OBJECTIVE To find lead compounds with potent bioactivities from endophytic fungi Trichoderma sp. SHJN1 and Perenniporia sp. SHJG1 from the traditional Chinese medicine Lindera glauca. METHODS The fermentation of Trichoderma sp. SHJN1 and Perenniporia sp. SHJG1 were isolated and purificated by repeated silica gel, ODS, Sephadex LH-20, and semi-preparation HPLC. The structures of compounds were performed by NMR and ESI-MS. The preliminary evaluation of anti-tumor activity of these compounds was performed by human breast cancer cells(MCF-7) and human lung cancer cells(A549). RESULTS A total of 12 compounds were purified from the above two endophytic fungi and identified as alantrypinone(1), oryzalactam(2), phomoindene A(3), cis-gregatin B(4), huaspenone B(5), stigmasta-7,22-dien-3β,5α,6α-triol(6) and ergosterol(7), 1-deoxy-2-demethylviridiol (8), viridiol(9), trichodermamides A(10), chromone(11) and 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid(12). The evaluation of antitumor activity showed that, compound 3 showed inhibitory activity on MCF-7 cell line with an IC50 value of (62.9±1.02)μmol·L-1[cisplatin(DDP) IC50=(30.1±1.67)μmol·L-1], while compound 8 and 9 showed inhibitory activities on A549 cell line with IC50 values of (34.6±1.57)μmol·L-1 and (44.9±1.74)μmol·L-1, respectively[DDP IC50=(20.6±1.42)μmol·L-1]. CONCLUSION Compounds 3, 8 and 9 show potent anti-tumor effects.

BACKGROUND: Cisplatin acquired resistance is a vital problem in the chemotherapy of non-small cell lung cancer, which needs to be further addressed. In recent years, obtaining drug resistant cells from cell cultivation and serving for metabolomics research to find differential metabolites and get potential biomarkers, is a good reference for clinical research and cancer treatment. This study aimed to obtain metabolite information related to cisplatin resistance through metabolomics analysis. METHODS: Metabolites were extracted from A549 cells and cisplatin resistant A549/DDP cells, and ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with time of flight mass spectrometry was used to perform metabolomic analysis of endogenous molecules of the two cells and obtain metabolic differences. RESULTS: Through data analysis, 40 metabolites were identified as differential metabolites, mainly involving phospholipids, fatty acids, amino acids and metabolites related to energy metabolism. CONCLUSIONS The drug resistance of A549/DDP cells may be caused by the changes of cell membrane structure and related metabolic pathways.
A549 Cells ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; pathology ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; pathology ; Mass Spectrometry ; Metabolomics ; methods

A method for simultaneous determination of 12 kinds of chlorinated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in drinking water was developed based on liquid-liquid extraction gas chromatography equipped with electron capture detector (GC/ECD).The procedural standard calibration was adopted to eliminate the interference of different matrix.The method detection limits for 12 DBPs were 0.08-0.21 μg/L and the entire analytical procedure was finished in 21.50 min.The recoveries were in the range of 80.9%-115.7% and the relative standard deviations (RSD) were between 0.9% and 9.9% at different concentration levels (5 and 50 μg/L) in tap water and surface water.The correlation coefficients for all 12 kinds of DBPs were greater than 0.99 in the linearity range of 0.5-200 μg/L.The method was applied to determine DBPs in drinking water and source water.This method was rapid and competent for detection of volatile DBPs in drinking water.

Objective:To study the chemical constituents in the roots of Tripterygium wilfordii. Methods: The compounds from Tripterygium wilfordii were isolated and purified by silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and prep-HPLC chromatography, and their structures were elucidated based on the physiochemical properties and spectroscopic analysis. Results:Twelve compounds were isolated and iden-tified as wilforgine(1),wilforine(2),triptonoterpene methyl ether(3),glut-5-en-3β,28-diol(4),wilforol E(5),triptobenzene L (6),maytenoic acid(7),triptophenolide(8),celastrol(9),demethylzeylasteral(10),1-desacetyl wilforgine(11) and wilfortrine (12). Conclusion:The 1D and 2D NMR data of 1 and 2 are assigned for the first time,and the absolute configurations of 1 are con-firmed by X-ray single crystal diffraction.

