Valproate Improves Memory Deficits in an Alzheimer’s disease Mouse Model: Investigation of Possible Mechanisms of Action

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a very common progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting the learning and memory abilities in the brain. Key findings from recent studies of epigenetic mechanisms of memory suggest chromatin remodeling disorders via histone hypoacetylation of the lysine residue contribute to the cognitive impairment in AD. Therefore, the deinhibition of histone acetylation induced by histone deacetylases (HDACs) inhibitors contributes to recovery of learning and memory. We show here that the antiepileptic drug sodium valproate (VPA) potently enhanced long-term recognition memory and spatial learning and memory in AD transgenic mice. Possible mechanisms showed VPA could significantly elevate histone acetylation through HDACs activity inhibition and increase plasticity-associated gene expression within the hippocampi of mice. Our study suggests that VPA, serving as a HDACs inhibitor, can be considered as a potential pharmaceutical agent for the improvement of cognitive function in AD.     

IL-33-ST2 pathway regulates AECII transdifferentiation by targeting alveolar macrophage in a bronchopulmonary dysplasia mouse model

Evidence points to the indispensable function of alveolar macrophages (AMs) in normal lung development and tissue homeostasis. However, the importance of AMs in bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) has not been elucidated. Here, we identified a significant role of abnormal AM proliferation and polarization in alveolar dysplasia during BPD, which is closely related to the activation of the IL-33-ST2 pathway. Compared with the control BPD group, AMs depletion partially abolished the epithelialmesenchymal transition process of AECII and alleviated pulmonary differentiation arrest. In addition, IL-33 or ST2 knockdown has protective effects against lung injury after hyperoxia, which is associated with reduced AM polarization and proliferation. The protective effect disappeared following reconstitution of AMs in injured IL-33 knockdown mice, and the differentiation of lung epithelium was blocked again. In conclusion, the IL-33-ST2 pathway regulates AECII transdifferentiation by targeting AMs proliferation and polarization in BPD, which shows a novel strategy for manipulating the IL-33–ST2-AMs axis for the diagnosis and intervention of BPD.     

Comparison Study of Bone Defect Healing Effect of Raw and Processed Pyritum in Rats

To evaluate and compare the effect of raw and processed pyritum on tibial defect healing, 32 male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups. After tibial defect, animals were produced and grouped: sham and control group were orally administrated with distilled water (1 mL/100 g), while treatment groups were given aqueous extracts of raw and processed pyritum (1.5 g/kg) for successive 42 days. Radiographic examination showed that bone defect healing effect of the treatment groups was obviously superior compared to that of the control group. Bone mineral density of whole tibia was increased significantly after treating with pyritum. Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry showed that the contents of Ca, P, and Mg in callus significantly increased in the treatment groups comparing with the control. Moreover, serological analysis showed that the concentration of serum phosphorus of the treatment groups significantly increased compared with that of the control group. By in vitro study, we have evaluated the effects of drug-containing serum of raw and processed pyritum on osteoblasts. It was manifested that both the drug-containing sera of raw and processed pyritum significantly increased the mRNA levels of alkaline phosphatase and collagen type I. Protein levels of phosphorylated Smad2/3 also increased. The mRNA levels of osteocalcin and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) type I and II receptors, as well as the protein levels of TGF-β1 in the processed groups, were higher than those in the control. In summary, both raw and processed pyritum-containing sera exhibited positive effects on osteoblasts, which maybe via the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway. Notably, the tibia defect healing effect of pyritum was significantly enhanced after processing.     

Synthesis and bioevaluation of new tacrine-cinnamic acid hybrids as cholinesterase inhibitors against Alzheimer’s disease

Small molecule cholinesterases inhibitor (ChEI) provides an effective therapeutic strategy to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Currently, the discovery of new ChEI with multi-target effect is still of great importance. Herein, we report the synthesis, structure–activity relationship study and biological evaluation of a series of tacrine-cinnamic acid hybrids as new ChEIs. All target compounds are evaluated for their in vitro cholinesterase inhibitory activities. The representatives which show potent activity on cholinesterase, are evaluated for the amyloid β-protein self-aggregation inhibition and in vivo assays. The optimal compound 19, 27, and 30 (human AChE IC₅₀?=?10.2?±?1.2, 16.5?±?1.7, and 15.3?±?1.8?nM, respectively) show good performance in ameliorating the scopolamine-induced cognition impairment and preliminary safety in hepatotoxicity evaluation. These compounds deserve further evaluation for the development of new therapeutic agents against AD.     

