Poly(I:C)-induced maternal immune activation causes elevated self-grooming in male rat offspring: Involvement of abnormal postpartum static nursing in dam.

Introduction: Maternal immune activation (MIA) is closely related to the onset of autism-like behaviors in offspring, but the mechanism remains unclear. Maternal behaviors can influence offspring's development and behaviors, as indicated in both human and animal studies. We hypothesized that abnormal maternal behaviors in MIA dams might be other factors leading to delayed development and abnormal behaviors in offspring. Methods: To verify our hypothesis, we analyzed poly(I:C)-induced MIA dam's postpartum maternal behavior and serum levels of several hormones related to maternal behavior. Pup's developmental milestones and early social communication were recorded and evaluated in infancy. Other behavioral tests, including three-chamber test, self-grooming test, open field test, novel object recognition test, rotarod test and maximum grip test, were performed in adolescence of pups. Results: Our results showed that MIA dams exhibit abnormal static nursing behavior but normal basic care and dynamic nursing behavior. The serum levels of testosterone and arginine vasopressin in MIA dams were significantly reduced compared with control dams. The developmental milestones, including pinna detachment, incisor eruption and eye opening, were significantly delayed in MIA offspring compared with control offspring, while the weight and early social communication showed no significant differences between the two groups. Behavioral tests performed in adolescence showed that only male MIA offspring display elevated self-grooming behaviors and reduced maximum grip. Discussion: In conclusion, MIA dams display abnormal postpartum static nursing behavior concomitantly with reduced serum levels of testosterone and arginine vasopressin, possibly involving in the pathogenesis of delayed development and elevated self-grooming in male offspring. These findings hint that improving dam's postpartum maternal behavior might be a potential regime to counteract delayed development and elevated self-grooming in male MIA offspring.

[Advance on pharmacokinetics study of traditional Chinese medicine injections in recent ten years].

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) injections boast a definite efficacy and have been widely used in clinic. However, the problems in medication safety have been attracted increasing attention. Pharmacokinetics is of significance to guiding TCM injection administration regimen design and improving safety and effectiveness in clinical use. In recent years, with the improvement of ideas, technology and methods of TCM studies, the pharmacokinetic studies of TCM injections have been broadly performed, with a notable progress. This paper reviewed the advance in pharmacokinetics studies of TCM injections in recent ten years, which mainly focused on pre-clinical concentration-time course, distribution, metabolism and excretion in vivo based on analysis techniques, pharmacokinetic interactions of constitutes, impact of pathological state, pharmacokinetic interactions between TCM injection and chemical drugs, and clinical pharmacokinetics studies of TCM injections, in the expectation of providing reference for studies on quality control, product development and rational clinical use of TCM injections.

Association between serum bilirubin concentration and Parkinson's disease: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The antioxidant effects of bilirubin in Parkinson's disease (PD) have recently gained much attention from the research community. However, results from these studies have been conflicting. This meta-analysis is conducted to assess the relationship between the serum bilirubin concentration and the risk of PD. METHODS: Two reviewers performed a systematic literature search across five databases (MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials). The case-control studies regarding bilirubin levels in PD patients published up to April 2020 were included. These studies were subjected to rigorous scrutiny and data extraction to determine the standard mean difference (SMD) and the 95% confidence interval (CI), which were analyzed using the Stata V.12.0 statistical software. RESULTS: A total of eight studies which included 1463 PD cases and 1490 controls were incorporated into our meta-analysis. SMD analysis showed that there was a higher total bilirubin (TBIL) and direct bilirubin (DBIL) levels in PD patients compared with controls (for TBIL, SMD: 0.300, 95% CI: 0.050-0.549, P = 0.018; for DBIL, SMD: 0.395, 95% CI: 0.102-0.688, P = 0.008). However, no significant relationship was found between the serum indirect bilirubin and PD patients (SMD: -0.223, 95% CI: -0.952-0.505, P = 0.548). A subgroup analysis based on ethnicity indicated that the serum TBIL was higher in PD patients of Caucasian descent in contrast to matched healthy controls (SMD: 0.511, 95% CI: 0.324-0.698, P = 0.000, I2 = 58.0%). CONCLUSION: Higher serum bilirubin levels in PD patients suggest that bilirubin might play a role in the pathogenesis of PD and have the potential to be utilized as a biochemical marker for PD diagnosis and treatment.

[Extraction of flavonoids in Prunella vulgaris based on deep eutectic solvent method：application of new green solvent].

Flavonoids have attracted much attention due to their good anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation and anti-tumor effects. At present, the extraction of flavonoids is mainly based on organic solvent, while the researches on the use of green and safe solvents are quite limited. Therefore, in the present study, different types of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were applied to investigate their effect on extraction of flavonoids and optimize the process, also investigate the recovery efficiency of DESs and evaluate the recovery method for total flavonoids. The extraction yield of the total flavonoids acted as the comprehensive evaluation indexes, and a central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to further optimize the alcohol-based DES extraction conditions. The results showed that the optimized extraction conditions were as follows: water-DES ratio of 27%, solid-liquid ratio of 15 mL·g⁻¹, extraction temperature of 83 °C and extraction time of 42 min in ChCl-glycerol at 1:4 ratio. Under these conditions, the mean experimental value of the extraction yield (75.05 mg·g⁻¹) corresponded well with the predicted value (77.86 mg·g⁻¹). Moreover, these experimental results showed more advantages such as in higher efficiency, economy and environmental protection as compared with previously reported conventional extraction methods. In addition，the recovery yield of the total flavonoids from the DESs extraction solution achieved 97.88% by using AB-8 macroporous resin, and 88.12% desorption ratio can be achieved by 100% ethanol with 5 times resin content. After the above treated DESs were collected, the extraction yield with the same method reached 95.23%, indicating that the method of macroporous resin can be used for efficient and simple recovery and reuse. This study suggests that DESs can be used as a kind of sustainable and efficient natural extraction solvents for extraction of flavonoids from Prunella vulgaris.

