Protective effect of Salvia chinensis Benth. polysaccharides on lipopolysaccharide and D-galactosamine induced acute liver failure in mice / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

OBJECTIVE To explore the protective effect of polysaccharides from Salvia Chinensis Benth. (PSSC) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and D- galactosamine (GalN)- provoked mouse acute liver failure (ALF) and the possible molecular mechanism. METHODS Kunming mice were randomly divided into four groups: normal control, model, model+PSSC 30 and 100 mg·kg- 1 groups. PSCC was given once a day and for a week. To establish an ALF model, mice of model and PSSC groups were ip injected with LPS 10 μg·kg-1 and GalN 700 mg·kg-1 at the end of PSSC treatment. The microscopic structure of the liver was detected by HE staining. Serum and hepatic biochemical parameters of glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase (GOT), glutamic- pyruvic transaminase (GPT), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), malondialdehyde (MDA), and glutathione (GSH) were detected by colorimetric methods. The relative content of hepatic reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured by DCFH-DA fluorescent probes. Levels of cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 1β(IL-1β) and IL- 6 in the serum and liver were detected by ELISA. Activity of caspase 3 in liver homogenates was detected by aspase 3 activity assay kit. RESULTS Compared with normal control group, in the liver of model group, hepatocytes were arrayed in disorder, cytoplasm of hepatocytes shrank, and boundaries between cells were fuzzy, the infiltration of a large number of inflammatory cells and tissue hemorrhage could be detected, pathological scores were elevated significantly (P<0.01), levels of MDA and ROS in the liver of ALF model mice were elevated to 2.2 and 4.3 times that of the normal control, respectively (P<0.01), the level of GSH decreased to 51% (P<0.01), and the activities of SOD, CAT and GSH- Px declined to 74%, 36% and 42%, respectively (P<0.01). Levels of TNF- α, IL- 1β and IL- 6 in the serum and liver of model group were increased (P<0.01), and caspase 3 activity was increased to 5.3 times that of the normal control (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the number of surviving mice in PSSC groups increased, liver pathological scores declined (P<0.01), levels of MDA and ROS increased (P<0.01), levels of GSH, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in the liver and serum declined (P<0.01), and caspase 3 activity decreased (P<0.01). CONCLUSION PSSC is able to alleviate LPS and GalN-induced ALF in mice. Inhibition of hepatic oxidative stress, inflammatory response, and cell apoptosis is possibly implicated in the protective effect of PSSC.

Preliminary study on mechanisms of total saponins from Entada phaseoloides against diabetes / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of total saponins from Entada phaseoloides (TSEP) on islet morphology and skeletal muscle PI3K pathway-related protein expression of type 2 diabetic rats.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Type 2 diabetic rats were induced by high-fat diet and low-dose streptozotocin and then randomly divided into 5 groups, i.e. the normal control, the model group, the positive control drug (200 mg x kg(-1) metformin), the low-dose TSEP (25 mg x kg(-1)) group and the high-dose TSEP (50 mg x kg(-1)). Three weeks later, the islet morphology of rat pancreas were observed by HE staining, and protein expressions of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B (PTP-1 B) and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) in rat skeletal muscle were detected by Western blot.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Compared with the modal group, TSEP administration groups showed relatively normal structures, clear pancreatic cells and intact capsula structures in pancreatic tissue pathological sections, with the number of pancreatic islets close to the normal control group. Meanwhile, above TSEP administration groups showed increased IRS-1, PI3K and GLUT4 protein expressions in their skeletal muscle tissues and decreased PTP-1B protein expression compared with the model group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TSEP has an effect on protecting pancreatic tissues of type 2 diabetic rats and intervening in abnormal expression of proteins in skeletal muscle tissues.</p>

Phaseoloideside E induces human hepatoma HepG2 cells apoptosis / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study in vitro anti-tumor activity of phaseoloideside E (PE) with human hepatoma HepG2 cells as the objective.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>MTT assay was adopted to detect the cytotoxic effect of PE of different concentrations on HepG2 cells after being processed for 48 h. Changes in morphology of PE-processed cells were observed under an optical microscope and fluorescence microscope. DNA agrose gel electrophoresis was used to detect the DNA ladder, an important characteristic of cell apoptosis. The expression levels of Bax and Bcl-2 were determined by western blot assay.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>PE dramatically repressed the viability of HepG2 cells. Typical morphological changes of apoptosis had been detected by both direct microscopic observation and Hoechst 33,258 staining. Typical DNA Ladder was also observed by agarose gel electrophoresis in the administration group, but it did not exist in the control group. Western blot showed that the expression of Bax was up-regulated and Bcl-2 was down-regulated.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Above data demonstrates that PE can induce apoptosis in human hepatoma HepG2 cells, and indicate that PE-induced expression level changes of Bax and Bcl2 may be related to the apoptosis-induction effect.</p>