Downregulation of miR-337-3p in hypoxia/reoxygenation neuroblastoma cells increases KCTD11 expression.

Neurodegeneration is linked to the progressive loss of neural function and is associated with several diseases. Hypoxia is a hallmark in many of these diseases, and several therapies have been developed to treat this disease, including gene expression therapies that should be tightly controlled to avoid side effects. Cells experiencing hypoxia undergo a series of physiological responses that are induced by the activation of various transcription factors. Modulation of microRNA (miRNA) expression to alter transcriptional regulation has been demonstrated to be beneficial in treating multiple diseases, and in this study, we therefore explored potential miRNA candidates that could influence hypoxia-induced nerve cell death. Our data suggest that in mouse neuroblasts Neuro-2a cells with hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R), miR-337-3p is downregulated to increase the expression of Potassium channel tetramerization domain containing 11 (KCTD11) and subsequently promote apoptosis. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that KCTD11 plays a role in the cellular response to hypoxia, and we also provide a possible regulatory mechanism by identifying the axis of miR-337-3p/KCTD11 as a promising candidate modulator of nerve cell survival after H/R exposure.

SP1, MYC, CTNNB1, CREB1, JUN genes as potential therapy targets for neuropathic pain of brain.

Neuropathic pain (NP) may cause serious brain diseases, but the genes associated with the metabolic pathway and transcript factors of NP remain unclear. This study is aimed to identify the therapy target genes for NP and to investigate the metabolic pathways and transcript factors associated with NP. The differentially expressed genes of three brain tissues (nucleus accumbens, periaqueductal gray, and prefrontal cortex) dealt with NP stimulation were analyzed. Besides, The Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery and Tfacts datasets were used in the analysis of the genes related to the metabolic pathway and transcript factors of the brain. Eight genes were found to coexpress in all three tissues. A functional enrichment analysis showed that the upregulated genes were mostly enriched in pathways as inflammatory response, calcium-mediated signaling, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, and extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction, whereas the downregulated genes were mostly enriched in pathways as phospholipid metabolic processes, positive regulation of protein kinase B signaling, and metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450. Finally, 135 and 98 transcript factors genes were upregulated and downregulated, among which SP1, MYC, CTNNB1, CREB1, JUN were identified as the most critical genes because the number of up- and downregulated gene ranked at the top. In conclusion, the pathways of immune response and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction were determined as the main metabolic pathways of NP affecting the brain, and SP1, MYC, CTNNB1, CREB1, JUN genes were recognized as the most enriched genes in this process, which may provide evidence for the diagnosis and treatment research of neuropathic pain.

The HO-1-expressing bone mesenchymal stem cells protects intestine from ischemia and reperfusion injury.

BACKGROUND: Bone mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSC) showed protective potential against intestinal ischemia. Oxygenase-1(HO-1) could alleviate oxidative stress. In the present study, we constructed HO-1-expressing BMSC and detected the effects of it on survival, intestinal injury and inflammation following intestinal ischemia and reperfusion injury (I/R). METHODS: In this experiment, eighty adult male mice were divided into Sham, I/R, I/R + BMSC, I/R + BMSC/HO-1 groups. Mice were anesthetized and intestinal I/R model were established by temporarily occluding the superior mesenteric artery for 60 min with a non-crushing clamp. Following ischemia, the clamp was removed and the intestines were allowed for reperfusion. Prior to abdominal closure, BMSC/ HO-1 (2 × 106 cells) or BMSC (2 × 106 cells) were injected into the peritoneum of I/R mice respectively. Mice were allowed to recover for 24 h and then survival rate, intestinal injury and inflammation were determined. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) was assayed by fluorescent probe. TNFα and IL-6 were assayed by ELISA. RESULTS: BMSC/HO-1 increased seven day survival rate, improved intestinal injury and down-regulated inflammation after intestinal I/R when compared with sole BMSC (p < 0.05 respectively). Multiple pro-inflammatory media were also decreased following application of BMSC/HO-1, when compared with sole BMSC (p < 0.05) respectively, suggesting that BMSC /HO-1 had a better protection to intestinal I/R than BMSC therapy. CONCLUSION: Administration of BMSC/HO-1 following intestinal I/R, significantly improved intestinal I/R by limiting intestinal damage and inflammation.

XIST accelerates neuropathic pain progression through regulation of miR-150 and ZEB1 in CCI rat models.

