Antiosteoporotic activity of phenolic compounds from Curculigo orchioides

Six phenolic compounds isolated from Curculigo orchioides, including 2,6-dimethoxy benzoic acid (1), curculigoside A (2), curculigoside B (3), curculigine A (4), curculigine D (5) and 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethoxy-7,9′:7′,9-diepoxylignan-4,4′-di-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (6), together with the ethanol extract of Curculigo orchioides were evaluated for their activity on osteoblasts in neonatal rat calvaria cultures and multinucleated osteoclasts derived from rat marrow cells so as to characterize the antiosteoporotic components of this plant and explore the relationship of chemical structure with antiosteoporotic activity. The proliferation of osteoblast was assayed by MTT methods. The activity of ALP (alkaline phosphatase) and TRAP (tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase) was measured by p-nitrophenyl sodium phosphate assay. The TRAP stain was used to identify osteoclast in morphology. The resorption pit area on the bone slices formed by osteoclast was measured by computer image processing. The ethanol extract exhibited stimulatory effect on both the osteoblast proliferation and the ALP activity. Six compounds all increased the osteoblast proliferation, and compounds (1), (2) and (4) also slightly increased the osteoblastic ALP activity. Compounds (1), (2), (3), (6) and the ethanol extract decreased area of bone resorption pit, osteoclastic formation and TRAP activity. These results indicated that phenolic compounds are antiosteoporotic chemical constituents from Curculigo orchioides, and their activities are related with chemical structures.     

念珠菌性阴道炎实验诊断方法评价

念珠菌性阴道炎是妇科常见的感染性疾病,曾称为霉菌性阴道炎,多由白念珠菌引起。由于临床抗菌素和激素类药物等的广泛应用,目前该病发病率高达30％～40％,且易复发。临床妇科检查阴道分泌物增多,外观呈白色稠状、白膜状或豆渣状^[1]。阴道分泌物的实验室检测方法有：涂片的直接镜检法、革兰氏染色法、快速凝集法、真菌培养和分子生物学等方法^[2]。为了适合门诊常规检验的快速和准确报告的要求,对现在常用的直接涂片镜检法和快速乳胶凝集法两种检测方法进行结果对比,为临床提供可靠的检验结果。     

Rediscovery of the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)in Yingjiang County,Yunnan Province,China

DEAR EDITOR, The sun bear,Helarctos malayanus (Raffles,1821),is a forestdependent bear species distributed in tropical Southeast Asia.The species was previously reported from scattered localities in southwestern China,which is at the northeastern edge of its global range.Due to the scarcity of reliable recent records,some authorities cast doubt on the continued existence of sun bear in China.Here we present the rediscovery of this species in Yingjiang County,western Yunnan Province,China,near the international border with Myanmar's Kachin State.     

MiR-26b是前列腺癌中的抑癌微RNA

microRNAs（又称miRNAs或miRs）是一类长度为19-24个核苷酸的单链非编码RNA分子。miRNA通过与其靶向的mRNA分子序列特异性互补配对,调节mRNA表达水平,抑制转录后的蛋白翻译。miRNA在肿瘤中既可作为致癌因子也可作为抑癌因。本研究前期已报道miR-26b在前列腺癌细胞系中低表达,并且抑制细胞自噬。本研究进一步全面揭示miR-26b对前列腺肿瘤细胞的作用。我们发现过表达miR-26b能够在体外抑制前列腺癌细胞的增殖和侵袭,并抑制裸鼠体内原位异种前列腺肿瘤的生长。为了探究miR-26b对前列腺癌细胞增殖和侵袭的潜在调控机制,我们进行了表达谱芯片鉴定miR-26b调控基因。表达谱芯片分析表明,在前列腺癌细胞系PC-3中过表达miR-26b后,显著上调的基因57个,显著下调的基因55个（变化倍数均大于2,且P值小于0.05）。差异基因的功能多与细胞增殖、凋亡调控、蛋白磷酸化和泛素化修饰调控过程相关,并且富集在多种信号通路中,例如TNF和TGF-β信号通路。在这些筛选出的基因中,CEACAM6表达水平下调2.17倍;序列分析及实验验证表明,CEACAM6的3’UTR区存在miR-26b的互补序列,是miR-26b的直接靶标。本研究证明了miR-26b能够靶向结合抑制CEACAM6的表达,从而抑制前列腺癌细胞在体外和体内的细胞增殖和侵袭活性,miR-26b是前列腺癌中的抑癌microRNA。     

