Nucleic acid aptamer-based traditional Chinese medicine application:therapy,targeting and diagnosis / 中国中药杂志

Nucleic acid aptamers, broad-spectrum target-specific single-stranded oligonucleotides, serve as molecules in targeted therapy, targeted delivery and disease diagnosis for the treatment of tumor or microbial infection and clinical detection. Due to the existence of components in the use of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), the target is difficult to concentrate and the specificity of treatment is poor. The effective components of TCM are toxic components, so a highly sensitive detection method is urgently needed to reduce the toxicity problem at the same time. The combined application of TCM and modern medical treatment strategy are difficult and cannot improve the therapeutic effect. Aptamers, advantageous in biosensors, aptamer-nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery, and aptamer-siRNA chimeras, are expected to connect Chinese medicinals with nanotechnology, diagnostic technology and combined therapies. We summarized the preparation, screening, and modification techniques of nucleic acid aptamers and the biomedical applications and advantages in therapy, targeting, and diagnosis, aiming at providing a reference for the in-depth research and development in TCM.

Effect ofon the Treatment of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis: A Pilot Study on Mice Model / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>As a traditional Chinese medicine, Cordyceps sinensis (CS) possesses a variety of immunoregulatory properties. This study aimed to explore the therapeutic potential of CS in a mice model of multiple sclerosis (MS)-experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Female C57BL/6 mice were immunized with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein35-55to induce EAE, followed by an instant intragastric feeding with a low dosage of CS (low-CS group, n = 5), high dosage of CS (high-CS group, n = 5), or the same volume of normal saline (control group, n = 5). All the mice were observed for clinical assessment. Over the 30 days of CS treatment, flow cytometry was used to detect the frequency of helper T-cell (Th) subsets, Th1 and Th17, and CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells in the spleen and lymph nodes. Meanwhile, pathological changes in brain were determined using both hematoxylin-eosin and luxol fast blue staining. Data were analyzed using the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Over the 15 and 30 days of CS treatment, the clinical assessment for EAE demonstrated that both high-CS group (2.51 ± 0.31 and 2.26 ± 0.39 scores, respectively) and low-CS group (2.99 ± 0.40 and 2.69 ± 0.46, respectively) had lower disease severity scores than those of control group (3.57 ± 0.53 and 3.29 ± 0.53, all P < 0.01, respectively). Meanwhile, after 15 and 30 days, the high-CS group (19.18 ± 1.34 g and 20.41 ± 1.56 g, respectively) and low-CS group (18.07 ± 1.18 g and 19.48 ± 1.69 g, respectively) had a lower body weight, as compared with control group (16.85 ± 1.15 g and 18.22 ± 1.63 g, all P < 0.01, respectively). At 30 days post-CS treatment, there was a lower Th1 frequency in the lymph nodes (2.85 ± 1.54% and 2.77 ± 1.07% vs. 5.35 ± 1.34%, respectively; P < 0.05) and spleens (3.96 ± 1.09% and 3.09 ± 0.84% vs. 5.07 ± 1.50%, respectively; P < 0.05) and less inflammatory infiltration and demyelination in the brain of CS-treated mice than that of control group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Our preliminary study demonstrated that CS efficiently alleviated EAE severity and EAE-related pathology damage and decreased the number of Th1s in the periphery, indicating its effectiveness in the treatment of murine EAE. Thus, our findings strongly support the therapeutic potential of this agent as a new traditional Chinese medicine approach in MS treatment.</p>

Comparative analysis of general characteristics of ischemic stroke of BAD and non-BAD CISS subtypes / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

Based on the recently proposed Chinese ischemic stroke subclassification (CISS) system, intracranial branch atheromatous disease (BAD) is divided into large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) and penetrating artery disease (PAD). In the current retrospective analysis, we compared the general characteristics of BAD-LAA with BAD-PAD, BAD-LAA with non-BAD-LAA and BAD-PAD with non-BAD-PAD. The study included a total of 80 cases, including 45 cases of BAD and 35 cases of non-BAD. Subjects were classified using CISS system: BAD-LAA, BAD-PAD, non-BAD-LAA and non-BAD-PAD. In addition to analysis of general characteristics, the correlation between the factors and the two subtypes of BAD was evaluated. The number of cases included in the analysis was: 32 cases of BAD-LAA, 13 cases of BAD-PAD, 21 cases of non-BAD-LAA, and 14 cases of non-BAD-PAD. Diabetes mellitus affected more non-BAD-LAA patients than BAD-LAA patients (P=0.035). In comparison with non-BAD-PAD, patients with BAD-PAD were younger (P=0.040), had higher initial NIHSS score (P<0.001) and morbidity of ischemic heart disease (P=0.033). Within patients with BAD, the PAD subtype was associated with smoking (OR=0.043; P=0.011), higher low-density lipoprotein (OR=5.339; P=0.029), ischemic heart disease (OR=9.383; P=0.047) and diabetes mellitus (OR=12.59; P=0.020). It was concluded that large artery atherosclerosis was the primary mechanism of BAD. The general characteristics showed no significant differences between the CISS subtypes of LAA and PAD within BAD, as well as between the BAD and non-BAD within LAA subtype. Several differences between PAD subtypes of BAD and non-BAD were revealed.

LIGHT expression in peripheral blood of patients with multiple sclerosis / 中华神经医学杂志

[Objective]To observe the changes of level of tumor necrosis factor super-family (TNFSF) member LIGHT in the peripheral blood of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and explore the related mechanism.[Methods]Twenty-five patients with MS,admitted to our hospital from November 2009 to May 2011,were chosen in our study;another 22 patients with cerebral infarction (CI) and 27 healthy controls (HC) were chosen.By the use of ELISA and real-time PCR,the plasma LIGHT level and LIGHT mRNA expression in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were measured;the expanded disability status scale (EDSS) was adopted to reflect the disease severity of MS patients at the time of blood sampling.[Results] MS group had a significantly increased level of plasma LIGHT (133.2 pg/mL) and mRNA expression level of PBMC LIGHT (0.75 relative unit) as compared with HC group (41.2 pg/mL and 0.3) and CI group (79.55 pg/rnL and 0.44,P＜0.05).[Conclusion] There is a dysregulated peripheral LIGHT expression in MS patients;and its abnormal immune response may play an important and complex role in MS-related CNS inflammatory process.

Expressions of perforin and granzyme-B in CD8+ memory T cell subsets in patients with multiple sclerosis / 中华神经医学杂志

Objective To measure the expressions of cytotoxity-related cytokines in CD8+memory T cell subsets of peripheral blood in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and further analyze the relationship between the cytokine levels and MS disease severity. Methods Four-color flow cytometry was employed to detect the proportion of CD8+ memory T cell subsets expressed perforin and granzyme-B in peripheral blood of patients with MS, with other neurological disorders (OND) and of normal control (NC) group. The expanded disability status scale (EDSS) was used to reflect the disease severity at the time of blood sampling. Results Patients with MS had a decreased proportion of effector memory CD8+ T (CD8+ TEM) cells and terminal TEM cells expressed granzyme-B as compared with NC group (P＜0.05). CD8+ TEM cells expressed granzyme-B and perforin were negatively correlated to the scores of EDSS in patients with MS (r=-0.493, P=0.027; r=-0.594, P=0.009). Conclusions CD8+ TEM may be involved in the MS-related CNS inflammatory immune response. The proportion of CD8+ TEM cells expressed perforin and granzyme-B can be used to reflect the pathological severity of MS lesions to some degrees.