Dihydrophenanthro[b]furan derivatives from the tubers of Bletilla striata

Two pairs of new dihydrophenanthro[b]furan enantiomers blephebibnols G-H (1-2), one new dihydrophenanthro[b]furan derivative blephebibnol I (3), along with four known analogues (4-7), were isolated from the tubers of Bletilla striata. Their structures including the absolute configurations were determined by the combination of spectroscopic data analysis, ECD and NMR calculations. Compounds 1a, 1b, and 2b showed inhibition of NO production in LPS-stimulated BV-2 cells, with IC50 values ranging from 4.11 to 14.65 μM. Further mechanistic study revealed that 1a suppressed the phosphorylation of p65 subunit to regulate the NF-κB signaling pathway. In addition, some compounds displayed selective cytotoxic activities against HCT-116, HepG2, A549, or HGC27 cancer cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 0.1 to 8.23 μM.

A systematic two-sample and bidirectional MR process highlights a unidirectional genetic causal effect of allergic diseases on COVID-19 infection/severity

BACKGROUND

Allergic diseases (ADs) such as asthma are presumed risk factors for COVID-19 infection. However, recent observational studies suggest that the assumed correlation contradicts each other. We therefore systematically investigated the genetic causal correlations between various ADs and COVID-19 infection/severity.

METHODS

We performed a two-sample, bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) study for five types of ADs and the latest round of COVID-19 GWAS meta-analysis datasets (critically ill, hospitalized, and infection cases). We also further validated the significant causal correlations and elucidated the potential underlying molecular mechanisms.

RESULTS

With the most suitable MR method, asthma consistently demonstrated causal protective effects on critically ill and hospitalized COVID-19 cases (OR < 0.93, p < 2.01 × 10-2), which were further confirmed by another validated GWAS dataset (OR < 0.92, p < 4.22 × 10-3). In addition, our MR analyses also observed significant causal correlations of food allergies such as shrimp allergy with the risk of COVID-19 infection/severity. However, we did not find any significant causal effect of COVID-19 phenotypes on the risk of ADs. Regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms, not only multiple immune-related cells such as CD4+ T, CD8+ T and the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ T cells showed significant causal effects on COVID-19 phenotypes and various ADs, the hematology traits including monocytes were also significantly correlated with them. Conversely, various ADs such as asthma and shrimp allergy may be causally correlated with COVID-19 infection/severity by affecting multiple hematological traits and immune-related cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Our systematic and bidirectional MR analyses suggest a unidirectional causal effect of various ADs, particularly of asthma on COVID-19 infection/severity, but the reverse is not true. The potential underlying molecular mechanisms of the causal effects call for more attention to clinical monitoring of hematological cells/traits and may be beneficial in developing effective therapeutic strategies for allergic patients following infection with COVID-19.

Deep Learning Segmentation of the Nucleus Basalis of Meynert on 3T MRI

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The nucleus basalis of Meynert is a key subcortical structure that is important in arousal and cognition and has been explored as a deep brain stimulation target but is difficult to study due to its small size, variability among patients, and lack of contrast on 3T MR imaging. Thus, our goal was to establish and evaluate a deep learning network for automatic, accurate, and patient-specific segmentations with 3T MR imaging.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patient-specific segmentations can be produced manually; however, the nucleus basalis of Meynert is difficult to accurately segment on 3T MR imaging, with 7T being preferred. Thus, paired 3T and 7T MR imaging data sets of 21 healthy subjects were obtained. A test data set of 6 subjects was completely withheld. The nucleus was expertly segmented on 7T, providing accurate labels for the paired 3T MR imaging. An external data set of 14 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy was used to test the model on brains with neurologic disorders. A 3D-Unet convolutional neural network was constructed, and a 5-fold cross-validation was performed.

RESULTS

The novel segmentation model demonstrated significantly improved Dice coefficients over the standard probabilistic atlas for both healthy subjects (mean, 0.68 [SD, 0.10] versus 0.45 [SD, 0.11], P = .002, t test) and patients (0.64 [SD, 0.10] versus 0.37 [SD, 0.22], P < .001). Additionally, the model demonstrated significantly decreased centroid distance in patients (1.18 [SD, 0.43] mm, 3.09 [SD, 2.56] mm, P = .007).

CONCLUSIONS

We developed the first model, to our knowledge, for automatic and accurate patient-specific segmentation of the nucleus basalis of Meynert. This model may enable further study into the nucleus, impacting new treatments such as deep brain stimulation.

[Feasibility of ultrasound radiomics-based models for classification of hepatic echinococcosis]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the feasibility of establishment of ultrasound radiomics-based models for classification of hepatic echinococcosis, so as to provide insights into precision ultrasound diagnosis of hepatic echinococcosis.

METHODS

The ultrasonographic images were retrospectively collected from 200 patients with hepatic echinococcosis in Shiqu County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province in October 2014, and the regions of interest were plotted in ultrasonographic images of hepatic echinococcosis lesions. The ultrasound radiomics features of hepatic echinococcosis were extracted with 25 methods, and screened using pre-selection and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator. Then, all ultrasonographic images were randomly assigned into the training and independent test sets according to the type of lesions at a ratio of 7:3. Machine learning models for classification of hepatic echinococcosis were created based on two classifiers, including kernel logistic regression (KLR) and medium Gaussian support vector machine (MGSVM). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted, and the sensitivity, specificity and areas under the curves (AUC) of the created machine learning models for classification of hepatic echinococcosis were calculated.

RESULTS

A total of 5 005 ultrasound radiomics features were extracted from 200 patients with hepatic echinococcosis using 25 methods, and 36 optimal radiomics features were screened through feature selection, based on which two machine learning models were created, including KLR and MGSVM. ROC curve analysis showed that MGS-VM presented a higher efficacy for hepatic echinococcosis classification than KLR in the training set, with a sensitivity of 0.82, a specificity of 0.78 and AUC of 0.88, while KLR presented a higher efficacy for hepatic echinococcosis classification than MGSVM in the independent test set, with a sensitivity of 0.82, a specificity of 0.72 and AUC of 0.86, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Ultrasound radiomics-based machine learning models are feasible for hepatic echinococcosis classification.

First Report of stem rot in Cymbidium sinense Caused by Fusarium oxysporum (FOSC) in China

