Exploration on lateral needling technique / 中国针灸

Regarding the existing questions of the understanding and application of lateral needling technique in the Chapter 7 of

Investigation on secondary metabolites of endophytic fungus Talaromyces purpurogenus hosted in Tylophora ovate / 中国中药杂志

Eight compounds,(R)-2-[5-(methoxycarbonyl)-4-methyl-6-oxo-3,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-yl]acetic acid(1),(3S,4R)-3,4-dihydro-3,4-epoxy-5-hydroxynaphthalen-1(2H)-one(2),(-)-mitorubrinol(3),(-)-mitorubrin(4),(±)-asperlone A(5), terreusinone(6), verrucisidinol(7) and cerebroside C(8) were isolated from the endophytic fungus Talaromyces purpurogenus by using various column chromatographic techniques. Their structures were identified by NMR, MS, CD and optical rotation. Compounds 1 and 2 were new compounds. Their anti-diabetic activities in vitro were evaluated, and compound 1 showed moderate inhibitory activity toward XOD at 10 μmol·L~(-1) with the inhibition rate of 69.9%.

Investigations on secondary metabolites of endophyte Diaporthe sp. hosted in Tylophora ovata / 中国中药杂志

One new compound ()-2,3-dihydroxybutyl 2-hydroxy-3,5,6-trimethylbenzoate (1) and six known compounds xylariphthalide A (2), convolvulol (3), cis-4-hydroxy-6-deoxytalone (4), phomoxydienes B (5), 5,6-dihydroxy-2,3,6-trimethylcyclohex-2-enone (6), trans-cyclo-(D-tryptophanyl-L-tyrosyl) (7) were isolated from Diaporthe sp., an endophytic fungus hosted in the leaves of the toxic Chinese folk medicine Tylophora ouata, using the combination methods of silica gel column chromatography, medium-pressure ODS column chromatography and RP-preparative HPLC. The structure of compound 1 was elucidated by NMR and MS data analyses. The absolute configurations were established according to the ¹H-NMR data and exciton chirality method. Compound 1 inhibited the activation of human lung fibroblasts MRC-5 cells by 64.0% at 10 μmol·L⁻¹. The MTT assay showed that compounds 2 and 4 displayed cytotoxic activity against human tumor cell lines BGC-823 cells with IC₅₀ values of 1.5 and 8.6 μmol·L⁻¹, respectively.

Age-related changes of brain iron load changes in the frontal cortex in APPswe/PS1ΔE9 transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) as a neurodegenerative brain disorder is a devastating pathology leading to disastrous cognitive impairments and dementia, associated with major social and economic costs to society. Iron can catalyze damaging free radical reactions. With age, iron accumulates in brain frontal cortex regions and may contribute to the risk of AD. In this communication, we investigated the age-related brain iron load changes in the frontal cortex of 6- and 12-month-old C57BL/6J (C57) and APPswe/PS1ΔE9 (APP/PS1) double transgenic mouse by using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) and Perls' reaction. In the present study, we also evaluated the age-related changes of DMT1 and FPN1 by using Western blot and qPCR. We found that compared with 6-month-old APP/PS1 mice and the 12-month-old C57 mice, the 12-month-old APP/PS1 mice had increased iron load in the frontal cortex. The levels of DMT1 were significantly increased and the FPN1 were significantly reduced in the frontal cortex of the 12-month-old APP/PS1 mice than that in the 6-month-old APP/PS1 mice and 12-month-old C57 mice. We conclude that in AD damage occurs in conjunction with iron accumulation, and the brain iron load associated with loss control of the brain iron metabolism related protein DMT1 and FPN1 expressions.

Dimethyl Sulfoxide Suppresses Mouse 4T1 Breast Cancer Growth by Modulating Tumor-Associated Macrophage Differentiation / 한국유방암학회지

PURPOSE: The universal organic solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) can be used as a differentiation inducer of many cancer cells and has been widely used as a solvent in laboratories. However, its effects on breast cancer cells are not well understood. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect and associated mechanisms of DMSO on mouse breast cancer. METHODS: We applied DMSO to observe the effect on tumors in a mouse breast cancer model. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) were tested by flow cytometry. Ex vivo tumor microenvironment was imitated by 4T1 cultured cell conditioned medium. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were performed to detect interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-12 expression in medium. To investigate the cytotoxicity of DMSO on TAMs, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays were performed. RESULTS: We found that DMSO produced tumor retardation when injected into mouse peritoneal cavities in a certain concentration range (0.5-1.0 mg/g). Furthermore, as detected by flow cytometry, TAM subtypes were found to be transformed. We further imitated a tumor microenvironment in vitro by using 4T1 cultured cell conditioned medium. Similarly, by using low concentration DMSO (1.0%-2.0% v/v), TAMs were induced to polarize to the classically activated macrophage (M1-type) and inhibited from polarizing into the alternatively activated macrophage (M2-type) in the conditioned medium. IL-10 expression in tumors was reduced, while IL-12 was increased compared with the control. Furthermore, we reported that 2.0% (v/v) DMSO could lead to cytotoxicity in peritoneal macrophages after 48 hours in MTT assays. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that DMSO could exert antitumor effects in 4T1 cancer-bearing mice by reversing TAM orientation and polarization from M2- to M1-type TAMs. These data may provide novel insight into studying breast cancer immunotherapy.

Study on tissue distribution of borneol in mice by intravenous and intranasal administrations / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To develop a GC-FID method to determine borneol's concentration in mouse tissues, and to investigate the tissue distribution after intravenous and intranasal administrations of borneol.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Mouse brains, hearts, livers, spleens, lungs and kidneys were collected at 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 90, 120 min after administration of borneol with the dose of 30.0 mg x kg(-1). The drug in tissues was extracted with ethyl acetate, and borneol's concentration detected by GC, with octadecane as the internal standard.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The calibration curve showed a good linear relationship. Extraction recoveries, inter-day and intra-day precisions and stability were in conformity with the analytical requirements of biological samples. Borneol was mainly distributed in most tissues, more in heart, brain and kidney, and less in liver, spleen and lung.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The established GC-FID method is applicable for content determination of borneol in tissues. After intravenous and intranasal administrations in mice, borneol is mainly distributed in abundant blood-supply tissues. After intranasal administration, brain tissues showed the highest target coefficient and target effectiveness.</p>