Studies on quinazolinones. 3: novel and efficient route to the synthesis of conformationally restricted analogues of ketanserin and SGB-1534 as antihypertensive agents

Bromocyclization of N-allyl quinazoline derivatives with N-bromosuccinimide results in the formation of 2,3-dihydroimidazo[1,2- ]quinazoline derivatives. Substitution reactions of the resulting angularly tricycles led to discover a novel potent antihypertensive agent.     

新工科背景下生物工程五层次实践教学体系的构建

强化实践教学，提升创新能力是新工科建设的关键任务之一。文中结合天津大学化工学院生物工程专业培养方案的修订内容，不断改进实践教学体系和课程内容，建立了基础实验、综合实验、课程设计、科研实践、实习实训等五层次的教学改革体系，为培养具有实践能力和创新精神的卓越创新人才，提出了创新的教学改革模式，为新工科建设提出了新的设想和新的方案。     

Correction to: All-Trans Retinoic Acid Ameliorates the Early Experimental Cerebral Ischemia–Reperfusion Injury in Rats by Inhibiting the Loss of the Blood–Brain Barrier via the JNK/P38MAPK Signaling Pathway

Neurochemical Research - The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The affiliation of the author Lu Xu has been submitted and published incorrectly and has been...     

紫晶香蘑栽培生物学研究

紫晶香蘑栽培生物学研究卢成英，李鹄鸣，钟以举（湖南省吉首大学生态研究所４１６０００）ＢｉｏｌｏｇｉｃａｌＲｅｓｅａｒｃｈｏｎＬｅｐｉｓｔａｓｏｒｄｉｄａＣｕｌｔｉｖａｔｉｏｎ．￥Ｌｕｃｈｅｎｇｙｉｎｇ；ＬｉＨｕｍｉｎｇ；ＺｈｏｎｇＹｉｊｕ（Ｉｎ－ｓｔ...     

Advances in the discovery of cathepsin K inhibitors on bone resorption

Cathepsin K (Cat K), highly expressed in osteoclasts, is a cysteine protease member of the cathepsin lysosomal protease family and has been of increasing interest as a target of medicinal chemistry efforts for its role in bone matrix degradation. Inhibition of the Cat K enzyme reduces bone resorption and thus, has rendered the enzyme as an attractive target for anti-resorptive osteoporosis therapy. Over the past decades, considerable efforts have been made to design and develop highly potent, excellently selective and orally applicable Cat K inhibitors. These inhibitors are derived from synthetic compounds or natural products, some of which have passed preclinical studies and are presently in clinical trials at different stages of advancement. In this review, we briefly summarised the historic development of Cat K inhibitors and discussed the relationship between structures of inhibitors and active sites in Cat K for the purpose of guiding future development of inhibitors.     

Declined miR‐181a‐5p expression is associated with impaired natural killer cell development and function with aging

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression and thereby influence cell development and function. Numerous studies have shown the significant roles of miRNAs in regulating immune cells including natural killer (NK) cells. However, little is known about the role of miRNAs in NK cells with aging. We previously demonstrated that the aged C57BL/6 mice have significantly decreased proportion of mature (CD27⁻CD11b⁺) NK cells compared with young mice, indicating impaired maturation of NK cells with aging. Here, we performed deep sequencing of CD27⁺ NK cells from young and aged mice. Profiling of the miRNome (global miRNA expression levels) revealed that 49 miRNAs displayed a twofold or greater difference in expression between young and aged NK cells. Among these, 30 miRNAs were upregulated and 19 miRNAs were downregulated in the aged NK cells. We found that the expression level of miR‐l8la‐5p was increased with the maturation of NK cells, and significantly decreased in NK cells from the aged mice. Knockdown of miR‐181a‐5p inhibited NK cell development in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, miR‐181a‐5p is highly conserved in mice and human. MiR‐181a‐5p promoted the production of IFN‐γ and cytotoxicity in stimulated NK cells from both mice and human. Importantly, miR‐181a‐5p level markedly decreased in NK cells from PBMC of elderly people. Thus, our results demonstrated that the miRNAs profiles in NK cells change with aging, the decreased level of miR‐181a‐5p contributes to the defective NK cell development and function with aging. This opens new strategies to preserve or restore NK cell function in the elderly.     

Alleviation of Liver Dysfunction,Oxidative Stress,and Inflammation Underlines the Protective Effects of Polysaccharides from Cordyceps cicadae on High Sugar/High Fat Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome in Rats

This study investigated the protective effects of two polysaccharides (CPA-1 and CPB-2) from Cordyceps cicadae against high fructose/high fat diet (HF/HFD) induced obesity and metabolic disorders in rats. Rats were either fed with normal diet or HF/HFD and treated with CPA-1 and CPB-2 (100 and 300 mg/kg) for 11 weeks. Administration of CPA-1 and CPB-2 significantly and dose dependently reduced body and liver weight, insulin and glucose tolerance, serum insulin and glucose levels. Furthermore, serum and hepatic lipid profiles, liver function enzymes and proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6) were markedly reduced. Additionally, CPA-1 and CPB-2 treatment alleviated hepatic oxidative stress by reducing lipid peroxidation level (MDA) and upregulating glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities as well as ameliorated histological alterations through the reduction of hepatic lipid accumulation. These results suggested that the polysaccharides from C. cicadae showed protective effects against HF/HFD induced metabolic disturbances and may be considered as a dietary supplement for treating obesity.     

Wildcat population density in NE Portugal: A regional stronghold for a nationally threatened felid

Population density data on depleted and endangered wildlife species are essential to assure their effective management and, ultimately, conservation. The European wildcat is an elusive and threatened species inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula, with fragmented populations and living in low densities. We fitted spatial capture–recapture models on camera-trap data, to provide the first estimate of wildcat density for Portugal and assess the most influential drivers determining it. The study was implemented in Montesinho Natural Park (NE Portugal), where we identified nine individuals, over a total effort of 3,477 trap-nights. The mean density estimate was 0.032 ± 0.012 wildcat/km², and density tended to increase with distance to humanized areas, often linked to lower human disturbance and domestic cat presence, with forest and herbaceous vegetation cover and with European rabbit abundance. Although, this density estimate is within the range of values estimated for protected areas elsewhere in the Iberian Peninsula, our estimates are low at the European level. When put in context, our results highlight that European wildcats may be living in low population densities across the Iberian Mediterranean biogeographic region. No phenotypic domestic or hybrid cats were detected, suggesting potentially low admixture rates between the two species, although genetic sampling would be required to corroborate this assertion. We provide evidence that Montesinho Natural Park may be a suitable area to host a healthy wildcat population, and thus be an important protected area in this species' conservation context.