DEPTOR improves cisplatin chemosensitivity in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells by inducing Caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis / 药学学报

Chemotherapy resistance is the main cause of poor prognosis in patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Pyroptosis is one of the anti-tumor mechanisms by chemotherapy drugs. Studies have shown that DEP-domain containing mTOR-interacting protein (DEPTOR) is correlated with sorafenib and gefitnib resistance, which is discovered as a naturally negative regulator of mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamicin (mTOR). In this study, DEPTOR knockdown (shDEPTOR) lentivirus was used to establish the stable DEPTOR knockdown ESCC cell lines. The results showed that knockdown of DEPTOR reduced chemosensitivity to cisplatin in ESCC cells in vitro. The lower expression of DEPTOR caused less extensive morphological characteristics of pyroptosis than that was observed in sh-con cells with the treatment of cisplain. Further studies showed that knockdown of DEPTOR induced downregulation of Caspase-1 expression and reduction of Caspase-1 activation, thereby inhibiting the activation of the classical pathway of pyroptosis. This paper demonstrates that DEPTOR can improve cisplatin chemosensitivity in ESCC cells via inducing Caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis.

Dielectrophoretic force measurement of red blood cells exposed to oxidative stress using optical tweezers and a microfluidic chip

Red blood cell (RBC) dysfunction is often associated with a pathological intervention, and it has been proposed as a critical risk factor for certain lethal diseases. Examining the cell viability of RBCs under various physiological conditions is essential and of importance for precise diagnosis and drug discovery in the field of medicine and pharmacy. In this paper, we report a new analytical method that employs dielectrophoretic (DEP) force measurements in absolute units to assess the viability, and potentially the functionality of RBCs. We precisely quantify the frequency-dependent DEP forces of the RBCs by using a micro-electrode embedded chip combined with optical tweezers. DEP characteristics are known to be well-correlated with the viability of biological cells, and DEP forces are measured in both fresh and long-term stored RBCs to investigate the effect that the storage period has on the cell viability. Moreover, we investigate the DEP behavior of RBCs when exposed to oxidative stress and verify whether EDTA protects the RBCs from an oxidant. From the experiments, it is found that the fresh RBCs without oxidative stress display very high DEP forces over the entire frequency range, exhibiting two cutoff frequencies. However, both the RBCs stored for the long-term period and exposed to oxidative stress reveals that there exist no significant DEP forces over the frequency range. The results indicate that the DEP forces can serve as a useful parameter to verify whether the RBCs in certain blood are fresh and not exposed to oxidative stress. Therefore, it is believed that our system can be applied to a diagnostic system to monitor the cell viability of the RBCs or other types of cells.

Neuroprotective effects of YXETNZ injection on SH-SY5 Y cells against injury induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the protective effects of YXETNZ injection on SH-SY5 Y cells damaged by oxygen-glucose deprivation ( OGD ) , and explore its functional mechanisms. Methods After 4 h of OGD, the cells were treated with 25 mg·L-1 drugs for 1 h. Subsequently, cell viabilities were measured by cell counting kit-8 ( CCK-8 kit ) and cell apoptosis was measured by caspase-3/7 assay kit according to manu-facturer’ s instructions. Furthermore, cell death was also detected by ELISA. The levels of phospho-Akt, phospho-PKA,phospho-Bad were evaluated by western blot. Results Oxygen-glucose deprivation significant-ly decreased the cell viabilities of SH-SY5Y cells, while YXETNZ injection significantly increased cell vi-abilities, phospho-Akt, phospho-PKA and phospho-Bad. Furthermore, YXETNZ injection also reduced the activities of caspase-3/7 and cytoplasmic histone-asso-ciated-DNA-fragments contents. Conclusion Our re-searches demonstrat that YXETNZ injection shows good neuroprotective effects on SH-SY5 Y cells after oxygen-glucose deprivation. The underlying mechanisms may be associated with activation of PI3 K/Akt/Bad/caspase-3/7 , cAMP/PKA/Bad/caspase-3/7 signaling pathway.

