Abstract Biomarkers could improve the understanding of the causes of obesity and its association with chronic diseases for people. The purpose of the review is to summarize recent advances in transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic phenotypic biomarkers of obesity in order to deepen the understanding of the etiology of obesity and its metabolic consequences. In the precise prevention and control of childhood obesity, different groups of biomarkers can improve the accuracy of the word "obesity" and help early detection of specific biomarkers with risk characteristics, so as to realize the transformation of childhood obesity from a one size fits all prevention and control strategy to a personalized prevention and control plan during the development of obesity.

In this study, we analyzed the composition and content of 25 free amino acids in 32 batches of different forms of Cervi Cornu Pantotrichum(CCP; one-branched, two-branched, and three-branched) from 15 producing areas. The clustering analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) were performed based on the content of 25 free amino acids. Potential differential metabolites were identified based on VIP value. The results showed that there were 25 free amino acids in CCP, and the average content of essential, non-essential, and total amino acids was 6.13, 32.99, and 39.12 mg·g~(-1), respectively. The clustering analysis and OPLS-DA demonstrated that 25 free amino acids had different content among the three forms of CCP, of which two-branched CCP samples were separately gathered into a group. Five differential components, including glutamic acid, tryptophan, ornithine, γ-aminobutyric acid, and hydroxylysine, were screened out as potential quality markers for the identification of different forms of CCP. This study provides a theoretical basis for the quality evaluation, processing, and utilization of different forms of CCP.
Amino Acids/analysis* ; Animals ; Cornus ; Deer ; Gastropoda ; Glutamic Acid

Aim To investigate the hepatotoxic effect of aqueous extract of fructus psoraleae (WEFP) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced hepatotoxicity in SD rats under immune stress and its mechanism. Methods SD rats were divided into control (CON), LPS, WEFP, LPS+WEFP group. The LPS and LPS+WEFP groups were injected with 4 mg·kg-1 LPS via tail vein; 2 h later, the rats in WEFP group and LPS+WEFP group received the WEFP (1.1 g·kg-1·d-1) by oral gavage for seven consecutive days. Different endpoints such as body weight, liver index, bile flow rate, serum biochemical, histopathological changes, inflammatory cytokines, protein and mRNA expression levels were determined to clarify the liver toxicity and mechanism of WEFP. Results Compared with the CON group, rats in the LPS group had no significant changes in body weight, liver coefficient, serum ALT, AST, and ALP liver injury indicators; mild steatosis in the liver of the rats in the WEFP group did not cause liver damage; for rats in the LPS+WEFP group, body weight and bile excretion decreased, liver coefficient, serum ALT, AST, ALP, TBA levels significantly increased, and IL-1 and TNF-α secretion in the liver increased; at the same time, the pathological changes such as inflammatory reaction, cholestasis, and steatosis appeared in liver, RhoA mRNA and protein expression increased, and TLR4 and ICAM-1 pro-inflammatory gene expression increased, leading to acute liver injury. Conclusions The non-hepatotoxic dose of LPS can cause the same dose of psoralen to show more obvious liver toxicity, leading to the body's immunospecific response. Psoralen can cause immune stress rats to activate the expression of RhoA and other pro-inflammatory genes, further aggravate the release of inflammatory factors,and promote inflammatory reaction damage to liver cells and intrahepatic bile duct tissues,leading to obstruction of bile acid efflux and causing special effects such as heterogeneous liver injury.

【Objective】 To analyze the RBC products returned by hospitals due to positive direct antiglobulin test (DAT), and explore measures to reduce the discarding rate of blood products and ensure the safety of clinical blood use. 【Methods】 The data of RBC products, which were returned by hospitals due to positive-DAT, in Hebei Blood Center from 2018 to 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The donation time, hospital, gender of blood donors, donation times and DAT typing results were searched through blood donation code, input into the statistical software SPSS17.0, and analyzed by linear trend χ² and Pearsonχ². 【Results】 1)The discarding rate of RBC products due to positive DAT in 2018, 2019 and 2020 accounted for 0.15‰, 0.32‰ and 0.26‰, respectively, of the overall RBC collection. The total concordance rate was 89.94% by our retest. 2)The concordance rate of returned blood from secondary hospitals and tertiary hospitals was 78.26% and 91.78%, respectively (P<0.05), with the latter higher than the former. 3)No statistical significance was noticed in the DAT-positive blood by months(P>0.05). 4)The DAT-positive rate of female donors was higher than that of male donors, and that of first-time blood donors was higher than that of repeated and regular blood donors with statistical differences (P<0.05). 5)DAT-positive typing results was mainly due to IgG incomplete antibody. 【Conclusion】 In order to reduce the discarding rate of RBC products, it is suggested to strengthen the consultation before blood collection, encourage healthy males to donate blood and increase the proportion of regular blood donors. Meanwhile, the quality management of Transfusion Department in secondary hospitals should be further improved to ensure the safety of clinical blood transfusion.