Changes in the adhesion and migration ability of peripheral blood cells: potential biomarkers indicating exposure dose.

The expression of adhesion molecules and their related functions of adhesion and migration were investigated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to identify radiation-related changes and dose-dependency. The authors screened new biomarkers as radiation exposure dose indicators. Heparinized human peripheral blood was irradiated in vitro with different doses of γ-rays. The expression levels of the CD11a, CD11b, CD18, CD29, CD49d, and CD54 molecules on the surface of PBMC cells were determined by flow cytometry at different time points post-irradiation. The adhesion ability of human PBMCs was determined using an enzyme-linked immunoassay kit, and the migration ability of rat PBMCs was evaluated using a transwell chamber assay. Compared with the unirradiated control group, a significant increase (p < 0.05) in human CD11b/CD13 double-positive cells was detected 6 h post 6 Gy irradiation in vitro. These results indicated that the decrease in human CD29/CD13 double-positive cells in the 6 Gy exposure group at 6, 12, and 24 h post-irradiation was significant (p < 0.01). The adhesion ability of irradiated human PBMCs to IgG substrate increased significantly (p < 0.05) at 6 h after irradiation of 2, 4, or 6 Gy compared with non-irradiated controls. The migration ability of the rat PBMCs toward the MIP-1α chemokine significantly decreased (p < 0.05) with increasing irradiation doses. These results suggest that the protein expression of cell surface molecules and their associated cellular functions might be potential biomarkers for identifying radiation exposure doses in an emergency radiation accident.

Excited state structures and decay dynamics of 1,3-dimethyluracils in solutions: resonance Raman and quantum mechanical calculation study.

The resonance Raman spectroscopic study of the excited state structural dynamics of 1,3-dimethyluracil (DMU), 5-bromo-1,3-dimethyluracil (5BrDMU), uracil, and thymine in water and acetonitrile were reported. Density functional theory calculations were carried out to help elucidate the ultraviolet electronic transitions associated with the A-, and B-band absorptions and the vibrational assignments of the resonance Raman spectra. The effect of the methylation at N1, N3 and C5 sites of pyrimidine ring on the structural dynamics of uracils in different solvents were explored on the basis of the resonance Raman intensity patterns. The relative resonance Raman intensities of DMU and 5BrDMU are computed at the B3LYP-TD level. Huge discrepancies between the experimental resonance Raman intensities and the B3LYP-TD predicted ones were observed. The underlying mechanism was briefly discussed. The decay channel through the S1((1)nπ*)/S2((1)ππ*) conical intersection and the S1((1)nπ*)/T1((3)ππ*) intersystem crossing were revealed by using the CASSCF(8,7)/6-31G(d) level of theory calculations.

[Influence of superfine grinding technology on extracting flavones from plantain].

OBJECTIVE: To study the influence of superfine grinding technology on extracting flavones from plantain and explore its optimum extraction technology. METHODS: Ultrasonic technology was used to extract the flavones in superfine grinding plantain, the content of flavone glycosides was determined by RP-HPLC. RESULTS: The optimum technology was as follows: the concentration of ethanol was 60%, temperature was 60 degrees C, solid-liquid ratio (g:mL) was 1:20 and extraction time was 20 min. Under these conditions, flavonoids extraction rate of superfine grinding powder was higher than that of conventional powder. CONCLUSION: The technology of superfine grinding can improve flavonoids extraction rate in plantain. An optimum method for extracting flavonoids from superfine granding plantain is established.

Radiation dose effect of DNA repair-related gene expression in mouse white blood cells.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to screen molecular biomarkers for biodosimetry from DNA repair-related gene expression profiles. MATERIAL/METHODS: Mice were subjected to whole-body exposure with 60Co gamma rays with a dose range of 0-8 Gy at a dose rate of 0.80 Gy/min. RNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of irradiated mice at 4, 8, 12, 24 and 48hrs post-irradiation. The mRNA transcriptional changes of 11 genes related to DNA damage and repair were detected using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: Of the 11 genes examined, CDKN1A (cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A or p21, Cip1) and ATM (ataxia telangiectasia mutated) expression levels were found to be heavily up- and down-regulated, respectively, with exposure dose increasing at different post-irradiation times. RAD50 (RAD50 homolog), PLK3 (polo-like kinase 3), GADD45A (growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible, alpha), DDB2 (damage-specific DNA-binding protein 2), BBC3 (BCL2-binding component 3) and IER5 (immediate early response 5) gene expression levels were found to undergo significant oscillating changes over a broad dose range of 2-8 Gy at post-exposure time points observed. Three of the genes were found not to change within the observed exposure dose and post-radiation time ranges. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study add to the biodosimetry with biomarker data pool and will be helpful for constructing appropriate gene expression biomarker systems to evaluate radiation exposure doses.