Sodium houttuyfonate (SH) is a derivative of effective component of a Chinese material medica, Houttuynia cordata, which is applied in anti-infection of microorganism. But, the antimicrobial mechanisms of SH still remain unclear. Here, we firstly discovered that SH effectively inhibits the three types of virulence related motility of.Pseudomonas aeruginosa, i.e., swimming, twitching and swarming. The plate assay results showed that the inhibitory action of SH against swimming and twitching in 24 h and swarming in 48 h is dose-dependent; and bacteria nearly lost all of the motile activities under the concentration of 1 x minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (512 mg x L(-1) same as azithromycin positive group (1 x MIC, 16 mg x L(-1)). Furthermore, we found that the expression of structural gene flgB and pilG is down-regulated by SH, which implies that inhibitory mechanism of SH against motility of P. aeruginosa may be due to the inhibition of flagella and pili bioformation of P. aeruginosa by SR Therefore, our presented results firstly demonstrate that SH effectively inhibits the motility activities of P. aeruginosa, and suggest that SH could be a promising antipseudomonas agents in clinic.
Alkanes ; pharmacology ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; Bacterial Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Biofilms ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Fimbriae, Bacterial ; drug effects ; genetics ; metabolism ; Houttuynia ; chemistry ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; cytology ; drug effects ; genetics ; pathogenicity ; Sulfites ; pharmacology ; Virulence ; drug effects

ObjectiveTo investigate the concentration of water fluoride and the application of water defluoridation projects in Suizhou,and to provide a basis for water improvement and prevention of the disease.MethodsCross-sectional study was carried out to investigate completely the water defluoridation projects built between 1986 and 2009 in the area under Suizhou's jurisdiction; 3 source water and terminal water samples of the projects in use were collected,respectively; 1 water sample was collected,respectively in the 3 projects with out-ofcommission or discarded water sources that used to be major water supply,for detection of fluoride,chloride,total hardness,heavy metals and other indicators.ResultsA total of 21 projects were investigated,14 projects were in normal use (66.7％),7 projects were out of order and abandoned (33.3％).Of the 14 projects normally used,13projects with water fluoride concentration ≤ 1.0 mg/L(92.9％)and 1 project with water fluoride concentration higher than 1.0 mg/L(7.1％),the concentration of water fluoride in the 7 abandoned projects was higher than 1.0 mg/L(100％).Arsenic and lead levels of all the water samples were normal.There were two water samples with iron content exceeded the standard,and one total hardness of water samples exceeded the standard in the normally used 14 peripheral water sources.One chloride content exceeded the standard,one manganese content exceeded the standard,two iron content exceeded the standard and three total hardness exceeded the standard in the seven abandoned projects.ConclusionsSome defluoridation projects are stopped using and abandoned in Suizhou,and the water fluoride exceeds the standard.

Death domain-associated protein (DAXX) as a multifunctional nuclear protein widely resides in nucleolus, nucleoplasm, chromatin, promyelocytic leukaemia nuclear bodies (PML-NBs) and cytoplasm. It plays significant roles in transcriptional regulation, apoptosis, cell cycle and other biological activities. Small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) is required for SUMOylation which is a highly conserved post-translational modification in a wide variety of cellular processes. Numerous studies demonstrated that SUMOylation has a great effect on the subcellular localization and functional regulation of DAXX. This review will provide a summary for SUMOylation of DAXX.
Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; physiology ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Humans ; Nuclear Proteins ; physiology ; Sumoylation

Objective To explore the dynamic change and meaning of JAK/STAT signal path in the invasive course of collagen-induced arthritis(CIA).Methods Forty-eight rats were divided into 6 groups ran- domly,eight rats served as the control group,the rest were for the development of CIA models.Rats were sac- rificed at the 2nd,3rd,4th,5th and 6th week after the initial immunity respectively.Then HE staining,im- munohistochemistry and immunoblotting were used to detect the pathological changes of synovium in different st ages and the expression of p-STAT1 and p-STAT3.Results On the second week after initial immunity,the rats had arthritis,and the inflammation achieved its peak at the 4th week,then gradually relieved,and a few joints developed rigidity,synovium hyperplasia and inflammatory cell infiltration could be seen at the second week of initial immunity,and pannus could be seen at the 4th week as well as cartilage destroy at the 6th week by HE staining.In the invasive course of CIA,STAT1 and STAT3 were all in activated state detected by im- munohistochemistry and immunoblotting,which were significantly different from those of control group and they had a positive correlation with arthritis index,the Pearson's value of them were 0.798 and 0.873 respectively. However,there was some difference on time.STAT3 kept at activated state and had positive correlation with pathology score of synovium,and the Pearson's value was 0.622.On the contrary,the activation of STAT1 was obviously delayed and only confined to the middle and advanced stage of the disease.Conclusion JAK/STAT signal pathway participates the pathological course of CIA,and blocking the different point of JAK/STAT path- way'activation process may reach the goal of reversing the RA's pathological course.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the role of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and tumor markers in the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and serum in the diagnosis and treatment of intracranial germinoma in children.

