Analysis on Chemical Characteristics of Lycii Fructus in Qinghai Province Based on 1H-NMR Plant Metabolomics / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:The chemical differences of Lycii Fructus samples from Qinghai, Ningxia, Gansu, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia provinces were compared based on proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) plant metabolomics. Method:A total of 97 Lycii Fructus samples from five provinces were collected, including 61 samples in Qinghai, and extracted by 50% methanol for detecting. 1H-NMR spectra were obtained and compared by multivariate statistical analysis for investigating the chemical differences of samples from Qinghai and other production areas. And the content of Lycii Fructus polysaccharides in all samples was determined with the wavelength of 490 nm (calculated by anhydrous glucose). Result:A total of 32 chemical components were detected in the Lycii Fructus extract by 1H-NMR. The multivariate statistical analysis revealed that there was no significant difference among the samples from five provinces. The difference between Lycii Fructus from Qinghai and Ningxia, as well as the samples among the six regions of Qinghai province were relatively small. The similarity values of the majority of samples were >0.85. Univariate analysis showed that no significant difference was observed for the most metabolites in Lycii Fructus collected from five provinces, except for sucrose, glucose, proline and so on. There was no significant difference in the content of Lycii Fructus polysaccharides between Qinghai and other provinces. And the correlation coefficient between the content of Lycii Fructus polysaccharides and the small molecular compounds identified by 1H-NMR was -0.2-0.4. Conclusion:In this study, chemical characteristics of Lycii Fructus in Qinghai province are analyzed from the holistic view by 1H-NMR plant metabolomics, in combination of polysaccharide determination, and the results show that there is no significant difference between samples from Qinghai and other four provinces. The quality evaluation method based on 1H-NMR established in this study can provide scientific basis for improving quality control level and selecting planting areas of Lycii Fructus.

Mechanisms of quinolone resistance of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae / 中国感染控制杂志

Objective To study the prevalence of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes in carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and its resistance mechanism.Methods Clinically isolated CRE strains in a hospital from March 2015 to March 2018 were collected, then identified and performed antimicrobial susceptibility test by VITEK2 Compact analyzer, carriage of PMQR genes qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, qepA and acc (6') Ib-cr were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing, the horizontal transfer of PMQR genes were verified by plasmid conjugation test.Results Resistance rates of carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli and carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae to quinolones were 100％ and 15.56％-33.33％ respectively.Detection rate of acc (6') Ib-cr gene was the highest (87.72％), followed by qnrB (77.19％) and qnrS (17.54％), 2 strains (3.51％) carried qnrA gene, qepA gene was not isolated, 84.21％ of strains harbored 2 or 3 PMQR genes.PMQR gene was transfected into all the 8 conjugated strains, but minimum inhibitory concentration value of quinolones didn't change significantly.Conclusion The detection rate of PMQR genes in CRE in this hospital is high, but there is a certain sensitivity to quinolones.

Two new C steroidal glycosides isolated from Cynanchum komarovii / 中国天然药物

The present study was designed to further investigate the C steroidal glycosides in Cynanchum plants. Two new steroidal glycosides based on a 13, 14:14, 15-disecopregnane-type aglycone, komaroside P (1) and komaroside Q (2), together with three known compounds (3-5) were isolated from the whole herbs of Cynanchum komarovii. The aglycones of compounds 1 and 2 were two new disecopregnane. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of 1D, 2D NMR spectroscopic data and acid hydrolysis. All the compounds (1-5) showed potent inhibitory activities against human leukemia cell lines (HL-60) with IC values ranging from 16.6 to 26.3 μmol·L, compared to the positive control 5-fluorouracil (6.4 μmol·L).

Two new C steroidal glycosides isolated from Cynanchum komarovii / 中国天然药物

The present study was designed to further investigate the C steroidal glycosides in Cynanchum plants. Two new steroidal glycosides based on a 13, 14:14, 15-disecopregnane-type aglycone, komaroside P (1) and komaroside Q (2), together with three known compounds (3-5) were isolated from the whole herbs of Cynanchum komarovii. The aglycones of compounds 1 and 2 were two new disecopregnane. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of 1D, 2D NMR spectroscopic data and acid hydrolysis. All the compounds (1-5) showed potent inhibitory activities against human leukemia cell lines (HL-60) with IC values ranging from 16.6 to 26.3 μmol·L, compared to the positive control 5-fluorouracil (6.4 μmol·L).

