Berberine enhances antidiabetic effects and attenuates untoward effects of canagliflozin in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice / 中国天然药物

The present study aimed at determining whether berberine can enhance the antidiabetic effects and alleviate the adverse effects of canagliflozin in diabetes mellitus. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice were introduced, and the combined effects of berberine and canagliflozin on glucose metabolism and kidney functions were investigated. Our results showed that berberine combined with canagliflozin (BC) increased reduction of fasting and postprandial blood glucose, diet, and water intake compared with berberine or canagliflozin alone. Interestingly, BC showed greater decrease in blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels and lower total urine glucose excretion than canagliflozin alone. In addition, BC showed increased phosphorylated 5' AMP-activated protein kinase (pAMPK) expression and decreased tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) levels in kidneys, compared with berberine or canagliflozin alone. These results indicated that BC was a stronger antidiabetic than berberine or canagliflozin alone with less negative side effects on the kidneys in the diabetic mice. The antidiabetic effect was likely to be mediated by synergically promoting the expression of pAMPK and reducing the expression of TNFα in kidneys. The present study represented the first report that canagliflozin combined with berberine was a promising treatment for diabetes mellitus. The exact underlying mechanisms of action should be investigated in future studies.

Study on morphology of surface atoms conformation of nanogold-based genechip / 生物医学工程学杂志

Conformations of surface atoms in various stages of nanogold-based genechip testing were scanned by the atomic force microscope based on the scanning tunneling microscope. The findings were: First, the surface atoms of genechip slide (formylphenyl glass) were in a regular porous-arrangement; Second, after combination with probe, the regular porous arrangement changed to be irregular; Third, after hybridization with the target nucleic acid, the surface atoms were once again in a cable-like arrangement which was relatively structured and intensively cross-parallel. However, after the silver staining, the surface atoms showed a larger block structure with serious unevenness. From these results we can intuitively know the process and differences in probe combination, nucleic acid hybridization, and silver staining. Moreover, the relevant experiment was verified at the micro-level.

Interleukin-8 inhibits clonal expansion of 3T3-L1 preadipocyte during differentiation / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>AIM</b>To investigate the effect of interleukin-8 (IL-8) on the differentiation and clonal expansion of 3T3-L1 preadipocyte during the differentiation period.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The morphological changes of 3T3-L1 cells during differentiation after the treatment of IL-8 was observed by Oil-Red O staining. Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) activity was measured by a spectrophotometric method. MTT method and 3H-TdR incorporation were applied to examine the changes of cell proliferation and DNA synthesis in clonal expansion of 3T3-L1 cells. Cell cycle analysis was taken by flow cytometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>IL-8 could inhibit the differentiation and GDPH activity in a dose dependent manner. IL-8 decreased the cell proliferation and DNA synthesis in clonal expansion after induction. Also, the proportion of cells in G1 phase was increased and that of cells in S and G2 phase was declined after the treatment of IL-8.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>IL-8 inhibits the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes by decreasing the clonal expansion of the cells.</p>

A study on surface plasmon resonance-based gene chip / 生物医学工程学杂志

The surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based gene chip was prepared according to the following processes: First, a film of nanogold, which was synthesized by using Frens' method, was plated on chip by Chlorauric acid/hydroxylamine method. Then probes were fixed on nanogold film by Self-assembled monolayer (SAM) technology. Subsequently, the fixing time and concentration of probes, the sensitivity and the specificity of the chip were optimized. Our results suggested that the chip plated with 2.5 nm nanogold film has a better SPR reflection, and when fixed by probes for 4.5 h at the concentration of 1 500 nmol/L, the gene chip also shows a fine performance of detection and can identify accurately the mismatch between bases in SPR detection system. The gene chip constructed in the research can be used for SPR sensor detection.