Análisis factorial exploratorio del Inventario de Depresión Estado-Rasgo (ST-DEP) en adolescentes / Exploratory Factor Analysis of State-Trait Depression Inventory (ST-DEP) in Adolescents

El Inventario de Depresión Estado-Rasgo (IDER) evalúa de forma breve distintos síntomas depresivos. El objetivo es evaluar algunas propiedades psicométricas del IDER en Perú. La muestra estuvo formada por 314 estudiantes entre 11 y 18 años de secundaria en un colegio limeño. Los resultados indican una estructura bidimensional -que corresponde con la delimitación conceptual del inventario original-. Sin embargo, algunos ítems presentaron cargas comparativamente bajas, probablemente debido a variaciones culturales. Adicionalmente, la consistencia interna para la dimensión de Estado y Rasgo presentó valores alfa de Cronbach de 0.76 y 0.68, respectivamente. El cuestionario IDER satisface el criterio de invariabilidad de la estructura interna y puede dar una alternativa favorable para el diagnóstico y evaluación de la depresión en adolescentes peruanos.

The State-Trait Depression Inventory (ST-DEP) briefly assesses various depressive symptoms. The objective is to evaluate some psychometric properties of this inventory in Peru. The sample was composed of 314 students ranging between 11 and 18 years old. All of them were attending secondary school in Lima. Results indicate a two-dimensional structure, which corresponds to the conceptual definition of the original inventory. However, some items showed comparatively low loads, probably due to cultural variations. Additionally, internal consistency for the dimension of State and Trait showed .76 and .68 Cronbach's alpha coefficients respectively. The IDER satisfies the criterion of internal structure stability, and can give a favorable alternative for the diagnosis and assessment of depression in Peruvian adolescents.

RP-HPLC/UV method for the determination of three phthalate plasticizers in lansoprazole enteric-coated capsules / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To establish a method for the determination the contents of dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) in lansoprazole enteric-coated capsules. METHODS: Based on RP-HPLC/UV, the method used C18 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm) for separation, methanol-water (75: 25) as mobile phase for isocratic elution and detection wavelength 230 nm. RESULTS: The quantification of diethyl phthalate in four batches of lansoprazole enteric-coated capsules was carried. The concentration and UV peak area with a good linear relationship within the following: the linear equation of DMP was Y = 48.848ρ - 2.8112 (r = 0.9999) in range of 1.4 - 14 μg · mL-1, the linear equation of DEP was Y = 67.619ρ - 30.754 (r = 0.9990) in the range of 1.36 - 20.4 μg · mL-1. The linear equation of DBP was Y = 36.759X - 4.8507 (r = 0.9999) in the range of 1.5 - 15.5 μg · mL-1. The sample recovery of DMP, DEP and DBP was 91.3%, 96.1% and 94.7%. The RSD of sample recovery was 2.9%, 4.4% and 4.7%. CONCLUSION: The method is simple, sensitive and with a strong anti-interference ability. It can determination accurately the contents of DMP, DEP and DBP in lansoprazole enteric-coated capsules. Copyright 2012 by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Causas de variação nos preços de bovinos nelore elite no Brasil / Causes of variation in the prices of nelore elite cattle in Brazil

Este trabalho teve por objetivo estudar as causas de variação nos preços de bovinos da raça nelore pertencentes a rebanhos de seleção, os quais foram comercializados em leilões, para verificar as influências das avaliações genéticas e dos julgamentos de exterior sobre esses preços. Para tanto, foram computados os preços de venda de 426 bovinos da referida raça em 12 leilões ocorridos em diversas localidades brasileiras (regiões Centro-Oeste, Norte e Sudeste), entre os anos de 2002 e 2005. O valor médio foi de R$ 3.325,49, sendo o mínimo de R$ 1.400,00 e o máximo de R$ 10.500,00. Esses dados foram digitados juntamente com outras informações que eram apresentadas nos catálogos dos leilões. As informações registradas incluíram o sexo de cada animal, o nome do leilão e as DEPs informadas nos catálogos. Além da avaliação da influência das informações dos catálogos, também foi avaliada a influência das informações dos reprodutores, pais dos animais vendidos nos leilões, envolvendo suas DEPs publicadas em um sumário de reprodutores da raça e as pontuações de suas progênies em julgamentos. Os métodos estatísticos aplicados foram análises de variâncias e análises de agrupamento (método K-médias). Como resultado, foi observado que animais com superioridade genética em características relacionadas a desempenho ponderal, considerando-se os efeitos diretos e maternos, foram valorizados ao serem comercializados nos leilões. Em contra-partida, a pontuação dos reprodutores nos julgamentos não teve influência significativa sobre os preços médios de venda de suas progênies nos leilões.

