Research advances of lncRNAs in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease / 中国药理学通报

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of noncoding RNAs, are commonly defined as RNA molecules more than 200 nucleotides in length. LncRNA has been shown to get involved in various biological processes, such as chromatin modification, transcriptional activation and intranuclear transport. Emerging research have also indicated that lncRNA plays a vital role in the pathological processes of many diseases. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become one of the most common chronic liver diseases with an increasing incidence. Recent studies have confirmed that lncRNAs are key contributors to pathological processes that are underpinning the initiation and progression of NAFLD, including insulin resistance, lipid metabolism disorders and inflammation. This review summarizes the findings of the role of lncRNAs in the pathological processes of NAFLD that have obtained to date, in order to provide a theoretical basis for the prevention, treatment, clinical detection of NAFLD, and the development of innovative anti-NAFLD drugs.

Tobacco control intervention on vocational school students based on social cognitive theory / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#This study conducted a tobacco control intervention practice on vocational school students based on social cognitive theory, for exploring the practical and feasible tobacco control strategies among students, so as to reduce adolescents’ smoking behaviors.@*Methods@#Cluster random sampling method was used to select students in four vocational schools in Shanghai, which were randomly divided into the intervention group (2 schools 1 003 students) and the control group (2 schools 1 096 students). The intervention was conducted on the intervention group based on the social cognitive theory and lasted for 6 months. The control group was blank. Descriptive and analytical statistical methods were used to evaluate the effect of intervention.@*Results@#After the intervention, in the intervention group, the current smoking rate (2.77%) and the smoking intention in the next 1 year (8.50%) both decreased, the scores of the cognition of the harm of smoking as well as second hand smoking and the attitudes towards tobacco all increased(39.04%, 32.93%), the self-efficacy of refusing smoking increased (88.93%), the social pressure decreased(12.40%), the exposure rate of secondhand smoke in family decreased(35.45%), and the exposure to tobacco control message on media increased (36.68%). The difference was statistical significant compared to the control group (χ2=8.67，19.32，17.87，8.32，13.51，14.71，17.36，20.09，P<0.01).@*Conclusion@#The tobacco control model based on social cognitive theory could effectively improve adolescents’ self-efficacy, increase their tobacco-related knowledge, and significantly reduce their future smoking intention and behavior.

Research progress in markers of limbal stem cells / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

@#The continuous proliferation and differentiation of limbal stem cells(LSCs)maintain the integrity and homeostasis of the corneal epithelium, which plays an important role in protecting the cornea and maintaining corneal transparency. Currently limbal stem cell deficiency(LSCD)is one of major causes of blindness in corneal diseases, and transplantation of LSCs is the hot therapeutic option. The effectiveness of transplantation mainly depends on the proportion of LSCs to the total transplanted cells, so it is very important to clearly identify LSCs. There are many markers of LSCs, but their specificity is controversial. Therefore, one of the main challenges in LSCs transplantation is the lack of definitive cell markers. In this paper, the latest research progress of LSCs markers is reviewed.

Eccrine Chromhidrosis: A Case Report And Review Of Literature

Chromhidrosis is a rare disorder characterized by colored sweat and/or stained skin. Eccrine chromhidrosis is an orphan disease in which water-soluble pigments are excreted through the eccrine glands. This article provides a highly doubtful eccrine chromhidrosis case and the literature review for eccrine chromhidrosis. We recommend an investigative algorithm for dermatologists, hepatologist, and general practitioners to enhance diagnostic capability without mistake among similar and differential diseases. Most importantly, the exact etiology should be determined, which further decides the treatment plan. Systemic treatment of liver diseases or bacteremia was reported particularly effective. Results and prognosis were excellent and without recurrence.

GSK-3β inhibition induces cardioprotection via attenuating activation of NLRP3 inflammasome after acute myocardial infarction in rats / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

OBJECTIVE To observe the effects of glycogen synthase 3β (GSK-3β) in the regula-tion of NLRP3 inflammasome activation after acute myocardial infarction (MI) in Sprague Dawley(SD) rats. METHODS Ligation of the left anterior descending (LAD) in SD rats was used to establish an acute myocardial infarction model. SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=10, each group):sham group,MI group,and MI+SB group:the GSK-3β inhibitor(SB216763)was given 1 h by intrave-nous injection(0.6 mg·kg-1·d-1)before surgery.The serum and heart tissue were collected to measure lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and IL-1β content and mRNA and protein levels of NLRP3, ASC, Cas-pase-1,IL-1β and GSK-3β after 2 days and 7 days operation,respectively.RESULTS The serum levels of LDH and IL-1β in the MI group were significantly higher than those in the sham group(P<0.01),and the MI+SB group was obviously lower than the MI group(P<0.01).In addition,mRNA and protein levels of NNLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1, IL-1β and GSK-3β expressions in MI group were clearly increased (P<0.01) compared with those in sham group.These indicators were significantly decreased in SB+MI group (P<0.01). Interestingly, the indicators were all higher at 7 days than 2 days. CONCLUSION GSK-3β inhibition induces cardioprotection via attenuating the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome after the acute myocardial infarction in rats.

