Protective effects of baicalin against bromocriptine induced abortion in mice.

The Chinese herbal medicine Huang Qin (Radix Scutellariae) had been used for restless fetus for hundreds of years in China, however, little attention had been given to the components of the herb, specifically its ability to exert abortion-preventing effects at the maternal fatal interface. The present study was carried out to investigate the protective effects of baicalin and the possible mechanisms on pregnancies. Baicalin (at 10, 20, and 50 mg/kg BW respectively) was gavaged to bromocriptine-treated mice from gestation day (GD) 1 through GD 7. Abortion rates were calculated and the changes of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and progesterone were assayed on different gestation days. Results showed that the embryonic death rates were significantly decreased in groups supplemented with 20 or 50 mg/kg BW of baicalin, accompanied with reduced IFN-gamma and enhanced progesterone contents. Moreover, the highest levels of IFN-gamma appeared on GD 5 both in the control and in baicalin treated groups. It is concluded that baicalin can exert an anti-abortive effect by cutting down the production of IFN-gamma and elevating the levels of progesterone in a dose dependent manner and IFN-gamma is involved in an inflammatory reaction which is beneficial for a successful implantation.

Effects of Radix scutellariae and Rhizoma atractylodis on LPS-induced abortion and the uterine IL-10 contents in mice.

In the present study, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was injected i.v. via the tail vein (0.1 microg per mouse) to induce abortion (embryo resorption) in Kunming mice. The interleukin 10 (IL-10) contents in the uterus were assayed by ELISA. The results revealed that the IL-10 level was significantly decreased in the LPS-induced abortion group of mice compared to the controls. Use of Pentoxifylline (PXF), or a combination of Radix scutellariae and Rhizoma atractylodis reversed the LPS effects: bringing down the fetal resorption rate, and increasing the IL-10 level significantly. The study indicates that the anti-abortive effects of PXF and the combination of Radix scutellariae and Rhizoma atractylodis are closely related to up-regulation of the Th2 cytokine IL-10 at the maternal fetal interface.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Rhodeus lighti (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae): sequencing and analysis.

Phylogenetic placement of Rhodeus lighti (R. lighti) remains unresolved. We determined the first complete mitochondrial genome of R. lighti (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae). The genome is 16,597 bp in length. It consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and 2 non-coding regions. The gene composition and order were similar to most of the other vertebrates. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of R. lighti should contribute towards clarifying the systematics of Rhodeus fishes. The phylogenetic relationships using partitioned Neighbor-Joining tree indicated that (((((Pseudorasbora, Rhodeus) Ctenopharyngodon) (Acheilognathus, Tanakia) Carassius)) Danio rerio). This study will contribute to confirm the phylogenetic status of Rhodeus within family Cyprinidae.

Mitochondrial genome sequence of Egyptian swift Rock Pigeon (Columba livia breed Egyptian swift).

The Egyptian swift Rock Pigeon is a breed of fancy pigeon developed over many years of selective breeding. In this work, we report the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Egyptian swift Rock Pigeon. The total length of the mitogenome was 17,239 bp and its overall base composition was estimated to be 30.2% for A, 24.0% for T, 31.9% for C and 13.9% for G, indicating an A-T (54.2%)-rich feature in the mitogenome. It contained the typical structure of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes and a non-coding control region (D-loop region). The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Egyptian swift Rock Pigeon would serve as an important data set of the germplasm resources for further study.

Anti-abortive effect of Radix scutellariae and Rhizoma atractylodis in mice.

The objective of this study is to investigate the significance of natural killer (NK) cells and interleukin-2 in uterus in the early embryo loss (or resorption), and to elucidate the immunological modulation of maternal-fetal interface with Chinese herbal medicine Radix scutellariae (huang qin) and Rhizoma atractylodis (bai zhu). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was given via the tail vein to induce abortion in mice at day 7 of gestation. Uterine NK cells and IL-2 contents were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The number of NK cells was found to be much higher (mean = 180 +/- 39) in the decidua of LPS-treated abortion mice. But when the Chinese herbal medicine was used to prevent LPS-induced abortion, less NK cells (mean = 11 +/- 4) were counted (p < 0.01). The mean value of IL-2 in LPS-treated mice was 5.25 +/- 2.5938 pg/mg protein, higher than (p < 0.05) that of the herb prevention group, which was only 1.86 +/- 0.9789 pg/mg protein. The results therefore indicate that the increase of NK cells in the decidua and IL-2 contents in the uterus in LPS-treated mice is closely related to the embryo loss, and that the Chinese herbal medicine prescription composed of Radix scutellariae and Rhizoma atractylodis has an anti-abortive effect through inhibition of maternal-fetal interface immunity.