Objective: The relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and glycemic indices, including plasma glucose (FPG), 2-hour postload glucose (2h-PG), and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), remains inconclusive. We aimed to explore the associations between glycemic indices and SUA levels in the general Chinese population. Methods: The current study was a cross-sectional analysis using the first follow-up survey data from The China Cardiometabolic Disease and Cancer Cohort Study. A total of 105,922 community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 40 years underwent the oral glucose tolerance test and uric acid assessment. The nonlinear relationships between glycemic indices and SUA levels were explored using generalized additive models. Results: A total of 30,941 men and 62,361 women were eligible for the current analysis. Generalized additive models verified the inverted U-shaped association between glycemic indices and SUA levels, but with different inflection points in men and women. The thresholds for FPG, 2h-PG, and HbA1c for men and women were 6.5/8.0 mmol/L, 11.0/14.0 mmol/L, and 6.1/6.5, respectively (SUA levels increased with increasing glycemic indices before the inflection points and then eventually decreased with further increases in the glycemic indices). Conclusion An inverted U-shaped association was observed between major glycemic indices and uric acid levels in both sexes, while the inflection points were reached earlier in men than in women.
Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Blood Glucose/analysis* ; China/epidemiology* ; Cohort Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus/blood* ; Female ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Glycated Hemoglobin A/analysis* ; Glycemic Index ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Uric Acid/blood*

Eleven condensed tannins were isolated from the roots of Indigofera stachyodes by various column chromatography techniques including silica gel, octadecyl silica(ODS), Sephadex LH-20, and semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). These compounds were identified on the basis of physicochemical properties, nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) and mass spectrometry(MS) data as stachyotannin A(1), epicatechin-(2β→O→7,4β→8)-epiafzelechin-(4β→8)-catechin(2), cinnamtannin D1(3), cinnamtannin B1(4), epicatechin-(2β→O→7,4β→8)-epiafzelechin-(4α→8)-epicatechin(5), gambiriin C(6), proanthocyanidin A1(7), proanthocyanidin A2(8), aesculitannin B(9), proanthocyanidin A4(10), and procyanidin B5(11). Compound 1 is a new compound. Compounds 2-11 were isolated from Indigofera for the first time. Furthermore, compounds 1, 2, and 4-11 showed inhibitory effects on thrombin-induced ATP release in platelets.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Indigofera ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Plant Extracts ; Proanthocyanidins

Objective To investigate the degrees of injury severity of sepsis models made by different kinds of Escherichia coli. Methods The 152 mice were randomly divided into control group, DH5α group, 44102 group, and 25922 group, with 38 rats in each group. DH5α group, 44102 group and 25922 group were intraperitoneally injected with 300 μL of Escherichia coli DH5α, 44102 and 25922 at the concentration of 1.0 × 109CFU/kg to prepare sepsis models of different kinds of Escherichia coli. Control group was injected intraperitoneally with the same amount of normal saline. (1) After 8 h, four mice were taken from each group for peripheral blood bacterial culture . (2) After 12 h, ten mice in each group were used for measuring serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). (3) Western blot assay was used to determine the serum levels of high-mobility group protein (HMGB1) in four mice of each group. (4) Ten mice in each group were used to measure serum levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatinine (CR) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) by automatic biochemical analyzer. (5) After liver, lung and kidney tissues were fixed with formaldehyde, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was performed (n=10 for each group). Results In DH5α group, 44102 group and 25922 group, bacteria, inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6 and HMGB1 protein, liver and kidney indicators ALT, AST, CR and BUN showed a sequential increasing trend (P＜0.01). The severe degrees of alveolar structure damage, hepatic cell infiltration and renal glomerular atrophy were DH5α group, 44102 group and 25922 group in turn. There were no obvious damages of lung, liver or kidney tissues in control group. Conclusion Escherichia coli 25922 induces severe sepsis injury and can be used to study the animal models of the initial inflammatory phase of sepsis. Escherichia coli 44102 induces moderate damage of sepsis and can be used in animal models that do not require definitive sepsis staging experiments. Escherichia coli DH5α induces less damage of sepsis and can be used to explore immunosuppressive therapy of the animal model of sepsis.

