Objectine:To study the cytotoxicity of extracts of dominant indoor airborne fungal culture. Methods:Chinese hamster lung(CHL) cell culture was carried out in vitro.Cells were exposed to extracts of dominant indoor airborne fungal culture,then MTT method and CHL colonies assay were performed to detect their cytotoxicity.The release of cytosolic enzyme Lactate Dehydrogenase(LDH) and the fluidity of K~+,Ca~(2+) were analysed. Results:With the increase of the dose,the LDH levels in culture medium increased and the Ca~(2+) concentration inside cells increased while the K~+ concentration inside cells decreased accordingly. Conclusion:The extracts of dominant indoor airborne fungal culture could damage cell membrane,and have cytotoxicity.

Objective To compare the effects of antenatal ambroxol and 3-day dexamethasone and 1-day dexamethasone on rats′ fetal lung morphogenesis.Methods Twelve pregnant rats were divided into 4 groups randomly:3-day ambroxol group,3-day dexamethasone group,1-day dexamethasone group and control group,every group had 3 rats.On gestational day 19,cesareans were carried out and the histologic structures of 6 fetal rats lungs of each pregnant rats were observed with light microscope,electronic microscope and image analysis.Results 1.Under the light microscope,compared with control group,fetal rats lung in three treatment groups had more alveolar numbers,larger alveolar space,and thinner alveolar septum(Pa

This is to report the screening, extracting and validating antitumor components and compounds from Stellera chamaejasme L. under the case of discrete distribution of active data. In this work, different components from Stellera chamaejasme L. were collected by HPD macroporous resin and polyamide resin column, and their antitumor activity on A549 were tested by MTT assay. Activity results indicate that activity of components at 30-39 min is more potent than that of Stellera chamaejasme L. extract, and the activity of components at 33.97 min is equivalent to positive drug, cis-platinum at 100 microg x mL(-1), but with totally different mode of action. Under the case of discrete activity, the weight analysis is capable of screening active components and compounds from natural products.
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor ; Humans ; Thymelaeaceae ; chemistry

Multi-drug resistance (MDR) is one of the major obstacles to successful chemotherapy for tumors. Traditional Chinese medicine that can reverse MDR has been intensely studied because of its low toxicity, high efficacy and multi-targets. In recent years, more and more traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been found to be effective in reversing MDR. In this review, we analyze the current status of traditional Chinese medicine on reversing tumor MDR and describe recent progress on it.
Drug Resistance, Multiple ; drug effects ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy

The aim of this research is to investigate the protection of PM2.5 infected RAW264.7 cell by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)--Shenlian(SL) extracts and to establish the damage model. We use cell growth, cell damage and oxidative stress related markers, and inflammatory cytokines as observation index to evaluate the protection of PM2.5 infected RAW264.7 by SL extract. The results showed that 50 mg x L(-1) PM2.5 could cause cell particle deposition, inhibit the growth of cells, and significantly increase the cell supernatant of LDH, NO release quantity and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level during 4 h and 24 h. In the intervention of SL extract 50, 25, 10 mg x L(-1), the particle deposition of RAW264.7 cells, cell supernatant of LDH, NO, IL(-1) beta release, MCP-1 was significantly decreased, the SOD activity increased significantly. It shows that SL extracts of PM2.5 infected RAW264.7 cell damage has obvious protective effect, the effect may be related to the direct protection of cells, reduce oxidative stress and inflammatory injury.
Animals ; Cell Line ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Macrophages ; drug effects ; Mice ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Particulate Matter ; toxicity ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo explore the effects of marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) transplantation on retinal cells apoptosis and changes to neurotrophin-3 (NT-3 and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) in rats with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

METHODSSeven-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal control (CON), ROP, BMSC transplantation (BMSCs were transplanted 5 days after oxygen conditioning) and phosphate buffered saline (PBS) groups. The ROP model was prepared according to the classic hyperoxygen method. Seven days after transplantation, TUNEL/DAPI, NT-3/API and CNTF/DAPI double-labeled immunofluorescence were used to examine the effects of BMSC transplantation on both the apoptosis of retinal cells and the expression of NT-3 and CNTF protein in the retinal cells of the ROP rats.