LncRNAs are reported to participate in neuropathic pain development. LncRNA X-inactive specific transcript (XIST) is involved in the progression of various cancers. However, the role of XIST in neuropathic pain remains unclear. In our present study, we established a chronic constriction injury (CCI) rat model and XIST was found to be greatly upregulated both in the spinal cord tissues and in the isolated microglias of CCI rats. Inhibition of XIST inhibited neuropathic pain behaviors including mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia. Moreover, decrease of XIST repressed neuroinflammation through inhibiting COX-2, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and IL-6 and in CCI rats. Previously, miR-150 has been reported to restrain neuropathic pain by targeting TLR5. Currently, miR-150 was predicted to be a microRNA target of XIST, which indicated a negative correlation between miR-150 and XIST. miR-150 was remarkably decreased in CCI rats and overexpression of miR-150 can significantly suppress neuroinflammation-related cytokines. Furthermore, ZEB1 was exhibited to be a direct target of miR-150 and we found it was overexpressed in CCI rats. Silencing ZEB1 was able to inhibit neuropathic pain in vivo and downreguation of XIST decreased ZEB1, which can be reversed by miR-150 inhibitors. Taken these together, we indicated that XIST can induce neuropathic pain development in CCI rats via upregulating ZEB1 by acting as a sponge of miR-150. It was revealed that XIST/miR-150/ZEB1 axis can be provided as a therapeutic target in neuropathic pain.

Inhibition of miR-200b/miR-429 contributes to neuropathic pain development through targeting zinc finger E box binding protein-1.

Many studies have reported that microRNAs participate in neuropathic pain development. Previously, miR-200b and miR-429 are reported to be involved in various diseases. In our current study, we focused on their roles in neuropathic pain and we found that miR-200b and miR-429 were significantly decreased in chronic constriction injury (CCI) rat spinal cords and isolated microglials. miR-200b and miR-429 overexpression were able to relieve neuropathic pain through modulating PWT and PWL in CCI rats. Meanwhile, we observed that both miR-200b and miR-429 upregulation could repress neuroinflammation via inhibiting inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α in CCI rats. By carry out bioinformatics technology, Zinc finger E box binding protein-1 (ZEB1) was predicted as target of miR-200b, and miR-429 and dual-luciferase reporter assays confirmed the correlation between them. ZEB1 has been reported to regulate a lot of diseases. Here, we found that ZEB1 was greatly increased in CCI rats and miR-200b and miR-429 overexpression markedly suppressed ZEB1 mRNA expression in rat microglial cells. In addition, knockdown of ZEB1 can reduce neuropathic pain development and co-transfection of LV-anti-miR-200b/miR-429 reversed this phenomenon in vivo. Taken these together, our results suggested that miR-200b/miR-429 can serve as an important regulator of neuropathic pain development by targeting ZEB1.

Clustering of disulfide-rich peptides provides scaffolds for hit discovery by phage display: application to interleukin-23.

BACKGROUND: Disulfide-rich peptides (DRPs) are found throughout nature. They are suitable scaffolds for drug development due to their small cores, whose disulfide bonds impart extraordinary chemical and biological stability. A challenge in developing a DRP therapeutic is to engineer binding to a specific target. This challenge can be overcome by (i) sampling the large sequence space of a given scaffold through a phage display library and by (ii) panning multiple libraries encoding structurally distinct scaffolds. Here, we implement a protocol for defining these diverse scaffolds, based on clustering structurally defined DRPs according to their conformational similarity. RESULTS: We developed and applied a hierarchical clustering protocol based on DRP structural similarity, followed by two post-processing steps, to classify 806 unique DRP structures into 81 clusters. The 20 most populated clusters comprised 85% of all DRPs. Representative scaffolds were selected from each of these clusters; the representatives were structurally distinct from one another, but similar to other DRPs in their respective clusters. To demonstrate the utility of the clusters, phage libraries were constructed for three of the representative scaffolds and panned against interleukin-23. One library produced a peptide that bound to this target with an IC50 of 3.3 µM. CONCLUSIONS: Most DRP clusters contained members that were diverse in sequence, host organism, and interacting proteins, indicating that cluster members were functionally diverse despite having similar structure. Only 20 peptide scaffolds accounted for most of the natural DRP structural diversity, providing suitable starting points for seeding phage display experiments. Through selection of the scaffold surface to vary in phage display, libraries can be designed that present sequence diversity in architecturally distinct, biologically relevant combinations of secondary structures. We supported this hypothesis with a proof-of-concept experiment in which three phage libraries were constructed and panned against the IL-23 target, resulting in a single-digit µM hit and suggesting that a collection of libraries based on the full set of 20 scaffolds increases the potential to identify efficiently peptide binders to a protein target in a drug discovery program.

