Aim To observe the effect of agiophyllum oligo saccharides ( AOS) on reducing blood sugar, im-proving insulin resistance on diadetic Goto-Kakizaki ( GK) rats, and to explore the possible mechanism. Methods The type 2 diabetes GK rats were divided into six groups: model control group ( MC ) , Glenn benzene urea group ( GLB ) , high agriophyllum squar-rosum coarse oligosaccharides ( AOS-H ) , medium ( AOS-M ) , low dose group ( AOS-L ) , homologous Wistar rats as normal control ( NC ) . All animals were administered with AOS by oral gavage, for 8 weeks. The fasting blood glucose ( FBG) , random blood sugar ( RBG) , glucose tolerance ( OGTT) were tested before and after administration. No fasting sugar load status before and after dosing changes in blood glucose and serum insulin level in rats were measured in the previ-ous 8 weeks. At the end of administration, the fasting serum glucose ( FPG) , insulin ( FINS) , OGTT and in-sulin resistance index ( HOMA IR) in fasting rats were analyzed. Lastly, the pathological changing of pancreas was observed by HE staining. Results The blood glucose of fasting GK rats was not influenced after using AOS. However, the random blood glucose significantly reduced, the glucose tolerance was improved and AUC was obviously reduced (P < 0. 01) after using AOS. The best effect was on AOS-M group, which was similar with Glenn benzene urea. Through our research, we found AOS could promote release of insulin. This best effect was on AOS-M and AOS-L groups, and the time and quantity of release were better than Glenn benzene urea. Finally, AOS inhibited the pathological changes of islet tissue on GK rats, increased the quantity of pancreas and islet cells. Compared with model group, the changing of islet structure was significantly reduced in AOS group. Conclusion AOS could obviously improve insulin resistance and lower blood sugar, and the mechanism of this effect may be related with rapidly promoting insulin release, increasing the islet cell proliferation,and improving the function of islet.

OBJECTIVETo determine the immune repertoires of peripheral CD4+T cell receptor (TCR) Vb CDR3 in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and analyze TCR diversity and preferred usage at sequence-level resolution.

METHODSARM-PCR and high-throughput sequencing were used to obtain millions of TCR Vb CDR3 sequences from peripheral CD4+T cells isolated from 7 patients with PBC and healthy volunteers. All sequencing data were analyzed, together with corresponding clinical information, by bioinformatic software. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTSThe PBC patients showed a lower level of diversity among the peripheral CD4+TCR Vb CDR3 than the healthy volunteers, and patients with higher level progression of the disease showed a greater lack of diversity. In addition, 4 specific preferred-usage amino acid sequences were discovered for the PBC patients: ASSFTGGPVEQY, ASSLISSGNNEQF, ATSRDTLAGGPGDTQY, and SASLEGNTEAF; these sequences were also found in higher frequencies in patients with later stages of PBC.

CONCLUSIONSDecreased TCR Vb CDR3 diversities and specific preferred usage of TCR CDR3 sequences in peripheral CD4+T lymphocytes in PBC suggest that clonal expansion of a large number of CD4+T cells may be an important factor for PBC progression. These data provide a better understanding about the general characteristics of CD4+T cells in PBC patients and related to pathogenesis of the disease, and may provide useful insights into potential targets for immunotherapy.

Amino Acid Sequence ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are the most problematic metabolic diseases in the world. NAFLD encompasses a spectrum of severity, ranging from simple steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and fibrosis, increasing the risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Importantly, NAFLD is closely linked to obesity and tightly interrelated with insulin resistance and T2DM. T2DM and NAFLD (T2DM-NAFLD) are called as the Xike Rixijing Disease and Tonglaga Indigestion Disease respectively, in Mongolian medicine. Xike Rixijing Disease maybe develop into Tonglaga Indigestion Disease. Forturnately many Mongolian medicines show efficient treatment of T2DM-NAFLD, such as Agriophyllum squarrosum, Haliyasu (dried powder of camel placenta), Digeda-4 (herbs of Lomatogonium carinthiacum, rhizomata of Coptis chinensis, ripe fruits of Gardenia jasminoides, herbs of Dianthus superbus), Guangmingyan Siwei Decoction Powder (Halite, ripe fruits of Terminalia chebula, rhizomata of Zingiber officinale, fruit clusters of Piper longum), Tonglaga-5 (ripe fruits of Punica granatum, barks of Cinnamomum cassia, ripe fruits of Amomum kravanh, fruit clusters of Piper longum, flowers of Carthamus tinctorius), Tegexidegeqi (rhizomata of Inula helenium, ripe fruits of Gardenia jasminoides, rhizomata of Platycodon grandiflorum, rhizomata of Coptis chinensis, heartwood of Caesalpinia sappan), Ligan Shiliu Bawei San (ripe fruits of Punica granatum, barks of Cinnamomum cassia, ripe fruits of Amomum kravanh, fruit clusters of Piper longum, flowers of Carthamus tinctorius, ripe fruits of Amomum tsao-ko, rhizomata of Zingiber officinale), etc. Principles of Mongolian medicine in treating diseases: by balancing “three essences or roots” and “seven elements”, strengthening liver and kidney function, transporting nutrients to enhance physical strength and disease resistance, and combined with drugs for comprehensive conditioning treatment. However, their molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this review, we prospect that Mongolian medicines might be a promising treatment for T2DM-NAFLD by activating P2X7R/NLRP3/NF-κB inflammatory pathway via lipid-sensitive nuclear receptors (i.e., FXR and LXR).