Ethnobotanical survey of antifertility medicinal plants in Dali District, Yunnan Province, China.

In recent years, contraceptive medication has been widely used for birth control. It is worth noting that contraceptive medication from botanical source has great potential for clinical use. Yunnan is the province with the most species of plants in China and is known as the "plant kingdom". This study aims to archive herbal remedies traditionally used as antifertility remedies in Dali District, Yunnan Province, P. R. China. The survey was conducted from February 2011 to September 2016 in the population distributed in Dali and the surrounding counties. The data were collected from three groups of practitioners within the study area: therapists using traditional medicines (n = 104), aboriginal families (n = 37), and herbalists in commercial stalls (n = 12), and a total number of 117 plant species were recorded. Among the 117 plant species, 104 of which have been authenticated by a plant taxonomist from the Dali Herbarium. These plants were classified into 98 genera and 54 families, including Leguminosae (12 species), Liliaceae (7 species), Cucurbitaceae, Rosaceae and Rutaceae (5 species, respectively), Malvaceae, Compositae and Euphorbiaceae (4 species, respectively). Our data provides an in-depth delineation of the contraceptive plants used in Dali, which serve as valuable information for the practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine in contraceptive use. In addition, these data also hint that plants from different genus contain contraceptive components, which should be avoided by pregnant women. Future studies are required to identify the active contraceptive components, assess the toxicology, and elucidate the pharmacological mechanism of action.

Circular RNA circ_0011385 promotes cervical cancer progression through competitively binding to miR-149-5p and up-regulating SOX4 expression.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs), emerging as a new type of non-coding RNAs, play important roles in cancers. Instead, the functions and mechanisms of circ_0011385 in cervical cancer (CC) are still inconclusive. Microarray data GSE102686 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, and were utilized to screen out circRNAs differently expressed in CC tissues. Circ_0011385, miR-149-5p, SRY-box transcription factor 4 (SOX4) mRNA expressions in CC tissues and cells were probed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). CC cell lines with circ_0011385 knockdown were constructed, and he multiplication, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of CC cells were evaluated by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) method, transwell assay, and flow cytometry. In addition, the targeting relationships between miR-149-5p and circ_0011385 or SOX4 mRNA 3'UTR were probed by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay and RNA pull-down assay. The regulatory function of circ_0011385 and miR-149-5p on SOX4 expression was studied with western blot. Expressions of circ_0011385 and SOX4 mRNA were raised in CC tissues and cells, while miR-149-5p expression was decreased. Knocking down circ_0011385 restrained the multiplication, migration, and invasion of CC cells and induced the apoptosis. Circ_0011385 directly targeted miR-149-5p, and SOX4 was the target of miR-149-5p, which could be positively regulated by circ_0011385. Circ_0011385 elevates SOX4 expression by targeting miR-149-5p, thus participating in promoting the malignant biological behaviors of CC cells.

G protein­coupled estrogen receptor/miR­148a/human leukocyte antigen­G signaling pathway mediates cell apoptosis of ovarian endometriosis.

The focus of the current study was a G protein­coupled estrogen receptor (GPER)/microRNA (miR)­148a/human leukocyte antigen­G (HLA­G) signaling pathway in ovarian endometriosis. Reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to analyze the changes in miR­148a expression. A MTT assay, flow cytometry and caspase­3/9 activity assays were performed to analyze cell proliferation, apoptosis and caspase­3/9 activity levels, respectively. Protein expression was measured using western blot analysis. In tissue samples from healthy controls, and patients with endometriosis and endometriosis­associated ovarian cancer, the expression of miR­148a was lower in in endometriosis and EAOC samples compared with healthy controls. Overexpression of miR­148a using miR mimics significantly decreased proliferation, promoted apoptosis, increased the Bcl­2 associated X apoptosis regulator (Bax)/Bcl­2 apoptosis regulator (Bcl­2) ratio and caspase3/9 activity, and suppressed HLA­G protein expression in Hs 832(C).T cells. miR­148a downregulation using miR inhibitor significantly increased cell viability, inhibited apoptosis, and reduced the Bax/Bcl­2 ratio and caspase3/9 activity, and induced HLA­G protein expression in Hs 832(C).T cells. The GPER inhibitor, G15, suppressed GPER protein expression, upregulated miR­148a expression, decreased cell proliferation, promoted apoptosis, increased the Bax/Bcl­2 ratio and caspase3 activity, and suppressed HLA­G protein expression in Hs 832(C).T cells. The findings indicate that GPER/miR­148a/HLA­G signaling pathway may mediates the development of ovarian endometriosis and may become a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of endometriosis.

[Cystic degeneration in liver injury induced by CCl4 in SD rats].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the hepatic injury induced by CCl4in SD rat. METHOD: 40 SD rats were allocated to male and female group, consisting of 20 animals/sex/group. SD rats were given at 2 mL x kg(-1) of 10% CCl4 through celiac injection per 3 day for 12 days. All rats were killed by anaesthesia of ethyl ether and bleeding through abdominal aorta at 12th day. Liver tissue was fixed in 10% neutral formalin, embedded in paraffin, cut at a nominal thickness of 3 microm, stained with hematoxylin and eosin ( H&E) , evaluated at by microscopic examination. RESULT: 19 cases with local necrosis, 8 cases with fatty degeneration, 9 cases with cystic degeneration and 2 cases with fibrosis were seen in group male. 20 cases with local necrosis, 9 cases with fatty cases degeneration, 1 case with cystic degeneration and 1 case with fibrosis were seen in group female. The incidence of cystic degeneration in male group was found significantly higher than that in female group (P < 0. 05) , but the incidence of other lesions was no significant difference between male and female group. CONCLUSION: CCl4 induces local necrosis , fatty degeneration, fibrosis and cystic degeneration in SD rat. The incidences of local necrosis , fatty degeneration and fibrosis were no significantly difference between male and female rat, but the incidence of cystic degeneration in male rats was significant higher than that in female rats.