Hypoglycemic effects of Tibetan medicine Huidouba in STZ-induced diabetic mice and db/db mice.

Objective: Huidouba (HDB) is a Chinese folk medicine used to treat diabetes in Sichuan Province, China. Therefore, we investigated the anti-diabetic effects of HDB and its underlying mechanisms. We hypothesized that HDB treatment could enhance glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, and thus prevent a hyperglycemia state. Methods: To test the hypothesis, streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice and db/db mice, widely used models of hyperglycemia and insulin-resistant diabetes, were either treated with HDB, metformin, or acarbose. Blood glucose, oral glucose tolerance test, insulin tolerance test, pancreatic histopathology and serum biochemistry were detected to assess the hypoglycemic effect of HDB. Results: HDB treatments were found to show the effect in reducing glucose levels. HDB also resulted in a significant reduction in body weight and food intake in the STZ-induced diabetic mouse model. Furthermore, it significantly improved glucose and insulin tolerance in the two diabetic mouse models. Importantly, insulin, glucagon, pancreatic polypeptide, and somatostatin immunohistochemistry revealed that HDB treatment improved the function and the location of the cells in the islets compared with the other two treatments. HDB treatment resulted in significant restoration of islet function. Our results illustrated the underlying mechanism of HDB in the progression of diabetes, and HDB can be an effective agent for the treatment of diabetes. Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that HDB can reduce blood glucose levels in STZ-induced hyperglycemic mice and db/db mice.

Interfacial phenomena of water striders on water surfaces: a review from biology to biomechanics.

Water striders have intrigued researchers for centuries from the viewpoints of biology to biomechanics. In this review, we introduce the basic theories and techniques of physics and force measurement for biomechanical research into water striders. Morphological and behavioral traits of water striders are summarized and discussed from biomechanical perspectives, along with comparative study. This integrated review also highlights potential directions for studies on water-walking arthropods, which might inspire future biological and biomechanical research.

Plasma Exosomes Derived From Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease and Renal Transplant Recipients Have Different Effects on Vascular Calcification.

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients usually develop extensive and progressive vascular calcification, and lots of calcification inhibitors as well as procalcifying factors are involved in the process. However, the mechanisms of vascular calcification in ESRD patients are still ill-defined. In the present study, we found that the plasma exosomes derived from ESRD patients (ESRD-Ex) promoted calcification of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) significantly, while plasma exosomes from renal transplant recipients (RTR-Ex) could partially attenuate VSMCs calcification. Moreover, the protein concentration of ESRD-Ex was significantly higher than plasma exosomes from the normal health control group (Nor-Ex) and RTR-Ex, and the content of both matrix gla protein (MGP) and Fetuin-A, the calcification inhibitors, were prominently lower in ESRD-Ex than those in Nor-Ex. The content of Annexin-A2, one of the calcification promoters, was significantly higher in ESRD-Ex and RTR-Ex than that in Nor-Ex. However, bone morphogenetic protein (BMP-2) and receptor activator for nuclear factor-κB ligand (Rankl) had no significant difference among the three groups. In addition, the content of Fetuin-A in RTR-Ex was higher than that in ESRD-Ex, although it was still lower than that in Nor-Ex. Furthermore, the levels of both Fetuin-A and MGP in plasma exosomes were negatively while the levels of Annexin-A2 in plasma exosomes was positively correlated to coronary artery calcification scores (CACS). These results indicated that ESRD-Ex significantly promoted VSMCs calcification, while renal transplantation could partially attenuate the procalcification effect of exosomes. Fetuin-A and MGP were decreased, but Annexin-A2 was increased in ESRD-Ex, and renal transplantation could increase the level of Fetuin-A rather than MGP.

Synthesis and Application of Water-Soluble Oxazine Dyes for Detection of PHAs-Producing Bacteria.

Derivatives of oxazine dyes were synthesized on mulitigram scales via efficient synthetic strategies. One practical route was selected to prepare compounds 6, 9 and 10, especially water-soluble compound 6 was obtained in better yield than reported, and compound 10 was insoluble in aqueous media in absence of phenolic-OH. Compounds 3 and 9 were found to be clear pH-dependent between pH = 4.0 and 10.0, and could be used as acid-base indicators to measure intracellular pH. Compounds 6, 9, 10 all have carboxylic acid functionalities, which could be activated and used to conjugate the dyes to biomolecules. In addition, compounds 6 and 9 with good solubility in aqueous media were used to develop a simple, quick, safe, highly sensitive staining method to detect PHAs-producing bacteria on heat-fixed smears, which was confirmed by fluorescence images of PHAs granules of bacteria.