Preparation of Wei medicine Kuijiean thermosensitive hydrogel and study on its release properties / 中草药

By developing a rapid gelation chitosan (CS) /β-glycerophosphate (β-GP) thermosensitive hydrogel containing Kuijiean, to decrease the loss of drug and confirm the capabilities of the drug delivery. Thermosensitive hydrogel was a carrier, gel time was chosen in this study as the index to investigate the effect of β-GP concentration, pH value, and temperature on the thermosensitive hydrogel by single factor experiments. The properties of the hydrogel were characterized regarding shape and surface morphology by using scaning electron microscopy (SEM); The chemical structure diversification of hydrogels upon gelation was charactered by FTIR spectrometer. By the experiments of the drug loaded thermosensitive hydrogel to deliver drug in vitro, the diversification of the capabilities of the drug delivery was evaluated. The temperature of Kuijiean thermosensitive hydrogel was (37.0 ± 4.5) ℃, by which the sol gel could transform into semi-solid gel at (6.00 ± 0.82) min, the drug release rate slowed down obviously, and the cumulative release rate was only (67.78 ± 0.35)% (n = 3) by 24 h, while the cumulative release rate of the equal quantity of raw material drug was (90.43 ± 0.62)% (n = 3) by 24 h. The release behavior was close to the Weibull model, the drug release mechanism was a double mechanism combining drug diffusion and gel erosion. It is true that achieves the transformation of Kuijiean from sol to semi-solid gel at 37.0 ℃. The CS/β-GP gel system allows the sustained release of the Kuijiean.

Study of using an individualized treatment strategy to treat patients with chronic hepatitis C / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the outcomes of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients treated with antiviral regimens of interferon (IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV) using individualized doses and durations.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This study was designed as an open-label, prospective clinical trial to analyze the virological responses of 169 CHC patients who received individualized dosages of IFNa-2b or pegylated (Peg)IFNa-2a combined with RBV based on their weight ( less than 60 kg or more than or equal to 60 kg), age (less than 65 years or 65-75 years), morbid state (liver cirrhosis or not), and complications (such as heart disease, diabetes, thyroid disorder). Treatment duration was calculated using the time required to induce HCV RNA negativity. The rates of virological response and adverse effects among the different groups were compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The IFNa-2b treatment was given to 116 patients, and PegIFNa-2a was given to 53 patients. Compared to the IFNa-2b group, the PegIFNa-2a group showed significantly higher rates of complete early virological response (cEVR; 76.7% vs. 92.5%, P less than 0.05) and sustained virological response (SVR; 53.6% vs. 92.3%, P less than 0.05) among the patients who had completed their course of treatment; the rapid virological response (RVR) rate was also higher for the PegIFNa-2a group but the difference did not reach statistical significance (48.7% vs. 60.4%, P more than 0.05). Seventy-eight patients received the routine dose, and 91 patients received the low dose; there were no significant differences between these two groups for RVR (53.8% vs. 58.9%, P more than 0.05), cEVR (78.0% vs. 80.8%, P more than 0.05), or SVR (65.5% vs. 58.3%, P more than 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Use of an individualized antiviral treatment strategy designed according to the patient's baseline condition, early viral kinetics, and tolerability to adverse reactions can achieve a high rate of SVR, as well as improve the safety, prognosis, and cost-effectiveness associated with treating CHC patients.</p>

