Panax vietnamensis protects mice against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity without any modification of CYP2E1 gene expression.

In order to explore the effect of Panax vietnamensis on carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity, mice were pretreated for 7 days with either crude extract or total saponins. Crude extract and total saponins dramatically decreased carbon tetrachloride-induced increase of serum GST alpha level (-50.0%, -49.5% respectively). Serum AST level was significantly decreased only with total saponins (-52.2%) and ALT level was slightly modified. In vitro experiments shown that both preparations at high concentrations (> 2000 micrograms/ml) are able to inhibit CYP2E1 enzymatic activity in mouse and human microsomes. However, we did not observe any modification of Cyp2e1 gene expression (enzymatic activity, protein and mRNA levels) in mice treated with either crude extract or total saponins. Taken together, these data demonstrated that Panax vietnamensis could be used as an hepatoprotectant. However, the mechanism of action is not associated with CYP2E1 expression, as previously suggested in vitro in rat for total saponins from Panax ginseng.

CYP2E1 and CYP3A1/2 gene expression is not associated with the ursodeoxycholate effect on ethanol-induced lipoperoxidation.

Ethanol is a well-known hepatotoxicant inducing steatosis and membrane lipoperoxidation. The aim of the present study was to investigate in rats, whether the protective effect of UDC on ethanol-induced lipid peroxidation may be related with CYP2E1 and CYP3A1/2 gene expression. We showed that UDC treatment in ethanol-fed rats induced a significant decrease in liver triglyceride concentration which was closely correlated with a reduction in malondialdehyde and hydroxyalkenal levels. In chronically ethanol-fed rats, CYP2E1 and CYP3A1/2 gene expressions were increased by a post-transcriptional mechanism. These inductions, mainly of CYP2E1, could take part in alcohol-induced hepatic lipoperoxidation. UDC modified neither the specific activity, nor the protein level, nor the mRNA level of CYP2E1 when compared with control. UDC supplementation to alcohol diet did not prevent the increase in CYP2E1 expression of ethanol-fed rats. Furthermore, CYP3A1/2 protein levels were similarly increased by ethanol and ethanol plus UDC treatment. Therefore, UDC protective effect against ethanol-induced lipoperoxidation was not associated with a modification of CYP2E1 and CYP3A1/2 expression.

[Monitoring cervical dilatation by impedance]. / Partogramme enregistré par impédancemétrie.

Several different physics procedures have been tried to mechanize the recording of partograms. Can a measure of impedance of tissue Z using potential difference V, according to Ohm's law V = Z1, and 1 is a constant, be correlated with a measure of cervical dilatation using vaginal examination? This was our hypothesis. The tissue impedance meter was made to our design and applied according to a bipolar procedure. Our work was carried out on 28 patients. 10 patients were registered before labour started in order to test the apparatus and to record the impedance variations without labour taking place, and 18 patients were registered in labour to see whether there was any correlation. The level of impedance in the cervix without labour was 302.7 Ohms with a deviation of 8.2. Using student's t tests it was found that there was a significant correlation (p less than 0.001) in four measurements between the impedance measure and measures obtained by extrapolating the degrees of dilatation calculated from vaginal examination. This is a preliminary study in which we have defined the conditions that are necessary to confirm these first results and to further develop the method.