FOS protein in the lumbosacral spinal cord of the rat was detected to study neuronal activation induced by noxious stimulation of the urethra. In rats receiving infusion of 100 μl of 2% formalin into the urethra, a large number of FOS-positive neurons were seen in the lumbosacral cord segments (L6 and S1), and they were primarily distributed in the medial dorsal horn and dorsal commissural nucleus. Nearly all of FOS expression was blocked by bilateral transection of the pudendal nerve, whereas bilateral transection of the pelvic nerve seemed to have no obvious effect on FOS expression.Behavioral changes were also observed in the nerve-transected rats. Bilateral pelvic nerve-transected rats showed frequently licking of the external urethral orifice after application of the irritant to the urethra, which was quite similar to that of the nerve-intact rats. Such behavior completely disappeared in the rats receiving bilateral pudendal nerve transection. The results suggest that the medial dorsal horn and dorsal commissural nucleus in the L6 and S1 segments are involved in processing nociceptive inputs from the urethra, which is carried by the pudendal nerve.

Danshensu is one of the main water soluble active ingredients of Salvia miltiorrhiza ,which has many phar-macological activities ,especially in cardiovascular system .T he cardiovascular pharmacological mechanism of Danshensu and its derivatives from the view of anti-apoptosis ,antioxidant ,inhibiting calcium overload and role in the inflammatory reaction path-ways etc .were summarized in this article .

Objective To design and synthesize novel Danshensu derivatives in order to improve their stability and cardio-protective effect against myocardial ischemia .Methods Novel Danshensu derivatives were synthesized chiefly viaesterification , methoxy phenol hydroxyl protection ,nitration and amine solution reaction .All the target compounds were evaluated their bio-logical effects on anti-myocardial ischemia with H9c2 cells in vitro .Results 15 compounds were synthesized and further con-firmed by 1 H NMR and MS .Pharmacological studies showed that few synthetic derivatives at 5μmol/L performed a higher bi-ological effect than Danshensu .Conclusion Most derivatives didn't show the best activity at the chosen concentration gradient that a further pharmacological trial need to be done .

Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) is responsible for the recognition of bacterial flagellin in vertebrates. In the present study, the first TLR5 gene in duck was cloned. The open reading frame (ORF) of duck TLR5 (dTLR5) cDNA is 2580 bp and encodes a polypeptide of 859 amino acids. We also cloned partial sequences of myeloid differentiation factor 88, 2'-5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS), and myxovirus resistance (Mx) genes from duck. dTLR5 mRNA was highly expressed in the bursa of Fabricius, spleen, trachea, lung, jejunum, rectum, and skin; moderately expressed in the muscular and glandular tissues, duodenum, ileum, caecum, and pancreas; and minimally expressed in the heart, liver, kidney, and muscle. DF-1 or HeLa cells transfected with DNA constructs encoding dTLR5 can activate NF-kappaB leading to the activation of interleukin-6 (IL-6) promoter. When we challenged ducks with a Herts33 Newcastle disease virus (NDV), mRNA transcription of the antiviral molecules Mx, Double stranded RNA activated protein kinase (PKR), and OAS was up-regulated in the liver, lung, and spleen 1 and 2 days post-inoculation.
2',5'-Oligoadenylate Synthetase/genetics/metabolism ; Animals ; Cell Line ; *Cloning, Molecular ; Ducks ; Gene Expression Regulation/*physiology ; Humans ; Immunity, Innate ; Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88/genetics/metabolism ; Myxovirus Resistance Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Newcastle Disease/metabolism ; Newcastle disease virus/classification ; RNA, Messenger/genetics/metabolism ; Species Specificity ; Toll-Like Receptor 5/genetics/*metabolism

【Objective】 To investigate the protection of astragaloside IV from high glucose induced podocyte injury and mitochondrial dysfunction and its molecular mechanisms. 【Methods】 The model of podocyte injury induced by high glucose (30 mmol/L glucose) was established, and the model cells were treated with low, medium and high doses of astragaloside IV respectively; cell activity was detected by CCK-8. Apoptosis was detected by TUNEL staining. Mitochondrial membrane potential was detected by JC-1 fluorescence probe. ATP content was detected by the kit. The expression levels of apoptosis and podocyte injury related proteins and Notch pathway related proteins were detected by Western blotting. 【Results】 Compared with the control group, cell activity was decreased, apoptosis level was increased (P<0.05), anti-apoptotic protein (Bcl2) expression was decreased, and apoptosis protein (Bax, cleaved-caspase 9, cleaved-caspase 3) expressions were increased (all P<0.05) in HG group. Compared with HG group, HG+AS-IV improved cell activity and apoptosis level induced by high glucose (P<0.05), increased expression of anti-apoptotic protein (Bcl2), and decreased expressions of apoptotic protein (Bax, cleaved-caspase 9, and cleaved-caspase 3) (all P<0.05). Compared with the control group, mitochondrial dysfunction occurred in HG group, JC-1 monomer content increased, and ATP content decreased (all P<0.05). Compared with HG group, HG+AS-IV improved mitochondrial dysfunction, increased JC-1 polymer content and ATP content (P<0.05). In addition, compared with the control group, the expression of Notch pathway-related protein was decreased in HG group (P<0.05). Compared with HG group, Notch pathway-related protein expression was increased in HG+AS-IV group (all P<0.05). Molecular docking results showed that AS-IV could bind Notch1. 【Conclusion】 Astragaloside IV can improve podocyte injury and mitochondrial dysfunction induced by high glucose, possibly by inhibiting Notch pathway activation.

BACKGROUND: Liver biopsy for the diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is limited by its inherent invasiveness and possible sampling errors. Some studies have shown that cytokeratin-18 (CK-18) concentrations may be useful in diagnosing NASH, but results across studies have been inconsistent. We aimed to identify the utility of CK-18 M30 concentrations as an alternative to liver biopsy for non-invasive identification of NASH. METHODS: Individual data were collected from 14 registry centers on patients with biopsy-proven non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and in all patients, circulating CK-18 M30 levels were measured. Individuals with a NAFLD activity score (NAS) ≥5 with a score of ≥1 for each of steatosis, ballooning, and lobular inflammation were diagnosed as having definite NASH; individuals with a NAS ≤2 and no fibrosis were diagnosed as having non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL). RESULTS: A total of 2571 participants were screened, and 1008 (153 with NAFL and 855 with NASH) were finally enrolled. Median CK-18 M30 levels were higher in patients with NASH than in those with NAFL (mean difference 177 U/L; standardized mean difference [SMD]: 0.87 [0.69-1.04]). There was an interaction between CK-18 M30 levels and serum alanine aminotransferase, body mass index (BMI), and hypertension ( P  < 0.001, P  = 0.026 and P  = 0.049, respectively). CK-18 M30 levels were positively associated with histological NAS in most centers. The area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) for NASH was 0.750 (95% confidence intervals: 0.714-0.787), and CK-18 M30 at Youden's index maximum was 275.7 U/L. Both sensitivity (55% [52%-59%]) and positive predictive value (59%) were not ideal. CONCLUSION This large multicenter registry study shows that CK-18 M30 measurement in isolation is of limited value for non-invasively diagnosing NASH.
Humans ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/diagnosis* ; Keratin-18 ; Biomarkers ; Biopsy ; Hepatocytes/pathology* ; Apoptosis ; Liver/pathology*