Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Benzopyrenes ; administration & dosage ; toxicity ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; pathology ; Injections, Intraventricular ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Human xanthine oxidase is considered to be a target for therapy of hyperuricemia. Cichorium intybus is a Chinese plant medicine which widely used in Xinjiang against various diseases. In order to screen the inhibitors of xanthine oxidase from C. intybus and to explore main pharmacological actions of cichory a compound collection of C. intybus was built via consulting related references about chemical research on cichory. The three-dimensional crystal structure of xanthine oxidase (PDB code: 1N5X) from Protein Data Bank was downloaded.. Autodock 4.2 was employed to screen the inhibitors of xanthine oxidase from cichory 70 compounds were found to possess quite low binding free energy comparing with TEI (febuxostat). C. intybus contains constituents possessing potential inhibitive activity against xanthine oxidase. It can explain the main pharmacological actions of cichory which can significantly lower the level of serum uric acid.
Chicory ; chemistry ; Databases, Protein ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Enzyme Inhibitors ; chemistry ; Humans ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Molecular Structure ; Xanthine Oxidase ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) on apoptosis of neuronal cells and expression of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins and to explore the mechanism of neurotoxicity induced by BaP in rats.

METHODSA total of 32 SD rats were divided randomly into 4 groups, i.e. 3 BaP (126.2, 63.1 and 31.5 µg/kg) groups and a solvent control (50 µg/kg olive oil) group. All rats were exposed to BaP or olive oil by lateral cerebral ventricle micro-injection 1 time a week for 3 weeks. The apoptosis of neuronal cells was detected with TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nicked labeling (TUNEL) assay and the expression levels of Bcl-2 and Bax were measured with SABC immunohistochemistry in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus tissues of rats.

RESULTSThe results of TUNEL assay showed that apoptosis bodies on the surface of the neurons in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus were clearly observed and the number of apoptosis bodies increased with BaP. Apoptosis indexes (AIs) of the rat cerebral cortex and hippocampus in high exposure group were significantly higher than those in control group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). The analysis of immunohistochemistry showed that the Bcl-2 expression levels significantly decreased, the Bax expression levels obviously increased and the ratio of Bcl-2 to Bax decreased in the rat cerebral cortex and hippocampus of medium and high exposure groups, as compared with control group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). In the rat cerebral cortex and hippocampus, there were the negative correlation (r = -0.927, P < 0.01; r = -0.934, P < 0.01) between AI and Bcl-2, the positive correlation (r = 0.858, P < 0.01; r = 0.847, P < 0.01) between AI and Bax and the negative correlation (r = -0.939, P < 0.01; r = -0.942, P < 0.01) between AI and Bcl-2/Bax.

CONCLUSIONBaP could induce the apoptosis of neuronal cells in the rat cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Bcl-2 and Bax protein expression may play an important role in the apoptosis of neuronal cells induced by BaP.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Benzo(a)pyrene ; toxicity ; Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Neurons ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the changes of mitochondria membrane potential and cytoplasma cytochrome C as the mechanism of neuron apoptosis induced by B(a)P.

METHODSPrimary neurons were dissociated from cerebral cortex of 1 - 3 days old SD rats and cultured with DMEM incubator at 37 degrees C. After 5 days' cultivation, the neurons were added S9 and B(a)P, and the concentrations of treated B(a)P were 0, 10, 20 and 40 micromol/L respectively. After administering of B(a)P, the neurons were cultivated for 40 hours. Apoptosis rate was measured by flow cytometry using Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide (PI) staining, and the changes in mitochondrial potential (DeltaPsim) were tested with Rhodamine fluorescence (R2123) technique. Preparation of cytosolic extracts by centrifugation. Western blotting analysis was used to evaluate the level of cytochrome C of cytoplasm.

