Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Serologic Tests ; Syphilis, Congenital ; diagnosis ; drug therapy

UNLABELLEDOBJECTIVE To study the in vitro effect and mechanism of Ginkgo biloba Extract 50 (GBE50) for inhibiting beta-amyloid (Abeta)-induced oxidative stress in rats' hippocampal neurons.

METHODSThe primary hippocampal neurons were cultured in vitro and divided into 4 groups, i. e. the normal control group (Ctrl), the Abeta group, the propanediol control group (PDO), and the six GBE50 concentrations groups (5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 microg/mL). Excepted the Ctrl group, neurons were induced to oxidative stress by 20 gmolLAbeta25-35. The MTT and fluorescent probes labeling were used to observe the effect of GBE50 with different concentrations on the cell viability and the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in neurons. Furthermore, Western blot was used to detect the cytoplasmic/total cytochrome C (Cyto C) ratio and total intracytoplasmal Cyto C, and the effect of the expression of oxidative stress-related protein Cyto C and activated Caspase-3 in three GBE50 concentrations groups (25, 50, and 100 microg/mL).

RESULTSCompared with the Ctrl group, the cell vitality was obviously lowered and intracellular ROS generation significantly increased after induction of 20 micromol/L Abeta25-35 (both P < 0.05). Compared with the Abeta group, the cell vitality was evidently improved after treated with different GBE50 doses. Except for 10 microg/mL, the cell vitality could be obviously elevated along with increased drug concentrations (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the intracellular ROS generation decreased significantly in each GBE50 dose groups (P < 0.05). Abeta could increase the cytoplasmic/total Cyto C ratio and enhance the activated Caspase-3 expression significantly (P < 0.05). Compared with the Abeta group, among the three concentrations of GBE50, the Cyto C ratio was obviously lowered in the 100 microg/mL GBE50 group (P < 0.05), and the expression of activated Caspase-3 significantly decreased in 50 microg/mL and 100 microg/mL GBE50 groups (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS20 micromol/L Abeta25-35 could induce the generation of intracellular ROS in hippocampal neurons. GBE50 could inhibit Abeta induced intracellular oxidative stress of neurons through lowering the cytoplasmic/total Cyto C ratio and inhibiting the activation of apoptosis protein Caspase-3 expression.

Amyloid beta-Peptides ; toxicity ; Animals ; Cells, Cultured ; Cytochromes c ; metabolism ; Hippocampus ; metabolism ; Neurons ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Peptide Fragments ; toxicity ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Object: To investigate the effects of Huaiqihuang Granule, a compound Chinese herbal medicine, on expressions of nephrin and podocin of slit diaphragm of glomerular podocytes in rats with adriamycin-induced nephrosis and to explore the mechanism in reducing the proteinuria. Methods: Twenty SD rats were randomly divided into five groups: control group, model group, glucocorticoid group, Huaiqihuang Granule group and Huaiqihuang Granule plus glucocorticoid group. The 24-hour urine was collected 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after adriamycin injection respectively to measure 24-hour urinary protein, and all rats were sacrificed after 28-day treatment. Pathological changes in renal tissues were observed under a light microscope and an electron microscope. Expressions of nephrin and podocin mRNAs in renal cortex were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction, and protein levels of nephrin and podocin were detected by Western blotting. Results: (1) In the model group and the treatment groups, the level of urinary protein increased significantly from the 14th day. (2) Under the light microscope, inflammatory cells and slight fibroplasia were found in renal interstitium of the model group, but there were less inflammatory cells in renal interstitium in the intervention groups than in the model group. Under the electron microscope, 29 days after adriamycin injection, extensive fusion of foot processes was observed. (3) The expressions of nephrin and podocin were higher in treatment groups than in the model group. (4) Proteinuria level was negatively correlated with the expressions of nephrin mRNA and nephrin and podocin proteins. Conclusion: The above results indicate that Huaiqihuang Granule can maintain the integrity of the slid diaphragram in podocyte, alleviate the lesion of glomerular filtration membrane, and decrease the proteinuria by up-regulating the expressions of nephrin and podocin. Huaiqihuang Granule plus glucocorticoid maybe has better effects than glucocorticoid alone.

