Ustekinumab treats psoriasis by suppressing RORC and T-box but its suppression of GATA restrains its efficacy

Psoriasis is a T-cell mediated disease that involves IL-23/Th17 and IL-12/Th1 axes. Ustekinumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting the p40 subunit of both IL-12 and IL-23, has proven to be efficient and safe for treating patients with psoriasis. Yet, there have been no reports with human skin/blood samples that would elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which ustekinumab calms psoriasis skin lesions. To investigate the efficacy and molecular pathway (RORC, t-BOX and GATA) of ustekinumab in treating patients with psoriasis skin lesions. A total of 30 patients with psoriasis were randomized into placebo group and treatment group. PASI of each patient was calculated at 0, 12 and 24 weeks post-treatment. The mRNA levels of RORC, t-BOX and GATA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells separated from patients’ whole blood were analyzed using qPCR. Decreased mRNA of RORC, t-BOX and GATA were observed after continuous injections, indicating that ustekinumab exerts its effect by interacting with these molecules; while no significant difference in foxp3 mRNA levels were found between placebo group and treatment group

Effects and Safety of Aqueous Extract of Poncirus fructus

Objective. To investigate the effects and safety of the aqueous extract of the dried, immature fruit of Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf., known as Poncirus fructus (PF), in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients with neurogenic bowel. Methods. Thirty-one SCI patients with neurogenic bowel were recruited. Patients were evaluated based on clinical information, constipation score, Bristol Stool Form Scale, stool retention score using plain abdominal radiograph, and colon transit time. PF was administered in dosages of 800 mg each prior to breakfast and lunch for 14 days. Results. The morphological feature of the stool before and after administration indicated a statistically significant difference from 3.52 ± 1.33 to 4.32 ± 1.44 points (p<0.05). Stool retention score before and after administration of PF was represented with low significance (7.25 ± 1.60 to 6.46 ± 1.53 points) in the whole colon (p<0.05), and the colon transit time was significantly shortened (57.41 ± 20.7 to 41.2 ± 25.5 hours) in terms of the whole transit time (p<0.05). Side effects were observed in 7 people (28.0%) consisting of 2 people with soft stools and 5 people with diarrhea. Conclusion. For SCI patients, PF administration significantly improved defecation patterns, defecation retention, and colon transit time. PF could be an effective aid to improve colonic motility and constipation

Sesquiterpenes and Dimeric Sesquiterpenoids from Sarcandra glabra

Two new sesquiterpenes, sarcandralactones A (1) and B (2), and five new dimeric sesquiterpenoids, sarcandrolides A-E (3-7), along with 10 known compounds were isolated from the whole plants of Sarcandra glabra. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. Some of the new isolates exhibit significant cytotoxicities when tested against a small panel of tumor cell lines

Effect of Ultrasound Treatment on Structural and Physicochemical Properties of Emodin-Casein Complexes

Emodin was one of the hydrophobic active molecules, the solubility bioavailability of which was improved by loading in a certain matrix. In this study, the microcapsules of emodin-casein complexes were prepared with casein as matrix with ultrasound treatment. The structural properties of the complexes were analyzed by fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy. The thermal properties, DPPH and ABTS+ free radical scavenging activities of the complexes were measured. In addition, the release profiles of emodin from the complexes were evaluated by simulated gastrointestinal digestion experiment. The results showed that the ultrasound treatment within 1~3 min duration had not significant effect on the fluorescence properties of the complexes with the addition of emodin at 8~10 μg/mg. Furthermore, there were no significant effect of ultrasound treatment on the FTIR spectra and morphology of emodin-casein complexes. In addition, the DPPH free radical scavenging activity of the complexes had the lowest value with 1 min-ultrasound treatment, but the highest value of ABTS+ free radical scavenging activity among other samples with the same emodin addition. The release rate of emodin from the emodin-casein complexes during simulated gastrointestinal digestion was improved by 1 min-ultrasound treatment, but retarded by 5 min-ultrasound treatment. The results would provide references for the application of ultrasound treatment in the properties' regulation of emodin-casein complexes