AIM： To investigate whether microproteinuria in patients with inflammatory bowel disease （IBD） is associated with the disease activity or the treatment with 5-aminosalicylic acid （5-ASA）. METHODS： We prospective...AIM： To investigate whether microproteinuria in patients with inflammatory bowel disease （IBD） is associated with the disease activity or the treatment with 5-aminosalicylic acid （5-ASA）. METHODS： We prospectively studied microproteinuria in 86 consecutive patients with IBD, 61 with ulcerative colitis （UC） and 25 with Crohn＇s disease （CD）, before as well as 2 and 6 months after their inclusion in the study. Forty-six patients received 5-ASA for a period of 28.8 months （range 1-168 too）. Microalbuminuria （mALB） and urine levels of the renal tubular proteins β2-microglobulin （β2mGLB） and β-N-acetyI-D-glucosamidase （β-NAG） as well as the creatinine clearance were determined in a 12-h overnight urine collection. Tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） serum levels were also measured. RESULTS： A total of 277 measurements （194 in UC patients and 83 in CD patients） were performed. The prevalence of abnormal microoproteinuria in UC and CD patients was 12.9% and 6.0% for mALB, 22.7% and 27.7% for B2mGLB, and 11.3% and 8.4% for β-NAG, respectively, mALB was not associated with IBD activity. β2mGLB and B-NAG urine levels were correlated to UC activity （UCAI： P〈0.01; UCEI： P〈0.005）. mALB in UC patients and β-NAG urine levels in CD patients were related to TNF-α serum levels. An association was noticed between microproteinuria and smoking habit. Treatment with 5-ASA was not correlated to the severity of microproteinuria or to the changes of creatinine clearance.CONCLUSION： Microproteinuria is mainly associated with UC and its activity but not affected by 5-ASA.展开更多
Phenylpropanoid-derived compounds represent a diverse family of secondary metabolites that originate from phenylalanine. These compounds have roles in plant growth and development, and in defense against biotic and ab...Phenylpropanoid-derived compounds represent a diverse family of secondary metabolites that originate from phenylalanine. These compounds have roles in plant growth and development, and in defense against biotic and abiotic stress. Many of these compounds are also beneficial to human health and welfare. V-myb myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog （MYB） proteins belong to a large family of transcription factors and are key regulators of the synthesis of phenylpropanoid-derived compounds. This review summarizes the current understanding of MYB proteins and their roles in the regulation of phenylpropanoid metabolism in plants.展开更多
AIM: Ursolic acid (UA) and oleanolic acid (OA) are triperpene acids having a similar chemical structure and are distributed wildly in plants all over the world. In recent years, it was found that they had marked anti-...AIM: Ursolic acid (UA) and oleanolic acid (OA) are triperpene acids having a similar chemical structure and are distributed wildly in plants all over the world. In recent years, it was found that they had marked anti-tumor effects. There is little literature currently available regarding their effects on colon carcinoma cells. The present study was designed to investigate their inhibitory effects on human colon carcinoma cell line HCT15. METHODS: HCT15 cells were cultured with different drugs. The treated cells were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and their morphologic changes observed under a light microscope. The cytotoxicity of these drugs was evaluated by tetrazolium dye assay. Cell cycle analysis was performed by flow cytometry (FCM). Data were expressed as means +/-SEM and Analysis of variance and Student' t-test for individual comparisons. RESULTS: Twenty-four to 72 h after UA or OA 60 micromol/L treatment, the numbers of dead cells and cell fragments were increased and most cells were dead at the 72nd hour. The cytotoxicity of UA was stronger than that of OA. Seventy-eight hours after 30 micromol/L of UA or OA treatment, a number of cells were degenerated, but cell fragments were rarely seen. The IC(50) values for UA and OA were 30 and 60 micromol/L, respectively. Proliferation assay showed that proliferation of UA and OA-treated cells was slightly increased at 24h and significantly decreased at 48 h and 60 h, whereas untreated control cells maintained an exponential growth curve. Cell cycle analysis by FCM showed HCT15 cells treated with UA 30 and OA 60 for 36 h and 72 h gradually accumulated in G(0)/G(1) phase (both drugs P【0.05 for 72 h), with a concomitant decrease of cell populations in S phase (both drugs P【0.01 for 72 h) and no detectable apoptotic fraction. CONCLUSION: UA and OA have significant anti-tumor activity. The effect of UA is stronger than that of OA. The possible mechanism of action is that both drugs have an inhibitory effect on tumor cell proliferation through cell-cycle arrest.展开更多