Cymbidium sinense (Jackson ex Andr.) Willd is a perennial terrestrial plant in the orchid family mainly distributed in China, Japan, India and Southeast Asia that occupies a strong position in the flower market due to its bright green leaves and fragrant flowers (Zhang et al. 2013). Cymbidium sinense is not only valued by people for its ornamental and economic value, but its roots have antiasthmatic medicinal properties (Ke et al. 2004). In August 2020, about 15% stem rot on two-year old C. sinense with varying severity was observed in five nursery gardens located in Enshi city (N 30° 16', E 109° 29'), Hubei province, China. Typical symptoms of C. sinense included roots and inner part of the pseudobulbs changing from white to brown and rotting. Leaves became brown and withered from bottom to top, and there was an obvious blight yellow halo at the junction of diseased and healthy tissue, which eventually caused the whole plant to wilt and die (Fig. 1d). To isolate the pathogen, a total of 15 leaf tissues from the disease-health junction (3 × 3 mm) from 5 individual plants (3 leaves/plant) with symptoms were surface sterilized with 75% ethanol for 30 s and 2% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) for 3 min. The sterilized tissue was rinsed three times with sterilized water, and then placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) for incubation at 28°C in the dark for 5 days. Isolated colonies were subcultured by a hyphal tip protocol. Thirteen fungal isolates were obtained. Through preliminary pathogenicity tests, we found that ten isolates induced leaf blight. These ten isolates with pathogenicity showed similar morphological characteristics, with initial white-flocculent aerial mycelium that secreted a lavender pigment and produced colonies with an irregular edge after 3 days on PDA. The ten strains were cultured on PDA plates at 28℃ for 5 and 15 days to observe colony and conidial characteristics. The ten strains were identified as Fusarium based on morphological characteristics (Leslie and Summerell 2006). Strain ML0303 was selected for further identification. Macroconidia were falciform, hyaline, slightly pointed at both ends with two to four septa, 24.0 ± 5.6 µm × 4.7 ± 0.8 µm (n = 50). Microconidia were hyaline, oval, globose, with zero to one septum, 5.5 ± 1.3 µm × 2.2 ± 0.5 µm (n = 50) (Fig. 1c). Total genomic DNA of strain ML0303 was extracted with a CTAB protocol (Stenglein and Balatti 2006). The translation elongation factor (EF-1α), RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2) and β-tubulin (Tub2) genes were amplified respectively using primer pairs EF1/EF2, RPB2-5F2/RPB2-7cR and T1/T22 respectively (O'Donnell. et al. 2010, O'Donnell. et al. 1997). The EF-1α, RPB2 and Tub2 (accession numbers-MW719874, OL614838, OL689398, respectively) gene sequences were submitted to GenBank. EF-1α, RPB2 and Tub2 sequences of ML0303 showed 99.5% - 100% identity respectively with Fusarium oxysporum in the Genbank and FUSARIUM-ID databases. The multilocus sequence data was used to infer a phylogenetic tree via a Neighbor-joining (NJ), Maximum-likelihood (ML) and Maximum-Parsimony(MP) together with reference sequences from GenBank. The topology of the three trees was similar; only the NJ tree is presented here. Strain ML0303 and F. oxysporum formed a clade supported with high values (NJ/ML/MP: 96,95,97). The results indicated that the fungus was F. oxysporum based on the phylogenetic analysis and BLASTn queries. For pathogenicity tests, conidia of strain ML0303 were collected by rinsing PDA plates. Two-year-old C. sinense grown in plastic pots filled with sterilized autoclaved sandy loam soil were used for the tests. Three pots (two plants/pot) were included in each treatment. Spore suspensions (106spores/ml) of strain ML0303 were used to irrigate the stem-zone of the plants, and sterile water was used as control. The two treatments were placed in a greenhouse and incubated at 28±2℃ with a 14-hour light/10-hour dark cycle. The experiment was repeated twice. After three weeks, stem rot symptoms were observed on C. sinense inoculated with ML0303, that were the as same as observed in the nursery (Fig. 1e-h). No symptoms were observed on the negative control. Fusarium oxysporum was re-isolated from the infected plants to fulfill Koch's postulates. Partial EF-1α and RPB2 gene sequences were used for molecular identification. Members of the FOSC are notorious for causing many diseases, which includes stem rot of Sulcorebutia heliosa and root rot of Torreya grandis (Garibaldi et al. 2020; Zhang et al. 2016). To our knowledge, this is the first report of stem rot by F. oxysporum on C. sinense in China. The finding of this pathogen provides a clear target for stem rot control.

Plant Growth-Promoting Ability of Mycorrhizal Fusarium Strain KB-3 Enhanced by Its IAA Producing Endohyphal Bacterium, Klebsiella aerogenes

Fusarium oxysporum KB-3 had been reported as a mycorrhizal fungus of Bletilla striata, which can promote the seed germination and vegetative growth. Endohyphal bacteria were demonstrated in the hyphae of the KB-3 by 16S rDNA PCR amplification and SYTO-9 fluorescent nucleic acid staining. A strain Klebsiella aerogenes KE-1 was isolated and identified based on the multilocus sequence analysis. The endohyphal bacterium was successfully removed from the wild strain KB-3 (KB-3⁻), and GFP-labeled KE-1 was also transferred to the cured strain KB-3⁻ (KB-3⁺). The production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in the culturing broths of strains of KE-1, KB-3, KB-3⁻, and KB-3⁺ was examined by HPLC. Their IAA productions were estimated using Salkowski colorimetric technique. The highest concentrations of IAA were 76.9 (at 48 h after inoculation), 31.4, 9.6, and 19.4 μg/ml (at 60 h after inoculation), respectively. Similarly, the three fungal cultural broths exhibited plant promoting abilities on the tomato root and stem growth. The results indicated that the ability of mycorrhizal Fusarium strain KB-3 to promote plant growth was enhanced because its endohyphal bacterium, Klebsiella aerogenes KE-1, produced a certain amount of IAA.

Apoptosis-promoting properties of miR-3074-5p in MC3T3-E1 cells under iron overload conditions

Background

Iron overload can promote the development of osteoporosis by inducing apoptosis in osteoblasts. However, the mechanism by which miRNAs regulate apoptosis in osteoblasts under iron overload has not been elucidated.

Method

The miRNA expression profile in MC3T3-E1 cells under iron overload was detected by next generation sequencing. qRT-PCR was used to determine the expression of miR-3074-5p in MC3T3-E1 cells under iron overload. The proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells was tested using CCK-8 assays, and apoptosis was measured using flow cytometry. The miRanda and TargetScan databases were used to predict the target genes of miR-3074-5p. Interaction between miR-3074-5p and the potential target gene was validated by qRT-PCR, luciferase reporter assay and western blotting.

Results

We found that iron overload decreased the cell viability and induced apoptosis of MC3T3-E1 cells. The results of next generation sequencing analysis showed that miR-3074-5p expression was significantly increased in MC3T3-E1 cells under iron overload conditions, which was confirmed by further experiments. The inhibition of miR-3074-5p attenuated the apoptosis of iron-overloaded MC3T3-E1 cells. Furthermore, the expression of Smad4 was decreased and was inversely correlated with miR-3074-5p expression, and overexpression of Smad4 partially reversed the viability inhibition of iron-overloaded MC3T3-E1 cells by relieving the suppression of ERK, AKT, and Stat3 phosphorylation, suggesting its regulatory role in the viability inhibition of iron-overloaded MC3T3-E1 cells. The luciferase reporter assay results showed that Smad4 was the target gene of miR-3074-5p.

Conclusion

miR-3074-5p functions as an apoptosis promoter in iron-overloaded MC3T3-E1 cells by directly targeting Smad4.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s11658-021-00281-w.

Phenanthrene, 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene and bibenzyl enantiomers from Bletilla striata with their antineuroinflammatory and cytotoxic activities

Thirteen undescribed phenanthrene and bibenzyl derivatives, named blestanols A-M, including one pair of biphenanthrene enantiomers, two bis 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene ethers, five pairs of 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene/bibenzyl atropisomers, one racemic 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene/bibenzyl dimer, one 9,10-dihydrophenanthrenebibenzyl ether, two pairs of bibenzyl derivatives, and one stilbene, together with 12 known analogues were isolated from the tubers of Bletilla striata. The structures were elucidated via spectroscopic data analysis. 15 compounds were purified to yield enantiomers (a, b) via chiral-phase HPLC, and their configurations were determined by optical rotation values and the comparison of the experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) curves. Blestanols K-L possessed a cycloheptene moiety, which is rarely observed in bibenzyl derivatives. A putative biosynthetic pathway for the identified components is deduced. Among these compounds, 14 compounds showed inhibition of NO production, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 5.0 to 19.0 μM. Eight compounds displayed selective cytotoxic activities against HCT-116, HepG2, BGC-823, A549 or U251 cancer cell lines, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 1.4 to 8.3 μM. In addition, their structure-activity relationships are discussed briefly.

hsa_circ_0006459 and hsa_circ_0015962 affect prognosis of Dengue fever

Circular ribonucleic acids (circRNAs) are widely expressed in human cells and play an important role in the pathogenesis of many diseases. Some circRNAs have microRNA (miRNA) binding response elements and interact with miRNA to regulate the expression of target genes.Four patients with a preliminary diagnosis of dengue fever (DF), peripheral whole blood sample in anticoagulant was collected before treatment (pretreatment group) and after effective treatment (posttreatment group), and eight samples were separated and used to screen differentially expressed circRNAs with microarray analysis. The relative expression level of circRNAs was determined using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). TargetScan v7.1 and miRDB v5 bioinformatics software were used to predict circRNA-binding miRNAs; dual luciferase reporters were constructed to detect binding between circRNA and miRNA. Microarray screening revealed 263 differentially expressed circRNAs in peripheral leukocytes pretreatment versus posttreatment; 107 of these were upregulated and 156 were downregulated. RT-PCR confirmed that hsa_circ_0015962 was significantly upregulated and hsa_circ_0006459 significantly downregulated (P < 0.05). Moreover, hsa_circ_0015962 binds to miR-4683, and hsa_circ_0006459 binds to miR-133b.Downregulation of hsa_circ_0006459 and upregulation of hsa_circ_0015962 affect the treatment response of DF and are potential biomarkers in DF patients. The molecular mechanism involves hsa_circ_0006459-mediated targeted negative regulation of miR-133b and hsa_circ_0015962-mediated targeted negative regulation of miR-4683.

