Synthetic Self-Adjuvanted Lipopeptide Vaccines Conferred Protection against Helicobacter pylori Infection.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) colonizes the stomach epithelium of half the world's population and is responsible for various digestive diseases and even stomach cancer. Vaccine-mediated protection against H. pylori infection depends primarily on the specific mucosal and T-cell responses. In this study, the synthetic lipopeptide vaccines, Hp4 (Pam2 Cys modified UreB T-cell epitope) and Hp10 (Pam2 Cys modified CagA T/B cell combined epitope), not only induce the bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) maturation by activating a variety of pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) such as Toll-like receptor (TLR), Nod-like receptor (NLR), and retinoic acid-inducing gene (RIG) I-like receptor (RLR), and but also stimulate BMDCs to secret cytokines that have the potential to modulate T-cell activation and differentiation. Although intranasal immunization with Hp4 or Hp10 elicits robust epitope-specific T-cell responses in mice, only Hp10 confers protection against H. pylori infection, possibly due to the fact that Hp10 also induces substantial specific sIgA response at mucosal sites. Interestingly, Hp4 elevates the protective response against H. pylori infection of Hp10 when administrated in combination, characterized by better protective effect and enhanced specific T-cell and mucosal antibody responses. The results suggest that synthetic lipopeptide vaccines based on the epitopes derived from the protective antigens are promising candidates for protection against H. pylori infection.

Preparation of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide­chromium (III) complex and its hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activities in high-fat and high-fructose diet-induced pre-diabetic mice.

Polysaccharide from Ganoderma lucidum is one of the best metal-ion chelating agents because of its structural characteristics and excellent functional activities. In this study, we synthesized and characterized a novel G. lucidum polysaccharide­chromium (III) [GLP-Cr(III)] complex. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the reaction conditions for the maximum chelation rate of GLP-Cr(III) complex. The optimal reaction conditions obtained from RSM were as follows: concentration of CrCl3 5.71 mg/mL, pH 6.36, temperature 66.4 °C and time 2.0 h, respectively. The pH was the most significant factor, followed by reaction temperature and CrCl3 concentration. Under the optimal conditions, the experimental chelation rate was 94.17 ±â€¯1.0% for GLP-Cr(III) complex, which agreed closely with the predicted value (94.60%). Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy revealed that the primary sites of chromium (III)-binding in G. lucidum polysaccharide were OH and CO groups, which induce the morphology change from flat sheet to rough surface. Meanwhile, according to the result of X-ray diffraction (XRD), the crystal degree of GLP was disappeared after chelation with Cr(III). The presence of a "blind zone" in the 1H NMR spectrum obviously indicated the binding of Cr(III) to GLP. Additionally, the effects of GLP-Cr(III) complex on hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in high fructose and fat diet-induced pre-diabetic mice were also investigated. Results showed that the serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), fasting blood glucose levels and glucose tolerance in mice supplemented with GLP-Cr(III) complex (50 mg/kg day) were significantly lower than the model group (P < 0.01). More importantly, the GLP-Cr(III) complex had no significant adverse effects on the physiological metabolism, organ index, and liver tissue morphology of mice fed a normal diet. These results suggest that GLP-Cr(III) complex could be used as potential functional food ingredients for the prevention or treatment of hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia.

Neuroprotective Natural Products for the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease by Targeting the Autophagy-Lysosome Pathway: A Systematic Review.

The autophagy-lysosome pathway (ALP) is a primary means by which damaged organelles and long-lived proteins are removed from cells and their components recycled. Impairment of the ALP has been found to be linked to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD), a chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of protein aggregates and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain. In recent years, some active compounds derived from plants have been found to regulate the ALP and to exert neuroprotective effects in experimental models of PD, raising the possibility that autophagy enhancement may be an effective therapeutic strategy in PD treatment. In this review, we summarize recent findings of natural products that enhance ALP and thereby protect against PD. Research articles were retrieved from PubMed using relevant keywords in combination. Papers related to the topic were identified, and then the reliability of the experiments was assessed in terms of methodology. The results suggest that targeting the ALP with natural products is a promising strategy for PD treatment. However, risk of bias exists in some studies due to the defective methodology. Rigorous experimental design following the guidelines of autophagy assays, molecular target identification and in vivo efficacy evaluation is critical for the development of ALP enhancers for PD treatment in future studies. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Neurogenic Traditional Chinese Medicine as a Promising Strategy for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease.

Hippocampal neurogenesis plays a critical role in the formation of new neurons during learning and memory development. Attenuation of neurogenesis in the brain is one of the primary causes of dementia in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and, conversely, modulating the process of hippocampal neurogenesis benefit patients with AD. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), particularly herbal medicine, has been in use for thousands of years in Asia and many regions of the world for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we summarize the role of neurotrophic factors, signal transducing factors, epigenetic modulators and neurotransmitters in neurogenesis, and we also discuss the functions of several Chinese herbs and their active molecules in activating multiple pathways involved in neurogenesis. TCM herbs target pathways such as Notch, Wnt, Sonic Hedgehog and receptor tyrosine kinase pathway, leading to activation of a signaling cascade that ultimately enhances the transcription of several important genes necessary for neurogenesis. Given these pathway activating effects, the use of TCM herbs could be an effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of AD.