Licorice is a common herb which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries.More than 20 triterpenoids and nearly 300 flavonoids have been isolated from licorice. Recent studies have shown that these m...Licorice is a common herb which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries.More than 20 triterpenoids and nearly 300 flavonoids have been isolated from licorice. Recent studies have shown that these metabolites possess many pharmacological activities, such as antiviral,antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor and other activities. This paper provides a summary of the antiviral and antimicrobial activities of licorice. The active components and the possible mechanisms for these activities are summarized in detail. This review will be helpful for the further studies of licorice for its potential therapeutic effects as an antiviral or an antimicrobial agent.展开更多
Drought is one of the most serious environmental factors that limit the productivity of agricultural crops worldwide. However, the mechanism underlying drought tolerance in plants is unclear. WRKY transcription factor...Drought is one of the most serious environmental factors that limit the productivity of agricultural crops worldwide. However, the mechanism underlying drought tolerance in plants is unclear. WRKY transcription factors are known to function in adaptation to abiotic stresses. By screening a pool of WRKY-associated T-DNA insertion mutants, we isolated a gain-of-function mutant, acquired drought tolerance （adt）, showing improved drought tolerance. Under drought stress conditions, adt accumulated higher levels of ABA than wild-type plants. Stomatal aperture analysis indi- cated that adt was more sensitive to ABA than wild-type plants. Molecular genetic analysis revealed that a T-DNA inser- tion in adt led to activated expression of a WRKY gene that encodes the WRKR57 protein. Constitutive expression of WRKY57 also conferred similar drought tolerance. Consistently with the high ABA content and enhanced drought tol- erance, three stress-responsive genes （RD29A, NCED3, and ABA3） were up-regulated in adt. ChIP assays demonstrated that WRKY57 can directly bind the W-box of RD29A and NCED3 promoter sequences. In addition, during ABA treatment, seed germination and early seedling growth of adt were inhibited, whereas, under high osmotic conditions, adt showed a higher seed germination frequency. In summary, our results suggested that the activated expression of WRKY57 improved drought tolerance of Arabidopsis by elevation of ABA levels. Establishment of the functions of WRKY57 will enable improvement of plant drought tolerance through gene manipulation approaches.展开更多
Objective： To assess the efficacy and safety of Moluodan （摩罗丹~） in treating dysplasia in chronic atrophic gastritis （CAG） patients. Methods： This was a multi-centered, double-blind, randomized controlled tria...Objective： To assess the efficacy and safety of Moluodan （摩罗丹~） in treating dysplasia in chronic atrophic gastritis （CAG） patients. Methods： This was a multi-centered, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. The total of 196 subjects were assigned to receive either Moluodan or folic acid in a 2：1 ratio by blocked randomization. Mucosa marking targeting biopsy （MTB） was used to insure the accuracy and consistency between baseline and after 6-month treatment. Primary outcomes were histological score, response rate of pathological lesions and dysplasia disappearance rate. Secondary endpoints included gastroscopic findings, clinical symptom and patient reported outcome （PRO） instrument. Results： Dysplasia score decreased in Moluodan group （P=0.002）, significance was found between groups （P=0.045）. Dysplasia disappearance rates were 24.6% and 15.2% in Moluodan and folic acid groups respectively, no significant differences were found （P=0.127）. The response rate of atrophy and intestinal metaplasia were 34.6% and 23.0% in Moluodan group, 24.3% and 13.6% in folic acid group. Moluodan could improve erythema （P=0.044）, and bile reflux （P=0.059）, no significance between groups. Moluodan was better than folic acid in improving epigastric pain, epigastric suffocation, belching and decreased appetite （P〈0.05）, with symptom disappearance rates of 37% to 83%. Conclusions： Moluodan improved dysplasia score in histopathology, and erythema and bile reflux score in endoscopy, and superior to folic acid in improving epigastric pain, epigastric suffocation, belching and decreased appetite.展开更多
Jasmonates （JAs） are plant hormones with essential roles in plant defense and development. The basic- helix-loop-helix （bHLH） transcription factor （TF） MYC2 has recently emerged as a master regulator of most asp...Jasmonates （JAs） are plant hormones with essential roles in plant defense and development. The basic- helix-loop-helix （bHLH） transcription factor （TF） MYC2 has recently emerged as a master regulator of most aspects of the jasmonate （JA） signaling pathway in Arabidopsis. MYC2 coordinates JA-mediated defense responses by antagonistically regulating two different branches of the JA signaling pathway that determine resistance to pests and pathogens, respectively. MYC2 is required for induced systemic resistance （ISR） triggered by beneficial soil microbes while MYC2 function is targeted by pathogens during effector-mediated suppression of innate immunity in roots. Another notable function of MYC2 is the regulation