Vitex agnus-castus L.: Essential oil increases human erythrocyte membrane fluidity

Fluidnost membrane eritrocita uslovljava njihove reološke karakteristike, svojevrsne dinamičke kvalitete, izmenjene u hipertenziji i aterosklerozi. Rizik od navedenih i drugih kardiovaskularnih oboljenja se kod žena povećava sa starenjem. Tegobe koje prate menopauzu se obično ublažavaju supstitucionom hormonskom terapijom, koja može povećati rizik od pojave malignih oboljenja. Esencijalno ulje biljke Vitex agnus-castus L. sadrži različita organska jedinjenja (monoterpene, seskviterpene i terpenoide) i sve češće se koristi kao alternativno terapijsko sredstvo za simptome menopauze. Navedene komponente esencijalnog ulja mogu se ugraditi u ćelijske membrane i menjati njihovu fluidnost. Cilj studije bio je da se utvrde efekti esencijalnog ulja biljke Vitex agnus-castus na fluidnost membrane eritrocita po njenoj du bini. Korišćena je spektroskopija elektronske paramagnetne rezonance i masnokiselinske spinske probe (5-doksil stearinska i 12-doksil stearinska kiselina), čiji spektri za vise od fluidnosti membrane. Nakon tretmana eritrocita esencijalnim uljem biljke Vitex agnus-castus utvrđeno je značajno (p=0,029) i reverzibilno povećanje fluidnosti njihove membrane u dubljim, hidrofobnim regionima, dok u površinskim, hidrofilnim regionima eritrocitne membrane nisu utvrđene značajne promene (p>0,05). Ovi rezultati ukazuju na povećanje fluidnosti eritrocitne membrane nakon tretmana esencijalnim uljem biljke Vitex agnus-castus, što može biti koristan efekat pri tretmanu pacijentkinja sa hipertenzijom i drugim kardiovaskularnim oboljenjima u menopauzi.Erythrocyte membrane fluidity is related to their rheologic behavior, the dynamic quality of erythrocytes, which is tempted in hypertension and atherosclerosis. An increased risk of these and other cardiovascular diseases occurs in ageing women. Menopause-related conditions are often treated with hormone replacement therapy that may increase the risk of malignancies. Vitex agnus-castus L. essential oil contains various organic compounds (monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and terpenoids), and is increasingly used as an alternative therapy for menopausal symptoms. These components of the oil may be incorporated into cell membranes, thereby changing the membrane fluidity. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of Vitex agnuscastus essential oil on human erythrocyte membrane fluidity at graded depths. We used Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy and fatty acid spin probes (5-doxyl stearic acid and 12-doxyl stearic acid), whose spectra depend on membrane fluidity. After treatment with Vitex agnus-castus essential oil the erythrocytes had a significant (p=0.029) and reversible increase in membrane fluidity in the deeper hydrophobic membrane regions, with no change (p>0.05) in fluidity near the membrane's hydrophilic surface. These results document increased fluidity of the human erythrocyte membrane by Vitex agnus-castus essential oil, and this action may be useful in patients with menopause-related hypertension and other cardiovascular conditions

Significance of Twist expression and its association with E-cadherin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

in esophageal squamous cell carcinom

NIST interlaboratory study on glycosylation analysis of monoclonal antibodies : comparison of results from diverse analytical methods

Glycosylation is a topic of intense current interest in the development of biopharmaceuticals since it is related to drug safety and efficacy. This work describes results of an interlaboratory study on the glycosylation of the Primary Sample (PS) of NISTmAb, a monoclonal antibody reference material. Seventy‑six laboratories from industry, university, research, government, and hospital sectors in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia submitted a total of 103 reports on glycan distributions. The principal objective of this study was to report and compare results for the full range of analytical methods presently used in the glycosylation  analysis of mAbs. Therefore, participation was unrestricted, with laboratories choosing their own measurement techniques. Protein glycosylation was determined in various ways, including at the level of intact mAb, protein fragments, glycopeptides, or released glycans, using a wide variety of methods for derivatization, separation, identification, and quantification. Consequently, the diversity of results was enormous, with the number of glycan compositions identified by each laboratory ranging from 4 to 48. In total, one hundred sixteen glycan compositions were reported, of which 57 compositions could be assigned consensus abundance values. These consensus medians provide community-derived values for NISTmAb PS. Agreement with the consensus medians did not depend on the specific method or laboratory type.. The study provides a view of the current state-of-the-art for biologic glycosylation measurement and suggests a clear need for harmonization of glycosylation analysis methods

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

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