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Objective: To analyze the course of disease and epidemiological parameters of COVID-19 and provide evidence for making prevention and control strategies. Methods: To display the distribution of course of disease of the infectors who had close contacts with COVID-19 cases from January 1 to March 15, 2020 in Guangdong Provincial, the models of Lognormal, Weibull and gamma distribution were applied. A descriptive analysis was conducted on the basic characteristics and epidemiological parameters of course of disease. Results: In total, 515 of 11 580 close contacts were infected, with an attack rate about 4.4%, including 449 confirmed cases and 66 asymptomatic cases. Lognormal distribution was fitting best for latent period, incubation period, pre-symptomatic infection period of confirmed cases and infection period of asymptomatic cases; Gamma distribution was fitting best for infectious period and clinical symptom period of confirmed cases; Weibull distribution was fitting best for latent period of asymptomatic cases. The latent period, incubation period, pre-symptomatic infection period, infectious period and clinical symptoms period of confirmed cases were 4.50 (95%CI:3.86-5.13) days, 5.12 (95%CI:4.63-5.62) days, 0.87 (95%CI:0.67-1.07) days, 11.89 (95%CI:9.81-13.98) days and 22.00 (95%CI:21.24-22.77) days, respectively. The latent period and infectious period of asymptomatic cases were 8.88 (95%CI:6.89-10.86) days and 6.18 (95%CI:1.89-10.47) days, respectively. Conclusion: The estimated course of COVID-19 and related epidemiological parameters are similar to the existing data.
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Humans , COVID-19 , Cohort Studies , Contact Tracing , Incidence , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo explore the active ingredients， therapeutic targets， and relative signaling pathways of Tripterygium wilfordii in the treatment of triple negative breast cancer （TNBC） based on network pharmacology， and to verify the mechanism through in vitro cell model. MethodThe active ingredients of T. wilfordii were screened from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP）. The targets of TNBC were obtained from DisGeNET and GeneCards. Venny was used to identify the potential therapeutic targets of T. wilfordii against TNBC. Protein-protein interaction （PPI） network was constructed with String database. Gene ontology （GO） annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment were carried out with DAVID to predict the mechanisms of potential targets. The molecular docking between triptolide and key targets were performed with AutoDock Vina. The effect of triptolide （0， 5， 10， 20， 30， 40， 50， 60， 80 nmol·L-1） on the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells was determined through methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium （MTT） assay. The effect of triptolide （0， 12.5， 25， 50 nmol·L-1） on the apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 cells was detected with Hoechst 33342 staining. Western blot was performed to detect the effect of triptolide （0， 25， 50 nmol·L-1） on the expression levels of key targets. ResultT. wilfordii had 23 active ingredients related to 55 potential targets of TNBC. GO and KEGG enrichment revealed that the potential targets were associated with 103 biological processes， 15 cellular components， and 35 molecular functions， and were involved in 140 signaling pathways including atherosclerosis and apoptosis. The results of molecular docking demonstrated that triptolide could bind with the targets including threonine kinase 1 （Akt1）， vascular endothelial growth factor A （VEGFA）， cellular tumor antigen p53 （p53）， transcription factor AP-1 （JUN）， signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 （STAT3）， tumor necrosis factor （TNF）， mitogen-activated protein kinase 8 （MAPK8）， prostaglandin G/H synthase 2 （PTGS2）， and Caspase-3. According to the results of MTT assay， triptolide （20， 30， 40， 50， 60， 80 nmol·L-1） inhibited the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells compared with blank control （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Hoechst 33342 staining showed that triptolide （12， 25， 50 nmol·L-1） induced the apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 cells compared with black control （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Western blot showcased that 50 nmol·L-1 triptolide down-regulated the relative expression levels of p-Akt， TNF-α， and VEGFA， while 25 and 50 nmol·L-1 triptolide up-regulated the relative expression level of p53 in a dose-dependent manner compared with the blank control （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionT. wilfordii has multiple ingredients， targets， and pathways in the treatment of TNBC. It may regulate p53， VEGFA， TNF-α and other key targets to induce cell apoptosis and suppress angiogenesis and inflammatory response， which provides a scientific basis for the further investigation and clinical application of T. wilfordii.
