Emerging roles of oxyntomodulin-based glucagon-like peptide-1/glucagon co-agonist analogs in diabetes and obesity.

Oxyntomodulin (OXM) is an endogenous peptide hormone secreted from the intestines following nutrient ingestion that activates both glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucagon receptors. OXM is known to exert various effects, including improvement in glucose tolerance, promotion of energy expenditure, acceleration of liver lipolysis, inhibition of food intake, delay of gastric emptying, neuroprotection, and pain relief. The antidiabetic and antiobesity properties have led to the development of biologically active and enzymatically stable OXM-based analogs with proposed therapeutic promise for metabolic diseases. Structural modification of OXM was ongoing to enhance its potency and prolong half-life, and several GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist-based therapies are being explored in clinical trials for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its complications. In the present article, we provide a brief overview of the physiology of OXM, focusing on its structural-activity relationship and ongoing clinical development.

Role of Lactobacillus paracasei prtP gene in regulating mouse intestinal immunity / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To study the role of serine protease encoding gene prtP carried by Lactoba-cillus paracasei (Lp) in regulating mouse intestinal immunity. Methods Female BALB/c mice were ran-domly divided into seven groups and respectively administered with PBS, medium (5×108CFU/ml) and high dose (1×109CFU/ml) of Lp, Lp△prtP and ReLp△prtP for 21 consecutive days by intragastric ga-vage. Parameters including immune organ index, splenic lymphocyte transformation rate, energy metabolism in celiac macrophages, phagocytic ability of celiac macrophages and cytokines were detected. Quantitative changes in CD11c+CD80+cells in culture supernatants of splenic mononuclear cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results Compared with Lp△prtP, Lp could significantly promote the natural transformation of splenic lymphocytes, increase the level of energy metabolism in celiac macrophages, enhance the phagocytic ability of celiac macrophages, and up-regulate the expression of IFN-α, IL-10 and IFN-γ and the percentage of CD11c+CD80+cells. Conclusion Serine protease encoding gene prtP in Lp can regulate the mucosal im-mune system in mice.

Studies on anti-EV71 virus activity of traditional Chinese medicine and its clinical application in treatment of HFMD / 中国中药杂志

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is caused by intestinal virus infection. The viruses coxsackie A16 (CA16) and enterovirus 71 (EV71) are the main pathogens. Between them, the virus EV71 is more dangerous and easier to cause serious complications, which leads to death or disability. Currently, there are no effective antiviral drugs to treat EV71 infection. Therefore, developing an effective drug against EV71 virus activity is significant. It has a huge potency of screening the anti-EV71 components and developing the new drugs from the abundant traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Meanwhile, since hand-foot-and-mouth disease spread in Shanghai in 1981, a growing number of reports on TCMs treatment in clinic have been published. In addition, most of treatments with various ways are effective, which play a positive role on improving clinic treatment and controlling diseases. Moreover, special clinic advantages and features of TCMs were obviously shown.