AIM:To investigate the protective effect of nerve growth factor combined with Ginkgo biloba extract on retinal ischemia-reperfusion (RIR) injury in rabbits with experimental high intraocular pressure.METHODS:Establishment of rabbit glaucoma ischemia reperfusion model.Twenty-four New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into three groups:nerve growth factor group, Ginkgo biloba extract group and combination group.Respectively, in the continuous administration of 1, 7, 14d.We observed the morphological changes of the tissues of the retina.The levels of superoxide dismutase(SOD), nitric oxide(NO) and malondialdehyde(MDA) in retinal tissue were measured.RESULTS:Respectively, first, in the continuous administration of 1, 7, 14d, the contents of MDA and NO in Ginkgo biloba extract group and nerve growth group were higher than that in combination group (P<0.05).Secondly, the SOD content of Ginkgo biloba extract group and nerve growth group were lower than that of combination group at each time point (P<0.05).At each time point, the number of HE staining of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) showed that the loss of RGCs in the combination group was significantly lower than that in the other groups, and the ganglion cell count showed that the Ginkgo biloba extract group and the neuronal growth group were lower (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Nerve growth factor combined with Ginkgo biloba extract has better protective effect on retinal ischemia-reperfusion injury.The mechanism may be related to the decrease of free radicals and increase the activity of SOD in retinal tissue.

A sesquiterpene synthase (AsSS4) full-length open reading frame (ORF) cDNA was cloned from wounded stems of Aquilaria sinensis by RT-PCR method. The result showed that the ORF of AsSS4 was 1,698 bp encoding 565 amino acids. Prokaryotic expression vector pET28a-AsSS4 was constructed and transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3) pLysS. Recombinant AsSS4 protein was obtained after induction by IPTG and SDS-PAGE analysis with a MW of 64 kD. Enzymatic reactions using farnesyl pyrophosphate showed that recombinant AsSS4 protein purified by Ni-agarose gel yielded five sesquiterpene compounds, cyclohexane, 1-ethenyl-1-methyl-2, 4-bis(1-methylethenyl)-, β-elemene, α-guaiene, α-caryophyllene and δ-guaiene. This paper reported the first cloning and functional characterization of AsSS4 gene from A. sinensis, which will establish a foundation for future studies on the molecular mechanisms of wound-induce agarwood formation in A. sinensis
Alkyl and Aryl Transferases ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Azulenes ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; Escherichia coli ; Open Reading Frames ; Polyisoprenyl Phosphates ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Sesquiterpenes ; metabolism ; Sesquiterpenes, Guaiane ; Thymelaeaceae ; enzymology ; genetics

Objective To investigate the effects of neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin(NGAL) on renal tubular epithelial cells apoptosis and apoptosis-regulated protein fas,bcl-2 in rat renal ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI).Methods Renal IRI models of rats were established.Rats were randomly divided into 3 groups,including control group,IRI model group and NGAL group.The pathological change of kidney tissue was investigated by hemotoxylin-eosin staining.Renal tubular epithelial cells apoptosis was detected by TUNEL method.Expression of fas and bcl-2 was measured by real-time PCR and Western blotting.Results Compared with IRI model group,NGAL group showed a decreased number of renal tubular epithelial cells apoptosis [(8.6±3.4)/HP vs (20.8±3.7)/HP,P＜0.05],down-regulated fas mRNA (2.34±0.51 vs 6.84±2.34,P＜ 0.05),fas protein (0.65±0.05 vs 0.95±0.08,P＜0.05) and up-regulated bcl-2 protein (0.33±0.05 vs 0.24±0.03,P＜0.05),but the bcl-2 mRNA had no significant change.Conclusion NGAL can protect renal tubular epithelial cells in renal IRI,which may be associated with decreasing cell apoptosis and adjusting protein expression by apoptosis-regulated cytokines.

