Antihyperglycemic and Antioxidant Activity of Fructus hordei Germinatus Extract on Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats

Purpose: To explore the antihyperglycemic and antioxidant effects of Fructus Hordei Germinatus extract (FHGE) in diabetic rats.Methods: The aqueous extract of FHG was obtained by steeping the dried Fructus Hordei Germinatus in water at 60oC three times, each for 1 h before first drying in an oven and then freeze-drying the last extract thus obtained. Antihyperglycemic effect was measured by blood glucose and plasma insulin levels. Oxidative stress was evaluated in liver and kidney by antioxidant markers, viz, lipid peroxidation (LPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT), while blood serum levels of creatinine and urea were also determined in both diabetic control and treated rats.Results: Compared with diabetic rats, oral administration of FHGE at a concentration of 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg daily for 45 days showed a significant decrease in fasting blood glucose (p < 0.05) and increased insulin (p < 0.05) level,. Furthermore, it significantly reduced biochemical parameters (serum creatinine and serum urea, p < 0.05)). The treatment also resulted in significant increase in GSH, GPx (p < 0.05), SOD and CAT (p < 0.05), as well as decreased LPO (p < 0.05) level in the liver and kidney of diabetic rats.Conclusion: The results suggest that FHGE may effectively normalize the impaired antioxidant status in streptozotocin-induced diabetes in a dose-dependent manner. FHGE has a protective effect against lipid peroxidation by scavenging free radicals and is thus capable of reducing the risk of diabetic complications.Keywords: Fructus hordei Germinatus, Diabetic, Antihyperglycemic, Lipid peroxidation, Antioxidant, Fasting blood glucose, Creatinine, Urea

CD147 interacts with NDUFS6 in regulating mitochondrial complex I activity and the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in human malignant melanoma cells

Malignant melanoma (MM) is one of the most lethal tumors and is characterized by high invasiveness, frequent metastasis, and resistance to chemotherapy. The risk of metastatic MM is accompanied by disordered energy metabolism involving the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) process, which is largely carried out in mitochondrial complexes. Complex I is the first and largest mitochondrial enzyme complex associated with this process. CD147 is a transmembrane glycoprotein mainly expressed on the cell surface, and also appears in the cytoplasm in some tumors. We found that CD147 is often translocated to the cytoplasm in metastatic MM specimens as compared to primary MM. We also demonstrated high expression of CD147 in isolated mitochondrial fractions of A375 cells. The yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assay identified NDUFS6 (which encodes a subunit of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I) as a candidate that interacts with CD147 and depletion of CD147 in A375 cells significantly decreased complex I enzyme activity. We also showed that CD147 increased the viability of A375 cells exposed to berberine-induced mitochondrial damage, and protected them from apoptosis through a mitochondrial-dependent pathway. This finding was confirmed by adding exogenous Bcl-2 to A375 cell cultures. In summary, our results identify the existence of CD147 in human melanoma cell mitochondria. They indicate that CD147 appears to regulate complex I activity and apoptosis in MM by interacting with mitochondrial NDUFS6. Our findings provide new insight into the function of CD147 and identify it as a promising therapeutic target in melanoma through disruption of the energy metabolism.

The Role of αA-Crystallin in Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis

Uveitis refers to a group of ocular inflammatory diseases that can lead to blindness. For years, researchers have been trying to decipher the underlying mechanisms and develop therapeutic strategies using the model of experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU). Recently, αA-crystallin has been found to be upregulated in EAU and can even ameliorate its severity through different mechanisms, suggesting its use as a potent therapeutic factor against uveitis. Here we review the protective role of αA-crystallin and discuss its functional mechanisms in EAU.

Sleep duration and snoring associate with hypertension and glycaemic control in patients with diabetes

AIMS

Few studies have analysed the effect of sleep duration and snoring on hypertension and glycaemic control in patients with diabetes. This study aims to investigate the relationship of sleep duration and snoring on prevalent hypertension and glycaemic control in people with diabetes.

METHODS

In the baseline survey of the REACTION study, 56 032 patients with diabetes were categorized into four groups according to self-reported sleep duration: < 6, 6-7.9, 8-8.9 and ≥ 9 h. Snoring frequency was evaluated as 'usually', 'occasionally' or 'never'. Hypertension was assessed by systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, self-reported previous diagnosis and antihypertensive medications. 'Good' glycaemic control was defined as HbA1c < 53 mmol/mol (7.0%) and 'poor' glycaemic control as HbA1c ≥ 53 mmol/mol (7.0%).

RESULTS

Controlling for potential confounders and intermediates, sleep ≥ 9 h relative to intermediate sleep (6-7.9 h) was significantly associated with prevalent hypertension (OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.18-1.32) and poor glycaemic control (OR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.05-1.18), and a U-shaped association was found between sleep duration and prevalent hypertension (P for quadratic trend = 0.019). Usually snoring was positively associated with prevalent hypertension (OR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.23-1.37), whereas the association between snoring and poor glycaemic control was only on the borderline of statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with a sleep duration of 6-7.9 h, longer sleep duration was associated with a higher prevalence of hypertension and poor glycaemic control in people with diabetes. Moreover, the relationship between sleep duration and prevalent hypertension was U-shaped. These findings may propose important public health implications for diabetes management.

