Mongolian and Japanese Joint Conference on "Echinococcosis: diagnosis, treatment and prevention in Mongolia" June 4, 2009

The first Mongolian-Japanese Joint Conference on "Echinococcosis: diagnosis, treatment and prevention in Mongolia" was held in Ulaanbaatar on June 4th, 2009. It was the first chance for Mongolian experts (clinicians, pathologists, parasitologists, biologists, epidemiologists, veterinarians and others working on echinococcosis) joined together. Increase in the number of cystic echinococcosis (CE) cases year by year was stressed. CE in children may be more than adult cases. Alveolar echinococcosis was suspected chronic malignant hepatic tumors or abscesses. Main discussion was as to how to introduce modern diagnostic tools for pre-surgical diagnosis, how to establish the national system for the data base of echinococcosis with the establishment of a network system by experts from different areas. The importance of molecular identification of the parasites in domestic and wild animals was also stressed

Establishment of the Mergen Tradition of Mongolian Buddhism

Mergen Tradition of Mongolian BuddhismThis paper investigates the Mergen Tradition of Mongolian Buddhism, which is a unique casein the history of Buddhism in Mongolia; Although Mongolian Buddhism has existed for overeight centuries since its introduction during the reign of Hublai (Kublai) Khagan, discountingthe said tradition and some minor practices, virtually all Buddhism has been practiced inTibetan. The Mergen Tradition, derived from the Neichi Toyin line of Mongolian Buddhistpractice, is a set of local Buddhist practices centred in Mergen Monastery, including abouttwenty affiliated monasteries of Urad Right Duke Banner1 in Inner Mongolia. The MergenTradition practised Buddhism purely in Mongolian. I call it the ‘Mergen’ Tradition followingthe name of the main monastery, Mergen Monastery, in which it was practised, and the corefigure of the tradition, Mergen Gegen, who was the chief incarnation lama in MergenMonastery. The third Mergen Gegen, Lubsangdambijalsan (Tib. bLo bzang bstan pa’i rgyalmtshan, 1717–1766, Mergen Gegen hereafter), was a great scholar who endeavoured toinstitutionalise the Mergen Tradition and made Buddhism truly Mongolian; Instead ofManchu centred and Tibet oriented, the Mergen Tradition managed to establish a locallysponsored, internal oriented self generating system. The Mergen Tradition of MongolianBuddhism has survived until the present and its influence has been disseminating to otherparts of both Inner Mongolia and Mongolia, for example Mongolia (the nation) has expressedinterest in importing the tradition. This paper will proceed from the origination, formationand institutionalisation of the Mergen Tradition of Mongolian Buddhism to its establishmentof self generating system

Aminoflavone, a ligand of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR), inhibits HIF-1α expression in an AhR-independent fashion

Aminoflavone (AF), the active component of a novel anticancer agent (AFP464) in phase I clinical trials, is a ligand of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). AhR dimerizes with HIF-1beta/AhR, which is shared with HIF-1alpha, a transcription factor critical for the response of cells to oxygen deprivation. To address whether pharmacologic activation of the AhR pathway might be a potential mechanism for inhibition of HIF-1, we tested the effects of AF on HIF-1 expression. AF inhibited HIF-1alpha transcriptional activity and protein accumulation in MCF-7 cells. However, inhibition of HIF-1alpha by AF was independent from a functional AhR pathway. Indeed, AF inhibited HIF-1alpha expression in Ah(R100) cells, in which the AhR pathway is functionally impaired, yet did not induce cytotoxicity, providing evidence that these effects are mediated by distinct signaling pathways. Moreover, AF was inactive in MDA-MB-231 cells, yet inhibited HIF-1alpha in MDA-MB-231 cells transfected with the SULT1A1 gene. AF inhibited HIF-1alpha mRNA expression by approximately 50%. Notably, actinomycin-D completely abrogated the ability of AF to downregulate HIF-1alpha mRNA, indicating that active transcription was required for the inhibition of HIF-1alpha expression. Finally, AF inhibited HIF-1alpha protein accumulation and the expression of HIF-1 target genes in MCF-7 xenografts. These results show that AF inhibits HIF-1alpha in an AhR-independent fashion, and they unveil additional activities of AF that may be relevant for its further clinical development

Tetracycline analogues with a selective inhibitory effect on HIF-1α

As part of a programme to discover novel transcription factor inhibitors, a 40-membered library of tetracycline analogues was screened to identify potential HIF-1 inhibitors. Two novel analogues (5b and 5c) with significant HIF-1 modulation properties were identified. These molecules possess good cellular penetration properties, and provide significant down-regulation of VEGF in U251 cells