[Rehmanniae Radix and Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata improve diabetes induced by high-fat diet coupled with streptozotocin in mice through AMPK-mediated NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway].

This study investigated the differential mechanisms of Rehmanniae Radix and Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata in improving diabetes in mice through AMPK-mediated NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway. The diabetic mouse model was established with high-fat diet coupled with streptozotocin(STZ, intraperitoneal injection, 100 mg·kg~(-1), once a day for three consecutive days), after which the mice were randomly divided into model group, low-dose(5 g·kg~(-1)) and high-dose(15 g·kg~(-1)) Rehmanniae Radix groups, low-dose(5 g·kg~(-1)) and high-dose(15 g·kg~(-1)) Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata groups, catalpol group(250 mg·kg~(-1)), 5-hydroxymethylfurfural(5-HMF) group(250 mg·kg~(-1)), metformin group(250 mg·kg~(-1)), with the normal group also set. The organ indexes of heart,liver, spleen, lung, kidney and pancreas were calculated after four weeks of administration. The pathological changes and fibrosis of pancreas, kidney and liver in mice were observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining and Masson staining. Western blot was used to determine the expression levels of Toll-like receptor-4(TLR4), nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB), Nod-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3),interleukin-1ß(IL-1ß), adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase(AMPK), phosphorylated AMPK(p-AMPK) in the pancreas, kidney and liver of mice. Compared with the model group, the administration groups witnessed significant decrease in the liver,spleen, kidney, pancreas and fat indexes of diabetic mice, and there was no significant difference in heart and lung indexes. The pathological states and fibrosis of pancreatic, kidney and liver tissues were significantly improved after administration. Additionally, the expression levels of TLR4, NF-κB and NLRP3 in pancreas, kidney and liver of diabetic mice were significantly lowered. The expression levels of p-AMPK/AMPK were enhanced significantly in kidney and liver of mice in Rehmanniae Radix group while in pancreas, kidney and liver in Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata group. This suggests that Rehmanniae Radix and Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata differ in the mechanism of regulating energy metabolism of multiple organs and thereby exerting anti-inflammatory effects to alleviate symptoms of diabetic mice.

Progress in research on the role of Omi/HtrA2 in neurological diseases.

Omi/HtrA2 is a serine protease present in the mitochondrial space. When stimulated by external signals, HtrA2 is released into the mitochondrial matrix where it regulates cell death through its interaction with apoptotic and autophagic signaling pathways. Omi/HtrA2 is closely related to the pathogenesis of neurological diseases, such as neurodegeneration and hypoxic ischemic brain damage. Here, we summarize the biological characteristics of Omi/HtrA2 and its role in neurological diseases, which will provide new hints in developing Omi/HtrA2 as a therapeutic target for neurological diseases.

[Effects of Phosphate Rock and Decomposed Rice Straw Application on Lead Immobilization in a Contaminated Soil].

The soils treated with phosphate rock (PR) and oxalic acid activated phosphate rock (APR) mixed with decomposed rice straw were incubated in different moisture conditions for 60 days to study the effect on the basic property of the soil and on the speciation variation of Pb. The results showed that all these three types of immobilizing materials increased the pH, the Olsen-P, the exchangeable Ca and the soil cation exchange capacity, and APR showed more obvious effect; the pH and the exchangeable Ca of soil in the flooding treatment were higher than those in normal water treatment (70%), but the Olsen-P of soil in normal water treatment was a little bit more. These materials reduced exchangeable Ph fraction, and converted it into unavailable fraction. But the APR was better than raw PR in immobilizing lead, and the exchangeable Pb fraction was reduced by 40.3% and 24.2%, compared with the control, respectively, and the immobilization effect was positively correlated with the dosage. Decomposed rice straw could transform the exchangeable Ph fraction in soil into organic-bound fraction, while the flooding treatment changed it into the Fe-Mn oxide-bound and residue fractions.

[Effect of phosphate and organic acid addition on passivation of simulated Pb contaminated soil and the stability of the product].

Organic acids can improve the phosphorus availability, influence the immobilization of heavy metals in soil, and has very complicated function in phosphorus activation and heavy metal passivation. This research took simulated Pb contaminated soil as material, phosphate and citric acid as remediation matter, adopted BCR continuous extraction, 0.01 mol · L(-1) CaCl2 and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) to evaluate the remediation effect. Besides, malic acid and NaNO3 were taken as desorption reagents to discuss the stability of the phosphorus-citric acid-Pb system. The results showed that: in the absence of citric acid, the amount of acid extracted Pb decreased along with the increase of P concentration; when the P concentration was 100 and 400 mg · kg(-1), acid extractable Pb increased with the increasing of citric acid concentration. However, residual Pb changed in the opposite direction from acid extractable Pb. The phenomenon showed that P improved the bioavailability of Pb, while citric acid had the opposite effect. With a certain organic acid concentration, extractable Pb contents extracted by 0.01 mol · L(-1) CaCl2 and TCLP both decreased with the increasing P concentration, therefore, P had immobilization effect on Pb in contaminated soil. But at a fixed P concentration, extractable Pb contents by 0.01 mol · L(-1) CaCl2 and TCLP changed in the opposite trend with the increasing citric acid concentration. The desorption rate of Pb in soil increased with the increasing malic acid concentration, the decreasing pH and the increasing ionic strength. The desorption extent of Pb in soil with P only was lower than that with both P and citric acid. But the stability of Pb passivated by the former was higher.

[Expression and significance of RhoA and NF-ΚB in human gastric carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of RhoA and NF-κB in gastric carcinoma and their correlation with clinicopathological fearures. To determine the effective prognostic factors of long-term suivival of gastric carcinoma patients. METHODS: The role of RhoA and NF-κB in gastric carcinoma was assessed by tissue array technology and the levels of RhoA and NF-κB expression in paraffin-embedded tissues was quantified by immunohistochemistry from 189 cases of gastric carcinoma, 54 cases of their adjacent tissues, and 32 cases of normal gastric mucosa. The prognosis of gastric carcinoma was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS: The positive rates of RhoA expression were 84.7%, 68.5% and 65.6% in gastric carcinoma, adjacent tissues and normal mucosa, respectively. The expression of RhoA in gasric carcinoma was significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues and normal mucosa (P < 0.05). The positive rates of NF-κB expression were 75.1%, 42.6% and 15.6%% in gastric carcinoma, adjacent tissues and normal mucosa, respectively. The expression of NF-κB in gasric carcinoma was significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues and normal mucosa (P < 0.05). RhoA was positively linked with NF-κB (r = 0.203, P = 0.005). In gastric carcinoma, the expression of RhoA was related with depth of invasion (P < 0.05), and the expression of NF-κB was related with depth of invasion and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the tumor size, lymph node metastasis, depth of invasion, expression of RhoA and NF-κB can shorten the cumulative survival rate. With these paramaters entering the Cox multivariate regression analysis mode, it was revealed that expression of NF-κB, lymph node metastasis and depth of invasion are independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSIONS: The overexpression of RhoA and NF-κB is involved in the occurrence and development of gastric carcinoma. RhoA is positively linked with NF-κB. They are correlated with the invasion and metastasis of gastric carcinoma. The expression of NF-κB, lymph node metastasis, depth of invasion are independent prognostic factors playing an important role in prediction of the clinical outcome after radical resection of gastric carcinoma.