of crosstalk between the signaling pathways of JA and those of other phytohormones such as abscisic acid （ABA）, salicylic acid （SA）, gibberellins （GAs）, and auxin （IAA）. MYC2 also regulates interactions between JA signaling and light, phytochrome signaling, and the circadian clock, MYC2 is involved in JA-regulated plant development, lateral and adventitious root formation, flowering time, and shade avoidance syndrome. Related bHLH TFs MYC3 and MYC4 also regulate both overlapping and distinct MYC2-regulated functions in Arabidopsis while MYC2 orthologs act as ＇master switches＇ that regulate JA-mediated biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Here, we briefly review recent studies that revealed mechanistic new insights into the mode of action of this versatile TF.展开更多
Soil microbes play a major role in ecological processes and are closely associated with the aboveground plant community. In order to understand the effects of vegetation type on the characteristics of soil microbial c...Soil microbes play a major role in ecological processes and are closely associated with the aboveground plant community. In order to understand the effects of vegetation type on the characteristics of soil microbial communities, the soil microbial communities were assessed by plate counts, phospholipid fatty acid （PLFA） and Biolog microplate techniques in five plant communities, i.e., soybean field （SF）, artificial turf （AT）, artificial shrub （AS）, natural shrub （NS）, and maize field （MF） in Jinan, Shandong Province, North China. The results showed that plant diversity had little discernible effect on microbial biomass but a positive impact on the evenness of utilized substrates in Biolog microplate. Legumes could significantly enhance the number of cultural microorganisms, microbial biomass, and community catabolic diversity. Except for SF dominated by legumes, the biomass of fungi and the catabolic diversity of microbial community were higher in less disturbed soil beneath NS than in frequently disturbed soils beneath the other vegetation types. These results confirmed that high number of plant species, legumes, and natural vegetation types tend to support soil microbial communities with higher function. The present study also found a significant correlation between the number of cultured bacteria and catabolic diversity of the bacterial community. Different research methods led to varied results in this study. The combination of several approaches is recommended for accurately describing the characteristics of microbial communities in many respects.展开更多
Background:A patient’s infectivity is determined by the presence of the virus in different body fluids,secretions,and excreta.The persistence and clearance of viral RNA from different specimens of patients with 2019 ...Background:A patient’s infectivity is determined by the presence of the virus in different body fluids,secretions,and excreta.The persistence and clearance of viral RNA from different specimens of patients with 2019 novel coronavirus disease(COVID-19)remain unclear.This study analyzed the clearance time and factors influencing 2019 novel coronavirus(2019-nCoV)RNA in different samples from patients with COVID-19,providing further evidence to improve the management of patients during convalescence.Methods:The clinical data and laboratory test results of convalescent patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to from January 20,2020 to February 10,2020 were collected retrospectively.The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)results for patients’oropharyngeal swab,stool,urine,and serum samples were collected and analyzed.Convalescent patients refer to recovered non-febrile patients without respiratory symptoms who had two successive(minimum 24 h sampling interval)negative RT-PCR results for viral RNA from oropharyngeal swabs.The effects of cluster of differentiation 4(CD4)+T lymphocytes,inflammatory indicators,and glucocorticoid treatment on viral nucleic acid clearance were analyzed.Results:In the 292 confirmed cases,66 patients recovered after treatment and were included in our study.In total,28(42.4%)women and 38 men(57.6%)with a median age of 44.0(34.0-62.0)years were analyzed.After in-hospital treatment,patients’inflammatory indicators decreased with improved clinical condition.The median time from the onset of symptoms to first negative RT-PCR results for oropharyngeal swabs in convalescent patients was 9.5(6.0-11.0)days.By February 10,2020,11 convalescent patients(16.7%)still tested positive for viral RNA from stool specimens and the other 55 patients’stool specimens were negative for 2019-nCoV following a median duration of 11.0(9.0-16.0)days after symptom onset.Among these 55 patients,43 had a longer duration until stool specimens were negative for viral RNA than for throat swabs,with 展开更多