Structural development of aleurone and its function in common wheat

The wheat aleurone is formed from surface endosperm cells, and its developmental status reflects its biogenesis, structural characteristics, and physiological functions. In this report, wheat caryopses at different development stages were embedded in Spurr’s low-viscosity embedding medium for observation of the development of aleurone cells (ACs) by light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and fluorescence microscopy, respectively. According to their structures and physiological characterization, the ACs development process was divided into five stages: endosperm cellulization, spherosome formation, aleurone grain formation, filling material proliferation, and maturation. Furthermore, ACs in different parts of the caryopsis formed differently. ACs near the vascular bundle developed earlier and formed transfer cells, but other ACs formed slowly and did not form transfer cells. ACs on the caryopsis backside were a regular square shape; however, ACs in the caryopsis abdomen were mainly irregular. There were also differences in development between wheat varieties. ACs were rectangular in hard wheat but square in soft wheat. ACs were larger and showed a greater degree of filling in hard compared to soft wheat. The storage materials in ACs were different compared to inner endosperm cells (IECs). The concentrations of minerals such as sodium, magnesium, silicon, phosphorus and potassium were higher in ACs than in IECs. ACs contained many aleurone grains and spherosomes, which store lipids and mineral nutrients, respectively. The cell nucleus did not disappear and the cells were still alive during aleurone maturation. However, IECs were dead and mainly contained amyloplast and protein bodies, which store starch and protein, respectively. Overall, the above results characterized major structural features of aleurone and revealed that the wheat aleurone has mainly four functions.     

A New Natural Quinone, 2-Methyl-3-II,III,VIII,IX-octahydromultiprenyl9-1,4-naphthoquinone Isolated from Streptomyces albus

Purification of the precipitates obtained from the juice oil of Citrus hassaku by chromatography afforded 7-geranyloxycoumarin (aurapten) and two compounds (mp 43~45°C and 122~124°C), whose structures were determined to be epoxyaurapten and marmin on the basis of spectral evidence. These compounds were isolated from Citrus hassaku for the first time. The spasmolytic activity was tested of aurapten, epoxyaurapten, marmin and their related compounds, which were synthesized from aurapten and marmin, on the small intestine removed from a male guinea pig. Epoxyaurapten exhibited the highest activity among them against the small intestine’s contraction induced by BaCl₂.     

A Potential Relationship among Beta-Defensins Haplotype,SOX7 Duplication and Cardiac Defects

Objective

To determine the pathogenesis of a patient born with congenital heart defects, who had appeared normal in prenatal screening.

Methods

In routine prenatal screening, G-banding was performed to analyse the karyotypes of the family and fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to investigate the 22q11.2 deletion in the fetus. After birth, the child was found to be suffering from heart defects by transthoracic echocardiography. In the following study, sequencing was used to search for potential mutations in pivotal genes. SNP-array was employed for fine mapping of the aberrant region and quantitative real-time PCR was used to confirm the results. Furthermore, other patients with a similar phenotype were screened for the same genetic variations. To compare with a control, these variations were also assessed in the general population.

Results

The child and his mother each had a region that was deleted in the beta-defensin repeats, which are usually duplicated in the general population. Besides, the child carried a SOX7-gene duplication. While this duplication was not detected in his mother, it was found in two other patients with cardiac defects who also had the similar deletion in the beta-defensin repeats.

Conclusion

The congenital heart defects of the child were probably caused by a SOX7-gene duplication, which may be a consequence of the partial haplotype of beta-defensin regions at 8p23.1. To our knowledge, this is the first congenital heart defect case found to have the haplotype of beta-defensin and the duplication of SOX7.     

Tropic 1808基因重组蛋白对大鼠坐骨神经再生的影响

目的观察Tropic1808基因重组蛋白对坐骨神经损伤后再生的影响。方法SD大鼠16只,分为Tropic1808基因重组蛋白组和生理盐水组,切断左侧坐骨神经,硅胶管套接后两神经断端间距10mm,再生室内注入Tropic 1808基因重组蛋白液(500μg/ml)或生理盐水13μl。术后每4周做一次足迹试验,16周时作神经干动作电位、脊髓前角运动神经元数、腓肠肌纤维截面积、硅胶管中段再生神经等检测。结果Tropic1808基因重组蛋白组SFI的恢复、神经干动作电位、脊髓前角运动神经元数、腓肠肌纤维截面积、硅胶管中段再生神经有髓神经纤维数等结果均明显优于生理盐水组,有统计学意义。电镜观察表明Tropic1808组再生轴突较NS组粗,髓鞘较生理盐水组厚。结论Tropic1808基因重组蛋白有促进大鼠坐骨神经再生的作用。     

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...