[Regional characteristic analysis of alkaloids and chlorogenic acid in wild Phellodendri Amurensis Cortex].

In the present research, 674 wild medicinal material samples of Phellodendri amurensis Cortex were collected from 31 sampling sites in the whole distribution of its original plant Phellodendron amurense. The samples were collected under the premise that the stem diameter of sampling plant, sampling position and time were controlled. And the sampling sites were set at the interval of a latitude. The content of 6 kinds of active ingredients, palmatine chloride, berberine hydrochloride, phellodendrine chloride, jatrorrhizine hydrochloride, magnoflorine, chlorogenic acid, etc in the medicinal material samples were determined, and the results showed that the content of most active ingredients in the medicinal materials showed significant differences due to the difference of sampling sites. Among them, the medicinal materials from Liaoning region had the highest content of active ingredients, followed by Beijing and Jilin regions, and that from Heilongjiang region had the lowest content. The study has important directive significance to the exploration of environmental factors for the formation of active constituent and artificial planting regionalization of high quality Phellodendri amurensis Cortex.

[Evaluation for heavy metal pollution of soil and herb from main producing area of Phellodendron amurense in China].

In order to evaluate the heavy metal potential pollution of soil and medicinal materials in main producing area of Phellodendron amurense, we collected 32 soil samples and 32 herb samples from northeast and north of China covering four provinces. In this study, the detection of heavy metal contents was conducted by ICP emission spectroscopy and atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The results showed that the soil from all areas of Ph amurense generally reached the national standard. As, Hg, Cr, Cd, Pb and Cu content of herb samples met the requirtment of the national standard except Hg content exceeding standard slight in a few samples. The reason of excessive Hg was the ability of Hg accumulation in Ph. amurense and atmospheric environment was polluted. So, national standard and Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) must be carried out severely in Ph. amurense resources production.

[Correlation of methylation of CpG island in cystathionine beta synthase promoter and clinicopathological features in colorectal cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between methylation of cystathionine-beta-synthase (CBS) promoter and clinicopathological features in colorectal cancer. METHODS: Bisulfate sequencing PCR, real-time RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry were used to investigate the methylation of CpG island in CBS promoter of 95 sporadic colorectal cancers. Software SPSS PASW Statistics was used to analyze the data of the hypermethylation levels in the malignant tissues and the correlation with pathological parameters and clinical outcome. RESULTS: Methylation levels in tumor tissue of patients [(64.9 ± 14.3)%]with colorectal cancer were significantly higher than that in normal tissues[(27.5 ± 13.1)%, P < 0.001]. The CBS mRNA levels in the hypomethylation group (7.22 ± 1.91) were significantly higher than that in the hypermethylation group (2.78 ± 1.12, P < 0.01). Univariate analysis showed that age, pT stage, pN stage, liver metastases, pTNM stage, and CBS hypermethylation level significantly correlated with the survival and recurrence rates of colorectal cancer patients (All P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that CBS hypermethylation level and liver metastasis were independent factors significantly correlated with the recurrence rate and overall survival of the patients (All P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that methylation of CpG island in CBS promoter is correlated with the occurrence and progression of colorectal cancer and plays a role in its tumorigenesis. It might serve as a useful marker for early diagnosis, targeted therapy and prediction of prognosis in colorectal cancer.

Mesenchymal stem cells improve intestinal integrity during severe acute pancreatitis.

Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is an acute inflammatory disease of the pancreas that involves various distant tissues and organs. This study aimed to investigate post-tissue injury repair by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in a rat model of SAP. A total of 54 pathogen-free adult male SD rats were randomly assigned to the groups SAP, SAP + MSCs and sham-operated (SO). SAP was induced by 4% sodium taurocholate, and MSCs were injected via the dorsal penile vein 1 h later. The amylase activity, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and diamine oxidase (DAO) levels were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while the expression of aquaporin (AQP)-1 was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining. The pathological score of intestinal tissues was also compared among groups. Marked improvement in intestinal necrosis, villi shedding and infiltration of inflammatory cells was observed in the SAP + MSCs group compared to the SAP and SO groups. Amylase, TNF-α, and DAO levels were significantly increased in the SAP + MSCs group. The intestinal expression of AQP-1 was increased at 12 and 24 h post-MSC transplantation compared to the SO group. Rats of the SAP + MSCs group displayed higher pathological scores compared to the SAP group at all time points. Overall, these data showed that MSCs can inhibit systemic inflammation and reduce TNF-α release in a rat model of SAP-induced intestinal injury, suggesting that MSCs exert protective effects on the intestinal barrier during SAP.