Pro-inflammatory effect of fibrinogen and FDP on vascular smooth muscle cells by IL-6, TNF-α and iNOS

AimsAtherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory response of the arterial wall to multiple endothelial injuries. As one of the inflammatory markers, fibrinogen has been implicated in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. But, it is not completely understood whether atherogenesis of fibrinogen is related to its pro-inflammatory effect on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). The purpose of the present study was to observe effects of fibrinogen and fibrin degradation products (FDP) on interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) generation in rat VSMCs.Main methodsRat VSMCs were cultured, and fibrinogen and FDP were used as stimulants for IL-6, TNF-α, and iNOS. IL-6 and TNF-α level in the supernatant were measured by ELISA, mRNA expression of IL-6, TNF-α, and iNOS were assayed with RT-PCR, and protein expression of iNOS was detected with western blot and immunocytochemistry.Key findingsFibrinogen and FDP both significantly stimulated mRNA and protein expressions of IL-6, TNF-α and iNOS in VSMCs in time- and concentration-dependent ways. The pro-inflammatory potency of FDP is higher than fibrinogen, which seems to mean that smaller fragments of the protein have greater pro-inflammatory activity. Fibrinogen and FDP promote more protein expressions of IL-6 and TNF-α compared to iNOS, suggesting that fibrinogen and FDP produce a pro-inflammatory effect on VSMCs mainly by IL-6 and TNF-α.SignificanceThese findings are helpful to better understand pro-inflammatory effect of fibrinogen on VSMCs involved in atherogenesis, and imply a therapeutic strategy targeting hyperfibrinogenemia in atherosclerosis.     

Inhibition of autophagy potentiates the cytotoxicity of the irreversible FGFR1-4 inhibitor FIIN-2 on lung adenocarcinoma

For patients with platinum-resistant lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), the exploration of new effective drug candidates is urgently needed. Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) have been identified as promising targets for LUAD therapy. The purpose of this study was to determine the exact role of the irreversible FGFR1-4 inhibitor FIIN-2 in LUAD and to clarify its underlying molecular mechanisms. Our results demonstrated that FIIN-2 significantly inhibited the proliferation, colony formation, and migration of A549 and A549/DDP cells but induced the mitochondria-mediated apoptosis of these cells. Meanwhile, FIIN-2 increased the autophagy flux of A549 and A549/DDP cells by inhibiting the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and further activating the class III PI3K complex pathway. More importantly, in vivo and in vitro experiments showed that autophagy inhibitors could enhance the cytotoxicity of FIIN-2 on A549 and A549/DDP cells, confirming that FIIN-2 induced protective autophagy. These findings indicated that FIIN-2 is a potential drug candidate for LUAD treatment, and its use in combination with autophagy inhibitors might be an efficient treatment strategy, especially for patients with cisplatin resistance.Subject terms: Pharmacology, Targeted therapies, Preclinical research     

Optimization and performance validation for the fully automatic blood type analysis system

To evaluate and validate the application of fully automatic blood type analysis system parameters under actual lab conditions. All key system parameters were optimized and validated accordingly. The optimized parameters were centrifugal speed at 550 rpm; centrifugal time 20 min; resuspension speed 1,200 rpm; resuspension time: 45 s; incubation temperature 25℃ ; incubation time 400 s; incubation rate: 0 rpm. The sampled red blood cell concentration was 3%. The ratio of plasma to red blood cells reagent was 60 μL:30 μL; the ratio of antibody (reagent) to sampled diluted red blood cell was 30 μL:30 μL. After applying our key parameters for optimization and validation, the automatic blood type detection system's performance was found to meet the relevant requirements, effectively improving the accuracy and reliability of the detection system.     

