Isolation, characterisation and complement fixation activity of acidic polysaccharides from Argemone mexicana used as antimalarials in Mali.

CONTEXT: Global studies on Argemone mexicana L. (Papaveraceae) traditionally used against malaria in Mali are limited to its low-mass compounds activities, and little information on its bioactive polysaccharides is available. OBJECTIVE: This study determines the structure and the immunomodulatory activity of polysaccharides from aerial parts of A. mexicana. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Acidic polysaccharides from this plant material named HMAmA1 and HMAmA2 were isolated from water extracts. Their monosaccharide composition was determined by gas chromatography. Glycosidic linkages were determined using GC-MS. NMR was also applied. The polymers were tested for effects on the human complement system in vitro at different doses. RESULTS: The monosaccharide composition showed that the two polysaccharides contained in different amounts the following monomers: arabinose, rhamnose, galactose, and galacturonic acid. Overall structural analysis showed the presence of a low ratio of 1,2-linked rhamnose compared to 1,4-linked galacturonic acid with arabinogalactans substituted on position 4 of rhamnose. NMR data showed the presence of galacturonans alternated by rhamnogalacturonans bearing arabinose and galactose units. α-Linkages were found for l-arabinose, l-rhamnose and d-galacturonic acid, while ß-linkages were found for d-galactose. The two polysaccharides exhibited strong complement fixation activities, with HMAmA1 being the highest potent fraction. ICH50 value of HMAmA1 was 5 µg/mL, compared to the control BPII being 15.9 µg/mL. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Polysaccharides form A. mexicana presented a complement fixation effect. The complement system is an important part of the immune defense, and compounds acting on the cascade are of interest. Therefore, these polymers may be useful as immunodulatory agents.

The construction of public sports service guarantee system in a healthy community in the background of public health / A construção de um sistema de garantia de serviço desportivo público em uma comunidade saudável no contexto da saúde pública / Construcción de un sistema de garantía de servicios deportivos públicos en comunidades urbanas saludables en el contexto de la salud pública

ABSTRACT Community sports are a very important part of urban public service. It directly affects the quality of life of residents and plays an important role in improving the health level of the masses. However, there are still many problems in the current public sports service system, which hinders the provision of public health. In order to ensure the effectiveness of the indicators of community sports service guarantee system, this study uses the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to construct the community public sports service guarantee system, and verifies the effectiveness of the system constructed by this method through an example application. The results show that the weight of each index from large to small is service effectiveness > residents' demand > service capacity > service content; the weight of service effectiveness is 48.46%, which is an important indicator of service guarantee system. In addition, the effectiveness of the community sports service system was verified, and the CR value of the evaluation index system was greater than 0.1, which showed that the consistency of the evaluation index system met the requirements. The public sports service guarantee system constructed by the research institute has good applicability and high practical value. I hope that the research results can provide some reference for the improvement of grass-roots sports service construction, and provide some theoretical support for the construction of grass-roots service evaluation system.

RESUMO O desporto comunitário é uma parte muito importante do serviço público urbano. Afeta diretamente a qualidade de vida da população e desempenha um papel importante na melhoria do nível de saúde das massas. No entanto, ainda há muitos problemas no atual sistema de serviço público de desporto comunitário, o que dificulta a prestação da saúde pública. A fim de garantir a eficácia dos indicadores do sistema de garantia do serviço desportivo, este estudo utiliza o processo hierárquico analítico difuso para construir o sistema de garantia do serviço desportivo público e verifica a eficácia do sistema construído por este método através de uma aplicação dada como exemplo. Os resultados mostram que o peso de cada índice, de alto para baixo, é a eficácia do serviço > demanda da população > capacidade de serviço > conteúdo de serviço; o peso da eficácia do serviço é 48.46%, que é um importante indicador do sistema de garantia do serviço. Além disso, a eficácia do sistema de serviços desportivos foi verificada, e o valor CR do índice de avaliação do sistema foi superior a 0.1, o que mostrou que a consistência do sistema de índice de avaliação satisfazia os requisitos. O sistema público de garantia do serviço desportivo construído pelo instituto de pesquisa tem boa aplicabilidade e elevado valor prático. Espero que os resultados da investigação possam servir de referência para a melhoria da construção de serviços desportivos de base e proporcionar algum apoio teórico à construção de um sistema de avaliação de serviços de base.

