四川龙胆的三萜成分

四川龙胆系龙胆科龙胆属植物 ,生于山野坡林下及水湿地带主要分布于云南、四川、贵州等地 ,一年生草本植物 ,高 2 .5 8m;茎直立 ,黄绿色 ;叶稍带肉质 ,稍尖 ,两面有光泽 ;根部有很多分枝[1,2 ] 。龙胆科植物在《神农本草经》中作为中品收载[3 ] ,具有泻胆肝火 ,清热燥湿的功效。用于骨间寒热 ,湿热黄疸 ,寒湿脚气 ,咽喉痛 ,目赤 ,口苦 ,阴部湿痒等证 [4]。在临床上广泛应用 ,自 1 91 3年 Ashahina等从该属植物的根部分离得到苦味成分龙胆苦碱( gentiopicrin)以来[5] ,对该属植物的化学成分已有大量研究报道 ,主要含生物碱 ,黄酮类 ,酚类 ,…     

Notochordal cells stimulate migration of cartilage end plate chondrocytes of the intervertebral disc in in vitro cell migration assays

Background contextIt was recently demonstrated that the postnatal transition from a notochordal to a fibrocartilaginous nucleus pulposus (NP) is accomplished exogenously by chondrocytes migrating from hyaline cartilage end plates (CEs) into the ectopic notochordal NP region. Although our previous in vivo studies showed evidences for the migration of CE chondrocyte from hyaline CEs into the notochordal NP, it is unknown whether CE chondrocytes of the intervertebral disc (IVD) really have a motile property. In addition, the effect of notochordal cells on this property has not been elucidated.PurposeThe purpose of this in vitro study was to demonstrate whether CE chondrocytes of the IVD are capable of migration, and whether there is any biological link between notochordal cells and CE chondrocytes that may regulate the CE chondrocyte migration.Study design/settingIn vitro cell migration assays were performed using rat IVDs.MethodsNotochordal cells and chondrocytes were obtained from the NP and CE tissues, respectively, and were cultured separately. The different numbers of notochordal cells and the supernatant (conditioned medium) that contained soluble factors produced by notochordal cells were used to demonstrate their effects on the migration of CE chondrocytes. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) were used as negative and positive controls, respectively.ResultsCompared with BSA, LPA, notochordal cells (N=4×, 2×, 1×, and 0.5×10⁵), and its conditioned media (unconcentrated and fivefold concentrated) significantly increased migration of CE chondrocytes (p<.05 in all comparisons). Particularly, notochordal cells and its conditioned media increased migration in a number- and concentration-dependent manner, respectively.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that CE chondrocytes of the IVD are capable of migration and that soluble factors produced by notochordal cells stimulate the migration. These results provide a plausible explanation to the question of why CE chondrocytes of the IVD migrate into the ectopic NP region during the natural transition from the notochordal to fibrocartilaginous NP.     

Transforming Growth Factor-β1 Induces Apoptosis through Down-Regulation of c-mycGene and Overexpression of p27Protein in Cervical Carcinoma

Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is known to be a potent growth inhibitor for many cell types, including most epithelial cells. In skin keratinocytes, TGF-β1 has been shown to inhibit growth and to rapidly reduce c-mycexpression. However, the molecular mechanism of TGF-β1 action on cell growth of cervical carcinoma has not yet been elucidated. We thus assessed the effect of TGF-β1 on the growth of cervical carcinoma cell lines. Two cervical squamous carcinoma cell lines, CUMC-3 and CUMC-6, were incubated with varying concentrations of TGF-β1, and growth inhibition was evaluated with tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay. After culture in TGF-β1 for 24 h, inhibition of growth was detected in a dose-dependent manner at concentrations of 0.1–10 ng/ml in both cell lines. This effect of TGF-β1 on cultured carcinoma cells was associated with apoptotic process including oligonucleosomal ladder DNA and apoptotic body formations. Northern blot analysis revealed c-mycmRNA expression was suppressed by 10 ng/ml of TGF-β1 following 3 h of treatment in both cell lines. Western blot analysis showed that the level of p27^Kip1protein was increased after TGF-β1 treatment in both cell lines. These results suggest that the mechanisms by which TGF-β1 inhibits the growth of cervical carcinoma are complex and may include effects on down-regulation of c-mycgene, and overexpression of p27^Kip1protein.     

Isolation and identification of chondroitin sulfates from the mud snail

Chondroitin sulfates were isolated from the mud snail. For the quantitative analysis of enzymatic digestion products of isolated chondroitin sulfates, strong anion exchange-high performance liquid chromatography (SAX-HPLC) was performed. By the action of chondroitinase ABC, three unsaturated disaccharides 2-acetamide-2-deoxy-3-O-(β-D-gluco-4-enepyranosyluronic acid)-D-galactose (ΔDi-OS), 2-acetamide-2-deoxy-3-O-(β-D-gluco-4-enepyranosyluronic acid)-6-O-sulfo-D-galactose (ΔDi-6S) and 2-acetamide-2-deoxy-3-O-(β-D-gluco-4-enepyranosyluronic acid)-4-O-sulfo-D-galactose (ΔDi-4S) were produced from the mud snail chondroitin sulfates. The analysis showed that relative proportion of ΔDi-OS/ΔDi-6S/ΔDi-4S was 58.7/3.1/38.2. The immunomodulating activity of chondroitin sulfate was examined by cell proliferation assay and these results suggest that it might be a immunosuppressant.