PP-22 promotes autophagy and apoptosis in the nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line CNE-2 by inducing endoplasmic reticulum stress, downregulating STAT3 signaling, and modulating the MAPK pathway

Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis, named Chong Lou, is considered an antitumor substance. In this study, we investigated the effect of PP-22, a monomer purified from P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis, on the nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line CNE-2 in vitro. The results showed that PP-22 could inhibit the proliferation of CNE-2 cells via the induction of apoptosis, with evidence of the characteristic morphological changes in the apoptosis in the nucleus and an increase in Annexin V-positive cells. In addition, we found that PP-22 could activate the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and that this activation was reversed by SB203580, a specific inhibitor of the p38 MAPK pathway. In contrast, PP-22 promoted apoptosis via an intrinsic pathway, including the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway, in a caspase-dependent manner. A further study showed that PP-22 also induced apoptosis by downregulating the signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway, and the inhibitory effect was also confirmed by STAT3 small interfering RNA. In addition, PP-22 could promote autophagy by inhibiting the extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) pathway. And autophagy plays a protective role against apoptosis. Together, these data show that PP-22 promotes autophagy and apoptosis in the nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2 cell line.

Iron overload induces G1 phase arrest and autophagy in murine preosteoblast cells

This study aimed to investigate the cell cycle arrest and autophagy induced by iron overload in MC3T3-E1 cells. MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured in different concentrations of ferric ammonium citrate (FAC), and Perls' Prussian blue reaction was used to detect the iron levels of the cells. CCK-8 assays were used to detect the growth of MC3T3-E1. The level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within cells was investigated with DCFH-DA. PI staining was used to analyze the cell cycle distribution of MC3T3-E1 cells. Finally, the expression levels of cell cycle related proteins, autophagy related proteins, AKT, p38 MAPK, Stat3, and their downstream proteins were detected with Western blot assays. The results showed that the iron levels of MC3T3-E1 cells increased with increasing concentrations of FAC. High levels of ferric ion inhibited proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells and increased their ROS levels. Additionally, iron overload induced G1arrest in MC3T3-E1 cells and down-regulated the expression of Cyclin D₁ , Cyclin D₃ , CDK2, CDK4 and CDK6, but up-regulated p27 Kip1. In addition, the expression levels of Beclin-1 and LC3 II increased, but that of p62 decreased. Further experiments showed that the phosphorylation of AKT and its downstream proteins p-GSK-3β(Ser9) and p-mTOR (Ser2448) were decreased. The levels of p-p38 and p53 were up-regulated while those of cdc25A and p-ERK 1/2 were down-regulated. Phosphorylation of Stat3 and its downstream proteins was all decreased. These results show that iron overload generates ROS, blocks the PI3K/AKT and Jak/Stat3 signal pathways, and activates p38 MAPK, subsequently inducing G1 arrest and autophagy in MC3T3-E1 cells.

Ozone Gas Bath Combined with Endovenous Laser Therapy for Lower Limb Venous Ulcers: A Randomized Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND

Endovenous laser therapy (EVLT) is safe and effective for lower limb venous ulcers. However, severe necrosis and infection in the ulcer area are contraindications of puncture and EVLT. Local bath with ozone gas has been shown to improve the condition of ulcer areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of ozone gas bath combined with EVLT in comparison with EVLT alone for the treatment for lower limb venous ulcers.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Ninety-two patients with venous ulcers were randomized to receive ozone gas bath combined with EVLT (OEVLT group) or EVLT alone (EVLT group). In the OEVLT group, the venous ulcers were preconditioned with ozone gas bath prior to EVLT. The minimum follow-up time was 12 months. The two groups were compared in terms of complete occlusion of the treated veins, ulcer healing ratio, ratio of ulcer recurrence, patient satisfaction, complications, and side effects.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in venous occlusion between the two groups. The ratio of ulcer healing in the OEVLT group was significantly higher than the EVLT group at 12 months follow-up. Patients in the OEVLT group showed better satisfaction and a lower recurrence ratio than the OEVLT group. No severe complications or side effects occurred in either groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Ozone gas bath combined with EVLT showed improved efficacy for the treatment of lower limb venous ulcers and lower recurrence ratio comparison with EVLT alone. This procedure is a safe and technically feasible.

ATM-mediated PTEN phosphorylation promotes PTEN nuclear translocation and autophagy in response to DNA-damaging agents in cancer cells

PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog), a tumor suppressor frequently mutated in human cancer, has various cytoplasmic and nuclear functions. PTEN translocates to the nucleus from the cytoplasm in response to oxidative stress. However, the mechanism and function of the translocation are not completely understood. In this study, topotecan (TPT), a topoisomerase I inhibitor, and cisplatin (CDDP) were employed to induce DNA damage. The results indicate that TPT or CDDP activates ATM (ATM serine/threonine kinase), which phosphorylates PTEN at serine 113 and further regulates PTEN nuclear translocation in A549 and HeLa cells. After nuclear translocation, PTEN induces autophagy, in association with the activation of the p-JUN-SESN2/AMPK pathway, in response to TPT. These results identify PTEN phosphorylation by ATM as essential for PTEN nuclear translocation and the subsequent induction of autophagy in response to DNA damage.

Aspirin-triggered Lipoxin A4 attenuates mechanical allodynia in association with inhibiting spinal JAK2/STAT3 signaling in neuropathic pain in rats

Aspirin-triggered Lipoxin A4 (ATL), as a Lipoxin A4 (LXA4) epimer, is endogenously produced by aspirin-acetylated cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2) and plays a vital role in endogenous anti-inflammation via the LXA4 receptor (ALX). Recent investigations have indicated that spinal neuroinflammation and the activation of the Janus Kinase 2 (JAK2)/Signal Transducers and Transcription Activators 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway are involved in neuropathic pain states. However, the effect of ATL on neuroinflammation and JAK2/STAT3 signaling in chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain in rats has not been well-studied. The present study demonstrated the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect of ATL on neuropathic pain and assessed the role of spinal JAK2/STAT3 signaling on the effect of ATL. Intrathecal administration of ATL significantly attenuated mechanical allodynia via spinal ALX and inhibited the upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) on day 7 of CCI surgery. In addition, ATL markedly suppressed the upregulation of p-STAT3 induced by the neuropathic pain. Blockade of JAK2-STAT3 signaling with intrathecal administration of the JAK2 inhibitor AG490 or the STAT3 inhibitor S3I-201 clearly reduced mechanical allodynia and the upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines in CCI rats. Interestingly, inhibition of JAK2/STAT3 signaling via ATL or the specific signaling inhibitor (AG49, S3I-201) further promoted the increased expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) mRNA in the spinal cord induced by CCI surgery. Taken together, our results suggested that the analgesic effect of ATL was mediated by inhibiting spinal JAK2/STAT3 signaling and hence the spinal neuroinflammation in CCI rats.

Transcriptome sequencing of sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) and the identification of gene-associated markers

Sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) is an ecologically and economically important species in East and South-East Asia. This project aimed to identify large numbers of gene-associated markers and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) after lipopolysaccharides (LPS) challenge in A. japonicus using high-throughput transcriptome sequencing. A total of 162 million high-quality reads of 174 million raw reads were obtained by deep sequencing using Illumina HiSeq™ 2000 platform. Assembly of these reads generated 94 704 unigenes, with read length ranging from 200 to 16 153 bp (average length of 810 bp). A total of 36 005 were identified as coding sequences (CDSs), 32 479 of which were successfully annotated. Based on the assembly transcriptome, we identified 142 511 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Among them, 33 775, 63 120 and 45 616 were located in sequences without predicted CDS (non-CDSs), CDSs and untranslated regions (UTRs), respectively. These putative SNPs included 82 664 transitions and 59 847 transversions. Totally, 89 375 (59.1%) were distributed in 15 473 known genes. A total of 6417 microsatellites were detected in 5970 unigenes, 3216 of which were annotated and 2481 were successfully subjected for primer design. The numbers of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) identified in non-CDSs, CDSs and UTRs were 2367, 2316 and 1734. These potential SNPs and SSRs are expected to provide abundant resources for genetic, evolutionary and ecological studies in sea cucumber. Transcriptome comparison revealed 1330, 1347 and 1291 DEGs in the coelomocytes of A. japonicus at 4 h, 24 h and 72 h after LPS challenge, respectively. Approximately 58.4% (1802) of total DEGs have been successfully annotated.

