Reverse effect of Yinchenhao decoction in dimethyl nitrosamine-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To discuss the reverse effect of Yinchenhao decoction(YCHD) in dimethyl nitrosamine (DMN)-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The rat hepatic fibrosis model was established through the intraperitoneal injection with 1% dimethyl nitrosamine (DMN) with a dose of 1.0 mL x kg(-1) x d(-1) for consecutively three weeks, once for the first three days of each. The rats were randomly divided into six groups: the silymarin positive control group (50.0 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1), YCHD high (20.0 g x kg(-1) d(-1)), middle (8.0 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)) and low (3.2 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)) dose groups, the model group and the normal control group. The model group and the normal control group were orally administered with normal saline for consecutively five weeks. The pathologic changes in liver tissues were observed by HE staining. The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), g-glutamyltransferase (g-GGT), hyaluronic acid (HA), laminin (LN), collagen type IV (CIV) and type III procollagen amino terminal peptide (PIIINP) in serum were determined. The metabolite profiling of amino acid and the content of hydroxyproline in liver tissues were also measured.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Compared with the model group, YCHD high and middle dose groups could significantly reverse the pathologic changes in liver tissues of rats. YCHD could reduce the levels of ALT, AST, gamma-GGT, HA, LN, CIV, PIIINP in serum and the content of hydroxyproline in liver tissues in a dose-dependent manner, and altered the metabolite profiling of amino acid in rat liver tissues.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>YCHD has the effect in reversing dimethyl nitrosamine induced hepatic fibrosis in rats.</p>

High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for determining olmesartan in human plasma / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish a simple and rapid HPLC-MS method for determining the contents of olmesartan in human plasma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Plasma were precipitated with trifluoroacetic acid, then analyzed on an HyPurity C(18) column (150 mm 2.1 mm, 5 microm). Samples at 40 degrees celsius;. The mobile phase consisted of water-methanol- acetonitrile(14:60:26) with a flow rate of 0.22 ml/min.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The lower limit of qualification was 25 microg/L. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 25-3200 microg/L (r=0.9998), with the intra-day and inter-day RSD less than 15%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The method is sensitive, rapid and suitable for the study of pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of olmesartan.</p>

Level of asymmetric dimethylarginine and carotid atherosclerosis in patients with chronic kidney disease / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To determine the association between asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthase, with atherosclerosis in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).@*METHODS@#One hundred thirty-eight CKD patients were enrolled in this study. Serum levels of L-arginine, ADMA, and SDMA were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Common carotid arteries intimae-medial thickness (CCA-IMT), cross-sectional calculated intimae-medial thickness (cIM area) and atherosclerotic plaque were detected by noninvasive high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography.@*RESULTS@#Serum levels of ADMA and SDMA were significantly increased in CKD patients (n=138) compared with age matched healthy subjects (n=42, P<0.01). ADMA and SDMA levels increased with the progression of renal dysfunction and were negatively related to creatinine clearance (Ccr) in pre-dialysis patients (r=-0.315, P<0.05; r=-0.426, P<0.01). Serum levels of ADMA and SDMA in dialysis patients (n=74) were significantly higher than those in pre-dialysis patients (P<0.05). Patients with carotid artery plaques showed significantly higher levels of ADMA compared with those without plaques. Serum levels of ADMA closely correlated with the mean IMT (r=0.471, P<0.01) and cIM area value (r=0.430, P<0.01). These correlations remained significant even after adjusting GFR, age, gender ,and other risk factors for atherosclerosis in the multiple regression analysis.@*CONCLUSION@#Serum levels of ADMA increased with the progression of CKD and may play a role in the pathogenesis of accelerated atherosclerosis in CKD patients.

Changes of serum asymmetric dimethylarginine in essential hypertension before and after the treatment / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the relationship between serum asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and blood pressure as well as target organ damage in essential hypertension, and to evaluate the effects of enalapril and losartan on them.@*METHODS@#Forty-two newly diagnoszed patients with essential hypertension were randomly divided into enalapril-treated group and losartan-treated group. Serum ADMA, L-arginine, and nitric oxide( NO) were measured before and after the treatment for 8 weeks. Twenty-three healthy volunteers were included as control subjects.@*RESULTS@#The concentrations of ADMA and L-arginine in serum were significantly higher but the level of nitric oxide was relatively lower ( P < 0.01 ) in hypertensive patients than those in control subjects. Serum ADMA was higher in different levels of blood pressure and target organ damage. Treatment with enalapril or losartan for 8 weeks not only reduced blood pressure but also decreased serum ADMA (P <0.01 ). Furthermore, treatment with these drugs also increased the level of serum nitric oxide but didn't change the level of L-arginine.@*CONCLUSION@#The concentrations of serum ADMA and L-arginine were increased, but the level of nitric oxide was decreased in the early stage of essential hypertension. Both enalapril and losartan could ameliorate the endothelial function by reducing the concentration of ADMA.

Determination of adenosine and cordycepin in Cordyceps sinensis and C. militarris with HPLC-ESI-MS / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>HPLC-ESI-MS to establish a method for simultaneous determination of adenosine and cordycepin in Cordyceps sinensis and C. militarris.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>HPLC-ESI-MS method. An electrospray ionization (ESI) interface and selective ion monitoring (SIM) mode were used. The analytical column was a 2.0 mm x 150 mm Shimadzu VP - ODS column and the mobile phase was water (94%), methanol (5%) and formic acid (1%). 2-Chloroadenosine was used as internal standard for this assay.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The regression equations and coefficient were Y = 0.134 6X + 0.001 29 (r = 0.998 4) for adenosine, Y = 0.216 4X + 0.021 5 (r = 0.999 1) for cordycepin. The liner range was 0.5 approximately 124.5 microg x mL(-1) and 0.5 approximately 136.5 microg x mL(-1) for adenosine and cordycepin, respectively. The average recoveries of adenosine and cordycepin were 95.8% and 98.1%, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This method is highly sensitive, fast and selective, which can be used for the determination of nucleosides in C. sinensis and its substitutes. This method can also be applied for the quality control of above herbs.</p>

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of matrix metalloproteinases in subretinal fluids / 生物工程学报

In this work, the experimental conditions for two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of subretinal fluids (SRF) matrix metalloproteinases were established. The conditions tested included the composition of lysis solution and lysis method, the composition of rehydration solution and isoelectric focusing program (IEF), the composition of equilibration buffer and equilibration process and the composition of incubation solution and incubation methods. The main equipments used were IPGphor isoelectric focusing system from Amersham pharmacia and PROTEAN II xi cell from Bio-Rad, the gel strips used were the 18 cm long, pH 3 - 8 Linear immobiline DryStrips. Among the 9 samples analyzed, 2 were PVR-A, 2 were PVR-C1, 2 were PVR-C2, 2 were PVR-C3 and the remaining one could not be classified definitely. The new 2-DE MMPs method is better than Gelatin SDS-PAGE zymograhpy method, as it is higher in resolution, sensitivity and reproducibility. The experimental results suggested that the four types of MMPs expressed differently at different stages of PVR. Two of the MMPs isomers have same molecular weight (MW) but different in isoelectic points (pI). The four MMPs are determined to be MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-9 and MMP-9, with MMP-9 has two active forms. In addition, MMP-9 and MMP-1 may be present in PVR-A samples but not in PVR-C samples, whereas MMP-2 is present in PVR-C but not in PVR-A samples. These results revealed the complex profiles of MMPs' expression in PVR. The new method can be applied to test MMPs expression in tissues, cells and other types of samples with a little modification in the protocol, and can be followed by mass spectroscopic analysis of MMPs.