Anti-Allergic Activity of a Platycodon Root Ethanol Extract

Platycodon grandiflorum (Campanulaceae) is used as traditional medicine in Asian countries. In Korean traditional medicine, Platycodon root has been widely used since ancient times as a traditional drug to treat cold, cough and asthma. However, its effects on bone marrow-derived mast cell (BMMC)-mediated allergy and inflammation mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, the biological effect of Platycodon root ethanol extract (PE) was evaluated in BMMC after induction of allergic mediators by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) plus calcium ionophore A23187 (A23187) stimulation. The effect of PE on the production of several allergic mediators, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), leukotriene C4 (LTC4), β-Hexosaminidase (β-Hex) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein, was investigated. The results demonstrate that PE inhibits PMA + A23187 induced production of IL-6, PGD2, LTC4, β-Hexosaminidase and COX-2 protein. Taken together, these results indicate that PE has the potential for use in the treatment of allergy

Metabolomic Elucidation of the Effects of Curcumin on Fibroblast-Like Synoviocytes in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease characterized by synovial inflammation and joint disability. Curcumin is known to be effective in ameliorating joint inflammation in RA. To obtain new insights into the effect of curcumin on primary fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS, N = 3), which are key effector cells in RA, we employed gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC/TOF-MS)-based metabolomics. Metabolomic profiling of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-stimulated and curcumin-treated FLS was performed using GC/TOF-MS in conjunction with univariate and multivariate statistical analyses. A total of 119 metabolites were identified. Metabolomic analysis revealed that metabolite profiles were clearly distinct between TNF-α-stimulated vs. the control group (not stimulated by TNF-α or curcumin). Treatment of FLS with curcumin showed that the metabolic perturbation by TNF-α could be reversed to that of the control group to a considerable extent. Curcumin-treated FLS had higher restoration of amino acid and fatty acid metabolism, as indicated by the prominent metabolic restoration of intermediates of amino acid and fatty acid metabolism, compared with that observed in TNF-α-stimulated FLS. In particular, the abundance of glycine, citrulline, arachidonic acid, and saturated fatty acids in TNF-α-stimulated FLS was restored to the control level after treatment with curcumin, suggesting that the effect of curcumin on preventing joint inflammation may be elucidated with the levels of these metabolites. Our results suggest that GC/TOF-MS-based metabolomic investigation using FLS has the potential for discovering the mechanism of action of curcumin and new targets for therapeutic drugs in RA

Preparation of newly synthesized forward osmosis membrane

Forward osmosis (FO) membrane was fabricated with a newly synthesized acetylated methyl cellulose (AMC) membrane. The FO membrane performance was compared with a commercially available reverse osmosis (RO) membrane for seawater desalination. Interfacial polymerization was done on the AMC support membrane for FO membrane preparation. Polyamide layer was successfully formed. The membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy analysis. The surface of two membranes shows similar ridge-and-valley structure. However, the support layer of two membranes was completely different. The polyamide membrane based on the AMC support layer shows much better FO and RO performance than the RO membrane due to difference at the membrane cross-section between two membranes. The big macrovoids of the AMC support layer make flux much higher. In contrast, the RO membrane shows sponge-like structure at the membrane cross-section.close0

The intensities of metabolites related to amino acid metabolism (A) and fatty acid metabolism (B).

<p>The intensities of metabolites related to amino acid metabolism (A) and fatty acid metabolism (B).</p

PCA score (A) and loading plots (B) of RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS), which were not stimulated (Control), stimulated with TNF-α (TNF), and treated with curcumin (Curcumin).

<p>(A) Principal component (PC)1 explained the significant separation of metabolite profiles between the TNF-α-stimulated group on the negative region of the PC1, and the control and curcumin-treated groups on the positive region of the PC1. Further, the control group was clearly separated from the curcumin-treated group on PC2. (B) PC1 was explained by 84 metabolites that correlated positively with the axis, and 35 metabolites that correlated negatively.</p

Hierarchical clustering analysis of 119 identified metabolites from RA FLS.

