Microspore-expressed SCULP1 is required for p-coumaroylation of sporopollenin, exine integrity, and pollen development in wheat.

Sporopollenin is one of the most structurally sophisticated and chemically recalcitrant biopolymers. In higher plants, sporopollenin is the dominant component of exine, the outer wall of pollen grains, and contains covalently linked phenolics that protect the male gametes from harsh environments. Although much has been learned about the biosynthesis of sporopollenin precursors in the tapetum, the nutritive cell layer surrounding developing microspores, little is known about how the biopolymer is assembled on the microspore surface. We identified SCULP1 (SKS clade universal in pollen) as a seed plant conserved clade of the multicopper oxidase family. We showed that SCULP1 in common wheat (Triticum aestivum) is specifically expressed in the microspore when sporopollenin assembly takes place, localized to the developing exine, and binds p-coumaric acid in vitro. Through genetic, biochemical, and 3D reconstruction analyses, we demonstrated that SCULP1 is required for p-coumaroylation of sporopollenin, exine integrity, and pollen viability. Moreover, we found that SCULP1 accumulation is compromised in thermosensitive genic male sterile wheat lines and its expression partially restored exine integrity and male fertility. These findings identified a key microspore protein in autonomous sporopollenin polymer assembly, thereby laying the foundation for elucidating and engineering sporopollenin biosynthesis.

Discovery and therapeutic implications of bioactive dihydroxylated phenolic acids in patients with severe heart disease and conditions associated with inflammation and hypoxia.

Our initial studies detected elevated levels of 3,4-dihydroxyphenyllactic acid (DHPLA) in urine samples of patients with severe heart disease when compared with healthy subjects. Given the reported anti-inflammatory properties of DHPLA and related dihydroxylated phenolic acids (DPAs), we embarked on an exploratory multi-centre investigation in patients with no urinary tract infections to establish the possible pathophysiological significance and therapeutic implications of these findings. Chinese and Caucasian patients being treated for severe heart disease or those conditions associated with inflammation (WBC ≥ 10 ×109/L or hsCRP ≥ 3.0 mg/L) and/or hypoxia (PaO2 ≤ 75 mmHg) were enrolled; their urine samples were analyzed by HPLC, HPLC-MS, GC-MS and biotransformation assays. DHPLA was detected in urine samples of patients, but undetectable in healthy volunteers. Dynamic monitoring of inpatients undergoing treatment showed their DHPLA levels declined in proportion to their clinical improvement. In DHPLA-positive patients' fecal samples, Proteus vulgaris and P. mirabilis were more abundant than healthy volunteers. In culture, these gut bacteria were capable of reversible interconversion between DOPA and DHPLA. Furthermore, porcine and rodent organs were able to metabolize DOPA to DHPLA and related phenolic acids. The elevated levels of DHPLA in these patients suggest bioactive DPAs are generated de novo as part of a human's defense mechanism against disease. Because DHPLA isolated from Radix Salvia miltiorrhizae has a multitude of pharmacological activities, these data underpin the scientific basis of this medicinal plant's ethnopharmacological applications as well as highlighting the therapeutic potential of endogenous, natural or synthetic DPAs and their derivatives in humans.

Highly efficient biosynthesis of spermidine from L-homoserine and putrescine using an engineered Escherichia coli with NADPH self-sufficient system.