Lipoxins and aspirin-triggered lipoxin alleviate bone cancer pain in association with suppressing expression of spinal proinflammatory cytokines

Background

The neuroinflammatory responses in the spinal cord following bone cancer development have been shown to play an important role in cancer-induced bone pain (CIBP). Lipoxins (LXs), endogenous lipoxygenase-derived eicosanoids, represent a unique class of lipid mediators that possess a wide spectrum of anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving actions. In this study, we investigated the effects of intrathecal injection with lipoxin and related analogues on CIBP in rats.

Methods

The CIBP model was induced by intra-tibia inoculation of Walker 256 mammary gland carcinoma cells. Mechanical thresholds were determined by measuring the paw withdrawal threshold to probing with a series of calibrated von Frey filaments. Lipoxins and analogues were administered by intrathecal (i.t.) or intravenous (i.v.) injection. The protein level of LXA4 receptor (ALX) was tested by western blot. The localization of lipoxin receptor in spinal cord was assessed by fluorescent immunohistochemistry. Real-time PCR was carried out for detecting the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Results

Our results demonstrated that: 1) i.t. injection with the same dose (0.3 nmol) of lipoxin A4 (LXA4), lipoxin B4 (LXB4) or aspirin-triggered-15-epi-lipoxin A4 (ATL) could alleviate the mechanical allodynia in CIBP on day 7 after surgery. ATL showed a longer effect than the others and the effect lasted for 6 hours. ATL administered through i.v. injection could also attenuate the allodynia in cancer rats. 2) The results from western blot indicate that there is no difference in the expression of ALX among the naive, sham or cancer groups. 3) Immunohistochemistry showed that the lipoxin receptor (ALX)-like immunoreactive substance was distributed in the spinal cord, mainly co-localized with astrocytes, rarely co-localized with neurons, and never co-localized with microglia. 4) Real-time PCR analysis revealed that, compared with vehicle, i.t. injection with ATL could significantly attenuate the expression of the mRNA of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and TNF-α) in the spinal cord in CIBP.

Conclusions

Taken together, the results of our study suggest that LXs and analogues exert strong analgesic effects on CIBP. These analgesic effects in CIBP are associated with suppressing the expression of spinal proinflammatory cytokines.

Involvement of spinal orexin A in the electroacupuncture analgesia in a rat model of post-laparotomy pain

BACKGROUND

Orexin A (OXA, hypocretin/hcrt 1) is a newly discovered potential analgesic substance. However, whether OXA is involved in acupuncture analgesia remains unknown. The present study was designed to investigate the involvement of spinal OXA in electroacupuncture (EA) analgesia.

METHODS

A modified rat model of post-laparotomy pain was adopted and evaluated. Von Frey filaments were used to measure mechanical allodynia of the hind paw and abdomen. EA at 2/15 Hz or 2/100 Hz was performed once on the bilateral ST36 and SP6 for 30 min perioperatively. SB-334867, a selective orexin 1 receptor (OX1R) antagonist with a higher affinity for OXA than OXB, was intrathecally injected to observe its effect on EA analgesia.

RESULTS

OXA at 0.3 nmol and EA at 2/15 Hz produced respective analgesic effects on the model (P<0.05). Pre-surgical intrathecal administered of SB-334867 30 nmol antagonized OXA analgesia and attenuated the analgesic effect of EA (P<0.05). However, SB-334867 did not block fentanyl-induced analgesia (P>0.05). In addition, naloxone, a selective opioid receptor antagonist, failed to antagonize OXA-induced analgesia (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the present study indicate the involvement of OXA in EA analgesia via OX1R in an opioid-independent way.

CO2 adsorption in mono-, di- and trivalent cation-exchanged metal-organic frameworks: a molecular simulation study

A molecular simulation study is reported for CO(2) adsorption in rho zeolite-like metal-organic framework (rho-ZMOF) exchanged with a series of cations (Na(+), K(+), Rb(+), Cs(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+), and Al(3+)). The isosteric heat and Henry's constant at infinite dilution increase monotonically with increasing charge-to-diameter ratio of cation (Cs(+) < Rb(+) < K(+) < Na(+) < Ca(2+) < Mg(2+) < Al(3+)). At low pressures, cations act as preferential adsorption sites for CO(2) and the capacity follows the charge-to-diameter ratio. However, the free volume of framework becomes predominant with increasing pressure and Mg-rho-ZMOF appears to possess the highest saturation capacity. The equilibrium locations of cations are observed to shift slightly upon CO(2) adsorption. Furthermore, the adsorption selectivity of CO(2)/H(2) mixture increases as Cs(+) < Rb(+) < K(+) < Na(+) < Ca(2+) < Mg(2+) ≈ Al(3+). At ambient conditions, the selectivity is in the range of 800-3000 and significantly higher than in other nanoporous materials. In the presence of 0.1% H(2)O, the selectivity decreases drastically because of the competitive adsorption between H(2)O and CO(2), and shows a similar value in all of the cation-exchanged rho-ZMOFs. This simulation study provides microscopic insight into the important role of cations in governing gas adsorption and separation, and suggests that the performance of ionic rho-ZMOF can be tailored by cations.

Harmine induces apoptosis in HepG2 cells via mitochondrial signaling pathway

BACKGROUND

Harmine has antitumor and antinociceptive effects, and inhibits human DNA topoisomerase. However, no detailed data are available on the mechanisms of action of harmine in hepatocellular carcinoma. This study aimed to investigate the effects of harmine on proliferation and apoptosis, and the underlying mechanisms in the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2.

METHODS

The proliferation of HepG2 cells was determined by the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and the clone formation test. The morphology of HepG2 cells was examined using fluorescence microscopy after Hoechst 33258 staining. Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) was used to analyze apoptosis and PI to analyze the cell cycle. Western blotting was used to assess expression of the apoptosis-regulated genes Bcl-2, Bax, Bcl-xl, Mcl-1, caspase-3, and caspase-9. Mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ψm) was determined using JC-1.

RESULTS

Harmine inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Hoechst 33258 staining revealed nuclear fragmentation and chromosomal condensation, cell shrinkage, and attachment loss in HepG2 cells treated with harmine. The percentage of the sub/G1 fraction was increased in a concentration-dependent manner, indicating apoptotic cell death. PI staining showed that harmine changed the cell cycle distribution, by decreasing the proportion of cells in G0/G1 and increasing the proportion in S and G2/M. Harmine induced apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner, with rates of 20.0%, 32.7% and 64.9%, respectively. JC-1 revealed a decrease in ψm. Apoptosis of HepG2 cells was associated with caspase-3 and caspase-9 activation, down-regulation of Bcl-2, Mcl-1, and Bcl-xl, and no change in Bax.

CONCLUSIONS

Harmine had an anti-proliferative effect in HepG2 cells by inducing apoptosis. Mitochondrial signal pathways were involved in the apoptosis. The cancer-specific selectivity shown in this study suggested that harmine is a promising novel drug for human hepatocellular carcinoma.

[Binding characteristics of interleukin 11 analogue-cyclic nonapeptide c(CGRRAGGSC) to human prostate cancer PC-3 cells: an in vitro study]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the binding characteristics of interleukin 11 (IL-11) analogue-cyclic nonapeptide c(Cys-Gly-Arg-Arg-Ala-Gly-Gly-Ser-Cys) NH2 C30H54N16O10S2, c(CGRRAGGSC), and human prostate cancer PC-3 cells.