Ticks are the vectors of various pathogens, threatening human health and animal production across the globe. Here, for the first time we detected Ricketssia spp., Borrelia spp. and protozoan in ticks from Poyang Lake region in Jiangxi Province of eastern China. In 3 habitat categories and on 12 host species, 311 ticks from 11 species were collected. Haemaphysalis longicornis was the predominant species, accounting for 55.63%, followed by Rhipicephalus microplus, Haemaphysalis flava and Ixodes granulatus. Of the collected ticks, 7.07% were positive for tick-borne pathogens, and H. longicornis and H. flava were found to be co-infected with Ricketssia spp. and protozoan. H. flava was the most detected positive for tick-borne pathogens, whereas H. longicornis had the lowest infection rate, and the difference in infection rates between tick species was significant (χ²=61.24, P < 0.001). Furthermore, adult ticks demonstrated remarkably greater infection rate than immature ticks (χ²=10.12, P=0.018), meanwhile ticks on Erinaceidae showed significantly higher positivity than ticks collected on other host species (χ²=108.44, P < 0.001). Genetic fragment sequencing and analyses showed at least 4 pathogen species presence in ticks, namely Borrelia yangtzensis, Rickettsia slovaca or Rickettsia raoultii related genospecies, Babesia vogeli and Hepatozoon canis or Hepatozoon felis related genospecies. The finding indicates that the abundant ticks can carry diverse pathogens in Poyang Lake region, and pathogen infection is highly related to species, vertebrate hosts and life stages of ticks.
Adult ; Animals ; Babesia ; Borrelia ; Cats ; China ; Ecosystem ; Epidemiology ; Felis ; Hedgehogs ; Humans ; Ixodes ; Lakes ; Rhipicephalus ; Rickettsia ; Risk Factors ; Ticks ; Vertebrates

The study aimed to clone the open reading frame of cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) from Aquilaria sinensis and analyze the bioinformatics and expression of the gene. One unique sequence containing C4H domain was discovered in our previous reported wound transcriptome dataset of A. sinensis. The open reading frame of C4H was cloned by RT-PCR strategy with the template of mixed RNA extracted from A. sinensis stem which treated by different wound time. The bioinformatic analysis of this gene and its corresponding protein was performed. C4H expression profiles in responds to MeJA (methyl jasmonate) application were analyzed by real-time PCR. The length of C4H open reading frame (ORF) was 1 515 bp, encoding 514 amino acids. The GenBank accession number is KF134783. Inducible-experiments showed that the genes were induced by mechanical wound as well as MeJA induction, and reached the highest expression level at 8 h and 20 h, respectively. The full-length cDNA of C4H and its expression patterns will provide a foundation for further research on its function in the molecular mechanisms of aromatic compounds and flavonoids biosynthesis.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Cloning, Molecular ; Models, Molecular ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Open Reading Frames ; Oxidoreductases ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Thymelaeaceae ; chemistry ; enzymology ; genetics ; Trans-Cinnamate 4-Monooxygenase ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism

The tail suspension test (TST), forced swimming test (FST) and chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) model were used to evaluate the anti-depressant effect of supercritical CO2 extract from Compound Chaigui Fang (FFCGF). A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabonomics combined with multivariate statistical analysis was performed to explore the mechanism of FFCGF. Rats were conducted by CUMS procedure for 28 days and drugs were administrated at the same time. The body weight, sucrose preference, crossings and rearings in open-field tests were evaluated and the urine was collected simultaneously. The metabonomic profiles of rats' urine were analyzed by NMR and potential biomarkers were searched by multivariate statistical analysis. The results showed that administration of FFCGF significantly decreasing the immobility time in FST and TST and improving rats' body weight, sucrose preference, crossings and rearings in CUMS, which were indication that the anti-depressant effect of FFCGF was abvious. Significant differences in the metabolic profile of the CUMS treated group and the control group were observed, which were consistent with the results of behavioral tests. Decreased levels of acetic acid, succinic acid, 2-oxidation glutaric acid and citric acid and increased glycine and pyruvic acid in urine were significantly affected by the CUMS procedure and the 6 biomarkers were reversed evidently after administration of FFCGF. These changes were suggestion that the anti-depressant mechanism of FFCGF was associated with energy metabolism, lipid metabolism and amino acid metabolism.
Animals ; Antidepressive Agents ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Behavior, Animal ; drug effects ; Body Weight ; Carbon Dioxide ; chemistry ; Depression ; drug therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Mice

OBJECTIVEIn order to provide scientific basis for introduction breeding and production regionalization of Panax notoginseng, the environment of producing area, agronomic traits and medicinal material output were investigated.

METHODUsing field survey sampling at harvest time, agronomic traits indicators of leaf segment, stem segment and roots segment etc. of commodity P. notoginseng, longitude and latitude, elevation, soil type, landform of producing area were measured and observed.

