In recent years,more and more researchers have realized the possibility that algicidal bacteria could be a useful tool in reducing the impact of harmful algae blooms. In this review, the ecological roles of algicidal substances was briefly discussed, then special emphasis placed on the categories and extract methods of algicidal substances which have been reported. Some ideas for the further studies on algicidal substances were also proposed.

AIM: The autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) transplantation for treating acute myocardial infarction (AMI) via coronary artery in clinic has made remarkable and encouraging progress. The experiment aimed to study cytokine secretion in autologous BMSC transplantation for myocardial infarction dogs and its influence on angiogenesis and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. METHODS: Experiments were performed at the Animal Laboratory and the Central Laboratory, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University between December 2005 and May 2007. 10 mL of bone marrow was sterilely aspirated from the posterosuperior iliac spine of 36 healthy mongrel dogs. BMSCs were isolated and purified by Percoll density gradient centrifugation and cultured in vitro by adherence method. After being co-cultured with 5-azacytidine for two passages, these cells were labeled by 5-bromodeoxyuridine (Brdu) for preparation. Dog models of AMI were established in a model control group and a cell transplantation group randomly. 2 mL of cell suspension of autologous BMSCs were implanted into four different regions in the acute myocardial site via topical injection in the cell transplantation group, while the same dose of DMEM was injected into the corresponding regions in the model control group. Myocardial infraction tissues were measured after transplantation. RESULTS: Flow cytometry demonstrated that the positive rate of CD34 and CD11b on third passage of BMSC cell surface was below 5%, while the positive rate of CD44 and CD105 was above 90%. In situ end labeling showed that apoptotic index of cardiomyocytes was lower in the cell transplantation group than in the model control group (P

Metabonomics is a new method for identifing the relationship between organism metabolites and the effect of external stimulates.It provides a new strategy and platform for the TCM study and the modernization of TCM since the main idea of metabonomics is in accordance with that of TCM.

AIM: To activate hepatic stellate cells (HSC) in vitro in precision-cut liver slices (PCLS) stimulated by acetaldehyde for studying and screening anti-fibrotic drugs. METHODS: PCLS were prepared by the vibratome, and incubated with 700 ?m?L~-1 acetaldehyde for 0, 2, 4 and 6 h. The medium and homogenate were retained to determine glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage and hydroxyproline (Hyp) content. PCLS were prepared for paraffin sections. The expression of ?-smooth muscle actin (?-SMA) was evaluated by immunohistochemistry, and the result was analyzed with image analysis software. RESULTS: The leakages of GST and LDH were increased significantly compared with those in 0 h group (P

Background Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is a major blindness-causing disease,characterized by elevated intraocular pressure due to an insufficient outflow of aqueous humor. The trabecular meshwork lining the aqueous outflow pathway modulates the aqueous outflow facility. To study the biological characteristics of the trabecular meshwork cells has important significance. Objective This study was to culture the trabecular cells from primary open-angle glaucomatous eye (POAG) and study the biologic characteristics of passaged cells. Methods The deep scleral tissue with trabecular meshwork was obtained during the trabeculectomy from 8 eyes with POAG. The trabecular cells were primarily cultured and passaged in vitro. The generation 3 cells were identified by immunochemistry with the laminin (LM), fibronectin (FN) and neuron specific endolase (NSE)monoclonal antibodies. The ultrastructure was examined to observe the biological characteristics of the cells under the transmission electronic microscope. The experimental results were compared among POAG group, normal control group and blank control group. Results The primarily cultured POAG trabecular cells migrated from the edge of tissue mass about 10 days. The cells of generation 3 presented the logarithmic phase in the first 4 days and fused in the 7th day. FN,LM and NSE were positively expressed in the generated cells in POAG group and normal control group rather than blank control group. The MOD values of the generation 3 cells for FN in POAG group and normal control group were 0. 35 ± 0.06 and 0. 26 ± 0. 01, and those for LM were 0. 34 ± 0. 03 and 0. 25 ± 0. 02 respectively, showing statistically significant difference between these two groups ( FN: t = 14. 446, P＜0.001; LM: t = 9. 346, P＜0. 001 ). The microvilli, cytolysosome and phagocytic vesicle were obviously decreased in the trabcular cells of POAG group compared with normal control group under the transmission electron microscope. Conclusion The trabecular meshwork cells from POAG can be successfully cultured and passaged in vitro. It provides a cytology basis for further glaucoma research.

