Antidiabetic Effects of Arginyl-Fructosyl-Glucose, a Nonsaponin Fraction from Ginseng Processing in Streptozotocin-Induced Type 2 Diabetic Mice through Regulating the PI3K/AKT/GSK-3ß and Bcl-2/Bax Signaling Pathways.

Streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) caused insulin secretion disorder and hyperglycemia, further causing tissue and organ damage. In recent years, studies on ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) and its saponins (Ginsenosides) have proved to possess antidiabetic pharmacological activities, but the mechanism of nonsaponins on STZ-induced T2DM is still unclear. Arginyl-fructosyl-glucose (AFG) is a representative nonsaponin component produced in the processing of red ginseng. The present study was designed to assess the possible healing consequence of AFG on STZ-induced T2DM in mice and also to explore its fundamental molecular contrivances. T2DM-related indexes, fasting blood glucose levels, and body weight, histological changes, biochemical considerations, biomarkers, the mRNA countenance intensities of inflammatory facts, and variations in correlated protein manifestation in adipose tissue and liver tissue were calculated. Consequences specified that AFG usage successfully amends STZ-induced insulin conflict and liver grievance in T2DM. Systematically, AFG action diminished STZ-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in the liver. In addition, we demonstrated that AFG also attenuates apoptosis and insulin secretion disorders in T2DM by adjusting the PI3K/AKT/GSK3ß signaling pathway. At the end, these discoveries recommend that AFG averts the development of T2DM through numerous types of machinery and proposes that AFG can also be used in order to treat T2DM in the future.

De novo transcriptome analysis of gene responses to pest feeding in leaves of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the transcriptomic differences between Panax ginseng [Renshen (RS)] plants bitten by pests (n=3, test group; samples defined as RS11­13) or not (n=3, control group; samples defined as RS1­3) using de novo RNA sequencing on an Illumina HiSeq™ 2000 platform. A total of 51,097,386 (99.6%), 49,310,564 (99.5%), 59,192,372 (99.6%), 60,338,540 (99.5%), 56,976,410 (99.6%) and 54,226,588 (99.6%) clean reads were obtained for RS11, RS12, RS13, RS1, RS2 and RS3, respectively. De novo assembly generated 370,267 unigenes, 927 of which were differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 782 significantly upregulated and 145 significantly downregulated genes. Function enrichment analysis revealed that these DEGs were located in 28 significantly enriched Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, including phenylpropanoid biosynthesis (for example, TRINITY_DN30766_c0_g2_i1, encoding peroxidase 20) and mitogen­activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling (TRINITY_DN85589_c0_g1_i1, encoding WRKY transcription factor 75). Weighted gene co­expression network analysis identified modules including TRINITY_DN85589_c0_g1_i1, TRINITY_DN58279_c0_g1_i1 [encoding aspartyl protease (AP)] and TRINITY_DN74866_c0_g2_i1 [encoding 12­oxophytodienoate reductase (OPR)] that may be the most significantly associated with pest responses. In this module, TRINITY_DN85589_c0_g1_i1 may co­express with TRINITY_DN58279_c0_g1_i1 or TRINITY_DN74866_c0_g2_i1. WRYK and AP have been suggested to promote the activity of antioxidant peroxidase. Collectively, the findings from the present study suggested that a MAPK­WRKY­OPR/AP­peroxidase signaling pathway may be a potentially important mechanism underlying defense responses against pests in ginseng plants.

Tangshen Formula Treatment for Diabetic Kidney Disease by Inhibiting Racgap1-stata5-Mediated Cell Proliferation and Restoring miR-669j-Arntl-Related Circadian Rhythm.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the underlying mechanisms of Tangshen formula (TSF) for treatment of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). MATERIAL AND METHODS Microarray dataset GSE90842 was collected from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, including renal cortical tissues from normal control (NC), DKD, and DKD mice given TSF for 12 weeks (TSF) (n=3). Differentially-expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using LIMMA method. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using data from the STRING database followed by module analysis. The Mirwalk2 database was used to predict the underlying miRNAs of DEGs. Function enrichment analysis was performed using the DAVID tool. RESULTS A total of 2277 and 2182 genes were identified as DEGs between DKD and NC or TSF groups, respectively. After overlap, 373 DEGs were considered as common in 2 comparison groups. Function enrichment indicated common DEGs were related to cell proliferation (Asf1b, anti-silencing function 1B histone chaperone; Anln, anillin, actin-binding protein; Racgap1, Rac GTPase activating protein 1; and Stat5, signal transducer and activator of transcription 5) and circadian rhythm (Arntl, aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator-like). Racgap1 was considered as a hub gene in the PPI network because it could interact with Asf1b, Anln, and Stat5. Arntl was regulated by miR-669j in the miRNA-DEGs network and this miRNA was also a DEG in 2 comparisons. CONCLUSIONS TSF may be effective for DKD by inhibiting Racgap1-stata5-mediated cell proliferation and restoring miR-669j-Arntl-related circadian rhythm.

Development of a single-tube nested PCR-lateral flow biosensor assay for rapid and accurate detection of Alternaria panax Whetz.

Alternaria panax Whetz causes one of the most commonly occurring and serious diseases in ginseng cultivation, and may cause significant production and economic losses in the ginseng industry. Rapid, early, and accurate identification of Alternaria panax Whetz is an essential prerequisite for the effective prevention and control of further infection spread. In this work, a rapid and accurate molecular diagnostic method, a single-tube nested PCR-lateral flow biosensor assay (STNPCR-LFBA), was developed for rapid identification of Alternaria panax Whetz. The STNPCR-LFBA was 100 times more sensitive than the traditional PCR-LFBA. Besides that, the PCR product was checked by a lateral flow biosensor assay, which provided a basis for the migration of the detection technology to a point-of-care test (POCT) format. STNPCR-LFBA was specific to Alternaria panax Whetz, and no cross-reactions were observed in other non-target samples; the limit of detection was up to 0.01 pg of Alternaria panax Whetz genomic DNA. STNPCR-LFBA could also be used for specific identification of Alternaria panax Whetz in real samples. STNPCR-LFBA is useful for identifying Alternaria panax Whetz due to its rapidity, accuracy, and simple manipulation.

[Effects of constant low temperature on cold resistance of different strains Polygonatum odoratum].

In this paper, the five strains of Polygonatum odoratum were used as the experimental materials to test the supercooling point, freezing point, the degree of supercooling, the transition stage time, cooling time and water composition of the plant tissue. The cold resistance of P. odoratum was analyzed with the Gray Correlation Method. The results showed that the cold resistances of the five strains of P. odoratum were different, and the water content of plant tissue had some relevance with freezing point and supercooling point, whereas, it could not be measured when the moisture content was too low. The order of cold resistance of the five strains of P. odoratum was ZJCY, DYYZ, XYYZ, CYYZ and JZ I.