Spermidine is an important polyamine that can be used for the synthesis of various bioactive compounds in the food and pharmaceutical fields. In this study, a novel efficient whole-cell biocatalytic method with an NADPH self-sufficient cycle for spermidine biosynthesis was designed and constructed by co-expressing homoserine dehydrogenase (HSD), carboxyspermidine dehydrogenase (CASDH), and carboxyspermidine decarboxylase (CASDC). First, the enzyme-substrate coupled cofactor regeneration system from co-expression of NADP+-dependent ScHSD and NADPH-dependent AfCASDH exactly provides an efficient method for cofactor cycling. Second, we identified and characterized a putative CASDC with high decarboxylase activity from Butyrivibrio crossotus DSM 2876; it showed an optimum temperature of 35 °C and an optimum pH of 7.0, which make it better suited for the designed synthetic route. Subsequently, the protein expression level of each enzyme was optimized through the variation of the gene copy number, and a whole-cell catalyst with high catalytic efficiency was constructed successfully. Finally, a yield of 28.6 mM of spermidine was produced in a 1-L scale of E. coli whole-cell catalytic system with a 95.3% molar conversion rate after optimization of temperature, the ratio of catalyst-to-substrate, and the amount of NADP+, and a productivity of 0.17 g·L-1·h-1 was achieved. In summary, this novel pathway of constructing a whole-cell catalytic system from L-homoserine and putrescine could provide a green alternative method for the efficient synthesis of spermidine. KEY POINTS: • A novel pathway for spermidine biosynthesis was developed in Escherichia coli. • The enzyme-substrate coupled system provides an NADPH self-sufficient cycle. • Spermidine with 28.6 mM was obtained using an optimized whole-cell system.

Characterization of a putative tropinone reductase from Tarenaya hassleriana with a broad substrate specificity.

A novel short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase from Tarenaya hassleriana labeled as putative tropinone reductase was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. Purified recombinant protein had molecular weight of approximately 30 kDa on 12% sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. T. hassleriana tropinone reductase-like enzyme (ThTRL) had not detected oxidative activity. The optimum pH for enzyme activity of ThTRL was weakly acidic (pH 5.0). 50°C was the optimum temperature for ThTRL. The highest catalytic efficiency and substrate affinity for recombinant ThTRL were observed with (+)-camphorquinone (kcat /Km  = 814.3 s-1  mM-1 , Km  = 44.25 µM). ThTRL exhibited a broad substrate specificity and reduced various carbonyl compounds, including small lipophilic aldehydes and ketones, terpene ketones, and their structural analogs.

Biosynthesis of phenylpyruvic acid from l-phenylalanine using chromosomally engineered Escherichia coli.

The efficiency of whole-cell biotransformation is often affected by the genetic instability of plasmid-based expression systems, which require selective pressure to maintain the stability of the plasmids. To circumvent this shortcoming, we constructed a chromosome engineering strain for the synthesis of phenylpyruvic acid (PPA) from l-phenylalanine. First, l-amino acid deaminase (pmLAAD) from Proteus myxofaciens was incorporated into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) chromosome and the copy numbers of pmLAAD were increased by chemically induced chromosomal evolution (CIChE). Fifty-nine copies of pmLAAD were obtained in E. coli BL8. The PPA titer of E. coli BL8 reached 2.22 g/L at 6 h. Furthermore, the deletion of lacI improved PPA production. In the absence of isopropyl-ß-d-thiogalactopyranoside, the resulting strain, E. coli BL8△recA△lacI, produced 2.65 g/L PPA at 6 h and yielded a 19.37% increase in PPA production compared to E. coli BL8△recA. Finally, the engineered E. coli BL8△recA△lacI strain achieved 19.14 g/L PPA at 24 h in a 5-L bioreactor.

Converting the 3-quinuclidinone reductase from Agrobacterium tumefaciens into the ethyl 4-chloroacetoacetate reductase by site-directed mutagenesis.

In this study, the 3-quinuclidinone reductase from Agrobacterium tumefaciens (AtQR) was modified by site-directed mutagenesis. And we further obtained a saturation mutant library in which the residue 197 was mutated. A single-point mutation converted the wild enzyme that originally had no catalytic activity in reduction of ethyl 4-chloroacetoacetate (COBE) into an enzyme with catalytic activity. The results of enzyme activity assays showed that the seven variants could asymmetrically reduce COBE to ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutyrate ((S)-CHBE) with NADH as coenzyme. In the library, the variant E197N showed higher catalytic efficiency than others. The E197N was optimally active at pH 6.0 and 40°C, and the catalytic efficiency (kcat /Km ) for COBE was 51.36 s-1 ·mM-1 . This study showed that the substrate specificity of AtQR could be changed through site-directed mutagenesis at the residue 197.

Overexpression and biochemical characterization of a carboxyspermidine dehydrogenase from Agrobacterium fabrum str. C58 and its application to carboxyspermidine production.