Objective:To study the metabolism of pedunculoside treated with rat intestinal bacteria in vitro. Methods:Pedunculo-side and rat intestinal bacteria were incubated in vitro for 0, 4, 8, 24 and 48 hours under anaerobic condition. After extracted repeat-edly by ethyl acetate, the metabolites in the incubation media were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by HPLC. Results:Totally 90. 8% of pedunculoside was transformed to M2 after incubated with rat intestinal bacteria in vitro for 48 hours, and a detailed compari-son of HPLC profiles between M2 and rotundic acid showed M2 was rotundic acid. Conclusion: Pedunculoside can be metabolized to rotundic acid by rat intestinal bacteria in vitro.

Objective To investigate the changes and significances of inducible IL-35-producing regulatory T cells(iTR35) in immunological pathogcnesis of Kawasaki disease (KD).Methods Forty-eight children with KD and 32 age-matched healthy children (healthy control group) consented to participate in this study.Flow cytometry was performed to evaluate the proportions of CD4+ FOXP3-IL-12p35+IL-27EBI3+iTR35 and CD4+CD25high FOXP3+regulatory T cells (Treg),and expression levels of associated molecules such as programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1),CD169,programmed death 1 (PD-1),CD43,IL-12p35,Epstein-Barr virus induced 3 (IL-27EBI3),glycoprotein 130(gp130),IL-12 receptor beta 2 (IL-12Rβ2),phosphated signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (pSTAT1) and phosphated signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (pSTAT4).Transcription levels of the Sre homology 2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHP-2),phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN),Vavl guanine nucleotide exchange factor(Vav) in CD4+T cells were determined by quantitative real-time PCR.Plasma concentrations of IL-35,IL-10,TNF-α and IL-12 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results (1) The proportions of iTR35 and its expressions of IL-12p35 and IL-27EBI3 in patients with acute KD dccreased remarkably[iTR35:(0.72±0.26) ‰ vs (1.65±0.43) ‰,P＜0.05],and restored after treatment [iTR35:(1.58±0.63) ‰ vs (0.72±0.26) ‰,P＜0.05].(2) The proportions of Treg and transcriptional levels of IL-12p35 and IL-27EBI3 were down-regulated during acute phase of KD [Treg:(3.26±1.21) ％ vs (7.26±2.86) ％,P＜0.05],and increased to some extent after therapy [Treg:(5.89±2.60)％ vs (3.26±1.21)％,P＜0.05].Meanwhile,plasma concentrations of IL-35 and IL-10,and expressions of gp130,IL-12Rβ2,pSTAT1 and pSTAT4 in iTR35 of patients with acute KD were found lower than those of the healthy control group (all P＜0.05),and increased after treatment (P＜0.05).Additionally,positive correlations were found between plasma concentrations of IL-35 and the proportion of iTR35 or its expressions of IL-12p35 and IL-27EBI3,respectively.(3) Expressions of PD-L1 and CD169 on CD14 + cells and plasma concentrations of TNF-α and IL-12 were elevated significantly during acute KD(all P＜0.05),as well as expression levels of the ligands (PD-1 and CD43) and its downstream molecules (SHP-2,PTEN,Vav) in CD4 + T cells were found to be lower in patients with acute KD (P＜0.05),and restored remarkably after therapy.Conclusion Insufficiency of iTR35 and its expression of IL-35 might be one of the important factors contributing to immunological dysfunction in KD.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for simultaneous determination of propofol and remifentanil concentrations in human plasma.Methods Methods Eighteen healthy volunteers of both sexes,aged 18-45 yr,weighing 52-81 kg,were enrolled in the study.Venous blood samples were collected,and the concentrations of propofol and remifentanil in human plasma were detected simultaneously by HPLC.The internal standard was thymol.Potassium dihydrogen phosphate 0.1 mol/L was added to the plasma and then the plasma samples were extracted with extract liquor (ethyl acetate ∶ hexane =4 ∶ 1,V/V).The analytical column was ZORBAX Eclipse XDB-C18 (4.6 mm×250 mm,5 μm).The mobile phase was methano ∶ 0.02 mol/L NaH2PO4 ∶ acetonitrile,the flow rate was 1.0 ml/min,the detection wavelength was 210 nm within 1-7 min,and 266 nm within 7-16 min,and the sample size was 20 μl.Linear regression analysis was performed by using the least-squares method.The specimens of the blood with the final concentration of remifentanil 1.00,5.00 and 20.00 ng/ml and propofol 0.50,2.00 and 10.00 μg/ml were obtained to determine the recovery,precision and stability.Results Linear regression equation of remifentanil was C=12.853 5Ai/As+0.084 8 (R2 =0.999 4),and this system showed a good linear relationship with the concentration of remifentanil ranged 0.5-40.0 ng/ml.Linear regression equation of propofol was C=8.554 3 Ai/As+0.029 1 (R2=0.998 6),and this system showed a good linear relationship with the concentration of propofol ranged 0.2-20.0 μg/ml.For both propofol and remifentanil concentrations,the relative recovery was within the range of 85％-115％,the absolute recovery was larger than 75％,and the relative standard deviation of intra-and inter-day precision and stability was less than 5％.The method was proved to meet the requirements of biological sample analysis.Conclusion For HPLC method established in this trial,the determination is sensitive,reproducible,rapid and simple,and it can be used for simultaneous determination of propofol and remifentanil concentrations in human plasma and for clinical pharmacokinetic research.