RESULTSThe apoptotic rate of neuron increased in both the middle dose group and the high dose group compared with controls, and had a dose-response tendency with the concentration of B(a)P. Moreover mitochondrial potential decreased in a dose dependent manner. There was a negative correlation between DeltaPsim and the apoptotic rate of neurons (r = -0.763, P < 0.05); Western blotting analysis showed cytoplasmic cytochrome C level increased significantly, which was positively related with neuron apoptosis (r = 0.831, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONLoss of mitochondria membrane potential and increase of cytoplasma cytochrome C may be the main cause of neuron apoptosis induced by B(a)P.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Benzo(a)pyrene ; toxicity ; Cells, Cultured ; Cytochromes c ; metabolism ; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial ; Mitochondria ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Neurons ; cytology ; drug effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVE: CDKN2B-AS1 polymorphisms were shown to associate with the risk of stroke in European. The goal of this study was to evaluate the contribution of CDKN2B-AS1 rs1333049 to the risk of hemorrhagic stroke (HS) and brain tumor (BT) in Han Chinese. METHODS: A total of 142 HSs, 115 BTs, and 494 controls were included in the current association study. The genotyping test was performed using the melting temperature shift method. RESULTS: We failed to validate the association of CDKN2B-AS1 rs1333049 with the risk of brain disease. Significantly higher levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (p=0.027), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (p<0.001) and total cholesterol (TC) (p<0.001) were found in HSs in the genotype GG/GC carriers, but not the genotype CC carriers (p>0.05). The meta-analysis of 10 studies among 133,993 individuals concluded that rs1333049 of CDKN2B-AS1 gene was likely to increase a 16% incidence rate of cerebrovascular disease (CD) among various populations (odds ratio 1.16, 95% confidence interval 1.08–1.25; p<0.0001, random-effect method). CONCLUSION: Our case-control study identified rs1333049 genotypes showed different association with the concentration of the LDL-C, HDL-C and TC in the HS patients. Meta-analysis supported the association between rs1333049 and CD risk in various populations, although we were unable to observe association between rs1333049 and the risk of HSs in Han Chinese.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Brain Diseases* ; Brain Neoplasms ; Brain* ; Case-Control Studies* ; Cerebrovascular Disorders ; Cholesterol ; Freezing ; Genotype ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lipoproteins ; Methods ; Stroke

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) on capability of learning and memory and the content of amino acid neurotransmitters in hippocampus of rats.

METHODSThirty-two healthy, male SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups according to their weights after intubated into ventricles: the solvent control group, 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 mmol/L groups. 10 microl of B[a]P olive oil solutions, of different concentrations 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 mmol/L, were injected into rats' lateral ventricles, respectively. Rats in the solvent control group were injected into the same volume of olive oil as that in B[a]P group. Rats' capability of learning and memory was tested by Morris water maze. The content of amino acid neurotransmitters in rats' hippocampus were determined by high performance liquid chromatogram with a fluorescence detector.

RESULTSCompared with the controls, the performances of learning and memory of rats decreased significantly in B[a]P treated groups (P<0.01). Levels of glutamate (Glu) were lower significantly in treated groups than that in controls (P<0.01). No significant differences were found in contents of aspartic acid (Asp), glycine (Gly) and aminobutyric acid (GABA) among the four groups.

CONCLUSIONB[a]P can damage rats' spatial learning and memory, and which could be related to decreased contents of excitatory amino acids in hippocampus.

Amino Acids ; metabolism ; Animals ; Benzo(a)pyrene ; toxicity ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Maze Learning ; drug effects ; Memory ; drug effects ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo study the relationship between polymorphism of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) gene in G1661A and the level of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene among coke oven workers.

METHODS295 male subjects were studied, including 214 workers working in coke oven plant and 81 controls working in raw material plant who were not generally exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons occupationally. General in-formation of subjects were collected in a specific questionnaire including age, smoking and drinking habits, the history of occupation and so on. The AhR genotypes were detected by allele specific amplification (ASA), and the levels of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene were measured by high performance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector.

RESULTSThe frequencies of G/G, G/A and A/A genotype were 52.8% (113/214), 27.6% (59/214) and 19.6% (42/214) in exposed group and 67.9% (55/81), 19.8% (16/81) and 12.3% (10/81) in control group, respectively. No significant difference was found in three genotypes between the exposed and control group. Allele frequencies of G and A were 66.6% (285/428) and 33.4% (143/428) in exposed group and 77.8% (126/162) and 22.2% (36/162) in control group, and no statistical differences were found in allele frequency between exposed and control group. After the length of service and external exposure orders in general linear model were adjusted, results of covariance analysis showed that logarithmic transformed urinary 1-hydroxypyrene levels were (3.62 +/- 0.12), (3.43 +/- 0.12) and (3.44 +/- 0.08) micromol/mol Cr in individuals with A/A, G/A and G/G, respectively. The logarithmic transformed urinary 1-hydroxypyrene levels were (3.24 +/- 0.09) and (3.43 +/- 0.10) micromol/mol Cr in individuals with allele of G and A. No statistical differences were found in level of 1-hydroxypyrene among A/A, G/A and G/G genotype individuals, and between allele G and allele A after external exposure orders and length of service were adjusted.

CONCLUSIONThe polymorphism of aryl hydrocarbon receptor G1661A has no significant impact on levels of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene.