BACKGROUND: Carboxyspermidine (C-Spd) is a potentially valuable polyamine carboxylate compound and an excellent building block for spermidine synthesis, which is a critical polyamine with significant implications for human health and longevity. C-Spd can also be used to prepare multivalent cationic lipids and modify nucleoside probes. Because of these positive effects on human health, C-Spd is of considerable interest as a food additive and pharmaceutical target. RESULTS: A putative gene afcasdh from Agrobacterium fabrum str. C58, encoding carboxyspermidine dehydrogenase with C-Spd biosynthesis activity, was synthesized and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) for overexpression. The recombinant AfCASDH was purified and fully characterized. The optimum temperature and pH for the recombinant enzyme were 30 °C and 7.5, respectively. The coupled catalytic strategy of AfCASDH and various NADPH regeneration systems were developed to enhance the efficient production of C-Spd compound. Finally, the maximum titer of C-Spd production successfully achieved 1.82 mmol L-1 with a yield of 91% by optimizing the catalytic conditions. CONCLUSION: A novel AfCASDH from A. fabrum str. C58 was characterized that could catalyze the formation of C-Spd from putrescine and l-aspartate-ß-semialdehyde (L-Asa). A whole-cell catalytic strategy coupled with NADPH regeneration was established successfully for C-Spd biosynthesis for the first time. The coupled system indicated that AfCASDH might provide a feasible method for the industrial production of C-Spd. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Advanced strategy for metabolite exploration in filamentous fungi.

Filamentous fungi comprise an abundance of gene clusters that encode high-value metabolites, whereas affluent gene clusters remain silent during laboratory conditions. Complex cellular metabolism further limits these metabolite yields. Therefore, diverse strategies such as genetic engineering and chemical mutagenesis have been developed to activate these cryptic pathways and improve metabolite productivity. However, lower efficiencies of gene modifications and screen tools delayed the above processes. To address the above issues, this review describes an alternative design-construction evaluation optimization (DCEO) approach. The DCEO tool provides theoretical and practical principles to identify potential pathways, modify endogenous pathways, integrate exogenous pathways, and exploit novel pathways for their diverse metabolites and desirable productivities. This DCEO method also offers different tactics to balance the cellular metabolisms, facilitate the genetic engineering, and exploit the scalable metabolites in filamentous fungi.

Immunomodulatory role of recombinant human erythropoietin in acute kidney injury induced by crush syndrome via inhibition of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in macrophages.

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate whether recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) plays an immunomodulatory function by regulating the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.Materials and methods: C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally injected with rHuEPO and, half an hour later, with 50% glycerol at the dose of 7.5 ml/kg to induce crush syndrome (CS)-acute kidney injury (AKI). The levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, serum creatinine (Scr), and creatine kinase (CK) were measured. The kidney tissues were analyzed by HE staining, and macrophage infiltration was detected by immunohistochemistry. Double immunofluorescence staining, RT-qPCR, and western blotting were conducted to analyze TLR4/NF-κB p65 expression. Ferrous myoglobin was co-cultured with RAW264.7 cells to mimic crush injury and the production of proinflammatory cytokines. The expression levels of TLR4 and NF-κB p65 were measured.Results: In vivo study results revealed that rHuEPO ameliorated renal function, tissue damage, production of proinflammatory cytokines, and macrophage infiltration in the kidneys. The protein and mRNA expression levels of genes involved in the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in CS-induced AKI mice were upregulated (p < .05). Meanwhile, the expression levels of TLR4, NF-κB p65, and proinflammatory cytokines in RAW264.7 cells were downregulated in CS-AKI mice injected with rHuEPO (p < .05).Conclusions: Our results demonstrated the immunomodulatory capacity of rHuEPO and confirmed that rHuEPO exerts protective effects against CS-induced AKI by regulating the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in macrophages. Therefore, our findings highlight the therapeutic potential of rHuEPO in improving the prognosis of CS-AKI patients.

Excavating precursors from the traditional Chinese herb Polygala tenuifolia and Gastrodia elata: Synthesis, anticonvulsant activity evaluation of 3,4,5-trimethoxycinnamic acid (TMCA) ester derivatives.

