OBJECTIVETo study the active components and their functionary mechanism of the extract of Brassica alba seeds, which inhibits experimental mice prostatic hyperplasia.

METHODProstatic hyperplasia of castrated male mice induced by testosterone propionate, the penetrability of capillary vessel of mice skin induced by histamine and the endermic flesh bud of rat induced by filter paper were used as experimental models. Sinalbin and beta-sitosterol separated from seeds of Brassica alba were used to test the activities.

RESULTSinalbin and beta-sitosterol(16.0 mg.kg-1.d-1 and 8.0 mg.kg-1.d-1) could significantly inhibit mice prostatic hyperplasia induced by testosterone propionate and activity of serum acid phosphatase(P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), Sinalbin(16.0 mg.kg-1.d-1)could significantly inhibit the hyperplasia of endermic flesh bud in rat induced by filter paper(P < 0.05), beta-sitosterol(16.0 mg.kg-1.d-1 and 8.0 mg.kg-1.d-1) could significantly decrease the penetrability of capillary vessel of mice skin induced by histamine.

CONCLUSIONSinalbin and beta-sitosterol have anti-androgen and anti-inflammation activities.

Androgen Antagonists ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; pharmacology ; Capillary Permeability ; drug effects ; Choline ; analogs & derivatives ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Female ; Male ; Mice ; Mustard Plant ; chemistry ; Orchiectomy ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; blood ; chemically induced ; physiopathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Seeds ; chemistry ; Sitosterols ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Testosterone Propionate

OBJECTIVETo study the effective fraction of the extract of seeds of Brassica alba, which inhibits experimental mice prostatic hyperplasia.

METHODAn experimental model of prostatic hyperplasia of castrated male mice induced by testosterone propionate was made. Fractions I, II and III were prepared by extracting the seeds of Brassica alba successively with ether, ethanol and water under reflux. Total extract was prepared by extracting the seeds of Brassica alba with 60% ethanol under reflux. The total extract and the three fractions were used to test the activities.

RESULTTotal extract, fractions I and II could not only significantly inhibit mice prostatic hyperplasia induced by testosterone propionate and activity of serum acid phosphatase, but also decrease wet weight of preputial glands, while fraction III is inactive.

CONCLUSIONExtract from seeds of Brassica alba can significantly inhibit mice prostatic hyperplasia induced by exterior hormone, possessing an activity of anti-androgen. Fractions I and II show an equivalent activity of total extract, which indicate that these fractions contain active components of seeds of Brassica alba which can inhibit prostatic hyperplasia.

Acid Phosphatase ; blood ; Animals ; Brassica ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Male ; Mice ; Orchiectomy ; Organ Size ; drug effects ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Prostate ; drug effects ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; blood ; chemically induced ; pathology ; Seeds ; chemistry ; Testosterone

BACKGROUNDEndovascular stent-grafting is widely used to treat thoracic aortic dissection. However, little information is available regarding outcome following simultaneous exclusion of multiple tears. This report details eight years of experience using simultaneous multi-tear exclusion for treatment of Stanford type B thoracic aortic dissection resulting in successful aortic remodeling without adverse events.

METHODSFrom September 1998 to January 2006, 29 type B thoracic aortic dissection patients (24 men, 5 women; 27 chronic, 2 acute; mean age 58 years, range 45 - 77 years) were treated by simultaneous multi-tear exclusion in our center. Magnetic resonance angiography was used as the preoperative evaluation method. Different kinds of stent-grafts were used. The patients were followed up with contrast-enhanced spiral computed tomography at 6 months postoperatively and yearly thereafter.

RESULTSTwenty-nine surgeries were completed successfully using at least 2 stent-grafts per patient (range: 2 - 6, mean: 2.7). No major procedure-related complications, such as rupture, paraplegia, aortic branch ischemia or cerebral infarction, were observed. During follow-up, favorable remodeling of the aorta was observed.

CONCLUSIONSThe mid-term result of thoracic aortic dissection with simultaneous multi-tear exclusion was satisfactory. With the improvement of stent-grafts, simultaneous multi-tear exclusion should find wider application and become an optimal strategy for thoracic aortic dissection.

Aged ; Aneurysm, Dissecting ; pathology ; surgery ; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic ; pathology ; surgery ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stents ; Treatment Outcome