RESULTSSeven days after BMSC transplantation, there were few TUNEL+ DAPI+ cells observed in the CON group. There were fewer TUNEL+DAPI+ cells observed in the BMSC group than in the ROP group (P<0.01), but there was no significant difference between the ROP and PBS groups (P>0.05). There were few NT-3+DAPI+ cells and CNTF+DAPI+ cells in the CON group. There were more NT-3+DAPI+ and CNTF+DAPI+ cells in the ROP group than in the CON group, but there was no significant difference between the ROP and CON groups (P>0.05). More NT-3+DAPI+ and CNTF+DAPI+ cells were observed in the BMSC group compared with the ROP group (P<0.01), and there was no significant difference in either NT-3+DAPI+ or CNTF+DAPI+ cells between the ROP and PBS groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSBMSC transplantation therapy could alleviate the apoptosis of retinal cells in ROP rats, and its mechanisms might be associated with promoting the expression of NT-3 and CNTF protein in retinal cells.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Bone Marrow Cells ; physiology ; Cell Proliferation ; Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor ; analysis ; Female ; Humans ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Neurotrophin 3 ; analysis ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Retina ; pathology ; Retinopathy of Prematurity ; metabolism ; therapy

OBJECTIVETo screen the best antitumor components of Stellera chamaejasme and their sensitive cell lines.

METHODSixteen different components of alcohol extracts from S. chamaejasme, including HH, H1-H8, JH and J1-J8, were got by gradient column chromatography eluted with alcohol in different concentrations. In the first screening, the solvent control group, the drug group, the positive group and the blank group were set up. Then the human cancer cell lines such as hepatocarcinoma BEL-7402, SK-HEP-1, and lung cancer A549, NCI-H157 were processed with the components, and the concentration for each drug group was 100 mg x L(-1). Thus, the 48 hour suppression ratio to the four kinds of cancer cells for each component were compared by the SRB method, to select the most inhibitive components and the most sensitive cell lines, which were used as the subjects of the second screening. In the second screening, each component including the concentration of 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, 100 mg x L(-1) was used to treat the sensitive cell lines and the inhibition rates to each cell line of 24, 48, 72 h by the SRB assay were detected. Also, the IC50 of each component was calculated and their main chemical composition was analyzed by UPLC-MS.

RESULTThe inhibition effect to the proliferation of the different cancer cells has great difference among 16 components, and the lung cancer cells are more sensitive to them than the hepatocarcinoma cells. Besides, the inhibition rates of JS, J6 and H8 are higher than the other components and their effect has a certain time and concentration dependence. At 72 h, the inhibition rate of each component ranges from (60.57 +/- 3.83)% to (96.66 +/- 0.51)% for lung cancer cells, and IC50 from (9.61 +/- 0.79) mg x L(-1) to (55.76 +/- 2.31) mg x L(-1). J5, J6 and H8 are the biflavonoids.