Epilepsy is a group of neurological disorders characterized by recurrent seizures that disturbs about 60 million people worldwide. In this article, a novel series of 3,4,5-trimethoxycinnamic acid (TMCA) ester derivatives 1-35 were designed inspired from the traditional Chinese herb pair drugs Polygala tenuifolia and Gastrodia elata and synthesized followed by in vivo and in silico evaluation of their anticonvulsant potential. All the synthesized derivatives were biologically evaluated for their anticonvulsant potential using two acute model of seizures induced in mice, the maximal electroshock (MES) and sc-pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) models. Simultaneously, the motor impairment as a surrogate of acute neurotoxicity and in vitro screening of cytotoxicity against HepG-2 cells line were assessed through the rotarod performance test and CCK-8 assay, respectively. In addition, the physicochemical and pharmacokinetic parameters of the active compounds were determined. Our results showed that compounds 5, 7, 8, 13, 20, 25, 28, 30 and 32 exhibited preferable anticonvulsant activity in primary evaluation, with compounds 28 and 32 being the most promising anticonvulsant agents in according to results of subsequent pharmacology and toxicity evaluation. Additionally, the molecular modeling experiments predicted good binding interactions of part of the obtained active molecules with the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transferas. Therefore, it could be concluded that the synthesized derivatives 28 and 32 would represent useful lead compounds for further investigation in the development of anticonvulsant agents.

Biosynthesis of D-danshensu from L-DOPA using engineered Escherichia coli whole cells.

D-Danshensu (D-DSS), a traditional Chinese medicine, is used to treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. However, current isolation protocols for D-DSS both natural and synthetic are not ideal; therefore, in this study, we have developed a whole-cell biotransformation method to produce D-DSS from L-DOPA. This was done by co-expressing L-amino acid deaminase (aadL), D-lactate dehydrogenase (ldhD), and glucose dehydrogenase (gdh). To begin to optimize the production of D-DSS, varying copy number plasmids were used to express each of the required genes. The resulting strain, Escherichia coli ALG7, which strongly overexpressed aadL, ldhD, and weakly overexpressed gdh, yielded a 378% increase in D-DSS production compared to E. coli ALG1. Furthermore, the optimal reaction conditions for the production of D-DSS were found to be a pH of 7.5, temperature at 35 °C, and 50 g/L wet cells for 12 h. Under these optimized conditions, the D-DSS amount achieved 119.1 mM with an excellent ee (> 99.9%) and a productivity of 9.9 mM/h.

Redox self-sufficient biocatalyst system for conversion of 3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine into (R)- or (S)-3,4-Dihydroxyphenyllactic acid.

We developed an efficient multi-enzyme cascade reaction to produce (R)- or (S)-3,4-Dihydroxyphenyllactic acid [(R)- or (S)-Danshensu, (R)- or (S)-DSS] from 3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine (L-DOPA) in Escherichia coli by introducing tyrosine aminotransferase (tyrB), glutamate dehydrogenase (cdgdh) and D-aromatic lactate dehydrogenase (csldhD) or L-aromatic lactate dehydrogenase (tcldhL). First, the genes in the pathway were overexpressed and fine-tuned for (R)- or (S)-DSS production. The resulting strain, E. coli TGL 2.1 and E. coli TGL 2.2, which overexpressed tyrB with the stronger T7 promoter and cdgdh, csldhD or tcldhL with the weaker Trc promoter, E. coli TGL 2.1 yielded 57% increase in (R)-DSS production: 59.8 ± 2.9 mM. Meanwhile, E. coli TGL 2.2 yielded 54% increase in (S)-DSS production: 52.2 ± 2.4 mM. The optimal concentration of L-glutamate was found to be 20 mM for production of (R)- or (S)-DSS. Finally, L-DOPA were transformed into (R)- or (S)-DSS with an excellent enantiopure form (enantiomeric excess > 99.99%) and productivity of 6.61 mM/h and 4.48 mM/h, respectively.

Alcohol dehydrogenases from Proteus mirabilis contribute to alcoholic flavor.