Adult ; Coke ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Pyrenes ; pharmacokinetics ; Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon ; genetics ; Urine ; chemistry

Leaf miner is one of the major pests on safflower, which causes yield loss and poor quality seriously. "Weihonghua", "nine safflower varieties" and "three chemical insecticides" as materials that used to evaluate variety and regularity of leaf miner, safflower resistant level, and different proportions insecticides in field efficiency test. The results showed that Liriomyza sativae and L. huidobrensis accounted for 80%, the peak period of two pests was all in July; but Phytomyza horticola is relative less, its peak period occured in June. Three were great difference of resistance to leaf miner among safflower varieties, FQ12 and YJ65 expressed higher resistibility to leaf miner by ratio method. With abamectin 2% emulsifiable concentrate diluted for 2 000 times, or the mixture three insecticides(bifenthrin 20% water emulsions, thiamethoxam 25% water dispersible granule, abamectin 2% emulsifiable concentrate=1∶1∶1) diluted for 3 000 times, which were sprayed on leaves at squaring stage and lethal rate was 96% after 48 h in the study. Through comparative study on the variety and regularity of leaf miner, screen for resistant varieties to leaf miner and for high efficiency pesticide. The study provides theoretical basis and reference for integrated pest management of leaf miner.
Animals ; Carthamus tinctorius ; Diptera ; Insecticides ; Pesticides ; Thiamethoxam

BACKGROUNDThe body mass index, airflow obstruction, dyspnea, and exercise capacity (BODE) index was shown at predicting the risk of death, exacerbation and disease severity among patients with COPD, but few studies verified relationship between BODE index and health related quality of life (HRQoL) among Chinese COPD patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between BODE index and HRQoL in cross-sectional and longitudinal association analyses.

METHODSA multi-center prospective cohort study was initially conducted in 491 stable COPD patients in Beijing, China. Health status (HRQoL) was assessed by St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ); the BODE index was calculated for each patient; dyspnea was assessed using the 5-grade Medical Research Council dyspnea scale. Other measurements included socio-demographic, body mass index (BMI), lung function test and 6-minute-walk test (6MWT). Patients were then followed monthly for 12 months.

RESULTSOnly 450 patients completed the 1-year follow up and were enrolled in our present analyses. Mean age was (65.2 +/- 10.6) years, men 309 (68.7%). The BODE index was categorized into 4 subgroups: 0 - 2, 3 - 4, 5 - 6 and 7 - 10. At baseline BODE index was gradually increased with baseline total SGRQ and SGRQ subscales (P trend < 0.001). For individual components of BODE index, with the decrease of airflow limitation, and 6MWD, and with the increase of Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnea grade, total SGRQ and SGRQ subscales were increased correspondingly, P trend < 0.05, respectively. Similar association patterns were found between baseline BODE index and its individual components and mean SGRQ scores at the end of 1-year follow up. By multiple linear regression analyses, baseline BODE index was not only significantly associated with SGRQ score at baseline but also with SGRQ score at the end of 1-year follow up after adjustment for age, male, current smoking, betas being 0.434 and 0.378, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSBODE index is associated with SGRQ score cross-sectionally and longitudinally among stable COPD patients. BODE index might have potential to be used as a sensitive tool to assess the status of quality of life and to monitor disease progression among stable COPD patients.

Aged ; Body Mass Index ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dyspnea ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Exercise Tolerance ; physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Longitudinal Studies ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Quality of Life ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Smoking ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUNDThe optimal revascularization strategy in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with HFPEF.

METHODSFrom July 2003 through September 2005, a total of 920 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and HFPEF (ejection fraction ≥ 50%) underwent PCI (n = 350) or CABG (n = 570). We compared the groups with respect to the primary outcome of mortality, and the secondary outcomes of main adverse cardiac and cerebral vascular events (MACCE), including death, myocardial infarction, stroke and repeat revascularization, at a median follow-up of 543 days.

RESULTSIn-hospital mortality was significantly lower in the PCI group than in the CABG group (0.3% vs. 2.5%, adjusted P = 0.016). During follow-up, there was no significant difference in the two groups with regard to mortality rates (2.3% vs. 3.5%, adjusted P = 0.423). Patients receiving PCI had higher MACCE rates as compared with patients receiving CABG (13.4% vs. 4.0%, adjusted P < 0.001), mainly due to higher rate of repeat revascularization (adjusted P < 0.001). Independent predictors of mortality were age, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class and chronic total occlusion.

CONCLUSIONAmong patients with CAD and HFPEF, PCI was shown to be as good as CABG with respect to the mortality rate, although there was a higher rate of repeat revascularization in patients undergoing PCI.

Aged ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; mortality ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; mortality ; Female ; Heart Failure ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stents