Incretin is a hormone released from the L -cells in the gut wall under the stimulation of food and can promote the insulin secretion.The related agents used in the clinic mainly include two types , the gluca-gon-like peptide-1 ( GLP-1 ) receptor agonists and dipeptidyl pepti-dase -4 ( DPP -4 ) inhibitors.Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic ( PK/PD) models of incretin related agents can be useful tools in optimal drug therapy in patients and support the design of future clinical trials.Meanwhile , a mechanism-based model can be more powerful at predic-ting physiological characteritics and the probability of successful outcome of anti -diabetic treatment for different dosage regimens of the drugs , which will be beneficial for new drugs development and dosage regimens regulation.The present review is focused on the mechanism -based PK/PD models of representative drugs which belong to GLP -1 receptor agonists and DPP-4 inhibitors.

ATP-binding cassette ( ABC ) transporters at blood-brain barrier, such as, P-glycoprotein ( P -gp ) , multidrug -resistance -associated protein ( Mrp ) , and breast cancer related protein ( Bcrp ) , can limit central nervous system ( CNS ) uptake of foreign chemicals, drugs and toxicant.ABC transporters are neuroprotective, but they also distinguish poorly between neurotoxicants and therapeutic drugs.So they are major obstacles to CNS pharmacotherapy.Clarifying the mechanisms of these transporters can provide new targets for drugs to get through the blood-brain barrier, which helps to reduce the occurrence of drug re-sistance and improve the effect of treatment.The present review is fo-cused on new findings about ABC transporters and three main signal path-ways, whose are TNF-α/PKCβ/S1PR1 signaling, vascular endothelial growth factor signaling and estrogen signaling.

AIMTo observe the antagonistic effect of hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) on the platelet activating factor (PAF).

METHODSWashed rabbit platelet (WRP) aggregation and rabbit polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) aggregation induced by PAF were observed by turbidimetric assay in vitro. The PAF receptor antagonistic effect of HSYA was investigated by radio ligand binding assay (RLBA).

RESULTSIn RLBA the specific binding inhibition effect of HSYA was found to be concentration-dependent in three different [3H]PAF concentrations. In the experiments, WRP aggregation and rabbit PMNs aggregation induced by PAF (9.55 x 10(-10), 9.55 x 10(-6) mol.L-1) were both inhibited by HSYA in a concentration-dependent manner in vitro. The IC50 of HSYA to inhibit WRP and rabbit PMNs aggregation was 0.99 and 0.70 mmol.L-1, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe PAF receptor binding can be antagonized by HSYA.

Animals ; Carthamus ; chemistry ; Cell Aggregation ; drug effects ; Chalcone ; analogs & derivatives ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; In Vitro Techniques ; Male ; Neutrophils ; drug effects ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Platelet Aggregation ; drug effects ; Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Quinones ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Rabbits ; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled ; antagonists & inhibitors

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A large number of studies have shown that function constipation (FC) has an extremely high incidence of mental and psychological disorders. Cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) was applied to the treatment of psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression. We explored the effects of CES combined with biofeedback therapy (BFT) on the psychological state, clinical symptoms, and anorectal function in patients with FC. METHODS: A total of 74 patients with FC were randomly divided into 2 groups. The control group received BFT. CES combined with BFT was carried out in the experiment group. All patients were assessed using the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), self-rating depression scale (SDS), and Wexner constipation score at baseline and the end of each course. Anorectal manometry and balloon expulsion tests were performed before and after treatment. RESULTS: After treatment, the participants in the experiment group had significantly lower score SAS, SDS, and Wexner constipation scores than the control group (all P < 0.05). The number of successful expulsion in the experiment group was larger than the control group (P = 0.016). CONCLUSIONS: CES combined with BFT was effective in improving the psychological status of anxiety, depression, and bowel symptoms in patients with FC.
Anxiety ; Biofeedback, Psychology* ; Constipation* ; Depression ; Electric Stimulation Therapy* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Manometry ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo study the changes of lower esophageal sphincter (LES) high-pressure zone, and to determine the accurate length of myotomy on the esophageal and gastric sides.