[Study on difference of functional components content of different Rheum tanguticum variation type].

Rheum tanguticum from the same area was divided into 8 types of variation according to the plant morphology, content differences of free anthraquinones, combined anthraquinones, double anthrone were studied. The results showed that the functional components of different variation types were significantly different. The average content of free anthraquinone combined anthraquinone was 2.10-6.71 and 15.43-22.04 mg•g⁻¹, respectively. The average content of sennoside A plus sennoside B was 32.88-42.36 mg•g⁻¹. There were significant differences among the difference of 10 kinds of active components, except for sennoside B and physcion glycoside. Interred with the content and proportion of functional components, type B and type E might be potential special medicinal germplasm for diarrhea attack product, type G and type H might be a potential special medicinal germplasm for clearing heat and detoxifing, type C and type F might be potential special medicinal germplasm for activating blood circulation to dissipate blood stasis, type A and type D might be potential special medicinal germplasm with anastaltic funtion. The conclusion laid the foundation for the directional cultivation of fine varieties of special purpose of rhubarb.

[Resource situation investigation about Rheum tanguticum and its sustainable utilization analysis in main production area of China].

This study was conducted to investigate the wild and cultivated resource situation of Rheum tanguticum in main production area of China, estimate its reserves, and put forward the feasible approach for the sustainable utilization of R. tanguticum. On the basis of the literature data about R. tanguticum, conbined with interview, investigation and sampling investigation, the total reserve of resources is estimated using the route-quadrat method and the vegetation and soil-type map area method proposed by our research group. The results indicate that there is no obvious change between the present distribution ranges of the wild R. tanguticum and its historical records, but its population density has changed clearly. The reserve of the wild R. tanguticum has seriously declined in lots of place, even faced the exhaustion in some regions. According to the investigation, the resource reserve of the wild R. tanguticum is no more than 5 000 t, and the cultivated is about 1 607 t. The resource reserve of the wild R. tanguticum is nearly depleted, and this suggests that the wild R. tanguticum should be enrolled in the protection plant list, and the cultivated will become the main resource of Rhubarb in the future. So it is extremely neccessary to collect and protect the germplasm resource of R. tanguticum, establish the germplasm nursery and repository, and conduct breeding research on those bases.

[Pedigree Analysis of Hereditary Coagulation Factor XII Deficiency Caused by Compound Heterozygous Mutation p.Gly175Cys and p.Gly542Ser of F12 Gene].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical phenotype and gene mutation of a genetic coagulation factor XII (FXII) deficiency pedigree and explore the molecular pathogenesis. METHODS: The activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and FXII activity (FXII:C) were detected by clotting method. The FXII antigen (FXII:Ag) was tested with ELISA. All exons and flanks of F12 gene were determined by Sanger sequencing. ClustalX-2.1-win, PROVEAN and Swiss-Pdb Viewer software were used to analyze the conservatism of amino acids at the mutant site, forecast whether the mutant amino acids were harmful and confirm the influence of the mutation on protein structure. RESULTS: The APTT of the proband prolonged to 71.3 s. The FXII:C and FXII:Ag were decreased to 5% and 6%, respectively. There were two heterozygous missense mutations c.580G>T and c.1681G>A detected in exon 7 and exon 14 of F12 gene, resulting in p.Gly175Cys and p.Gly542Ser, severally. Proband's father carried the p.Gly175Cys heterozygous mutation, while mother, brother and daughter had the p.Gly542Ser heterozygous mutation. Software analysis showed that both Gly175 and Gly542 were conserved, the two mutations were harmful and when mutations had occurred, the corresponding sites affected the protein local structure. CONCLUSION: The p.Gly175Cys and p.Gly542Ser compound heterozygous mutations are the molecular pathogenesis of the hereditary coagulation FXII deficiency pedigree. The p.Gly175Cys mutation has been detected for the first time in the world.

