Objective To optimize the water extraction and alcohol precipitation process of Radix Paeoniae Rubra-Cortex Moutan drug pair(1∶1).Methods L9(34)orthogonal experiment was used.The ratio of material to liquid,extraction time and times of extraction were taken as the factors,and the extraction amount of paeoniflorin and paeonol and the yield of dry extract were taken as the indexes.Hassan's method was used for multi-index comprehensive scoring to optimize the water extraction process.The extract density,ethanol volume fraction and standing time were taken as the factors,and the transfer rate of paeoniflorin and paeonol and the yield of dry extract were taken as the indexes.At the same time,the alcohol precipitation process was optimized according to the actual situation of large-scale production.Results The optimal extraction process was to add 10 times of water and decoct for 1 time,60 min for each extraction.The optimal alcohol precipitation process was as follows:the density of the liquid was 1.20 g·mL-1(30℃),95% ethanol was added to make the alcohol content up to 60% ,and the liquid was left standing for 60 h.Conclusion The optimized process of water extraction and alcohol precipitation is stable,reliable and with good repeatability,which can provide reference for the follow-up study of Radix Paeoniae Rubra-Cortex Moutan drug pair.

BACKGROUNDAdipocytes behave like a rich source of pro-inflammatory cytokines including monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) participates in the local chronic inflammatory response, and high-density lipoprotein could counterbalance the proinflammatory function of oxLDL, but the underlying mechanism is not completely understood. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of apolipoprotein A-I mimetic peptide L-4F on the secretion and expression of MCP-1 in fully differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes induced by oxLDL and to elucidate the possible mechanisms.

METHODSFully differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes were incubated in the medium containing various concentration of L-4F (0-50 μg/ml) with oxLDL (50 μg/ml) stimulated, with/without protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor H-89 (10 μmol/L) preincubated. The concentrations of MCP-1 in the supernatant, the mRNA expression of MCP-1, the levels of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α (C/EBPα), and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein β (C/EBPβ) were evaluated. The monocyte chemotaxis assay was performed by micropore filter method using a modified Boyden chamber.

RESULTSOxLDL stimulation induced a significant increase of MCP-1 expression and secretion in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, which were inhibited by L-4F preincubation in a dose-dependent manner. PKA inhibitor H-89 markedly reduced the oxLDL-induced MCP-1 expression, but no further decrease was observed when H-89 was used in combination with L-4F (50 μg/ml) (P > 0.05). OxLDL stimulation showed no significant effect on C/EBPα protein level but increased C/EBPβ protein level in a time-dependent manner. H-89 and L-4F both attenuated C/EBPβ protein level in oxLDL-induced 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

CONCLUSIONSOxLDL induces C/EBPβ protein synthesis in a time-dependent manner and enhances MCP-1 secretion and expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. L-4F dose-dependently counterbalances the pro-inflammatory effect of oxLDL, and cyclic AMP/PKA-C/EBPβ signaling pathway may participate in it.

3T3-L1 Cells ; Animals ; CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-beta ; analysis ; physiology ; Chemokine CCL2 ; genetics ; secretion ; Cyclic AMP ; physiology ; Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases ; physiology ; Humans ; Lipoproteins, LDL ; antagonists & inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Mice ; Peptides ; pharmacology ; Signal Transduction ; physiology

A canine distemper virus strain was isolated from the lung of dog coming from Aksu in Xing Jiang using lung primary M cell during the CDV molecular epidemiological study. It was demonstrated to be a virulent strain of CDV by a series of systematic identification such as morphology , serology neutralization test, canine infection test, and molecular virology test.