A novel HLA-A allele, HLA-A*02:544

The novel allele HLA-A*02:544 has two nucleotide changes from its most closely related allele, HLA-A*02:148. Firstly at nucleotide 255 where C → T (codon 60 GAC → GAT), resulting in a non-coding change as GAC and GAT both code for the same amino acid aspartic acid. Secondly at nucleotide 368 where T → G (codon 98 TTT → TGT) resulting in a coding change, 98 phenylalanine is changed to cysteine.

Mesenchymal stem cells regulate cytoskeletal dynamics and promote cancer cell invasion through low dose nitric oxide

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can be recruited to tumor sites and integrate into the stroma of tumors. When co-cultured with BMSCs, otherwise weakly metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells (NPC) showed improved metastatic ability. BMSCs in the tumor environment displayed the characteristics of macrophages. Nitric oxide produced by BMSCs in tumor environment could translocate caldesmon to podosome in Ca2+/calmodulin manner and promoted metastatic ability of NPC cells through invadopodia formation, with which the NPC cells degrade the extracellular matrix. Thus, we concluded that the BMSCs promoted cell migration and invasion through nitric oxide-induced paracrine signals.

Comparison of the effects on glycaemic control and β-cell function in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients of treatment with exenatide, insulin or pioglitazone: a multicentre randomized parallel-group trial (the CONFIDENCE study)

OBJECTIVE

Progressive β-cell dysfunction hinders the maintenance of glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes, but comparative data on β-cell-protective therapies are lacking in the early stage of type 2 diabetes. Here we evaluated the comparative glycaemic efficacy and impact on β-cell function of three antihyperglycaemic agents that have a β-cell-protective effect, exenatide, insulin and pioglitazone, in newly diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes.

DESIGN AND METHODS

In this 48-week, multicentre, parallel-group study, 416 patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned 1 : 1 : 1 to receive exenatide, insulin or pioglitazone. The primary end-point was the change in glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) from baseline. Secondary end-points included effects on weight, blood pressure, lipid profiles and β-cell function assessed by homeostasis model assessment, fasting proinsulin:insulin (PI/I), disposition index (DI) and acute insulin response (AIR).

RESULTS

At week 48, mean [95% confidence interval (CI)] HbA1c changes from baseline were -1.8% (-1.55% to -2.05%) with exenatide, -1.7% (-1.52% to -1.96%) with insulin and -1.5% (-1.23% to -1.71%) with pioglitazone. Treatment differences were -0.20% (95% CI -0.46% to 0.06%) for exenatide versus insulin (P = 0.185), and -0.37% (95% CI -0.63% to -0.12%) for exenatide versus pioglitazone (P = 0.002). Significant improvements from baseline in AIR, PI/I and DI were observed with all treatments, with the greatest improvements in DI, as well as weight, blood pressure and lipid profile, observed with exenatide.

CONCLUSIONS

All three agents showed efficacy regarding glycaemic control and metabolic benefits; however, exenatide showed the greatest efficacy. β-cell function improved in all treatment groups; hence, early initiation of β-cell-protective therapy may halt the decline in β-cell function in type 2 diabetes.

The JAK inhibitor tofacitinib suppresses synovial JAK1-STAT signalling in rheumatoid arthritis

Objective

Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The pathways affected by tofacitinib and the effects on gene expression in situ are unknown. Therefore, tofacitinib effects on synovial pathobiology were investigated.

Methods

A randomised, double-blind, phase II serial synovial biopsy study (A3921073; NCT00976599) in patients with RA with an inadequate methotrexate response. Patients on background methotrexate received tofacitinib 10 mg twice daily or placebo for 28 days. Synovial biopsies were performed on Days -7 and 28 and analysed by immunoassay or quantitative PCR. Clinical response was determined by disease activity score and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response on Day 28 in A3921073, and at Month 3 in a long-term extension study (A3921024; NCT00413699).

Results

Tofacitinib exposure led to EULAR moderate to good responses (11/14 patients), while placebo was ineffective (1/14 patients) on Day 28. Tofacitinib treatment significantly reduced synovial mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 and MMP-3 (p<0.05) and chemokines CCL2, CXCL10 and CXCL13 (p<0.05). No overall changes were observed in synovial inflammation score or the presence of T cells, B cells or macrophages. Changes in synovial phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) and STAT3 strongly correlated with 4-month clinical responses (p<0.002). Tofacitinib significantly decreased plasma CXCL10 (p<0.005) at Day 28 compared with placebo.

Conclusions

Tofacitinib reduces metalloproteinase and interferon-regulated gene expression in rheumatoid synovium, and clinical improvement correlates with reductions in STAT1 and STAT3 phosphorylation. JAK1-mediated interferon and interleukin-6 signalling likely play a key role in the synovial response.

Trial registration number

NCT00976599.

