Tanshinone IIA and its derivative activate thermogenesis in adipocytes and induce "beiging" of white adipose tissue.

Tanshinone IIA (TAN2A) is a major active ingredient of Salvia miltiorrhiza used in traditional Chinese medicine and tanshinone 20 (TAN20) is a derivative of TAN2A. In this study, we examined the effects of TAN2A and TAN20 on adipogenesis, lipid metabolism, and thermogenesis. Our experiments showed that both TAN2A and TAN20 increased mitochondria content in adipose tissue, enhanced energy expenditure, reduced body weight, and improved insulin sensitivity and metabolic homeostasis in obese and diabetic mouse models. We demonstrated that TAN20 can facilitate the transformation from white to beige adipose tissue, as well as activate brown adipose tissue. In uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) knockout mouse model, the effects of TAN2A and TAN20 on body weight and glucose tolerance were not observed, suggesting that such effects were UCP1 dependent. Furthermore, we found that TAN2A and TAN20 increased the expression of UCP1 and other thermogenic genes in adipocytes through AMPK-PGC-1α signaling pathway. Our findings indicate that TAN2A and its derivative TAN20 are potential interesting energy expenditure regulators and may be implicated in treatment of obesity and other metabolic disorders.

Predictive value of clinical toxicities of chemotherapy with fluoropyrimidines and oxaliplatin in colorectal cancer by DPYD and GSTP1 gene polymorphisms.

BACKGROUND: Fluoropyrimidines and platinum are still widely used for colorectal cancer (CRC) management. Several studies have reported that mutations of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD) and glutathione S-transferase pi-1 (GSTP1) polymorphisms are related to chemotherapy-related adverse events. In the present study, we purposed to assess the impact of DPYD and GSTP1 variants on the toxicity of adjuvant chemotherapy risk among the Hakka population, minimize adverse events, and to maximize therapy outcome for individualized treatment. METHODS: Genotyping was examined in 104 patients diagnosed with CRC cases and receiving fluoropyrimidine and platinum drug-based chemotherapy regimen by direct sequencing of DPYD and GSTP1 polymorphisms. Three DPYD variants including *2A, *5A, *9A, and GSTP1 c.313A>G were analyzed and clinical outcomes were assessed. RESULTS: The data suggest that the incidence of DPYD*5A, DPYD*9A, and GSTP1 c.313A>G variants were 38.4%, 24%, and 32.7%, respectively. DPYD*2A variant was not found. A total of 23 patients (22.1%) suffered severe vomiting and 19 patients (18.3%) suffered severe anemia. DPYD*5A polymorphism was found significantly associated with grade 3/4 ulceration (p = 0.001). GSTP1 was determined to be an independent risk factor for severe vomiting and skin ulceration (p = 0.042 and p = 0.018, respectively). Patients with GSTP1 c. 313A>G mutant type contributed to a higher risk for grade severe toxicity compared with wild genotype (p = 0.027). Nevertheless, no significant difference was found between patients with DPYD*2A, *5A, and *9A for chemotherapeutic toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated that GSTP1 polymorphisms were useful predictors of severe events. Screening of single-nucleotide polymorphisms of GSTP1 in colorectal cancer patients before chemotherapy may help to realize personalized therapy.

[Determination of phosphate, pyrophosphate, metaphosphate and total phosphorus in seafoods by ion chromatography].

A method for the determination of phosphate, pyrophosphate, metaphosphate and total phosphorus in seafoods by ion chromatography (IC) was developed. The samples for the determination of phosphate, pyrophosphate, metaphosphate were extracted by 100 mmol/L NaOH solution at room temperature; the samples for the determination of total phosphorus were digested by incineration at high temperature; and then solid phase extraction (SPE) column was used to eliminate the interferences. The separation was carried out on an IonPac AS11-HC analytical column (250 mm x 4 mm) and an IonPac AG11-HC guard column (50 mm x 4 mm) using 30 - 80 mmol/L KOH gradient elution at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min at 35 degrees C, coupled with a suppressor-type conductivity detector. Under optimum conditions, the measurement could be completed within 20 min. The effects of pH value, organic solvent and coexisted ions were investigated. The linear range was 0.3 -60 mg/L, the detection limits were from 2.1 mg/kg to 2.3 mg/kg, and the relative standard deviations were from 1.6% to 2.6%. The method was applied to the determination of anions in fish and shrimps with the recoveries of 81.8% - 100.0%. The method offered high selectivity, sensitivity, and gave a satisfactory results for real sample analysis.