Identification and Determination of Fructooligosaccharides in Snow Chrysanthemum (Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt.)

Objective: Small molecules in snow chrysanthemum such as flavonoids, phenolic compounds and amino acids have been extensively investigated. No study to date has focused on water-soluble oligosaccharides. The objective of this study is identification and determination of water-soluble oligosaccharides in snow chrysanthemum. Methods: The oligosaccharides in snow chrysanthemum were identified by high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), liquid chromatography-massspectrometry (LC-MS) combined MS library and methylation analysis for the first time. Subsequently the oligosaccharides were determined by high performance liquid chromatography with a charged aerosol detector (HPLC-CAD). Results: The oligosaccharides in snow chrysanthemum were identified as inulin-type fructooligosaccharides (FOS). The yield of FOS (DP3~DP13) in the first extraction was over 97.6%. The RSDs of repeatability in three sample amount levels (0.08 g, 0.1 g, 0.12 g) are lower than 4.8% and the RSDs of stability are less than 3.5%. The recoveries of FOS (DP3~13) were ranging from 96.9% to 105.6%. The contents of FOS (DP3~DP13) in flowers of snow chrysanthemum from different regions of China were greatly variant. Conclusion: This is the first time to identify and quantify FOS in snow chrysanthemum which is helpful for its performance in the in the fields of biomedical, agriculture and functional food industry as well as development of the quality control methods. In addition, the identification approach developed in this work can also be used for screening potential natural sources containing FOS.     

H1N1亚型流感病毒在A549和BEAS-2B细胞中复制情况的初步研究

目的 探讨不同宿主来源的H1N1亚型流感病毒在A549和BEAS-2B细胞的复制情况.方法 用分离自人、禽、猪三种宿主的7株H1N1甲型流感病毒分别接种A549和BEAS-2B细胞,分析病毒感染细胞后不同时段的特点;应用受体类型不同的红细胞进行微量血凝试验,检测流感病毒的受体结合特性;同时检测了A549和BEAS-2B细胞表面的受体分布情况.结果 三种宿主来源的H1N1亚型流感病毒感染A549细胞,24 h后CPE十分明显,36 h病毒滴度达到最高值;而感染BEAS-2B细胞后,从24 h-120 h CPE都不是很明显,且所有病毒的病毒滴度都很低.对6株H1N1流感病毒的受体结合特性进行了筛查,发现部分测试病毒具有SA a-2,6Gal受体结合特异性.而A549和BEAS-2B细胞表面均含有SA a-2,3Gal及SA a-2,6Gal受体,且A549细胞表面糖受体含量明显高于BEAS-2B细胞.结论 不同宿主来源的H1N1亚型流感病毒对A549细胞都易感并能有效增殖复制,而对具有相似受体特性、上皮组织来源的BEAS-2B细胞不易感,提示支持流感病毒有效感染、复制存在宿主内的调节机制.     

Complications in degenerative lumbar disease treated with a dynamic interspinous spacer (Coflex)

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to quantify the intra- and postoperative complications of an interspinous process device (Coflex) in managing degenerative lumbar diseases and to investigate corresponding therapeutic strategies.

Methods

Between January 2008 and December 2012, we retrospectively analysed a total of 131 patients who underwent decompressive surgery along with the Coflex system for the treatment of degenerative lumbar diseases. The related complications were reported, and appropriate measures were taken. Clinical outcomes and radiological data were collected and analysed, and clinical outcomes were evaluated with paired-samples T test.

Results

Related complications occurred in 11 patients. Among them, six cases were found with surgical technique-related complications, including device-related complications in three cases: spinal process fracture (n = 1), Coflex loosening (n = 1), fixed-wing breakage (n = 1), dura mater tear in two cases and superficial wound infection in one case. All of them received corresponding conservative treatment and obtained a good result. The other five cases had non-device-related complications and required additional spinal surgery. The conservative therapy group had apparent improvement of VAS score and ODI, and remained well to final follow-up (P < 0.05). The second operation group also improved postoperatively (each P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The Coflex dynamic interspinous process device shows a low complication and re-operation rate. Standard operation and strict follow-up observation can effectively avoid surgical technique-related complications. The key points to ensure surgical effect and to reduce non-device-related complications are mastering surgical indications and thorough intra-operative decompression.     