METHODS

c(CGRRAGGSC) was labeled with fluorescent dye LSS670, and the location of LSS670-cyclic nonapeptide in the PC-3 cells was investigated by fluorescent microscopy. Flow cytometry was used to detect the fluorescence intensity of the in vitro binding of LSS670-c (CGRRAGGSC) to PC-3 cells and calculate its IC50 and Ki in competitive inhibition experiments. 99Tcm-DTPA-c(CGRRAGGSC) was synthesized by the reaction of 99mTcO4- with c(CGRRAGGSC). The binding characteristics of 99mTc-DTPA-c(CGRRAGGSC) and IL11R in the PC-3 cells were analyzed by radioreceptor assay. Bmax and Kd were calculated in saturability and reversibility experiments.

RESULTS

The binding of LSS670-c(CGRRAGGSC) to the PC-3 cells showed the characteristics of saturability and concentration-time dependence. Unlabeled c(CGRRAGGSC) and LSS670-c(CGRRAGGSC) exhibited a competitive inhibition on the PC-3 cells (IC50 = [6.31 +/- 0.12] nmol/L, Ki = [2.11 +/- 0.14] nmol/L). Fluorescence was mainly distributed in the cell membrane (Kd = [0.32 +/- 0.02] nmol/L, Bmax = [754 +/- 34] fmol/mg pro).

CONCLUSION

c (CGRRAGGSC) could bind PC-3 cells through a receptor-mediated pathway.

Molecular thermodynamic model for DNA melting in ionic and crowded solutions

A molecular thermodynamic model is developed to predict DNA melting in ionic and crowded solutions. Each pair of nucleotides in the double-stranded DNA and each nucleotide in the single-stranded DNA are respectively represented by two types of charged Lennard-Jones spheres. The predicted melting curves and melting temperatures T(m) of the model capture the general feature of DNA melting and match fairly well with the available simulation and experimental results. It is found that the melting curve is steeper and T(m) is higher for DNA with a longer chain. With increasing the fraction of the complementary cytosine-guanine (CG) base pairs, T(m) increases almost linearly as a consequence of the stronger hydrogen bonding of the CG base pair than that of adenine-thymine (AT) base pair. At a greater ionic concentration, T(m) is higher due to the shielding effect of counterions on DNA strands. It is observed that T(m) increases in the presence of crowder because the crowder molecules occupy a substantial amount of system volume and suppress the entropy increase for DNA melting. At a given concentration, a larger crowder exhibits a greater suppression for DNA melting and hence a higher T(m). At the same packing fraction, however, a smaller crowder leads to a higher T(m).

Highly porous ionic rht metal-organic framework for H2 and CO2 storage and separation: a molecular simulation study

The storage and separation of H2 and CO2 are investigated in a highly porous ionic rht metal-organic framework (rht-MOF) using molecular simulation. The rht-MOF possesses a cationic framework and charge-balancing extraframework NO3(-) ions. Three types of unique open cages exist in the framework: rhombicuboctahedral, tetrahedral, and cuboctahedral cages. The NO3(-) ions exhibit small mobility and are located at the windows connecting the tetrahedral and cuboctahedral cages. At low pressures, H2 adsorption occurs near the NO3(-) ions that act as preferential sites. With increasing pressure, H2 molecules occupy the tetrahedral and cuboctahedral cages and the intersection regions. The predicted isotherm of H2 at 77 K agrees well with the experimental data. The H2 capacity is estimated to be 2.4 wt % at 1 bar and 6.2 wt % at 50 bar, among the highest in reported MOFs. In a four-component mixture (15:75:5:5 CO2/H2/CO/CH4) representing a typical effluent gas of H2 production, the selectivity of CO2/H2 in rht-MOF decreases slightly with increasing pressure, then increases because of cooperative interactions, and finally decreases as a consequence of entropy effect. By comparing three ionic MOFs (rht-MOF, soc-MOF, and rho-ZMOF), we find that the selectivity increases with increasing charge density or decreasing free volume. In the presence of a trace amount of H2O, the interactions between CO2 and NO3(-) ions are significantly shielded by H2O; consequently, the selectivity of CO2/H2 decreases substantially.

Metal-organic framework MIL-101 for adsorption and effect of terminal water molecules: from quantum mechanics to molecular simulation

MIL-101 is a chromium terephthalate-based mesoscopic metal-organic framework and one of the most porous materials reported to date. In this study, we investigate the adsorption of CO(2) and CH(4) in dehydrated and hydrated MIL-101 and the effect of terminal water molecules on adsorption. The atomistic structures of MIL-101 are constructed from experimental crystallographic data, energy minimization, and quantum mechanical optimization. The adsorption isotherm of CO(2) predicted from molecular simulation agrees well with experiment and is relatively insensitive to the method (Merz-Kollman or Mulliken) used to estimate the framework charges. Both the united-atom and five-site models of CH(4) predict the isotherm fairly well, though the former overestimates and the latter underestimates. Adsorption first occurs in the microporous supertetrahedra at low pressures and then in the mesoscopic cages with increasing pressure. In the dehydrated MIL-101, more adsorbate molecules are located near the exposed Cr(2) sites than the fluorine saturated Cr(1) sites. The terminal water molecules in the hydrated MIL-101 act as additional interaction sites and enhance adsorption at low pressures. This enhancement is more pronounced for CO(2) than for CH(4), because CO(2) is quadrapolar and interacts more strongly with the terminal water molecules. At high pressures, however, the reverse is observed, as the presence of terminal water molecules reduces free volume and adsorption. For the adsorption of CO(2)/CH(4) mixture, a higher selectivity is found in the hydrated MIL-101.

Proteomic analysis of differentially expressed proteins in rat liver allografts developed acute rejection

BACKGROUND

Acute rejection (AR) after liver transplantation is a cell-mediated immune response that takes place within the allograft and results in graft dysfunction and failure, but the molecular mechanisms about hepatocyte dysfunction remain poorly understood. Here we characterized global protein expression changes in liver allograft during AR.

METHODS

The effect of an alloantigen-dependent immunological response was evaluated by syngeneic and allogeneic rat orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Using a combination of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, we identified 18 differentially expressed proteins in AR allograft compared with matched tolerance allograft. Serum chemistry and allograft histology were determined.

RESULTS

Allogeneic OLT recipients exhibited elevated plasma levels of liver injury markers, progressive portal and venous inflammation and cellular infiltration in liver allograft compared with syngeneic OLT. 18 protein expressions altered by AR play important roles in metabolism, oxidative stress defense, signal transduction, biotransformation and transport. Decreased expression of protein disulfide isomerase in AR allograft was confirmed by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry.

CONCLUSIONS

This study uncovered new mechanistic insights into graft dysfunction in AR of liver allograft. Several significantly altered protein expressions act coordinately in hepatocyte dysfunction by depressed energy, enhanced oxidative stress-induced molecular damage and restrained biotransformation. The present findings may open new avenues for the understanding and prevention of graft dysfunction and failure during AR.

[Survivin antisense oligodeoxynucleotides inhibits the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells and enhances the cell chemosensitivity to 5-Fu]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the inhibitory effect of survivin antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ASODN) mediated by polyethylenimine(PEI) on the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC-7721 cells, and assess its detect on the chemosensitivity of the cells to 5-FU.

METHODS

The inhibitory effect of PEI-ASODN on SMMC-7721 cell proliferation was assessed using WST-8 test, trypan blue staining, and cell clone formation test. In mice bearing transplanted hepatocarcinoma and ascites tumor derived from H22 cells, 5-FU combined with PEI-ASODN was administered, and the weight and volume of the subcutaneous tumors were measured to calculate the tumor inhibition rate, and the average survival time of the mice was calculated.

