OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Pi transportation, dampness resolving and phlegm expelling herbs (PTDRPEH) on the obesity degree, fat hormones, and leptin resistance in diet-induced obesity (DIO) rats.

METHODSAmong the 120 Wister rats, 10 were recruited as the blank control group (fed with basal forage), and the remaining 110 were administered with high-fat high-nutrition forage for 17 weeks. According to weight, we obtained 40 DIO rats and 10 diet-induced obesity resistance (DIO-R) rats. DIO rats were further divided into four groups, i.e., the DIO model group (normal saline, at the daily dose of 2 mL), the sibutramine group (at the daily dose of 1.6 mg/kg), the dampness resolving and phlegm expelling group (DRPE, at the daily dose of 3.2 g/kg), and the Pi transportation group (PT, at the daily dose of 3.2 g/kg). All were given by gastrogavage. Normal saline (2 mL) was given by gastrogavage to rats in the blank control group and the DIO-R group. The basal forage was administered to rats in the blank control group, while high fat forage was continually given to rats in the remaining five groups. Their body weights and body lengths were measured after 16 weeks of gastrogavage. All intra-abdominal fat was taken out to measure the degree of obesity and fat contents. Insulin resistance index (IRI), blood glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, leptin, neuropeptide Y (NPY), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), and adiponectin were detected after blood withdrawing. Leptin, TNF-alpha, adiponectin, suppressors of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS-3), and other relevant adipose hormones and inflammatory cytokines were examined in the fat homogenate.

RESULTSCompared with the blank control group, DIO model rats' body weight, body mass index (BMI), fat factor, IRI, serum leptin, TNF-alpha, and SOCS-3 significantly increased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); serum NPY, serum leptin, and adiponectin decreased (P < 0.05). Leptin increased and NPY decreased in DIO-R model rats. Compared with the DIO group, DIO-R model rats' body weight, BMI, fat factor, IRI, serum NPY, TNF-alpha, and SOCS-3 all decreased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); leptin and adiponectin in serum and the fat homogenate all increased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). After intervention with Sibutramine, rats' body weight, BMI, fat factor, and TNF-alpha in the fat homogenate obviously decreased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Serum TNF-alpha decreased, leptin and adiponectin increased in rats of the DRPE group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). BMI, fat factor, IRI, leptin, and SOCS-3 showed a decreasing tendency, but with no statistical difference (P > 0.05). The body weight, BMI, fat factor, IRI, TNF-alpha, and SOCS-3 all decreased in the PT group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); leptin and adiponectin in the serum and the fat homogenate increased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSSibutramine could reduce body weight and TNF-alpha in the adipose tissue. Herbs of PT could inhibit fat diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance (IR), with superior effect to herbs of DRPE. Its mechanism might be closely related to promoting leptin and adiponectin secreted by fat, reducing leptin resistance, and elevating serum levels of leptin and adiponectin.

Adiponectin ; blood ; Animals ; Diet, High-Fat ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Insulin Resistance ; Leptin ; blood ; Male ; Obesity ; blood ; drug therapy ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

Adult ; Aminosalicylic Acid ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Manganese Poisoning ; drug therapy

Animals ; HSP72 Heat-Shock Proteins ; metabolism ; Hypoxia ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Male ; Motor Activity ; physiology ; Muscle, Skeletal ; metabolism ; Oxygen ; metabolism ; Physical Exertion ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Time Factors

Objective To generate the spaO-ompA fusion gene of Salmonella paratyphi A and its prokaryotic expression system,and to determine the immunoprotection of the recombinant expression product rSpaO-OmpA.Methods A flexible peptide sequence was used to link spaO and ompA genes and a prokaryotic expression system of spaO-ompA fusion gene was subsequently generated.SDS-PAGE and Bio-Rad Agarose Image Analyzer were applied to examine the expression as well as the yield of the target recombinant protein rSpaO-OmpA.The antigenicity and immunoreactivity of rSpaO-OmpA were determined using immunodiffusion test,Western Blot assay and micro-Widal's test.By a mouse infection model,the immunoprotection of rSpaO-OmpA against the lethal challenge of S.paratyphi A was determined.In the animal protective test,the recombinant expressed SpaO (rSpaO) and OmpA ( rOmpA ) were used as the controls.Results The generated spaO-ompA fusion gene had 100％ nucleotide and amino acid sequence identities compared to the single spaO or ompA gene.The constructed prokaryotic expression system IPTG E.coli BL21DE3pET42a-spaO-ompA expressed the recombinant protein rSpaO-OmpA.rSpaO-OmpA combined with the antiserum against wholecell of S.paratyphi A to present positive hybridization signal and induced specific antibody in the immunized rabbits.Immunization with 100 or 200 μg rSpaO-OmpA contributed 66.7％ (8/12) or 83.3％ (10/12) immunoprotective rates in mice when the animals were attacked with S.paratyphi A.The immunoprotective rates produced by rSpaO-OmpA were significantly higher than that of equal rSpaO or rOmpA( P＜0.05 ).The sera from rSpaO-OmpA immunized mice presented 1∶5-1∶40 agglutination titers to the H antigens of different S.paratyphi species,and 1∶1-1∶16 immunodiffusion titers to rSpaO,rOmpA and rSpaO-OmpA proteins,respectively.Conclusion The artificially fusion antigen,rSpaO-OmpA,has more powerful immunogenicity and immunoprotection that the equal rSpaO or rOmpA.