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Lobane-type diterpenoids are not frequently discovered from marine soft corals. In this paper, three new lobane type diterpenes, 13-methoxyloba-8,10,15(16),17(18)-tetraene (1), 8,10,13(15)Z,16E-lobatetraene (2) and 19-hydroxy-lobatetraene (3), and a new natural compound, 17,18-epoxyloba-16-acetoxy-8,10,13(15)-trien (4), co-occurring with a known related diterpenoid, 18-methoxyloba-8,10,13(15),16(17)-tetraene (5), were isolated from the South China Sea soft coral Sinularia polydactyla. The structures of new compounds were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis and by comparison with those reported in the literature. In bioassay, all the isolates were inactive on antibacterial, PTP1B inhibitory, and immunological activities. This study increased the chemical diversity of marine diterpenoids.
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HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) plays an important role in HIV-1 life cycle. At present, the listed NRTIs and NNRTIs targeting the RT showed high efficiency as clinical first-line drugs. However, the rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant viruses and significant cumulative drug toxicities compromises antiretroviral therapy efficacy and limits therapeutic options. Therefore, there is an urgent demand for new types of RT inhibitors with novel mechanism of action to address this challenge. In recent years, additional inhibitors with novel mechanism of action have been reported, including nucleic acid competitive inhibitors, reverse transcriptase-directed mutagenesis inhibitors, primers/templates-competitive reverse transcriptase inhibitors, polymerase-RNase H inhibitors, reverse transcription initiation process inhibitors, peptide inhibitors etc., which have brought new hope to the development of novel anti-HIV drugs. This article focuses on the development of these inhibitors.
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AIM:To study the effect of microRNA-7 (miR-7) knockdown (KD) on concanavalin A (ConA)-induced acute liver injury (ALI) in mice.METHODS:Wild type (WT) mice and miR-7KD mice were received ConA (30 mg/kg) to induced acute liver injury model by intraperitoneal injection,and the morphological changes,liver weight and weight index were measured 48 h later.The pathological changes of the liver tissues were observed by HE staining.The levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT),IL-4 and IFN-γ were detected by ELISA.The proportional changes of CD4 + T cells and the relative levels of IL-4 and IFN-γwere analyzed by flow cytometry.RESULTS:The color of the liver tissue became lighter,and the weight and weight index were changed significantly in miR-7KD mice compared with control group (P ＜ 0.05).HE staining showed that the inflammatory cell infiltration was increased in the liver of miR-7KD mice.Moreover,the level of serum ALT was significantly increased (P ＜ 0.05).The serum level of IFN-γelevated significantly (P ＜ 0.01),while the IL-4 levels decreased significantly (P ＜ 0.01) in the serum of miR-7KD mice.Furthermore,the proportion of CD4 + T cells and relative IFN-γcells increased obviously (P ＜ 0.01).CONCLUSION:miR-7 knockdown promotes the pathogenesis of the ConA-induced acute liver injury in mice.
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AIM:To study the effect of microRNA-7 (miR-7) knockdown (KD) on concanavalin A (ConA)-induced acute liver injury (ALI) in mice.METHODS:Wild type (WT) mice and miR-7KD mice were received ConA (30 mg/kg) to induced acute liver injury model by intraperitoneal injection,and the morphological changes,liver weight and weight index were measured 48 h later.The pathological changes of the liver tissues were observed by HE staining.The levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT),IL-4 and IFN-γ were detected by ELISA.The proportional changes of CD4 + T cells and the relative levels of IL-4 and IFN-γwere analyzed by flow cytometry.RESULTS:The color of the liver tissue became lighter,and the weight and weight index were changed significantly in miR-7KD mice compared with control group (P ＜ 0.05).HE staining showed that the inflammatory cell infiltration was increased in the liver of miR-7KD mice.Moreover,the level of serum ALT was significantly increased (P ＜ 0.05).The serum level of IFN-γelevated significantly (P ＜ 0.01),while the IL-4 levels decreased significantly (P ＜ 0.01) in the serum of miR-7KD mice.Furthermore,the proportion of CD4 + T cells and relative IFN-γcells increased obviously (P ＜ 0.01).CONCLUSION:miR-7 knockdown promotes the pathogenesis of the ConA-induced acute liver injury in mice.