Erbin, a member of Leucine-rich repeat and PDZ-containing protein family, was found to inhibit TGF-β-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in our previous study. However, the mechanism of Erbin in regulating EMT is unclear. Semaphorin protein Sema4C, with PDZ binding site at C-terminal has been recognized as a positive regulator of EMT. Here, we aimed to examine the interaction between Erbin and Sema4C. HK2 cells were treated with TGF-β1, or transfected with Erbin and (or) Sema4C. Interaction of Erbin and Sema4C was identified by immunoprecipitation. RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of Erbin and Sema4C at mRNA level after transfection. The expression levels of Erbin, Sema4C, and markers of EMT were measured by using Western blotting or ELISA. After HK2 cells were stimulated with 10 ng/mL TGF-β1 for 72 h, the protein expression levels of Erbin and Sema4C were both up-regulated, and immunoprecipitation results showed Erbin interacted with Sema4C in HK2 cells both at endogenous and exogenous levels. Furthermore, overexpression of Sema4C suppressed E-cadherin, induced vimentin and promoted fibronectin secretion, indicating Sema4C promotes the process of EMT. However, HK2 cells overexpressing Erbin were resistant to Sema4C-induced EMT. In contrast, Erbin specific siRNA promoted EMT induced by Sema4C. Taken together, these results suggest that Erbin can interact with Sema4C, and co-expression of Erbin blocks the process of Sema4C-induced EMT.
Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; genetics ; metabolism ; Blotting, Western ; Cadherins ; metabolism ; Cell Line ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Humans ; Immunoprecipitation ; Kidney Tubules, Proximal ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Protein Binding ; RNA Interference ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Semaphorins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transfection ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; pharmacology ; Vimentin ; metabolism

AIM: To compare the consistency and feasibility of objective ocular torsion measured with GMPE module-based optical coherence tomography(OCT)and fundus color photography(FCP).METHODS: Patients were enrolled in our strabismus clinic from December 2020 to March 2021, and the objective ocular torsion of the eyes was measured by both GMPE module-based OCT and FCP on the same day. FCP was used to measure the fovea-disc angle(FDA)manually by using the Adobe Photoshop software, while the GMPE module-based OCT software positioned automatically the macula and the center of the optic disc to measure the FDA.RESULTS: Fifty-five patients were included, the FDA measured by OCT was -6.6°±4.5° in the right eye and -8.8°±4.7° in the left eye, respectively; The FDA measured by FCP was -6.6°±4.7° in the right eye and -8.4°±4.1° in the left eye, respectively, with no statistically significant difference between the results of the two methods(Pright eye=0.90, Pleft eye=0.08). In patients with exotropia, the FDA measured by OCT was -5.8°±4.9° in the right eye and -9.1°±4.5° in the left eye, respectively, the FDA measured by FCP was -5.7°±5.0° in the right eye and -8.6°±4.3° in the left eye, respectively,(Pright eye=0.75, Pleft eye=0.15). Similarly, the patients with esotropia, the FDA measured by OCT was -9.0°±7.3° in the right eye and -11.3°±3.5° in the left eye, respectively, while the FDA measured by FCP was -10.0°±7.0° in the right and -10.1°±2.8° in the left eye(Pright eye=0.21, Pleft eye=0.10), respectively. There were no significant differences between the two methods in patients with esotropia or exotropia(P>0.05). The results of both Pearson test and Bland-Altman analysis were highly correlated(rright eye=0.93, rleft eye=0.94, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: GMPE module-based OCT can be used for objective ocular torsion measurement with high reliability and reproducibility, and is a promising clinical alternative to the fundus color photographic method.

Objective: To explore the heterogeneity and correlation of clinical phenotypes and genotypes in children with disorders of sex development (DSD). Methods: A retrospective study of 1 235 patients with clinically proposed DSD in 36 pediatric medical institutions across the country from January 2017 to May 2021. After capturing 277 DSD-related candidate genes, second-generation sequencing was performed to analyzed the heterogeneity and correlation combined with clinical phenotypes. Results: Among 1 235 children with clinically proposed DSD, 980 were males and 255 were females of social gender at the time of initial diagnosis with the age ranged from 1 day of age to 17.92 years. A total of 443 children with pathogenic variants were detected through molecular genetic studies, with a positive detection rate of 35.9%. The most common clinical phenotypes were micropenis (455 cases), hypospadias (321 cases), and cryptorchidism (172 cases) and common mutations detected were in SRD5A2 gene (80 cases), AR gene (53 cases) and CYP21A2 gene (44 cases). Among them, the SRD5A2 mutation is the most common in children with simple micropenis and simple hypospadias, while the AMH mutation is the most common in children with simple cryptorchidism. Conclusions: The SRD5A2 mutation is the most common genetic variant in Chinese children with DSD, and micropenis, cryptorchidism, and hypospadias are the most common clinical phenotypes. Molecular diagnosis can provide clues about the biological basis of DSD, and can also guide clinicians to perform specific clinical examinations. Target sequence capture probes and next-generation sequencing technology can provide effective and economical genetic diagnosis for children with DSD.
3-Oxo-5-alpha-Steroid 4-Dehydrogenase/genetics* ; Child ; China/epidemiology* ; Cryptorchidism/genetics* ; Disorders of Sex Development/genetics* ; Female ; Genital Diseases, Male ; Genotype ; Humans ; Hypospadias/genetics* ; Male ; Membrane Proteins/genetics* ; Penis/abnormalities* ; Phenotype ; Retrospective Studies ; Steroid 21-Hydroxylase/genetics*