METHODSTotally 5 children (3 girls and 2 boys) who were treated in our hospital between January 2009 and December 2010 due to central diabetes insipidus. All patients received contrast-enhanced brain MRI at presentation and during each follow-up: meanwhile, their anterior pituitary hormones and tumor markers including human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) were also determined.

RESULTSThree patients presented without prior evaluation, and two patients were referred to our hospital due to exaggerated disease of unknown cause. Their ages at presentation ranged from 8 years to 12 years 1 month, and the duration of symptoms at presentation was between 1 month to 78 months. All of them had polyuria and polydipsia at presentation. Except one child, the other 4 patients had growth retardation and failure in initiation of puberty. Although the growth rate and puberty development were normal during the 2-year follow-up for the excepted child, all child experienced anterior pituitary hypofunction and an increased concentration of plasma prolactin after the lesion became enlarged. Three patients had cerebral hernia, which presented in 18, 24, and 78 months, respectively. In three patients, brain MRI at presentation showed isolated pituitary stalk thickening, which further developed into massive tumor in the hypothalamus pituitary region 18-22 months later; in the remaining two patients, large brain tumor was found via MRI at their first presentations. In all five patients, the posterior pituitary gland (bright spot) disappeared on T1-weighted MRI images. CSF hCG elevated in all five patients, and serum hCG increased in four patients; the level of hCG varied with the mass size of tumor. Serum and CSF AFP increased in only one patient.

CONCLUSIONSPatients with idiopathic central diabetes insipidus must be closely followed to identify the etiology, especially when anterior pituitary hormone deficiencies are detected. For patients with normal brain MRI results or simply isolated pituitary stalk thickening at presentation, the changes of serial contrast-enhanced brain MRI should be observed during follow-up to ensure the early detection of an evolving occult hypothalamic-stalk lesion. Determination of CSF hCG at the first presentation may be useful, because an increased CSF level of hCG precedes MRI abnormalities.

Biomarkers, Tumor ; analysis ; blood ; cerebrospinal fluid ; Brain Neoplasms ; blood ; cerebrospinal fluid ; diagnosis ; Child ; Female ; Germinoma ; blood ; cerebrospinal fluid ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the myocardial systolic function and ventricular remodeling in heart failure rat induced by myocardial infarction (MI) with S/SRI and MMP-9.

METHODSA total of 70 male SD rats were randomly assigned to 4 groups: 4 weeks and 8 weeks MI (anterior descending branch of left coronary artery were ligated), sham operation (thoracotomy without ligation of coronary artery) and non-operated control group. The regional myocardial systolic function of rats was quantified with S/SRI. The myocardial MMP-9 expression was detected by Western blot.

RESULTSIn the 4 weeks MI group, all segment's Ssys, SRsys, the strain of end-systole were reduced while PSI was increased compared to sham and non-operated group with the exception of the inferior wall. These changes were more significant in 8 weeks MI group compared to the 4 weeks MI group. In the 4 weeks MI group, the expression of MMP-9 was significantly upregulated than the sham operation group and this upregulation was more significant at 8 weeks post MI.

CONCLUSIONSS/SRI can quantitative evaluate the regional systolic function of heart failure rat induced by myocardial infarction. Progressive upregulation of myocardial MMP-9 expression paralleled the deterioration of regional systolic function in this heart failure rat model.

Animals ; Heart Failure ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; metabolism ; Myocardial Contraction ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Systole ; Ventricular Remodeling

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the bond strength of total-etch or self-etch dentin bonding agents after using two different dentin desensitizers on exposed dentin and investigate the bond interface by scanning electron microscope (SEM).

