Effect of Plant-Soil Feedback on Secondary Metabolites of Acanthopanax senticosus Seedlings / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective::To investigate the effects of plant-soil feedback on secondary metabolites in roots, stems and leaves of Acanthopanax senticosus seedlings. Method::One-year-old seedlings of A. senticosus were planted in the soil where no A. senticosus had been planted before (group 1), soil where A. senticosus had been planted for 3 years (group 2), and soil where A. senticosus had been planted for many years in the greenhouse pot experiment, and the secondary metabolites of its roots, stems and leaves were then analyzed. Result::L-Phenylalanine, 3, 4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, syringin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, eleutheroside E, isofraxidin, rutin, hyperoside, and quercetin had significant differences in leaves and roots of A. senticosus seedlings in the soil of group 3, but there was no significant difference in chlorogenic acid and eleutheroside E in stem. Eleutheroside E, isofraxidin, rutin and hyperoside were not detected in the leaves of seedlings planted in group 3.Most of the secondary metabolites in the roots of A. senticosus seedlings showed positive feedback, while in the stems of Acanthopanax senticosus seedlings, caffeine, A. senticosus glycosides, hypericin and quercetin showed negative feedback, and most of the secondary metabolites in the leaves of A. senticosus seedlings showed positive feedback. Conclusion::The plant and soil showed different feedback in different parts of the growth process of A. senticosus seedlings, and the soil where A. senticosus had not been planted was more advantageous to the secondary metabolites of A. senticosus seedlings. The results of the study provide a basis for the study of the effect of plant-soil feedback on the A. senticosus, and provide the theoretical basis and technical support for the artificial cultivation of A. senticosus.

Grey Correlation Analysis on Rate of Embryo, Endogenous Hormone and Enzyme Activity of Acanthopanax senticosus Seeds / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective::To study the correlation between endogenous hormone content, related enzyme activity and embryogenesis during the stratification of Acanthopanax senticosus seeds, and to provide theoretical basis for application of endogenous hormones and related physiological indicators in regulating germination of A. senticosus seeds in production and scientific research. Method::Endophytic fungi as well as different concentrations of nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide solution were used for soaking the seeds of A. senticosus, and then thermophilic stratification was conducted for the seeds. The content of endogenous hormones such as gibberellin (GA3), abscisic acid (ABA), indole acetic acid (IAA), indole butyric acid (IBA) and salicylic acid (SA) in seeds of A. senticosus were tested by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the activity change of enzymes in vivo such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were tested. The correlation between the embryo rate and the hormones and their enzyme activities in the seeds of A. senticosus was studied by the grey correlation method. Result::The embryo rate was significantly positively correlated with IAA, GA3, and CAT, with correlation coefficient of 1.086, 0.935 and 1.067, respectively. There was a significant positive correlation between IAA, GA3, CAT, IBA, and SA, but with a significant negative correlation with ABA, MDA, and POD. The correlation degree was as follows: IAA>CAT>GA3>IBA>SA>SOD>ABA>POD>MDA. Conclusion::IAA, GA3 and CAT have significant promoting effects on embryo rate, and there is a significant correlation between hormone content and enzyme activity, which provides a basis for exploring the seed germination mechanism of A. senticosus.

Comprehensive evaluation of suitable harvesting period of Acanthopanax Senticosus leaves by multiple indicators / 中草药

Objective: The dynamic changes of eight active constituents and dry weight of Acanthopanax senticosus leaves in different periods were investigated, and the suitable harvesting period of A. senticosus leaves was discussed. Methods: The leaves of A. senticosus were collected at different times, and the dry weight of one hundred leaves was determined by electronic balance. The contents of L-phenylalanine, protocatechuic acid, syringin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, rutin, hyperoside, and quercetin in the leaves of A. senticosus in different periods were determined by HPLC, and the total amount of accumulation of the eight active ingredients was calculated and combined with the analysis results of the principal component analysis method for comprehensive evaluation. Results: The results showed that the vegetative dry weight of A. senticosus increased during the period from S1 to S5, and increased most rapidly in S1-S2. The content of eight active constituents in the leaves of A. senticosus showed dynamic changes in different periods. The content of acid reached the maximum in S1 (June 3); The other seven components reached the maximum in S2 (July 3), and the results of principal component analysis also showed A. senticosus leaves collected in S2. The comprehensive scores of the eight active ingredients in leaves were the highest; The total accumulation of the eight active ingredients in different periods increased first and then decreased. During the period from S1 to S2, the total amount showed an upward trend, and reached the maximum at S2. Conclusion: According to the changes of dry weight and eight active ingredients in A. senticosus leaves in different periods, the best harvest time is around S2 stage (from late June to early July) which provides basic information for determining the suitable harvest time of A. senticosus leaves.

