Individualized medicine 2010

Molecular and cell biology have revolutionized not only diagnosis, therapy and prevention of human diseases but also greatly contributed to the understanding of their pathogenesis. Based on modern molecular and biochemical methods it is possible to identify on the one hand point mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms. On the other hand, using high throughput array technologies, it is possible to analyse thousands of genes or gene products simultaneously, resulting in an individual gene or gene expression profile (signature). These data increasingly allow to define the individual risk for a given disease and to predict the individual prognosis of a disease as well as the efficacy of therapeutic strategies (individualized medicine). In the following sections some of the recent advances of predictive medicine and their clinical relevance will be addressed.     

Evaluation of antimicrobial activity of certain Chinese plants used in folkloric medicine

Six selected plants, belonging to 3 families from Nanjing of China, were extracted with the solvent 95% (v/v) ethanol to yield 11 extracts. The extracts were evaluated for their effects on the growth of eight clinical bacteria, two fungi and one yeast using a modified agar diffusion method. The results showed that the majority of the extracts investigated showed greater activities against the Gram-positive bacteria than against the Gram-negative bacteria, the fungi and the yeast. The strongest antimicrobial activity was exhibited by the stem extracts of Mahonia fortunei against multiresistant Staphylococcus aureus strains, followed by the stem extracts of Mahonia bealei, while Bacillus thuringiensis was the most sensitive to all extracts.     

The politics of valuation and payment for regenerative medicine products in the UK

The field of regenerative medicine (RM) faces many challenges, including funding. Framing the analysis in terms of institutional politics, valuation studies and “technologies of knowledge”, the paper highlights growing debates about payment for RM in the UK, setting this alongside escalating policy debates about “value”. We draw on interviews and publicly available material to identify the interacting and conflicting positions of institutional stakeholders. It is concluded that while there is some common ground between institutional stakeholders such as industry and health system gatekeepers, there is significant conflict about reward systems, technology assessment methodologies and payment scenarios; a range of mostly conditional payment schemes and non-mainstream routes are being experimented with. We argue that current developments highlight a fundamental conflict between a concern for the societal value of medical technologies in a resource-limited system and a concern for engineering new reward and payment models to accommodate RM innovations.     

黄连木五倍子的生态研究与利用

一、产地自然概况黄连木五倍子最早发现于河南省南部信阳市郊贤山脚下(东经114°0′,,北纬32°10′)。该地为低山丘陵,海拔90一320m,南部紧连鸡公山厂傍依南湾水库和狮河。     

干细胞与再生医学技术发展态势研究

20世纪以来,干细胞与再生医学技术一直是国际生物医学领域的热点前沿之一,它为保障人类生命健康、改善人类生存质量和延长人类寿命发挥不可替代的巨大作用。因此,美国、欧洲国家、日本和中国等科技大国均将该领域纳入了国家科研与产业发展的重点战略中,并通过专项扶持、政策补贴、立法保障等方式激励该领域的创新发展。通过对近年来国际科技战略和科技研发态势的梳理分析,发现该领域的国际战略布局规律,揭示我国在该领域的领先优势与弱点,为我国未来干细胞与再生医学技术发展提出相关参考建议。     

Genetic structure and domestication footprints of the tusk,coat color,and ear morphology in East Chinese pigs

The domestication and artificial selection of wild boars have led to dramatic morphological and behavioral changes, especially in East Chinese (ECN) pigs. Here, we provide insights into the population structure and current genetic diversity of representative ECN pig breeds. We identify a 500-kb region containing six tooth development-relevant genes with almost completely different haplotypes between ECN pigs and Chinese wild boars or European domestic pigs. Notably, the c.195A>G missense mutation in exon 2 of AMBN may cause alterations in its protein structure associated with tusk degradation in ECN pigs. In addition, ESR1 may play an important role in the reproductive performance of ECN pigs. A major haplotype of the large lop ear-related MSRB3 gene and eight alleles in the deafness-related GRM7 gene may affect ear morphology and hearing in ECN pigs. Interestingly, we find that the two-end black (TEB) coat color in Jinhua pigs is most likely caused by EDNRB with genetic mechanisms different from other Chinese TEB pigs. This study identifies key loci that may be artificially selected in Chinese native pigs related to the tusk, coat color, and ear morphology, thus providing new insights into the genetic mechanisms of domesticated pigs.     

A possible strategy against head and neck cancer: in silico investigation of three-in-one inhibitors

Overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), Her2, and uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (UROD) occurs in a variety of malignant tumor tissues. UROD has potential to modulate tumor response of radiotherapy for head and neck cancer, and EGFR and Her2 are common drug targets for the treatment of head and neck cancer. This study attempts to find a possible lead compound backbone from TCM Database@Taiwan (http://tcm.cmu.edu.tw/) for EGFR, Her2, and UROD proteins against head and neck cancer using computational techniques. Possible traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) lead compounds had potential binding affinities with EGFR, Her2, and UROD proteins. The candidates formed stable interactions with residues Arg803, Thr854 in EGFR, residues Thr862, Asp863 in Her2 protein, and residues Arg37, Arg41 in UROD protein, which are key residues in the binding or catalytic domain of EGFR, Her2, and UROD proteins. Thus, the TCM candidates indicated a possible molecule backbone for evolving potential inhibitors for three drug target proteins against head and neck cancer.

An animated interactive 3D complement (I3DC) is available in Proteopedia at http://proteopedia.org/w/Journal:JBSD:35     

Curcumin inhibits ultraviolet light induced human immunodeficiency virus gene expression

Recently, we reported that the herbal drug St. John's Wort is a potent inhibitor of UV-induced HIV-LTR activation in stably transfected HIVcat/HeLa cells [35]. Our previous studies have demonstrated that the activation of p38 MAP kinase (stress-activated protein kinase-2) and NF-B are both required for a full UV-induced HIV gene expression response. In this study we have investigated the mechanism by which curcumin inhibits UV-activated HIV-LTR gene expression. We found that treatment of HIVcat/HeLa cells with micromolar concentrations of curcumin completely abolished UV activation of HIV gene expression. Curcumin treatment at similar doses as those used to inhibit HIV gene expression also effectively blocked UV activation of NF-B, as demonstrated by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. In contrast, curcumin did not inhibit UV-induced phosphorylation of p38 MAP kinase. This observation was also supported by findings that curcumin did not inhibit UV-induced phosphorylation of CREB/ATF-1 and ATF-2. Although curcumin was ineffective in preventing UV-induced p44/42 MAP kinase phosphorylation, the JNK (1 and 2) and AP-1 activation were efficiently blocked by curcumin in HeLa cells. We conclude that the mechanism by which curcumin modulates UV activation of HIV-LTR gene expression mainly involves the inhibition of NF-B activation.