Nail Selenium Level and Diabetes in Older People in Rural China.

This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the association between selenium levels and diabetes in an older population with life-long natural exposure to selenium in rural China. A total of 1856 subjects aged 65 years or older from four Chinese rural counties with different environmental selenium levels were evaluated. Analysis of covariance models and logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between nail selenium levels and serum glucose, serum insulin, insulin resistance [using the Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR)], and the risk of diabetes. The mean nail selenium level was 0.461 µg/g and the prevalence rate of diabetes was 8.3% in this population. The mean nail selenium level was significantly higher in the group with diabetes than in the group without diabetes (P<0.0001). The adjusted odds ratios for diabetes were 2.65 (95% CI: 1.48 to 4.73), 2.47 (95% CI: 1.37 to 4.45), and 3.30 (95% CI: 1.85 to 5.88) from the second selenium quartile to the fourth quartile, respectively, compared with the first quartile group. The mean serum glucose and HOMA-IR in the higher selenium quartile groups were significantly higher than those of the lowest quartile group. However, no significant differences in insulin were observed among the four quartile groups. A long-term, higher level of exposure to selenium may be associated with a higher risk of diabetes. Future studies are needed to elucidate the association between selenium and insulin resistance.

Chinese medicines in the treatment of experimental diabetic nephropathy.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a severe micro vascular complication accompanying diabetes mellitus that affects millions of people worldwide. End-stage renal disease occurs in nearly half of all DN patients, resulting in large medical costs and lost productivity. The course of DN progression is complicated, and effective and safe therapeutic strategies are desired. While the complex nature of DN renders medicines with a single therapeutic target less efficacious, Chinese medicine, with its holistic view targeting the whole system of the patient, has exhibited efficacy for DN management. This review aims to describe the experimental evidence for Chinese medicines in DN management, with an emphasis on the underlying mechanisms, and to discuss the combined use of herbs and drugs in DN treatment.

Intestinal absorption and bioavailability of traditional Chinese medicines: a review of recent experimental progress and implication for quality control.

OBJECTIVES: Experimental studies on the pharmacokinetics of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have achieved great progress in recent years. This review aims to summarize the progress made on intestinal absorption and bioavailability of TCMs, and proposes the application of intestinal absorption assays as new tools for the quality and safety control of these medicines. KEY FINDINGS: Since only the absorbed constituents may produce possible therapeutic effect (except those that directly target the digestive tract), intestinal absorption is of utmost importance for the drug action of TCMs, which are usually taken orally. Meanwhile, complicated drug interactions may occur among the multiple ingredients in a herbal mixture. In this regard, the intestinal permeability assays not only provide useful pharmacokinetic data of TCMs, but have potential applications for quality and safety control. Moreover, knockout animals, 2/4/A1 in-vitro cell model and physiologically-based in-silico models based on the online TCM database can be quite useful for the prediction of absorption and bioavailability of TCMs. SUMMARY: A variety of in-vivo, in-vitro, in-situ and in-silico models for predicting the intestinal absorption and bioavailability can be applied to study the herbal interactions and screen appropriate biomarkers for the quality and safety control of TCMs.

[Analysis the chemical constituents of volatile oils in Medinilla arboricola by SPME-GC-MS].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the chemical constituents of the volatile oils in Medinilla arboricala. METHODS: The chemical constituents was extracted from Medinilla arboricola by SPME. The components of chemical constituents of volatile oil separated and identified by GC-MS. The relative content of each component was determined by area normalization. RESULTS: 60 kinds of components were separated and identified, accounting about 100% of the total chemical constituents. CONCLUSION: The main chemical constituents of Medinilla arboricola are D-Limonene (9.47%), [3R-(3à, 3aá,7á, 8aà]-octahydro-3,8, 8-trimethyl-6-methylene-1H-3a, 7-Metha noazulene (9.10%),3,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydro-4a, 8a-dimethyl-1 H-Naphthalen-2-one (6.15%), 1,4-Methano-1H-indene, octahydro-4-methyl-8-methylene-7-(1-methylethyl)-,[ 1S-(1à,3aá,4à,7à,7aá)] (5.58%), 1H-3a,7-Methanoazulene,2,3,4,7,8,8a-hexahydro-3,6,8,8-tetramethyl-[3R, (3à,3aá,7à,8aà)] (5.30%), 1H-3a,7-Methanoazulene,octahydro-3,8,8-trimethyl-6-methylene-[3R-(3à, 3aá,7á,8à)] (5.33%), Cyclohexene, 1-methyl-4-(5-methyl-1-methylene-4-hexenyl)-,(S)-(5.19%), Acetone (5.08%) etc.