Microbial synthesis of plant polyphenols / 生物工程学报

Plant polyphenols are phenylpropanoid derivatives including phenolic acids, stilbenes, curcumins and flavonoids. These compounds display a variety of biological and pharmacological activities such as antioxidation, vasorelaxation, anti-coagulation, anti-inflammation, anti-tumor and anti-virus, conferring a huge application potential in the sectors of drugs, foods, cosmetics, and chemicals. Microorganisms have become important hosts for heterologous synthesis of natural products due to the advantages of fast growth, easiness of culture and industrial operation. In recent years, the development of synthetic biology has boosted the microbial synthesis of plant natural products, achieving substantial progress. In this review, we summarize the synthesis of plant polyphenols in engineered Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other microorganisms equipped with the designed biosynthetic pathways of polyphenols. We also discuss the optimization strategies such as precursor engineering, dynamic regulation, and co-cultivation to improve the production of polyphenols and propose future prospects for polyphenol pathway engineering.

Clinical comparison between minimal invasive internal fixation with Mast Quadrant and traditional open internal fixation in the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures / 重庆医学

Objective To compare the curative effect between minimal invasive internal fixation with Mast Quadrant and tra -ditional open internal fixation for treating thoracolumbar fractures .Methods A total of 46 cases suffered thoracolumbar fractures were randomly divided into the minimally invasive group (MQ) and the traditional open group (TO) ,the patients in MQ group re-ceived minimally invasive pedicle internal fixation under Mast Quadrant minimal invasive channel ;the patients in TO group received pedicle internal fixation under traditional open channel .Perioperative related indicators ,imaging indicators and improvements of low back pain were recorded and statistically compared respectively .Results The different of the volume of blood loss ,operation time and length of incision and postoperative volume of drainage between the two groups were statistically significant (P 0 .05) .Conclusion Compared with traditional open operation ,minimally invasive pedicle internal fixation under Mast Quadrant minimal invasive chan-nel has the advantage of more simple operation ,less intraoperative bleeding and postoperative pain less invasive ,fast recovery and short hospitalization stay .

A novel recombinant human interferon alpha2b with high antivirus activity by combinatorial mutagenesis / 生物医学工程学杂志

In order to create a novel recombinant human interferon alpha2b (rh-IFN alpha2b) with higher biological activity, we subjected the rational designed sequence of rh-IFN alpha2b to direct evolution by strategy of the combinatorial mutagenesis. The amino acid residues at multiple sites of 52-53-55, 103-107, and 121-125 were simultaneously mutated. The resulted gene of the mutated rh-IFN a2b was cloned into the pET28a and expressed in E. coli BL21 Condon plus (RIL). The anti-virus activity of the novel interferon alpha2b was 9.3 x 10(7) IU/mg, 93 times higher than the wild type (1 x 10(6) IU/mg). The results showed that the multiple point mutation used in this study could effectively combine the site effects of rh-IFN alpha2b and increase its biological activity.

Chinese Pharmaceutical Industry vs. Other Industries in Profits Level / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To probe into the profits level and profits-gaining capability of Chinese pharmaceutical industry.METHODS:Based on the data recorded in yearbooks between 2001 and 2006,the profits levels were compared between Chinese pharmaceutical industry and China social average assets,other industries in China and overseas pharmaceutical industry.RESULTS:Between 2000～ 2005,the profits level of Chinese pharmaceutical industry was lower than that of Chinese social average assets,i.e.the profit-gaining capability of Chinese pharmaceutical industry was lower than that of China social average assets.Between 2002～ 2004,the profits level of Chinese pharmaceutical industry ranked at the first 10 places among the 39 industries,but dropped far behind in 2005,meanwhile the number of pharmaceutical enterprises who suffered loss increased greatly.CONCLUSION:The prospect for the development of Chinese pharmaceutical industry and the industry environment they confronted are far from optimistic.

On Risk and Return in Domestic Pharmaceutical Industry in China / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To establish a reasonable return level for Chinese pharmaceutical industry and to study the return level of the domestic pharmaceutical industry from 2000 to 2005.METHODS:In view of the financial data of Chinese pharmaceutical industry in the statistical yearbook from 2001 to 2006,the return level for Chinese pharmaceutical industry was established based on its risk level using the principle of "risk-return equilibrium",and the rationality of the return level of Chinese pharmaceutical industry over the 6 years was validated as well.RESULTS:Over the 6 years,the average lowest anticipating rate of return for the Chinese medicine industry was 7.72% and the actually average assets income rate stood at 8.53%,i.e.the average abnormal return rate over the 6 years was 0.81%.CONCLUSION:The return rate of Chinese pharmaceutical industry corresponds to the risk level as well as the reasonable return level.

Biotechnology in modernization of Chinese materia medica / 中草药

Chinese materia medica (CMM) plays an important role both in the disease prevention and therapy system and also in natural drug screening. Biotechnology exhibits applicable prospects in modern research of CMM with progress of natural science and technologies. Amplification fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), random amplification polymorphism of DNA (RAPD), and microsatellite DNA have been used to discriminate and breed herbal varieties. Genetic transformation and techniques of tissue and cell culture are explored to protect herbal resouces and to produce active components or parts on a commercial scale. High throughput technologies of proteome and biochip are expected to probe molecular targets and routes of CMM with the changes of proteome and gene expression. The results can be helpful to novel drug development and secondary exploitation, so as to promote the modernization process of CMM.

Development of glucometer based on ferrocene-mediated enzyme electrode / 医疗卫生装备

A portable glucometer is developed with ferrocene as an electron mediator, which is characterized by being easy to operate and portable with the small size of 94.3mm?49.2mm?17.8mm. With this meter, the detection result can be available in no more than 20 seconds with about 1.5?l of blood drawn. The meter has a measurement range from 50mg/dl to 500mg/dl and a precision of 1mg/dl. The measurements are compared with the ones from USI 2300 Stat Plus approved by FDA. The coefficient of variation is from 3.0% to 7.8%, and the availability of linear relationship (y=1.006x-1.37, r=0.990, n=1.18) and comparability are demonstrated. Error table analysis proves that all of measurements are in the acceptable A and B sections. The meter is a validated diagnostic system for in vitro blood glocuse.