Dammarane-type triterpene extracts of Panax notoginseng root ameliorates hyperglycemia and insulin sensitivity by enhancing glucose uptake in skeletal muscle.

Skeletal muscle is an important organ for controlling the development of type 2 diabetes. We discovered Panax notoginseng roots as a candidate to improve hyperglycemia through in vitro muscle cells screening test. Saponins are considered as the active ingredients of ginseng. However, in the body, saponins are converted to dammarane-type triterpenes, which may account for the anti-hyperglycemic activity. We developed a method for producing a dammarane-type triterpene extract (DTE) from Panax notoginseng roots and investigated the extract's potential anti-hyperglycemic activity. We found that DTE had stronger suppressive activity on blood glucose levels than the saponin extract (SE) did in KK-Ay mice. Additionally, DTE improved oral glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, glucose uptake, and Akt phosphorylation in skeletal muscle. These results suggest that DTE is a promising agent for controlling hyperglycemia by enhancing glucose uptake in skeletal muscle.

[Support provided by public health nurses to adolescents with pervasive developmental disorders and their families].

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to describe the process of support provided by public health nurses (PHNs) to adolescents with pervasive developmental disorders. The support given to the families of these adolescents was also examined. METHODS: The subjects in the study were PHNs with at least a 10-year experience at a public health center, who had been engaged in providing continuous support to adolescents with pervasive developmental disorders and their families. The patients investigated included young people in their adolescence who were diagnosed by psychiatrists as having pervasive developmental disorders (ICD.10: F84), including doubtful cases. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the data were analyzed using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach. RESULTS: The subjects included 10 female PHNs with 10-28 years of work experience. The number of patients supported by the PHNs was 10, with their ages ranging from 22 to 37 years. The analysis included 14 categories derived from 38 concepts. The categories for the support process provided by the PHNs for these adolescents with pervasive developmental disorders and their families included "generating trust," "thinking together during times of trouble," "weighing the difficulties in daily life and the influence of personal characteristics," "deepening the understanding of the patient's characteristics," "confronting difficulties in decision making," "identifying timing and intervention," "trying to live by themselves in the community," "promoting conversations using easy-to-understand communication," "enhancing self-understanding," "providing support for self-decisions and coping behaviors," "using and developing resources available in the community," "collaboration and coordination for responding to trouble," and "building a community in which it is easy to live." CONCLUSION: While supporting these adolescents and their families, the PHNs could increase their understanding of the person's characteristics as well as trust. They also continued trying to make communication easier and supported the family's coping behaviors, as well as collaborated with the people concerned to meet their needs and build a community in which it was easy to live. These findings suggest that it is necessary for PHNs to have an active role during their working life in order to promote a support network and system for the whole community. This will require the PHNs to consider measures that meet the person's characteristics and to establish coping mechanisms for the various problems that adolescent with developmental disorders and their families may encounter.

Free oligosaccharides in the cytosol of Caenorhabditis elegans are generated through endoplasmic reticulum-golgi trafficking.

Free oligosaccharides (FOSs) in the cytosol of eukaryotic cells are mainly generated during endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated degradation (ERAD) of misfolded glycoproteins. We analyzed FOS of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to elucidate its detailed degradation pathway. The major FOSs were high mannose-type ones bearing 3-9 Man residues. About 94% of the total FOSs had one GlcNAc at their reducing end (FOS-GN1), and the remaining 6% had two GlcNAc (FOS-GN2). A cytosolic endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase mutant (tm1208) accumulated FOS-GN2, indicating involvement of the enzyme in conversion of FOS-GN2 into FOS-GN1. The most abundant FOS in the wild type was Man(5)GlcNAc(1), the M5A' isomer (Manalpha1-3(Manalpha1-6)Manalpha1-6(Manalpha1-3)Manbeta1-4GlcNAc), which is different from the corresponding M5B' (Manalpha1-2Manalpha1-2Manalpha1-3(Manalpha1-6)Manbeta1-4GlcNAc) in mammals. Analyses of FOS in worms treated with Golgi alpha-mannosidase I inhibitors revealed decreases in Man(5)GlcNAc(1) and increases in Man(7)GlcNAc(1). These results suggested that Golgi alpha-mannosidase I-like enzyme is involved in the production of Man(5-6)-GlcNAc(1), which is unlike in mammals, in which cytosolic alpha-mannosidase is involved. Thus, we assumed that major FOSs in C. elegans were generated through Golgi trafficking. Analysis of FOSs from a Golgi alpha-mannosidase II mutant (tm1078) supported this idea, because GlcNAc(1)Man(5)GlcNAc(1), which is formed by the Golgi-resident GlcNAc-transferase I, was found as a FOS in the mutant. We concluded that significant amounts of misfolded glycoproteins in C. elegans are trafficked to the Golgi and are directly or indirectly retro-translocated into the cytosol to be degraded.