The effects of gestational and lactational exposure to Nonylphenol on c-jun, and c-fos expression and learning and memory in hippocampus of male F1 rat.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of Nonylphenol (NP) in pups from dams exposed during gestational and lactational periods on immediate early genes (c-jun, c-fos) in hippocampus and the learning and memory of F1 rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty eight pregnant dams, stratified by pregnancy date, were randomly assigned into 4 groups, which were gavaged with NP at the doses of 50 mg/kg/day, 100 mg/kg/day, 200 mg/kg/day and groundnut oil, respectively. Step-down avoidance test, and learning and memory effects of NP were evaluated on 8-weeks-old pups. The expressions of c-jun and c-fos and the activities of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and acetylcholinesterase (AchE) were evaluated in hippocampus of pups. RESULTS: Compared to the control, reaction time (RT) that pups spent to jump to the platform was longer (P=0.02), the number of errors were higher (P=0.01), and the step-down latency was shorter in the 200 mg/kg/day NP-treated group (P=0.04). Exposure to NP induced a significant reduction in ChAT activity in hippocampus in the 100 (P=0.005) and 200 mg/kg/day NP-treated groups (P=0.002), whereas exposure to 200 mg/kg/day caused a significant increase in AchE activity (P=0.004); a dose-response relationship was revealed between ChAT and AchE activities and NP exposure in the hippocampus of pups (r=-0.821, P=0.01; r=0.757, P=0.04). Exposure to NP in the 100 and 200 mg/kg/day NP-treated groups exhibited an increase in number of c-fos and c-jun positive cells. CONCLUSION: Exposure to NP might negatively affect learning and memory ability in F1 rats, possibly due to the alterations in the expression of c-jun and c-fos, and ChAT, AchE activities in hippocampus of pups.

Anti-inflammation and Bacteriostasis Effects of Qinlian Liyan Heji / 医药导报

Objective To study the mechanism of anti-inflammation and bacteriostasis effect of Qinlian Liyan Heji. Methods To assess the anti-inflammatory effect, blood capillary permeability in mice was increased by acetic acid, the swelling of toe in rats was induced by albumen, and granuloma was induced by cotton ball in mice.The agar dilution method was used to check the minimal inhibitory concentration of Qinlian Liyan Heji on Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Moraxella catarrhalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae.The microdilution method was used to detect the minimal inhibitory concentration of Qinlian Liyan Heji on group A streptococci, Streptococcal pneumonia and Haemophilus influenzae. Results Contrast to the negative control group, Qinlian Liyan Heji significantly inhibited the increase of blood capillary permeability caused by acetic acid in the middle dose and the high dose groups.In the low dose and middle dose groups, Qinlian Liyan Heji obviously reduced the swelling of plantar in 2, 3, 4, 5 h.In the high dose group, Qinlian Liyan Heji markedly lowered the swelling of plantar in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 h. Qinlian Liyan Heji significantly reduced the granuloma caused by cotton ball. On the other hand, Qinlian Liyan Heji exerted bacteriostatic effect on the above 7 types of bacteria. Conclusion Qinlian Liyan Heji has effects of anti-inflammation and bacteriostasis.