Jasmonic acid （JA） is an important phytohormone that regulates plant defense responses against herbivore attack, pathogen infection and mechanical wounding. In this report, we provided biochemical and genetic eviden...Jasmonic acid （JA） is an important phytohormone that regulates plant defense responses against herbivore attack, pathogen infection and mechanical wounding. In this report, we provided biochemical and genetic evidence to show that the Arabidopsis thaliana NAC family proteins ANAC019 and ANAC055 might function as transcription activators to regulate JA-induced expression of defense genes. The role of the two NAC genes in JA signaling was examined with the anacO19 anac055 double mutant and with transgenic plants overexpressing ANACO19 or ANAC055. The anacO19 anac055 double mutant plants showed attenuated JA-induced VEGETATIVE STORAGE PROTEIN1 （VSP1） and LIPOXYGENASE2 （LOX2） expression, whereas transgenic plants overexpressing the two NAC genes showed enhanced JA-induced VSP1 and LOX2 expression. That the JA-induced expression of the two NAC genes depends on the function of COIl and AtMYC2, together with the finding that overexpression of ANACO19 partially rescued the JA-related phenotype of the atmyc2-2 mutant, has led us to a hypothesis that the two NAC proteins act downstream of AtMYC2 to regulate JA-signaled defense responses. Further evidence to substantiate this idea comes from the observation that the response of the anacO19 anac055 double mutant to a necrotrophic fungus showed high similarity to that of the atmyc2-2 mutant.展开更多
Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-specific liver disorder characterized by maternal pruritus in the third trimester, raised serum bile acids and increased rates of adverse fetal outcomes. The ...Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-specific liver disorder characterized by maternal pruritus in the third trimester, raised serum bile acids and increased rates of adverse fetal outcomes. The etiology of ICP is complex and not fully understood, but it is likely to result from the cholestatic effects of reproductive hormones and their metabolites in genetically susceptible women. Equally unclear are the mechanisms by which the fetal complications occur. This article reviews the epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, etiology and management of ICP.展开更多
AIM:Irritable bowel syndrome(IBS)is a functional bowel disorder characterized by visceral hypersensitivity and altered bowel motility.There is increasing evidence suggesting the role of inflammation in the pathogenesi...AIM:Irritable bowel syndrome(IBS)is a functional bowel disorder characterized by visceral hypersensitivity and altered bowel motility.There is increasing evidence suggesting the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of IBS,which addresses the possibility that formerly established rat model of colitis could be used as an IBS model after the inflammation subsided. METHODS:Colitis was induced by intracolonic instillation of 4% acetic acid in male Sprague-Dawley rats.The extent of inflammation was assessed by histological examination and myeloperoxidase(MPO)activity assay.After subsidence of colitis,the rats were subjected to rectal distension and restraint stress,then the abdominal withdrawal reflex and the number of stress-induced fecal output were measured, respectively. RESULTS:At 2 days post-induction of colitis,the colon showed characteristic inflammatory changes in histology and 8-fold increase in MPO activity.At 7 days post-induction of colitis,the histological features and MPO activity returned to normal.The rats at 7 days post-induction of colitis showed hypersensitive response to rectal distension without an accompaning change in rectal compliance,and defecated more stools than control animals when under stress.CONCLUSION: These results concur largely with the characteristic features of IBS, visceral hypersensitivity and altered defecation pattern in the absence of detectable disease, suggesting that this animal model is a methodologically convenient and useful model for studying a subset of IBS.展开更多
Major and trace elements as well as strontium isotopic composition have been analyzed on the acid-insoluble (AI) phase of the loess-paleosol sequence from Luochuan, Shaanxi Province, China. Results show that the chemi...Major and trace elements as well as strontium isotopic composition have been analyzed on the acid-insoluble (AI) phase of the loess-paleosol sequence from Luochuan, Shaanxi Province, China. Results show that the chemical composition of AI phase of loess and paleosols is distinctive to the average composition of upper continental crust (UCC), characterized by depletion of mobile elements Na, Ca and Sr. The distribution pattern of elements in AI phase reveals that initial dust, derived from a vast area of Asian inland, has suffered from Na- and Ca-removed chemical weathering compared to UCC. Some geochemical parameters (such as CIA values, Na/K, Rb/Sr and87Sr/86Sr ratios) display a regular variation and evolution, reflecting that the chemical weathering in the source region of loess deposits has decreased gradually since 2.5 Ma with the general increase of global ice volume. This coincidence reflects that the aridity of Asian inland since the Quaternary is a possible regional response to the global climate change.展开更多
