A Multicenter Real-World Study Evaluating the Hepatoprotective Effect of Polyene Phosphatidylcholine Against Chronic Hepatitis B.

Background: Polyene phosphatidylcholine (PPC) has been widely used to treat liver diseases in China. However, there is a lack of post-marketing evidence demonstrating its liver-protective efficiency among patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). This study analyzed the multicenter real-world data to compare the effectiveness of PPC with those of magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate (IsoMag) and glutathione (GSH) in patients with liver injury. Methods: This study comprised the real-world data analysis of a multicenter, retrospective observational cohort. The data were retrieved from the Cooperative Registry of the Hospital Prescription in China between 1 October 2018, and 30 September 2019. A growth curve analysis was performed to compare the effects of different treatments on liver function longitudinally for up to 30 days after treatment commencement. In addition, the dose effect of the PPC treatment was investigated. Results: The final cohort included 6,052 patients with approximately 8% infected with HBV (N = 471). There were 1,649, 1,750, and 2,653 patients in the PPC, GSH, and IsoMag groups, respectively, with an average age of 53.9 years. In patients with HBV infection, the PPC treatment was associated with a significant decline in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels (slopes: -3.7, 95% CI, -6.0 to -1.5 U/L/day; -2.4, 95% CI, -4.5 to -0.3 U/L/day, respectively). However, there were no significant differences in the effects among the three groups. In patients without HBV infection, the PPC treatment decreased ALT, AST, γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and albumin levels (-5.2, 95% CI, -5.8 to -4.5 U/L/day; -3.5, 95% CI, -4.2 to -2.7 U/L/day; -4.9, 95% CI, -6.2 to -3.7 U/L/day, -0.07, 95% CI, -0.09 to -0.04 g/L/day, respectively) and showed a stronger effect on lowering ALT levels than GSH (-2.6, 95% CI, -3.3 to -1.8 U/L/day, p < 0.05), as well as a stronger effect on lowering GGT levels than IsoMag (-1.4, 95% CI, -2.4 to -0.4 U/L/day, p < 0.05). PPC had no impact on prothrombin activity levels in patients with or without HBV infection. High-dose PPC exhibited a stronger effect on lowering ALT and AST levels than low-dose PPC. Conclusion: This was the first real-world multicenter study to demonstrate that PPC efficiently lowers ALT and AST levels in patients with liver diseases regardless of the status of HBV infection. PPC treatment showed a comparable or better effect compared with GSH and IsoMag treatments. High-dose PPC resulted in a stronger effect than low-dose PPC.

Resistant dextrin reduces obesity and attenuates adipose tissue inflammation in high-fat diet-fed mice.

Resistant dextrin (RD), a short chain glucose polymer, has been shown to improve type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in clinical studies. However, the improvement of adipose tissue inflammation and specific mechanisms of RD supplementation in obesity have not been fully investigated. Therefore, we examined whether RD attenuates obesity and adipose tissue inflammation in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed a chow diet, a HFD or a HFD with RD supplementation for 12 weeks. Body weight (BW), fasting blood glucose (FBG), epididymal fat accumulation, serum total triglyceride (TG), free fatty acid (FFA) and inflammatory cytokine levels (TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-10) were measured. Inflammation markers and macrophage infiltration in epididymal adipose tissue were observed. After 12 weeks of intervention, the body weight gain of mice in RD supplementation group was less than that in HFD group. FBG, epididymal fat accumulation, serum TG and FFA levels were reduced in RD supplementation group compared with HFD group. Moreover, serum and mRNA levels of IL-6 were significantly reduced in the RD supplementation group. In addition, RD supplementation reduced macrophage infiltration, regulated polarization of macrophage and inhibited NF-κB signaling in epididymal adipose tissue. In conclusion, RD reduces obesity and attenuates adipose tissue inflammation in HFD-fed mice, and the inhibition of NF-κB signaling may be a presumed mechanism for its effects.

Identification and Investigation of miRNAs From Gastrodia elata Blume and Their Potential Function.

Gastrodia elata Blume (G. elata) is a valuable traditional Chinese medicine with neuroprotection, anti-inflammatory, and immune regulatory functions. MicroRNAs (miRNA) is a kind of endogenous noncoding small RNAs that plays distinctly important roles for gene regulation of organisms. So far, the research on G. elata is mainly focused on the pharmacological functions of the natural chemical ingredients, and the function of G. elata miRNA remains unknown. In this study, 5,718 known miRNAs and 38 novel miRNAs were identified by high-throughput sequencing from G. elata. Based on GO and KEGG analysis, we found that the human genes possibly regulated by G. elata miRNAs were related to the cell cycle, immune regulation, intercellular communication, etc. Furthermore, two novel miRNAs as Gas-miR01 and Gas-miR02 have stable and high expression in the medicinal tissues of G. elata. Further bioinformatics prediction showed that both Gas-miR01 and Gas-miR02 could target Homo sapiens A20 gene, furthermore, the dual-luciferase reporter gene assay and Western Blotting verified the interaction of Gas-miR01 or Gas-miR02 with A20. These evidences suggested that G. elata-unique miRNAs might be involved in certain physiological processes. The animal experiment showed that Gas-miR01 and Gas-miR02 could be detected in some tissues of mice by intragastric administration; meanwhile, the A20 expression in some tissues of mice was downregulated. These results supported for the functional study of G. elata miRNAs.

Lycium barbarum polysaccharide improves the development of mouse oocytes vitrified at the germinal vesicle stage.

