In traditional clinical application, Coptidis Rhizome and Evodiae Fructus have been combined to treat various stomach heat and cold syndromes, gastritis, gastric ulcer and the like. With the application of modem instruments and the development of molecular pharmacologic theory, their chemical constituents and pharmacological effects have been sufficiently studied. In this paper, literatures from Pubmed were adopted, with particular emphasis on findings of international counterparts and studies on compatibility of main chemical components in Coptidis Rhizoma and Evodiae Fructus, in order to elaborate on the scientific comparability of Coptidis Rhizoma and Evodiae Fructus through chemical analysis, and pharmacological and biopharmaceutics studies and introduce the future development trend of the studies.
Animals ; Drug Interactions ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Evodia ; chemistry ; Fruit ; chemistry ; Humans ; Ranunculaceae ; chemistry ; Rhizome ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo observe the central nervous system symptoms and alterations in the blood indicators in rats within a short term after benzene poisoning.

METHODTwenty-four female SD rats were randomized into 4 equal groups to receive intraperitoneal injection of low-, medium- or high-dose benzene (39.05, 78.11, and 234.33 mg/kg, respectively) or peanut oil. Blood samples were taken from the rats via the femoral artery 24 h after the injections for routine blood test and liver and kidney function test.

RESULTSIntraperitoneal injection of benzene at a high dose, but not at a low or medium dose, caused obvious symptoms in the central nervous system. Benzene either at a low or medium dose did not produce obvious changes in routine blood test or liver and kidney function test as compared with the control group, but a high dose resulted in significant changes in WBC, PLT, ALT and AST (P<0.05). Abnormalities in the renal function were found in none of the groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONExposure to high-dose benzene can result in abnormalities in the central nervous system, routine blood indicators and liver function, but does not obviously affect the kidney function in rats.

Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Animals ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Benzene ; toxicity ; Blood Cell Count ; Central Nervous System Diseases ; chemically induced ; Female ; Kidney ; drug effects ; Liver ; drug effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective Sperm screening is an essential step in IVF procedures. The swim-up method, an assay on sperm motility, is used clinically to select the ideal sperm for subsequent manipulation. However, additional parameters, including acrosome reaction capability, chemotaxis, and thermotaxis are also important indicators of mammalian sperm health. To monitor both sperm motility and chemotaxis simultaneously during sperm screening, we designed and constructed a microdevice comprising a straight channel connected with a bi-branch channel that mimics the mammalian female reproductive tract. Methods The width and length of the straight channel were optimized to select the motile sperm. Cumulus cells were selectively cultured in the bi-branch channel to generate a chemoattractant-forming chemical gradient. Sperm chemotaxis was represented by the ratio of the sperm swimming towards different branches. Results The percentage of motile sperm was improved from ( 58. 5 ± 3. 8 ) % to ( 82. 6±2.9)% by a straight channel 7 mm in length and 1 mm in width. About 10% of sperm were found chemotactically responsive in our experiment, which is consistent with previous studies. Conclusion The combined evaluation of both sperm motility and chemotaxis was achieved for the first time, and the motile and chemotactically responsive sperm can be easily enriched on a lab-on-a-chip device to improve IVF outcome.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the value of PowerPlex21 System (Promega) and study the genetic polymorphism of its 20 short-tandem repeat (STR) loci in southern Chinese Han population.

METHODSWe conducted genotyping experiments using PowerPlex21 System on 20 autosomal STR loci (D3S1358, D1S1656, D6S1043, D13S317, Penta E, D16S539, D18S51, D2S1338, CSF1PO, Penta D, TH01, vWA, D21S11, D7S820, D5S818, TPOX, D8S1179, D12S391, D19S433 and FGA) in 2367 unrelated Chinese Han individuals living in South China. The allele frequencies and parameters commonly used in forensic science were statistically analyzed in these individuals and compared with the reported data of other populations.

RESULTSThe PowerPlex21 System had a power of discrimination (PD) ranging from 0.7839 to 0.9852 and a power of exclusion (PE) ranging from 0.2974 to 0.8099 for the 20 loci. No significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg expectations was found for all the loci except for D5S818. This southern Chinese Han population had significant differences in the allele frequencies from 8 ethnic groups reported in China, and showed significant differences at 8 to 20 STR foci from 5 foreign populations. The allele frequency at the locus D1S1656 in this southern Chinese Han population differed significantly from those in the 5 foreign populations and from 3 reported Han populations in Beijing, Zhejiang Province and Fujian Province of China. The neighbor-joining phylogenetictree showed clustering of all the Asian populations in one branch, while the northern Italian and Argentina populations clustered in a separate branch. This southern Chinese Han population had the nearest affinity with the Yi ethnic population in Yunnan Province of China.