RESULTS

Incubation of the cells with different concentrations of PEI-ASODN for 48 h significantly inhibited the cell proliferation as compared with the control group, but PEI or ASODN alone produced no significant inhibitory effects. At 24, 48, 72, 96 h of incubation of the SMMC-7721 cells with 0.75 micromol/L PEI-ASODN, the cell proliferation was suppressed significantly, and incubation with PEI-ASODN at 0.25-0.75 micromol/L for 7 days resulted in significantly inhibited cell clone formation. No significant inhibition was detected in ASODN and PEI group. The tumor weight and volume were reduced in all the treated groups. The tumor inhibition rate was 56.91% and volume inhibition rate was 57.83% in 5-FU+PEI-ASODN group, significantly different from those in the normal saline group (P<0.01). In mice bearing ascites tumor, the average survival time was 22.0 days in saline group, and 42.7 days 5-FU+PEI-ASODN group. The life-prolongation rate of 5-FU+PEI-ASODN was 94.09% when compared with the survival time in saline group. A cooperative effect was detected between 5-FU and PEI-ASODN.

CONCLUSION

PEI-ASODN complex can significantly inhibit the proliferation of hepatocarcinoma SMMC-7721 cells and enhance the chemosensitivity of the tumor cells to 5-FU.

Atomistic insight into adsorption, mobility, and vibration of water in ion-exchanged zeolite-like metal-organic frameworks

The adsorption, mobility, and vibration of water in ion-exchanged rho-zeolite-like metal-organic frameworks (ZMOFs) are investigated using atomistic simulations. Because of the high affinity for the ionic framework and nonframework ions, water is strongly adsorbed in rho-ZMOFs with a three-step adsorption mechanism. At low pressures, water is preferentially adsorbed onto Na(+) ions, particularly at site II; with increasing pressure, adsorption occurs near the framework and finally in the large cage. Upon water adsorption, Na(+) ions are observed to redistribute from site I to site II and gradually hydrated with increasing pressure. In Li-, Na-, and Cs-exchanged rho-ZMOFs, the adsorption capacity and isosteric heat decrease with increasing ionic radius attributed to the reduced electrostatic interaction and free volume. The mobility of water in Na-rho-ZMOF increases at low pressures but decreases upon approaching saturation. With sufficient amount of water present, the mobility of Na(+) ions is promoted. The vibrational spectra of water in Na-rho-ZMOF exhibit distinct bands for librational motion, bending, and stretching. The librational motion has a frequency higher than bulk water due to confinement. With increasing loading and hence stronger coordinative attraction, the bending frequency shows a blue shift. Symmetric and asymmetric modes are observed in the stretching as a consequence of the strong water-ion interaction. This study provides a fundamental microscopic insight into the static and dynamic properties of water in charged ZMOFs and reveals the subtle interplay between water and nonframework ions.

[Antisense oligonucleotides targeting protein kinase C alpha inhibits the proliferation of A549 cells]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effects of antisense oligonucleotides (ASODN) targeting protein kinase C alpha (PKCalpha) on the proliferation of A549 cells.

METHODS

PKCalpha ASODN and random oligonucleotides (RODN) were transfected into A549 cells mediated by polyethyleneimine, and the proliferation and clone formation of A549 cells were detected by CCK-8 and clone formation assay, respectively. The expression of PKCalpha in the transfected cells was analyzed by RT-PCR and Western blotting.

RESULTS

Compared with those in the control group, PEI group and PEI-RODN group, the proliferation and clone formation of A549 cells treated with ASODN targeting PKCalpha were significantly inhibited (P<0.05). The expressions of PKCalpha mRNA and protein in PKCalpha ASODN-transfected A549 cells were significantly lower than those in the other 3 groups (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

The PKCalpha ASODN mediated by PEI down-regutates the expression of PKCalpha gene and suppress the proliferation and clone formation of A549 cells.

[Targeting delivery effect of galactose receptor-mediated c-myc antisense oligonucleotide on human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line Bel-7402]

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE

Deliveries of c-myc antisense oligonucleotide (ASODN) mediated by liposome or adenvirus could suppress proliferation of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells, and tumor growth of mice hepatoma model. However, these deliveries lack targeting effects. Receptor-mediated drug delivery is being used in gene and ASODN delivery due to its high targeting efficiency. This study was to evaluate targeting delivery effect of c-myc ASODN mediated by galactose-polyethyleneimine (Gal-PEI) on human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line Bel-7402.

METHODS

Bel-7402, and lymphoma cell lines, U937 and Raji, were cultured with fluorescence-labeled Gal-PEI-c-myc ASODN, and c-myc ASODN. The uptaking rates of Gal-PEI-c-myc ASODN, and intracellular mean fluorescence intensities of Bel-7402 and U937 cells were tested by flow cytometry. Morphology of Gal-PEI-c-myc ASODN and c-myc ASODN entering Bel-7402, U937, and Raji cells was observed under phase-contrast fluorescence microscope. Effects of Gal-PEI-c-myc ASODN of various concentrations on proliferation of these cells were detected by trypan blue dye method.

RESULTS

After cultured for 10 min to 4 h, the uptaking rate, and intracellular mean fluorescence intensity of Gal-PEI-c-myc ASODN cultured Bel-7402 cells (88.25%-98.66%, and 38.61%-111.9%) were higher than those of c-myc ASODN cultured Bel-7402 cells, and Gal-PEI-c-myc ASODN cultured U937 cells, significant differences were detected by Poisson test (P < 0.01). Observed by phase-contrast fluorescence microscope, Gal-PEI-c-myc ASODN entered Bel-7402 cells effectively, but can't enter U937, and Raji cells effectively at the same concentration. C-myc ASODN can't enter Bel-7402 cells effectively at the same ASODN concentration. After incubation with Gal-PEI-c-myc ASODN (containing 0.25-1.25 micromol/L of c-myc ASODN) for 48 h, proliferation of Bel-7402 cells was significantly inhibited (P < 0.01=, but no significant differences were detected in U937, and Raji cells (P >0.05).

CONCLUSION

Gal-PEI-c-myc ASODN has high targeting delivery effect on Bel-7402 cells, which enhances the intercellular concentration of c-myc ASODN effectively, but it has no such effects on U937, and Raji cells.

Melatonin enhances lymphocyte proliferation and decreases the release of pituitary pro-opiomelanocortin-derived peptides in surgically traumatized rats

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of melatonin (MT) on spleen lymphocyte proliferation and release of pituitary pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived peptides in surgically traumatized rats. MT prevented the depression of lymphocyte proliferation induced by trauma in vivo and in vitro, and prevented the decrease of beta-endorphin and adrenocorticotropin in the pituitary in vivo, but dose-dependently inhibited the release of POMC-derived peptides from the pituitary in vitro. The culture media of the pituitaries derived from the traumatized rats inhibited lymphocyte proliferation of normal rats. These results suggest that MT can improve the trauma-induced depression of lymphocyte proliferation and inhibit the release of POMC-derived peptides. The neuroimmunomodulatory role of MT and POMC-derived peptides deserves further study.

Neuroimmunal regulation of electroacupuncture (EA) on the traumatic rats

EA has a wide range of function, many of them is mediated by the release of the endogenous opioid peptides. Using surgical traumatic stress model, it was observed that EA could improve the depression of cell mediated immune response. Based on the above results, we focused our work on the elucidation of the mechanism of EA in the central nervous system. The results showed that trauma amplified the activity of peritoneal macrophage, but inhibited Orphanin FQ and its receptor NP4 transcripts in the central nervous system, in the mean time, IL-1beta transcripts in the central nervous system was also augmented. EA stimulation of"Zusanli" (St. 36) and "Lanwei" (Extra. 37) points could inhibit all the above responses, but it had no influence on the normal rat. The results suggested that EA could modulate immune response via the interaction between Orphanin FQ and IL-1beta.

[Modulatory effect of orphanin FQ on the IL-1beta transcripts in hippocampus]

Using in situ hybridization and immuno-fluorescent double labeling method, we investigated the function of orphanin FQ on interlenkin-lbeta (IL-lbeta) transcripts in hippocampus. Intracerebroventricularly (icv) administrated IL-lbeta antibody reduced IL-l and TNF-alpha secreted from peritoneal macrophage. The high level of IL-lbeta transcript in hippocampus elicited by traumatic stress was blocked by icv injection of orphanin FQ (0.55 nmol), which was reversed by orphanin FQ receptor antagonist ([phe(1)Psi(CH(2)-NH)Gly(2)] nociceptin-(1-l3)-NH(2)). Opioid receptor-like receptor transcripts were found in neuron, astrocyte and microglia. Based on the results, we conclude that orphanin FQ functions as a neuroimmune modulator, and provokes immune response via mediation of IL-lbeta derived from neuron, astrocyte and microglia in hippocampus.