Analyses of exercise-induced muscle damage-specific microRNA expression and molecular target of sarcolemmal damage in rats / 生理学报

In the present study, we were to screen the specific microRNA (miRNA) of exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) and assess the EIMD-specific miRNAs-regulated target of sarcolemmal damage in rats. Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 3 groups, which included sedentary (C), 24 h post-exercise (E24) and 48 h post-exercise (E48) groups. Rat EIMD model was established by an acute eccentric exercise, i.e., a downhill running treatment at -16º gradient. EIMD characteristics were verified by Evans blue dye staining, differentially expressed miRNAs were detected by microarray assay, EIMD-specific miRNAs expressions were further validated by real-time quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR), and targets of the miRNAs were predicted based on mRNA expressions of associated proteins and related pathway core molecules of sarcolemmal damage. Two EIMD-specific expressed miRNAs, including miR-206-3p and miR-139-3p, were found in the study. There was a significantly negative correlation (P < 0.05) between miR-206-3p expression and dystrophin (r = -0.68), utrophin (r = -0.64), JNK (r = -0.62) or ERK1 (r = -0.68) respectively, but no correlation was found between miR-139-3p and these biomolecules. The results suggest that: i) the expression profile of miRNAs in rat is significantly affected by EIMD, ii) miR-206-3p and miR-139-3p are the EIMD-specific miRNAs, and iii) miR-206-3p may control sarcolemmal damage by regulating dystrophin, utrophin, JNK and ERK1.

Relationship between calcium overload and myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury and intervention strategy of Chinese herbal medicine / 中国中药杂志

The recent report from National Cardiovascular Center shows that cardiovascular diseases account for more than 40% of disease deaths among residents, so it has become the first cause of death among the residents in our country, and the mortality of coronary heart disease is increasing year by year. Revascularization can quickly open the clogged blood vessels and restore coronary blood supply, so it is an important approach for the treatment of coronary heart disease. However, the revascularization can not terminate the pathological development of coronary heart disease because it is just a local treatment method. In addition, a series of reperfusion injuries after revascularization would seriously restrict its treatment effect for coronary heart disease. Myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury is a complex pathological process, which is closely related to oxygen free radicals, calcium overload and energy metabolism disorder. The calcium overload can be seen during reperfusion in the myocardial cells, and it can cause further damages to the myocardial cells through various mechanisms. Calcium overload is a common pathway of myocardial necrosis and apoptosis, so prevention and treatment of calcium overload is an important method to prevent ischemia reperfusion. The commonly used calcium channel blockers for preventing calcium overload has made great progress, all of which can act on L-type calcium channel of vascular smooth muscle to inhibit calcium overload. However, their clinical application was restrained to a certain extent due to the single target and great side effects. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a great treasure, and many drugs in TCM have similar effects with calcium antagonists, so the development and application of such drugs would be an important task for contemporary TCM doctors to make up for the deficiency of Western medicine.

Change in gastrocnemius dystrophin and metabolic enzymes and increase in high-speed exhaustive time induced by hypoxic training in rats / 生理学报

The aim of the present study was to explore the changes and roles of dystrophin and membrane permeability in hypoxic training. Seventy-two 8-week-old Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 4 groups, normoxic non-train (NC), normoxic train (NT), hypoxic non-train (HC), and hypoxic train (HT) groups. The rats of each group were randomly divided into three subgroups, non-exhaustive, low-speed exhaustive test and high-speed exhaustive test subgroups. Rats in hypoxia groups lived and were trained in a condition of 12.7% oxygen concentration (equal to the 4 300 m altitude). NT and HT groups received 4 weeks of training exercise. Then the rats in all non-exhaustive subgroups were sacrificed, and gastrocnemii were sampled for the measurements of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), succinatedehydrogenase (SDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activities. Moreover, serum LDH activity was analyzed. Low-speed exhaustive test and high-speed exhaustive test subgroups received exhaustive tests with 20 (71% VO2max) and 30 m/min speed (86% VO2max), respectively, and their exhaustive times were recorded. The results showed that, compared with normoxic groups, the weights in hypoxia groups exhibited slower increase. The level of dystrophin in HT group without exhaustion test didn't change significantly. The muscle MDH activities were markedly affected by the different oxygen concentration, training and their interaction (P < 0.05), whereas the muscle LDH activities were only affected by the different oxygen concentration (P < 0.05). Serum LDH activities were affected by the interaction of the different oxygen concentration and training (P < 0.05), showing decreased muscle LDH and increased blood LDH activities. The exhaustion time were markedly affected by the different test speed, training and their interaction (P < 0.05), and also affected by the interaction of the different oxygen concentration and training (P < 0.05), but didn't affected by oxygen concentration. The exhaustive time of HT high-speed exhaustive test subgroup was more than NT high-speed exhaustive test subgroup in 30 m/min exhaustion test. Compared with NT high-speed exhaustive test subgroup, HT high-speed exhaustive test subgroup had an earlier fatigue in the test, but had a rapid recovery. These results suggested that hypoxic training can effectively increase the rats' high-speed exhaustive time. The mechanism may be related to an increase in serum LDH caused by the increased membrane permeability after hypoxic training.

