The marine biological source of mineral drugs recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 version) mainly including pearl, nacre, clam shell, common oyster shell, ark shell, cuttle bone, and sea-ear shell are widely used in clinical. Calcium carbonate and a small amount of protein are the main components in this type of drugs. In this paper, a systematical and comparable study were carried out by determination of calcium carbonate by EDTA titration method, the crystal of calcium carbonate by X-Ray powder diffraction and the total amino acids (TAAs) of the hydrolyzed samples by ultraviolet spectrophotometry method. As a result, the crystal structure is calcite for common oyster shell, mixture of calcite and aragonite for nacre and sea-ear shell, aragonite for the other drugs. The content of calcium carbonate ranged from 86% to 96%. Cuttle bone has the highest amount of TAAs among the seven drugs which reached 1.7% while clam shell has the lowest content of 0.16% on average. In conclusion, an effective method was developed for the quality control of marine mineral drugs by comprehensive analysis of calcium carbonate and TAAs in the seven marine mineral drugs.
Amino Acids ; analysis ; chemistry ; Animal Shells ; chemistry ; Animals ; Calcium Carbonate ; analysis ; chemistry ; Crystallization ; Edetic Acid ; chemistry ; Mollusca ; chemistry ; classification ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; analysis ; chemistry ; standards ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results ; Seawater ; Species Specificity ; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet ; X-Ray Diffraction

Adult ; Aged ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pneumoconiosis ; diagnosis ; epidemiology

Objective To evaluate tear ferning changes of conjunctivochalasis.Design Prospective case study series.Partici- pants 30 patients(60 eyes)of conjunctivochalasis and normal subjects were selected.Methods The subjects were observed with gen- eral ophthalmic examination and tear fern test(TFT).Tear ferning was classified into 4 types.TypeⅠand TypeⅡare normal.TypeⅢand TypeⅣare abnormal.Main Outcome Measures The type of tear feming.Results TFT showed that tear ferning was de- creased in conjunctivochalasis group(TypeⅢand TypeⅣoccupied 61.7%).The difference between conjunctivoehalasis and normal control group was significant(P

Objective To apply MR diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to quantitatively analyze cervical spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality (CSCIWORA). Methods 15 patients with CSCIWORA and 20 healthy controls were scanned with MRI of conventional scans and DTI. The fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were measured. Results FA and ADC of the patients were (0.475±0.109) and (1.438±0.252)×10-3 mm2/s, respectively. Whereas, they were (0.604±0.096) and (1.371±0.280)×10-3 mm2/s in the controls. Compared with the controls, the FA was less (P<0.05) in the patients, but the ADC was not significantly different (P=0.267). The fiber tracking (FT) showed the abnormality of white matter fiber tracts of cervical spinal cord in the patients. Conclusion DTI can detect the CSCIWORA, and FT can directly display the injuries of white matter fiber tracts of cervical spinal cord, which provide more information to evaluate the clinical severity of CSCIWORA.

OBJECTIVECigarette smoke extract (CSE) can induce injuries of pulmonary II epithelial cells, activate nuclear factor-kappaB and increase tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-alpha) secretion. This study aimed to investigate whether azithromycin can protect pulmonary II epithelial cells from injuries induced by CSE and relevant mechanisms.

METHODSPulmonary II epithelial cells (A549 cells) were cultured in vitro. After 48 hrs of culture the cells were randomly treated with serum-free DMEM only (blank control group), azithromycin + serum-free DMEM, CSE+ serum-free DMEM or CSE+azithromycin. Eight hours later the morphology of A549 cells, the activity of NF-kappaB and the levels of TNF-alpha were measured by inverted microscope, immunohistochemistry and ELISA.

