Sennoside A (SA), a typical prodrug, exerts its laxative effect only after its transformation into rheinanthrone catalyzed by gut microbial hydrolases and reductases. Hydrolases have been identified, but reductases remain unknown. By linking a photoreactive group to the SA scaffold, we synthesized a photoaffinity probe to covalently label SA reductases and identified SA reductases using activity-based protein profiling (ABPP). From lysates of an active strain, Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum (B. pseudocatenulatum), 397 proteins were enriched and subsequently identified using mass spectrometry (MS). Among these proteins, chromate reductase/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) phosphate (NADPH)-dependent flavin mononucleotide (FMN) reductase/oxygen-insensitive NADPH nitroreductase (nfrA) was identified as a potent SA reductase through further bioinformatic analysis and The Universal Protein Resource (UniProt) database screening. We also determined that recombinant nfrA could reduce SA. Our study contributes to further illuminating mechanisms of SA transformation to rheinanthrone and simultaneously offers an effective method to identify gut bacterial reductases.

Objective To investigate the association of rs1412125 at high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) gene with atrial fibrillation (AF) in Chinese Han population. Methods 396 patients with AF and 726 control subjects were recruited to this study. A case-control association analysis was applied to assess the as-sociation between rs1412125 in HMGB1 and AF. Results There were no significant differences in rs1412125 and the frequency of genotype distribution between the study group and the control group (allelic association:object P value was 1.05E-06, adjust P value was 0.176; genotypic association: additive P value was 0.146, dominant P value was 0.162, and recessive P value was 0.998). The interactions analysis showed that rs1412125 allele C increased the risk of AF in male subjects with rheumatic heart disease (adjust P value was 2.07E-04, rectify OR = 8.20, and 95%CI: 2.70-25.0). Conclusions There is no independent genetic association between rs1412125 at HMGB1 and atrial fibrillation. However , the interactions between rs1412125 and both gender and rheumatic heart disease might increase the risk of atrial fibrillation.

OBJECTIVETo study preliminarily on the relationship between properties of the mixture composed of Tongsaimai extract and different excipients and pellet molding.

METHODThe multivariate regression analysis was used to investigate the correlation of different mixture and pellet molding by measuring the cohesion, liquid-plastic limit of mixture, and the powder properties of pellets. The weighted coefficients of the powder properties were determined by analytic hierarchy process combined with criteria importance through intercriteria correlation.

RESULTThe results showed that liquid-plastic limit seemed to be a major factor, which had positive correlation with pellet molding, while cohesion had negative correlation with pellet molding in the measured range.

CONCLUSIONThe physical properties of the mixture has marked influence on pellet molding.

Dosage Forms ; Drug Compounding ; instrumentation ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Excipients ; chemistry ; Particle Size ; Powders ; Surface Properties

ObjectiveEvidence-based medicine was used to make an individualized treatment plan for rare solitary splenic metastasis of an ovarian carcinoma in a female patient. MethodsAfter clinical problems were discovered, evidence was collected from the Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, CNKI and Wanfang databases according to our predefined search strategy. The search was done until October, 2009. The validity of the evidence was assessed. The evidence, combined with the doctor experience and the patient value, was applied to the patient. ResultsA total of 15 English literature and 11 Chinese literature were identified. A rational treatment plan was made upon a critical evaluation of the data. There were 5 review articles in PubMed, EMBASE and ScienceDirect databases and no RCT in the Cochrane Library. And there was one retrospective cohort study inCNKI and Wanfang databases. The others were all case reports. After 20 month follow-up, the treatment protocol was proven correct. Conclusion The patient has rare disease, and the evidence intension for the evidence-based medicine was low. It can not present the efficacy of the evidence-based medicine treatment sufficiently, though it could provide some suggestion for rare disease which was lack of large RCT for evidence-based Methods .

Objective To investigate the effect of Tenascin-C on remodeling of ventricle in mice with chronic autoimmune myocarditis.Methods Seventy-five specific pathogen-free BALB/c mice were divided into experimental group(n=45)and control group(n=30).Animals in experimental group were immunized with an emulsion of polypeptides(myhc-? 614-629)and complete Freund's adjuvant(CFA)on day 1 and day 8,while those in control group with equal volume of mixture of phosphate buffer solution(PBS)and CFA.Groups of mice were sacrificed respectively on day 21,day 75 and day 120 after the first immunization.Hematoxylin and eosin(H-E)staining was used to identify the areas of inflammation,and Masson staining was used to identify the areas of fibrosis.The Tenascin-C protein expression in myocardium was detected by Western blotting.The content of serum procollagen type-Ⅲ amino-terminal propeptide(PⅢNP)was measured by radioimmunoassay.The correlation between Tenascin-C protein expression and content of serum PⅢNP was analyzed.Results On day 21,inflammatory infiltration in the myocardium was remarkable,with slight deposition of collagen in the interstitial tissue.On day 75 and day 120,inflammatory infiltration in myocardium was markedly reduced,but with more marked deposition of collagen.The Tenascin-C protein expression in myocardium and the content of serum PⅢNP were significantly higher in experimental group than in control group(P