CONCLUSIONThe 20 STR loci are highly polymorphic in this southern Chinese Han population, suggesting the value of this set of STR loci in forensic personal identification, paternity testing and anthropological study.

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; China ; Cluster Analysis ; Ethnic Groups ; Forensic Sciences ; Gene Frequency ; Genetics, Population ; Genotype ; Humans ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Polymorphism, Genetic

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of urotensin II (U II) on the nitric oxide (NO) production in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. The endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) mRNA expression was assessed by semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The activity of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and NO content in cardiomyocytes were measured. The current results showed that U inhibited eNOS mRNA expression, the NOS activity and the NO production of cardiomyocytes. U II (0.1 micromol/L) inhibited the NOS activity and the NO production in cardiomyocytes in a time-dependent manner. These results suggest that the cardiovascular effect of U II might be partially associated with NO production in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes.
Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Cells, Cultured ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III ; metabolism ; Rats ; Urotensins ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo compare the clinical efficacy in the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR) of lung qi deficiency and cold syndrome between Jin's three-needle therapy and western medication.

METHODSSixty-six patients were randomized into an acupuncture group and a western medication group, 33 cases in each one. In the acupuncture group, acupuncture was applied at three-nose points [Yingxiang (LI 20), Shangyingxiang (EX-HN 8) and Yintang (GV 29); Cuanzhu (BL 2) was added for frontal headache] and three-back points [Dazhu (BL 11), Fengmen (BL 12) and Feishu (BL 13)], once every day. Ten treatments made one session. Two sessions of treatment were required. In the western medication group, desloratadine oral suspension was prescribed, 5 mg each time, once a day, for 20 days. The scores of the symptoms and physical signs in AR patients as well as the clinical efficacy were observed between the two groups.

RESULTSThe total effective rate was 93.9% (31/33) in the acupuncture group, which was better than 72.7% (24/33) in the western medication group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the scores of AR symptoms and physical signs as well as the total score were all reduced compared with those before treatment in the two groups (all P < 0.01). The score of every item in the acupuncture group was lower than that in the western medication group after treatment (score of symptoms: 4.70 +/- 2.07 vs 6.55 +/- 2. 69, score of physical signs: 0.85 +/- 0.67 vs 1.45 +/- +0.62, total score: 5.36 +/- 2.70 vs 8.00 +/- 2.91, all P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONJin's three-needle therapy achieves superior efficacy on AR of lung-qi deficiency and cold syndrome, which is better than desloratadine oral suspension.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; instrumentation ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Lung ; physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Needles ; Qi ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Young Adult

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of the Yap1 gene and tanshinone ⅡA on the proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of Huh-7 hepatoma cells. MethodsA total of 10 pairs of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) samples and adjacent tissue samples were collected in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from June 1 to December 1, 2019. Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting were used to measure the expression of the Yap1 gene and phenotype-related molecules. MTT cell proliferation detection reagent was used to measure the inhibition rate of cell proliferation after the treatment with different concentrations of tanshinone ⅡA. Western blotting was used to measure the changes in the expression of apoptosis-and migration-related markers after different interventions. Flow cytometry and Transwell assay were used to measure apoptosis and cell migration and invasion abilities. The data of 375 cases of liver cancer and 50 cases of relatively normal liver tissue samples were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas, including clinicopathological information. The t-test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups, and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. ResultsIn 8 of the 10 pairs of HCC samples and adjacent tissue samples, HCC samples had significantly higher expression of Yap1 than the adjacent tissue samples. Compared with the normal human liver epithelial cells L02, the Huh-7 and HCCL-M3 hepatoma cells had a significant increase in the expression of Yap1. The silencing efficiency of si-Yap1-3 transfection reached 87.004% at the protein level. MTT results showed that tanshinone ⅡA effectively inhibited the proliferation of Huh-7 cells, with a half inhibitory concentration of 8.683 μmol/L. After the cells were treated with si-Yap1-3 and tanshinone ⅡA, there was an increase in the expression of the downstream marker for proliferation and migration E-cadherin and a reduction in the expression of vimentin, and the results of Transwell assay showed that compared with the si-NC group, the tanshinone ⅡA+si-Yap1-3 group had significant reductions in the migration and invasion abilities of Huh-7 cells (migration: 43.19±2.88 vs 132.20±10.03, t=8.527, P=0.001; invasion: 53.95±4.20 vs 179.10±11.11, t=4.484, P=0.011). The group treated with si-Yap1-3 and tanshinone ⅡA had an increase in the expression of the apoptosis-related marker Bax and a reduction in the expression of Bcl-2, as well as a significantly higher early apoptosis rate than the si-NC group (2598% vs 9.21%, χ2=4.078, P＜0.05). ConclusionOncogene Yap1 silencing combined with tanshinone ⅡA can promote the apoptosis of Huh-7 hepatoma cells and inhibit their migration and invasion, which can provide certain guiding significance for clinical medication.