This study aimed to understand the causes of variation in the marketing prices of elite flock nelore cattle commercialized by auction, especially to verify the influences of EPDs and visual assessment. The selling prices of 426 animals from the nelore breed commercialized during 12 auctions held in various Brazilian locations, between the years 2002 and 2005, were considered in the analysis. The average price was R$ 3.325,49, with a minimum of R$ 1.400,00 and a maximum of R$ 10.500,00. The data used in a first analysis included the sex of each animal, the name of the auction and the EPDs of each animal informed in a catalog provided to the buyers during the auctions. A second analysis considered the EPDs of the sires of the commercialized animals, and the accumulated punctuation of these sires through their progeny judged through visual assessment during traditional animal shows in Brazil. Variance analysis and k-means clustering were applied to run the statistical analysis of the data. It was observed that animals with better EPDs, direct and maternal effects, on growth traits were sold with higher prices during the auctions. The punctuation by visual assessment did not significantly affect the prices.

Previsão Bayesiana de valores genéticos de touros por meio do modelo auto-regressivo para dados em painel / Bayesian forecasting of sires breeding values using autoregressive panel data model

Inferência Bayesiana do modelo auto-regressivo foi aplicado para dados em painel a dados reais de DEPïs de touros da raça Nelore publicadas entre 2000 e 2005. Na análise foram consideradas a função de verossimilhança exata e a obtenção de distribuições preditivas de dados futuros. Verificou-se ser recomendável o agrupamento dos animais em grupos homogêneos de acordo com a acurácia. Constatou-se também, que em média, a eficiência de previsão dos valores de DEPïs para um ano futuro é próxima de 80 por cento.

A Bayesian inference of autoregressive panel data model was applied to real data of Nelore sires Expected Progenie Difference (EPD) during a five-year period (2000-2005). The exact likelihood function and predictive distributions of future observations were considered. The results indicated the importance of sires grouping in homogeneous groups according to accuracy and showed forecast efficiency for EPD values in a future year around 80 percent.

Assessment of diethylphthalate reproductive toxicity: A three generation chronic exposure study in wistar rats.

The present study was undertaken to understand the reproductive toxic effect of DEP over three generations of male and female Wistar rats. Healthy male and female albino rats of Wistar strain weighing 75–100g were randomly assigned to two groups of six each. Group I (Control) male and female rats were fed on normal diet and water ad libitum. Group II (DEP) male and female rats were given DEP dissolved in corn oil mixed with the diet at 50 mg/kg of the diet/day. 100 days after the treatment, females were mated with males for 10 days. Exposure to DEP was continued throughout mating, gestation until termination at weaning, which was 150 days of total treatment period of parental generation. The F1 and F2 generation pups were then segregated on the basis of their sex, and six male and female pups of both generations were allowed to grow till they were 75–100g in weight. The treatment was then carried out similar to the parental generation but with reduced dose of 25 mg/kg of the diet/day for F1 generation, and 10 mg/kg of the diet/day for F2 generation. 100 days after the treatment, females were mated with males for 10 days. Exposure to DEP was continued throughout mating, gestation (21 days) until termination at weaning (21 days), which was 150 days of total treatment period of the F1 and F2 generation. After 150 days of treatment, the animals were sacrificed. A significant decline in relative body and testis weight was observed in DEP treated F1 and F2 generation male rats as compared to control rats of all three generations. On the other hand, a significant increase in relative ovary weights was observed in DEP treated parental, F1 and F2 generation female rats, while relative body weights of the female rats were significantly decreased in F1 and F2 generation treated rats. Significant decrease in litter size was observed over generations in the treated group as compared to controls. A significant increase in testicular LDH and glycogen levels were observed in DEP treated F2 generation male rats as compared to control rats. Significant increase in ovarian LDH, cholesterol and glycogen levels was observed in DEP treated F2 generation female rats as compared to control rats. It can be concluded from this study, that continuous exposure over three generations, inspite of dose reduction to DEP, leads to an enhanced reproductive toxic effect in latter generations.

Protective Effect of Shengmai Injection on Adriamycin-induced Cytotoxicity of Diaphragm / 中药新药与临床药理

To study the protective effect of Shengmai Injection on adriamycin-induced cytotoxity of diaphragm in rabbits. The rabbits were randomly allocated to three groups. The control group were treated with NS 2 ml?kg -1 for five days, adriamycin+NS group with NS 2ml?kg -1 for five days and then administered adriamycin 10 mg?kg -l and adriamycin + Shengmai Injection group with Shengmi Injection 2 ml?kg -l for five days and then administered adriamycin 10 mg?kg -1 . Twenty-four hours later, animals in the three groups were anaesthetized. Then the transdiaphragmatic pressure (Pdi) and diaphragm evoked potential(DEP) were measured, SOD activity and MDA content were tested and the ultrastructure of diaphragm cells was observed under electron microscope. Adriamycin could lower the Pdi and amplitude of DEP (P