Systemic infusion of naloxone reduces degeneration of rat substantia nigral dopaminergic neurons induced by intranigral injection of lipopolysaccharide

A massive degeneration of dopamine-containing neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) in the midbrain is characteristic of Parkinson's disease. Inflammation in the brain has long been speculated to play a role in the pathogenesis of this neurological disorder. Recently, we reported that treatment of primary rat mesencephalic mixed neuron-glia cultures with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) led to the activation of microglia, resident immune cells of the brain, and subsequent death of dopaminergic neurons. The LPS-induced degeneration of dopaminergic neurons was significantly attenuated by the opiate receptor antagonist (-)-naloxone and its inactive isomer (+)-naloxone, with equal potency, through an inhibition of microglial activation and their production of neurotoxic factors. In this study, injection of LPS into the rat SN led to the activation of microglia and degeneration of dopaminergic neurons: microglial activation was observed as early as 6 h and loss of dopaminergic neurons was detected 3 days after the LPS injection. Furthermore, the LPS-induced loss of dopaminergic neurons in the SN was time- and LPS concentration-dependent. Systemic infusion of either (-)-naloxone or (+)-naloxone inhibited the LPS-induced activation of microglia and significantly reduced the LPS-induced loss of dopaminergic neurons in the SN. These in vivo results combined with our cell culture observations confirmed that naloxone protects dopaminergic neurons against inflammation-mediated degeneration through inhibition of microglial activation and suggest that naloxone would have therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of inflammation-related neurological disorders. In addition, the inflammation-mediated degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the rat SN resulting from the targeted injection of LPS may serve as a useful model to gain further insights into the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.

An open-label preliminary trial of sertraline for treatment of major depression after acute myocardial infarction (the SADHAT Trial). Sertraline Anti-Depressant Heart Attack Trial

BACKGROUND

Depression occurs frequently in patients with acute myocardial infarction and is associated with increased mortality rates. It is not known whether serotonin reuptake inhibitors would be safe and effective for patients with depression after myocardial infarction and whether such treatment would reduce mortality rates.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We conducted a multicenter, open-label, pilot study of sertraline treatment in patients with major depressive disorder identified 5 to 30 days after admission for acute myocardial infarction. Outcome measures included cardiovascular and hemostatic function, adverse events, and mood ratings. Twenty-six patients were enrolled in the study. During treatment there were no significant changes in heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac conduction, or left ventricular ejection fraction, and there was a trend toward reduced ventricular ectopic activity. There were no changes in coagulation measures. Bleeding time increased in 12 patients, decreased in 4 patients, and was unchanged in 2 patients. Three (12%) patients withdrew from treatment prematurely because of adverse events. Significant improvements in mood ratings occurred over the course of treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Sertraline treatment was associated with clinical improvement and was well tolerated in >85% of the patients in this open-label treatment trial for patients with major depression after myocardial infarction. These results encourage further controlled trials to establish the effects of treatment for this high-risk population.

Glycyl-glutamine-enriched long-term total parenteral nutrition attenuates bacterial translocation following small bowel transplantation in the pig

BACKGROUND

Improvements in immunosuppression, operative procedure, and posttransplant management have made clinical small bowel transplantation (SBT) feasible. Ischemia and reperfusion injury, total parenteral nutrition (TPN), and devoidment of enteral feeding lead to graft atrophy, gut barrier dysfunction, and bacterial translocation. Glutamine (Gln) is the principal fuel for the enterocyte. The influence of Gln dipeptide-supplemented TPN, especially long-term TPN, on intestinal graft permeability and bacterial translocation is not clear following SBT in the large animal model. Therefore, we studied the effect of glutamine dipeptide, glycyl-glutamine (Gly-Gln), on bacterial translocation following SBT in the pig, which has a physiology similar to humans.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The outbred pigs underwent segmental small bowel autotransplantation and were divided into two groups. In the STPN group (n = 5), the animal received standard TPN devoid of Gly-Gln for 28 days. In the GTPN group (n = 5), the animal received isonitrogenous (0.3 g/kg.day) and isocaloric (33 kcal/kg.day) TPN solution with 2% Gly-Gln for 28 days.

RESULTS

At the end of the experiment, Gly-Gln-enriched TPN could maintain the plasma Gln level, graft mucosal Gln and protein concentrations, and skeletal muscle Gln and protein concentrations. Gly-Gln-enriched TPN significantly decreased the bacterial number of mesenteric lymph nodes in the liver and spleen and intestinal permeability to 99mTc-DTPA. There were no significant differences in body weight gain.

CONCLUSIONS

The Gly-Gln-enriched long-term TPN may maintain the plasma Gln level, mucosal and muscle Gln, and protein concentrations and attenuate the intestinal permeability to 99mTc-DTPA and bacterial translocation following small bowel transplantation in the pig.

Naloxone and electroacunpunture (EA) improve the immune function of traumatized rats

The present study was undertaken to examine the effects of intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of naloxone (an antagonist of opioid receptors) and electroacupuncture (EA) on the natural killer (NK) cell activity, lymphocyte proliferation and induction of interleukin-2 (IL-2) production of spleen lymphocytes of surgically traumatized rats. The NK cell activity, the spleen lymphocyte proliferation and the induction of IL-2 production were all significantly inhibited following traumatization. Compared to the traumatic group, the inhibition of the NK cell activity and the induction of IL-2 production were antagonised by icv injection of naloxone. EA stimulation of Zusanli (St 36) and Lanwei (Extra 33) points reduced the immunosuppression produced by trauma. The above results show that the central endogenous opioid peptidergic system may play an important role in immunosuppression. It is suggested that the endogenous opioid peptidergic system might act as an important modulatory system between CNS and the immune system.

Depression in patients with coronary artery disease

Depression is more prevalent in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) than in the general elderly population. Although CAD patients with depression have higher mortality rates, depression is often not recognized and treated in these patients. We administered structured psychiatric diagnostic interviews to 99 inpatients with CAD and diagnosed 23% with a major depressive episode (MDE) by DSM-IV criteria. Severity of medical illness and family history of psychopathology were indicators for increased risk for MDE. These findings may facilitate the recognition of CAD patients at greater risk for MDE.

Nucleotide sequence and expression of the genes for the alpha and beta subunits of phycocyanin in Cyanidium caldarium

The nucleotide sequence of the plastid-encoded operon containing genes for the alpha (cpcA) and beta (cpcB) subunits of phycocyanin in the unicellular red alga Cyanidium caldarium is described. cpcB is located 5' to cpcA and the two genes are separated by a 102-bp spacer region. The transcription start site of cpcBA was mapped to 80 bp upstream of the ATG initiation codon of cpcB. Promoter-like elements similar to the -10 (TATAAT) and -35 (TTGACA) consensus promoters in bacteria were found 6 and 31 bp upstream of the transcription initiation site. Northern blotting revealed an abundant 1.3-kb cpcBA transcript in illuminated cells, but this transcript was undetectable in dark-grown cells. Expression levels of cpcBA in cells incubated with 10(-6) M heme in the dark were similar to those in cells illuminated for 24 h. Cells illuminated with 150 microM gabaculine (an inhibitor of delta-aminolevulinate synthesis) or 10 mM levulinic acid (an inhibitor of delta-aminolevulinate dehydrase) lacked detectable cpcBA transcripts. In cells illuminated with 200 microM N-methyl-mesoporphyrin IX (an inhibitor of ferrocheletase), inhibition of cpcBA expression and phycocyanin synthesis was similar. These results provide strong evidence that light induction of the cpcBA operon is dependent on synthesis of heme.

Localization of the gene for human heart fatty acid binding protein to chromosome 1p32-1p33

Heart fatty acid binding protein (hFABP) is an abundant 14-kDa cytosolic protein thought to be involved in trafficking of fatty acids from the plasma membrane to sites of beta-oxidation in mitochondria and peroxisomes and to the endoplasmic reticulum for lipid synthesis. A human hFABP cDNA isolated by polymerase chain reaction was used as a probe for in situ hybridization to metaphase chromosomes. A fragment of the gene for human hFABP was used as a probe for fluorescence in situ hybridization to metaphase chromosomes. The cDNA and genomic probes both localized the gene for human hFABP to chromosome 1p32-1p33.

