The value of a novel percutaneous lung puncture clamp biopsy technique in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodules

Abstract Background: Computed tomography-guided percutaneous lung biopsy is a crucial method to determine pulmonary anomalies, and is highly accurate in detecting evidence of malignancies, allowing medical practitioners to identify the stage of malignancy and thus help to plan the treatment regimens of patients.Objective: To explore the clinical application of a new computed tomography-guided percutaneous lung puncture clamp biopsy technique in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodules, characterized by ground-glass opacity on chest computed tomography images.Methods: A unique instrument named ‘combined percutaneous lung biopsy forceps’, consisting of a biopsy forceps, a 15-gauge coaxial needle and needle core, was designed. The new tool was used to obtain specimens in nine patients with pulmonary ground-glass opacity. The specimen volumes and the safety of using the instrument were measured. The samples obtained were also assessed to see if they were sufficient for conducting histological tests.Result: Samples were obtained in all nine patients – a success rate of 100%. Consistently, the volume of each specimen was sufficient to make a histological diagnosis. No serious complications, such as pneumothorax – primary spontaneous pneumothorax or secondary spontaneous pneumothorax – occurred during the biopsy.Conclusions: The application of this new tool in obtaining tissue specimens in patients with pulmonary ground-glass opacity under the guidance of chest computed tomography was invaluable in terms of its high accuracy and safety. Moreover, its effect was better compared to using a fine-needle aspiration biopsy or a cutting-needle biopsy. Therefore, this instrument can be used for histological diagnosis. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2021; 35(2):85-90]Key words: Ground-glass opacity; percutaneous lung puncture clamp biopsy; fine-needle aspiration biopsy; cutting-needle biops

Inhibition of Notch1 Signaling Alleviates Endotoxin-Induced Inflammation Through Modulating Retinal Microglia Polarization

Microglial cells are resident immune cells and play an important role in various cerebral and retinal inflammatory diseases. Notch1 signaling is involved in the microglia polarization and the control of cerebral inflammatory reactions. However, its role in endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the role of Notch1 signaling on retinal microglia polarization and inflammation in the cultured retinal microglial cells and EIU rat model. We found that Notch1 signaling blockade with N-[N-(3, 5-difluorophenacetyl)-1-alany1-S-phenyglycine t-butyl ester (DAPT) shifted retinal microglia phenotype from pro-inflammatory M1 phenotype (COX2+ and iNOS+) to anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype (Arg-1+) and reduced the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, DAPT treatment contributed to prevent retinal ganglion cells from apoptosis, reduce the intraocular infiltrating cells, and attenuate the impairment of retinal function. Taken together, these results suggest that inhibition of Notch1 signaling could alleviate the inflammatory response in EIU rat mainly through regulating the polarization of retinal microglia. Therefore, Notch1 signaling might be a promising therapeutic target in the treatment of ocular inflammatory diseases

Gases in Sepsis: Novel Mediators and Therapeutic Targets

Sepsis, a potentially lethal condition resulting from failure to control the initial infection, is associated with a dysregulated host defense response to pathogens and their toxins. Sepsis remains a leading cause of morbidity, mortality and disability worldwide. The pathophysiology of sepsis is very complicated and is not yet fully understood. Worse still, the development of effective therapeutic agents is still an unmet need and a great challenge. Gases, including nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), are small-molecule biological mediators that are endogenously produced, mainly by enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Accumulating evidence suggests that these gaseous mediators are widely involved in the pathophysiology of sepsis. Many sepsis-associated alterations, such as the elimination of invasive pathogens, the resolution of disorganized inflammation and the preservation of the function of multiple organs and systems, are shaped by them. Increasing attention has been paid to developing therapeutic approaches targeting these molecules for sepsis/septic shock, taking advantage of the multiple actions played by NO, CO and H2S. Several preliminary studies have identified promising therapeutic strategies for gaseous-mediator-based treatments for sepsis. In this review article, we summarize the state-of-the-art knowledge on the pathophysiology of sepsis; the metabolism and physiological function of NO, CO and H2S; the crosstalk among these gaseous mediators; and their crucial effects on the development and progression of sepsis. In addition, we also briefly discuss the prospect of developing therapeutic interventions targeting these gaseous mediators for sepsis

Establishing the metabolic network of isoquinoline alkaloids from the Macleaya genus

Qing, Zhixing, Yan, Fangqin, Huang, Peng, Zeng, Jianguo (2021): Establishing the metabolic network of isoquinoline alkaloids from the Macleaya genus. Phytochemistry (112696) 185: 1-8, DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2021.112696, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.phytochem.2021.11269

Gases in Sepsis: Novel Mediators and Therapeutic Targets

Sepsis, a potentially lethal condition resulting from failure to control the initial infection, is associated with a dysregulated host defense response to pathogens and their toxins. Sepsis remains a leading cause of morbidity, mortality and disability worldwide. The pathophysiology of sepsis is very complicated and is not yet fully understood. Worse still, the development of effective therapeutic agents is still an unmet need and a great challenge. Gases, including nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), are small-molecule biological mediators that are endogenously produced, mainly by enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Accumulating evidence suggests that these gaseous mediators are widely involved in the pathophysiology of sepsis. Many sepsis-associated alterations, such as the elimination of invasive pathogens, the resolution of disorganized inflammation and the preservation of the function of multiple organs and systems, are shaped by them. Increasing attention has been paid to developing therapeutic approaches targeting these molecules for sepsis/septic shock, taking advantage of the multiple actions played by NO, CO and H2S. Several preliminary studies have identified promising therapeutic strategies for gaseous-mediator-based treatments for sepsis. In this review article, we summarize the state-of-the-art knowledge on the pathophysiology of sepsis; the metabolism and physiological function of NO, CO and H2S; the crosstalk among these gaseous mediators; and their crucial effects on the development and progression of sepsis. In addition, we also briefly discuss the prospect of developing therapeutic interventions targeting these gaseous mediators for sepsis