BACKGROUND: Cheese ripening involves a complex series of metabolic reactions and numerous concomitant secondary transformations. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) converts aldehydes into their corresponding alcohols, which enrich cheese aroma. RESULTS: In this study, we identified five ADH genes in Proteus mirabilis JN458, and these genes were overexpressed and characterized in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The optimum pH was 7.0 for the purified recombinant ADH-1, ADH-2, and ADH-3 and 8.0 for ADH-4 and ADH-5. The optimum temperature was 40 °C for ADH-1, ADH-3, and ADH-5 and 45 °C for ADH-2 and ADH-4. The Km value of ADH-1, ADH-2, and ADH-3 was 34.45, 16.90, and 10.01 µmol L-1 for phenylacetaldehyde, respectively. The Km value of ADH-4 and ADH-5 was 14.81 and 24.62 µmol L-1 for 2-methylbutanal, respectively. CONCLUSION: Proteus species play important roles during cheese ripening. The results of our study are important for further research on cheese flavor and for quality control during cheese production. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

[Regulation of Chrysophanol-mediated TLR4/NF-κB Pathway on Renal Injury and Immune Response in IgA Nephropathy Rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the regulatory effect and its mechanism of chrysophanol (CP) on renal injury and immune response in immunoglobin A (IgA) nephropathy rats. METHODS: IgA nephropathy rat model was established by the method of lipopolysaccharide + bovine serum protein + carbon tetrachloride. Then the rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: control group, IgA group, IgA+low, medium and high dose of CP groups(2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg for each group respectively). IgA+CP groups were intraperitoneally injected with different doses of chrysophanol once a day for 4 weeks, and the control group and IgA group were given isovolumetric saline. Urine protein content, serum creatinine and urea nitrogen were detected at 24 h after the administration of drugs. Kidney histopathological damage and apoptosis were measured by HE and TUNEL staining. The expression levels of Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot; The contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and (glutathione peroxidase, Gpx) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of interleukin-1ß, -6 (IL-1ß, IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) in serum and kidney tissue were measured by ELISA and Western blot, respectively. The mRNA and protein expression levels of toll-like receptro 4 (TLR4), nuclear factor-κB P65 (NF-κB P65) were also detected by RT-PCR and Western blot, and vascular cell adherin molecule (VCAM-1) protein level was deteted by Western blot. RESULTS: In IgA nephropathy rats, the administration of CP reduced proteinuria, serum creatinine and urea nitrogen in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.01). It also improved the pathological damage of kidney tissue, reduced the apoptosis rate (P < 0.01), and decreased the mRNA and protein expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 (P < 0.01). CP inhibited MDA production while increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes Gpx and SOD (P < 0.01), and decreased the levels of serum and protein expression of IL-1ß, IL-6 and TNF-α (P < 0.01), as well as the expression levels of TLR4, NF-κB P65 and VCAM-1 (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Chrysophanol could play a protective role in IgA nephropathy rats, and its mechanism may be related to alleviating kidney injury and regulating immune response.

Correction: Sun, Y.; et al. Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Novel 2-Hydroxypyrrolobenzodiazepine-5,11-dione Analogues as Potent Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors. Molecules 2017, 22, 1739.

The author wishes to make the following corrections to this paper [...].

Expression, purification, and characterization of a membrane-bound D-amino acid dehydrogenase from Proteus mirabilis JN458.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize a novel membrane-bound D -amino acid dehydrogenase from Proteus mirabilis JN458 (PmDAD). RESULTS: The recombinant PmDAD protein, encoding a peptide of 434 amino acids with a MW of 47.7 kDa, exhibited broad substrate specificity with D -alanine the most preferred substrate. The K m and V max values for D -alanine were 9 mM and 20 µmol min-1 mg-1, respectively. Optimal activity was at pH 8 and 45 °C. Additionally, this PmDAD generated H2O2 and exhibited 68 and 60% similarity with E. coli K12 DAD and Pseudomonas aeruginosa DAD, respectively, with low degrees of sequence similarity with other bacterial DADs. CONCLUSIONS: D-Amino acid dehydrogenase from Proteus mirabilis JN458 was expressed and characterized for the first time, DAD was confirmed to be an alanine dehydrogenase.

