Ten compounds were isolated from the artificially induced dragon's blood of Dracaena cambodiana by various column chromatographies on silica and sephadex LH-20 gel. Based on spectral analysis of NMR and MS, their structures were identified as 3, 4-dihydroxyallylbenzene (1), 3', 4', 5'-trimethoxycinnamylalcohol (2), pinoresinol (3), (2R)-7, 4'-dihydroxy-8-methylflavane (4), (2R)-7,4'-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-8-methylflavane(5),(2S)-7,3'-dihydroxy-4'-methoxy-8-methylflavane(6) ,(2S)-4',7-dihydroxy-6, 8-dimethylflavane(7), 4,2',4'-trihydroxychalcone(8), 4,4'-dihydroxy-2-methoxydihydrochalcon(9) and Cambodianin E (10). Antibacterial activity assay showed that compounds 1, 4 and 10 have inhibitory effect on Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cuben, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum and Ralstonia solanacearum.
Antifungal Agents ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Dracaena ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Fusarium ; drug effects ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

OBJECTIVEThe present study investigated the effects of rapamycin on Aβ1-42-induced deficits in working memory and synaptic plasticity.

METHODSAfter bilateral hippocampal injection of Aβ1-42 and rapamycinin rats, spontaneous alternation in Y-maze and in vivo hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) of rats were recorded. All data were analized by two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).

RESULTS(Hippocampal injection of Aβ1-42 alone impaired working memory of rats; (2) Rapamycin did not affect working memory of rats, but alleviated Aβ1-42-induced working memory deficits, compared with Aβ1-42 alone group; (Aβ1-42 remarkably suppressed in vivo hippocampal LTP of fEPSPs in the CA1 region; (4) Pretreatment with rapamycin prevented Aβ1-42-induced suppression of LTP.

CONCLUSIONThese data indicates that rapamycin could protect against Aβ1-42-induced impairments in working memory and synaptic plasticity in rats.

Amyloid beta-Peptides ; adverse effects ; Animals ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; Long-Term Potentiation ; Maze Learning ; Memory, Short-Term ; drug effects ; Neuronal Plasticity ; drug effects ; Peptide Fragments ; adverse effects ; Rats ; Sirolimus ; pharmacology

AIM:To explore a novel method to isolate human nucleus pulposus mesenchymal stem cells (hNP-MSCs) in vitro and to identify their biological characteristics.METHODS:The explant culture method was employed to isolate hNP-MSCs from nucleus pulposus tissue obtained by percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD).The isolated cells were passaged for purification and cultured in vitro followed by morphological observation.The cell proliferation ability was detected by CCK-8 assay.Growth curves of the cells were drawn and surface antigens were detected by flow cytometry.The cells at the 3rd~6th passages were induced for adipogenic, osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation, and examined by oil red O staining, alizarin red staining and Alcian blue staining.RESULTS:The cells with self-renewal were obtained from nucleus pulposus tissue obtained by PELD.The results of flow cytometry analysis revealed that the cells were positive for CD29, CD44, CD90, CD73 and CD105, but negative for CD34 and CD45.The proliferative capacity was consistent with the growth characteristics of MSCs and multilineage differentiation potential was identified.CONCLUSION:A novel method to efficiently isolate and culture hNP-MSCs,PELD combined with explant culture method,was established, which would promote the study of regenerative medicine based on hNP-MSCs.

Objective To analyze the clinical risk factors of hemorrhagic transformation (HT) of cardiogenic cerebral embolism and the influence of HT on outcome. Methods The clinical data of 115 inpatients were reviewed from May, 2012 to December, 2015. They were di-vided into HT group (n=58) and non-HT group (n=57). The age, anticoagulant therapy, thrombolytic therapy, infarction diameter, diabetes, coronary heart disease, hyperlipidemia, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score and HAS-BLED score were compared. The risk factors for HT was screened with the multivariate Logistic regression. NIHSS score and Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score as hos-pitalization, and one month and three months after stroke were compared. Results There were significant difference in NIHSS score (t=-2.991, P=0.003) and HAS-BLED score (t=-2.499, P=0.014), as well as infarction diameter (χ2=8.355, P=0.004) between HT group and non-HT group. NIHSS score (OR=1.127, P=0.027), HAS-BLED score (OR=1.783, P=0.03) and infarction diameter (OR=4.390, P=0.035) were the risk factors for HT. The incidence of HT was less in low-risk group (HAS-BLED score=0-2) than in high-risk group (HAS-BLED score≥3) (χ2=4.643, P=0.031). The NIHSS score as hospitalization, and one month and three months after stroke were all more in HT group than in non-HT group (t>2.387, P<0.05). The mRS score was more in HT group as hospitalization (t=-2.262, P=0.026), but not significant one and three months later (t<1.468, P>0.05). Conclusion HT tends to happen in the patients of cerebral embolism patients after atrial fibril-lation with severe neural function defect, large infarction diameter and high HAS-BLED score. The neural function is poor in those with HT.

