Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays an important role in the initiation and progression of colorectal cancer. The key to its carcinogenicity is related to the inhibition of β-catenin degradation, and the subsequent cytoplasmic accumulation and nuclear translocation of β-catenin, which activates the transcription of downstream target genes such as coding region instability determinant-binding protein (CRD-BP). In cancercells ,the expression of CRD-BP mediates the stabilization of β-Trcp, which in normal cells regulates the degradation of β-catenin. The activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, overexpression of β-catenin and CRDBP, and the upregulation of β-Trcp by CRD-BP play important roles in the initiation, progression, and metastasis of colorectal cancer.

According to the experience of teaching the science of Chinese Medical Herbs Preparation,the author gives some advice such as choosing typical drugs,providing examples and setting up comprehensive and contriving experiments etc,which is worth referring to in teaching es-pecially for those who have less time in experiments.

Objective To develop a sensitive and simple LC/MS method for determination of methomyl in blood samples.Methods Methomyl was extracted from blood by liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate, and then analyzed on a Zorbax SB-C18 (2.1mm×50mm, 5μm) column. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-0.1% formic acid with gradient elution, at a lfow rate of 0.5 mL/min, at 40℃. LC-MS was performed in ESI source with MRM mode for quantiifcation.ResultsThe linear range of the concentration were 0.05~2.0μg/mL for methomyl (r>0.995). The relative recoveries of methomyl were in the range of 90%~108%. The RSDs of intra-days and inter-day were both less than 15%.Conclusion The method is a simple, quick, sensitive and could be used for determination of methomyl in blood samples.

The mechanism of synergetic effects of multi-components on multi-targets in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is one of the bottlenecks for TCM modernization and internationalization. Network biology approach was developed in recent years and provided an important and novel idea to study the pharmacological mechanism of TCM. This review introduced the mathematical basis of network biology, as well as the feasibility and research idea of using network biology to study the pharmacological mechanism of TCM. Network biology was expected to be further used for analyzing the pharmacological mechanism of TCM, guiding drug development of TCM, inheriting and carrying forward the fundamental principle of TCM.
Algorithms ; Drug Therapy ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Gene Regulatory Networks ; drug effects ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Metabolic Networks and Pathways ; drug effects ; Models, Biological ; Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects

Even though mutations in LMNA have been reported in patients with typical dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and atrioventricular block (AVB) previously, the purpose of this study was to disclose this novel genetic abnormality in one Chinese family with the atypical phenotype of progressive AVB followed by DCM with normal QRS interval. Genome-wide linkage analysis mapped the AVB gene in this family to a marker at chromosome 1q21.2, where the LMNA gene was located. Direct DNA sequence analysis revealed a heterozygous G to A transition at nucleotide 244 in exon 1 of LMNA, which resulted in an E82K mutation. The E82K mutation co-segregated with all affected individuals in the family, and was not present in 200 normal controls. Further clinical evaluation of mutation carriers showed that 5 of 6 AVB patients exhibited mild DCM with a late onset of age in the fourth and fifth decades. Ejection fractions were documented in 5 patients with DCM, but 4 showed a normal value of [Symbol: see text]50%. Echocardiography showed that atrial dilatation occurred earlier than ventricular dilatation in the patients. This study suggests that progressive AVB with normal QRS interval and accompanying DCM at later stages may represent a distinct type of DCM. The molecular mechanism by which the E82K mutation causes AVB as the prominent phenotype in DCM may be a focus of future studies.

Objective To evaluate iodine nutrition status and vitamin D level in hyperthyroidism patients and explore their impacts on the pathogenesis of hyperthyroidism.Methods Totally 116 inpatients of hyperthyroidism were tested for serum thyroid function,urine iodine and serum 25-OH-D.Median and component ratio of urine iodine and 25-OH-D were used to evaluate nutrition status.Results The median of urine iodine was 224.9 μg/L,while the component ratio of iodine excessive-intake was 59.48％ (12.93％ in excessive group and 46.55％ in sufficient group).The median of vitamin D was 7.19 ng/ml while as deficiency group accounted for 93.2％ in hyperthyroidism patients.Conclusions Attention should be paid to excessive intake iodine in hyperthyroidism patients.Vitamin D supplementation is important for treating hyperthyroidism and maintaining the health of skeleton and muscle.

Objective To develop a simple and fast UPLC-MS/MS method for determination of aconitine in biological human sample. Methods The biological human sample was treated by acetonitrile precipitation, and then analyzed on a UPLC C18(2.1mm×50mm, 1.7μm)column. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-0.1% formic acid with gradient elution, at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min, at 40℃. UPLC-MS/MS was performed in ESI source with MRM mode for quantification. Results The linear range of the concentration were 0.5~500ng/mL in blood and 1~1000ng/mL for aconitine in blood for aconitine (r>0.995). The relative recoveries of aconitine were in the range of 91.3%~110.2%, and the extraction recoveries were in the range of 72.8%~83.5%. The RSDs of intra-days and inter-day were both less than 14%. Conclusion The method is a simple, fast and could be used for determination of aconitine in biological human sample.

