ABSTRACT
Amsonia elliptica (Apocynaceae), endangered species in Korea, is a perennial herb that is economically important as traditional medicine and used as ornamentals. Natural populations of this species are facing extinction due to small population size and isolated distribution. Here, we report the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of A. elliptica using Illumina HiSeq sequencing and its phylogenetic position in subfamily Rauvolfioideae based on 20 Apocynaceae cp genomes. The cp genome of A. elliptica was 154,242 bp in length with a pair of inverted repeats of 25,711 bp, separated by large single-copy and small single-copy regions of 85,382 bp and 17,438 bp, respectively. Our phylogenomic analyses revealed that A. elliptica was closely related to Rhazya stricta in Rauvolfioideae (Apocynaceae).
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of an injectable lyophilized articular cartilage matrix (LACM) which is in the form of cartilage powder that may increase the convenience of use and become unaffected by donor site morbidity as a potential filler. METHODS: The safety test was conducted using 20 rabbits with an intravascular embolization model. Commonly used commercial hyaluronic acid (HA), acellular dermal matrix (ADM), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and polylactic acid (PLA) products were selected for comparison of efficacy and adverse effect of LACM. The efficacy test was performed using 30 mice subcutaneous buttock-injection model. Gross assessments of the changes in size of injected materials and histological examinations were conducted. RESULTS: Regarding the safety test, in one rabbit in the HA group, complete blurring occurred in the left eye, and necrosis of the posterior auricular artery was observed in one rabbit in the ADM group. In the ADM, severe ecchymosis around the injection sites was observed, and the bruises lasted longer than in the other groups. The LACM exhibited faster bruise resolution. Comparing the changes in size between weeks 4 and 12 in the mouse model, no significant changes in size were observed in the LACM (p = 0.359), HA (p = 0.421), and ADM (p = 0.097), but a significant change was observed in the PMMA (p = 0.001). In the histological examination, LACM exhibited well-demarcated margins with good biocompatibility. CONCLUSION: The LACM shows potential as a facial filler according to the in vivo safety and efficacy tests LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each submission to which Evidence-Based Medicine rankings are applicable. This excludes Review Articles, Book Reviews, and manuscripts that concern Basic Science, Animal Studies, Cadaver Studies, and Experimental Studies. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.
Subject(s)
Acellular Dermis , Cartilage, Articular , Dermal Fillers , Animals , Dermal Fillers/adverse effects , Face , Hyaluronic Acid , Injections, Subcutaneous , Mice , RabbitsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Wheat grain is recognized as a rich source of nutrients, including proteins, vitamins, minerals, fibers and antioxidants. In recent years, the focus of wheat breeding has been to increase the content of bioactive compounds to improve human health and prevent diseases. RESULTS: Five novel wheat mutant lines with variable seed color were developed using gamma irradiation of hexaploid wheat inbred line K4191 (purple seed color). The total anthocyanin contents of three mutant lines (L47, L167 and L925) were significantly higher than those of wild-type lines, including K4191 and 'Keumkang' (white seed color). L925 showed the highest total anthocyanin content, and cyanidin-3-glucoside was presented as the most predominant anthocyanin. Compared with 'Keumkang', the expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes was significantly up-regulated in purple seed mutant lines. The highest antioxidant activity was observed in L925 extracts. The expression of a few antioxidant-related genes and total anthocyanin content were positively correlated with antioxidant capacity. These data suggest that anthocyanins and phenolic compounds in wheat grains contribute to the antioxidant potential. CONCLUSION: Purple grain color is associated with higher anthocyanin accumulation and antioxidant capacity in wheat. Wheat mutants developed in this study may serve as a valuable source of antioxidants. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.
Subject(s)
Antioxidants/chemistry , Triticum/chemistry , Triticum/genetics , Anthocyanins/chemistry , Anthocyanins/metabolism , Antioxidants/metabolism , Color , Mutation , Plant Proteins/genetics , Plant Proteins/metabolism , Polyploidy , Seeds/chemistry , Seeds/genetics , Triticum/metabolismABSTRACT
3-deoxysilybin (3-DS), also known as (-)-isosilandrin A, is a natural flavonoid of Silybum marianum. This study was designed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect and the underlying molecular mechanisms of 3-DS in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. 3-DS dose-dependently inhibited the production of NO and the expression of iNOS in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. 3-DS also inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (MCP-1, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1ß) in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Moreover, 3-DS decreased the NF-κB DNA binding activity in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Furthermore, 3-DS suppressed NF-κB activation by inhibiting the degradation of IκBα and nuclear translocation of p65 subunit of NF-κB in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Taken together, the present study suggests for the first time that 3-DS may exhibit an anti-inflammatory effect through the suppression of NF-κB transcriptional activation in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages.
Subject(s)
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/pharmacology , Dioxanes/pharmacology , Flavanones/pharmacology , Flavonoids/pharmacology , Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology , Macrophages/drug effects , Silybum marianum/chemistry , Animals , Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/isolation & purification , Cell Line, Transformed , Chemokine CCL2/genetics , Chemokine CCL2/metabolism , Dioxanes/isolation & purification , Flavanones/isolation & purification , Flavonoids/isolation & purification , Gene Expression Regulation , I-kappa B Proteins/genetics , I-kappa B Proteins/metabolism , Interleukin-1beta/genetics , Interleukin-1beta/metabolism , Interleukin-6/genetics , Interleukin-6/metabolism , Macrophages/cytology , Macrophages/metabolism , Mice , NF-KappaB Inhibitor alpha , NF-kappa B/genetics , NF-kappa B/metabolism , Nitric Oxide/metabolism , Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/genetics , Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/metabolism , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Signal Transduction , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/genetics , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolismABSTRACT
Over the years, cardiovascular diseases continue to increase and affect not only human health but also the economic stability worldwide. The advancement in tissue engineering is contributing a lot in dealing with this immediate need of alleviating human health. Blood vessel diseases are considered as major cardiovascular health problems. Although blood vessel transplantation is the most convenient treatment, it has been delimited due to scarcity of donors and the patient's conditions. However, tissue-engineered blood vessels are promising alternatives as mode of treatment for blood vessel defects. The purpose of this paper is to show the importance of the advancement on biofabrication technology for treatment of soft tissue defects particularly for vascular tissues. This will also provide an overview and update on the current status of tissue reconstruction especially from autologous stem cells, scaffolds, and scaffold-free cellular transplantable constructs. The discussion of this paper will be focused on the historical view of cardiovascular tissue engineering and stem cell biology. The representative studies featured in this paper are limited within the last decade in order to trace the trend and evolution of techniques for blood vessel tissue engineering.