Chemical constituents from ethyl acetate-soluble extraction of Valeriana jatamansi / 中国中药杂志

Application of a combination of various chromatographic techniques including column chromatography over silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, macroporous adsorbent resin, and reversed-phase HPLC, led to the isolation of 173 compounds including irdidoids, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, triterpenes, lignans, flavonoids, and simple aromatic derivatives from the ethyl acetate-soluble fraction of the whole plants of Valeriana jatamansi(Valerianaceae), and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including 1D, 2D NMR UV, IR, and MS techniques. Among them, 77 compounds were new. In previous reports, we have described the isolation, structure elucidation, and bioactivities of 68 new and 25 known compounds. As a consequence, we herein reported the isolation and structure elucidation of the remaining 9 new and 71 known compounds, the structure revision of valeriotriate A(8a), as well as cytotoxicity of some compounds.

Role and recruitment of Th9 cells in liver cirrhosis patients

Objective: To investigate the role of T helper 9 (Th9) cells in liver cirrhosis (LC) patients and whether chemokine receptor type 6 (CCR6)/chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) axis is involving in the recruitment of Th9 cells into liver. Methods: Peripheral blood and liver tissue from 30 LC patients and 18 normal controls were recruited. The frequency of Th9 cells and CCR4, CCR6 in the peripheral blood was tested by flow cytometry. Serum interleukin (IL)-9 and CCL20 levels were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect α-smooth muscle actin, CCR6 and CCL20 expression in liver tissue. Results: The frequency of Th9 cells in LC patients was significantly increased compared with controls (P < 0.05). The serum IL-9 level and CCL20 level increased markedly in LC patients compared with controls (P < 0.05), and IL-9 was positively correlated to Th9 cells and CCL20. Furthermore, the frequency of Th9 cells was correlated to prothrombin time, total bilirubin level, hyaluronic acid and type IV collagen in LC patients. We also found that Th9 cells in LC patients expressed higher frequency of CCR4

Secondary metabolites from a deep-sea-derived actinomycete Micrococcus sp. R21 / 中国中药杂志

To investigate cytotoxic secondary metabolites of Micrococcus sp. R21, an actinomycete isolated from a deep-sea sediment (-6 310 m; 142 degrees 19. 9' E, 10 degrees 54. 6' N) of the Western Pacific Ocean, column chromatography was introduced over silica gel, ODS, and Sephadex LH-20. As a result, eight compounds were obtained. By mainly detailed analysis of the NMR data, their structures were elucidated as cyclo(4-hydroxy-L-Pro-L-leu) (1), cyclo(L-Pro-L-Gly) (2), cyclo( L-Pro-L-Ala) (3), cyclo( D-Pro-L-Leu) (4), N-β-acetyltryptamine (5), 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (6), and phenylacetic acid (7). Compound 1 exhibited weak cytotoxic activity against RAW264. 7 cells with IC50 value of 9.1 μmol x L(-1).

Role of Th9 cells and Th17 cells in the pathogenesis of malignant ascites

Objective: To assess the role of Th9 and Th17 cells in malignant ascites (MA). Methods: MA from 30 hepatic carcinoma patients and benign ascites from 30 cirrhotic patients were collected. Corresponding peripheral blood samples from these hepatic carcinoma and cirrhotic patients as well as 30 healthy subjects were collected. The frequency of Th9 and Th17 cells was tested by flow cytometry. Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-9 and IL-17 were examined by ELISA. Results: The observed frequency of Th9 and Th17 cells, and the IL-9 and IL-17 serum levels were significantly higher in MA patients than those in cirrhotic patients and healthy control samples ( P<. 0.05). Moreover, the Th9 cells demonstrated positive correlation with Th17 cells as well as IL-9 in MA patients; however, this positive correlation was not observed in the cirrhotic patients or healthy control samples. The frequency of Th9 and Th17 cells was distinctly higher in MA patients presenting with stage III or IV malignancy and with lymph node or distant metastasis than those in patients in stage I or II and without distant metastasis ( P<. 0.05). Conclusions: The increased frequency of Th9 and Th17 cells in MA patients suggests that these two T cell subsets play a synergistic role in MA pathogenesis. This study also demonstrated that Th9 and Th17 cells may perform their biological functions in conjunction with IL-9 production.

3D finite element analysis on pelvis under compressing manipulation by flexing hip and knee / 医用生物力学

Objective To investigate the influence from compressing manipulation by flexing hip and knee in supine position on stress distributions in the pelvis and strain distributions in the sacroiliac joints by 3D finite element method, and discuss the possibility of moving the whole sacroiliac joints under such manipulation. Methods A 3D finite element model of the normal pelvis was constructed based on CT images. According to the manipulation principle, the compressing force in flexing hip and knee was decomposed in two directions, and loaded on the 3D finite element model to calculate stress of the pelvis and strain of the sacroiliac joints. Results Under the loading of simulative manipulation, stress of the pelvis was mainly located at 1/3 part of the anterior inferior of the sacroiliac joints, the greater sciatic notch, and the middle 1/3 part of the inferior and anterior of gluteal lines. The maximum strain of the sacroiliac joints was mainly located in the posterior superior, posterior inferior and central 1/2 part of the sacroiliac joints. Conclusions The compressing manipulation by flexing hip and knee can only move 1/3 part of the interior of the sacroiliac joints, rather than the whole of the sacroiliac joints.

Transcriptional regulation of BHLHB2 induced by PML-RARα / 中国实验血液学杂志

Objective of this study was to investigate the transcriptional regulation of BHLHB2 gene by the PML-RARα fusion protein in APL cells and reveal the pathogenesis of APL. RT-PCR was performed to detect the expression change of BHLHB2 before and after the induction of PML-RARα in PR9 cells, and its expression level after the treatment of ATRA in PR9 and APL patient derived NB4 cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-based PCR was used to analyze whether the BHLHB2 promoter could be bound by PML-RARα in vivo. A large-scale gene expression profile dataset was used to observe the expression pattern of BHLHB2 in AML. The results showed that the expression level of BHLHB2 was significantly reduced with the induction of PML-RARα and ATRA could reverse this inhibition in both PR9 and NB4 cells and increase the expression of BHLHB2. However, the expression of BHLHB2 could not be induced by ATRA in U937 cells which do not express PML-RARα. Mechanism study revealed that PML-RARα could bound to the promoter of BHLHB2 in vivo to regulate the the expression of BHLHB2. It was found that the expression of BHLHB2 was relatively lower in APL as compared with other subtypes of AML and normal bone marrow cells. It is concluded that BHLHB2 is the target of PML-RARα, and the expression of BHLHB2 is inhibited by PML-RARα through binding to its promoter in APL.