[Association between ESR1 gene polymorphisms and haplotypes with schizophrenia].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes of estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) gene with schizophrenia. METHODS: Three SNPs (rs2234693, rs9340799 and rs3798759) were determined in 333 schizophrenic patients and 315 healthy subjects with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Allelic and genotypic frequencies and particular haplotypes were compared between the two groups using Chi-square test. RESULTS: The allelic and genotypic frequencies of rs2234693 and rs9340799 showed no significant difference between the two groups (P U+003E 0.05). However, a significant difference was detected in the frequencies of rs3798759 G allele and GG genotype between the two groups (P U+003C 0.01). Single factor analysis stratified by sex also found that frequencies of rs3798759 GG and TG genotypes and G allele were significantly higher in female schizophrenia patients compared with healthy females (P U+003C 0.05). Haplotypes C-A-G and C-G-G were more common in schizophrenia group (P U+003C 0.05). CONCLUSION: polymorphisms of rs3798759 may be a risk factor for female patients with schizophrenia, and haplotypes C-A-G and C-G-G may be risk factors for schizophrenia.

[Sequence analysis and identification of a chloroplast matK gene in Rhei Rhizoma from different botanical origins].

Rhei Rhizoma is a Chinese medicine with multiple botanical origins. There is a problem to identify it with conventional methods. To compare the characteristics of chloroplast matK gene sequences of different Rheum species and authenticate inspected species, the matK gene sequences of different species from different origins were amplified, cloned, and sequenced. Genomic DNA of Rheum plants was extracted using modified DNA extracted Kit and matK gene sequences were analyzed by ContingExpress, DNAman and MEGA5.0. The length of matK gene sequences of Rheum palmatum, R. tanguticum and R. officinale were 1 518 bp containing 57 variable loci. According to the mutation sites, R. palmatum, R. tanguticum and R. officinale were divided into different genotypes separately. Based on the established method according to the loci 587, 707, 838, we successfully identified the genuine Rheum species from its adulterants.

[Accurate identification of Psammosilene tunicoides and its confused species by systematic identification method].

OBJECTIVE: To develop an effective identification method for accurately discriminating Psammosilene tunicoides and its confused species by the combined method of microscopic identification and molecular identification, so-called systematic identification of Chinese materia medica (SICMM). METHOD: P. tunicoides and its confused species were accurately discriminated by SICMM method, which was established by comprehensively use of microscopic identification and DNA identification method. The DNA identification included the following analysis: the BLAST alignment, specific bases and N-J phylogenetic tree analysis. RESULT: The cluster crystals were not observed in P. tunicoides, but great deals of them were found in Silene viscidula. Further more, big differences of ITS sequence were observed and analyzed between P. tunicoides and its confused specie of S. viscidula. CONCLUSION: The system method is a scientific and accurate method for the identification of P. tunicoides and its counterfeit species.

[A study on paternity testing with 96 autosomal SNPs].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of applying autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on parentage testing. METHODS: All SNP genotyping results of HapMap (r27) were downloaded from the website. With self-made computer programs, SNPs were extracted when their minor allele frequency (MAF) were ≥ 0.30 among all of the 11 HapMap populations. Ninety-six SNPs were chosen and integrated into the Illumina Goldengate bead arrays on the condition that no linkage disequilibrium was found between them. Three father-child-mother trios (9 samples in total) were tested with the arrays. Cumulative paternity index (CPI) was then calculated and compared with genotyping results using 15 short tandem repeats (STRs)(Identifiler(TM)). RESULTS: Family 1 was found to have nine SNPs or seven STRs that did not conform to the Mendelian laws, Family 2 had 13 such SNPs or seven STRs, and Family 3 only had one such SNP but no STR. For Family 3, when all of the 96 SNPs were used in combine, the CPI was 1207, which had contrasted with the CPI by the 15 STRs, i.e., 355 869. CONCLUSION: When applied to paternity testing, the paternity exclusion (PE) value for a SNP is usually less than 1/3 of that of a STR. The proportion of SNPs not comforming to the Mendelian laws for the tested SNPs may not be as high as that of inconsistent STRs over all tested STRs. Because of the low mutation rate of a SNP, the CPI will be greatly reduced even if one SNP did not conform to the Mendelian laws. Therefore, highly accurate testing methods are required to reduce artificial errors when applying SNPs for paternity testing.