Objective To explore the clinical significance of the blood lactic dehydrogenase(LDH), ?_2-microglobulin(?_2-MG),D-dimer measuring in the diagnosis and treatment of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Methods In 40 cases with NHL,LDH was measured by L-P continuous monitoring method,?_2-MG was measured by luminescent immunoassay,D-dimer was measured by immunoturbidimettic assay.Results The levels of the blood LDH,?_2-MG and D-dimer in patients with NHL were higher than those of in the controls(P 0.05).Con- clusion The levels of blood LDH,?_2-MG,D-dimer can be taken as an auxiliary clinical index to diagnose, classify the phase,evaluate the effectiveness of treatment and prognosis in the NHL patients,and have impor- tant clinical significance.

Objective To analyze the etiologic factors and clinical manifestation of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in preterm infants.Methods One hundred and seventy-two preterm infants from June 2005 to August 2006 were accrued to investigate their gestational age,birth weight,birth history,and clinical symptoms.Cranial chromatic ultrasound was used to scan the preterm infants and diagnose IVH.Results 1.The incidence of IVH was associated with gestational age (?2=6.40 P=0.011);2.The incidence of IVH was also associated with birth weight(?2=26.49 P=0);3.IVH usually occurred within 72 h with mild clinical manifestations and was diagnosed within 5 days after birth;4.IVH occurred more frequently and more severe in infants with severe asphyxia than those with mild asphyxia.Conclusions Early gestational age,low birth weight, and severe asphyxia are risk factors for IVH.The clinical symptoms of IVH are usually mild in most patients.Cranial chromatic ultrasound is a reliable,sensitive and convenient method of detection for IVH in preterm infants.

Poly ?-glutamate is a biopolymer material that has a good application prospect.The Vitreoscilla hemoglobin(VHb) gene was integrated into the chromosome of Bacillus licheniformis WX-02 by integrative vector pDG1730-vgb.The expression of VHb was confirmed by CO-difference spectra analysis.It was shown by the results of batch cultures in a 3 L bioreactor that biomass and ?-PGA obtained in the recombinant M2 were 25.5 % and 20% higher than those of the control respectively.

Artemisnin is a novel sesquiterpene lactone with an internal peroxide bridge structure, which is extracted from traditional Chinese herb Artemisia annua L. (Qinghao). Recommended by World Health Organization, artemisinin is the first-line drug in the treatment of encephalic and chloroquine-resistant malaria. In the present study, transgenic A. annua plants were developed by overexpressing the key enzymes involved in the biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin. Based on Agrobacterium-mediated transformation methods, transgenic plants of A. annua with overexpression of both HDR and ADS were obtained through hygromycin screening. The genomic PCR analysis confirmed six transgenic lines in which both HDR and ADS were integrated into genome. The gene expression analysis given by real-time quantitative PCR showed that all the transgenic lines had higher expression levels of HDR and ADS than the non-transgenic control (except ah3 in which the expression level of ADS showed no significant difference compared with control); and the HPLC analysis of artemisinin demonstrated that transgenic A. annua plants produced artemisinin at significantly higher level than non-transgenic plants. Especially, the highest content of artemisinin was found in transgenic line ah70, in which the artemisinin content was 3.48 times compared with that in non-transgenic lines. In summary, overexpression of HDR and ADS facilitated artemisinin biosynthesis and this method could be applied to develop transgenic plants of A. annua with higher yield of artemisinin.
Artemisia annua ; genetics ; metabolism ; Artemisinins ; metabolism ; Biosynthetic Pathways ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Mixed Function Oxygenases ; genetics ; Oxidoreductases ; genetics ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; Plants, Genetically Modified ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; genetics ; metabolism

