The aim of this study is to investigate the protective effect of N-[2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl]-2-(2, 5-dimethoxyphenyl)-3-(3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl)acrylamide (FLZ), a novel synthetic squamosamide cyclic derivative, against Parkinson's disease (PD) model mice induced by the inflammatory bacterial endotoxin, lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and the neurotoxin 1-methy-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). C57/BL mice were ip injected LPS (5 mg x kg(-1)) once. One week following the LPS injection, mice received a subcutaneous injection of MPTP (25 mg x kg(-1)) once daily for 2 days. Eight weeks later, FLZ (25, 50 and 75 mg x kg(-1)) was orally administered to mice once daily for 60 days. The motor ability of the mice was evaluated by rod climbing test and footprint test. The dopamine (DA) levels in mouse striatum were determined by high performance liquid chromatography system. The tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive cells were showed by immunohistochemical analysis. FLZ treatment significantly improved motor dysfunction of mice challenged by LPS plus MPTP. The increase of TH-positive cell numbers and elevation of DA levels may be contributed to the beneficial effects of FLZ on motor behavior. This study showed FLZ has significant therapeutic effect on LPS plus MPTP induced chronic PD model, which indicates its potential as a new candidate drug to treat PD.

Objective To investigate ABCA3 gene polymorphism and its relationship with neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China by genotyping and haplotype analysis.Methods Using a tagging single nucleotide polymorphism (tSNP) strategy and TaqMan (r) real-time PCR,we genotyped 4 tSNPs (rs4787273,rs 1 50929,rs 11867129,and rs 17135889) and one additional coding SNP(rs13332514) of the ABCA3 gene in preterm infants with NRDS(NRDS group,n =45) and without NRDS (non-NRDS group,n =45) and subsequently predicted the haplotypes.The minor allele frequency and the haplotype 'distribution were compared between the two groups.Results The minor allele A(0.14 vs.0.05,P =0.046) and genotype AG (0.289 vs.0.111,P =0.035) frequency of SNP rs17135889 in NRDS group were significantly higher than those in non-NRDS group.Totally 6 haplotypes occurred at a frequency ≥0.01,among which,the haplotype TGGAG,depended on rs17135889,was significantly higher in NRDS group than that in non-NRDS group (0.061 vs.0.000,P =0.014).Conclusion The results suggested that SNP rs17135889 of ABCA3 gene might be related to NRDS in preterm population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.Allele A contributes to NRDS susceptibility in preterm infants.

Objective To investigate the role of real-time PCR(qPCR) assay for EBNA fragments in quantitative detection of Epstein-Barr virus(EBV)DNA loads and the diagnose value of combining EBNA assay with common qPCR assay (designed on Bamh1-W fragments) in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC) patients Methods EBV DNA loads of 234 blood samples(66 NPC samples included)were detected using two methods and DNA loads inside and outside cells were detected respectively. Positive rate obtained through different methods was compared. Regression analysis and t test were used to validate the methodology. Results Positive rate of EB-NA assay(53.42% in all samples and 51.52% in NPC samples)was lower than that of Bamh1-W assay(69.23%in all samples ,71.21% in NPC samples),however the combination of two methods could enhance the positive rate(70.94% in all samples,72.73% in NPC samples),especially in NPC samples. The correlation R2 of EBNA assay and Bamh1-W assay was 0.577(P < 0.05)and the difference was statistically significant. In NPC samples , R2 was 0.828 (P > 0.05) and it showed good correlation but the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions The combination of EBNA assay and Bamh1-W assay can improve the positive rate in EBV DNA loads detection and its efficiency is more significant in NPC patients ,which shows significance in EBV DNA loads quantification and in the auxiliary diagnosis of NPC.

Endophytic fungi are promising producers of bioactive small molecules. Bioinformatic analysis of the genome of an endophytic fungus