[Mechanism of genuineness of liquorice Glycyrrhiza uralensis based on CNVs of HMGR, SQS1 and beta-AS gene].

This study is to reveal the correlation between CNVs of HMGR, SQS1, beta-AS gene and genuineness of liquorice. Real-time PCR was used to detect the copy number of HMGR, SQS1, beta-AS gene of liquorice. According to the results, the range of the copy number variation of HMGR gene was between 1 and 3, the copy number of SQS1 gene was 1 or 2, and the copy number of beta-AS gene was only 1. On the basis of the copy number of HMGR, SQS1 and beta-AS gene, there were five groups, type A (2 + 1 + 1), type B (1 + 1 + 1), type C (3 + 2 + 1), type D (2 + 2 + 1) and type E (3 + 1 + 1). There were two types, type A and type B, in Hangjinqi of Inner Mongolia, and the ratio of A to B was 1:1.3. There were also two types, type A and type B, in Chifeng of Inner Mongolia, and the ratio of A to B was 3:1. There were four types, type A, type B, type C and type D, in Yanchi of Ningxia province, and the ratio of A to B was 1:5.1. There were three types, type A, type B and type E, in Minqin of Gansu province, and the ratio of A to B was 2:1. So CNVs mainly existed in the liquorice from Ningxia and Gansu provinces. While the genetic background of liquorice from Hangjinqi of Inner Mongolia was stabilized. The results of the experiment proved that the correlation between CNVs and origins was one of the reasons of genuineness of liquorice.

[DNA identification of Zijingpi's adulterant species Schisandra sphenanthera based on NCBI nucleotide database analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To provide basis for quality control of Zijingpi, DNA identification was used based on NCBI nucleotide database analysis. METHOD: Firstly, total DNA of Zijingpi was extracted. Secondly, the ITS sequence was amplified by PCR with universal primer of ITS and PCR products was directly sequenced after purification. Finally, ITS sequence similarity and phylogenetic tree were used for identification. RESULT: The ITS sequence information of the mainstream commercial drugs of Zijingpi was obtained. CONCLUSION: It is firstly reported that the mainstream commercial drugs of Zijingpi was the bark of Schisandra sphenanthera.

Porous Cr2O3 Architecture Assembled by Nano-Sized Cylinders/Ellipsoids for Enhanced Sensing to Trace H2S Gas.

How to achieve high sensing of Cr2O3-based sensors for harmful inorganic gases is still a challenge. To this end, Cr2O3 nanomaterials assembled from different building blocks were simply prepared by chromium salt immersion and air calcination with waste scallion roots as the biomass template. The hierarchical architecture calcined at 600 °C is constructed from nanocylinders and nanoellipsoids (named as Cr2O3-600), and also possesses multistage pore distribution for target gas accessibility. Interestingly, the synergism of two shapes of nanocrystals enables the Cr2O3-based sensor to realize highly sensitive detection of trace H2S gas. At 170 °C, Cr2O3-600 exhibits a high response of 42.8 to 100 ppm H2S gas, which is 3.45 times larger than that of Cr2O3-500 assembled from nanocylinders. Meanwhile, this sensor has a low detection limit of 1.0 ppb (S = 1.4), good selectivity, stability, and moisture resistance. These results show that the combination of nanosized cylinders/ellipsoids together with exposed (104) facet can effectively improve the sensing performance of the p-type Cr2O3 material. In addition, the Cr2O3-600 sensor shows satisfactory results for actual monitoring of the corruption process of fresh chicken.

RCS1, a substrate of APC/C, controls the metaphase to anaphase transition.

The anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) controls the onset of anaphase by targeting securin for destruction. We report here the identification and characterization of a substrate of APC/C, RCS1, as a mitotic regulator that controls the metaphase-to-anaphase transition. We showed that the levels of RCS1 fluctuate in the cell cycle, peaking in mitosis and dropping drastically as cells exit into G(1). Indeed, RCS1 is efficiently ubiquitinated by APC/C in vitro and degraded during mitotic exit in a Cdh1-dependent manner in vivo. APC/C recognizes a unique D-box at the N terminus of RCS1, as mutations of this D-box abolished ubiquitination in vitro and stabilized the mutant protein in vivo. RCS1 controls the timing of the anaphase onset, because the loss of RCS1 resulted in a faster progression from the metaphase to anaphase and accelerated degradation of securin and cyclin B. Biochemically, mitotic RCS1 associates with the NuRD chromatin-remodeling complex, and this RCS1 complex is likely involved in regulating gene expression or chromatin structure, which in turn may control anaphase onset. Our study uncovers a complex regulatory network for the metaphase-to-anaphase transition.

