Advance on chemical compounds of Ainsliaea genus / 中国中药杂志

Plants in Ainsliaea genus, belongs to Compositae family, are traditional Chinese medicine and widely used in folk. These plants contain various types of chemical components, and main components are sesquiterpene lactone and its glycosides. In addition, there are triterpenoids, flavonoids, steroids, phenolic acid, long chain fatty acid and volatile oils. Recently, much attention has been payed to varlous research of A. fragrans. This paper reviewed and summarized the chemical components to provide the theoretical basis for the use of Ainsliaea.

Hypoxia-responsive factor PHD2 and angiogenic diseases / 药学学报

Prolyl-4-hydroxylase domain (PHDs) family is one of the most important regulatory factors in hypoxic stress. PHD2 plays a critical role in cells and tissues adaptation to the low oxygen environment. Its hydroxylation activity regulates the stability and transcriptional activity of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), which is the key factor in response to hypoxic stress. Subsequently, PHD2 acts as an important factor in oxygen homeostasis. Studies have shown that PHD2, through its regulation on HIF-1, plays an important role in the post-ischemic neovascularization. Furthermore, under hypoxic condition, PHD2 also regulates other pathways that positively regulate angiogenesis factors HIF-1 independently. Moreover, recently, several evidences have also shown that PHD2 also affects tumor growth and metastasis in a tumor microenvironment. Based on these facts, PHD2 have been considered as a potential therapeutic target both in treating ischemic diseases and tumors. Here, we review the molecular regulation mechanism of PHD2 and its physiological and pathological functions. We focus on the role of PHD2 in both therapeutic angiogenesis for ischemic disease and tumor angiogenesis, and the current progress in utilizing PHD2 as a therapeutic target.

Effect of overdose fluoride on the expression of enamelin in rat mandibular incisor / 华西口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of overdose fluoride on the expression of enamelin in rat mandibular incisor.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty Wistar rats were divided randomly into two groups. Animals were maintained in standard environment with free access to food and distilled water (control group) or water added with 100 mg/L F-(experimental group). The rats were killed in the eighth week. HE staining was used to observe the morphology of ameloblasts. Immunohistochemical staining was adopted to study the expressions of enamelin in rat incisor.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The ameloblasts of the treated rat were arranged in multi-layer. The ameloblasts in group II were thinner than those in group I. The structure of enamel matrix was in disorder. The expressions of enamelin in ameloblasts and odontoblasts were obviously inhibited in group II (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The overdose fluoride inhibits the secretion of enamelin and leads to the abnormal development of enamel matrix.</p>