Objective To investigate the effect of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) captopril and angiotensin Ⅱ receptor antagonist losartan on the mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 and MMP-9 in vascular smooth muscle cells induced by angiotensin Ⅱ (Ang Ⅱ ).Methods Male Wistar rats' thoracic aortic vascular smooth muscle cells were cultured in vitro.The cultured cells were divided in to control group,Ang Ⅱ group,captopril group,losartan group,and captopril plus losartan group.Cells in all groups were collected at the culture end-point.MMP-1 and MMP-9 mRNA expressions were detected by RT-PCR method in the collected specimens,and the effects of Ang Ⅱ on MMP-1 and MMP-9 mRNA expression and the intervention effects of captopril and losartan were observed in different Ang Ⅱ concentrations and different action times to vascular smooth muscle cells.Results ( 1 ) MMP-1 mRNA expression gradually increased along with the increments of Ang Ⅱ concentration and the action time (P＜0.05),and the most significant concentration was 10-6 mol/L (P＜0.01).(2)Captopril (5 × 10-6 mol/L) and losartan (5 × 10-6mol/L) inhibited the action of AngⅡ (P＜0.05,P＜0.01).MMP-9 mRNA expression was 0.47±0.03 ,0.86 ± 0.04,0.94±0.14 and 1.12±0.19 vs.0.10±0.04 (P＜0.05,P＜0.01) respectively when Ang Ⅱ concentration was 10-7 ,10-6 ,10-5 and 10-4 mol/L respectively.Captopril (5 × 10-6mol/L) and losartan (5 × 10-6 mol/I) significantly inhibited the MMP-9 mRNA expression which was stimulated by Ang Ⅱ (P＜0.05,P＜0.01),especially in captopril plus losartan group.The MMP-9 mRNA expression increased with the prolonging of stimulating time of Ang Ⅱ,MMP-9 mRNA expression was earlier than that of MMP-1.Conclusions AngⅡ increases the expression of MMP-1 and MMP-9 of vascular smooth muscle cells in a dose-and time-dependence manner.Captopril and losartan inhibit the MMP-1 and MMP-9 mRNA expression of vascular smooth muscle cells induced by Ang Ⅱ ,and the inhibition is the strongest when losartan was combined with captopril.The inhibitive effects is positively correlated to action time.

Objective To investigate the effects of warming-needle acupuncture on the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in the articular cartilage in knee osteoarthritis induced by immobilization in rabbits.MethodsA total of 30 adult male Japanese white rabbits were randomly assigned into three groups by random number table method: a normal group, a model group and a treatment group, with 10 rabbits in each group. Knee osteoarthritis was induced by 6 weeks of immobilization. The rabbits in the treatment group received warming-needle acupuncture after modeling at points of “Neixiyan” (EX-LE4), “Dubi” (ST35), “Zusanli” (ST36) and “Yanglingquan” (GB34) for 4 weeks. The level of MMP-1 and IL-1β in the articular cartilage of the knee were determined with radioimmunological assay.ResultsThere were significant difference in the levels of MMP-1(0.16 ± 0.02 ng/mg, 0.37 ± 0.02 ng/mg, and 0.28 ± 0.03 ng/mg;F=258.251) and IL-1β (0.21 ± 0.01 pg/mg, 0.34 ± 0.02pg/mg, and 0.31 ± 0.04 pg/mg;F=127.112) among the normal group, model group and treatment group. The levels of MMP-1 and IL-1β both in the model group and treatment group were significant higher than those in the normal group (allP<0.01), while the levels of MMP-1 and IL-1β in the treatment group were significant lower than those in the model group (allP<0.01).ConclusionWarming-needle acupuncture can effectively reduced the levels of MMP-1 and IL-1β in the articular cartilage in knee osteoarthritis induced by immobilization in rabbits.

OBJECTIVETo explore the theory of "Fei and Dachang being interior-exteriorly related" and the pathogenesis of lung injury by observing changes of inflammatory cytokines and oxygen free radicals in ulcerative colitis (UC) rats.

METHODSTotally 50 healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups, the normal control group and the model group, 25 rats in each group. The UC model was established by allergizing colon mucosa combined with TNBS-alcohol (50%) enema. Another 25 rats were recruited as the normal control group. At week 2 and 4 after modeling, the pathomorphological changes of the lung were observed. Furthermore, the contents of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and IL-1beta were determined by ELISA. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were evaluated with colorimetry.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group, the pathomorphology of the lung tissue in the model group appeared abnormal at week 2 and 4. Compared with the normal control group, levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and MDA in the lung tissue significantly increased in the model group (P < 0. 01) and the activities of SOD significantly decreased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONTNF-alpha, IL-1beta, SOD, and MDA might be common material bases for the large intestine involved in lung disease of UC patients, thus providing a modern scientific basis for the theory of Fei and Dachang being interior-exteriorly related.