应用PAMAM dendrimers作为DNA运送载体的体外研究

Starburst^TM PAMAM dendrimers分子是一类新型的高分枝、辐射状对称的树状高分子,在生理条件下其表面具有高密度的正电荷,可以通过静电相互作用与核酸形成复合物后,介导遗传物质进入细胞.研究了G3, G3.5, G5, G7, G7.5, G9各代dendrimers分子与DNA结合后介导其转染细胞的能力,并初步评价这种复合物转染对细胞活力的影响.实验证实,全代的PAMAM dendrmers皆可与DNA结合,并可在体外培养的细胞中介导高效的DNA转染.PAMAM dendrimer/DNA复合物很稳定,在较大的pH值变化范围内(pH 2～10)不解离.PAMAM dendrimers可保护与之复合的DNA分子免受限制性内切酶的降解.在一定的电荷比范围内,高代数的dendrimers分子与DNA形成的复合物对培养细胞的转染效率高于低代数dendrimer分子,复合物所介导的转染效率在不同的细胞系之间也有差异.在有效作用浓度范围内（≤1.3×10^-1 g/L）,PAMAM dendrimers/DNA复合物对被转染细胞无毒性.但是,未与DNA复合的dendrimers分子在较低浓度时则表现出毒性,表明Starburst^TM PAMAM dendrimers分子可作为新型的低毒非病毒DNA载体,用于介导DNA对体外培养细胞的转染. 这些前期观察,为将纳米级高分子聚合物dendrimers分子作为基因转运载体应用于体内提供了初步的实验依据.     

条浒苔和缘管浒苔对镉胁迫的生理响应比较

为探讨大型海藻对重金属胁迫的生理响应及耐受机制,以条浒苔（Enteromorpha clathrata）和缘管浒苔（Enteromorpha linza）为试验材料,研究了不同浓度的镉（Cd2 ）处理7天对两个浒苔品种的生长、叶绿素（Chl）和类胡萝卜素（Car）含量、叶绿素荧光参数以及可溶性糖（SS）和可溶性蛋白含量（SP）的影响。结果表明：随着Cd2 浓度的增加,条浒苔和缘管浒苔鲜重和相对生长速率（RGR）与对照相比显著下降,且条浒苔的鲜重和RGR降低幅度大于缘管浒苔。镉胁迫下,叶绿素和类胡萝卜素含量、叶绿素a/叶绿素b（Chla/Chlb）、PSⅡ最大光能转化效率（Fv/Fm）、PSⅡ实际光能转化效率（Yield）、最大相对电子传递速率（rETRmax即Pm）和光能利用效率（α）、可溶性蛋白含量随着Cd2 浓度的升高均出现下降趋势,除了叶绿素外,条浒苔的其它指标的降幅要大于缘管浒苔。随着镉胁迫强度的增加,浒苔可溶性糖含量呈现逐渐显著上升。上述表明,条浒苔和缘管浒苔对Cd2 胁迫均具有一定的适应能力,且缘管浒苔耐镉性高于条浒苔。在镉胁迫下,维持较高的Car含量、Chla/Chlb、Fv/Fm、Yield、rETRmax、α、SS含量、SP含量是缘管浒苔耐镉性高于条浒苔的主要原因。     

中国对虾（Penaeus chinensis）4个种群的同工酶遗传变异

采用水平淀粉凝胶电泳技术分析了中国对虾（Penaeuschinensis）黄渤海沿岸种群（YP）、朝鲜半岛西海岸种群（KP）和2个养殖种群（CP1和CP2）的同工酶遗传变异水平。每个种群随机选取50尾中国对虾进行同工酶检测。在所分析的12种同工酶编码的20个基因位点中,有4个是多态位点。4个种群的多态位点比例（P0.99）分别为15%、20%、10%和20%。种群平均杂合度（观测值）（Ho）分别为0.014±0.007、0.020±0.010、0.010±0.007和0.033±0.017。4个种群的位点有效等位基因数（Ne）分别为1.015±0.008、1.023±0.011、1.011±0.007和1.042±0.022。杂合子平衡偏离指数（D）分别为+0.037、-0.030、-0.098和-0.030。2个地理种群（YP和KP）的遗传相似性系数（I）和遗传距离（D     