Phytochemistry, Pharmacology and Traditional Uses of Plants from the Genus Trachelospermum L.

This paper is intended to review advances in the botanical, phytochemical, traditional uses and pharmacological studies of the genus Trachelospermum. Until now, 138 chemical constituents have been isolated and characterized from these plants, particularly from T. asiaticum and T. jasminoides. Among these compounds, lignans, triterpenoids, and flavonoids are the major bioactive constituents. Studies have shown that plants from the genus Trachelospermum exhibit an extensive range of pharmacological properties both in vivo and in vitro, including anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antitumor, antiviral and antibacterial activities. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) culture, drugs that include T. jasminoides stems have been used to cure rheumatism, gonarthritis, backache and pharyngitis, although there are few reports concerning the clinical use and toxicity of these plants. Further attention should be paid to gathering information about their toxicology data, quality-control measures, and the clinical value of the active compounds from genus Trachelospermum.

Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of Novel 2-Hydroxypyrrolobenzodiazepine-5,11-dione Analogues as Potent Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors.

Under the guidance of combination of traditional Chinese medicine chemistry (CTCMC), this study describes the preparation of a phenolic acid/dipeptide/borneol hybrid consisting of phenolic acid and a bornyl moiety connected to the dipeptide N-terminal and C-terminal respectively. It also evaluates their angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory and synergistic antihypertensive activities. Briefly, a series of novel 2-hydroxypyrrolobenzodiazepine-5,11-dione analogues were prepared and investigated for their ability to inhibit ACE. The influence of the phenolic acid and bornyl moiety on subsite selectivity is also demonstrated. Among all the new compounds, two compounds-7a and 7g-reveal good inhibition potency in in vitro ACE-inhibitory tests. Interestingly, favorable binding results in molecular docking studies also supported the in vitro results. Additionally, the bioassay showed that oral administration of the two compounds displayed high and long-lasting antihypertensive activity both in acute antihypertensive tests and in therapeutic antihypertensive tests by non-invasive blood pressure measurements in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Anticonvulsant Activity of Halogen-Substituted Cinnamic Acid Derivatives and Their Effects on Glycosylation of PTZ-Induced Chronic Epilepsy in Mice.

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder disease, and there is an urgent need for the development of novel anticonvulsant drugs. In this study, the anticonvulsant activities and neurotoxicity of 12 cinnamic acid derivatives substituted by fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and trifluoromethyl groups were screened by the maximal electroshock seizure (MES) and rotarod tests (Tox). Three of the tested compounds (compounds 3, 6 and 12) showed better anticonvulsant effects and lower neurotoxicity. They showed respective median effective dose (ED50) of 47.36, 75.72 and 70.65 mg/kg, and median toxic dose (TD50) of them was greater than 500 mg/kg, providing better protective indices. Meanwhile, they showed a pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) ED50 value of 245.2, >300 and 285.2 mg/kg in mice, respectively. Especially, the most active compound 3 displayed a prominent anticonvulsant profile and had lower toxicity. Therefore, the antiepileptic mechanism of 3 on glycosylation changes in chronic epilepsy in mice was further investigated by using glycomics techniques. Lectin microarrays results showed that epilepsy was closely related to abnormal glycosylation, and 3 could reverse the abnormal glycosylation in scPTZ-induced epilepsy in mice. This work can provide new ideas for future discovery of potential biomarkers for evaluation of antiepileptic drugs based on the precise alterations of glycopatterns in epilepsy.

[Chemical constituents, biological activities and quality control of plants from genus Pyrola].

Plants from the genus Pyrola are widely distributed in North Temperate zone. The quinones, phenol glycosides, terpenoids, flavonoids and volatile oil compounds have been identified from these plants. The in vivo and in vitro studies have shown that the genus Pyrola plants exhibit a wide range of pharmacological properties, including antioxidant, antitumor, antibacterial, anti-ischemia and anti-inflammatory activities. Based on analysis of the literature of the genus Pyrola plant, this review summarized the research on chemical constituents, pharmacology and quality control in recent years which can provide evidences for further investigation on the genus Pyrola plants.