinoma effects were validated by assessing the morphological structure of rat liver tissues,along with the expression of the hepatocellular carcinoma markers,Glypican-3 protein and serum alpha-fetoprotein.Plasma exosomes from each group of rats were isolated using ultracentrifugation.High-throughput sequencing technology was used to screen for differentially expressed miRNAs in rat plasma exosomes.Bioinformatics was used to predict the potential biomarkers through which Jiawei Xiaoyao San exerts its anti-liver cancer effects via liver cancer-derived exosomal miRNAs,followed by functional analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Jiawei Xiaoyao San significantly improved the morphological structure of liver tissues in a rat model of liver cancer.Compared with the liver cancer model group,the expression of liver cancer markers Glypican-3 protein and serum alpha-fetoprotein was significantly reduced in the Jiawei Xiaoyao San treatment group.(2)Bioinformatics analysis showed that in the Jiawei Xiaoyao San group,upregulated miR-223-3p in the liver cancer model group had target binding sites with genes E2F1 and NCOA1,which were closely related to liver cancer survival and prognosis.Therefore,Jiawei Xiaoyao San has a therapeutic effect on liver cancer,possibly by targeting negative regulation of NCOA1/E2F1 through liver cancer plasma-derived exosomal miR-223-3p,thereby playing anti-liver cancer effect.

ObjectiveTo investigate the protective effect of Geju Hugan tablets on the liver of mice with alcohol-induced liver injury， and explore the underlying mechanism based on nuclear factor-κB p65 （NF-κB p65） and B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）/Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax） signaling pathways. MethodAccording to the body weight， 60 SPF-grade male ICR mice were randomized into normal， model， Compound Yiganling tablets （0.16 g·kg^-1）， and low-， medium-， and high-dose （0.2， 0.4， 0.8 g·kg^-1， respectively） Geju Hugan tablets groups. The drugs were administrated at the corresponding doses by gavage， and the normal and model groups with equal volume of pure water once a day for 28 consecutive days. On day 29， the mice in other groups except the normal group were administrated with liquor （53% Vol） by gavage twice a day at the doses of 20， 10 mL·kg^-1 and with the interval of 6 h. Samples were harvested on day 30. The histopathological changes in the liver were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining， and the ultrastructural changes in hepatocytes were observed by transmission electron microscopy. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to measure the levels of malonaldehyde （MDA）， reduced glutathione （GSH）， and triglycerides （TG） in the liver tissue and the levels of alanine aminotransferase （ALT） and aspartate aminotransferase （AST） in the serum. Western blotting was employed to determine the protein levels of NF-κB p65， phosphorylated p-inhibitor kappa B alpha （p-IκBα）， Bcl-2， and Bax in the liver tissue. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed increases in the ALT， AST， MDA， and TG levels， a decrease in the GSH level， and increases in the liver injury scores evaluated based on the HE， oil red O， and transmission electron microscopy （P<0.01）. Moreover， the model group showed up-regulated expression of NF-κB， p-IκBα， and Bax （P<0.05， P<0.01） and down-regulated expression of Bcl-2 （P<0.05） in the liver tissue. Compared with the model group， Geju Hugan tablets of all the doses lowered the ALT， AST， MDA， and TG levels and elevated the GSH level （P<0.01）. The liver injury scores assessed based on HE staining and transmission electron microscopy in the medium- and high-dose Geju Hugan tablets groups were lower than those in the model group （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， medium- and high-dose Geju Hugan tablets down-regulated the protein levels of NF-κB， p-IκBα， and Bax （P<0.01） and all doses of Geju Hugan tablets up-regulated the protein level of Bcl-2 （P<0.01）. ConclusionGeju Hugan tablets protect mice from alcohol-induced liver injury by down-regulating NF-κB signaling pathway to alleviate inflammation in the liver tissue and down-regulating the expression of Bax and up-regulating the expression of Bcl-2 to inhibit hepatocyte apoptosis.