Betatrophin,discovered in 2013,is a protein secreted by liver,white adipose tissues,and brown adipose tissues.Betatrophin can improve glucose tolerance in mice by promoting islet β cell proliferation and increasing the number of β cells significantly and specifically.At the same time,Betatrophin is involved in lipid metabolism.Betatrophin may work as the new target for treatment of diabetes and disorders of lipid metabolism.

Objective:To develop an HPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of rosuvastatin in plasma and study the relative bioavailability and bioequivalence of the capsules and tablets in Chinese healthy volunteers. Methods: A single oral dose (20 mg of the test or reference preparation) was given to 24 male healthy volunteers in a randomized crossover study. The plasma concentration of rosuvastatin was determined by HPLC-MS/MS. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated and the bioavailability and bioequiva-lence of the two preparations were evaluated by DAS 3. 0 software. Results:After a single dose, the pharmacokinetic parameters of ro-suvastatin capsules and tablets were as follows:Tmax was (3. 56 ± 1. 68) h and (3. 63 ± 1. 56) h, Cmax was (21. 17 ± 13. 74) ng· ml-1 and (26.33 ±23.22) ng·ml-1, t1/2 was (10.68 ±5.50) h and (9.04 ±6.00) h, AUC0-t was (219.31 ±146.09) ng·h· ml-1 and (252. 43 ± 194. 96) ng·h·ml-1 , AUC0-∞ was (225. 32 ± 146. 76) ng·h·ml-1 and (257. 24 ± 194. 61) ng·h·ml-1 , respectively. The 90% confidential interval of AUC0-t, AUC0-∞ and Cmax was 81. 1%-106% , 81. 8%-105. 4% and 77. 9%-104. 5%, respectively. The mean relative bioavailability of the test preparation(the capsules) to the reference preparation(the tablets) was (100. 7 ± 54. 1)%. Conclusion:The test and reference preparations are bioequivalent.

Industrial microorganisms are subject to various stress conditions, including products and substrates inhibitions. Therefore, improvement of stress tolerance is of great importance for industrial microbial production. Acetic acid is one of the major inhibitors in the cellulosic hydrolysates, which affects seriously on cell growth and metabolism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Studies on the molecular mechanisms underlying adaptive response and tolerance of acetic acid of S. cerevisiae benefit breeding of robust strains of industrial yeast for more efficient production. In recent years, more insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying acetic acid tolerance have been revealed through analysis of global gene expression and metabolomics analysis, as well as phenomics analysis by single gene deletion libraries. Novel genes related to response to acetic acid and improvement of acetic acid tolerance have been identified, and novel strains with improved acetic acid tolerance were constructed by modifying key genes. Metal ions including potassium and zinc play important roles in acetic acid tolerance in S. cerevisiae, and the effect of zinc was first discovered in our previous studies on flocculating yeast. Genes involved in cell wall remodeling, membrane transport, energy metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis and transport, as well as global transcription regulation were discussed. Exploration and modification of the molecular mechanisms of yeast acetic acid tolerance will be done further on levels such as post-translational modifications and synthetic biology and engineering; and the knowledge obtained will pave the way for breeding robust strains for more efficient bioconversion of cellulosic materials to produce biofuels and bio-based chemicals.
Acetic Acid ; pharmacology ; Genomics ; Industrial Microbiology ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; drug effects ; genetics

Objective To investigate the expression of PCNA in gastric cancer and its relationship with telomerase activity of peritoneal washings and peritoneal dissemination, and to compare the efficacy of telomerase activity and cytology of peritoneal washings for prediction of peritoneal metastasis of gastric cancer. Methods Telomeric repeated amplification protocol (TRAP)-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to measure the telomerase activity of peritoneal washings collected from 60 patients with gastric cancer. Exfoliate cytologic analysis of the corresponding samples was used for comparison.Expression of PCNA was measured with immunohistochemical staining.Their relationship with clinicopathologic features were evaluated. Results The positive rate of telomerase activity in peritoneal washing collected from patients with gastric cancer was 41.7%,which well related to serosal invasion, histology types, depth of infiltration and peritoneal metastasis of gastric cancer. The positive rate of telomerase activity increased with the increased depth of infiltration and serosal involvement areas (P