Objective To investigate the relation between expression of JARID1B/KDM5B in invasive breast cancer tissue and circulating tumor cells of invasive breast patients. Methods The S-P immunohistochemical method was used to observe the expression of JARID1B/KDM5B in lesions.imFISH method was used to detect circulation tumor cells. Results Twenty-seven cases of patients showed CTC positive(the number of CTC was more than or equal to 2) in 35 invasive breast cancer cases,The results of JARID1B/KDM5B expression were as follows:(-) (n=0) and (+) in 1 case,(++) in 3 cases,(+++) in 23 cases,8 cases of negative cases (the number of CTC < 2), JARID1B/KDM5B immune group of results:(-) (n=2),(+) in 2 cases,(++) in 1 case,(+++) in 3 cases, The positive relation was found in expression of JARID1B/KDM5B and circulating tumor cells(P<0.05). Conclu-sions JARID1B/KDM5B positive expression in tumor tissues has a certain significance in predicting the recurrence and metastasis of tumor.

OBJECTIVETo study the pulmonary pathology in patients died of fatal human influenza A(H1N1) infection.

METHODSEight cases of fatal human influenza A (H1N1) infection, including 2 autopsy cases and 6 paramortem needle puncture biopsies, were enrolled into the study. Histologic examination, immunohistochemitry, flow cytometry and Western blotting were carried out.

RESULTSThe major pathologic changes included necrotizing bronchiolitis with surrounding inflammation, diffuse alveolar damage and pulmonary hemorrhage. Influenza viral antigen expression was detected in the lung tissue by Western blotting. Immunohistochemical study demonstrated the presence of nuclear protein and hemagglutinin virus antigens in parts of trachea, bronchial epithelium and glands, alveolar epithelium, macrophages and endothelium. Flow cytometry showed that the apoptotic rate of type II pneumocytes (32.15%, 78.15%) was significantly higher than that of the controls (1.93%, 3.77%).

CONCLUSIONNecrotizing bronchiolitis, diffuse alveolar damage and pulmonary hemorrhage followed by pulmonary fibrosis in late stage are the major pathologic changes in fatal human influenza A (H1N1) infection.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Alveolar Epithelial Cells ; pathology ; Antigens, Viral ; metabolism ; Apoptosis ; Autopsy ; Biopsy, Needle ; Bronchiolitis, Viral ; pathology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus ; metabolism ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype ; immunology ; Influenza, Human ; metabolism ; mortality ; pathology ; virology ; Lung ; immunology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nuclear Proteins ; metabolism ; Pulmonary Alveoli ; pathology ; Pulmonary Fibrosis ; pathology ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVEEarly diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is difficult due to the insufficient specificity of the conventional examination method. This study was to investigate potential and consistent biomarkers for NPC, particularly for early detection of NPC.

METHODSA proteomic pattern was identified in a training set (134 NPC patients and 73 control individuals) using the surface-enhanced laser desorption and ionization-mass spectrometry (SELDI-MS), and used to screen the test set (44 NPC patients and 25 control individuals) to determine the screening accuracy. To confirm the accuracy, it was used to test another group of 52 NPC patients and 32 healthy individuals at 6 months later.

RESULTSEight proteomic biomarkers with top-scored peak mass/charge ratios (m/z) of 8605 Da, 5320 Da, 5355 Da, 5380 Da, 5336 Da, 2791 Da, 7154 Da, and 9366 Da were selected as the potential biomarkers of NPC with a sensitivity of 90.9% (40/44) and a specificity of 92.0% (23/25). The performance was better than the current diagnostic method by using the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) capsid antigen IgA antibodies (VCA/IgA). Similar sensitivity (88.5%) and specificity (90.6%) were achieved in another group of 84 samples.

CONCLUSIONSELDI-MS profiling might be a potential tool to identify patients with NPC, particularly at early clinical stages.

Adult ; Aged ; Algorithms ; Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; Antigens, Viral ; blood ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Capsid Proteins ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; blood ; diagnosis ; Neoplasm Proteins ; blood ; Proteomics ; methods ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization ; methods