Anti-hyperprolactinemia mechanism of Radix bupleuri extract in rats

Purpose: To determine the mechanism underlying the anti-hyperprolactinemia effects of Radix bupleuri extract (RBE) in rats.Methods: Rats were divided into six groups (n=10 each group): healthy controls, untreated hyperprolactinemic rats, hyperprolactinemic rats treated with bromocriptine (0.6 mg/kg), and hyperprolactinemic rats treated with RBE (4.8, 9.6, or 19.2 g/kg). After 30 days, hypothalamic protein levels of dopamine D2 receptor, protein kinase A (PKA), and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) were determined.Results: Dopamine D2 receptor levels were lower in untreated hyperprolactinemic rats than in healthy controls (p < 0.01), but this decrease was attenuated by RBE (p < 0.05). Elevated PKA levels in untreated hyperprolactinemic rats (0.61 ± 0.04 μg/ml, p < 0.01) were decreased by RBE (4.8 g/kg, 0.42 ± 0.03 μg/ml, p < 0.05; 9.6 g/kg, 0.33 ± 0.02 μg/ml, p < 0.01; 19.2 g/kg, 0.27 ± 0.03 μg/ml, p < 0.01). Similarly, elevated cAMP levels in hyperprolactinemic rats (2.4 ± 0.4 ng/ml) were decreased by RBE (4.8 g/kg, 1.8 ± 0.3 ng/ml, p < 0.05; 9.6 g/kg, 1.5 ± 0.3 ng/ml, p < 0.01; 19.2 g/kg, 1.2 ± 0.2 ng/ml, p < 0.01).Conclusions: RBE anti-hyperprolactinemia activity is mediated by dopamine D2 receptor signaling via the cAMP/PKA pathway.Keywords: Hyperprolactinemia, Radix bupleuri, Dopamine D2 receptor, cAMP/PK

Corneal stromal acupuncture combined with amniotic membrane transplantation for treating bullous keratopathy

AIM: To investigate the clinical effect for treating bullous keratopathy(BK)by anterior corneal stromal acupuncture combined with amniotic membrane transplantation.<p>METHODS: Totally 35 patients(35 eyes)with bullous keratopathy were treated by corneal stromal acupuncture combined with amniotic membrane transplantation. All patients preoperative and postoperative underwent anterior segment OCT, corneal topography, corneal sensitivity and confocal microscopy. To observe postoperative ocular symptoms in patients with BK, recurrence of bulla, changes in corneal thickness, corneal sensitivity and changes in the organizational structure of the layers of the cornea.<p>RESULTS: Thirty-five were followed up for 6-18mo. The symptom of pain disappeared in 32 cases(91%)in the first day after operation and did not recur during follow-up. The symptom of pain relieved in 3 cases(9%)in the first day after operation and disappeared in 3 days. Corneal epithelium of 9 cases(26%)were all healed within 1wk, 21 cases(60%)were all healed within 2wk, and 5 cases(14%)were all healed within 3wk. Following up for 6-18mo, there was no recurrence of symptoms or bulla. A small amount of tiny bubbles in the surrounding area appeared in 2 cases after 3 and 4wk. All patients had no neovascularization, and had smooth corneal surface. The amnions of 30 cases(86%)were thinning after 2mo, partially dissolved and absorped, not seen with the naked eye after 3mo. Thirty-four cases(97%)had no changes in vision, one case(3%)was from the light to front of the manual. After 2mo, corneal sensation decreased in 30 cases(86%), corneal thickness increased from preoperative 788±35μm to 940±43μm. After 12mo, corneal thickness increased to 1060±27μm. Results of confocal microscopy: after 3mo, the number density of the trigeminal nerve fibers under corneal basement membrane reduced, shallow stromal cells became into fibrotic stroma, deep stroma was more loose, and cells swelled significantly. The number of endothelial cells reduced and form swelled more obviously compared with preoperatively.<p>CONCLUSION: Corneal acupuncture combined with amniotic membrane transplantation can effectively control the symptoms of BK, prevent the recurrence of BK, and especially it is a simple, safe and practical way for patients with poor visual function