Objective To investigate the role of IL-35-producing regulatory B cells(IL-35 + Breg)in immunological pathogenesis of Kawasaki disease (KD).Methods Thirty-two children with KD and 28 age-matched healthy children were allowed to participate in this study.Flow cytometry was performed to evaluate the proportions of IL-35 + Breg as well as requlatory T cells (Treg)and expression levels of associated molecules such as programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-LI),CD169,programmed death 1 (PD-1),CD43,IL-12p35,epstein-Barr virus induced 3 (IL-27 EBI3).IL-12 receptor beta 2 (IL-12 Rβ2),IL-27 receptor alpha (IL-27 Rα),phosphated signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (pSTAT1) and phosphated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (pSTAT3).Transcription levels of the Src homology 2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHP-2),phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN),vav1 guanine nucleotide exchange factor(Vav) in CD19 + B cells were determined by using quantitative real-time PCR.Plasma concentrations of IL-35,tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α) and IL-12 were measured by adopting enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results (1) The proportions of IL-35 +Breg and its expressions of IL-12p35,IL-27EBI3 and IL-10 in patients with acute KD were lower than those of healthy controls [IL-35 + Breg:(5.79 ± 2.60) ％ vs (12.65 ± 5.34) ％;F =19.23,9.70,14.30.7.08;all P ＜ 0.05],but they were significantly increased after intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) treatment [IL-35 + Breg:(10.52 ± 4.95) ％;all P ＜ 0.05].(2) The proportions of Treg and its transcriptional levels of IL-12p35 and IL-27 EBI3 were down-regulated during acute KD [Treg:(4.12 ± 1.51) ％ vs (8.06 ± 3.32) ％;F =19.70,17.69,38.22;all P ＜ 0.05],but were increased after therapy [Treg:(7.39 ± 2.85) ％;P ＜ 0.05].A positive correlation was found between the proportions of Treg and IL-35 + Breg during acute KD (r =0.69,P ＜ 0.05).Meanwhile,plasma concentrations of IL-35 and expression levels of IL-12Rβ2,IL-27Rα,pSTAT1 and pSTAT3 in CD19 + B cells were significantly down-regulated in children with acute KD,but they were increased after treatment(F =8.09,7.54,7.69,5.89,12.59,all P ＜ 0.05).(3) Compared with healthy controls,expressions of PD-L1 and CD169 on CD14 + cells and plasma concentrations of TNF-α and IL-12 were elevated during acute KD (F =24.94,16.53,34.71,19.51;all P ＜ 0.05).Expression levels of PD-1,CD43 and its downstream molecules (SHP-2,PTEN,Vav) in CD19 + B cells were down-regulated during acute KD (F =6.43,5.57,19.52,10.37,11.37;all P ＜ 0.05),and restored remarkably after therapy (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Insufficiency of IL-35 + Breg and its expression of IL-35 may be the important factors contributing to immunological dysfunction in KD.