Relation of IL-17 polymorphisms and serum levels in patients with chronic HCV infection / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the interleukin 17 (IL-17) gene and serum protein levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 228 patients with chronic HCV infection and 81 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The frequencies of IL-17 rs8193036 and rs2275913 polymorphisms were detected by the TaqMan SNP genotyping assay. Serum levels of IL-17 protein were detected by ELISA. Pairwise comparisons were made by the Chi-square test, and the significance of between-group differences was assessed by the Student's t-test with P less than 0.05.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The patients with chronic HCV infection and the healthy controls showed similar frequencies of the rs8193036 C/T allele (x2 = 1.428, P = 0.232) and the rs2275913 A/G allele (x2 = 0.106, P = 0.744). In addition, the two groups showed similar distribution of the rs8193036 CC (chronic HCV infection: 46.49% vs. healthy controls: 41.98%), CT (45.61% vs. 44.44%) and TT (7.89% vs. 13.58%) genotypes (x2 = 2.346, P = 0.309), and of the rs2275913 AA (16.23% vs. 13.58%), AG (48.25% vs. 50.62%) and GG (35.53% vs. 35.80%) genotypes (x2 = 0.340, P = 0.844). Subgroup analysis of chronic HCV infection patients stratified according to HCV genotypes 1 and 2 showed no differences in the distribution of rs8193036 and rs2275913 alleles (x2 = 1.127, P = 0.288; x2 = 1.088, P = 0.297) and genotypes (x2 = 2.825, P = 0.246; x2 = 0.970, P = 0.616). However, the chronic HCV infection group did show significantly higher levels of serum IL-17 than the controls (97.67+/-39.68 vs. 71.60+/-19.78 pg/ml, t = 2.414, P = 0.033).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Chronic HCV infection is associated with increased serum IL-17; however, the IL-17 polymorphisms rs8193036 and rs2275913 were not associated with chronic HCV infection susceptibility in this study's Chinese cohort.</p>

The role of Fas mutation on non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in mice / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Our previous study indicated that the death receptor Fas played a key role on hepatocyte apoptosis in nutritional steatohepatitis in mice. This study aimed to explore whether Fas mutation accelerated hepatic steatosis and inflammatory infiltration in methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet feeding mice.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Mice homozygous for the lymphoproliferation spontaneous mutation (C57BL/6J-Faslpr) and wild type C57BL/6J mice were fed with MCD diet for three weeks to induce non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) levels were detected by an Olympus AU5400 automatic chemical analyzer. The role of Fas gene mutation on NASH was assessed by comparing the severity of hepatic steatosis and inflammation in the liver sections, the mRNA and protein expressions of hepatic inflammatory and fibrogenesis related factors, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFb1).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The serum ALT levels of the wild type and Faslpr mice fed with MCD were significant higher than that of the control mice (126.33+/-10.50 U/L vs (25.00+/-10.14) U/L, (160.33+/-48.29) U/L vs (18.33+/-9.08) U/L, with the LSD-t value 12.02, 5.08 respectively, the P value<0.001, 0.007 respectively. The serum ALT levels showed no significant difference between the Faslpr and wild type mice fed with MCD, with the LSD-t value 1.19, the P value 0.229. The serum AST, TG and TC levels showed neithere significant difference among the four groups. MCD diet induced hepatic steatosis and inflammatory infiltration in both of the wild type and Faslpr mice. Especially, severer hepatic injury was observed in Faslpr mice as compared with wild type mice. The mRNA expression levels of cell proliferation factor PCNA and fibrogenesis growth factor TGF b1 in wild type mice fed with MCD were significantly higher than that of the control mice (2.84+/-0.73, 2.77+/-0.54 vs 1.31+/-0.18, 0.89+/-0.18), with the LSD-t value 4.99, 8.08 respectively, the P value 0.001, <0.001 respectively. The mRNA expression levels of PCNA and TGFb1 in Faslpr mice fed with MCD were significantly higher than that of the Faslpr control mice and the wild type mice fed with MCD (5.57+/-1.13, 5.73+/-0.89 vs 1.04+/-0.16, 0.85+/-0.11 and 2.84+/-0.73, 2.77+/-0.54), with the LSD-t value 10.15, 13.19 and 5.33, 6.91 respectively, the P value<0.001. The protein expressions levels of PCNA and TGFb1 were concordant with the mRNA.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Faslpr promoted hepatic steatosis and inflammatory infiltration in mice fed with MCD diet, which might associated with excessive release of cell proliferative, inflammatory and fibrogenesis factors.</p>