METHODSThere were 15 patients undergoing the Heller's cardia-myotomies and Toupet fundoplications from May 2006 to December 2007. Among them, 9 patients were female and 6 was male. The age ranged from 28 to 61 years old, and the disease duration ranged from 6 months to 9 years. The intraoperative oesophageal manometry underwent in the surgical procedures to investigate the changes of the lower esophageal sphincter pressure and the length of myotomy.

RESULTSThere was no postoperative death. After (5.3 +/- 1.5) cm of esophageal side myotomy and (0.8 +/- 0.4) cm of gastric side myotomy, the mean LES pressure decreased from (33.6 +/- 13.3) mm Hg (1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa) to (9.7 +/- 4.6) mm Hg and (4.8 +/- 3.1) mm Hg respectively (P < 0.05). The lower esophageal sphincter length ranged from 5 to 8 cm.

CONCLUSIONIntraoperative esophageal manometry helps determine the accurate myotomy length of myotomy on the esophageal and gastric sides of the gastroesophageal junction and provides valuable information for the Heller's myotomy.

Adult ; Esophageal Achalasia ; surgery ; Esophagus ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Intraoperative Care ; Male ; Manometry ; Middle Aged ; Monitoring, Intraoperative

Aim To observe the protective effect of ginsenoside Re pretreatment on rats with isoproterenol-induced acute myocardial ischemia via JAK 2/STAT3 signaling pathway .Methods SD rat model with acute myocardial ischemia was established using isoprotere-nol.Seventy-five rats were randomly divided into five groups: control group, model group , puerarin group (PUE), high dose group (Re-H, 20 mg· kg -1) and Re low-dose group ( Re-L, 10 mg kg -1 ) .The blood flow on the heart surface of rats in each group was ob-served by moor laser blood flow imaging system .The levels of CK , LDH, SOD, MDA and GSH in myocar-dium were measured by ELISA .The expressions of Bax and Bcl-2 proteins were detected by immunohistochem-istry.The expressions of JAK , p-JAK, STAT3 and p-STAT3 proteins were detected by Western blot .Re-sults Compared with the control group , the mean blood flow on the heart surface of rats in the model group significantly decreased , the levels of CK , LDH and MDA in the myocardium increased , the levels of GSH and SOD decreased , the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax de-creased ( P <0.05 ) , and the expression of JAK 2/STAT3 pathway related proteins was enhanced ( P <0.05 ) . The mean blood flow on the heart surface markedly increased , the levels of CK , LDH and MDA decreased , the level of GSH-Px increased , the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax increased, and the expression of JAK2/STAT3 pathway proteins evidently increased in the Re-H group compared with those of the model group ( P<0.05 ) .Conclusion Ginsenoside Re pretreatment has a good protective effect on the myocardium in rats with acute myocardial ischemia , which may be related to the activation of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway .

Chemotaxis is the response ability of motile cells to chemicals gradients in environment and the migration toward higher concentration of chemoattractant or lower concentration of repellent. This mechanism is a basic nature of microorganisms to adapt to the environmental changes. The research of microbial chemotaxis is of great significance in utilizing bacteria to solve environment problems, control the pathogen infection, and develop microbial industrial projects. Microfluidic devices can realize qualitatively and quantitatively detect of bacterial chemotaxis. In comparison with traditional detect methods, microfluidic assay has an accurate control over bacterial microenvironment, with a higher sensitivity. In the past few years, bacterial chemotaxis study based on microfluidic assay was developed rapidly. In this paper, the microfluidic chemotaxis detectors that appeared in recent years were introduced from the aspect of chip structure, working principle and their applications. Finally, we provided insights into the challenges of bacterial chemotaxis and provided future perspectives.