METHODSThirty intact and non-carious human third molars were used. The occlusal enamel was removed with the use of a slow-speed saw under water cooling. These teeth were divided into three groups using a table of random numbers with 10 teeth each. These three groups were treated with water (Group C), UltraEZ (Group U) and MI Paste (Group M) respectively. Then 10 teeth from each group were divided into A subgroup (n = 5) bonded with Single Bond 2 adhesive system and B subgroup (n = 5) bonded with Xeno III adhesive system according to manufacturers' instructions. A block of composite resin was build up to 4-5 mm. All the teeth were sectioned occluso-gingivally to obtain bar-shaped specimens with bonded surface area about 0.9 mm x 0.9 mm. The tension of the sample was tested by a microtensile tester at 1 mm/min. The mean values of bond strength were compared using one-way ANOVA. Three samples were chosen randomly from each of six groups for SEM investigation.

RESULTSThere were no significant differences between Group U and Group C both in A and B subgroups. While there were significant differences between Group M and Group C in two bonding-agent subgroups. For SEM, the hybrid layer was thin and dense in six groups. Both total-etch and self-etch bonding systems could get fair resin tag infiltration in Group C and Group U. In Group M, the resin tags were relatively shorter and fewer than the anterior mentioned two groups.

CONCLUSIONSUltraEZ had no effect on bond strength of both kinds of dentin bonding agents, while MI paste could diminish bond strength.

Bisphenol A-Glycidyl Methacrylate ; chemistry ; Dental Materials ; Dental Stress Analysis ; Dentin-Bonding Agents ; chemistry ; Humans ; Materials Testing ; Molar, Third ; Nitrates ; chemistry ; Potassium Compounds ; chemistry

OBJECTIVEStudy on the flavonoids from the air part of Eupatorium lindleyanum.

METHODAlcohol percolation, silica gel column chromatography and re-crystallization et al.

RESULTJaceosidin, kaempferol, quceritin, astragalin, trifolin and hypersoide were isolated from E. lindleyanum. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectral evidence.

CONCLUSIONJaceosidin, kaempferol, quceritin, astragalin and trifolin were isolated from E. lindleyanum for the first time.

Eupatorium ; chemistry ; Flavonoids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Kaempferols ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plant Components, Aerial ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quercetin ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expressions of 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78) and Caspase-12 and their relationship with apoptosis in renal cortex of diabetic rats.

METHODSUninephrectomized Wistar rats were used to induce diabetes by intraperitoneal injection of Streptozotocin (STZ 65 mg/kg). After 8 weeks, the expression and distribution of GRP78, Caspase-12, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were examined by immunohistochemistry. Flow cytometry was used to detect the levels of protein of GRP78 and Caspase-12. Apoptosis was evaluated by means of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated d-UDP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) and Flow cytometry. Serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and 24-hour urine protein excretion were checked.

RESULTSCompared with those in normal control group, the numbers of apoptosis and the expression of GRP78, Caspase-12 in glomerular and tubular cells were much higher in the diabetic kidneys at 8 weeks. There was no significant difference between group A and group B.

CONCLUSIONActivation of endoplasmic reticulum stress may play an important role in the development of diabetic nephropathy.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Caspase 12 ; metabolism ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; complications ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; pathology ; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; metabolism ; Kidney Cortex ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

AIMTo investigate the effect of puerarin on expressions of MMP-2 and TIMP-2 in the kidney of diabetic rats.

METHODSUninephrectomized male Wistar rats were used to induce diabetes by intraperitoneal injection of streptozocin (65 mg x kg(-1)). Puerarin was given daily by intraperitoneal injection from the third day of induction of diabetes for 16 weeks. Using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to detect MMP-2, TIMP-2 mRNA expressions and MMP-2, TIMP-2, collagen IV and Laminin expressions in diabetic kidneys with image analysis system, Flow cytometry was used to detect the expressions of TGFbeta1, MMP-2 and TIMP-2.

RESULTSCompared with those in kidneys of control group, expressions of MMP-2 mRNA and proteins were lower, while the expressions of both TGFbeta1 and TIMP-2 were higher in the diabetic kidney (P < 0.05). The level of MMP-2 expression was advanced, while expression of TIMP-2 was reduced by puerarin treatment (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONPuerarin showed some renal protective effect on diabetic nephropathy, partly through inhibition of excessive deposition of glomeruli extracellular matrix by up-regulating MMP-2 and down-regulating TIMP-2 expressions besides reducing the blood glucose.

Animals ; Collagen Type IV ; metabolism ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Isoflavones ; pharmacology ; Kidney ; enzymology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Laminin ; metabolism ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Peptide Fragments ; metabolism ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Streptozocin ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-2 ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1