用荧光漂白恢复技术研究竹红菌乙素在小鼠肝癌细胞内的扩散过程

利用竹红菌乙素自身的荧光特征,在ＦＰＲ装置上直接测定了乙素在ＡＨ细胞内的侧向扩散系数和荧光漂白的恢复率。实验结果表明乙素在ＡＨ细胞内的扩散系数Ｄ＝３．２×１０＾－９ｃｍ＾２／ｓ＾－１荧光漂白恢复比率Ｒ＝９７．８％,上述实验说明乙素在细胞膜内与生物大分子之间没有形成共价键形式的结合状态。     

大肠杆菌表达的戊型肝炎病毒ORF2多肽对恒河猴的免疫保护研究

在大肠杆菌中表达的一段戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）结构蛋白NE2,纯化后以弗氏佐剂,按0d,10d,30d的方案10μg/针的剂量免疫3只恒河猴,在第2周抗体阳转,第6周时1只滴度达1∶100 000,另2只滴度1∶20 000,此时以106 PCR滴度的HEV病毒粪悬液攻击。对照组3只均出现血清转氨酶（ALT）升高,抗体阳转,粪便持续排毒1月以上;疫苗组无一发病,未检出非疫苗来源的抗体,其中1只始终未检出粪便排毒,另2只仅出现短暂排毒。以一份NE2免疫后猴血清（滴度1∶20 000）与103 PCR滴度的病毒混匀后感染2只恒河猴,结果对照组2只均持续排毒3周以上,抗体阳转,1只ALT明显升高;而抗体中和组2只猴始终未检出粪便排毒,抗NE2抗体缓慢下降,ALT正常。这些结果表明NE2具有良好的免疫原性和免疫保护性,有可能成为有效的戊肝疫苗。     

变色树蜥核型

本文用骨髓染色体制片法,报道产于南宁的变色树蜥Ｃａｌｏｔｅｓｖｅｒｓｉｃｏｌｏｒ的核型。其２ｎ＝１２ｖ＋２２ｍ,ＮＦ＝４６;第２对大染色体长臂有随体。这与报道的西双版纳的变色树蜥有不同。     

银杏叶黄酮提取方法比较

比较不同溶剂提取银杏（ＧｉｎｋｇｏｂｉｌｏｂａＬ．）叶黄酮类化合物的提取效率,从成本效益角度考虑,以７０％乙醇作为提取溶剂更为有利。在分级沉淀中,黄酮含量与蛋白质含量呈正相关,在乙醇提取液中黄酮和蛋白质含量最高;蛋白质的存在有助于提高黄酮的溶解度。乙醇提取液用饱和（ＮＨ４）２ＳＯ４浓缩两次,可使醇相中的黄酮沉淀析出。根据试验结果,提出了银杏叶黄酮的优化提取方法。     

氨基酸环状衍生物的合成及抑菌活性

近年来,氨基酸及其衍生物在医药和农业上已显示有广阔的应用前景。现就近十余年来,国外文献报道的具有抗病原微生物活性的氨基酸环状衍生物作一简要概述。     

Determination of ginsenoside Rg3 in plasma by solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography for pharmacokinetic study

A method using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and solid-phase extraction (SPE) is described for the determination of ginsenoside Rg3 in human plasma. A 2.5-ml volume of plasma was mixed with 2.5 ml 60% methanol aqueous solution, and centrifuged at 1100 g for 10 min, the supernatant fluid was further purified by SPE with 200 mg/5 ml 40 μm octadecyl silica and separation was obtained using a reversed-phase column under isocratic conditions with ultraviolet absorbance detection. The intra- and inter-day precision, determined as relative standard deviations, were less than 5.0%, and method recovery was more than 97%. The lower limit of quantitation, based on standards with acceptable RSDs, was 2.5 ng/ml. No endogenous compounds were found to interfere with analyte. A good linear relationship with a regression coefficient of 0.9999 in the range of 2.5 to 200 ng/ml was observed. This method has been demonstrated to be suitable for pharmacokinetic studies in humans. Method development for determination of drug with low UV absorption by SPE and HPLC is also discussed.