Atropa belladonna is a medicinal plant and main commercial source of tropane alkaloids (TAs) including scopolamine and hyoscyamine, which are anticholine drugs widely used clinically. Based on the high throughput transcriptome sequencing results, the digital expression patterns of UniGenes representing 9 structural genes (ODC, ADC, AIH, CPA, SPDS, PMT, CYP80F1, H6H, TRII) involved in TAs biosynthesis were constructed, and simultaneously expression analysis of 4 released genes in NCBI (PMT, CYP80F1, H6H, TRII) for verification was performed using qPCR, as well as the TAs contents detection in 8 different tissues. Digital expression patterns results suggested that the 4 genes including ODC, ADC, AIH and CPA involved in the upstream pathway of TAs, and the 2 branch pathway genes including SPDS and TRII were found to be expressed in all the detected tissues with high expression level in secondary root. While the 3 TAs-pathway-specific genes including PMT, CYP80F1, H6H were only expressed in secondary roots and primary roots, mainly in secondary roots. The qPCR detection results of PMT, CYP80F1 and H6H were consistent with the digital expression patterns, but their expression levels in primary root were too low to be detected. The highest content of hyoscyamine was found in tender stems (3.364 mg x g(-1)), followed by tender leaves (1.526 mg x g(-1)), roots (1.598 mg x g(-1)), young fruits (1.271 mg x g(-1)) and fruit sepals (1.413 mg x g(-1)). The highest content of scopolamine was detected in fruit sepals (1.003 mg x g(-1)), then followed by tender stems (0.600 mg x g(-1)) and tender leaves (0.601 mg x g(-1)). Both old stems and old leaves had the lowest content of hyoscyamine and scopolamine. The gene expression profile and TAs accumulation indicated that TAs in Atropa belladonna were mainly biosynthesized in secondary root, and then transported and deposited in tender aerial parts. Screening Atropa belladonna secondary root transcriptome database will facilitate unveiling the unknown enzymatic reactions and the mechanisms of transcriptional control.
Alkaloids ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; metabolism ; Atropa belladonna ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; genetics ; Hyoscyamine ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; genetics ; metabolism ; Scopolamine Hydrobromide ; metabolism ; Tropanes ; metabolism

This study aims to construct a dynamic two-dimensional characterization technique for the hygroscopicity of traditional Chinese medicine extracts and investigate the effect of material properties of powders on hygroscopicity. The dynamic hygroscopicity-time curves of the powders were measured at 25 ℃ and 75% humidity, and the semi-equilibrium hygroscopicity time (t_1/2) and equilibrium hygroscopicity (F^∞) were derived as two-dimensional evaluation indicators. Finally, the correlation between the material properties and the hygroscopic behavior was analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares analysis (PLS). The results showed that the dynamic two-dimensional characterization system of hygroscopicity constructed with 1/t_1/2 = 0.1 h^-1 and F^∞ = 15% as the center can classify the hygroscopic behavior of traditional Chinese medicine extracts into four categories: fast hygroscopicity with strong hygroscopicity, slow hygroscopicity with strong hygroscopicity, fast hygroscopicity with weak hygroscopicity and slow hygroscopicity with weak hygroscopicity. The moisture absorption was negatively correlated with D₅₀, D₉₀, ρ_b and ρ_t; the moisture absorption rate was negatively correlated with D₁₀, D₅₀, D₉₀, ρ_b, ρ_t, and positively correlated with moisture content. The hygroscopicity dynamic two-dimensional characterization indicators of Chinese medicine extracts (CMEs) constructed in this study matched with the physical properties. The method of dynamic multi-dimensional characterization technology is feasible and scientific, and the idea has strong promotional value.

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of focused ultrasound for patients with white lesions of the vulva,as well as its safety and feasibility.Methods Clinical data of 941 patients with white lesions of the vulva treated with focused ultrasound from June 2003 to December 2005 were retrospectively reviewed.The mean age of the patients was 40.8 years(18-70 years)and the median course of the disease was 6.2 years(3 months-45 years).Meanwhile,pathological diagnosis was performed in all the patients before treatment,in which 498 cases were squamous hyperplasia,342 cases were lichen sclerosus and 101 cases were lichen sclerosus with squamous hyperplasia.Patients were followed up and therapeutic effects of focused ultrasound was evaluated at 6 and 12 months after the treatment,respectively.The symptoms of pruritus in the vulva and the changes in the color and elasticity of the vulvar lesions were observed.Results Of all the patients,900 were followed up after the treatment,and the ratio of effectiveness was 94.9%.Only 46 patients(5.1%)had no response to the therapy.Of the effective patients,434 cases were completely cured(48.2%),and 420 cases were improved(46.7%).Pruritus of vulva recurred in 101 patients (11.2%)one year after treatment;however,these patients still had a response to the second or third treatment.Conclusions Focused ultrasound therapy is a highly effective instrument in treatment of white lesions of the vulva.It can not only relieve the symptoms of itching,but is also helpful in recovering the color and elasticity of the vulva.