Comparison of catalytic functions and expression patterns of two pinene synthases from Wurfbainia villosa / 中国中药杂志

Wurfbainia villosa fruit is rich in volatile terpenoids, among which pinene is one of the main components and has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-tumor, and other pharmacological activities. This research group found that W. villosa fruits were rich in α-pinene by GC-MS, and terpene synthase(WvTPS63, formerly known as AvTPS1) with β-pinene as the main product was cloned and identified, but α-pinene synthase had not been identified. In this study, based on the genome data of W. villosa, we screened and found WvTPS66 with highly similar sequences to WvTPS63, identified enzyme functions of WvTPS66 in vitro, and performed a comparative analysis of sequence, catalytic function, expression pattern, and promoter with WvTPS63. Multiple sequence alignment showed that the amino acid sequences of WvTPS63 and WvTPS66 were highly similar and the conservative motif of terpene synthase was almost identical. In vitro enzymatic experiments on catalytic functions showed that both could produce pinene, and the main product of WvTPS63 was β-pinene, while that of WvTPS66 was α-pinene. Expression pattern analysis showed that WvTS63 was highly expressed in flowers, WvTPS66 was expressed in the whole plant, and the highest expression level was found in the pericarp, which indicated that it might be mainly responsible for the synthesis of α-pinene in fruits. In addition, promoter analysis revealed the presence of multiple regulatory elements related to stress response in the promoter regions of both genes. The findings of this study can provide a reference for the functional study of terpene synthase genes and new genetic elements for pinene biosynthesis.

Evolving of treatment paradigms and challenges in acute promyelocytic leukaemia: A real-world analysis of 1105 patients over the last three decades.

Although acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) is a highly curable disease, challenges of early death (ED) and relapse still exist, and real-world data are scarce in the ATRA plus ATO era. A total of 1105 APL patients from 1990 to 2020 were enrolled and categorized into three treatment periods, namely ATRA, ATRA plus ATO, and risk-adapted therapy. The early death (ED) rate was 20.2%, 10.1%, and 7.0%, respectively, in three periods, while there was no significant decline in the 7-day death rate. Consistently, the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of APL patients markedly improved over time. Despite the last two periods exhibiting similar DFS, the chemotherapy load was substantially lower in Period 3. Notably, leveraging older age and higher WBC count (especially > 50 × 109/L), we could identify a small group of extremely high-risk patients who had a very high ED rate and poor prognosis, while those with NRAS mutations and higher WBC tended to relapse, both representing obstacles to curing all patients. In conclusion, the evolvement of treatment paradigms can reduce the ED rate, improve clinical outcomes, and spare patients the toxicity of chemotherapy. Special care and innovative agents are warranted for the particularly high-risk APL.

Short-Term Efficacy and Safety Profile of Generic Bortezomib in the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the short-term efficacy and safety of generic bortezomib in the treatment of Chinese patients with multiple myeloma (MM).@*METHODS@#Clinical data of 62 MM patients (median age of 62 years) who had accepted at least 2 cycles of chemotherapy based on generic bortezomib in our center from December 2017 to July 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, including 47 newly diagnosed patients and 15 with disease recurrence or progression.@*RESULTS@#Anemia, renal dysfunction, hypoproteinemia and high level of β @*CONCLUSION@#The disease severity can be rapidly alleviated after generic bortezomib-based chemotherapy, and a favorable short-term efficacy and survival have been observed with a generally acceptable toxicity profile. However, the long-term outcomes will be examined through further follow-up.

Effect of High Dose Vitamin C on Proliferation and Apoptosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effects of high dose vitamin C on proliferation and apoptosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines including HL-60, U937 and primary CD34 leukemia cells in AML.@*METHODS@#CD34 cells were sorted by using immunomagnetic cell sorting system, then the primary CD34 leukemia cells, including HL-60 and U937 cell lines were cultured in vitro. Cells in each group were treated with different concentrations of vitamin C, the survival rate of cells was determined by MTT assay, the apoptosis rate of cells was evaluated by Annexin V/PI double staining, the expression of apoptotic proteins-including cleaved caspase 3, cleaved caspase-9 and cleaved PARP were detected by Western blot.@*RESULTS@#The proliferation of HL-60 and U937 cells could be inhibited by high dose vitamin C, which showed a concentration-dependent manner (r=-0.9664; r=-0.9796). HL-60 and U937 cells were treated with different concentrations of vitamin C (8 and 20 mmol/L) for 24 hours, respectively, it was found that with the increasing of vitamin C concentration, cell apoptosis rate was significantly increased (r=0.9905; r=0.9971), and the expression of apoptosis related proteins including cleaved caspase 3, cleaved caspase-9 and cleaved PARP was aslo significantly increased with the increasing of concentration. In addition, it was found that with or without the mutation of TET2, high dose vitamin C could inhibit the proliferation (r=-0.9719; r=-0.9699) and promote the apoptosis (r=0.9998; r=0.9901) of primary CD34 leukemia cells in AML, which showed a dose-dependent manner, but it showed no effect on the proliferation (r=-0.2032) and apoptosis (r=0.1912) of normal CD34 cells.@*CONCLUSION@#High dose vitamin C can inhibit the proliferation and promote the apoptosis of acute myeloid leukemia cells, and selectively kill primary CD34 leukemia cells in AML.

