Integrating transcriptome and chemical analyses to reveal the anti-Alzheimer's disease components in Verbena officinalis Linn.

Verbena officinalis Linn. is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, which has a long history of application and shows good effects on neuroprotection. Therefore, we consider that V. officinalis may be a potential drug for treating Alzheimer's disease (AD). First, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) pointed out that the main chemical components in V. officinalis were iridoid glycosides, phenylethanoid glycosides, and flavonoids. These compounds were used for molecular docking and the results showed that these compounds had good anti-AD activity. To explore the biosynthetic pathway of anti-AD components in V. officinalis, UPLC and ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry were used for contents determination and the result was leaf > stem > root. At the same time, 92,867 unigenes were annotated in V. officinalis transcriptome; 206, 229, 115 related unigenes were, respectively, annotated in iridoid glycoside, phenylethanoid glycoside, and flavonoid pathway, of which 61, 73, and 35 were differential expression genes. The components had relatively high expression in leaves, which was consistent with the quantitative results. In addition, the tissue distribution particularity of verbenalin may be related to the branching of pathways. Meanwhile transcription factors VoWRKY6 and VoWRKY7 may be involved in the regulation of iridoid glycoside biosynthesis. Further, VoWRKY3, VoWRKY9, and VoWRKY12 may be related to flavonoid biosynthesis. The above research is helpful to explore the biosynthetic pathway of anti-AD components and the regulation mechanism of active components and to further explore the anti-AD effect of V. officinalis.

Maxillofacial mass as the first presentation of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in a nine-year-old girl.

A nine-year-old girl complained of a maxillofacial mass and mild fever lower than 37.5 degrees C. A solid mass was detected in the right maxillary fossa by CT and sonographic examination, and the tumor extended backward into the infratemporal fossa without bony destruction. Laboratory studies showed a white blood cell (WBC) count of 31.6x10(9)/L, which increased progressively to 50.0x10(9)/L over the next several days. Peripheral blood smear revealed 92% lymphoblast with uneven bulk. A biopsy through the right labiogingival groove disclosed a submucosal homogeneous mass. Histologic examination under the microscope revealed atypical mononuclear cells with obvious atypia and nuclear divisions. Bone marrow puncture showed atypical lymphocytes with active proliferation. Immune phenotypic analysis by flow cytometry showed that malignant cells were positive for CD19, CD34, HLA-DR, CD38, CD22, CD58, CD45 and CD56. Real time RT-PCR revealed positive BCR/ABL arrangement. High-risk ALL was diagnosed and four stages of chemotherapies were given for nearly three years. After the induction of the chemotherapy, the facial mass disappeared. A bone marrow biopsy revealed that CR had been achieved since a month after chemotherapy's onset. The initial presentation of ALL as a maxillofacial mass is exceedingly rare. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of ALL presenting as a maxillofacial lesion.

[Study on core test characteristics of neuro-behavior in aircrew].

Objective. To analyze the characteristics of neuro-behavior in aircrew, interception personnel, and postgraduate students majored in command and to provide basis for the selection and training of aircrew members, as well as to serve as a methodology reference for the personnel selection in space flight. Method. 82 test subjects were divided into three groups and NCTB tests were conducted according to the neuro-behavior function core test of the World Health Organization (WHO). Then the results were analyzed and compared among the three groups. Result. Aircrew members were obviously better in neuro-behavior function with six indices superior to and three indices inferior to those majored in interception, while compared with the post graduates in command major, there are three superior indices and two inferior indices. Conclusion. The order of neuro-behavior function among the three groups is aircrew, postgraduates majored in command, and the students majored in interception. WHO NCTB is an ideal method in the neuro-behavior function selection.