The Nutraceutical N-Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) Reveals Widespread Molecular Effects Unmasking New Therapeutic Targets in Murine Varicocele

Varicocele is an age-related disease with no current medical treatments positively impacting infertility. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression is present in normal testis with an involvement in the immunological reactions. The role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α), a nuclear receptor, in fertility is still unclear. N-Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), an emerging nutraceutical compound present in plants and animal foods, is an endogenous PPAR-α agonist with well-demonstrated anti-inflammatory and analgesics characteristics. In this model of mice varicocele, PPAR-α and TLR4 receptors’ roles were investigated through the administration of ultra-micronized PEA (PEA-um). Male wild-type (WT), PPAR-α knockout (KO), and TLR4 KO mice were used. A group underwent sham operation and administration of vehicle or PEA-um (10 mg/kg i.p.) for 21 days. Another group (WT, PPAR-α KO, and TLR4 KO) underwent surgical varicocele and was treated with vehicle or PEA-um (10 mg/kg i.p.) for 21 days. At the end of treatments, all animals were euthanized. Both operated and contralateral testes were processed for histological and morphometric assessment, for PPAR-α, TLR4, occludin, and claudin-11 immunohistochemistry and for PPAR-α, TLR4, transforming growth factor-beta3 (TGF-β3), phospho-extracellular signal-Regulated-Kinase (p-ERK) 1/2, and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor (NLR) family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) Western blot analysis. Collectively, our data showed that administration of PEA-um revealed a key role of PPAR-α and TLR4 in varicocele pathophysiology, unmasking new nutraceutical therapeutic targets for future varicocele research and supporting surgical management of male infertility.     

Oral Administration of Ginger-Derived Lipid Nanoparticles and Dmt1 siRNA Potentiates the Effect of Dietary Iron Restriction and Mitigates Pre-Existing Iron Overload in Hamp KO Mice

Intestinal iron transport requires an iron importer (Dmt1) and an iron exporter (Fpn1). The hormone hepcidin regulates iron absorption by modulating Fpn1 protein levels on the basolateral surface of duodenal enterocytes. In the genetic, iron-loading disorder hereditary hemochromatosis (HH), hepcidin production is low and Fpn1 protein expression is elevated. High Fpn1-mediated iron export depletes intracellular iron, causing a paradoxical increase in Dmt1-mediated iron import. Increased activity of both transporters causes excessive iron absorption, thus initiating body iron loading. Logically then, silencing of intestinal Dmt1 or Fpn1 could be an effective therapeutic intervention in HH. It was previously established that Dmt1 knock down prevented iron-loading in weanling Hamp (encoding hepcidin) KO mice (modeling type 2B HH). Here, we tested the hypothesis that Dmt1 silencing combined with dietary iron restriction (which may be recommended for HH patients) will mitigate iron loading once already established. Accordingly, adult Hamp KO mice were switched to a low-iron (LFe) diet and (non-toxic) folic acid-coupled, ginger nanoparticle-derived lipid vectors (FA-GDLVs) were used to deliver negative-control (NC) or Dmt1 siRNA by oral, intragastric gavage daily for 21 days. The LFe diet reduced body iron burden, and experimental interventions potentiated iron losses. For example, Dmt1 siRNA treatment suppressed duodenal Dmt1 mRNA expression (by ~50%) and reduced serum and liver non-heme iron levels (by ~60% and >85%, respectively). Interestingly, some iron-related parameters were repressed similarly by FA-GDLVs carrying either siRNA, including ⁵⁹Fe (as FeCl₃) absorption (~20% lower), pancreatic non-heme iron (reduced by ~65%), and serum ferritin (decreased 40–50%). Ginger may thus contain bioactive lipids that also influence iron homeostasis. In conclusion, the combinatorial approach of FA-GDLV and Dmt1 siRNA treatment, with dietary iron restriction, mitigated pre-existing iron overload in a murine model of HH.     

蒿甲醚合成母液中一个新成分的分离和鉴定

目的：为了弄清蒿甲醚合成母液中的衍生杂质结构及开发新的药源。方法：用色谱法从合成蒿甲醚的母液中分离其衍生物成分,并用化学波谱法鉴定其结构,结果：分离得到5个化合物分别鉴定为α-蒿甲醚（Ⅰ）,二氢青蒿素（Ⅱ）,青蒿素（Ⅲ）,八氢－8－甲氧基－4,7－二甲基－呋喃[3,2-i]苯并吡喃－10－乙酸酯（Ⅳ）和12－脱氧－11－烯青蒿素（Ⅴ）。结论：化合物Ⅴ为一新化合物,命名为12－脱氧－11－烯青蒿素,并首次从合成蒿甲醚的母液中得到。     

No justification of routine screening for 22q11 deletions in patients with overt cleft palate

The velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS), caused by a submicroscopic deletion of chromosome 22q11, is the most common syndrome that has palatal anomalies as a major feature. A possible strategy for early detection of VCFS is routine screening for 22q11 deletions in all infants with cleft palate (CP). The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether this strategy is preferable to testing on clinical suspicion. At the Nijmegen Cleft Palate Craniofacial Center, 58 new patients with overt CP were routinely tested, using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), for a 22q11 deletion. One deletion was identified in a newborn girl with an overt CP who was clinically not suspected of having VCFS. Based on this study (n = 45) and the literature (n = 54), the prevalence of 22q11 deletions among children with CP, but without any other symptoms of VCFS, is estimated to be one in 99. We take the view that this figure is rather low and that early discovery will rarely have significant clinical or genetic consequences. Because CP patients remain under medical attention, almost all of the infants with isolated CP and VCFS will be recognized as having the syndrome at a later age when additional features have developed. Therefore, we conclude that routine FISH testing for 22q11 deletions in infants with overt CP is not indicated, provided clinical follow-up is guaranteed.     

Typical and partial cat eye syndrome: identification of the marker chromosome by FISH

Three children are reported with typical cat eye syndrome (CES) and three more children with partial CES because of absence of coloboma, in which the supernumerary marker chromosome was studied by FISH. Using a genomic library, and also a centromeric and particularly a cosmid probe of 22q11, partial tetrasomy was shown in all cases.     

Choleretic activity of 2-demethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxycarbonyl-11-deoxymisoprostol on the model of CCl<Subscript>4</Subscript>-induced hepatitis

Therapeutic administration of 11-deoxymisoprostol had a hepatoprotective effect, which manifested in a decrease in the content of alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase in blood plasma, and produced a choleretic effect in rats with CCl₄-induced toxic hepatitis. __________ Translated from Byulleten’ Eksperimental’noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 145, No. 2, pp. 183–184, February, 2008     

Clonal proliferation of cyclin D1-positive mantle lymphocytes in an asymptomatic patient: an early-stage event in the development or an indolent form of a mantle cell lymphoma?

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a B-cell neoplasm with a relatively aggressive clinical course. There is a very small subgroup of patients who present with atypical lymphocytes in peripheral blood, with or without lymphocytosis, lymphadenopathy, or splenomegaly, and with an indolent clinical course. They frequently show mutated IgV(H) genes and CD5 negativity. We report an asymptomatic elderly patient who presented with a single submandibular lymphadenopathy. The biopsy showed immunophenotype and t(11;14)(q13;q32) consistent with MCL. The abnormal lymphoid population was also detected in peripheral blood and bone marrow. The patient has remained asymptomatic for 5 years without receiving any therapy. It is uncertain whether these cases represent an early-stage event in the development or an indolent form of MCL. The existence of such asymptomatic patients with an indolent clinical course should induce a strict clinical judgment in terms of therapeutic decisions.     

阴道炎患者HPV6/11-DNA定量分析

目的：了解女性阴道炎患者人乳头瘤病毒6／11型（HPV6／11）的感染情况。方法：荧光定量聚合酶链反应（FQ－PCR）技术检测258例门诊患者阴道分泌物中HPV6／11的病毒拷贝数。结果：共检出HPV6／11阳性者94例,阳性率36．43％,拷贝数在10^5以上者78例,占阳性者中82．98％,40岁以上年龄组阳性率高且病毒复制量均在10^5以上。结论：（1）中老年阴道炎患者就诊晚,感染重。（2）FQ－PCR检测HPV敏感,快速,准确,特别是其定量特点对临床很有意义。     

THAP11通过抑制p53的泛素化影响食管癌细胞的增殖和凋亡

目的：探讨死亡相关蛋白(thanatos-associated protein,THAP)11对食管癌细胞增殖和凋亡的影响及其潜在 的机制。方法：采用蛋白质印迹法检测人食管上皮细胞Het-1A和人食管癌细胞(Eca109,TE-1和Ec 9706)中THAP11的 表达。将食管癌TE-1细胞分为空白对照(NC)组、阴性对照(LV-LC)组、TRA P11(LV-TRA P11)组,按分组处理细胞后, 采用MTT 法检测细胞活力,流式细胞术检测细胞凋亡,caspases试剂盒检测caspase-3和caspase-9的活性。采用体外泛素 化实验检测TE-1细胞的p53泛素化水平。结果：与Het-1A细胞相比,食管癌细胞中THAP11的表达显著下降(P<0.05)。 LV-THAP11转染食管癌细胞后,细胞活力降低(P<0.05),凋亡率升高(P<0.05),caspase-3和caspase-9活性升高(P<0.05)。 THAP11能够提高食管癌细胞中p53蛋白的表达(P<0.05)。与LV-LC组相比,转染THAP11后食管癌细胞中p53的表达上调 (P<0.05),MDM2调节的p53的泛素化也被抑制。结论：THAP11通过抑制p53的泛素化抑制食管癌细胞的增殖,促进食管 癌细胞的凋亡。