Exploring the mechanism of anti-hereditary Parkinson's disease of baicalein based on PINK1 RNAi Drosophila model / 药学学报

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of baicalein on a Drosophila model of hereditary Parkinson's disease caused by gene mutations and to preliminarily elucidate the mechanism of baicalein in delaying hereditary Parkinson's disease. In this paper, PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1)-RNAi Parkinson's Drosophila were used as the model group and wild-type Drosophila w1118 were used as the control group. Different doses of baicalein and Madopa were administered to the model group to observe their effects on the life span, motor ability, the abnormal rate of wings, dopamine content and dopaminergic neurons of PINK1-RNAi Parkinson's Drosophila and their effects on mitochondrial dysfunction including adenosine triphosphate (ATP), mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) content. The results showed that the effective administration doses of baicalein were 0.8 mg·mL-1 for low concentration, 1.6 mg·mL-1 for medium concentration and 3.2 mg·mL-1 for high concentration, and the optimal administration dose of the positive drug Madopa was 0.1 μg·mL-1. Baicalein and Madopa could significantly improve the life span, exercise ability and reduce the abnormal rate of wings of PINK1-RNAi male Drosophila (P < 0.05), and low dose baicalein showed the best effect; baicalein could improve the loss of dopaminergic neurons, and the effects of low dose and high dose were the best, but Madopa showed no significant effect; baicalein and Madopa had no significant effect on dopamine content (P > 0.05). Baicalein and Madopa could increase the ATP content of PINK1-RNAi male Drosophila (P < 0.05), and low dose baicalein showed the best effect; middle dose baicalein could significantly increase the mtDNA content of PINK1-RNAi male Drosophila (P < 0.05), but Madopa had no significant effect; baicalein and Madopa had no significant effect on ROS content (P > 0.05).

Testicular descent and fixation through a scrotal stria incision for the treatment of palpable cryptorchidism in children aged <3 years: 10-year experience with 1034 cases / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

This study was performed to summarize our clinical experience with testicular descent and fixation through a scrotal stria incision for the treatment of palpable cryptorchidism in children. This study included 1034 children with palpable cryptorchidism from March 2009 to March 2019. A scrotal stria incision was used to perform testicular descent and fixation. Overall, 1020 children successfully underwent surgical testicular descent and fixation through a scrotal stria incision, and 14 patients underwent conversion to inguinal incision surgery. All patients were discharged 1-2 days after the operation. During hospitalization and follow-up, 55 patients developed complications, including 10 patients with testicular retraction, 7 with poor healing of the incision, and 38 with a scrotal hematoma. No patients developed testicular atrophy, an indirect inguinal hernia, or a hydrocoele. Testicular descent and fixation through a scrotal stria incision for the treatment of palpable cryptorchidism in children is safe and feasible in well-selected cases. This method has the advantages of no scarring and a good cosmetic effect.

Advances in three important signaling pathways related to aging in Drosophila melanogaster and screening of anti-aging traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

Aging is the most basic life feature of organisms. It is a phenomenon of dysfunction of cells,tissues and organs under the influence of external environment and internal factors during the growth of organisms. During the process,many cellular signaling pathways and biologically active substances,such as insulin/insulin-like growth factor( IGF)-1 signaling( IIS) pathway,apoptotic signaling pathway,mTOR signaling pathway,AMPK pathway,sirtuin pathway,deacetylases have been found to be closely related to the molecular mechanism of aging. Modern studies have indicated that anti-aging natural compounds can cause great side effects,while delaying aging and even inducing another disease,which is against with the purpose of delaying aging and achieving healthy aging. Therefore,the researches of anti-aging traditional Chinese medicines with fewer side effects are extremely important. Based on the different mechanisms and theories of aging,many traditional Chinese medicines have been discovered to be related to anti-aging. As one of the most important model organisms,Drosophila melanogaster has been widely used in studies of aging process in recent years. In this paper,we reviewed three important signaling pathways related to aging,such as insulin/insulin-like growth factor( IGF)-1 signaling( IIS) pathway,m TOR pathway,AMPK pathway,and screened out anti-aging traditional Chinese medicines based on D. melanogaster in recent years.

Network pharmacology-based study of anti-hepatoma effects and mechanisms of matrine / 药学学报

Although multiple studies have shown that matrine can inhibit the proliferation of hepatoma cells, its mechanism of action has not been systematically investigated. In this study, the effects of matrine on the proliferation and migration of human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cells were investigated. Based on this result, anti-hepatoma target-functionally related protein interaction network of matrine was constructed, and topological analysis and clustering analysis were performed to predict the crucial targets of matrine for the anti-hepatoma effects. Pathway enrichment analysis was performed on the validated targets to predict the crucial pathways of matrine. Parts of the crucial proteins were examined by Western blot. Cellular experiments showed that matrine at concentrations of 1, 2 and 4 mg·mL-1 significantly inhibited the proliferation of SMMC-7721 cells, and matrine at concentrations of 0.5, 1 and 2 mg·mL-1 significantly inhibited the migration of SMMC-7721 cells. The results of network pharmacology suggest that matrine exerts its anti-hepatoma effects through acting on the key validated targets of heparanase (HPSE), caspase 3 (CASP3), Myc proto-oncogene protein (MYC), matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP2) and predicted targets of carbonic anhydrase 1 (CA1), lithostathine 1 alpha precursor (REG1A), carboxylesterases 1 (CES1) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), and invasion and migration associated pathways. Western blot results suggest that matrine can down-regulate the expression of MMP2 and up-regulate the expression of CASP3. In this paper, we applied network pharmacology to explain the targets and pathways of matrine against hepatoma. The results provide a scientific basis for elucidation of the mechanisms of matrine against hepatoma.

Heme oxygenase-1 polymorphism associated with severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Recent studies have suggested that susceptibility to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) might be related to the length polymorphism of (GT)(n) repeat in the 5'-flanking region of heme oxygenase-1 (HOX-1) gene. However, there has been no research about the relationship between the polymorphism of HOX-1 gene and severity of COPD.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The polymorphism of HOX-1 gene in 452 patients with COPD from Han population in Southwest China was analysed by fragment analysis. The frequencies of the HOX-1 genotype were compared with the stage of COPD of each patient.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The HOX-1 genotypes were classified into two groups: group I were individuals with class L allele (the number of GT = 32 repeats), and group II were those without class L allele (the number of GT < 32 repeats). The genotypic frequency of the HOX-1 group I was significantly higher than group II in the very severe COPD patients (36.8% vs 22.4%, P < 0.01, OR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.3 - 3.1), while the genotypic frequency of the HOX-1 group II was lower in the mild COPD (16.0% vs 26.0%, P = 0.02, OR = 0.5, 95% CI 0.3 - 0.9). However, in moderate and severe stages COPD, there were similar genotypic frequencies between HOX-1 group I and group II.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Genetic polymorphism in HOX-1 is associated with the severity of COPD in Southwest China. COPD patients with class L allele may be susceptible to develop very severe COPD. Conversely, the COPD patients without class L allele may be more easily stabilized on mild COPD.</p>