Changes in Autonomic Nervous System Function in Patients >60 Years of Age with Coronary Heart Disease, and Normotension or Hypertension: An Observational Study

Aim: The aim of this observational study was to perform in-depth analysis of autonomic nervous system function in patients older than 60 years of age with coronary artery disease, and normotension or hypertension. Method: A total of 104 patients older than 60 years with coronary heart disease (CHD) were divided into a normotension group and hypertension (HT) group, and 24-hour Holter monitoring was performed to assess autonomic function. Result: Among the 104 patients with CHD analyzed, 52 had normotension, and 52 had hypertension. The 24-hour Holter results based on time-domain methods indicated that the values of the time-domain parameters of heart rate variability were significantly lower in the CHD+HT group than the CHD group. Furthermore, during both the daytime and nighttime, the time-domain parameters were significantly lower in the CHD+HT group than the CHD group. No difference was observed in autonomic function during the daytime and nighttime in each group. Values of frequency-domain parameters of heart rate variability were also significantly lower in the CHD+HT group than the CHD group. More patients in the CHD+HT group than the CHD group received percutaneous coronary intervention (57.69% vs. 50% χ 2 =0.619, P=0.55). In 12 months of follow-up, we found no significant differences in rehospitalization for unstable angina and target lesion revascularization between patients with CHD with normotension versus hypertension. Conclusion: The heart autonomic nervous system dysfunction in patients older than 60 years with CHD with hypertension was more severe than that in patients with CHD with normotension, and therefore, should receive greater clinical attention

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<p>Cell scratch test and Transwell were used to measure the migration abilities of HSVSMCs. NC = Negative control group, only control siRNA transfected; GAS5(-) = lncRNA-GAS5 knockdown group transfected with silence siRNA. <b>A:</b>Cell scratch test was used to measure the migration abilities of HSVSMCs. The results showed that the HSVSMCs have the best migration abilities in the first 24 hours. Values are mean±SE, N = 4. <b>B:</b> The migration abilities of HSVSMCs measured by Transwell. After transfected by lncRNA-GAS5 siRNA for 48 hours, the HSVSMCs were passage into the Transwell Inserts. Then 4 hours, 7 hours, 10 hours later, the migration HSVSMCs were photographed and counted, respectively. Knockdown of lncRNA-GAS5 expression promotes migration of HSVSMCs. Optical microscope images under 200x magnification. <b>C:</b> The migration abilities of HSVSMCs were reflected indirectly by the new migration cells counting with Transwell. Silencing of lncRNA-GAS5 expression increses migration ability of HSVSMCs. Values are mean±SE, N = 10; *, P<0.05.</p

Chemical composition of the volatile oil of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. from Mianyang in Sichuan Province of China and its sub-chronic toxicity in mice

Purpose: To determine the chemical constituents of the volatile oil of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. from Mianyang in Sichuan Province of China, and assess the sub-chronic toxicity of the volatile oil in mice.Methods: The volatile chemical components were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Sixty Kunming mice were divided into six groups of ten mice each. One group served as control (no treatment), two groups were orally administered ρ-cymene at doses of 3 and 7 mg/kg, respectively, for 27 days, while three groups received the volatile oil at doses of 10, 25 and 40 mg/kg, respectively, for the same duration. Sub-chronic toxicity in the mice was evaluated by observing their general behavior, measuring serum levels of aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT), evaluating liver, heart, kidney and thymus indices, and assessing the histological morphology of the organs.Results: The volatile oil contained 14 chemical components, of which α-terpinene and ρ-cymene accounted for 32.89 and 24.25 %, respectively. The volatile oil caused significant (p &lt; 0.05) increase in liver index, and serum AST and ALT levels, and also induced distinct morphological changes in mouse liver, heart and kidney.Conclusion: The main volatile components of the oil are α-terpinene and ρ-cymene. The volatile oil showed dose-dependent toxicity in mice, thus lending some support for the safe use of C. ambrosioides in traditional medicine. Keywords: Chenopodium ambrosioides, Volatile oil, Oral toxicity, AST and ALT, Histopathological change

