γ-Aminobutyric acid-mediated neurotransmission in cerebellar-hypothalamic circuit attenuates gastric mucosal injury induced by ischemia-reperfusion.

BACKGROUND: Excessive greater splanchnic nerve (GSN) activation contributes to the progression of gastric ischemia-reperfusion (GI-R) injury. This study was designed to investigate the protective mechanism of cerebellar fastigial nucleus (FN) stimulation against GI-R injury. METHODS: The GI-R injury model was induced in rats by clamping the celiac artery for 30 min, and then reperfusion for 30 min, 1, 3, 6, or 24 h, respectively. KEY RESULTS: Microinjection of L-Glu (3, 6, 12 µg) into the FN dose-dependently attenuated GI-R injury and GSN activity. In addition, there was an enhancement of gastric mucosal blood flow in GI-R rats. Pretreatment with the glutamic acid decarboxylase antagonist into the FN, the GABAA receptor antagonist into the lateral hypothalamic area or lesion of superior cerebellar peduncle all reversed the protective effects of the FN stimulation. Furthermore, the FN stimulation reduced the TUNEL-positive gastric mucosal cell and Bax-positive gastric mucosal cell in GI-R rats. CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES: These results indicate that the protective effects of the FN stimulation against GI-R injury may be mediated by attenuation of the excessive GSN activation, gastric mucosal cell apoptosis, and Bax expression in GI-R rats.

Fusarium solani and Fusarium oxysporum Associated with Root Rot of Glycyrrhiza uralensis in China.

Liquorice (root of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch.) is an important Chinese traditional medicine for many ailments (4). From 2002, severe outbreaks of root rot occurring on cultivated G. uralensis plants in Ningxia, China, have affected the yield and quality of liquorice and been considered as a major threat to commercial production of liquorice. Approximately 30% of the plants die from this disease in Ningxia every year. The disease, mainly affecting 2- to 4-year-old G. uralensis seedlings, begins with brown rot of root tips or lateral roots followed by internal decay of taproots during June to August every year. The infected plants are wilted with chlorotic foliage and easily pulled up from the soil. Root rot is clearly visible as a severe brown discoloration of vascular tissue along taproots. In severe cases, white mycelia are clearly visible on the surface of diseased roots and roots are decomposed. Isolations from diseased roots were made on potato dextrose agar (PDA) amended with streptomycin sulfate. Isolates (n = 78) were recovered from symptomatic roots (n = 105) and pure cultures were established by the single spore method. The two most frequently isolated fungi were transferred to potato sucrose agar and identified as Fusarium solani (61.5%) and F. oxysporum (30.8%) (1). The monophialides bearing microconidia of F. solani are long when compared to those of F. oxysporum. Genomic DNA of strains F. solani G013 and F. oxysporum FLR were extracted from mycelia with the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) method. Primers EF1-728F and EF1-986R were used to amplify the translation elongation factor-1α (TEF-1α) gene (2). The TEF-1α sequences of F. solani G013 (GenBank Accession No. AB777258) and F. oxysporum FLR (AB777257) shared 99 and 100% similarity with F. solani isolate NRRL52790 and F. oxysporum isolate NRRL 38328, respectively. Pathogenicity tests with one representative isolate of each species were conducted in the greenhouse on 1-month-old potted G. uralensis seedlings (12 plants per treatment). Isolates of the tested fungi were transferred to PDA and incubated in darkness at 24 ± 1°C for 7 days. Plant taproots about 5 cm below the soil surface were wounded with a sterile needle and five 5-mm-diameter fungal disks on the margin of colony were taken and firmly placed on the wounded location of each taproot with tinfoil; wounded taproots of seedlings inoculated with sterile PDA disks were used as controls (3). Root rot was assessed 2 months after inoculation. F. solani G013 and F. oxysporum FLR produced root rot symptoms on inoculated plants that were the same as those observed in field plants, and the fungi were reisolated from roots with typical symptoms. Control plants inoculated with sterile PDA disks remained asymptomatic, and no pathogen was isolated from them. To our knowledge, this is the first report of root rot caused by F. solani and F. oxysporum on G. uralensis in China. Effective control strategies are needed to minimize losses. References: (1) C. Booth. The Genus Fusarium. Commonwealth Mycological Institute, Farnham Royal, 1971. (2) I. Carbone and L. M. Kohn. Mycologia 91:553, 1999. (3) M. Guo et al. Plant Dis. 96:909, 2012. (4) T. Wu et al. Am. Assoc. Pharm. Sci. J. 13:1, 2011.

Effects of astragalosides on cultured islets after cryopreservation in rats.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of AST (astragalosides) on cultured rat islet yield, purity, and function after cryopreservation in rats. METHODS: Pancreatic islets were isolated from 30 Sprague-Dawley rats using the standard technique of collagenase P digestion and discontinuous Ficoll gradient purification. After thaw, the islets were randomly divided into AST group and control group (n=15). Next, the islet cells were cultured in AST-containing medium or standard medium for 7, 14, and 21 days after cryopreservation and thaw. The quantity, purity, and survival rate were calculated in the two groups before and after culture. Then the in vitro and in vivo function was observed in diabetic rats after islet transplantation. RESULTS: The quantity and purity of islets had no difference between the two groups before culture (P>.05) while the difference after culture was significantly (P<.05). The survival rate of islets was 48% in AST group and 32% in the control group 21 days after thaw (P<.05). After 3 days, there was significantly a higher simulation index in the AST group than in the control group (P<.05). There was a significant difference in blood glucose and insulin concentrations between the groups after 3 days (P<.05). CONCLUSION: AST can be added to the culture medium to reduce the loss of islet cryopreservation and be intravenously injected to improve culture islet function in vitro and prolong islet graft survival in diabetic rats.

[Combination of phentolamine and angelicini in cholestasis and severe type of chronic active hepatitis B].

Among 60 patients with chronic active hepatitis B, 43 were of the severe type, 17 were of cholestasis type. Each type was divided randomly into two groups: therapeutic and control. The former received both conventional supporting therapy and combination of phentolamine (20-30 mg/day) and angelicini (150-450 mg/day). The latter was only treated with conventional supporting therapy. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and platelet agglutination test were performed in 10 patients respectively. DSA demonstrated that liver sinusoids were expanded and the vascular bed round the sinusoids were also enlarged in diameter following instillation of phentolamine. It was also shown that angelicini could suppress the second phase of platelet agglutination. These indicated that phentolamine and angelicini could improve the liver microcirculation in different way. The incidence of survival between therapeutic and the control group was 57.14% and 31.82% respectively (P less than 0.05).