S-propargyl-cysteine delays the progression of atherosclerosis and increases eNOS phosphorylation in endothelial cells / 生理学报

The present study aimed to investigate the protective effect of S-propargyl-cysteine (SPRC) on atherosclerosis progression in mice. A mouse model of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque was created in ApoE-/- mice by carotid artery tandem stenosis (TS) combined with a Western diet. Macrophotography, lipid profiles, and inflammatory markers were measured to evaluate the antiatherosclerotic effects of SPRC compared to atorvastatin as a control. Histopathological analysis was performed to assess the plaque stability. To explore the protective mechanism of SPRC, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured in vitro and challenged with oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL). Cell viability was determined with a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8). Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation and mRNA expression were detected by Western blot and RT-qPCR respectively. The results showed that the lesion area quantified by en face photographs of the aortic arch and carotid artery was significantly less, plasma total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were reduced, plaque collagen content was increased and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) was decreased in 80 mg/kg per day SPRC-treated mice compared with model mice. These findings support the role of SPRC in plaque stabilization. In vitro studies revealed that 100 μmol/L SPRC increased the cell viability and the phosphorylation level of eNOS after ox-LDL challenge. These results suggest that SPRC delays the progression of atherosclerosis and enhances plaque stability. The protective effect may be at least partially related to the increased phosphorylation of eNOS in endothelial cells.

An epidemiological investigation on overweight and obesity in adults from Tianjin dry / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective This study aimed to explore the epidemiological characteristics and related factors of overweight and obesity in Tianjin adults. Methods With multi-stage randomized cluster sampling, 19 271 people aged 18 years and over were selected from both urban and rural areas of six geographical regions of Tianjin in 2006, using a cross-sectional methodology. Data from these residents was collected, using a questionnaire by face-to-face interview conducted by trained interviewers. Demographic, anthropometric data were collected in all participants. Data was analyzed with SPSS 13.0 software. For diagnosis of overweight and obesity, we adopted the standard of overweight and obesity recommended for Chinese adults. Age, gender and area distribution of overweight and obesity in the population of Tianjin were described, and the related factors were analyzed. Results Prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults from Tianjin were 32.8%(95%CI: 32.1%-33.5%) and 11.7% (95% CI: 11.2%-12.2%), with the standardized rates as 33.1% and 12.2%, respectively. Those figures were higher than the national average levels. The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were increasing with age. The overweight rate in 50-59 year olds and the obesity rate in 60-69 year olds reached their peak values. The prevalence rate of obesity was higher in rural (13.5%,with 95%CI: 12.8%-14.2%) than in the urban areas (11.1%,with 95%CI: 10.4%-11.7%) and in females (12.6%,95%CI: 11.9%-13.2%) than in males (10.9%,95%CI: 10.3%-11.5%). Results from logistic regression model analyses indicated that the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Tianjin were statistically associated with age, gender, educational level, smoking, alcohol consumption and exercises. Conclusion As the urbanization progressing, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was much higher in the population of Tianjin city. Many factors were related to adults overweight and obesity. An active community-based public health intervention should be taken.

Expression,Purification of PUMA-BH3 Death Domain Peptide in E.coli and Identification of Its Pro-apoptotic Activity / 中国生物工程杂志

The Bcl-2 family of proteins play a central role in the control of apoptosis, a fundamental process for both human health and disease, by mitochondrial pathway. PUMA(p53 up-regulated modulator of apoptosis protein) is one of BH3-only members of Bcl-2 family , its function is to promote cell apoptosis. To obtain BH3 death domain peptide of PUMA and detect its biological activity, the synthesized double-stranded oligomeric nucleotide encoding PUMA-BH3 peptide was cloned into expression vector pTYB2,thus generating a construct of pTYB2-PUMA-BH3 which expressed PUMA-BH3-intein-chitin binding domain fusion protein. Then the recombinant plasmid was transformed into E.coli BL-21 (DE3) and fusion protein was expressed under induction by IPTG. The soluble PUMA-BH3 peptide was purified from chitin affinity chromatography by DTT reduction. Through measuring mitochondria viability(MTT),mitochondria permeability transition(MPT) and the translocation of cytochrome c(Cyt c ) assayed by western blotting, the biological pro-apoptotic activity of PUMA-BH3 peptide was studied. The PUMA-BH3 peptide has the effects on decreasing the mitochondria viability remarkably , inducing mitochondrial swelling and promoting Cyt c releasing from isolated mitochodria . Mitochondrial swelling and the release of Cyt c induced by PUMA-BH3 peptide concerned with the opening of MPT,which can be improved by cyclosporine A(CsA).These results indicated that recombinant PUMA-BH3 peptide might possess pro-apoptosis activity and paved a reasonable way for the study of new apoptosis regulators.