Even though mutations in LMNA have been reported in patients with typical dilated cardio-myopathy(DCM)and atrioventricular block(AVB)previously,the purpose of this study was to disclose this novel genetic abnormality in one Chinese family with the atypical phenotype of progressive AVB followed by DCM with normal QRS interval.Genome-wide linkage analysis mapped the AVB gene in this family to a marker at chromosome 1q21.2,where the LMNA gene was located.Direct DNA sequence analysis revealed a heterozygous G to A transition at nucleotide 244 in exon 1 of LMNA,which resulted in an E82K mutation.The E82K mutation co-segregated with all affected individuals in the family,and was not present in 200 normal controls.Further clinical evaluation of mutation carriers showed that 5 of 6 AVB patients exhibited mild DCM with a late onset of age in the fourth and fifth decades.Ejection fractions were documented in 5 patients with DCM,but 4 showed a normal value of ≥50%.Echocardiography showed that atrial dilatation occurred earlier than ventricular dilatation in the patients.This study suggests that progressive AVB with normal QRS interval and accompanying DCM at later stages may represent a distinct type of DCM.The molecular mechanism by which the E82K mutation causes AVB as the prominent phenotype in DCM may be a focus of future studies.

BACKGROUND:Recent studies have shown that research on naringin anti-osteoporosis mostly stays in in vitro and in vivo experiments.Understanding the mechanism of related signaling pathways and the expression of related proteins and some specific genes is an important way to deeply understand naringin anti-osteoporosis.At present,traditional Chinese medicine has been confirmed to have a significant role in anti-osteoporosis.Naringin is one of the main active ingredients in Rhizoma Drynariae.Its effectiveness and mechanism of action against osteoporosis have been gradually recognized by scholars,and its clinical and basic research has been gradually emphasized. OBJECTIVE:To analyze and summarize the research progress of naringin in anti-osteoporosis in vitro and in vivo,thereby providing some ideas for the next step to study its related mechanism of action. METHODS:The relevant literatures included in CNKI and PubMed database were searched with the Chinese search terms of"naringin,osteoporosis,traditional Chinese medicine compound,pathogenesis,signaling pathway,bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells,osteoblasts,osteoclasts"in Chinese and English,respectively.The corresponding criteria were established according to the research needs,and finally 69 articles were included for review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Naringin blocks the increase in the number of osteoclasts and adipocytes,the decrease in the number of osteocytes and osteocalcin(+)cells induced by fructose-rich diet,and promotes the secretion of Sema3A from osteoblasts and osteocytes,thereby enhancing local bone formation and inhibiting osteoclast production by activating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.Naringin is an important way to induce autophagy of osteoblasts,but autophagy-related proteins participate in osteoblast differentiation and bone formation.Lack of autophagy in osteoblasts reduces mineralization and leads to an imbalance in the number of osteoblasts and osteoclasts,which results in bone loss and decreased bone density.The composite scaffold loaded with naringin can be used as a necessary carrier for bone defect repair and has excellent bone repair properties.Naringin can also accelerate the growth of new bone tissue by increasing the local contents of bone morphogenetic protein 2 and vascular endothelial growth factor.Naringin can regulate bone metabolism and inhibit oxidative stress via ERK,PI3K/Akt and Wnt signaling pathways to improve osteoporosis,which can play a good role in preventing and controlling the disease.However,the depth and breadth of the relevant research is insufficient.Based on the mechanism of the current study,we should investigate the specific mechanisms by which naringin regulates different pathways and inter-pathway interactions in the future,which will be beneficial to the multifaceted development of naringin used in the treatment of osteoporosis..

Objective: To compare the clinical value of ultrasonic elastography (UE) and three common ultrasonic features in diagnosing papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods: From January 2012 to December 2017, the clinical data of 105 cases with PTC which were confirmed by postoperative pathologic examination and 20 cases with benign thyroid nodules (BTN) in the Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine were analyzed retrospectively.The UE and common ultrasonic features comprising a taller-than-wide shape, irregular margins and microcalcifications were analyzed.The sensitivity, specificity and area under curve (AUC) of PCT dingnosis with two different ultrasonic parameters are calculated. Results: Based on surgical pathology, the diagnostic sensitivity of irregular boundary is the highest amony the three paraneters of ordinary ultrasound.Although an irregular margin showed higher sensitivity than taller-than-wide shape and microcalcifications with 71.42% vs.59.04% vs.60.00%, but there was no statistically significant difference (χ²=4.3, P=0.116). There was also no statistically significant difference in specificity (χ²=0.134, P=0.935). The diagnostic efficiency of UE was higher than taller-than-wide shape (Z=3.046, P=0.002), irregular margin(Z=2.962, P=0.003) as well as microcalcifications(Z=3.942, P=0.000), the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05). The diagnostic efficiency of UE was higher than the combined three common ultrasonic features together (Z=3.125, P=0.001). Conclusion UE score shows a higher diagnostic efficiency, easy to perform, indicating the important application value in preoperative diagnosis of PTC, and is worthy of promoting in clinic.