RESULTThe P. notogiseng cultivation was expanding from traditional area like Wenshang to new areas as Honghe, Kunming, Qujing at large scale. Comparing with traditional cultivated fields, the elevation of new fields, which are red soil of moderate or low mountain slopes and gentle hills between 1 800-2 130 m, increases markedly. The agronomic traits of new cultivated fields such as plant height, stem diameter, the ground and underground biomass were better than those of traditional cultivated fields in varying degree. Furthermore, the root weight, taproot weight, taproot length and other agronomic index augmented more than 20%. Comparison among different cultivated fields showed P. notoginseng of Honghe Shiping Niujie, Kunming Shilin Guishan, Honghe Jiangshui Guanting etc. had better agronomic traits, the plant were thick and tall, the taproot and the top of reed were large, the number of root was more. Inversely, P. notoginseng of Kunming Guandu Xiaoshao, Guangxi Jingxi Lutong, Wenshang Yanshan Jiangna were thin and small. Cluster analysis showed that cultivated fields of P. notoginseng which was across clustered by traditional and new cultivated fields can be divided into three groups, including a high-yielding region insist of three new cultivated fields Honghe Shiping Niujie, Kunming Shilin Guishan, Honghe Jiangshui Guanting and one traditional cultivated field Wenshan Yanshan Jiangna. Correlation analysis indicated that the size and weight of taproot and top of reed were significantly positive correlated with plant height, stem diameter, leaf size, leaf weight and stem weight. Regression analysis pointed out that stem diameter, leaf width, leaf length/width, leaf weight were the main factors affecting the dry weight of taproot, and the main factors influencing the dry weight of top of reed were plant height, petiole, leaf length, leaf width and other agronomic traits.

CONCLUSIONFrom agronomic traits, P. notoginseng in new cultivated fields were more robust than that in traditional fields, but besides the length of taproot, the difference of rest agronomic traits didn't reach the significant level. It is suggested that, in the west and the north of traditional area, the red soil land of moderate or low mountain slopes and gentle hills where the elevation is between 1 800-2 130 m is suitable for cultivating P. notoginseng. Honghe Shiping Niujie, Honghe Jianshui Guanting, Kuming Shilin Gongshan can be used as vital development area for commodity P. notoginseng.

Agriculture ; methods ; Breeding ; China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Panax notoginseng ; chemistry ; classification ; genetics ; growth & development ; Quality Control ; Quantitative Trait Loci ; Soil ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of c9,t11-conjugated linoleic acid on the killing ability of macrophage to B16-MB cells in C57 mice and explore its possible mechanism.

METHODSThe five levels of CLA was designed as 0, 25, 50, 75, 100 micro mol/L. After macrophage was treated with CLA for 24 h, the killing ability of macrophage on B16-MB cells was evaluated by MTT, The expression of C57 mice macrophage cytokine IL-6, TNF-alpha and iNOS mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. The expression of Erk protein was examined by Western Blot assay.

RESULTSThe inhibitory effect of macrophage on tumor cell depend on the treatment of the increased c9,t11-CLA level, at the same time, the expression of IL-6, TNF-alpha and iNOS mRNA increased, the expression of Erk decreased with the elevating dose of CLA.

CONCLUSIONSc9,t11-CLA could increase the killing ability of macrophage in mice to B16-MB cells, and it was associated with induction of IL-6, TNF-alpha and iNOS mRNA expression. We speculate that antitumor ability of CLA may be associated with taking part in body immune regulation action, and the effects of CLA on the killing ability of murine macrophage to B16-MB cells was not associated with the MAPKErk pathway.

Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Division ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Coculture Techniques ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Interleukin-6 ; genetics ; Linoleic Acids, Conjugated ; pharmacology ; Macrophages ; drug effects ; physiology ; Melanoma, Experimental ; pathology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; drug effects ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; genetics

Objective To investigate the effect of chlorhexidine gluconate in prevention of surgical site infection ( SSI ) . Methods Randomized controlled clinical trial method was used in the study. Comparison was made in the rates of SSI between the experiment group using 2% chlorhexidine gluconate and the control group. Results The rate of SSI in experiment group was significantly lower than that in control group (0.83% vs.5.83%, χ2 =3.23,P =0.035).Differences of hospital stay, total cost, infection in other sites and mortality rate of SSI were not statistically significant between the two groups ( P>0 .05 ) . Conclusion Preoperative head disinfection by chlorhexidine gluconate has remarkable effect in prevention of cerebral surgical site infection.