Background Recently,whether the epithelial flaps should be removed or preserved during the Epi-LASIK and its affection on clinical results are concerned.Objecfive This system analysis was to evaluate and compare the clinical effectiveness between on-flap Epi-LASIK and off-flap epi-LASIK for myopia. Methods A systematic literature retfieval was conducted in the MEDLINE,EMBase,Coehrane Library,CBM disc,CNKI from 2003 through 2009.The possible differences in reepithelization time,pain sensation,and haze after surgery were compared between on-flap and off-flap Epi-LASIK for myopia.The statistical analysis was performed using a RevMan 4.2 software.The data was extracted,and the methodological quality was evaluated by two reviewers independently with weighted mean difierence(WMD)for the effectiveness analysis and odds ratio(OR)for counting variable.The quality of included literature was scored according to the Jadad Scale. Results A total of 8 studies involving 251 patients(502 eyes)were included in the meta-analysis.Of these eight studies.five studies were randomized clinical trials and the other three studies were retrospective cohort studies.Compared with on-flap Epi-LASIK group,off-flap Epi-LASIK group had a better postoperative outcome in the mean reepithelization time(WMD=1.32,95％CI-1.82to-0.82,P<0.01)and pain scores at 3,5 day(WMD=-O.99,95％CI-1.71 to-0.28,P(0.01)(WMD=-0.94.95％CI-1.35 to-0.54,P<0.01)after surgery.No significant difierenees were found in the eye numbers of haze at 1 month(OR=0.62,95％C1 0.34 to 1.12,P=0.11),3 months(OR=0.70,95％C1 0.31 to 1.55,P=0.38)and 6 months(OR=1.14,95％C1 0.58 to 2.26,P=0.71)between these two types of operation.The pain scores at the first day after surgery was not significantly different between these two groups(WMD=-0.17,95％CI -0.55 to 0.20,P=0.37). Conclusion The effectiveness of off-flap Epi-LASIK is superior to on-flap Epi-LASIK for myopia.Some high-quality randomlizd and control studies are needed for the further clinical evaluation.

Seventy-two endophytic fungi isolated from Cephalotaxus hainanensis Li were screened for antitumor and antimicrobial activities. The results showed that 9 strains presented cytotoxic activities to at least one of the tested tumor cells, five strains exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, one strain had inhibitory effect on Phytophthora parasitica. It was evidently that the endophytic fungi of C. hainanensis are potential resources to find valuable bioactive components.

Objective To investigate the health effects on practitioners occupationally exposed to acrylonitrile and to provide scientific bases for the study of toxicological effects of acrylonitrile on human bodies. Methods 465 medical practitioners exposed to acrylonitrile and ( a control group of ) 488 medical practitioners unexposed to acrylonitrile were selected .Age, smoking habits , alcoholic habits and other relevant factors are well-considered in selecting these two groups and all of them had lived in Ningbo for at least three years .Blood samples were collected to measure the level of Alanine aminotransferase ( ALT) , aspartate aminotransferase ( AST ) , alkaline phosphatase ( ALP ) , pancreatic acyl transferase (GGT), total bilirubin (STB), blood urea (UREA), blood uric acid (UA), serum creatinine (SCr), total protein ( TP ) , albumin ( Alb ) , globulin ( Glb ) , ratio of Alb to Glb ( A/G ) , white blood cell ( WBC ) , red blood cell ( RBC ) , platelet ( PLT ) and hemoglobin ( Hb ) .These serum biochemical indices of the two groups were compared to find the differences thereof and to examine the effect of work years on various above-mentioned indices for medical practitioners exposed to acrylonitrile . Results The levels of ALT(t=-2.77,P=0.006), AST(t=-5.74,P<0.001), UREA(t=3.51,P<0.001), UA (t=-3.51,P<0.001)and SCr(t=-7.62,P<0.001)for medical practitioners exposed to acrylonitrile were all significantly higher than those for the control group; however, the levels of ALP(t=18.87,P<0.001), Alb(t=6.92,P<0.001), Glb(t=7.99,P<0.001), A/G(t=11.93,P<0.001), and WBC (t=4.48,P<0.001) were all lower than those for the control group , with the exposure time exhibiting positive correlations with ALT(r=0.564,P<0.001)and AST(r=0.493,P<0.001). Conclusion Acrylonitrile has certain health effects on the hepatorenal function as well as the routine blood test results of medical practitioners occupationally exposed to acrylonitrile .