[Changes of endogenous opioid peptides content in RPGL during acupuncture analgesia]

By push-pull perfusion technique and RIA of neuro-peptides, it was found that after 20 minutes' electroacupunture (EA), the release of LEK from the RPGL in the EA group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The release of beta-EP from the RPGL in the EA group with higher efficacy was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05), but no significant changes were found in the EA group with lower efficacy. There was a positive correlation between the changes of release of LEK or beta-EP and the increase of pain threshold. The release of DynA1-13 tends to show a barely significant extent (P > 0.05). The results indicate that acupuncture analgesia is able to increase the release of LEK and beta-EP in the RPGL.

Biological activities of melanotropic peptide fatty acid conjugates

Four fatty acids (FA, palmitic, myristic, decanoic, hexanoic) were individually conjugated to the N-terminus of the alpha-MSH fragment analog, H-Asp5-His6-D-Phe7-Arg8-Trp9-Lys10-NH2. This resulted in enhanced potency of the conjugates (compared to the unconjugated melanotropin analog) as determined in the lizard skin bioassay and in the mouse melanoma cell tyrosinase bioassay. The shorter conjugates of hexanoic and decanoic acid were at least equipotent to alpha-MSH in the lizard skin bioassay, whereas the longer myristoyl and palmitoyl analogs were 100 times less active. The myristoyl and palmitoyl conjugates exhibited a "creeping" potency in the lizard skin bioassay-that is, potency of the peptides increased with time in contact with the skins. These observations may be related to the more lipid nature of these FA-conjugates. In the tyrosinase assay, the conjugates were 10-100 times more active than alpha-MSH or the unconjugated analog. Each of the FA-melanotropic peptide conjugates exhibited prolonged (residual) melanotropic activity in both the lizard skin and melanoma cell bioassays. In other words, after removal of the melanotropin conjugates from contact with the skins or cells, responses were still manifested for hours or days thereafter. As little as 1 hr of contact with melanoma cells resulted in enhanced enzyme activity as measured 48 hr later. Since the conjugates, but not H-[Asp5, D-Phe7, Lys10]alpha-MSH5-10-NH2, exhibited prolonged activity, the conversion of reversible agonists to irreversible agonists was demonstrated.

Psoralens stimulate mouse melanocyte and melanoma tyrosinase activity in the absence of ultraviolet light

Psoralens (8-methoxypsoralen, 5-methoxypsoralen and 4,5,8-trimethylpsoralen) stimulate mouse melanoma cell (S91 and B16/F10) tyrosinase activity in vitro in a dose-related manner. Stimulation of enzyme activity by the psoralens was evoked in the presence or absence of light. In the presence of a melanotropin the actions of the psoralens were generally at least additive compared to the individual actions of the two agonists. The actions of the psoralens were acute and depended upon the constant presence of the agents to maintain enhanced melanoma tyrosinase activity. Tyrosinase activation by the psoralens, like that of alpha-melanotropin, was blocked by actinomycin-D or cycloheximide demonstrating that the actions of the drugs may have involved both transcriptional and translational events in the stimulation of melanogenesis. Psoralens also stimulated an immediate darkening of frog skins in vitro. Topically applied psoralens were transdermally delivered to the systemic circulation resulting in a conversion from pheomelanogenesis to eumelanogenesis within follicular melanocytes throughout the entire skin of mice (C57BL/6JAy maintained in the dark. Taken together, these results demonstrate that psoralens activate processes within melanocytes resulting in both an immediate translocation of melanosomes within the cell (frog) or in a slower genomic event involving tyrosinase activation (melanoma cells) and eumelanin formation (mouse follicular melanocytes).

[Potentiating effect of L-tetrahydropalmatine on the suppression of cortical tooth-pulp evoked potentials by electroacupuncture in rabbits]

Cortical potentials evoked by stimulation of the contralateral tooth-pulp were recorded epidurally from the SI cortex of rabbits anesthetized with urethane and chloralose. It was found that nociceptive components of the evoked potential consisted of P1 and P2 wavelets with a relative stable peak latency of 22.5 +/- 1.2 ms and 66.1 +/- 1.9 ms respectively. Higher intensity of tooth pulp stimulation was required for appearance of P2 than P1. Diazepam, a non-analgesic sedative, reduced P1 but not P2 amplitude. On the contrary, dolantin, an analgesic, suppressed P2 but showed no significant influence on P1. The results suggest that P2, but not P1 might be related to pain. The effects of l-tetrahydropalmatine (1-THP) and electroacupuncture on P2 were observed on 12 animals. The results showed that both iv l-THP 8mg/kg and electroacupuncture brought forth a decrease in P2 amplitude by 40.3 +/- 14% and 59.3 +/- 10% respectively, while electroacupuncture combined with l-THP produce a further decrease in P2 amplitude by 92.8 +/- 7%. Furthermore, the inhibitory periods of P2 amplitude were significantly prolonged after electroacupuncture combined with l-THP. The results indicated that l-THP enhanced the suppression of P2 by electroacupuncture.

Effects of four dopamine agonists on l-tetrahydropalmatine-induced analgesia and electroacupuncture analgesia in rabbits

The effects of icv 4 dopamine (DA) agonists on analgesia caused by iv l-tetrahydropalmatine (THP) 8 mg/kg or by electro-acupuncture (EA) were studied by using the potassium iontophoretic dolorimetry in rabbits. The results showed that both THP-induced analgesia and EA analgesia were markedly attenuated by icv of DA or apomorphine (Apo), 2 mixed D1/D2 agonists. Similar results were obtained when SKF-38393, a selective D1 agonist, was applied. On the contrary, quinpirole hydrochloride (Qui), a selective D2 agonist, was found to enhance the analgesic action of THP or EA. However, DA, Apo, SKF-38393 or Qui per se did not influence the baseline pain threshold. All these observations indicate that functional alterations in DA receptor activities may be involved in THP-induced analgesia and EA analgesia, in which D1 and D2 subtype receptors exert different roles.

[Potentiation of electroacupuncture analgesia by l-tetrahydropalmatine and its analogues in rabbits]

l-Tetrahydropalmatine (l-THP), tetrahydroberberine (THB) and l-stepholidine (l-SPD) are the homologues of tetrahydroproto berberines and have a common antagonistic effect to central dopamine receptors. In the present experiment, the potassium iontophoretic dolorimetry was used to determine the pain threshold of rabbits. Unilateral "Hegu" point (the dorsum of the front paw, between 1st and 2nd metacarpals) and "Waiguan" point (the dorsum of the foreleg, between radius and ulna, 2 cm above the wrist joint) of each rabbit were electrically needled. The effects of iv l-THP 8 mg/kg, THB 16 mg/kg or l-SPD 4 mg/kg on electroacupuncture analgesia were investigated. The experimental results indicated that these 3 agents enhanced the potency of electroacupuncture analgesia and prolonged the duration as well. This investigation gives the evidence that the drug possessing antagonistic effect to central dopamine receptors could be used as a synergist of acupuncture analgesia.

Trace element content in drinking water of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients

Chinese in the Xiangxi region of Hunan province in China have a high incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). For analyzing the relation between NPC and trace elements, the concentrations of 7 trace elements in drinking water (well water) of high- and low-incidence areas were measured (75 samples). The results showed that the concentrations of Ni, Zn and Cd in drinking water of high-incidence areas were significantly higher than those in low-incidence areas. Especially, the Ni level in drinking water had a significant positive correlation with NPC mortality. These observations are consistent with earlier studies. We also found a highly positive correlation between Ni/pH value in drinking water and NPC mortality. This suggests that only considering the ion concentration in drinking water is not enough, we should also pay attention to the pH of the drinking water when we study the relation between NPC and trace elements. Because the pH of the medium can strongly affect trace element chemical characteristics and its metabolic state in living systems, the M/pH (M, metal concentration) may be an important factor worthy of further research.