Dynamic layer rearrangement during growth of layered oxide films by molecular beam epitaxy

The A(n+1)B(n)O(3n+1) Ruddlesden-Popper homologous series offers a wide variety of functionalities including dielectric, ferroelectric, magnetic and catalytic properties. Unfortunately, the synthesis of such layered oxides has been a major challenge owing to the occurrence of growth defects that result in poor materials behaviour in the higher-order members. To understand the fundamental physics of layered oxide growth, we have developed an oxide molecular beam epitaxy system with in situ synchrotron X-ray scattering capability. We present results demonstrating that layered oxide films can dynamically rearrange during growth, leading to structures that are highly unexpected on the basis of the intended layer sequencing. Theoretical calculations indicate that rearrangement can occur in many layered oxide systems and suggest a general approach that may be essential for the construction of metastable Ruddlesden-Popper phases. We demonstrate the utility of the new-found growth strategy by performing the first atomically controlled synthesis of single-crystalline La3Ni2O7.

Repression of Farnesoid X receptor contributes to biliary injuries of liver grafts through disturbing cholangiocyte bile acid transport

Biliary epithelial damage is the critical point in the development of nonanastomotic strictures, a serious biliary complication after liver transplantation (LT). Current study focuses on the roles and mechanisms of unbalanced bile acid (BA) transporting of cholangiocytes in biliary epithelial damages following LT. Using rat LT models, we observed that biliary transit time (BTT) of BA was prolonged, and the degree and duration of BTT prolongation were related to the cold ischemia time of donor liver. Moreover, prolonged BTT was correlated with bile duct injury severity. The expression of Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) underwent a dramatic decrease after transplantation, and the decrease in FXR was related to cold ischemic time of donor liver. Negative correlation was observed between FXR expression and BTT. With in vitro cultured human biliary epithelial cells, it was observed that FXR expressions and DNA binding activities were repressed under hypoxic conditions. FXR repression by hypoxia mediated unparallel expressions of BA transporters and intracellular accumulation of BAs, which induced higher cell apoptosis rates and enhanced profibrotic factor expression in cholangiocytes. These findings indicated that FXR repression under ischemic/hypoxic conditions contributed to biliary epithelial damages by disturbing BA transporting of cholangiocytes after LT.

Galectin-7 in cardiac allografts in mice: increased expression compared with isografts and localization in infiltrating lymphocytes and vascular endothelial cells

We sought to identify elevated expression of galectin-7, a T-cell-binding protein, in renal allograft recipients undergoing acute rejection episodes. Allografts and isografts were examined immunohistologically and using quantitative Western blot analysis for galectin-7 protein. The expression of galectin-7 in T lymphocytes from draining lymph nodes in the recipient mice was examined using flow cytometry. We observed galectin-7 to gradually increase with time in the allografts to be significantly higher than that in isografts at days 3, 5, and 7 postoperative: 0.85 ± 0.03 versus 0.69 ± 0.05; 1.15 ± 0.11 versus 0.81 ± 0.02; and 2.02 ± 0.12 versus 0.81 ± 0.05 (P < .05). The majority of galectin-7 was located in the infiltrating lymphocytes and vascular endothelial cells. Furthermore, the percentage of CD4+galectin-7+ and CD8+galectin-7+ T cells from draining lymph nodes in the allograft group was higher than that in the isograft group: 28.0 ± 1.0% versus 1.2 ± 0.2%; and 12.4 ± 0.8% versus 0.4 ± 0.1% (P < .01). In conclusion, galectin-7 relates to acute allograft rejection and T-cell responses possibly as an accelerant.

A synthetic oxygen carrier in fibrin matrices promotes sciatic nerve regeneration in rats

Tissue-engineering nerve conduits have been studied for a long time in bridging large nerve defects. However, the low oxygen availability within the nerve conduits, which results in death of migratory Schwann cells (SC) or loss of the newly formed tissue's function, is still an obstacle for axonal regeneration. Thus, it was hypothesized that an oxygen-enriched conduit would enhance axonal regeneration and functional recovery in vivo. To address this issue, perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA) enriched fibrin hydrogel was prepared and injected into collagen-chitosan conduits. The conduit containing PFTBA-enriched fibrin hydrogel was then used to bridge a 12-mm sciatic nerve defect in rats. The control rats were bridged with collagen-chitosan conduits filled with fibrin matrices without PFTBA. It was found that axonal regeneration and functional recovery in the combined PFTBA group were significantly higher than those in the control group without PFTBA. Further investigations showed that the mRNA and protein levels of S-100, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor were enhanced by PFTBA at 1 and 3weeks after surgery. However, the mRNA and protein levels of vascular endothelial growth factor were in a similar range between the combined PFTBA group and the control group without PFTBA. In addition, immunohistochemical results showed that the morphological appearances of regenerated nerve and survival of SC were enhanced by PFTBA at 4 and 12weeks after surgery. In conclusion, PFTBA-enriched nerve conduit is capable of enhancing axonal regeneration, which provides a new avenue for achieving better functional recovery in the treatment of nerve defect.