Haplotype analysis of CTLA4 gene and risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Anyang area of China.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To study the effect of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 gene haplotypes to susceptibility of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. METHODOLOGY: A gender- and age-matched case-control design was used in this study. PCR-RFLP method was used to detect the genotype of CTLA4 in 205 patients and 205 control individuals in the Anyang area. Furthermore, haplotypes were calculated by PHASE2.1 software. Finally, the conditional logistic regression analysis was carried out to analyze the relevance between the risk of ESCC and the genotypes or haplotypes of CTLA4 gene. RESULTS: The CTLA4 rs231775 and rs4553808 genotypes in patients with ESCC were significantly different from controls (p=0.004, p=0.023, respectively). The AG and AA genotypes of rs231775 were highly correlated with the risk of ESCC (Adjusted OR=2.280, 95%CI=1.433-3.629, p=0.001; Adjusted OR=2.192, 95%CI=1.229-3.911, p=0.008, respectively), and AG genotype of rs4553808 also increased the susceptibility of ESCC (Adjusted OR=1.848, 95%CI=1.220-2.800, p=0.004). Further study suggested that AAG haplotype may enhance the risk of ESCC (Adjusted OR=5.035, 95%CI=1.599-15.860, p=0.005), but GAA haplotype played a protective role (Adjusted OR=0.413, 95%CI=0.251-0.680, p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our research confirmed that CTLA4 genetic variation was related to ESCC in the Anyang area and GAA haplotype was the protective factor of ESCC.

[Effects of BiejiaYugan Granule on TGF-ß1/Smads pathway in rats with hepatic fibrosis caused by compound factors].

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effects of Biejia Yugan Granule on hepatic fibrosis caused by compound factors in rats and its effect on TGF-ß1/Smads signaling pathway. Methods: SD rats were randomly divided into blank control group, model control group, colchicine group, Biejia Yugan Granule low, medium and high dose (1.85, 3.70, 7.40 g/kg) groups (n= 8 in each group). The rat model of hepatic fibrosis was established by treating with 5% alcohol 15 ml/kg (ig) everyday and injecting with 40% carbon tetrachloride (sc) twice a week for 42 days. The effects of Biejia Yugan Granule on liver function, liver index and water content, serum hepatic fibrosis related indicators, key proteins and gene expression of TGF-ß1/Smads signaling pathway in rats were observed. Results: Biejia Yugan Granule at the doses of 1.85, 3.70 and 7.40 g/kg could decrease the serum levels of ALT, AST, ALP and HA, PCⅢ, C-Ⅳ, LN significantly, reduce the water content of liver tissue leads to the decrease of liver index, regulate the liver tissue TGF-ß1, Smad3 mRNA and Smad7 mRNA expressions. Conclusion: Biejia Yugan Granule has obvious effects of reducing enzyme and protecting liver and inhibiting hepatic fibrosis, and inhibiting TGF-ß1/Smads signaling pathway is one of its mechanisms of anti-hepatic fibrosis.

Bioactive Diarylheptanoids from Alpinia coriandriodora.

Eight new diarylheptanoids, coriandralpinins A-H (1-8), were isolated from the rhizomes of Alpinia coriandriodora, an edible plant of the ginger family. Their structures, including the absolute configurations, were established by extensive spectroscopic analysis and ECD calculations. Compounds 1-8 have a 1,5-O-bridged diarylheptanoid structure featuring polyoxygenated aryl units. When evaluated for intracellular antioxidant activity using t-BHP stressed RAW264.7 macrophages, all these compounds scavenged reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a concentration-dependent manner. Compounds 3 and 5 also showed inhibitory activity against NO release in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Six known flavonols, 7,4'-di-O-methylkaempferol, 7-O-methylquercetin, 7,4'-di-O-methylquercetin, 7,3',4'-tri-O- methylquercetin, kaempferol 3-O-ß-D-(6-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)glucopyranoside, and 3-O-ß-D-glucopyranuronosylquercetin were also isolated and characterized from the rhizomes.