Objective To investigate the changes and significance of ubiquitination of Foxp3 pro-tein during the acute phage of Kawasaki disease ( KD) .Methods Forty-eight children with KD and twenty-eight age-matched healthy children were recruited in this study.Co-immunoprecipitation and Western blot assays were performed to determine the poly-ubiquitination status of Foxp3 in CD4+T cells.The percentages of CD4+CD25high Foxp3+regulatory T cells ( Treg) and the levels of IL-10, transforming growth factor-β( TGF-β) , cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein-4 ( CTLA4 ) , STIP1 homology and U-Box containing protein 1 (STUB1), heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), ubiquitin-specific-processing protease 7 (USP7) and pSTAT3 were analyzed by flow cytometry analysis.Quantitative real-time PCR was used to evaluate the tran-scription levels of TLR1-10, IL-1R1, IL-1RAP, IL-6Rα, gp130, TNFR1, MyD88 and RIP1 in CD4+T cells.Plasma concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-αwere measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent as-say.Results (1) The percentages of Treg cells and the levels of IL-10, TGF-β, CTLA4 and forkhead box P3 (Foxp3) in patients with acute KD were lower than those of healthy subjects (P<0.05), while the poly-ubiquitination of Foxp3 protein was significantly enhanced in patients with acute KD [(0.52 ±0.19) vs (0.08±0.02),P<0.05].Meanwhile, the four former items in KD patients with coronary artery lesions (KD-CAL+) were lower than those of KD patients without coronary artery lesions (KD-CAL-) (P<0.05), while the polyubiquitination level of Foxp3 protein in KD-CAL+group was much higher than that of KD-CAL-group [(0.70±0.28) vs (0.43±0.17), P<0.05].The levels of Treg cells, IL-10, TGF-βand CTLA4 in patients with KD were increased and the ubiquitination of Foxp3 protein was inhibited [(0.24±0.10) vs (0.52±0.19), P<0.05] upon the treatment with IVIG.(2) The levels of STUB1 and HSP70 in CD4+T cells were significantly elevated during acute KD, while the levels of USP7 were decreased (P<0.05).The ratios of STUB1/USP7 in patients with acute KD were much higher than those of the control group [(2.65± 0.92) vs (1.09±0.37), P<0.05], but were significantly decreased after IVIG therapy [(1.46±0.53) vs (2.65±0.92), P<0.05].A negative correlation was found between STUB1/USP7 ratio and Foxp3 level during acute KD (r=-0.56, P<0.05).Moreover, KD patients with CAL+showed higher levels of STUB1 and HSP70 and higher ratios of STUB1/USP7 (P<0.05), but lower levels of USP7 as compared with those of KD-CAL-group (P<0.05).(3) The plasma concentrations of inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α), the levels of surface receptors ( IL-1R1/IL-1RAP/TLR4, IL-6Rα/gp130 and TNFR1) and its downstream molecules ( MyD88, pSTAT3 and RIP1) in CD4+T cells were up-regulated during acute KD ( P<0.05), especially in patients with CAL+, but were down-regulated upon the IVIG therapy (P<0.05).No significant differences with other TLRs were found among the groups (P>0.05).Conclusion Hyper-ubiq-uitination of Foxp3 protein might be involved in the immune dysfunction during Kawasaki disease.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical value of serum anti-Ku86 in early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODSExpression levels of Ku86 protein in HCC and adjacent normal liver tissues were detected by Western blotting. Serum anti-Ku86 level in 83 patients with early HCC and 124 patients with liver cirrhosis were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Chemiluminescence was used to measure the serum level of α-fetoprotein (AFP).

RESULTSExpression of Ku86 protein in HCC was increased when compared with the adjacent normal liver tissues (0.21 ± 0.05 vs. 0.08 ± 0.02, P < 0.01). Serum anti-Ku86 level was significantly elevated in HCC patients compared with that in liver cirrhosis patients (0.47 ± 0.22 vs. 0.22 ± 0.06 Abs at 450 nm, P < 0.01), but there was no significant difference between HBV infection and HCV infection in HCC patients (0.51 ± 0.19 vs. 0.47 ± 0.24, P = 0.267). Of note, serum anti-Ku86 level was significantly decreased after surgical resection of the tumors in the 30 HCC cases tested (P < 0.01). The results of ROC analysis indicated a better performance of anti-Ku86 (0.857) than AFP (0.739) for early detection of HCC. In 83 HCC patients, the positive rate of anti-Ku86 was 61.4% (51/83), significantly higher than that of the AFP positive rate (27.7%, 23/83). The anti-Ku86 level was positive in 37 of 60 HCC cases with negative AFP. Combination assay of AFP and anti-Ku86 could detect 60 of 83 HCC cases (72.3%, 60/83). There was no significant correlation of anti-Ku86 and AFP (r = 0.156, P = 0.161).

CONCLUSIONSSerum anti-Ku86 level is significantly elevated and is not related to HBV and HCV infection in HCC patients. Serum anti-Ku86 antibody may be a potential biomarker for early detection of HCC, and can be used in combination with AFP in clinics.

Adult ; Aged ; Antigens, Nuclear ; immunology ; Autoantibodies ; blood ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; blood ; diagnosis ; virology ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; immunology ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Female ; Hepatitis B ; blood ; Hepatitis C ; blood ; Humans ; Ku Autoantigen ; Liver Cirrhosis ; blood ; Liver Neoplasms ; blood ; diagnosis ; virology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; ROC Curve ; alpha-Fetoproteins ; metabolism