OBJECTIVE:To establish a method for the simultaneous determination of costunolide and dehydrocostus lactone in Haoweilai soft capsule. METHODS:HPLC was performed on the column of Dikma C18 with mobile phase of acetonitrile- water (V/V,55∶45) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min,detection wavelength was 225 nm,column temperature was 25 ℃,and the injection volume was 10 μl. RESULTS:The linear range were 24.00-108.00 μg/ml(r=0.999 7) for costunolide and 20.88-93.98 μg/ml for dehydrocostus lactone (r=0.999 8);RSDs of precision,stability and reproducibility tests were lower than 1%;recoveries were 98.71%-100.00%(RSD=0.25%,n=6)and 96.88%-99.18%(RSD=0.40%,n=6). CONCLUSIONS:The method is simple with good stability and reproducibility,and can be used for the simultaneous determination of costunolide and dehydrocostus lactone in Haoweilai soft capsule.

Objective To investigate the changes in circulatory and pulmonary monary angiotensinⅡin rats with acite lung injury(ALI)and explore the role of angiotensinⅡin ALI.Method Thirty S-D rats were randomly divided into control group(n=6)and ALI group(n=24).The ALI group was further divided into four subgroups of observation at various intervals,3,6,9 and 12 hours after administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)into the femoral vein(each n=6).The indices rate,blood gas analysis,wet weight/dry weight(W/D)ratio of lung lobes,and pathological changes were successively observed at 3,6,9,and 12 hours after injury.The content of angiotensinⅡin lung tissue and blood plasma were detected at above set intervals by radioimmunoassay.Data of these assays were analyzed by one-factor analysis of variance.Results Compare with the control group,pH and PaO2 of arterial blood in ALI group decreased significantly(P＜0.05)at all intervals and PaCO2 of arterial blood in ALI group decreased significanfly(P＜0.05).at all intervals and PaCO2 of arterial blood and lung W/D weight ratio increased significantly(P＜0.05),and scores of lung histopathology denoted the lung injuried(P＜0.01).After injury of lung,angiotensin Ⅱ content increased markedly in lung homogenate and blood plasma (P＜0.05).Angiotensin Ⅱ content in blood plasma reached peak value at 9 hours,and content of angiotensin Ⅱ in lung homogenates kept on increasing at allintervals of observation.Conclusions A large amount of angiotensin Ⅱ releases into lung tissue and blood plasma during ALI,suggesting systemic and pulmonary rennin-angiotensin systems are activated.

Objective To explore the effect of mouse proliferation-associated protein 2G4 (p38-2G4) high-expression on the proliferation and erythriod differentiation of murine erythroleukemia ( MEL ) cells.Methods To establish the recombinant lentivirus vector p 38-2G4-pLJM1, the p38-2G4-pLJM1 was cotransfected into HEK293T cells to obtain lentivirus with pCMV-VSV-G and pCMV-dR8.2.Lentivirus were infected into MEL cells to establish the stably p 38-2G4 high-expressed MEL cells.Western blotting was used to analyse the high-expression efficiency.MTT assay and benzidine staining were applied to detect the cell viability and hemoglobin synthesis of the stable cell line in presence /absence of inducers.Results Western blotting showed that the p38-2G4 high-expression stable cell strain had a higher expression of p38-2G4 as compared to the control group ( MEL) ( P <0.05).MTT result showed that there was no difference between the p38-2G4 high-expression cell strain and the control group (P>0.05), but the hemoglobin synthesis had been reduced as compared to the control group (P<0.05).Conclusion p38-2G4 high-expression does not affect the cell viability of MEL cells , but inhibits the erythriod differentiation of MEL cells in three independent experiments .