Acteoside (verbascoside), a phenylethanoid glycoside widely distributed in various plants, has been shown to have potential activity against Alzheimer's disease, attracting great attentions recently. The present study was designed to develop a selective and sensitive LC-MS/MS method for the determination of acteoside in biological samples and carry our a pharmacokinetic (PK) study in beagle dogs. The PK parameters were calculated using non-compartmental models. Following a single-dose oral administration, acteoside was rapidly absorbed and eliminated, with Tmax being between 30 to 45 min and terminal half-life being about 90 min. The areas under the time-concentration curve (AUC) were 47.28 ± 8.74, 87.86 ± 13.33, and 183.14 ± 28.69 mg · min · L(-1) for oral administration of 10, 20, and 40 mg · kg(-1), respectively, demonstrating that the exposure of acteoside proportionally increased with the dose level. The absolute bioavailability of acteoside was around 4%. For all the PK parameters, there were large variations between individual dogs. In conclusion, the pharmacokinetic characteristics observed in the present study can be of great value to help better understand the pharmacological properties of acteoside and to improve the outcome of its clinical use.
Administration, Intravenous ; Administration, Oral ; Alzheimer Disease ; drug therapy ; Animals ; Area Under Curve ; Biological Availability ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Dogs ; Female ; Glucosides ; pharmacokinetics ; Intestinal Absorption ; Male ; Phenols ; pharmacokinetics ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacokinetics ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Verbenaceae ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of acteoside on SK-N-SH nerve cell injury induced by okadaic acid (OA).

METHODSK-N-SH nerve cells were processed with 20 nmol * L OA to establish the Alzheimer's disease (AD) cellular model, and 5, 10, 20 mg . L-1 acteoside was used to antagonize against its effect. Cell morphology was observed under inverted microscope. The cell survival rate was detected with MTT, and the LDH release rate was measured by enzyme label kit. Western blot was applied to determine the expression of phosphorylation tau proteins in nerve cells.

RESULTThe acteoside could significantly improve SK-N-SH cell morphology, enhance the cell survival rate, decrease the cell LDH release rate and the expression of phosphorylated tau proteins at p-Ser 199/202 and p-Ser 404 sites, up-regulated the expression of at non-phosphorylated tau proteins at Ser 202 site and Ser 404 sites.

CONCLUSIONActeoside has significant protective effect on nerve cell injury induced by OA.

Alzheimer Disease ; metabolism ; Cell Line ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Glucosides ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Okadaic Acid ; Phenols ; pharmacology ; tau Proteins ; metabolism

Objective: To establish the fingerprint of the extract from the rhizome of Alpinia officinarum, to investigate the effects on the proliferation, tyrosinase activity, and melanogenesis in melanoma B16 cells, and to analyze the spectrum-effect relasionship. Methods: The fingerprint of alcohol extract from the rhizome of A. officinarum (G1), water sediments of G1 (G2), macroporous resin purified extract of G2 (G3), and refined polyamide extract of G3 (G4) were established by HPLC, and the proliferation of each extract on B16 cells was measured by MTT. The tyrosinase activity and melanin content were measured by colorimetry assay. The spectrum-effect relasionship was analyzed by grey relation analysis. Results: Compared with the control group, the proliferation of B16 cells was promoted significantly after treatment with 1.00-5.00, 0.50-5.00, 0.25-5.00, and 0.25-10.00 μmol/L of G1, G2, G3, and G4, respectively. The tyrosinase activity was promoted by G1 and G2 with 0.50 μmol/L, and G3 and G4 with 0.50-1.00 μmol/L (P < 0.05, 0.01); The synthesis of melanin was promoted after the treatment with 0.5 and 5.00 μmol/L of G1, 0.50-5.00 μmol/L of G2 and G4, and 0.25-5.00 μmol/L of G3 (P < 0.01); At the same concentration, G4 had the strongest effect to promote the cell proliferation and to increase the tyrosinase activity. The galangin (peak 7) had the highest correlation with pharmacodynamics, and the contents of galangin in G1, G2, G3, and G4 were 27.61, 88.72, 348.53, and 693.35 mg/g, respectively. The proliferation, tyrosinase activity, and galangin content were promoted significantly after the treatment with galangin (0.25-10.00 μmol/L) by the verification experiment. Conclusion: The effect of the extract from the rhizome of A. officinarum on the proliferation, tyrosinase activity, and melanogenesis of B16 melanoma cells could be enhanced with the increased content of galangin, which demonstrates that the galangin is one of the efficient substances in the rhizome of A. officinarum for the treatment of vitiligo.