CONCLUSIONThe biflavonoids in alcohol extracts from S. chamaejasme have exerted a satisfactory inhibitory effect on the lung cancer cell proliferation.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Liver Neoplasms ; Lung Neoplasms ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Thymelaeaceae ; chemistry ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of immune complexes (IC) prepared from human oxidized density lipoprotein (oxLDL) antibodies and human oxLDL on the foam cell forming and the macrophage activation, and to further uncover the possible mechanisms of immune complexes contributing to the atherosclerosis occurrence. METHODS: The immune complexes of human oxLDL and purified human oxLDL antibodies were added to culture U937 cells by protocols: polyethylene glycol-precipitated insoluble IC (PEG-IC) and IC immobilized by absorption to red blood cells (RBC-IC). With oxLDL as controls and heat-aggregated gamma globulin as an inhibitor of Fc gamma receptor, we measured the cholesterol ester, total cholesterol of the cellular extracts, and quantified the secreted MMP-1 of supernatants from U937 cells. RESULTS: A significant increase of MMP-1 release [(0.769 +/- 0.030) ng/ml vs (0.513 +/- 0.034) ng/ml, P < 0.01] and a higher level of cholesterol ester accumulation [(20.271 +/- 1.668) microg/mg protein vs (17. 226 +/- 1.298 ) microg/mg protein, P < 0.05] in U937 cells incubated with RBC-IC were observed, compared with those incubated with RBC-oxLDL. However, the above quantative difference between the cholesterol ester accumulation induced by oxLDL and insoluble PEG-IC was even more striking, and cholesterol ester accumulation was dosage-dependent. Heat-aggregated gamma globulin (10 mg/ml) as an inhibitor of Fc gamma receptors competitively inhibited cholesterol ester accumulation and decreased PEG-IC stimulating MMP-1 secretion to 71%. CONCLUSION Immune complexe of ox-LDL can transform macrophages into foam cells and activted macrophages. The immunological function of oxLDL is involved in the process of atherosclerosis occurrence.
Antibodies ; pharmacology ; Atherosclerosis ; etiology ; metabolism ; Cholesterol Esters ; metabolism ; Foam Cells ; drug effects ; Humans ; Lipoproteins, LDL ; immunology ; pharmacology ; Macrophage Activation ; drug effects ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 1 ; biosynthesis ; U937 Cells

Lipid accumulation in the vessel wall and tunica intima vasorum pathological changes are important factors in the development of atherosclerosis, which are closely related with hemodynamics. In this paper, we established a model of local low shear stress in rabbits using carotid artery cannula and a high cholesterol diet for 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 8 weeks. The effects of Shenlian extract on blood flow, vascular pathology formation and lipid metabolism were assessed by electromagnetic blood flow meter and hematoxylin-eosin staining of the proximal end in carotid artery at different times. The results demonstrate that the relationship between blood flow and shear stress for control, atorvastatin, Shenlian extract high-dose, Shenlian extract middle-dose, and Shenlian extract low-dose were linearly related. The blood flow and the shear stress of proximal end in carotid artery of Shenlian extract (1.12, 2.24, 4.48 g x kg(-1)), and atorvastatin (4.7 x 10(-4) g x kg(-1)) were significantly (P < 0.05)increased compared with the control. Plasma total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) ,and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were markedly decreased with the increasing of dose and time. This study is the first to prove that the inhibition of Shenlian extract on low shear stress (LSS) induces rabbits carotid atherosclerosis with increasing blood flow and decreasing lipids and vessel pathological changes.
Animals ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Blood Flow Velocity ; drug effects ; Carotid Arteries ; chemistry ; drug effects ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Carotid Artery Diseases ; drug therapy ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Male ; Rabbits ; Stress, Mechanical

OBJECTIVETo search for the genes which could interact with newly found homo sapiens cross-immune reaction antigen (PCIA1) gene and accordingly to provide insights into the study of the gene function.

METHODSThe Stratagene's BacterioMatch Two-Hybrid System and BacterioMatch Fetal Kidney Library were adopted and the recombinant bait plasmid pBT-PCIA1 was cotransformated with the target plasmid pTRG-cDNA library DNA into the reporter stain. After screening and isolation of positive pTRG clones, the target genes were identified by DNA sequencing and bioinformation analysis.

RESULTSAmong all the seven detected target genes, three genes' function were not known, the other four genes had important functions. Their mutations or abberant expression resulted in severe diseases and overexpression of ACTN4 (actinin, alpha 4), PSAP (prosaposin) or EIF3S10 (eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3, subunit 10 theta) could promote tumor development and progression.

CONCLUSIONThe bacterial two-hybrid system technique is an efficient method, which can provides insights into the study of novel genes' function by detecting protein-protein interactions. This study indicates that PCIA1 gene expression correlates with tumor formation, invasion and metastasis.

Bacteria ; genetics ; metabolism ; Computational Biology ; DNA Restriction Enzymes ; metabolism ; Gene Library ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Plasmids ; genetics ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Two-Hybrid System Techniques