Therapeutic effect of the sulforaphane derivative JY4 on ulcerative colitis through the NF-κB-p65 pathway

Inflammopharmacology - The efficacy of the sulforaphane derivative JY4 was evaluated in acute and chronic mouse models of ulcerative colitis induced by dextran sodium sulfate. Oral administration...     

T3调控氟他胺诱导大鼠隐睾生殖母细胞发育障碍及NCAM表达

目的 观察三碘甲腺原氨酸(T3)对氟他胺( Flu)诱导的SD大鼠隐睾生殖母细胞(Go)发育及神经细胞黏附分子(NCAM)表达的调控作用.方法 15μg/(kg·d)T3皮下注射Flu诱导出生后第1 d(PD1)仔鼠、PD20隐睾仔鼠,观察干预后隐睾发生率、组织学改变,免疫组化及逆转录聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)检测N...     

Psoralidin inhibits LPS-induced iNOS expression via repressing Syk-mediated activation of PI3K-IKK-IκB signaling pathways

Psoralidin has been reported to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production, but the mechanisms of the action remain unclear. Thus, the impact of psoralidin on signaling pathways known to be implicated in NO synthesis was explored in LPS-activated RAW264.7 macrophages by using RT-PCR and Western blotting. Consistent with NO inhibition, psoralidin suppressed LPS-induced expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) by abolishing IκB kinase (IKK) phosphorylation, IκB degradation and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) nuclear translocation without effecting mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) phosphorylation. Exposure to wortmannin abrogated IKK/IκB/NF-κB-mediated iNOS expression, suggesting activation of such a signal pathway might also be phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) dependent. By using Src inhibitor PP2, Janus kinase 2 (JAK-2) inhibitor AG490, Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) inhibitor LFM-A13 and spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) inhibitor piceatannol, the results showed that piceatannol clearly repressed NO production more potently than the other inhibitors. Furthermore, piceatannol significantly repressed LPS-induced PI3K/Akt phosphorylation and the downstream IKK/IκB activation, suggesting that Syk is an upstream key regulator in the activation of PI3K/Akt-mediated signaling. In fact, transfection with siRNA targeting Syk obviously reduced iNOS expression. Interestingly, LPS-induced phosphorylations of Syk and PI3K-p85 were both significantly blunted by psoralidin treatment. The present results show that interfering with Syk-mediated PI3K phosphorylation might contribute to the NO inhibitory effect of psoralidin via blocking IKK/IκB signaling propagation in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages.     

Tetrandrine selectively protects against amyloid-beta protein - but not against MPTP-induced cytotoxicity in SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells

The evidence for loss of Ca2+ homeostasis due to neuronal degeneration is considerable and rapidly increasing. In this study, we try to evaluate the protective effect of tetrandrine (TET), an alkaloid isolated from the Chinese medicinal herb Radix Stephania tetrandrae S., on amyloid-beta protein (Abeta) and 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) induced cell death in SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells. Both compounds reduced cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner after 72 h in culture. Cell proliferation in the presence of 20 microM Abeta or 0.4 mM MPTP was reduced to 58.3 +/- 4.9 or 54.9 +/- 5.5 %, respectively. TET (0.1, 0.5 and 1 microM) alone had no significant effect on cell survival; however, it prevented Abeta-induced cell death in a concentration-dependent manner. In contrast, TET failed to counteract MPTP-induced cytotoxicity. Also, an L-type calcium channel blocker, nimodipine, solely reversed Abeta-induced cell death. On the other hand, ELISA determination of mono-/oligo-nucleosomes accumulation showed that the mode of cell death evoked by Abeta was necrosis while that evoked by MPTP was presumably apoptosis. These results suggest that TET may mitigate the harmful effects of Abeta on cell survival, probably by interfering via the necrotic signal related to Ca2+ overloading through the L-type calcium channel.