Effect of Natural Antioxidants from Marigolds (Tagetes erecta L.) on the Oxidative Stability of Soybean Oil

In recent years, synthetic antioxidants that are widely used in foods have been shown to cause detrimental health effects, and there has been growing interest in antioxidants realised from natural plant extracts. In this study, we investigate the potential effects of natural antioxidant components extracted from the forage plant marigold on the oxidative stability of soybean oil. First, HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS was used with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) to screen and identify potential antioxidant components in marigold. Four main antioxidant components were identified, including quercetagetin-7-O-glucoside (1), quercetagetin (2), quercetin (3) and patuletin (4). Among them, quercetagetin (QG) exhibited the highest content and the strongest DPPH radical scavenging activity and effectively inhibited the production of oxidation products in soybean oil during accelerated oxidation, as indicated by reductions in the peroxide value (PV) and acid value (AV). Then, the fatty acids and volatile compounds of soybean oil were determined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and headspace solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). A total of 108 volatile components, including 16 alcohols, 23 aldehydes, 25 ketones, 4 acids, 15 esters, 18 hydrocarbons, and 7 other compounds, were identified. QG significantly reduced the content and number of aldehydes and ketones, whereas the formation of acids and hydrocarbons was completely prevented. In addition, the fatty acid analysis demonstrated that QG significantly inhibited oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids. Consequently, QG was identified as a potential, new natural antioxidant that is believed to be safe, effective and economical, and it may have potential for use in plant extracts feed additives

Metal-Free Photoredox Catalyzed Cyclization of O-(2,4-Dinitrophenyl)oximes to Phenanthridines

A metal-free visible-light photoredox-catalyzed intermolecular cyclization reaction of O-2,4-dinitrophenyl oximes to phenanthridines was developed. In this study, the organic dye eosin Y and i-Pr2NEt were used as photocatalyst and terminal reductant, respectively. The oxime substrates were transformed into iminyl radical intermediates by single-electron reduction, which then underwent intermolecular homolytic aromatic substitution (HAS) reactions to give phenanthridine derivatives

The N-terminal HSDCIF motif is required for cell surface trafficking and dimerization of family B G protein coupled receptor PAC1.

PAC1 is PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide) preferring receptor belonging to class B G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) mediating the most effects of PACAP. The important role of G protein coupled receptor homo/heteromerization in receptor folding, maturation, trafficking, and cell surface expression has become increasingly evident. The bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) and bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) assay were used in this research to confirm the dimerization of PAC1 for the first time. The structure-activity relationship focused on the N-terminal HSDCIF motif, which locates behind the signal sequence and has high homology with PACAP (1-6), was assayed using a receptor mutant with the deletion of the HSDCIF motif. The fluorescence confocal microscope observation showed that the deletion of the HSDCIF motif impaired the cell delivery of PAC1. The results of BiFC, BRET and westernblot indicated that the deletion of HSDCIF motif and the replacement of the Cys residue with Ala in HSDCIF motif resulted in the disruption of receptor dimerization. And the exogenous chemically synthesized oligopeptide HSDCIF (100 nmol/L) not only down-regulated the dimerization of PAC1, induced the internalization of PAC1, but also inhibited the proliferation of CHO cells expressing PAC1 stably and decreased the activity of PACAP on the cell viability. All these data suggested that the N-terminal HSDCIF motif played key role in the trafficking and the dimerization of PAC1, and the exogenous oligopeptide HSDCIF had effects on the cell signaling, trafficking and the dimerization of PAC1

Systematic Detection and Identification of Bioactive Ingredients from Citrus aurantium L. var. amara Using HPLC-Q-TOF-MS Combined with a Screening Method

Bitter orange, Citrus aurantium L. var. amara (CAVA), is an important crop and its flowers and fruits are widely used in China as a food spice, as well as in traditional Chinese medicine, due to its health-promoting properties. The secondary metabolites that are present in plant-derived foods or medicines are, in part, responsible for the health benefits and desirable flavor profiles. Nevertheless, detailed information about the bioactive ingredients in CAVA is scarce. Therefore, this study was aimed at exploring the phytochemicals of CAVA by high performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Here, a systematic screening method combined with HPLC-Q-TOF-MS was presented. This technique was used to systematically screen metabolites, primarily from the complex matrix of CAVA, and to identify these compounds by their exact masses, characteristic fragment ions, and fragmentation behaviors. A total of 295 metabolites were screened by the screening method and 89 phytochemicals were identified in the flowers, fruits, roots, leaves, and branches of CAVA. For the first time, 69 phytochemicals (flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, etc.) were reported from CAVA. The results highlight the importance of CAVA as a source of secondary metabolites in the food, medicine, and nutraceutical industries