Decreased Resting-State Activity in the Precuneus Is Associated With Depressive Episodes in Recurrent Depression.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate alterations in resting-state spontaneous brain activity in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) experiencing multiple episodes. METHODS: Between May 2007 and September 2014, 24 recurrent and 22 remitted patients diagnosed with MDD with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), and 69 healthy controls matched for age, sex, and educational level participated in this study. Among them, 1 healthy control was excluded due to excessive head motion. The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) was assessed for all recruited subjects during the completion of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Relationships between fALFF and clinical measurements, including number of depressive episodes and illness duration, were examined. RESULTS: Compared to patients with remitted MDD and to healthy controls, patients with recurrent MDD exhibited decreased fALFF in the right posterior insula and right precuneus and increased fALFF in the left ventral anterior cingulate cortex. Decreased fALFF in the right precuneus and increased fALFF in the right middle insula were correlated with the number of depressive episodes in the recurrent MDD groups (r = -0.75, P < .01 and r = 0.78, P < .01, respectively) and remitted MDD groups (r = -0.63, P < .01 and r = 0.41, P = .03, respectively). In addition to regions in the default mode network (DMN) and salience network, the altered resting-state activity in the middle temporal and visual cortices was also identified. CONCLUSIONS: Altered resting-state activity was observed across several neural networks in patients with recurrent MDD. Consistent with the emerging theory that altered DMN activity is a risk factor for depression relapses, the association between reduced fALFF in the right precuneus and number of depressive episodes supports the role of the DMN in the pathology of recurrent depression.

Effects of professional rehabilitation training on the recovery of neurological function in young stroke patients.

Young stroke patients have a strong desire to return to the society, but few studies have been conducted on their rehabilitation training items, intensity, and prognosis. We analyzed clinical data of young and middle-aged/older stroke patients hospitalized in the Department of Neurological Rehabilitation, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Capital Medical University, China from February 2014 to May 2015. Results demonstrated that hemorrhagic stroke (59.6%) was the primary stroke type found in the young group, while ischemic stroke (60.0%) was the main type detected in the middle-aged/older group. Compared with older stroke patients, education level and incidence of hyperhomocysteinemia were higher in younger stroke patients, whereas, incidences of hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease were lower. The average length of hospital stay was longer in the young group than in the middle-aged/older group. The main risk factors observed in the young stroke patients were hypertension, drinking, smoking, hyperlipidemia, hyperhomocysteinemia, diabetes, previous history of stroke, and heart disease. The most accepted rehabilitation program consisted of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, acupuncture and moxibustion. Average rehabilitation training time was 2.5 hours/day. Barthel Index and modified Rankin Scale scores were increased at discharge. Six months after discharge, the degree of occupational and economic satisfaction declined, and there were no changes in family life satisfaction. The degrees of other life satisfaction (such as friendship) improved. The degree of disability and functional status improved significantly in young stroke patients after professional rehabilitation, but the number of patients who returned to society within 6 months after stroke was still small.

Cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis in a patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia during all-trans retinoic acid induction treatment.

Cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis is a rare cerebrovascular disorder, which seldom represents a complication of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). As a part of the coagulopathy of APL, thrombosis is a less recognized and underestimated life-threatening manifestation and is overshadowed by the more obvious bleeding complications. Here, we described a 28-year-old woman with APL who developed massive thrombosis of the cerebral sinuses while on induction treatment with all-trans retinoic acid. On the basis of this report, the potential pathogenic mechanisms and the diagnosis based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with magnetic resonance venogram (MRV) are discussed. Early anticoagulant therapy contributed to the progressive dissolution of the thrombosis, as documented by MRI, with the complete disappearance of neurological signs without sequelae. Given the increasing recognition of thromboembolic events in APL, the use of prophylactic anticoagulation during induction therapy may need to be redefined.

[Tissue factor expression of platelets and leukocytes in patients with acute coronary syndromes].

The aim of this study was to investigate the tissue factor (TF) expression of platelets and leukocytes in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), patients with stable angina (SA) and healthy subjects (as controls). 26 patients with ACS, 29 patients with SA, and 25 controls were enrolled in this study. The peripheral blood samples of above-mentioned subjects were collected and isolated to obtain the monocytes and platelet-rich plasma, the TF-mRNA expression of monocytes, and platelets among 3 groups was detected by RT-PCR, the TF expression ratio of platelets, platelet-leukocyte aggregates (PLA) and platelet-monocyte aggregates (PMP) was detected by flow cytometry among 3 groups. The results showed that the TF mRNA expression level of platelets in ACS group were significantly higher (3.11 ± 0.51 relative expression) as compared with SA and control groups (1.88 ± 0.78 and 0.7 ± 0.1, respectively) (P = 0.03). Expression of TF mRNA of monocytes was higher in ACS group (P = 0.05 versus controls) too. ACS group had a significantly higher amount of TF-positive platelets (8.8 ± 2.6) than SA (2.6 ± 0.5, P = 0.02) or control groups (2.5 ± 0.4, P = 0.02). A significantly greater number of TF positive platelet-leukocyte aggregates and platelet-monocyte aggregates were also found by flow cytometry in blood of ACS patients than in either SA patients or controls. It is concluded that the high TF expression of platelets and leukocytes in ACS patients strengthens the platelet activation, blood coagulation, and thrombus formation and may further contribute to the hypercoagulability associated with the disease. The present study further extends the proinflammatory/prothrombotic phenotype of ACS patients showing that new players on the scene.