<p>The results of heat mapping generated through metabolomic analysis and the relevant changes discovered. A heat map showed that the metabolite profiles of controls were similar to those of the curcumin-treated group. Red color reflects an increase, and blue color a decrease.</p

Risk Factors for the Progression of Intima-Media Thickness of Carotid Arteries: A 2-Year Follow-Up Study in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes

BackgroundIntima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid arteries is known to have a positive correlation with the risk of cardiovascular disease. This study was designed to identify risk factors affecting the progression of carotid IMT in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).MethodsPatients with newly diagnosed T2DM with carotid IMT measurements were enrolled, and their clinical data and carotid IMT results at baseline and 2 years later were compared.ResultsOf the 171 patients, 67.2% of males and 50.8% of females had abnormal baseline IMT of the left common carotid artery. At baseline, systolic blood pressure, body mass index and smoking in male participants, and fasting plasma glucose and glycated hemoglobin levels in females were significantly higher in patients with abnormal IMT than in those with normal IMT. Low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in males and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels in females at the 2-year follow-up were significantly different between the nonprogression and the progression groups. Reduction of the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) 10-year coronary heart disease (CHD) risk score after 2 years was generally higher in the nonprogression group than the progression group.ConclusionLDL-C levels in males and HDL-C levels in females at the 2-year follow-up were significantly different between participants with and without progression of carotid IMT. Furthermore, a reduction in the UKPDS 10-year CHD risk score appeared to delay the advancement of atherosclerosis. Therefore, the importance of establishing the therapeutic goal of lipid profiles should be emphasized to prevent the progression of carotid IMT in newly diagnosed T2DM patients

Anti-Obesity Effects of Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor in Otsuka-Long-Evans-Tokushima Fatty Rats

<div><p>Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) has molecular structures and intracellular signaling pathways that are similar to those of leptin and ciliary neurotropic factor (CNTF). It also has immune-modulatory properties. Given that leptin and CNTF play important roles in energy homeostasis and that obesity is an inflammatory condition in adipose tissue, we hypothesized that G-CSF could also play a role in energy homeostasis. We treated 12 38-week-old male Otsuka-Long-Evans-Tokushima fatty rats (OLETF, diabetic) and 12 age-matched male Long-Evans-Tokushima rats (LETO, healthy) with 200 µg/day G-CSF or saline for 5 consecutive days. Body weight reduction was greater in G-CSF-treated OLETF (G-CSF/OLETF) than saline-treated OLETF (saline/OLETF) following 8 weeks of treatment (−6.9±1.6% vs. −3.1±2.2%, <i>p</i><0.05). G-CSF treatment had no effect on body weight in LETO or on food intake in either OLETF or LETO. Body fat in G-CSF/OLETF was more reduced than in saline/OLETF (−32.2±3.1% vs. −20.8±6.2%, <i>p</i><0.05). Energy expenditure was higher in G-CSF/OLETF from 4 weeks after the treatments than in saline/OLETF. Serum levels of cholesterol, triglyceride, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α were lower in G-CSF/OLETF than in saline/OLETF. Uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1) expression in brown adipose tissue (BAT) was higher in G-CSF/OLETF than in saline/OLETF, but was unaffected in LETO. Immunofluorescence staining and PCR results revealed that G-CSF receptors were expressed in BAT. In vitro experiments using brown adipocyte primary culture revealed that G-CSF enhanced UCP-1 expression from mature brown adipocytes via p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. In conclusion, G-CSF treatment reduced body weight and increased energy expenditure in a diabetic model, and enhanced UCP-1 expression and decreased inflammatory cytokine levels may be associated with the effects of G-CSF treatment.</p></div

Body weight and blood glucose levels before G-CSF or saline treatment.

<p>(A) Body weights of the OLETF rats peaked at 22 weeks of age, then gradually decreased and were not significantly different with those of the LETO rats around 34 weeks of age; (B) Pre-treatment body weights at 38 weeks of age were not significantly different in all animal groups; (C) Blood glucose levels after 8 hours of fasting indicate the OLETF rats showed an overt diabetic phenotype after 30 weeks of age. - The data was presented as the mean ± S.E.M. OLETF, Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats; LETO, Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka rats; NS, not significant.</p

Changes in body weight and food intake after G-CSF or saline treatment.

<p>(A) Body weight difference from the pre-treatment body weight. Gradual decrease in body weight was shown in all animal groups, but the body weight reduction was significantly larger in G-CSF/OLETF than those in Saline/OLETF. The body weight reduction was not significantly different between G-CSF/LETO and Saline/LETO; (B) The percentage of body weight reduction in 8 weeks after the treatments was higher in G-CSF/OLETF than those in the other animal group; (C) The food intake was not significantly different between the G-CSF-treated groups and saline-treated groups of LETO and OLETF. * p<0.05 vs. saline/OLETF; † p<0.05 vs. other groups; - The data are shown as the mean ± S.E.M. G-CSF/OLETF, G-CSF-treated OLEFT; Saline/OLETF, saline-treated OLETF; G-CSF/LETO, G-CSF-treated LETO; Saline/LETO, saline-treated LETO; G-CSF, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor; OLETF, Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats; LETO, Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka rats.</p