RESULTSThe morphology and structure of A549 cells were changed, NF-kappaB activity increased (dark brown staining ) and TNF-alpha levels (0.307 +/- 0.036 pg/mL vs 0.234 +/- 0.028 pg/mL)increased in the CSE+ serum-free DMEM group compared with the blank control group (P < 0.01). CSE together with azithromycin treatment recovered partly the morphological injuries of A549 cells. It also attenuated NF-kappaB staining and decreased TNF-alpha levels from 0.307 +/- 0.036 pg/mL (CSE+serum-free DMEM group) to 0.269 +/- 0.009 pg/mL (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSAzithromycin may inhibit NF-kappaB activity, decrease TNF-alpha secretion and thus lessen cytotoxicity of CSE to A549 cells.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; Azithromycin ; pharmacology ; Cells, Cultured ; Epithelial Cells ; drug effects ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; NF-kappa B ; analysis ; Smoke ; adverse effects ; Tobacco ; adverse effects ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo compare the mRNA expression of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in human subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissues.

METHODSTotal RNA was extracted from 12 human subcutaneous adipose tissues, 12 perirenal adipose tissue and 9 periadrenal adipose tissues. The expressions of angiotensinogen ( AGT) , renin, angiotensin converting enzyme ( ACE) , angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), angiotensin I1 receptor type 1 (AT1), angiotensin II receptor type 2 (AT2 ), CYP11 B2, and their internal reference glyceraldehyde phosphate (GAPDH) were studied by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The ratios of each target genes were used to evaluate the expression levels of AGT, renin, ACE, ACE2, AT1, AT2, and CYP11B2 in different adipose tissues.

RESULTSThe mRNA expressions of AGT, ACE, ACE2, AT1, and AT2 were detected in human subcutaneous, perirenal, and periadrenal adipose tissues. However, CYPI B2 mRNA expression was not found in these three adipose tissues. The mRNA expressions of renin was only detected in perirenal and periadrenal adipose tissues, which was significantly higher in perirenal adipose tissues than in periadrenal adipose tissues ( P < 0. 05 ). The mRNA expressions of ACE and ACE2 in perirenal adipose tissues were significantly higher than that in subcutaneous adipose tissues ( P < 0. 05). The mRNA expressions of ACE were significantly higher than that of ACE2 in subcutaneous, perirenal, and periadrenal adipose tissues (P <0. 05). The mRNA expressions of AT1 were significantly lower than that of AT2 in periadrenal adipose tissues (P < 0. 05).

CONCLUSIONLocal renin-angiotensin system exists in the adipose tissues; however, aldosterone is not synthesized in the adipose tissues.

Adipose Tissue ; metabolism ; Adult ; Aged ; Aldosterone ; physiology ; Angiotensinogen ; biosynthesis ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP11B2 ; biosynthesis ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A ; biosynthesis ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1 ; biosynthesis ; Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 2 ; biosynthesis ; Renin ; biosynthesis ; Renin-Angiotensin System ; physiology ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVE:To establish the method for the content determination of 4 active components in Compound xiaosuanzao chewable tablets.METHODS:HPLC-ELSD method was adopted.The determination was performed on a Grace Brava C18-BDS column with mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-water (gradient elution) at the flow rate of 1.0 mL/min.The column temperature was 25 ℃,and sample size was 20 μL.The drift tube temperature is 100 ℃,and the carrier gas flow rate is 2.9 L/min.RESULTS:The linear ranges of betulic acid,betulinol,pachymic acid and glycyrrhizic acid were 44.50-890.0 μg/mL (r=0.999 3),20.28-405.6 μg/mL (r=0.999 7),20.50-656.0 μg/mL(r=0.999 7) and 10.50-336.0 μg/mL(r=0.999 6),respectively.RSDs of precision,stability and reproducibility were all lower than 3.0％.The recoveries were 99.44％-101.12％ (RSD=0.57％,n=6),99.41％-100.39％ (RSD=0.34％,n=6),99.31％-100.46％ (RSD=0.51％,n=6),98.96％-101.19％ (RSD=0.84％,n=6),respectively.CONCLUSIONS:The method is simple,precise,stable and reproducible,and can be used for simultaneous determination of 4 active components in Compound xiaosuanzao chewable tablets.