Objective To investigate the influence of treatment table with C-arm and immobilization device in IMRT planning accuracy, and to explore methods to solve this problem.Methods The solid water slabs and the ionization chamber was scanned and images were transmitted to the treatment planning system (TPS).Beam parameters in the TPS were set with 6 MV beam and 100 MU exposures were used.Measurements were performed at two different sizes of 5 cm×5 cm and 10 cm×10 cm.The gantry was rotated through angles from 0° to 180° with measurements taken at 5° increments.The measure point was set at center of the ionization chamber' measure point, which was also the central point of planning.The center axis of Matrix was aligned with the center of couch and was irradiated in accordance with the same conditions.OmniPro-FmRT software was used to compare and analyze the dose distribution of the radiation field of measurement and the treatment planning system output.Using the function of add constant value to find the appropriate coefficient to improve the plan total dose.The dose distributions for each beam in IMRT plans which was increased or unincreased total dose were measured for 6 patients with pelvic tumor respectively.Results In radiation therapy, treatment couch and immobilization device may attenuate radiotherapy dose.The impact of the incident range from 65°-70° and 115°-125° were the largest.Increasing the total dose of the treatment plan by 2％ could compensate the attenuation of the treatment table and immobilization device.Conclusions In radiation therapy, the impact of the incident range from 65°-70°, 115°-125° and another side of 290°-295° and 230°-245° should be avoided.The attenuation should not be neglected in the TPS and dose should be compensated by adjusting beams' MU.

Recent studies reported that thymoquinone (TQ), a component derived from the medicinal spice Nigella sativa (also called black cumin), exhibited inhibitory effects on cell proliferation of many cancer cell lines. This study was performed to investigate the anti-metastatic effect of thymoquinone on the pancreatic cancer in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that thymoquinone suppressed the migration and invasion of Panc-1 cells in a does-dependent manner. To investigate the possible mechanisms involved in these events, Western blotting analysis was performed, and found that thymoquinone significantly down-regulates NF-kappaB and MMP-9 in Panc-1 cells. In addition, metastatic model simulating human pancreatic cancer was established by orthotropic implantation of histologically intact pancreatic tumor tissue into the pancreatic wall of nude mice. And administration of thymoquinone significantly reduced tumor metastasis compared to untreated control. Furthermore, the expression of NF-kappaB and MMP-9 in tumor tissues was also suppressed after treatment with thymoquinone. Taken together, the results indicate that thymoquinone exerts anti-metastatic activity on pancreatic cancer both in vitro and in vivo, which may be related to down-regulation of NF-kappaB and its regulated molecules such as MMP-9 protein. Consequently, these results provide important insights into thymoquinone as an antimetastatic agent for the treatment of human pancreatic cancer.

Objective:To explore the intervention effect of proteasome inhibitor MG132 in rats with collagen-induced arthritis(CIA),which resembles human rheumatoid arthritis(RA).Methods:Forty-eight female SD rats were randomly divided into three groups,including blank control group,CIA model group and MG132-treated group.There were sixteen rats in each group.Rats in CIA model group and MG132-treated model group were injected with type Ⅱ collagen to established CIA rats.21 days after the initial immunization,the rats in the MG132-treated model group were injected subcutaneously with 1 mg/kg MG132 once daily for 2 weeks.42 days after the initial immunization,the change of paw-swelling and the arthritis scores were determined.The synovial pathology examination was performed with HE staining.The 20S proteasome activity in synovial tissue was measured by fluorescence substrate assay.The expression of NF-κB/p65,IκBα in synovial tissue were analyzed by Western blot.Results:Proteasome inhibitor MG132 significantly attenuated the severity of arthritis and histopathological changes in CIA rats.Compared with the blank control group,the 20S proteasome activity was increased significantly in the CIA model group(P<0.05),and decreased after injection of MG132.Compared with CIA rats,the expression of NF-κB/p65 significantly decreased in rats treated with MG132(P<0.01).Compared with the blank control group,the expression of IκBα protein decreased in CIA model group.After injected with MG132,the protein was significantly increased(P<0.01).Conclusion:The proteasome inhibitor MG132 may attenuates the severity of arthritis and histopathological changes in CIA rats.These effects may be mediated through the inhibition of NF-κB activity.

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of cold or hot properties of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) on biological effect indexes, and analyze the contribution of variables on cold or hot properties, in order to preliminarily establish the discrimination mode for the biological effects of cold or hot properties.