活性氧参与一氧化氮诱导的神经细胞凋亡

采用激光共聚焦成像技术，用氧化还原敏感的特异性荧光探针(DCFH-DA和DHR123)直接研究了一氧化氮供体S-亚硝基-N-乙酰基青霉胺(SNAP)诱导未成熟大鼠小脑颗粒神经元凋亡过程中的细胞胞浆、线粒体中活性氧水平的变化，发现神经细胞经0.5 mmol/L SNAP处理1 h后，细胞胞浆及线粒体中活性氧水平大大增加.一氧化氮清除剂血红蛋白能够有效抑制细胞胞浆、线粒体中活性氧的产生，防止细胞凋亡.外源性谷胱甘肽对细胞也具有良好的保护作用，而当细胞中谷胱甘肽的合成被抑制后，一氧化氮的神经毒性大大增强.实验结果表明一氧化氮通过促进神经细胞产生内源性活性氧而启动细胞凋亡程序，而谷胱甘肽可能是重要的防止一氧化氮引发神经损伤的内源性抗氧化剂.     

白芨SSR引物筛选及群体遗传多样性研究

白芨(Bletilla striata Rchb.)为中国珍稀濒危植物,重要的药用植物。该研究基于Illumina测序技术构建白芨基因组文库和微卫星文库,设计白芨微卫星引物,用白芨4个野生种群80个个体对引物进行多态性检测,应用4个白芨近缘种中进行引物的通用性检测,并在此基础上分析了白芨的遗传多样性和遗传分化,以探讨白芨的遗传结构和进化潜能。结果表明:(1)白芨基因组中微卫星片断丰富,共检测出17 841条微卫星片断。基于白芨微卫星库对100个位点设计了引物对,经PCR扩增和检测筛选出能够稳定扩增的多态性位点20个,每个位点的复等位基因数(Na)在2~6之间,平均为3.85;20对引物的大部分能够在4个白芨近缘种中成功扩增。(2)白芨在物种水平均有较高的遗传多样性(Na=3.85,I=1.07,H=0.614 7),白芨种群遗传分化强烈(Gst=0.43),居群间的基因流较弱(Nm=0.867 6),居群聚类分析结果均表明地理距离较近的居群具有较近的遗传关系。     

Culture media conditioned by heat-shocked osteoblasts enhances the osteogenesis of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells

Osteogenic cells differentiated from bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) hold much promise in bone tissue engineering and reconstructive surgery. There is a dire need for well-defined and efficient protocols to promote the osteogenesis of ex vivo cultured MSC. Hence, this study investigated whether a combination of chemical stimuli (ascorbic acid, beta-glycerophosphate and dexamethasone) and culture media conditioned by a human foetal osteoblast cell line (hFOB) had any synergistic effect on the osteogenesis of MSC. Conditioned media with or without prior heat shock treatment (42 degrees C for 1 h) of the hFOB cell line, were collected and tested on rabbit MSC cultures, in the presence and absence of chemical stimuli. Osteogenic differentiation of MSC was assessed on both day 14 and 21 of ex vivo culture. The results showed conclusively that conditioned media promoted osteogenesis of MSC, which was further enhanced by prior heat shock-treatment of the hFOB cells, as well as by the presence of chemical stimuli. Among all experimental groups, the combination of culture medium conditioned by heat shocked hFOB cells together with chemical stimuli, exhibited the highest level of calcium mineralization, as assessed by Von Kossa staining. This provides clear evidence of a synergistic effect of conditioned media, heat shock and chemical stimuli. It is hoped that the data may contribute to the development of a more well-defined and efficient in vitro culture protocol to promote the osteogenesis of MSC for both clinical and non-clinical applications.