Ursolic acid enhances mouse liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy.

CONTEXT: Ursolic acid is a pentacyclic triterpenoid which has hepatoprotective and antihepatotoxic activities. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether ursolic acid is able to stimulate liver regeneration in partially hepatectomized mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ursolic acid or the vehicle solution was orally administered to the experimental, sham-operated and vehicle-treated group mice for 7 days, positive control animal (mice) was treated with recombinant human hepatocyte growth factor (rhHGF), and then the 70% liver partial hepatectomy was performed. The liver mass recovery rate was estimated by measuring the ratios of mice liver weight to body weight. The liver cells undergoing DNA synthesis were identified by immunohistochemistry analysis using monoclonal anti-BrdU antibodies. The expression levels of cyclin D1, cyclin E and C/EBP proteins (C/EBPα and C/EBPß) were detected by the Western blotting technique. RESULTS: Our results showed administration of ursolic acid significantly increased the ratio of the liver to body weight and BrdU labeling index at 36 and 48 h after partial hepatectomy, and the potency of UA is similar to rhHGF treated positive control mice. In addition, ursolic acid treatment significantly increased cyclin D1, cyclin E and C/EBPß protein expression levels at 36 h after liver PHx compared with the vehicle-treated control mice. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: All these results suggest that ursolic acid stimulates liver proliferation after partial hepatectomy, and this effect may be associated with the stimulation of C/EBPß expression.

Applying Lean Six Sigma to Reduce the Incidence of Unplanned Surgery Cancellation at a Large Comprehensive Tertiary Hospital in China.

Unplanned surgery cancellation (USC) was an important quality management issue in the course of medical care for surgical patients, which caused inappropriate use of hospital resources and had negative impacts on quality and safety. This study used Lean Six Sigma to reduce the incidence of USC. Following the Lean Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) process, the main factors influencing the USC were identified, such as the time of informing patient admission, the time of submitting operation notice, and the management of test report follow-up. A series of measures were implemented including improving the health education content of virtual bed patients, standardizing the way of communication between the Admission Management Center and the patients, improving the timing of anesthesia evaluation, optimizing the process of operation notice with an information system, and implementing the regulations of virtual bed management. The incidence of USC reduced from 10.21% in Jan. 2016 to 3.8% in Dec. 2016, and the Z-score increased from 1.25 to 1.68, which improved patient safety and demonstrated that Lean Six Sigma was an effective method to solve cross-department issues in hospital.

Effects of higenamine and its 1-naphthyl analogs, YS-49 and YS-51, on platelet TXA2 synthesis and aggregation.

The effects of higenamine and its 1-naphthyl analogs, YS-49 and YS-51, on thromboxane A(2) (TXA(2)) formation from arachidonic acid (AA) and aggregation in platelets, were investigated. YS-49 and YS-51 (IC(50); 32.8 and 39.4 microM respectively) exhibited much stronger inhibitory effects on TXA(2) formation than higenamine (IC(50); 2.99 mM). The higher inhibitory potencies of YS-49 and YS-51 (IC(50): 3.3 and 5.7 microM respectively) than higenamine (IC(50): 140 microM) on AA induced rat platelet aggregation was presumed to be the result of low inhibitory effect of higenamine than YS-49 and YS-51 on TXA(2) production from AA. Among the present three compounds, the more hydrophobic naphthylmethyl groups were supposed to be more favorable than p-hydroxybenzyl moiety, at 1-position of the tetrahydroisoquinoline ring, to display the inhibitory effects on TXA(2) production and AA induced aggregation of platelets. In addition, higenamine, YS-49 and YS-51 were observed directly antagonistic on TXA(2) receptor (TP receptors) by displaying inhibitory effects to U46619 (TXA(2) mimetic) induced platelet aggregation, however all of the three compounds showed similar order of inhibitory potencies. The present results are suggestive that YS-49 and YS-51 exert their inhibitory effects on AA-induced platelet aggregation partly by inhibiting the production of TXA(2) from AA and partly by directly blocking the TP receptor, in addition to the previously reported effects on alpha(2)-adrenergic receptor. On the other hand, higenamine is supposed to antagonize AA-induced platelet aggregation by mostly directly blocking the TP receptor.

Phenolic and furan type compounds isolated from Gastrodia elata and their anti-platelet effects.

Nine phenolic (1-9) and two furan type (10, 11) compounds, were isolated from the methanolic extract of the tuber of Gastrodia elata Blume (Orchidaceae) in the course of continuing search for platelet anti-aggregating plant components. Compound 1 was identified as 4,4'-dihydroxybenzyl sulfone, a novel compound for the best of our knowledge. Compound 10, 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furancarboxaldehyde, was isolated for the first time from this plant. Compound 1 (IC50; 83 microM) was about four times more inhibitory to U46619 induced aggregation than ASA (IC50; 340 microM). Compound 9, 4,4'-dihydroxy-dibenzylether, (IC50; 5 microM, 3 microM and 33 microM, respectively) was 10-80 fold more potent than ASA (IC50; 420 microM, 53 microM and 340 microM respectively) to collagen, epinephrine and U46619 induced aggregation, although it is less active than ASA to AA induced aggregation.

Platelet anti-aggregatory effects of coumarins from the roots of Angelica genuflexa and A. gigas.

Five coumarins, isoimperatorin (1), pabulenol (2), isooxypeucedanin (3), oxypeucedanin hydrate (4) and osthol (5) were isolated from the MeOH extract of Angelica genuflexa in the course of searching for anti-platelet and anti-coagulant components from plants. Pabulenol (2) was isolated from A. genuflexa for the first time. The five compounds isolated from A. genuflexa, together with decursinol angelate (6), decursin (7) and nodakenin (8) from A. gigas were evaluated for their effects on platelet aggregation and blood coagulation. Compounds 2, 5, 6 and 7 were observed to be either equally effective or 2-4 times more inhibitory than ASA in both arachidonic acid and U46619 (TXA2 mimetic) induced platelet aggregations.

Anti-platelet pentacyclic triterpenoids from leaves of Campsis grandiflora.

Five pentacyclic triterpenoids, oleanolic acid (1), hederagenin (2), ursolic acid (3), tormentic acid (4) and myrianthic acid (5), were isolated from the methanol extract of the leaves of Campsis grandiflora, and structures of the compounds were established by the spectroscopic methods. Compounds 2, 3, 4, and 5 were isolated for the first time from the genus Campsis. All of the compounds (IC50: 45.3, 32.8, 82.6, 42.9 and 46.2 microM respectively) were as equivalently inhibitive as acetylsalicylic acid (IC50: 57.0 microM) on epinephrine induced platelet aggregation.

Anti-platelet aggregating and anti-oxidative activities of 11-O-(4'-O-methylgalloyl)-bergenin, a new compound isolated from Crassula cv. 'Himaturi'.

A new compound, 11- O-(4'- O-methylgalloyl)-bergenin was isolated from the MeOH extract of Crassula cv. 'Himaturi'. The structure of the compound was determined on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic data. It inhibited arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation more efficiently than acetylsalicylic acid and showed an anti-oxidative effect (EC (50) = 23.9 microM) equivalent to that of L-ascorbic acid or quercetin.

Two new non-glycosidic iridoids from the leaves of Campsis grandiflora.

Two new non-glycosidic iridoids, which were named cachinol (1) and 1-O-methyl cachinol (2), were isolated from the methanol extract of the leaves of Campsis grandiflora together with a known iridoid cachineside I (3). The structures of compounds 1 and 2 were determined on the basis of spectroscopic methods including two dimensional NMR and high resolution mass spectrometry. All of the isolated compounds showed mild inhibitory activities on rat platelet aggregation. Compounds 1 and 3 (IC50 : 246 and 219 microM, respectively) showed about 2-fold higher inhibitory effects than acetylsalicylic acid (ASA, IC50: 412 microM) on collagen-induced aggregation. Compounds 1 and 2 (IC50: 43.2 and 38.4 microM, respectively) were about 2-fold more inhibitory than ASA (IC50: 75.2 microM), and about 4-fold more effective than their glycoside 3 (IC50: 189 microM) on AA-induced aggregation.

Catsper3 and catsper4 encode two cation channel-like proteins exclusively expressed in the testis.

CATSPER1 and CATSPER2 are two cation channel-like proteins exclusively expressed in the testis and essential for normal sperm motility and male fertility. Using in silico subtraction and database mining, we identified expressed sequence tags encoding two previously uncharacterized cation channel-like proteins structurally homologous to CATSPER1 and CATSPER2. Similar to CATSPER1 and CATSPER2, these two proteins contain a single-ion transport domain comprised of six transmembrane spanning regions, in which the fourth transmembrane region resembles a voltage sensor and a pore-forming region lies between transmembrane regions 5 and 6. The pore contains the consensus sequence T x D x W, which is indicative of a potential calcium-selective channel. The mRNAs for Catsper3 and Catsper4 were detected exclusively in the testis using multitissue Northern blot and RT-PCR analyses. The onsets of both genes coincide with the first appearance of spermatids during testicular development. In situ hybridization analyses revealed that Catsper3 and Catsper4 mRNAs displayed identical localization patterns and were confined to spermatids of steps 1-8. Immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry analyses demonstrated that these two proteins were expressed within the acrosome of late spermatids and spermatozoa. Our data suggest that CATSPER3 and CATSPER4 are two cation-channel proteins and have roles in acrosome reaction and male fertility.

Platelet anti-aggregating triterpenoids from the leaves of Acanthopanax senticosus and the fruits of A. sessiliflorus.

Six triterpenoids, chiisanogenin, chiisanoside, ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, beta-sitosterol and daucosterol, were isolated as the platelet anti-aggregating components from the leaves of Acanthopanax senticosus and the fruits of A. sessiliflorus. Chiisanogenin showed about 50-fold higher potency than acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) on U46619-induced platelet aggregation (IC50o:6.21 microM) and 10-20-fold higher effects than ASA on epinephrine- and arachidonic acid (AA)-induced aggregation (IC50:2.50 and 4.81 microM, respectively).