A total of 52 endophytic fungi were isolated from roots and stems of Tibetan medicinal plant Phlomis younghusbandii Mukerjee. These fungal isolates were molecularly identified based on ITS sequnces and 28S sequences distributed to 12 genera, including Phoma, Chaetosphaeronema, Fusarium and Leptosphaeria, etc. Among them, the dominant genus was Phoma. Extracts of all strains were evaluated for anti-HIV-1 integrase activity by using soluable integrase expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The results showed that seven samples from five fungal endophytes PHY-24, PHY-38, PHY-40, PHY-51, PHY-53, which belonged to genus Chaetosphaeronema, inhibited strand transfer reaction catalyzed by HIV-1 integrase with IC50 values, of 6.60, 5.20, 2.86, 7.86, 4.47, 4.56 and 3.23 microg x mL(-1) respectively. In conclusion, the endophytic fungi of Phlomis younghusbandii Mukerjee are valuable for further screening anti-HIV-1 integrase agents.

S-Adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) is a key enzyme in the polyamines biosynthesis, thus is essential for basic physiological and biochemical processes in plant. In the present study, a full length cDNA of DoSAMDC1 gene was obtained from symbiotic germinated seeds of an endangered medicinal orchid species Dendrobium officinale, using the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE)-PCR technique for the first time. The full length cDNA was 1 979 bp, with three open reading frames, i.e. tiny-uORF, small-uORF and main ORF (mORF). The mORF was deduced to encode a 368 amino acid (aa) protein with a molecular mass of 40.7 kD and a theoretical isoelectric point of 5.2. The deduced DoSAMDC1 protein, without signal peptide, had two highly conserved function domains (proenzyme cleavage site and PEST domain) and a 22-aa transmembrane domain (89-110). Multiple sequence alignments and phylogenetic relationship analyses revealed DoSAMDC1 had a higher level of sequence similarity to monocot SAMDCs than those of dicot. Expression patterns using qRT-PCR analyses showed that DoSAMDC1 transcripts were expressed constitutively without significant change in the five tissues (not infected with fungi). While in the symbiotic germinated seeds, the expression level was enhanced by 2.74 fold over that in the none-germinated seeds, indicating possible involvement of the gene in symbiotic seed germination of D. officinale.

Objective To evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness and clinical application of B ultrasound/CT-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in treating hypersplenism due to portal hypertension. Methods B ultrasound/CT-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation was carried out in 28 patients with hypersplenism associated with portal hypertension. Routine blood counts, liver functions and prothrombin time were determined before RFA and 2 days, 2 weeks, one, 3, 6 and 10 months after RFA separately. The results were analyzed and compared. Enhanced CT scanning reexamination was performed immediately after RFA and one week, one, 3 and 10 months after RFA separately. The volume of ablated spleen tissue was calculated with CT post-processing software. Results The mean operation time was (3.8 ± 1.1) hours and the mean ablation time was (2.7 ± 0.8) hours. The ablated volume of the spleen accounted for 20% - 80% of the whole spleen, with a mean of 50.5% ± 10.3%. Two days after RFA, the platelet count decreased to (19.5 ± 12.1) × 109/L, while the white blood cell count reached its peak value of (5.4+0.2) × 109. From two weeks to 10 months after RFA the white blood cell counts and platelet counts, the liver function, and the prothrombin time were significantly improved when compared with preoperative ones, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Pathologically, hepatic proliferation could be seen within the cirrhotic liver after RFA. Child-Pugh score was grade A in all patients except one patient with Child-Pugh grade C who developed abdominal distention and bloody ascites after RFA. No other severe complications occurred. Conclusion For hypersplenism due to portal hypertension, B ultrasound/CT-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation is a safe, effective and minimally - invasive treatment.