Polysaccharides obtained from mycelia of Cordyceps militaris attenuated doxorubicin-induced cytotoxic effects in chemotherapy

Objectives: Fungus Cordyceps militaris has been used as a herbal tonic in traditional Chinese medicine, which could be surface liquid-cultured for mycelia production. To evaluate the potential of polysaccharides obtained from mycelia of Cordyceps militaris (PS-MCM) for attenuation of side-effects of chemotherapy.Methods: Doxorubicin was used to induce cytotoxicity in THP-1 monocytes and EL-4 T cells, and the effects of PS-MCM on cell viability and cytokine production were detected on doxorubicin-treated THP-1 and EL-4 cells.Results: PS-MCM reduced doxorubicin-induced cell death and promoted cell proliferation in THP-1 and EL-4 cells. Moreover, PS-MCM elevated the level of cytokines associated with immune-modulation of THP-1 and EL-4 cells.Conclusion: These findings indicate that PS-MCM has potential for development as a functional food to counteract side effects of chemotherapy.Keywords: Cordyceps militaris, traditional Chinese medicine, doxorubicin, chemotherapy, immunotherapy

Polysaccharides obtained from mycelia of Cordyceps militaris attenuated doxorubicin-induced cytotoxic effects in chemotherapy

Objectives: Fungus Cordyceps militaris has been used as a herbal tonic in traditional Chinese medicine, which could be surface liquid-cultured for mycelia production. To evaluate the potential of polysaccharides obtained from mycelia of Cordyceps militaris (PS-MCM) for attenuation of side-effects of chemotherapy. Methods: Doxorubicin was used to induce cytotoxicity in THP-1 monocytes and EL-4 T cells, and the effects of PS-MCM on cell viability and cytokine production were detected on doxorubicin-treated THP-1 and EL-4 cells. Results: PS-MCM reduced doxorubicin-induced cell death and promoted cell proliferation in THP-1 and EL-4 cells. Moreover, PS-MCM elevated the level of cytokines associated with immune-modulation of THP-1 and EL-4 cells. Conclusion: These findings indicate that PS-MCM has potential for development as a functional food to counteract side effects of chemotherapy. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i2.40 Cite as: Lin R-K, Choong C-Y, Hsu W-H, Tai C-J, Tai C-J. Polysaccharides obtained from mycelia of Cordyceps militaris attenuated doxorubicin-induced cytotoxic effects in chemotherapy. Afri Health Sci.2019;19(2): 2156-2163. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i2.4

Elevation of hilar mossy cell activity suppresses hippocampal excitability and avoidance behavior

Modulation of hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) excitability regulates anxiety. In the DG, glutamatergic mossy cells (MCs) receive the excitatory drive from principal granule cells (GCs) and mediate the feedback excitation and inhibition of GCs. However, the circuit mechanism by which MCs regulate anxiety-related information routing through hippocampal circuits remains unclear. Moreover, the correlation between MC activity and anxiety states is unclear. In this study, we first demonstrate, by means of calcium fiber photometry, that MC activity in the ventral hippocampus (vHPC) of mice increases while they explore anxiogenic environments. Next, juxtacellular recordings reveal that optogenetic activation of MCs preferentially recruits GABAergic neurons, thereby suppressing GCs and ventral CA1 neurons. Finally, chemogenetic excitation of MCs in the vHPC reduces avoidance behaviors in both healthy and anxious mice. These results not only indicate an anxiolytic role of MCs but also suggest that MCs may be a potential therapeutic target for anxiety disorders

Predicting the Glycemic Response to Gastric Bypass Surgery in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE To find clinically meaningful preoperative predictors of diabetes remission and conversely inadequate glycemic control after gastric bypass surgery. Predicting the improvement in glycemic control in those with type 2 diabetes after bariatric surgery may help in patient selection. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Preoperative details of 154 ethnic Chinese subjects with type 2 diabetes were examined for their influence on glycemic outcomes at 1 year after gastric bypass. Remission was defined as HbA1c ≤6%. Analysis involved binary logistic regression to identify predictors and provide regression equations and receiver operating characteristic curves to determine clinically useful cutoff values. RESULTS Remission was achieved in 107 subjects (69.5%) at 12 months. Diabetes duration &amp;lt;4 years, body mass &amp;gt;35 kg/m2, and fasting C-peptide concentration &amp;gt;2.9 ng/mL provided three independent preoperative predictors and three clinically useful cutoffs. The regression equation classification plot derived from continuous data correctly assigned 84% of participants. A combination of two or three of these predictors allows a sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 87% for remission. Duration of diabetes (with different cutoff points) and C-peptide also predicted those cases in which HbA1c ≤7% was not attained. Percentage weight loss after surgery was also predictive of remission and of less satisfactory outcomes. CONCLUSIONS The glycemic response to gastric bypass is related to BMI, duration of diabetes, fasting C-peptide (influenced by insulin resistance and residual β-cell function), and weight loss. These data support and refine previous findings in non-Asian populations. Specific ethnic and procedural regression equations and cutoff points may vary. </jats:sec