Objective To access the effects of different doses of recombinant fusion protein of human tumor necrosis factor receptor mutant and Fc fragment [rhTNFR(m):Fc] after a single subcutaneous injection on the plasma concentration of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-or) in Chinese healthy volunteers.Methods A total of 56 healthy Chinese volunteers were randomly divided into 6 groups to receive a single injection of 10,20,35,65,75 mg of rhTNFR(m):Fc.The plasma concentrations of TNF-α and total TNF-α were determined at 1 h pre-dose and at 4,48,96,168,216,264,312,384,480 h post-dose.Results After administration of rhTNFR(m):Fc at 0-264 h,the plasma concentrations of free TNF-α and total TNF-α increased significantly in the each group.At 264-480 h post-dose,the concentration of them began to decrease,and at 480 h the concentration of free TNF-α almostly decreased to normal levels.In the dose range of 10-75 mg,the exposure of free TNF-α and total TNF-α (Cmax) had no significant correlation with the dose of rhTNFR (m):Fc.Conclusion After giving the single dose of rhTNFR (m):Fc,there was an increase of free and total TNF-α plasma concentration in Chinese healthy volunteers.As a result,the plasma concentration of free and total TNF-α may not be a suitable pharmacodynamic evaluation index.

OBJECTIVETo explore novel pathogenic mutation in the mitochondrial DNA gene in diabetic pedigree.

METHODSTwenty-eight suspected mitochondrial DNA diabetic families were recruited. The gene fragment was produced by PCR, and mutation was detected by direct sequencing.

RESULTSIn one pedigree, the proband and her mother were found carrying the most common nt3243 A --> G mutation and another 16S rRNA 3205C --> T mutation. But only 3205C --> T was found in her affected brother. All the two patients were deaf and developed diabetes in early age, characterized by impaired beta cell function and low body mass index (BMI). The proband had relatively higher lactic acid concentration than normal individuals. A novel ND1 gene 3434 A --> G(TAT --> TGT) mutation was explored in another proband with deafness and her affected family members.

CONCLUSION16SrRNA 3205C --> T mutation was found in a mitochondrial diabetes mellitus pedigree, implying its potential pathogenic role in diabetes. Another novel ND1 3434 A --> G mutation was found in another diabetic pedigree. Because this mutation causes amino acid change (Tyr --> Cys) and is co-segregated with diabetes, it may be diabetogenic.

Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; DNA, Mitochondrial ; genetics ; Diabetes Mellitus ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Pedigree ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ; analysis ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo determine the regulatory role and mechanism of nitric oxide (NO) in the development and hatching of mouse blastocysts.

METHODSThe Kunming female mice were superovulated and then mated with mature male mice. On the day 2.5 of their pregnancy, morulae were flushed from their uterine horns with culture media. Morulae were cultured in different concentrations of N-nitro-L arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), sodium nitroprusside (SNP), or the combination of L-NAME and SNP in culture media for 48 hours. The development and hatching of blastocysts were examined on day 4 and day 5 and the total numbers of blastocyst cells and cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 3 (caspase 3) were observed under confocal laser scanning microscope.

RESULTSWith the increase of the concentration of L-NAME or SNP, the hatching rate of blastocysts and the total number of blastocyst cells were significantly reduced. The addition of 10 nmol/L SNP in culture media with 5 mmol/L L-NAME significantly increased the development of blastocysts and promoted hatching of blastocysts. However, with increase of SNP concentration in culture media with 5 mmol/L L-NAME, the development and hatching rates of blastocysts were significantly decreased. L-NAME had no obvious effect on the expression of active caspase 3 in blastocyst cells. However,when being above 500 nmol/L,SNP significantly increased the expression of caspase 3 in blastocyst cells.

CONCLUSIONSNO plays an important role in development and hatching of mouse blastocysts. Excessively high or low NO can damage the division of blastomeres, resulting in the failure of the blastocyst development and hatching. Also, excessively high NO can lead to the apoptosis of the blastocyst cells.

Animals ; Arginine ; analogs & derivatives ; Blastocyst ; Culture Media ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitroprusside ; Pregnancy ; Uterus