Identification and expression analysis of R2R3-MYB gene family in Andrographis paniculata / 中国中药杂志

The plant growth, development, and secondary metabolism are regulated by R2 R3-MYB transcription factors. This study identified the R2 R3-MYB genes in the genome of Andrographis paniculata and analyzed the chromosomal localization, gene structure, and conserved domains, phylogenetic relationship, and promoter cis-acting elements of these R2 R3-MYB genes. Moreover, the gene expression profiles of R2 R3-MYB genes under abiotic stress and hormone treatments were generated by RNA-seq and validated by qRT-PCR. The results showed that A. paniculata contained 73 R2 R3-MYB genes on 21 chromosomes. These members belonged to 34 subfamilies, 19 of which could be classified into the known subfamilies in Arabidopsis thaliana. The 73 R2 R3-MYB members included 36 acidic proteins and 37 basic proteins, with the lengths of 148-887 aa. The domains, motifs, and gene structures of R2 R3-MYBs in A. paniculata were conserved. The promoter regions of these genes contains a variety of cis-acting elements related to the responses to environmental factors and plant hormones including light, ABA, MeJA, and drought. Based on the similarity of functions of R2 R3-MYBs in the same subfamily and the transcription profiles, ApMYB13/21/35/67/73(S22) may regulate drought stress through ABA pathway; ApMYB20(S11) and ApMYB55(S2) may play a role in the response of A. paniculata to high temperature and UV-C stress; ApMYB5(S7) and ApMYB33(S20) may affect the accumulation of andrographolide by regulating the expression of key enzymes in the MEP pathway. This study provides theoretical reference for further research on the functions of R2 R3-MYB genes in A. paniculata and breeding of A. paniculata varieties with high andrographolide content.

Screening of Reference Genes of Andrographis paniculata Under MeJA and Abiotic Stresses by Real-time Fluorescence-based Quantitative PCR / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo screen the appropriate reference genes for real-time fluorescence-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR）analysis of the Andrographis paniculata under methyl jasmonate（MeJA）and various abiotic stresses. MethodThe actin 1（ACT1），actin 2（ACT2），elongation factor（EF-1α），glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase（GAPDH），tubulin（TUB），polyubiquitin（UBQ）， and 18S rRNA（18S）gene were selected as candidate reference genes based on the RNA-seq data of high temperature，drought， UV， and MeJA. The expression of seven candidate reference genes in the A. paniculata leaves was assessed by Real-time PCR，and the stability was analyzed by geNorm，NormFinder，BestKeeper， and Refinder. ResultThe results of stability evaluated by geNorm，NormFinder， and BestKeeper were not the same due to different indicators. As analyzed by Refinder， for the stability of the expression， the genes were ranked as UBQ>18S>EF-1α>ACT2>ACT1>GAPDH>TUB under high temperature stress， ACT1>UBQ>EF-1α>18S>ACT2>GAPDH>TUB under drought stress， EF-1α>TUB>ACT2>UBQ>18S>GAPDH>ACT1 under UV stress， and ACT1>EF-1α>UBQ>ACT2>18S>TUB>GAPDH under MeJA stress. Among them，18S gene was not suitable as an internal reference gene duo to its high expressive abundance. This study also verified the relative expression level of andrographolide synthesis-related gene hydroxy-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase （HMGS） in the four stresses on the basis of transcriptome data，and found that the Real-time PCR results of appropriate internal reference genes were accurate and reliable. ConclusionUBQ-ACT1-UBQ，EF-1α-TUB，and ACT1-EF-1α were the suitable combinations under stresses of high temperature，drought，UV， and MeJA. This study is expected to provide references for the research on function regulation and expression of genes in A. paniculata under high temperature，drought，UV， and MeJA stresses.

Anti-inflammatory effect of external use of escin on cutaneous inflammation: possible involvement of glucocorticoids receptor / 中国天然药物

Escin, as an internally applied anti-inflammatory agent, has been widely used in the treatment of inflammation and edema resulting from trauma or operation in the clinic. However, the effect of its external use on cutaneous inflammation and edema remains unexplored. In the present study, the anti-inflammatory and anti-edematous effects of external use of escin were studied in carrageenan-induced paw edema and histamine-induced capillary permeability in rats, paraxylene-induced ear swelling in mice, and cotton pellet-induced granuloma in rats. Effects of external use of escin gel on prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) were determined by ELISA. The anti-inflammatory mechanism was explored by detecting the expression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) with Western blotting and Real-time PCR analyses, with further exploration of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (P38MAPK) and activator protein-1 (AP-1) expressions. We demonstrated that external use of escin showed significant anti-inflammatory effects on acute and chronic inflammation in different animal models and its anti-inflammatory effects might be related to down-regulation of PGE2, TNF-α, and IL-1β. The results also showed that escin exerted its anti-inflammatory effects by promoting the expression of GR, with the possible mechanism being inhibition of the expressions of GR-related signaling molecules such as NF-κB and AP-1.

Anti-inflammatory effect of external use of escin on cutaneous inflammation: possible involvement of glucocorticoids receptor / 中国天然药物

Escin, as an internally applied anti-inflammatory agent, has been widely used in the treatment of inflammation and edema resulting from trauma or operation in the clinic. However, the effect of its external use on cutaneous inflammation and edema remains unexplored. In the present study, the anti-inflammatory and anti-edematous effects of external use of escin were studied in carrageenan-induced paw edema and histamine-induced capillary permeability in rats, paraxylene-induced ear swelling in mice, and cotton pellet-induced granuloma in rats. Effects of external use of escin gel on prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) were determined by ELISA. The anti-inflammatory mechanism was explored by detecting the expression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) with Western blotting and Real-time PCR analyses, with further exploration of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (P38MAPK) and activator protein-1 (AP-1) expressions. We demonstrated that external use of escin showed significant anti-inflammatory effects on acute and chronic inflammation in different animal models and its anti-inflammatory effects might be related to down-regulation of PGE2, TNF-α, and IL-1β. The results also showed that escin exerted its anti-inflammatory effects by promoting the expression of GR, with the possible mechanism being inhibition of the expressions of GR-related signaling molecules such as NF-κB and AP-1.

Uses of fresh herbs with antioxidant effect and prospect for population ecology reconstruction in Macau / 中国中药杂志

The average life expectancy in Macau is ranking the second in the world, the consumption of fresh medicinal plants is a profound culture in Macau. The paper focus on the distribution of the antioxidant herbs, a comprehensive investigation and analysis the amount of the plant resources was carried out. The antioxidant activity of alcohol extracts was determined by using the DPPH method, and six kinds fresh herbs with high antioxidant free radical activity were screened out. Reference to adult daily dose of vitamin C, it is calculated that the daily dose amount of fresh herbs is less than 200 g. For the expected shortage of resources and the ecological status of Macau, we give some suggestions of herbal introduction in population ecology reconstruction.