An Overview of Regional Experiments on Biomass Burning Aerosols and Related Pollutants in Southeast Asia: From BASE-ASIA and the Dongsha Experiment to 7-SEAS

By modulating the Earth-atmosphere energy, hydrological and biogeochemical cycles, and affecting regional-to-global weather and climate, biomass burning is recognized as one of the major factors affecting the global carbon cycle. However, few comprehensive and wide-ranging experiments have been conducted to characterize biomass-burning pollutants in Southeast Asia (SEA) or assess their regional impact on meteorology, the hydrological cycle, the radiative budget, or climate change. Recently, BASEASIA (Biomass-burning Aerosols in South-East Asia: Smoke Impact Assessment) and the 7-SEAS (7- South-East Asian Studies) Dongsha Experiment were conducted during the spring seasons of 2006 and 2010 in northern SEA, respectively, to characterize the chemical, physical, and radiative properties of biomass-burning emissions near the source regions, and assess their effects. This paper provides an overview of results from these two campaigns and related studies collected in this special issue, entitled Observation, modeling and impact studies of biomass burning and pollution in the SE Asian Environment. This volume includes 28 papers, which provide a synopsis of the experiments, regional weatherclimate, chemical characterization of biomass-burning aerosols and related pollutants in source and sink regions, the spatial distribution of air toxics (atmospheric mercury and dioxins) in source and remote areas, a characterization of aerosol physical, optical, and radiative properties, as well as modeling and impact studies. These studies, taken together, provide the first relatively complete dataset of aerosol chemistry and physical observations conducted in the sourcesink region in the northern SEA, with particular emphasis on the marine boundary layer and lower free troposphere (LFT). The data, analysis and modeling included in these papers advance our present knowledge of source characterization of biomass-burning pollutants near the source regions as well as the physical and chemical processes along transport pathways. In addition, we raise key questions to be addressed by a coming deployment during springtime 2013 in northern SEA, named 7-SEASBASELInE (Biomass-burning Aerosols Stratocumulus Environment: Lifecycles and Interactions Experiment). This campaign will include a synergistic approach for further exploring many key atmospheric processes (e.g., complex aerosol-cloud interactions) and impacts of biomass burning on the surface-atmosphere energy budgets during the lifecycles of biomass burning emissions

Anti-inflammatory effect of euphane- and tirucallane-type triterpenes isolated from the traditional herb Euphorbia neriifolia L

The Euphorbiaceae plant Euphorbia neriifolia L. is distributed widely in India, Thailand, Southeastern China, and Taiwan and used as a carminative and expectorant to treat several inflammation-related diseases, such as gonorrhoea, asthma, and cancer. In the course of our search for potential anti-inflammatory agents from the titled plant, 11 triterpenes from the stem of E. neriifolia were isolated and reported in our previous endeavor. Given its rich abundance in triterpenoids, the ethanolic extract in this follow-up exploration has led to the isolation of additional eight triterpenes, including six new euphanes—neritriterpenols H and J–N (1 and 3–7)—one new tirucallane, neritriterpenol I (2), and a known compound, 11-oxo-kansenonol (8). Their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data, including 1D- and 2D NMR, and HRESIMS spectra. The absolute stereochemistry of neritriterpenols was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, ICD spectra, and DP4+ NMR data calculations. Compounds 1–8 were also evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activity by using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated IL-6 and TNF-α on RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Intriguingly, the euphane-type triterpenes (1 and 3–8) showed an inhibitory effect on LPS-induced IL-6 but not on TNF-α, while tirucallane-type triterpene 2 showed strong inhibition on both IL-6 and TNF-α

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase&nbsp;1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation&nbsp;disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age&nbsp; 6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score&nbsp; 652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc&nbsp;= 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N&nbsp;= 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in&nbsp;Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in&nbsp;Asia&nbsp;and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701