Prediction models for solitary pulmonary nodules based on curvelet textural features and clinical parameters

Lung cancer, one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths, usually appears as solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) which are hard to diagnose using the naked eye. In this paper, curvelet-based textural features and clinical parameters are used with three prediction models [a multilevel model, a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression method, and a support vector machine (SVM)] to improve the diagnosis of benign and malignant SPNs. Dimensionality reduction of the original curvelet-based textural features was achieved using principal component analysis. In addition, non-conditional logistical regression was used to find clinical predictors among demographic parameters and morphological features. The results showed that, combined with 11 clinical predictors, the accuracy rates using 12 principal components were higher than those using the original curvelet-based textural features. To evaluate the models, 10-fold cross validation and back substitution were applied. The results obtained, respectively, were 0.8549 and 0.9221 for the LASSO method, 0.9443 and 0.9831 for SVM, and 0.8722 and 0.9722 for the multilevel model. All in all, it was found that using curvelet-based textural features after dimensionality reduction and using clinical predictors, the highest accuracy rate was achieved with SVM. The method may be used as an auxiliary tool to differentiate between benign and malignant SPNs in CT images

In vitro evaluation of anticancer nanomedicines based on doxorubicin and amphiphilic Y-shaped copolymers

Four monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide)2 (mPEG-P( LA-co-GA)2) copolymers were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of L-lactide and glycolide with double hydroxyl functionalized mPEG (mPEG-(OH)2) as macroinitiator and stannous octoate as catalyst. The copolymers self-assembled into nanoscale micellar/vesicular aggregations in phosphate buffer at pH 7.4. Doxorubicin (DOX), an anthracycline anticancer drug, was loaded into the micellar/vesicular nanoparticles, yielding micellar/vesicular nanomedicines. The in vitro release behaviors could be adjusted by content of hydrophobic polyester and pH of the release medium. In vitro cell experiments showed that the intracellular DOX release could be adjusted by content of P(LA-co-GA), and the nanomedicines displayed effective proliferation inhibition against Henrietta Lacks’s cells with different culture times. Hemolysis tests indicated that the copolymers were hemocompatible, and the presence of copolymers could reduce the hemolysis ratio of DOX significantly. These results suggested that the novel anticancer nanomedicines based on DOX and amphiphilic Y-shaped copolymers were attractive candidates as tumor tissular and intracellular targeting drug delivery systems in vivo, with enhanced stability during circulation and accelerated drug release at the target sites

Three new xanthone derivatives from an algicolous isolate of Aspergillus wentii

Three new xanthone derivatives, yicathin A (1), yicathin B (2), and yicathin C (3), and three known anthraquinone derivatives, alatinone (4), 1,5-dihydroxy-3-methoxy-7-methylanthraquinone (5), and 5-hydroxy-1,3-dimethoxy-7-methylanthraquinone (6), were isolated from the cultures of&nbsp;Aspergillus wentii&nbsp;pt-1, an endophytic fungus isolated from the marine red alga&nbsp;Gymnogongrus flabelliformis. Their structures were unambiguously elucidated by NMR and mass spectroscopic methods as well as quantum chemical calculations. Compound 2 was active against&nbsp;Escherichia coli, and 3 could inhibit&nbsp;E. coli,&nbsp;Staphylococcus aureus, and&nbsp;Colletotrichum lagenarium.Three new xanthone derivatives, yicathin A (1), yicathin B (2), and yicathin C (3), and three known anthraquinone derivatives, alatinone (4), 1,5-dihydroxy-3-methoxy-7-methylanthraquinone (5), and 5-hydroxy-1,3-dimethoxy-7-methylanthraquinone (6), were isolated from the cultures of Aspergillus wentii pt-1, an endophytic fungus isolated from the marine red alga Gymnogongrus flabelliformis. Their structures were unambiguously elucidated by NMR and mass spectroscopic methods as well as quantum chemical calculations. Compound 2 was active against Escherichia coli, and 3 could inhibit E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Colletotrichum lagenarium. Copyright (C) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd