Limonitum Ameliorates Castor Oil-Induced Diarrhoea in Mice by Modulating Gut Microbiota.

Diarrhoea is a common clinical condition; its pathogenesis is strongly associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis. Limonitum is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine that exerts appreciable benefits regarding the amelioration of diarrhoea. However, the mechanism through which Limonitum ameliorates diarrhoea remains unclear. Here, the efficacy and underlying mechanism of Limonitum decoction (LD) regarding diarrhoea were explored from the aspect of gut microbiota. Castor oil (CO) was used to induce diarrhoea in mice, which were then used to evaluate the effects of LD regarding the timing of the first defecation, diarrhoea stool rate, degree of diarrhoea, diarrhoea score, intestinal propulsive rate, and weight of intestinal contents. The concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), including acetic, propionic, isobutyric, butyric and valeric acids, were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology was applied to evaluate changes in the gut microbiota under exposure to LD. LD was found to effectively ameliorate the symptoms of diarrhoea, and the diversity and relative abundance of gut microbiota were restored to normal levels following LD treatment. Additionally, LD significantly restored the observed reductions in SCFAs. These results provide strong evidence that LD can sufficiently ameliorate diarrhoea in mice by regulating their gut microbiota. The findings presented here highlight that Limonitum may constitute a prospective remedy for diarrhoea.

Asiatic Acid Induces Mitochondrial Apoptosis via Inhibition of JAK2/STAT3 Signalling Pathway in Human Osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma (OS), a severe malignant bone tumour, usually occurs in adolescents and children and has a poor prognosis. Asiatic acid (AA), an active component isolated from Centella asiatica (L.) Urb., exhibits appreciable anti-oxidant and anti-tumour activities. So far, the effects and underlying mechanisms of AA against OS have not been clarified. Here, we explored the anti-tumour effects of AA against human OS and the involved mechanism mediating its actions. To evaluate effects of AA on the cell proliferation of human OS cells, cell viability and colony formation assays were performed. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate apoptosis in OS cells exposed to AA and mitochondrial membrane potential. Western blotting and RT-PCR were applied to determine expression of the relevant proteins and their mRNA levels. Our explorations showed that AA inhibits proliferation of human OS cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, and induces apoptosis of OS cells by the intrinsic (mitochondrial) pathway. Importantly, we found that inhibition of the AA-induced phosphorylation of JAK2/STAT3 signalling molecules and the decrease in MCL-1 contributed to the anti-tumour efficacy of AA. Collectively, our results suggest that AA could evoke mitochondrial- induced apoptosis in human OS cells by suppression of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway and MCL-1 expression. These results strongly demonstrate that AA could be a potential anti-tumour agent for OS treatment.

Cadmium allocation to grains in durum wheat exposed to low Cd concentrations in hydroponics.

This study aims to characterize the response of durum wheat to different concentrations of Cd found in agricultural soils. One French durum wheat cultivar (i.e. Sculptur) was exposed to low concentrations of Cd (5 nM or 100 nM) in hydroponics. After anthesis, the plants were fed with a solution enriched with the stable isotope 111Cd to trace the newly absorbed Cd. Plants were sampled at anthesis and grain maturity to assess how plant growth, Cd uptake and partitioning among organs, as well as Cd remobilization, differed between the two Cd exposure levels. Durum wheat did not show any visual symptoms of Cd toxicity, regardless of which Cd treatment was applied. However, post-anthesis durum wheat growth was 14% penalized at 100 nM due to the large transpiration-based accumulation of Cd in leaves at this stage. The allocation of Cd to the grains was not restricted but enhanced at 100 nM compared to 5 nM. Both the root-to-shoot Cd translocation and the fraction of aboveground Cd allocated to grains were higher in plants exposed to 100 nM. Cadmium was remobilized exclusively from roots and stems, and remobilized Cd contributed on average to 40-45% of the Cd accumulated in mature grains, regardless of which Cd treatment was applied. The relevance of these results to decreasing the concentration of Cd in durum wheat grains is discussed.

Serological survey of bovine herpesvirus type 1 infection in China.

To understand the nationwide seroprevalence of bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1) infection of cows in China, 1344 sera of dairy cows from 29 provinces and 765 sera from 6 herds in Hubei province were collected with stratified random sampling. Another 483 sera from imported cows were included. The serum antibody was tested by BoHV-1 gG ELISA. The results demonstrated that the overall nationwide seroprevalence was 35.8% (481/1344), while the prevalence for individual province ranged from 12.1% to 77.8%. Although each province had positive samples, the prevalence was clustered in areas based on the cow population size. In Hubei Province, the overall seroprevalence was 22.2% (170/765) while the prevalence for individual farms varied greatly from 0.0% to 41.5%. The sera from imported cows had a moderate prevalence of 21.7% (105/483).

IFN-gamma enhances paclitaxel-induced apoptosis that is modulated by activation of caspases 8 and 3 with a concomitant down regulation of the AKT survival pathway in cultured human keratinocytes.

The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular effects of paclitaxel and IFN-gamma on cultured human keratinocyte cells (HaCaT) assessing the induction of both the apoptotic pathway and cell survival signals. Cellular cytotoxicity assays were performed by MTT dye assay. Caspases 8, 3 and AKT (Ser473 and Thr308 residues) were assessed by Western blot analysis. Morphological characteristics were examined by Wright stain analysis. Paclitaxel reduced keratinocyte growth in a 3-day bioassay with an effective ED(50) of 6-600 ng/ml. A large variation in ED(50) can be attributed to the asynchronous population of cells. Paclitaxel treatment induced activation of the AKT survival pathway in a time-dependent manner. The down-regulation of AKT signal was preceded by the subsequent activation of caspases 8 and 3 leading to apoptosis. These results indicate that paclitaxel activates both the PI3-K/AKT cell survival pathway followed by induction of apoptotic signals in cultured human keratinocytes. The induction of apoptosis in paclitaxel-treated cells is enhanced by coadministration of IFN-gamma. The synergistic effect of these two agents on HaCaT cells relies on a pathway involving caspases 8 and 3, with activity increasing by 48 h. Collectively, our data indicate that i) paclitaxel-induced apoptosis is enhanced by IFN-gamma; ii) the down-regulation of PI3-K/AKT survival pathway may help potentiate the apoptotic effects of paclitaxel and iii) the apoptotic signaling pathways are initiated with the activation of caspases 8 and 3 activities.