Establishment of RP-HPLC detection method of N-isopropyl oxamate in the serum of plateau pikas / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the intergrating of N-isopropyl oxamate and serum protein and establish a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) detection method of N-isopropyl oxamate (specific inhibitor of testis-specific lactate dehydrogenase (LDH-C4)) in the blood of plateau pikas.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty highland pika 150-200 g, were randomly divided into two groups (n = 10): control group and inhibitor group. Different concentrations of N-isopropyl oxamate were added to examine the intergrating of N-isopropyl oxamate and serum protein. In order to determine its concentration in the pika blood accurately, we used the method of adding trypsin to incubate the serum first, followed by trichloroacetic acid treatment and detecting by HPLC. Results: When the concentrations of N-isopropyl oxamate in the pika serum were added to 0.05 mmol/L, 0.1 mmol/L, 1 mmol/L, 10 mmol/L, 16.7 mmol/L, 33.3 mmol/L and 100 mmol/L, the intergrating rates between N-isopropyl oxamate and plateau pika serum were 100%, 100%, 100%, 86.84%, 54.11%, 40.10% and 20.18%, respectively. The method established in this paper was good on recovery rates, precision and stability. A good linearity was obtained in the range of 0.0125-0.25 mmol/L. When the concentrations of N-isopropyl oxamate in the serum were added to 0. 15 mmol/L,0.3 mmol/L and 1 mmol/L, the recovery rates were 98.05%, 98.98% and 98.12%, respectively; the precision relative standard deviation( RSD) of concentrations were 1.17%, 0.92% and 0.83%, respectively; the stability relative standard deviation (RSD) of concentrations were 1.38%, 1.40% and 0.88%, respectively. The repeatability RSD of the method was 1.76%. Quantitative limit was 0.0125 mmol/L.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>N-isopropyl oxamate has a strong affinity with plateau pika serum protein that can't be accurately determined with common HIPLC method. It can be accurately determined in the blood by adding trypsinto digest the serum protein first, followed by adding trichloroacetic acid to precipitate the protein.</p>

The expression of the sperm-specific lactate dehydrogenase gene Ldh-c in plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) cardiac muscle and its effect on the anaerobic glycolysis / 生理学报

The plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) has a strong adaptability to hypoxic plateau environment. We found that the sperm-specific lactate dehydrogenase (LDH-C4) gene Ldh-c expressed in plateau pika cardiac muscle. In order to shed light on the effect of LDH-C4 on the anaerobic glycolysis in plateau pika cardiac muscle, 20 pikas were randomly divided into the inhibitor group and the control group, and the sample size of each group was 10. The pikas of inhibitor group were injected with 1 mL 1 mol/L N-isopropyl oxamate, a specific LDH-C4 inhibitor, in biceps femoris muscle of hind legs, each leg with 500 μL. The pikas of control group were injected with the same volume of normal saline (0.9% NaCl). The mRNA and protein expression levels of Ldh-c gene in plateau pika cardiac muscle were determined by real-time PCR and Western blot. The activities of LDH, and the contents of lactate (LD) and ATP in cardiac muscle were compared between the inhibitor group and the control group. The results showed that 1) the expression levels of Ldh-c mRNA and protein were 0.47 ± 0.06 and 0.68 ± 0.08, respectively; 2) 30 min after injection of 1 mL 1 mol/L N-isopropyl oxamate in biceps femoris muscle, the concentration of N-isopropyl oxamate in blood was 0.08 mmol/L; 3) in cardiac muscle of the inhibitor group and the control group, the LDH activities were (6.18 ± 0.48) U/mg and (9.08 ± 0.58) U/mg, the contents of LD were (0.21 ± 0.03) mmol/g and (0.26 ± 0.04) mmol/g, and the contents of ATP were (4.40 ± 0.69) nmol/mg and (6.18 ± 0.73) nmol/mg (P < 0.01); 5) the inhibition rates of N-isopropyl oxamate to LDH, LD and ATP were 31.98%, 20.90% and 28.70%, respectively. The results suggest that Ldh-c expresses in cardiac muscle of plateau pika, and the pika cardiac muscle may get at least 28% ATP for its activities by LDH-C4 catalyzed anaerobic glycolysis, which reduces the dependence on oxygen and enhances the adaptation to the hypoxic environments.

Advances in study of dioscin--a natural product / 中国中药杂志

Dioscin, a typical saponin, is widely present in the family of Dioscoreaceae, Liliaceae, Caryophyllaceae and Rosaceae, especially in Dioscoreaceae, including Discorea nipponica Makino, Dioscorea zingiberensis C. H. Wright and Dioscorea panthaica Prain et Burkill. Traditional Chinese medicine reported that dioscin plays a role in expectorant, relaxing the muscles and stimulating the blood circulation, aiding digestion and diuresis. With the development of science and technology in recent years, some new extraction and separation techniques and methods have been applied to the study of dioscin, and more and more pharmacological effects were found. Modern pharmacology studies have confirmed that dioscin had some activities on desensitization, anti-inflammatory, lipid-lowering, anti-tumor, hepatoprotection and anti-viral. After oral administration, dioscin is metabolized to diosgenin, which is the true active ingredient and is an important raw material to synthesize steroid hormone drugs. Therefore, the studies on dioscin are valueable and promising. In this review, we make a summary on the researches of dioscin including the extraction technology, separation and prepara- tion, chemical synthesis, drug metabolism, determination and pharmacological researches.

Anti-cancer activity of Zuojinwan in vivo and influence to tumor markers in mice transplanted with sarcoma 180 / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the anticancer action of Zuojinwan in mice transplanted with sarcoma 180 in vivo, and detect the activities of five kinds of tumor markers (TM) including acid phosphotase (ACP), alkaline phosphotase (AKP), creatine kinase (CK), aldolase (ALD) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in serum compared with Coptis chinensis and Evodia rutaecarpa.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The transplanted S180 tumor mice model was established, and the mice were divided randomly five groups. The extract of Zuojinwan (850.8 mg kg(-1)), C. chinensis (729.2 mg kg(-1)) and E. rutaecarpa (121.6 mg kg(-1)) were administrated, respectively for 10 d. Then, the changes of body weight, spleen index of mice, the inhibition rates of tumor, and the increase of life span (ILS) were all tested. In addition, the activities of ACP, AKP, CK, ALD and LDH on different test groups were also determined.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Zuojinwan could inhibit the S180 tumor growth significantly with the inhibition rate of 50.54% and the ILS of mice reached to 64.91%. Meanwhile, the activities of ACP (126.72 +/- 11.16) U 100 mL(-1) and AKP (67.27 +/- 13.49) U 100 mL(-1) were increased, and the activities of CK (20.65 +/- 4.28) U mL(-1), ALD (319.13 +/- 53.87) U L(-1) and LDH (1,029.04 +/- 468.56) U L(-1) were decreased significantly by Zuojinwan treated group compared with C. chinensis and E. rutaecarpa treated groups (P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>In the prescription of Zuojinwan, the enhancement of compatibility of anticancer activity was observed by the interaction of C. chinensis and E. rutaecarpa. The mechanism might be in according with to influence the activities of the five kinds of tumor markers (TM) in mice serum.</p>

Preparative separation of gentiopicrin from Radix Gentianae by high-speed counter-current chromatography with macroporous resin / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To develop a method for the preparative separation of gentiopicrin from Radix Gentianae by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC).</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The crude alcohol extracts were eluted on a macroporous resin column and then purified by high speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). A two-phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate: n-butanol: water (2 : 1 : 3) was used, and the lower phase was used as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.5 mL x min(-1), while the apparatus rotated at 800 r x min(-1) and the eluate was detected at 254 nm.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>136 mg gentiopicrin with purity of 99.6% determined by HPLC were obtained from 300 mg crude extraction only in one-step separation and less than 200 minutes.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The established method is simple, high efficiency and suitable for large-scale separation of gentiopicrin.</p>

Surface modification and microstructure of single-walled carbon nanotubes for dental composite resin / 生物医学工程学杂志

In order to improve its dispersion condition in dental composite resin and enhance its interaction with the matrix, single-walled carbon nanotubes(SWNTs) were refluxed and oxidized, then treated by APTE. Their outer surface were coated by nano-SiO2 particles using sol-gel process, then further treated by organosilanes ATES. IR and TEM were used to analyze modification results. TEM pictures showed nano-particles were on the surface of SWNTs; IR showed characteristic adsorbing bands of SiO2. Composite resin specimen with modified SWNTs was prepared and examined by TEM. SWNTs were detected in composite resin matrix among other inorganic fillers.