Changes of dystrophin and desmin in rat gastrocnemius under micro-damage induced by hypoxia / 生理学报

To explore the changes and regulation mechanism of dystropin and desmin under muscle injury without mechanic stress, 40 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 5 groups, which included normoxia control and hypoxia groups for 1, 2, 4 and 7 d with 10% O2. Two rats from each group were examined for sarcolemma integrity using Evans blue dye (EBD) and EBD-positive fiber typing by metachromatic dye-ATPase method. The rest six rats from each group were analyzed for the changes of protein content and gene expression using Western blot, RT-PCR and fluorescence assays. The results showed that the EBD-positive muscle fibers, mainly type IIA and type IIB, appeared at 1 d after hypoxia exposure. Both the ratio of EBD-positive cell and the mean fluorescence density were significantly higher in hypoxia groups than those in control group (P<0.05). The contents of dystrophin and desmin fluctuated after hypoxia exposure, increased at 1 d, decreased at 2 d, increased dramatically again at 4 d, and returned to a normal level at 7 d. Consistently, the gene expression began to increase significantly after 2 d. The total activity of calpain was significantly higher in hypoxia groups at 1, 4 and 7 d. Significantly higher levels of HSP70 and HSP90 were also observed at 4 and 7 d, respectively (P<0.05). These results suggest that the mechanical stress is not the only cause of damage of sarcolemma membrane integrity. In contrast to eccentric contraction, hypoxia-induced muscle damage is not accompanied by the loss of dystrophin and desmin. The types of muscle fibers recruited by motor units and the activities of calpain may be important in hypoxia-induced damage of sarcolemma membrane integrity.

Cardiac risk stratification in patients with congestive heart failure: a catecholamines-beta-adrenoceptor-cAMP pathway / 中国医学科学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the stratification risk of catecholamines-beta-adrenoceptor (beta-AR)-cAMP pathway for cardiogenic death events in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 83 identified CHF patients with a baseline and follow-up plasma levels of norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E), lymphocytes beta-AR density (Bmax), and intralymphocyte cAMP content in peripheral blood were followed up. Major cardiogenic death events were registered.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The period between the initial entry and the last follow-up measurement were 51 +/- 16 months, the total duration of clinical follow-up after the last measurement were 14 +/- 8 months. During follow-up, 39 patients died of cardiogenic (sudden death 17 patients, worsening heart failure 22 patients). Persistence of high NE, E, and cAMP from baseline to follow-up were confirmed as risk predicting factors of cardiovascular events. Persistence NE above 4.0 nmol/L, E above 3.5 nmol/L, and the intralymphocyte cAMP content above 3.5 pmd x mg(-1) x pro(-1) from baseline to follow-up were significant adverse prognostic predictors. The major cardiogenic death events rates per 100 patients-years were 1.33 and 4.82 in patients with NE below and above 4.0 nmol/L (HR: 2.91; 95% CI: 1.08-7.33; P = 0.015); were 1.42 and 4.36 in the patients with E levels below and above 3.5 nmol/L (HR: 2.64; 95% CI: 1.02-6.41; P = 0.019); were 1.81 and 4.67 in the patients with the intralymphocyte cAMP content below and above 3.5 pmd x mg(-1) x pro(-1) (HR: 2.79; 95% CI: 1.04-6.83; P = 0.017), but difference was not significant between the beta-AR density below and above median.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Persistent increase in circulating catecholamines and intralymphocyte cAMP content may increase the long-term mortality in CHF patients.</p>

Clinical analysis of pure red cell aplasia following major ABO-incompatible allogeneic hematopoletic stem cell transplantation / 中华器官移植杂志

Objective To study the incidence,risk factors,clinical outcome,management and prevention of pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) following major ABO-incompatible allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).Methods Forty-two patients underwent major ABO-incompa- tible allo-HSCT,including major ABO-mismatch in 33 patients,major plus minor ABO-mismatch in 9 patients,and 27 recipients with blood group O.Thirteen patients underwent bone marrow transplan- tation,25 peripheral blood stem cell transplantation,and 4 cord blood transplantation.Six patients re- ceived donor-type plasma replacement before transplantation.Cyclosporine A (CsA) and methotrexate (MTX) were used for prophylaxis of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).Results All 42 patients had sustained engraftment.PRCA occurred in 11/42 patients (26.2%).All the 11 cases of PRCA were in blood group O recipients of grafts from blood group A donor (n=9) or blood group B donor (n= 2);6 patients with blood group O who received donor-type plasma exchange before transplantation did not develop PRCA.PRCA resolved spontaneously in 8 cases with transfusion support.Two patients were treated by donor-type plasma exchange,resulting in the decrease of isoagglutinin titer,followed by complete recovery of erythropoiesis.One patient responded to rituximab and achieved complete re- mission of symptoms of PRCA.Univariate analysis revealed that the most significant risk factors asso- ciated with PRCA were blood group O recipient,blood group A donor,blood group O recipient of graft from blood group A donor;only blood group O/A in recipient/donor pair was identified as being significantly associated with the occurrence of PRCA by multivariate analysis (RR 10.999,95% CI 1.975-61.258,P