This study was aimed to explore the effects of hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO) alone or combined with As(2)O(3) on proliferation, apoptosis and expression of HIF-1a, VEGF, caspase-3 mRNA of K562 cells, and the molecular mechanism of As(2)O(3) enhancing the anti-leukemic effect of HBO so as to provide a scientific basis for clinical treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia. The effects of drugs on proliferation of K562 cells was assayed by MTT method, the apoptosis rate of K562 cells was detected by flow cytometry with Annexin V/PI double staining, the expressions of HIF-1a, VEGF, caspase-3 mRNA of K562 cells were determined by real-time quantitative PCR. The results showed that as compared with As(2)O(3) alone, HBO combined with As(2)O(3) could increase inhibitory rate of K562 cell proliferation, and enhance apoptotic effect, obviously down-regulate expressions of HIF-1a and VEGF mRNA, up-regulate expression of caspase-3 mRNA. The effect of HBO combined with As(2)O(3) was higher then effect of As(2)O(3) alone, and their effects were synergistic (P < 0.05). It is concluded that HBO combined with As(2)O(3) can increase the expression of caspase 3 mRNA and decrease the expression of HIF-1a and VEGF mRNA, which may be one of molecular mechanisms underlying their synergistic antileukemia efficacy.
Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Arsenicals ; pharmacology ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Hyperbaric Oxygenation ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; metabolism ; K562 Cells ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism

This study was aimed to investigate the effect of arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) alone and in combination with bortezomib (Bor) on proliferation and apoptosis of leukemia cell line K562, and to analyze the potential mechanism. K562 cells were treated with different concentrations of As(2)O(3) or Bor (alone or combination) for 24, 48 h. MTT method was used to detect the cell proliferation. After K562 cells were treated with 0.5 µmol/L As(2)O(3) alone or in combination with 10 nmoL/L Bor, the apoptosis rate and cell cycle were measured by flow cytometry, and the activity of NF-κB was analyzed by SP immunohistochemistry. The results indicated that the different concentrations of As(2)O(3) and Bor could inhibit the K562 cell proliferation in a time- and dose-dependent manners (P < 0.05). The IC(50) of Bor and As(2)O(3) in 48 h were 20 nmol/L and 0.6 µmol/L respectively. When K562 cells were treated with As(2)O(3) or Bor alone for 24 h, the apoptotic rate of K562 cells increased, and the apoptotic rate in combination group was higher than that in As(2)O(3) or Bor group. The cells were apparently arrested in G(2)/M phase in Bor group and G(0)/G(1) phase in As(2)O(3) group. The activity of NF-κB decreased significantly in As(2)O(3) or Bor group (P < 0.05), this effect was most significant in the combination group (P < 0.01). It is concluded that both As(2)O(3) and Bor can inhibit the proliferation and induce apoptosis of K562 cells, a synergistic effect can be observed when a low dose of As(2)O(3) combined with low dose of Bor. The different cell cycle block site and the decrease of activity of NF-κB may be one of the mechanisms underlying their synergic effect.
Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Arsenicals ; pharmacology ; Boronic Acids ; pharmacology ; Bortezomib ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Drug Synergism ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Oxides ; pharmacology ; Pyrazines ; pharmacology

Animals ; Electroencephalography ; Heart ; physiopathology ; Immersion ; physiopathology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Seawater