Objective To study the protective effect of Irisin in doxorubicin(Dox)induced-Cardiomyopathy and its possible mechanism.Methods AC 16 cells were used to construct Dox injury model and divided into control group(AC 16 cells were cultured with complete medium),Irisin group(AC16 cells were treated with 10 ng·L-1 Irisin for 24 h),Dox group(AC 16 cells were treated with 4 μmol·L-1 Dox for 24 h),Dox+Irisin group(AC 16 cells were pretreated with 10 ng·L-1 Irisin for 2 h,and then treated with 4 pmol·L-1 Dox for 24 h).Cell counting kit-8(CCK-8),terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling(TUNEL)and lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)were used to detect the proliferation,apoptosis and mortality of AC 16 cells.Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB)signaling pathway and apoptotic factors B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2),Bcl-2-associated X protein(Bax)and caspase-9 protein.Mito-Tracker Red CMXRos probe was used to detect mitochondrial membrane potential.Results In the contrl group,Irisin group,Dox group,Dox+Irisin group,the rate of apoptosis were(0.97±0.09)％,0,(42.80±6.70)％,(11.74±1.79)％;the expression of Bax protein were 0.85±0.01,0.36±0.02,1.15±0.07,0.37±0.11;the expression of caspase-9 protein were 0.52±0.02,0.59±0.03,1.11±0.02,0.67±0.08;the expression of Bcl-2 protein were 1.01±0.04,1.05±0.25,0.43±0.02 and 0.99±0.30;the probability of mitochondrial damage were(0.02±0.01)％,(0.5±0.15)％,(38.6±2.39)％,(1.58±0.54)％.The difference of the above indexes between the contrl group and the Dox group were statistically significant(all P＜0.05);the difference between Dox group and Dox+Irisin group were statisically significant(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Irisin could reduce the expression level of Bax,caspase-9,p-NF-κB,and p-mTOR caused by Dox,increase the expression level of Bcl-2,ameliorate the myocardial damage caused by Dox,and reduce cardiotoxicity.

OBJECTIVETo establish a mouse model of asthmatic airway remodeling and investigate the effects of 1,25-(OH)2D3 on airway structure and T cell immunoglobulin mucin protein-4 (TIM-4) expression in asthmatic mice.

METHODSThirty female mice (BALB/c strain) were randomly divided into control, asthma and 1,25-(OH)2D3 intervention groups. An asthmatic mouse model was induced using ovalbumin. Lung tissue of the mice was collected, mRNA expression of TIM-4 was evaluated by RT-PCR and airway remodeling and protein expression of TIM-4 were observed by hematoxylineosin staining and immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSTypical airway remodeling was found in the asthma group, and TIM-4 expression in this group was significantly higher than in the control group (105±9 vs 42±5; P<0.05). Compared with the asthma group, the 1,25-(OH)2D3 intervention group showed improvement in airway remodeling and a decrease in TIM-4 expression (78±6) (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSTIM-4 may be involved in the airway remodeling of mice. As a new type of immunoregulator, 1,25-(OH)2D3 can downregulate expression of TIM-4 in the lungs and improve airway remodeling in asthmatic mice.

Airway Remodeling ; Animals ; Asthma ; metabolism ; Calcitriol ; pharmacology ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation ; drug effects ; Lung ; metabolism ; Membrane Proteins ; analysis ; genetics ; physiology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis

The paper is aimed to establish a methods for identication of pearl powder and conch powder from different origins. Hermetic aluminum pan was used to encapsulate samples. The optimal testing conditions were: heating rate 10 degrees C x min(-1), sample weight 3 mg and nitrogen gas flow rate 40 mL x min(-1). The enthalpy values of pearl powder and conch powder was obvious different. Identication of pearl powder and conch powder by DSC is a practical method for its accuracy, convenience and practificality.
Animal Shells ; chemistry ; Animals ; Calorimetry, Differential Scanning ; methods ; China ; Discriminant Analysis ; Pinctada ; chemistry ; classification ; Powders ; chemistry