27-Hydroxycholesterol modulates lung cancer cell proliferation by activation of LXR signaling pathway / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM:To investigate the effect of cholesterol metabolite 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-OHC) on the proliferation of lung cancer cells.METHODS:Human lung cancer A549 cells were treated with 27-OHC at different concentrations (0, 0.3125, 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10μmol/L) for 24～48 h.The cell viability, cell cycle, cell proliferation, the intracellular cholesterol levels and cholesterol metabolism-related molecule expression were subsequently assessed by CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry, Ed U staining, tissue total cholesterol detection kit, real-time PCR and Western blot.RESULTS:27-OHC decreased the viability of the A549 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner (P<0.01) and inhibited the cell proliferation (P<0.05).The expression of typical liver X receptor (LXR) downstream target proteins including ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) , low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) , and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CR) were modulated, which promoted the efflux of intracellular cholesterol, and reduced cholesterol influx and de novo synthesis, resulting in decreased intracellular cholesterol levels and cell viability.Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of 27-OHC on A549 cell viability was significantly attenuated after the LXR pathway was partially blocked by 5μmol/L GSK2033 treatment (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:27-OHC inhibits A549 cell proliferation via activation of LXR signaling pathway.

Effects of aerobic exercise plus diet control on serum levels of total IGF-1 and IGF-1 binding protein-3 in female obese youths and adolescents / 中国应用生理学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effects of 4-week moderate aerobic exercise plus diet control on serum levels of total insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF-1) and IGF-1 binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) as well as IGF-1 activity (reflected by molar ratio of IGF-1/IGFBP-3) in female obese adolescents and youths, and their possible role on fat loss, and improvement of glucose and lipid metabolism.@*METHODS@#Nine female obese youths (age:18~19 y) and 30 female obese adolescents (age:14~16 y) were recruited and undertook 4-week aerobic exercise such as swimming and jogging (6 days/week, twice a day, 2 h/time with 5 min rest per 30 min exercise) with gradual increase of intensity from low (heart rate immediately post-exercise of 1st week:100~120 beats/min) to moderate (heart rate immediately post-exercise of 2-4 weeks:120~140 beats/min) level, combined with a diet intervention (total daily energy intake of 1 400 or 1 600 kcal according to basal metabolism rate) in Shanghai Dianfeng weight loss enclosed camp. Nine normal weight young women and 9 female children matched at age and nationality were recruited as the normal control. Before and after the experimental period, anthropometric index (body weight, body mass index(BMI) and waist circumference), glucose and lipid metabolism parameters including fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting insulin (FINS), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglyceride (TG); total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL), and serum levels of total IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 were measured, and IGF-1 activity was calculated in the obese and normal control female adolescents.@*RESULTS@#①Compared with normal control, the serum levels of total IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 were decreased in the female obese youths and adolescents, and IGF-1 activity was reduced only in the obese female adolescents. ②The serum level of IGFBP-3 was down-regulated and IGF-1 activity was up-regulated while no change of serum total IGF-1 was induced by 4-week moderate aerobic exercise plus diet control, accompanied with significant decreases of body weight, BMI and waist circumference as well as improvement of glucose and lipid metabolism in the female obese youths and adolescents. Except for a positive association between the increased IGF-1 activity and the decreased waist circumference was found in the female obese youths by Pearson's correlation analysis, there was no relation of the decreased IGFBP-3, the increased IGF-1 activity with the improvements of anthropometric index and glucose and lipid metabolism in female obese youths and adolescents.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The serum level of IGFBP-3 was down-regulated and the IGF-1 activity was up-regulated by 4-week moderate aerobic exercise plus diet control in female obese youths and adolescents. The increase of IGF-1 activity might be associated with the exercise-plus-diet-induced decrease of waist circumstance in female obese youths.

Role of oligodendrocyte precursor cells in myelination and remyelination: Recent advance / 第二军医大学学报

Demyelination disables saltatory conduction and leads to neural dysfunction. Remyelination is mediated by oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), which are widely distributed in the central nervous system (CNS) of adults. A belter understanding of oligodendrocyte biology, mechanisms of myelination and maintenance of myelin sheaths, and the relationship of failed remyelination in the CNS with the number, migration, and myelinating ability of endogenous OPCs, will greatly improve the remyelination strategies in chronic inflammatory demyelinating diseases, including muitiple sclerosis.

[Excitation energy and frequency of transition spectral line of electron in an asymmetry quantum dot].