RESUMEN Los deportes comunitarios son una parte muy importante del servicio público urbano. Afecta directamente la calidad de vida de los residentes y juega un papel importante en la mejora del nivel de salud de las masas. Sin embargo, todavía existen muchos problemas en el actual sistema público de servicios deportivos, lo que dificulta la prestación de servicios de salud pública. Con el fin de asegurar la efectividad de los indicadores del sistema de garantía del servicio deportivo comunitario, este estudio utiliza el proceso de jerarquía analítica difusa para construir el sistema de garantía del servicio público deportivo comunitario, y verifica la efectividad del sistema construido por este método a través de una aplicación de ejemplo. Los resultados muestran que el peso de cada índice, de mayor a menor, es la eficacia del servicio> la demanda de los residentes> la capacidad del servicio> el contenido del servicio; el peso de la efectividad del servicio es del 48,46%, lo que es un indicador importante del sistema de garantía del servicio. Además, se verificó la efectividad del sistema de servicios deportivos comunitarios y el valor de RC del sistema de índice de evaluación fue mayor a 0.1, lo que mostró que la consistencia del sistema de índice de evaluación cumplió con los requisitos. El sistema de garantía del servicio público de deportes construido por el instituto de investigación tiene una buena aplicabilidad y un alto valor práctico. Espero que los resultados de la investigación puedan proporcionar alguna referencia para la mejora de la construcción de servicios deportivos de base y proporcionar algún apoyo teórico para la construcción de un sistema de evaluación de servicios de base.

Programmed cell death 5 transgenic mice attenuates adjuvant induced arthritis by 2 modifying the T lymphocytes balance.

BACKGROUND: Programmed cell death 5 (PDCD5) is an apoptosis-related gene cloned from TF-1 cells whose primary biological functions are to promote apoptosis and immune regulation. The effects and mechanisms exerted by key mediators of arthritic inflammation remain unclear in PDCD5 transgenic (PDCD5 tg) mice. RESULTS: In the current study, PDCD5 tg mice inhibited the progression of adjuvant-induced arthritis, specifically decreasing clinical signs and histological damage, compared with arthritis control mice. Additionally, the ratio of CD4+IFN-γ+ cells (Th1) and CD4+IL-17A+ cells (Th17), as well as the mRNA expression of the pro-inflammatory mediators IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-17A and TNF-α, were decreased in PDCD5 tg mice, while CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells and the anti-inflammatory mediators IL-4 and IL-10 were increased. Furthermore, PDCD5 tg mice demonstrated reduced serum levels of IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-17A and TNF-α and increased levels of IL-4. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our data, PDCD5 exerts anti-inflammatory effects by modifying the T lymphocytes balance, inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory mediators and promoting the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines, validating PDCD5 protein as a possible treatment for RA.

Optimized Protocol of Methanol Treatment for Immunofluorescent Staining in Fixed Brain Slices.

We optimized methanol treatment in paraformaldehyde-fixed slices for immunofluorescent staining of ependymal basal bodies in brain ventricles. As 100% methanol induced severe deformations to the slices (including rolling and folding over), we tried to decrease methanol concentration. We found that 33.3% to 75% methanol could result in ideal immunostaining of basal bodies without inducing obvious deformations. Instead of treating slices at -20°C (without proper cryoprotection measurements) as suggested in previous studies, we carried out methanol treatment at room temperature. Our modified protocol can not only raise immunostaining efficiency in tissue slices, it may also prevent potential freezing damages to the samples.

Programmed cell death 5 transgenic mice attenuates adjuvant induced arthritis by 2 modifying the T lymphocytes balance

BACKGROUND: Programmed cell death 5 (PDCD5) is an apoptosis-related gene cloned from TF-1 cells whose primary biological functions are to promote apoptosis and immune regulation. The effects and mechanisms exerted by key mediators of arthritic inflammation remain unclear in PDCD5 transgenic (PDCD5 tg) mice. RESULTS: In the current study, PDCD5 tg mice inhibited the progression of adjuvant-induced arthritis, specifically decreasing clinical signs and histological damage, compared with arthritis control mice. Additionally, the ratio of CD4+IFN-γ+ cells (Th1) and CD4+IL-17A+ cells (Th17), as well as the mRNA expression of the pro-inflammatory mediators IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-17A and TNF-α, were decreased in PDCD5 tg mice, while CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells and the anti-inflammatory mediators IL-4 and IL-10 were increased. Furthermore, PDCD5 tg mice demonstrated reduced serum levels of IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-17A and TNF-α and increased levels of IL-4. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our data, PDCD5 exerts anti-inflammatory effects by modifying the T lymphocytes balance, inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory mediators and promoting the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines, validating PDCD5 protein as a possible treatment for RA.