METHODRats were randomly divided into the blank control group, cold TCM groups (Coptidis Rhizoma, Scutellariae Radix, Phellodendri Cortex, Gardeniae Fructus, Sophorae Flavescentis Radix and Gentianae Radix) and hot TCM groups (Aconiti Lateralis Preparata Radix, Zingiberis Rhizoma, Alpiniae Officinarum Rhizoma, Zanthoxyli Pericarpium, Cinnamomi Cortex and Evodiae Fructus), and orally administered with 10 mL x kg(-1) of corresponding TCM water decoctions for 30 d, twice a day. Altogether 53 biological effect indexes correlated to cold or hot properties of traditional Chinese medicines were founded by searching literatures. The data warehouse were established by using data-mining software Clementine12.0. Data of the blank control group, cold TCM groups (Coptidis Rhizoma, Phellodendri Cortex, Gardeniae Fructus, Sophorae Flavescentis Radix, Gentianae Radix) and hot TCM groups (Aconiti Lateralis Preparata Radix, Zingiberis Rhizoma, Alpiniae Officinarum Rhizoma, Zanthoxyli Pericarpium, Cinnamomi Cortex) were selected into a training set. C5.0 algorithm and C&R classification and regression algorithm were adopted to define the importance of variable, create the decision trees, and test hot or cold properties of Evodiae Fructus and Scutellariae Radix.

RESULTAccording to C&R classification and regression algorithm, SDH activity of livers was the most important hot or cold property, with the significance closed to 30%. It was followed by triglyceride, liver Na' -K' -ATPase enzyme, muscle glycogen and platelet distribution width, with the accuracy up to 97.39% in models. C5.0 algorithm showed that liver SDH activity was the most important hot or cold property, with the significance closed to 40%. It was followed by triglyceride, GOT, muscle glycogen and liver Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase enzyme, with the accuracy up to 98.26% in models. The possibilities that Evodiae Fructus is in hot property and Scutellariae Radix is in cold property were 100. 00% and 77.78% by using both C&R classification and regression algorithm and C5.0 algorithm.

CONCLUSIONThe SDH activity of liver is the most important biological effect index to distinguish cold and hot properties of TCMs. The discrimination pathway or mode of cold and hot properties is closely related to energy metabolism.

Algorithms ; Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; classification ; pharmacology ; Fruit ; chemistry ; Liver ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Liver Glycogen ; metabolism ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; methods ; Phytotherapy ; classification ; methods ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; classification ; Random Allocation ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase ; metabolism ; Succinate Dehydrogenase ; metabolism ; Triglycerides ; metabolism

Background Contrast sensitivity (CS) of amblyopia has been extensively studied,but its relationship with spatial frequency channels needs further research. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons of the CS deficits in amblyopia through comparing the differences in CS between amblyopic and normal eyes from the point of view of spatial frequency channels. MethodsThe CS values of 166 normal children eyes and 143 amblyopic children abnormal eyes were measured by adopting OPTEC 6500.Then,spatial frequency channels' tuning curves were derived via principal component analysis and non-orthogonal rotation.Also,numbers and bandwidths of channels were calculated using the method of full width at half maximum ( FWHM ).All of these were used to analyze the variations of CS between amblyopia and normal eyes by comparing the numbers and the bandwidths of the channels.The reliability of spatial frequency channel was verified by a cross-validation study of 43 amblyopic children. ResultAt spatial frequency of 1.5,3.0,6.0,12.0,18.0 cpd,the mean of CS of amblyopia were 36.35±21.40,50.33 ± 33.46,46.88 ± 41.72,16.24 ± 17.26,4.67 ± 5.79,and the mean of CS of normal eyes were 49.49±24.69,87.23±40.87,93.18±51.99.36.63±24.72,15.70±13.87,with the rank-sum test results were H =27.83,66.61,68.34,78.23,89.88,P＜0.05.There existed three spatial frequency channels in both amblyopia and normal eyes.At the peaks of 3.0,6.0 and 12.0 cpd,the bandwidths of normal eyes were 1.03,1.02 and 0.99 octaves,and the bandwidths of amblyopia were 1.04,1.01and 0.73 octaves.Conclusions The reduction in bandwidths of the corresponding spatial frequency channels may cause the CS deficits in amblyopia.

Objective To establish the cell model of ethanol-induced liver injury and explore the protective effects of tea poly-phenols (TP)on ethanol-induced liver injury .Methods Cell morphology were observed by microscope ,and then alanine aminotrans-ferase (ALT) ,nmda transaminase (AST) ,gamma GGTP ,GGT and ROS changes were detected .Results Alcohol maked L02 hepa-tocyte fatty degeneration .Compared with ethanol group ,steatosis in TP + ethanol group was lighter ,its ALT ,AST ,GGT content and intracellular ROS reduced .Conclusion TP can decrease cell fatty change degree in vitro experiments ,improue the enzymology indexes ,reduce the generation of reactive oxygen species to avoid liver damage .