Adult ; Aged ; Asteraceae ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; Female ; Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease ; chemically induced ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies

Animals ; Coal Tar ; toxicity ; Comet Assay ; DNA Damage ; drug effects ; Mice ; NIH 3T3 Cells ; drug effects

Objective To investigate the effects of trimetazidine on the oxidative stress in maintenance he-modialysis (MHD) patients. Methods Eighty-six MHD patients and 30 healthy volunteers were recruited in the study. The activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) was measured by colorimetry and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in serum was measured by hydroxylamine method. The levels of serum malondialdehyde (MDA) were meas-ured by thiobarbituric acid reaction. Serum advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All MHD patients were randomly divided into two groups, treatment group (n = 46) and control group (n = 40), who had undergone hemodialysis for at least three months before the study and were in a stable clinic status without signs of infection or disease activity. In the treatment group,20 mg of trimetazidine was taken orally three times each day for twenty-four weeks, when the parameters for oxidative stress were studied. The levels of GSHPx. SOD, MDA and AOPP in serum were measured before and after the treat-ment. Results At the initiation of the investigation, the serum levels of GSHPx [(584.37±215.70) μmol/L, (580.87±309.12) μmol/L vs (769.06±302.46) μmol/L] and SOD [(347.87±82.09) kU/L, (348.16±75.33) kU/L vs (428.34±15.23)kU/L] in the M HD patients were significantly lower than those in the normal eontrol group (P < 0.01), whereas the content of MDA [(4.94±1.32) nmol/L, (4.97±1.61) nmol/L vs (3.56±0.46)nmol/L] and AOPP [(120.95±59.24) μg/L,(121.76±69.12) μg/L vs (47.69±20.15) μg/L] in MHD patients was higher than those in the control group( P < 0.05 and P <0.01, respectively). After treatment for twelve weeks, the scores of GSHPx and SOD were significantly increased in the treatment group compared to that before treatment (P <0.01). However, the contents of the MDA and AOPP decreased. There were significant differences in the levels of GSHPx, SOD,MDA and AOPP between the two groups of MHD patients after the treatment with trim-etazidine. Conclusions Trimetazidine in maintenance hemodialysis patients appears to be associated with an im-provement of oxidative stress.

Objective To investigate the serum cystatin C (CysC) level and explore its relationship with cytokines and atherosclerosis (AS) in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients.Methods A total of 110 stable MHD patients undergoing hemodialysis for at least six months and 60 healthy control people were enrolled in the study.Serum levels of CysC and high-sensitivity Creactive protein (hsCRP) were measured by immunoturbidimetry.The serum levels of total homocysteine (tHcy),IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α were determined by ELISA.Prevalence of atherosclerosis was detected by carotid ultrasonography.The relationship of CysC level and cardiac geometry incidence in MHD patients was analyzed by Logistic regression model.Results The serum CysC level was significantly higher in MHD patients as compared with healthy controls [(6.19±0.95) mg/L vs (0.76±0.21) mg/L,P＜0.01],and the serum levels of hsCRP,tHcy,IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α were significantly higher in MHD patients than those in healthy control group (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).The serum CysC level was higher in MHD patients with carotid artery atherosclerosis compared to patients without carotid artery atherosclerosis (P＜0.05).CysC was positively correlated with hsCRP,tHcy,IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α respectively (P＜0.05 or P＜O.01),and was positively correlated with carotid intimal medial thickness (IMT) and AS.Besides,a negative correlation was found between the serum CysC level and the serum albumin level (P＜0.05),while CysC was positively correlated with dialysis duration,systolic pressure and iPTH (P ＜0.05).Conclusion Serum CysC level is significantly higher in MHD patients and is correlated with hsCRP,tHcy,IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α as well as carotid artery atherosclerosis,which indicates that CysC is an independent risk factor of AS in MHD patients.

Fluorescent technology is widely used in many fields due to its high sensitivity. However, the direct quantification of one target analyte in complex system is still difficult to be achieved when using the traditional fluorescent method without any pretreatment separation procedure. This is due to the fact that serious overlapping of fluorescence spectra often occurs, mainly originating from natural interferences in complex sample backgrounds, or the interferents with similar structures to a target analyte, particularly in the simultaneous analysis of multi-components samples. The rapid development of modern analytical instruments and three-way data collection techniques has led to a resurgence of interest in the development of chemomet-rics-based analytical strategies, which might light a new avenue to simple experimentation using“mathematical separation” as a replacement or enhancement of“physical or chemical separation” of uncalibrated background or interferents. These methods can offer a highly attractive property, called“second-order advantage”, which allows for the direct and rapid determination of a single target component or simultaneous determination of multiple target components in complex samples, even in the presence of uncalibrated interferences. The property has been a hotspot in the current chemometric domain, and was successfully employed for many applications, such as pharmaceuticals, biological, food, environmental analysis and so on.