In an asymmetry quantum dot, the properties of the electron, which is strongly coupled with phonon, were investigated. The variational relations of the first internal excited state energy, the excitation energy and the frequency of transition spectral line between the first internal excited state and the ground state of the electron which is strongly coupled with phonon in an asymmetry quantum dot with the transverse and longituainal effective confinement length of quantum dot and the electron-phonon coupling strength were studied by using a linear combination operator and the unitary transformation methods. Numerical calculations for the variational relations of the first internal excited state energy, the excitation energy and the frequency of transition spectral line between the first internal excited state and the ground state of the electron which is strongly coupled with phonon in an asymmetry quantum dot with the transverse and longituainal effective confinement length of quantum dot and the electron-phonon coupling strength were performed and the results show that the first internal excited state energy, the excitation energy and the frequency of transition spectral line between the first internal excited state and the ground state of the electron which is strongly coupled with phonon in an asymmetry quantum dot will strongly increase with decreasing the transverse and longitudinal effective confinement length. The first internal excited state energy of the electron which is strongly coupled with phonon in an asymmetry quantum dot will decrease with increasing the electron-phonon coupling strength. The excitation energy and the frequency of transition spectral line between the first internal excited state and the ground state of the electron which is strongly coupled with phonon in an asymmetry quantum dot will increase with increasing the electron-phonon coupling strength.

Establishment of a rat model of severe heatstroke complicated with endotoxemia / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish a rat model of heatstroke complicated by endotoxemia for studying the pathogenesis of severe heatstroke.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Male specific pathogen-free Wistar rats were randomly assigned into 4 groups, namely normothermic saline group (group C), heat exposure saline group (group H), normothermic LPS group (group L), and heat exposure LPS group (group HL). The rectal temperature (Tr), heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and respiratory rate (RR) of the rats receiving different treatments were continually monitored and their white blood cell count (WBC) and histology of the lungs were observed at 0, 40, 80 and 120 min after the treatments.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The rats in HL-Group displayed significantly higher Tr (43.04+/-0.11 degrees C), HR (660+/-42 beats/min), and RR (150+/-11/min) but lower MAP (49.0+/-3.5 mmHg) as compared with the C Group. There were significant differences in the values of Tr, HR, RR and MAP between HL and group L and in HR and MAP between H groups HL and. The rats in group H displayed significantly higher WBC than group C. In contrast, the rats in L groups HL and had significantly lower WBC. LPS injection and heat stress induced pulmonary edema and features characteristic of acute microvascular lung injury in the rats.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The rat model established by LPS injection and heat stress can successfully mimic the development of severe heatstroke after LPS challenge and heat stress, and provides a suitable model for studying the primordial role of the lungs in the pathogenesis of severe heatstroke.</p>

Changes of plasma malondialdehyde and superoxidase dismutase concentration in LPS-heat co-stressed rats / 第二军医大学学报

Objective: To investigate the effect of co-exposure to LPS and heat on plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in rats. Methods: Male specific pathogen-free Wistar rats were randomly assigned to the following groups: saline injection+normothermic control (C-Group), saline injection+heat exposure (H-Group), LPS injection+normothermic control (L-Group), and LPS injection+heat exposure (HL-Group). Rats in H-/HL-Group were exposed in a chamber at an ambient dry bulb temperature (Tdb) of (35.0 ± 0.5) °C and in C-/L-Group at an ambient Tdb of (26.0±0.5) °C. Rats in L- /HL-Group were given an intravenous injection of LPS 10 mg/kg via tail veins to induce endotoxemia and in C-/H-Group were given an intravenous injection of 0.9% NaCl (10 ml/kg) via the tail vein. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was continually monitored in all rats. Plasma levels of MDA and SOD activity were determined at 0, 40, 80, 120 min after exposure. Results: There was significant difference in plasma MDA levels and activities of SOD between L-/H-/HL-Group and C-Group (P<0.05). The rats in HL-Group displayed significantly increased MDA level and decreased SOD activity compared with those in the other 3 groups(P<0.05). Conclusion: This study suggests that co-exposure to LPS and heat can promote and augment systemic inflammatory response syndrome in rats.

Arterial blood gas analysis in Lipopolysaccharide-heat co-stressed rats / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the change in vital signs and arterial blood gas in Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-injected heat exposed rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Male pathogen-free Wistar rats were randomly assigned to the following groups: saline-injected normothermic control (C-Group), saline-injected heat exposed (H-Group), LPS-injected normothermic control (L-Group), LPS-injected heat exposed (HL-Group). Rectal temperature (Tr), heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), arterial blood gas were continually monitored.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) The rats in HL-Group displayed significantly high values of Tr (43.04 degrees C +/- 0.11 degrees C) and HR [(660 +/- 42) beats/min] and low values of MAP [(49.0 +/- 3.5) mm Hg] compared with C-Group. There was a significant difference in the values of Tr, HR, and MAP between HL-Group and L-Group and in the values of HR and MAP between HL-Group and H-Group. (2) The values of PaO(2), HCO(3)(-), PaCO(2) were significantly lower than those in C-Group at 40 min after LPS-injected heat stress. At 120 min, the PaO(2) [(11.59 +/- 1.11) kPa], HCO(3)(-) [(10.42 +/- 1.06) mmol/L], PaCO(2) [(2.82 +/- 0.81) kPa] in HL-Group were significantly lower than those in L-Group. A significant difference in the values of HCO(3)(-) and PaCO(2) between HL-Group and H-Group was also observed.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>LPS-injected heat stress primes the rat to advance and augment the change in vital signs, arterial blood gas, and systemic inflammatory response syndrome.</p>