Complete plastid genome sequence of the rare and endangered medicinal herb Psammosilene tunicoides, endemic to China.

Psammosilene tunicoides W.C. Wu et C.Y. Wu, a monotypic species and endemic to Southwest China, is a rare and endangered traditional medicinal herb with satisfactory effects on multifold pathology. In order to provide crucial data for protection, we reported and analyzed the complete plastid genome of P. tunicoides as the foundation of germplasm conservation. The complete plastid genome is a typical quadripartite circular molecule of 153,957 bp in length, including a large single copy (LSC) region of 83,972 bp and a small single copy (SSC) region of 17,495 bp separated by two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 26,245 bp. In total of 111 unique genes were predicted, including 78 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 29 transfer RNA genes, and four ribosomal RNA genes. The overall GC content of P. tunicoides is 36.5%. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that P. tunicoides and Dianthus caryophyllus formed an independent clade with a 100% bootstrap support.

Complete plastid genome sequence of Erigeron breviscapus (Asteraceae), an endemic traditional Chinese herbal medicine.

Erigeron breviscapus is an important traditional Chinese herb endemic to China for cardiovascular and cerebral vessel diseases. Here, the complete plastid genome of E. brevisapus was sequenced using Illumina sequencing technology. The complete chloroplast genome size is 152,183 bp, including a large single-copy region of 84,705 bp, a small single-copy region of 18,112 bp and a pair of inverted repeat regions of 24,683 bp. The total GC content is 37.2%. The genome contains 113 genes, including 80 protein-coding genes, 29 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that E. breviscapus, Aster altaicus, and Eschenbachia blinii formed a clade with 100% bootstrap support.

Oxymatrine protects against myocardial injury via inhibition of JAK2/STAT3 signaling in rat septic shock.

Oxymatrine (OMT), an alkaloid extracted from Sophora japonica (kushen), is used to treat inflammatory diseases and various types of cancer in traditional Chinese medicine. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the anti­inflammatory activity of OMT remain poorly understood. The present study explored the protective effect of OMT on myocardial injury in rats with septic shock by inhibiting the activation of the janus kinase­signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling pathway. OMT treatment was found to significantly inhibit the activation of JAK2 and STAT3 in myocardial tissue. It also attenuated the expression of pro­inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin­1ß and tumor necrosis factor­α. In addition, OMT exhibited anti­inflammatory properties as heart function and myocardial contractility was improved and pathological and ultrastructural injury was prevented in myocardial tissue induced by septic shock. The results indicate that OMT exhibits substantial therapeutic potential for the treatment of septic shock­induced myocardial injury through inhibition of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Vascular-targeted photothermal therapy of an orthotopic murine glioma model.

AIM: To develop nanoshells for vascular-targeted photothermal therapy of glioma. MATERIALS & METHODS: The ability of nanoshells conjugated to VEGF and/or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to thermally ablate VEGF receptor-2-positive endothelial cells upon near-infrared laser irradiation was evaluated in vitro. Subsequent in vivo studies evaluated therapy in mice bearing intracerebral glioma tumors by exposing tumors to near-infrared light after systemically delivering saline, PEG-coated nanoshells, or VEGF-coated nanoshells. The treatment effect was monitored with intravital microscopy and histology. RESULTS: VEGF-coated but not PEG-coated nanoshells bound VEGF receptor-2-positive cells in vitro to enable targeted photothermal ablation. In vivo, VEGF targeting doubled the proportion of nanoshells bound to tumor vessels and vasculature was disrupted following laser exposure. Vessels were not disrupted in mice that received saline. The normal brain was unharmed in all treatment and control mice. CONCLUSION: Nanoshell therapy can induce vascular disruption in glioma.

Nanoshell-mediated photothermal therapy improves survival in a murine glioma model.

We are developing a novel treatment for high-grade gliomas using near infrared-absorbing silica-gold nanoshells that are thermally activated upon exposure to a near infrared laser, thereby irreversibly damaging cancerous cells. The goal of this work was to determine the efficacy of nanoshell-mediated photothermal therapy in vivo in murine xenograft models. Tumors were induced in male IcrTac:ICR-Prkdc(SCID) mice by subcutaneous implantation of Firefly Luciferase-labeled U373 human glioma cells and biodistribution and survival studies were performed. To evaluate nanoparticle biodistribution, nanoshells were delivered intravenously to tumor-bearing mice and after 6, 24, or 48 h the tumor, liver, spleen, brain, muscle, and blood were assessed for gold content by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and histology. Nanoshell concentrations in the tumor increased for the first 24 h and stabilized thereafter. Treatment efficacy was evaluated by delivering saline or nanoshells intravenously and externally irradiating tumors with a near infrared laser 24 h post-injection. Success of treatment was assessed by monitoring tumor size, tumor luminescence, and survival time of the mice following laser irradiation. There was a significant improvement in survival for the nanoshell treatment group versus the control (P < 0.02) and 57% of the mice in the nanoshell treatment group remained tumor free at the end of the 90-day study period. By comparison, none of the mice in the control group survived beyond 24 days and mean survival was only 13.3 days. The results of these studies suggest that nanoshell-mediated photothermal therapy represents a promising novel treatment strategy for malignant glioma.