[Impact of immunochemotherapy on prognostic factors in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients].

The international prognostic index (IPI) has been established as one of the best predictors of outcome, and several different immunologic subtypes have been established as independent predictors of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). This study was aimed to reassess and re-evaluate the useful value of these prognostic predictors in patients treated with immunochemotherapy. A retrospective analysis of clinical records of immuno-chemotherapeutic (rituximab + CHOP, R-CHOP) and route chemotherapeutic (CHOP) groups was carried out. Standard two-step method of immunohistochemical staining was used to assess the expression of CD10, MUM-1, BCL-6 and BCL-2. The different classification models (Han's algorithm and Muris model) were performed for patients with DLBCL according to the immunohistochemical staining results in both R-CHOP and CHOP regimen groups. Then the data of remission and overall survival rate in different groups were analyzed to investigate the effect of these prognostic factors. Total 126 de novo DLBCL patients were collected in this study, including 51 patients with treatment of R-CHOP and the other 75 patients with treatment of CHOP. The results showed that the R-CHOP group had higher complete remission rate (68.8) than CHOP group (58.7). The patients with IPI score ≤ 2 had significantly higher overall response rate and overall survival rates than the patients with IPI scores > 2 in both groups. The survival rates of different subtypes in Han's and Muris models were not different from each other in R-CHOP group, but were obvious different from each other in CHOP group. It is concluded that IPI is still effective and predictive for identification of different risk groups. Immunochemotherapy can improve the remission and overall survival rate of DLBCL, but weaken the effect of outcome predictor.

Up-regulation of licochalcone A biosynthesis and secretion by Tween 80 in hairy root cultures of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch.

We evaluated the effect of Tween 80 as elicitor on licochalcone A from hairy root cultures of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. After a 15-days treatment with 2% Tween 80, hairy roots still grew well and produced higher levels of licochalcone A and total flavonoids than the control (without treatment). Licochalcone A content and total flavonoid content were 3.103 and 127.095 mg per flask (9- and 11-fold higher), respectively, compared with controls. Secretion of licochalcone A and total flavonoids into the culture medium was remarkably high, up to 98 and 94% of the total production, respectively. The enhanced flavonoid production was associated with elevated mRNA levels and enzyme activities of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), 4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligase (4CL), and cinnamate-4-hydroxylase (C4H). These results clearly demonstrated that Tween 80 treatment permeabilized the roots to enhance secretion, but also acted as an efficient elicitor of licochalcone A and total flavonoid production in hairy roots of G. uralensis Fisch.

[Fruit-specific expression of sweet protein Brazzein in transgenic tomato plants].

The AGPL1 (ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase large subunit 1) promoter from watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris S.) has proved to exhibit fruit-specific expression patterns in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.). A plant expression vector harboring sweet-taste protein, Brazzein, directed by AGPL1 promoter, was constructed and transferred into tomato plants through Agrobacterium-mediated transform methods. Histochemical staining assay, PCR screening, Southern blotting analysis and RT-PCR analysis showed that Brazzein gene was successfully integrated into the genome of transgenic tomato plants with stable expression. Sweet-taste fruits were produced under control of fruit-specific AGPL1 promoter, whereas other parameters of fruit quality were largely unchanged.

Enhanced flavonoid production in hairy root cultures of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch by combining the over-expression of chalcone isomerase gene with the elicitation treatment.

Economically important compounds, such as licorice flavonoids, are present in insufficient amounts in the hairy roots. To overcome this problem, we took the transgenic approach combined with the elicitation technique to increase the flavonoid production. The Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch cDNA encoding chalcone isomerase gene (chi) was over-expressed in hairy roots of G. uralensis Fisch mediated by the disarmed Agrobacterium rhizogenes A4. Stable genetic transformation was confirmed by Southern blot analysis. The transgenic and wild cultures were subsequently elicited with PEG8000 (2%) alone, yeast extract (YE) (0.1%) alone, or both of them, and then the total flavonoids were extracted and measured. The results showed that over a culture period of 3 weeks, the wild-type hairy roots, the untreated transgenic hairy roots, and the double-treated transgenic hairy roots accumulated 0.842, 1.394, and 2.838 (g/100 g DW) of total flavonoids, respectively. Moreover, the enhanced accumulation of flavonoids were correlated with the elevated level of chi transcripts and CHI activity, confirming the key role of chi in the flavonoids synthesis. This research demonstrated that the combination of the metabolic engineering and PEG8000-YE elicitation treatment was an effective strategy to increase the flavonoids production in hairy roots of G. uralensis Fisch.