[Analysis of commercial grades of Schisandrae Sphenantherae Fructus based on schisantherin].

Schisandrae Sphenantherae Fructus, from different producing areas, were collected and divided into three grades. The moisture content and total ash were determined on the basis of the pharmacopoeia method, and schisantherin was determined by UPLC. The study is aimed to find the commercial specifications and grades of Schisandrae Sphenantherae Fructus based on schisantherin content. The results showed that the content of water, total ash and schisantherin of Schisandrae Sphenantherae Fructus from different producing areas qualified. There was no significant difference between different grades of schisandrin content, but the second-class were the highest, first-class and third-class were lower. It means that schisandrin content is not positive correlation to commercial grade. The study will be helpful to the production, management and clinical practice of Schisandrae Sphenantherae Fructus.

[Ecology suitability study of Ephedra intermedia].

The study aims at predicting ecological suitability of Ephedra intermedia in China by using maximum entropy Maxent model combined with GIS, and finding the main ecological factors affecting the distribution of E. intermedia suitability in appropriate growth area. Thirty-eight collected samples of E. intermedia and E. intermedia and 116 distribution information from CVH information using ArcGIS technology were analyzed. MaxEnt model was applied to forecast the E. intermedia in our country's ecology. E. intermedia MaxEnt ROC curve model training data and testing data sets the AUC value was 0.986 and 0.958, respectively, which were greater than 0.9, tending to be 1.The calculated E. intermedia habitat suitability by the model showed a high accuracy and credibility, which indicated that MaxEnt model could well predict the potential distribution area of E. intermedia in China.

[UPLC Fingerprint of Gentiana officinalis Root].

Objective: To establish UPLC fingerprints of Gentiana officinalis root and Gentiana macrophylla root,and to evaluate the similarity of the fingerprints,in order to provide theoretical basis for the quality control of Gentiana officinalis root. Methods: The separation was performed on an ACQUITY UPLC~BEH C18column( 50 mm × 2. 1 mm,1. 7 µm) through a gradient elution of methanol-0. 04% aqueous phosphoric at a flow rate of 0. 3 m L/min. The detection wavelength was 242 nm, and the column temperature was set at30 ℃. Similarity evaluation system for chromatographic fingerprint of TCM( Version 2004 A) was used to analyze the fingerprints. Results: 13 common peaks were selected as the fingerprint peaks from 13 batches of Gentiana officinalis root samples, with the similarities between 0. 976 to 0. 997, and Gentiana macrophylla root used for fingerprint applicability test has high similarity( 0. 998) with Gentiana officinalis root. Conclusion: This method with good precision and reliability should be used for the quality control of Gentiana officinalis root.

Calcineurin promotes proliferation, migration, and invasion of small cell lung cancer.

A novel role for calcineurin (Cn) has been reported recently regarding the oncogenic potential in pancreatic and colorectal cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the putative causal role calcineurin could play in the development of lung cancer with bone metastases. We found that CnAalpha, an isoform of calcineurin, was significantly overexpressed in lung cancer tissues with bone metastasis as compared to tumors with non-bone metastases as investigated by RT-PCR. Strong nuclear staining of tumor cells was observed in small cell lung cancer tissues with bone metastasis. Conversely, cytoplasmic staining of tumor cells was observed in small cell lung cancer tissues with non-bone metastasis. Western blots of nuclear proteins from lung cancer tissues indicated that CnAalpha was highly expressed in lung cancer tissues with bone metastases, but not in those with non-bone metastases. In vitro, it was demonstrated that the CnAalpha gene obviously promoted cell proliferation and inhibited cell apotosis. The CnAalpha gene affected the cell cycle and promoted G1[Symbol: see text]S transition in SBC-3 cells. Transfection with the CnAalpha gene promoted cell migration and invasion. These results indicated that CnAalpha may affect the biological behavior of the human small cell lung cancer cell line SBC-3 in vitro and may be a candidate tumor promotor gene for developing bone metastases.