Suppression of the p66shc adapter protein by protocatechuic acid prevents the development of lung injury induced by intestinal ischemia reperfusion in mice.

BACKGROUND: Intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) causes severe histological injury, reactive oxygen species activation, and cell apoptosis in the lung. In this study, we investigated, using a murine intestinal I/R model, the effect of a polyphenolic compound, protocatechuic acid (PCA), in modulation of ShcA and in protection of the lung from I/R-induced injury. METHODS: Fifty ICR mice were randomly divided into five groups, including a control group, intestinal I/R group, control + PCA group, I/R + PCA low-dose group, and I/R + PCA high-dose group. The I/R and I/R + PCA groups were subjected to mesenteric arterial ischemia for 45 minutes and reperfusion for 90 minutes. The control and control + PCA groups underwent a surgical procedure that included isolation of the superior mesenteric artery without occlusion. In all PCA-pretreated groups, the mice received intraperitoneal PCA administration for three consecutive days. Serum specimens were collected for measuring tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin 6, while lung tissues were harvested for histopathologic assessment including glutathione (GSH) and GSH peroxidase assay. Lung expression of p66shc, phosphorylated p66shc, manganese superoxide dismutase, caspace-3, and Bcl-xL were determined by Western blotting for protein level and semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis for mRNA level. RESULTS: PCA pretreatment markedly reduced I/R-induced lung injury as indicated by histological alterations; the decreases in tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin 6, and caspase-3 expression levels; and the increases in GSH, GSH peroxidase, manganese superoxide dismutase, and Bcl-xL levels in the lung. Moreover, PCA treatment down-regulated p66shc expression and phosphorylation. CONCLUSION: PCA has a significant protective effect in lung injury induced by intestinal I/R. The protective effect of PCA may be attributed to the suppression of p66shc and the modulation of downstream antioxidative/antiapoptotic factors.

1-(3-Fluoro-phen-yl)-3-(4-nitro-phen-yl)urea.

In the title compound, C(13)H(10)FN(3)O(3), the dihedral angle between the fluoro-phenyl and nitro-phenyl ring planes is 6.51 (9)°. The crystal structure features N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

Design, synthesis and antitumor activity of 4-aminoquinazoline derivatives targeting VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase.

We report herein the design and synthesis of novel 4-aminoquinazoline derivatives based on the inhibitors of VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinases. The VEGFR-2 inhibitory activities of these newly synthesized compounds were also evaluated and compared with that of ZD6474. We found that most of target compounds had good inhibitory potency. In particular, compounds 1h, 1n and 1o were found to be 6, 2 and 2-fold more potent than the positive control ZD6474. The leading compound 1h also showed an in vivo activity against HepG2 human tumor xenograft model in BALB/c-nu mice.

[Alterations of cardiac hemodynamics, sodium current and L-type calcium current in rats with L-thyroxine-induced cardiomyopathy].

The aim of the present study is to investigate the alterations of cardiac hemodynamics, sodium current (I(Na)) and L-type calcium current (I(Ca-L)) in the cardiomyopathic model of rats. The model of cardiomyopathy was established by intraperitoneal injection of L-thyroxine (0.5 mg/kg) for 10 d. The hemodynamics was measured with biological experimental system, and then I(Na) and I(Ca-L) were recorded by using whole cell patch clamp technique. The results showed that left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP), +/-dp/dt(max) in cardiomyopathic group were significantly lower than those in the control group, while left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) in cardiomyopathic group was higher than that in the control group. Intraperitoneal injection of L-thyroxine significantly increased the current density of I(Na) [(-26.2+/-3.2) pA/pF vs (-21.1+/-6.3) pA/pF, P<0.01], shifted steady-state activation and inactivation curves negatively, and markedly prolonged the time constant of recovery from inactivation. On the other hand, the injection of L-thyroxine significantly increased the current density of I(Ca-L) [(-7.9+/-0.8) pA/pF vs (-5.4+/-0.6) pA/pF, P<0.01)], shifted steady-state activation and inactivation curves negatively, and obviously shortened the time constant of recovery from inactivation. In conclusion, the cardiac performance of cardiomyopathic rats is similar to that of rats with heart failure, in which the current density of I(Na) and especially the I(Ca-L) are enhanced, suggesting that calcium channel blockade and a decrease in Na(+) permeability of membrane may play an important role in the treatment of cardiomyopathy.