Animals ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Interleukin-1beta ; metabolism ; Lung ; metabolism ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

Objective To analyze the worldwide advances on bacterial quantitative proteomics over the past fifteen years with bibliometric approach.Methods Literature retrieval was conducted throughout the databases of Pubmed,Embase and Science citation index (SCI),using bacterium and quantitative proteomics as the key words.The deadline is July 2013.We sorted and analyzed these articles with Endnote X6 from the aspects of published year,the first author,name of journal,published institution,cited frequency and publication type.Results 932 English articles were included in our research after deleting the duplicates.The first article on bacterial quantitative proteomics was reported in 1999.The maximal publications were 163 related articles in 2012.Up till July 2013,authors from more than 23 countries and regions have published articles in this field.China ranks the fourth.The main publication type is original articles.The most frequently cited article is entitled with Absolute quantification of proteins by LCMSE:a virtue of parallel MS acquisition by Silva JC,Gorenstein MV,Li GZ,et al in Mol Cell Proteomics 2006.The most productive author is Smith RD from Biological Sciences Division,Pac.Northwest National Laboratory.The top journal publishing bacterial quantitative proteomics is Proteomics.Conclusion More and more researchers pay attention to quantitative proteomics which will be widely used in bacteriology.

AIM:To establish the GC fingerprint of Huoxiang Zhengqi Solution.METHODS:The volatile constituents of Huoxiang Zhengqi Solution were analyzed by capillary GC with FID detector using hydrodistillation and hexane extraction under n-hepladecane used as the reference substance.RESULTS:GC fingerprint of Huoxiang Zhengqi Solution,16 common peaks were established on the basis of systematic methodology after 10 batches of samples were tested.Variation in the relative retention time of 16 identified common peaks were within 0.5% range.CONCLUSION:The analytical method for Huoxiang Zhengqi Solution is precise and reliable.The research would be helpful to offer an effective pattern for quality control of Huoxiang Zhengqi Solution.

Objective To observe the effect of MG-132 on NF-κB signal path of cartilage and synovium in a rat model of knee osteoarthritis.Methods The rat models of knee osteoarthritis were established by performing anterior cruciate ligament amputation and partial medial meniscectomy.Totally 144 adult SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups:MG-132 group,100 ml 0.007 g/L MG-132 solution was injected in to the knee joints of rat model 24 h after surgery; DMSO group,100 ml 0.1％ DMSO solution was injected 24 h after surgery; sham surgery group,merely the knee capsulotomy was performed and no solution was injected;control group,100 ml 0.007 g/L MG-132 solution was injected into the knee joints.The cartilage and synovium specimens were obtained at 2,4,12 weeks postoperatively.Pathomorphological observation was taken.The levels of NF-κB p65,I-κB,TNF-α and IL-1β at mRNA were detected by real-time PCR,and the activityof 20S proteasome was measured by fluorospectrophotometry.Resnlts The Mankin score of MG-132 groupwas lower than that of DMSO group.The Mankin scores of sham surgery and control groups were lower thanthose of MG-132 and DMSO groups with significant difference.The mRNA levels of NF-κB p65,IL-1 β,TNF-α of cartilage and synovium in MG-132 group were lower than those of DMSO group with significant differenceexcept for NF-κB p65 of synovium at 2 weeks and IL-1β of cartilage at 12 weeks.The mRNA levels of I-κB of cartilage at 2 weeks and I-κB of synovium at 4 weeks in MG-132 group were higher than those in DMSO group with statistical significance.Conclusion MG-132,the proteasome inhibitor,could postpone the progress of osteoarthritis through alleviating synovial inflammation and defending the articular cartilage.

