Shikonin Affects Uterine Leiomyoma in Rats by Regulating ERK Signaling Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To investigate the effect of shikonin on uterine leiomyoma in rats and its molecular mechanism. Method:Sixty female SD rats， of SPF grade and weighing 200-250 g， were randomly divided into the control group， model group， low-， medium-， and high-dose （5， 10， 20 mg·kg^-1） shikonin groups， and mifepristone group. A rat model of uterine leiomyoma was established， and the changes in uterine wet weight， uterine coefficient， and smooth muscle thickness were detected after drug administration for four successive weeks. The pathological changes in uterine tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. The contents of estrogen receptor （ER） and progesterone receptor （PR） in serum and uterus were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， and the protein expression levels of ER， PR， phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase （p-ERK）， and ERK in the uterine tissue were assayed by Western blot. Result:Compared with the control group， the model group exhibited significantly increased uterine wet weight， uterine coefficient， and smooth muscle thickness （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， uterus deformity， focal smooth muscle cell necrosis and hyperplasia， neutrophil infiltration. elevated serum and uterine ER and PR （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， and up-regulated p-ERK protein expression in the uterine tissue （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. Compared with the model group， shikonin at the middle and high doses and mifepristone significantly reduced the uterine wet weight， uterine coefficient， and smooth muscle thickness （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， relieved the pathological changes in uterus，and lowered serum and uterine ER and PR， and down-regulated the p-ERK protein expression in the uterine tissue （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. In addition， the uterine wet weight， smooth muscle thickness， serum ER， and uterine PR and p-ERK protein expression in the low-dose shikonin group were significantly lower than those in the model group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Conclusion:Shikonin produces the anti-uterine leiomyoma activity possibly by inhibiting the activation of ERK pathway.

Efficient Water Splitting Catalyzed by Cobalt Phosphide Nanobead-chain Like Nanoarrays Supported on Three Dimensional Nickel Foam / 分析化学

The research for efficient and low-cost electrocatalysts for water splitting are essential for the exploitation and application of hydrogen energy. Transitional metal phosphides are considered as one of the most promising bifunctional water splitting electrocatalysts. Herein, we reported a facile two-step method (firstly hydrothermal preparation, then phosphorization under low temperature) to synthesize the bead-chain like nanoarrays of CoP supported on three dimensional Nickel foam (CoP/NF). The as-prepared CoP/NF could act as an efficient bifunctional catalyst for overall water splitting. The catalyst exhibited remarkable activity for both the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media,delivering a current density of 10 mA/cm2at an overpotential of 281 mV for OER and 95 mV for HER, respectively. Efficient water splitting in alkaline system was realized by applying a two-electrode system with the CoP/NF acting as both the anode and cathode. The applied potential was 1.63 V to obtain the current density of 10 mA/cm2,and good stability was also testified.

Analysis on Conbercept for exudative age-related macular degeneration / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

·AIM:To analyze the effect of Conbercept for exudative age-related macular degeneration ( ARMD) .·METHODS: There were 21 eye of 21 patients with exudative ARMD from January 2016 to January 2017 included. All the patients were treated with intravitreal injection of conbercept 0. 5mL (0. 5mg) and followed up for 3mo. The best corrected visual acuity ( BCVA) and central macular thickness (CMT) before and 1wk, 1 and 3mo after treatment were observed.·RESULTS:The BCVA and CMT before and 1wk, 1 and 3mo after treatment were 0. 9±1. 4, 0. 7±1. 2, 0. 5±1. 1 and 0. 4±0. 9. BCVA after treatment were different at different time (F=49. 12, P<0. 001); BCVA at 1wk and 1mo after treatment were not different compared with before treatment ( P> 0. 05 ); that at 3mo were significantly different compared with before (P<0. 05). There were 19 eyes with improved BCVA at 3mo after treatment, unchanged in 2 eyes. CMT before and at 1wk, 1 and 3mo were 404. 25±68. 76, 354. 25±43. 12, 271. 75±32. 30, 218. 30± 24. 70μm. CMT at different time were significantly different (F=2487. 45, P<0. 001);CMT at 1wk, 1 and 3mo were different compared with before treatment ( P <0. 001). There were no severe complications found.·CONCLUSION: Intravitreal injection of conbercept for exudative ARMD is remarkable.

Hydrogen sulfide stimulates the development of rat glioblastoma / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To address the hypothesis that hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) is a functionally significant stimulator in the development of glioblastoma (GBM) and explore the mechanism of stimulation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were given intracerebral injection of rat C6 glioma cell suspension, and an intraperitoneal injection of sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS), an exogenous H(2)S donor. The 40 rats were randomly divided into 4 groups of 10 rats in each: the control group, NaHS group, C6 glioma group (intracerebral implantation of C6 glioma cells) and C6-NaHS group (intracerebral implantation of C6 glioma cells and intraperitoneal injection of NaHS). Food and water were freely available during all phases of the experiment. Physical symptoms were observed and the tumor size was measured. Histological changes were examined by pathology. Immunohistochemical staining was used to analyze the expression of HIF-1α and integrated optical density (IOD) was used to determine the tumor microvessel density (MVD). The H(2)S content in the brain was measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The physical symptoms of tumor-bearing rats became more serious after NaHS injection. The H(2)S level in the C6 glioma group was higher than that in the control group [(35.25 ± 1.03) nmol/g vs. (29.12 ± 0.94) nmol/g, P < 0.05], and the highest H(2)S level was found in the C6-NaHS group. The pathological examination showed that the implanted tumors were predominantly spheroid with a distinct border and no capsule could be detected. Neovascular proliferation was also observed. Foci of tumor necrosis, intratumoral hemorrhage, pseudopalisades and tumor cavity were clearly observed. The glioma cells had scant eosinophilic cytoplasm and enlarged hyperchromatic nuclei. All these phenomena were more markedly in the C6-NaHS group compared with that in other three groups. The mean tumor volume was significantly different between the C6 and C6-NaHS rats [(32.0 ± 6.9) mm(3) vs. (67.8 ± 11.9) mm(3), P < 0.001]. Immunohistochemical analysis exhibited that the hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1α) and CD34 expression were significantly increased after the intraperitoneal injection of NaHS in the C6-NaHS rats (comparing the IOD between C6-NaHS group and C6 group, HIF-1α: 133 962.9 ± 451.4 vs. 38 569.8 ± 408.6, P < 0.001; CD34: 73 368.6 ± 404.8 vs. 14 570.6 ± 748.7, P < 0.001). Moreover, compared with the C6 group, there were higher MVD in the C6-NaHS group [(41.2 ± 7.9)/mm(2) vs. (97.0 ± 10.8)/mm(2), P < 0.001].</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>H(2)S serves as a stimulator in the development of rat glioblastoma and exogenous H(2)S strongly promotes the tumor growth. The stimulating mechanisms include the increase of HIF-1α expression and neovascular formation. H(2)S may be a significant regulator in the development of tumor.</p>