The cryopreservation of cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) is an important process in reproductive medicine. However, this process slows both embryo and offspring development. In this study, the effects of maturation medium supplementation with lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) on the developmental competence of vitrified-warmed mouse COCs and the possible mechanisms facilitating this process were investigated. The addition of LBP to the maturation medium improved the maturation rate and enhanced the developmental competence of vitrified-warmed mouse COCs. This may reduce endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), preventing cell death and activating both PI3K/AKT and MAPK3/1. In conclusion, cryopreservation lowers the maturation rate and developmental competence of COCs, which can be ameliorated by the application of LBP after warming during maturation.

Amitriptyline removal using palygorskite clay.

With the increased detections of commonly used pharmaceuticals in surface water and wastewater, extensive attentions were paid recently to the fate and transport of these pharmaceuticals in the environment. Amitriptyline (AMI) is a tricyclic antidepressant widely applied to treat patients with anxiety and depression. In this study, the removal of AMI with palygorskite clay (PFl-1) was investigated under different physico-chemical conditions and supplemented by instrumental analyses. The uptake of AMI on PFl-1 was well fitted by the Langmuir isotherm with an adsorption capacity of 0.168 mmol g(-1) at pH 6-7. The AMI uptake was fast and reached equilibrium in 15 min. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed no shift of the (110) peak position of palygorskite after AMI uptake. However, the (001) peak position of the minor component smectite (about 10%) shifted to lower angle as the amounts of AMI input increased. These results suggested surface uptake of AMI on palygorskite and interlayer uptake of AMI in smectite. As smectite is a common component of palygorskite clays, its role in assessing the properties and performances of palygorskite clays for the uptake and removal of contaminants should not be neglected. Overall, the high affinity of AMI for PFl-1 and strong retention of AMI on PFl-1 suggested that it could be a good adsorbent to remove AMI from wastewater. Palygorskite clays can also be a sink for many cationic pharmaceuticals in the environmental of the arid regions.

A comparative study of three tissue-cultured Dendrobium species and their wild correspondences by headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with chemometric methods.

Plant tissue culture technique is widely used in the conservation and utilization of rare and endangered medicinal plants and it is crucial for tissue culture stocks to obtain the ability to produce similar bioactive components as their wild correspondences. In this paper, a headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method combined with chemometric methods was applied to analyze and evaluate the volatile compounds in tissue-cultured and wild Dendrobium huoshanense Cheng and Tang, Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo and Dendrobium moniliforme (Linn.) Sw. In total, 63 volatile compounds were separated, with 53 being identified from the three Dendrobium spp. SAMPLES: Different provenances of Dendrobiums had characteristic chemicals and showed remarkable quantity discrepancy of common compositions. The similarity evaluation disclosed that the accumulation of volatile compounds in Dendrobium samples might be affected by their provenance. Principal component analysis showed that the first three components explained 85.9% of data variance, demonstrating a good discrimination between samples. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques, combined with chemometrics, might be an effective strategy for identifying the species and their provenance, especially in the assessment of tissue-cultured Dendrobium quality for use in raw herbal medicines.

Gambogic acid induces apoptosis by regulating the expression of Bax and Bcl-2 and enhancing caspase-3 activity in human malignant melanoma A375 cells.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of a Chinese traditional medicine, gambogic acid (GA), on human malignant melanoma (MM) A375 cells and to study the mechanism of apoptosis induced by GA. METHODS: A375 cells were treated with GA at different doses and for different times, and their proliferation and viability were detected by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Apoptosis induced by GA in A375 cells was observed by annexin-V/propidium iodide doubling staining flow cytometry assay and Hoechst staining. To further determine the molecular mechanism of apoptosis induced by GA, the changes in expression of Bcl-2 and Bax were detected by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot, and caspase-3 activity was measured by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) probe. RESULTS: After incubation with GA, A375 cell proliferation was dramatically inhibited in a dose-dependent manner. After these cells had been exposed to GA for 24, 36 and 48 h, the IC(50) values were 1.57 +/- 0.05, 1.31 +/- 0.20, and 1.12 +/- 0.19 microg/mL, respectively. Treatment of A375 cells with GA (2.5-7.5 microg/mL) for 36 h resulted in an increased number of early apoptotic cells, which ranged from 27.6% to 41.9%, in a dose-dependent manner, compared with only 3.5% apoptotic cells in the non-GA-treated group. An increase in Bax and decrease in Bcl-2 expression were found by real-time RT-PCR and Western blot. Caspase-3 activity was increased in a dose-dependent manner, observed by FRET probe. CONCLUSION: GA can inhibit the proliferation of A375 cells and induce their apoptosis, which may be related to the up-regulation of the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and caspase-3 activity.

Molecular cloning, mapping and characterization of a novel mouse RING finger gene, Mrf1.

With a combined approach of database search, heterologous polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse transcription-PCR, rapid amplification of complementary DNA ends and genomic library screening, we have successfully cloned a mouse RING finger gene, mouse RING finger 1 (Mrf1). The Mrf1 gene has two exons of 63 and 2665 bp, respectively, and one intron of over 13 kb. An open reading frame was identified exclusively in exon 2, which encodes a putative protein of the RING-B box-coiled coil or the tripartite motif type of 403 amino acids. Mrf1 is moderately expressed in the spleen, brain and heart as a single 3.0 kb product and very highly expressed in the testis as two transcripts of 3.0 and 1.5 kb, respectively. The Mrf1 gene was mapped to mouse chromosome 3, between markers D3Mit70 and D3Mit277. Western blotting analysis indicated that an expected protein of approximately 44 kD was detected in the brain extracts of mouse, rat and human. The possible functions of Mrf1 are discussed in the contexts of protein-protein interactions, oncogenesis and ubiquitination.