Objective To study the mechanism of chemotherapy resistance caused by interleukin-6 (IL-6) in ovarian cancer cells and its related signal pathways. Methods Ovarian cancer cell lines A2780(IL-6 receptor positive, while non-IL-6-expressing and cisplatin/paclitaxel-responsive) and SKOV3 cell lines( overexpressing of IL-6 receptor and IL-6 and cisplatin/paclitaxel-resistant) were suitable models for this study. The effect of exogenous (a short period of treatment with recombination IL-6) and endogenous IL-6(by transfecting with plasmid encoding for sense IL-6 ) in A2780 cells or deleting of endogenous IL-6expression in SKOV3 cells (by transfecting with plasmid encoding for antisense IL-6) on the sensitivity to cisplatin and paclitaxel was investigated. Meanwhile, the mechanism of chemotherapy resistance caused by IL-6 in ovarian cancer cells and its related signal pathways were also analyzed. Results We found that both exogenous and endogenous IL-6 induce cisplatin and paclitaxel resistance in non-IL-6-expressing A2780 cells (the resistance multiple to cisplatin and paclitaxel was: exogenous, 6. 25 and 7.31; endogenous, 7. 13 -8. 34 and 7. 61 - 10. 70), while deleting of endogenous IL-6 expression in IL-6-overexpressing SKOV3 cells promotes its sensitivity to anticancer drugs ( the resistance multiple to cisplatin and paclitaxel was 0. 15 and 0. 10, 0. 10 and 0. 08). IL-6 significantly up-regulated the expression levels of mRNA and protein of drug resistance-associated genes, MDR1 and GST-π, and apoptosis-inhibiting genes, bcl-2, bcl-xL and XIAP in a dose-dependent manner in A2780 cells. In accordance with this finding, the mRNA and protein levels of MDR1 and GST-π enhanced in sense IL-6-transfected A2780 cells, and reduced in antisense IL-6-transfected SKOV3 cells compared with the corresponding parental and control vector-transfected cells, which had no difference. It was found that PD98059 [ mitogen-activated protein kinase-extracellular signalregulated kinase (MEK) inhibitor ] and wortmannin [ phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor ]significantly antagonized IL-6-induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase ( ERK ) and protein kinase B (Akt), respectively, and both of them blocked IL-6-induced cisplatin and paclitaxel resistance and the inhibitory effects of PD98059 and wortmannin were dependent on its concentration.Conclusions These data suggest that IL-6-induced chemoresistance may be associated with increase of both drug resistance-associated genes ( MDR1 and GST-π) and apoptosis-inhibiting genes ( bcl-2, bcl-xL and XIAP), and activation of MEK/ERK and PL3K/Akt. Therefore, modulation of IL-6 expression or its related signaling pathway may be a promising strategy of treatment for drug-resistant ovarian cancer.

The potential biodegradation of crude oil was assessed based on the development of a fermentative process with a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa which produced 15.4 g/L rhamnolipids when cultured in a basal mineral medium using glycerol as a sole carbon source. However, neither cell growth nor rhamnolipid production was observed in the comparative culture system using crude oil as the sole carbon source instead. As rhamnolipid, an effective biosurfactant, has been reported to stimulate the biodegradation of hydrocarbons, 1 g/L glycerol or 0.22 g/L rhamnolipid was initially added into the medium to facilitate the biodegradation of crude oil. In both situations, more than 58% of crude oil was degraded and further converted into accumulated cell biomass and rhamnolipids. These results suggest that Pseudomonas aeruginosa could degrade most of crude oil with direct or indirect addition of rhamnolipid. And this conclusion was further supported by another adsorption experiment, where the adsorption capacity of crude oil by killed cell biomass was negligible in comparison with the biologic activities of live cell biomass.
Biodegradation, Environmental ; Cell Culture Techniques ; methods ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Glycolipids ; pharmacology ; Petroleum ; metabolism ; microbiology ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; drug effects ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Water Pollutants, Chemical ; metabolism ; Water Purification ; methods

The ancient teacher-disciple tradition is regarded as one of the most celebrated practices within the Chinese medicine world. Such traditions of secrecy, private wisdom and honor are deeply rooted in the theories of Confucianism. This paper only explores the surface of this ancient culture, by investigating relevant popular ancient texts and common Chinese proverbs, as well as utilizing personal experiences, in order to reflect on how the ancient Chinese perceived such practices within their own society and how secret teaching was passed on from teacher to student, including the revelation of secret formulas and their importance and how that tradition differs from our modern-day perspectives. Various rare manuscripts from the author's personal library are employed in order to provide relative examples of the importance of secret knowledge, and how these secrets applied in the traditional healing.
Culture ; Drug Prescriptions ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Knowledge ; Manuscripts as Topic ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Students ; Teaching

AIM:To establish the GC fingerprint of Huoxiang Zhengqi Solution.METHODS:The volatile constituents of Huoxiang Zhengqi Solution were analyzed by capillary GC with FID detector using hydrodistillation and hexane extraction under n-heptadecane used as the reference substance.RESULTS:GC fingerprint of Huoxiang Zhengqi Solution,16 common peaks were established on the basis of systematic methodology after 10 batches of samples were tested.Variation in the relative retention time of 16 identified common peaks were within 0.5% range.CONCLUSION:The analytical method for Huoxiang Zhengqi Solution is precise and reliable.The research would be helpful to offer an effective pattern for quality control of Huoxiang Zhengqi Solution.