The small phenolic compound salicylic acid （SA） plays an important regulatory role in multiple physiological processes including plant im- mune response. Significant progress has been made during the past two decade...The small phenolic compound salicylic acid （SA） plays an important regulatory role in multiple physiological processes including plant im- mune response. Significant progress has been made during the past two decades in understanding the SA-mediated defense signaling network. Characterization of a number of genes functioning in SA biosynthesis, conjugation, accumulation, signaling, and crosstalk with other hormones such as jasmonic acid, ethylene, abscisic acid, auxin, gibberellic acid, cytokinin, brassinosteroid, and peptide hormones has sketched the finely tuned immune response network. Full understanding of the mech- anism of plant immunity will need to take advantage of fast developing genomics tools and bioinformatics techniques. However, elucidating genetic components involved in these pathways by conventional ge- netics, biochemistry, and molecular biology approaches will continue to be a major task of the community. High-throughput method for SA quantification holds the potential for isolating additional mutants related to SA-mediated defense signaling.展开更多
AIM: To evaluate the antifibrotic effect of different doses of recombinant human Gamma-Interferon (IFN-gamma) in two rat models of hepatic fibrosis, and to observe its effect on moderate chronic hepatitis B virus fibr...AIM: To evaluate the antifibrotic effect of different doses of recombinant human Gamma-Interferon (IFN-gamma) in two rat models of hepatic fibrosis, and to observe its effect on moderate chronic hepatitis B virus fibrosis. METHODS: Hepatic fibrosis was successfully induced in 150 and 196 rats by subcutaneous injection of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and intraperitoneal injection of dimethylnitrosamine (DMN), respectively. Each of the two model groups was divided into: (1) fibrotic model group; (2) colchicine treatment group (0.1 mg/kg/day, gastrogavage for 8 weeks); (3) high-dose IFN-gamma group (15 MU/kg per day, i.m. for 8 weeks); (4) medium-dose IFN-gamma group (5 MU/kg daily, i.m. for 8 weeks); and (5) Y low-dose IFN-gamma group (1.67 MU/kg daily, i.m. for 8 weeks). Another group of 10 rats without any treatment was used as normal controls. At the end of the experiment, semi-quantitative histopathological scores of inflammation and fibrosis, liver alpha smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) expression level, liver hydroxyl proline content and serum hyaluronic acid levels were compared. And 47 medium chronic hepatitis B viral fibrosis patients were studied. They were given IFN-gamma treatment, 100 MU/day i.m. for the first three months and 100 MU qod i.m. for the next six months. Semi-quantitative pathological scores of inflammation and fibrosis and serum hepatic fibrosis indices were compared within the 9 months. RESULTS: In animal experiment, the pathological fibrosis scores and liver hydroxyl proline content were found to be significantly lower in rats treated with different doses of IFN-gamma as compared with rats in fibrotic model group induced by either CCl4 or DMN, in a dose-dependent manner. For CCl4-induced model, pathological fibrosis scores in high, medium and low doses IFN-gamma groups were 5.10 +/- 2.88, 7.70 +/- 3.53 and 8.00 +/- 3.30, respectively, but the score was 14.60 +/- 7.82 in fibrotic model group. Hydroxyl proline contents were 2.83 +/- 1.18, 3.59 +/- 1.22 and 4.80 +/- 1.62, in the three IFN-ga展开更多
文摘AIM： To investigate whether microproteinuria in patients with inflammatory bowel disease （IBD） is associated with the disease activity or the treatment with 5-aminosalicylic acid （5-ASA）. METHODS： We prospectively studied microproteinuria in 86 consecutive patients with IBD, 61 with ulcerative colitis （UC） and 25 with Crohn＇s disease （CD）, before as well as 2 and 6 months after their inclusion in the study. Forty-six patients received 5-ASA for a period of 28.8 months （range 1-168 too）. Microalbuminuria （mALB） and urine levels of the renal tubular proteins β2-microglobulin （β2mGLB） and β-N-acetyI-D-glucosamidase （β-NAG） as well as the creatinine clearance were determined in a 12-h overnight urine collection. Tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） serum levels were also measured. RESULTS： A total of 277 measurements （194 in UC patients and 83 in CD patients） were performed. The prevalence of abnormal microoproteinuria in UC and CD patients was 12.9% and 6.0% for mALB, 22.7% and 27.7% for B2mGLB, and 11.3% and 8.4% for β-NAG, respectively, mALB was not associated with IBD activity. β2mGLB and B-NAG urine levels were correlated to UC activity （UCAI： P〈0.01; UCEI： P〈0.005）. mALB in UC patients and β-NAG urine levels in CD patients were related to TNF-α serum levels. An association was noticed between microproteinuria and smoking habit. Treatment with 5-ASA was not correlated to the severity of microproteinuria or to the changes of creatinine clearance.CONCLUSION： Microproteinuria is mainly associated with UC and its activity but not affected by 5-ASA.
文摘Phenylpropanoid-derived compounds represent a diverse family of secondary metabolites that originate from phenylalanine. These compounds have roles in plant growth and development, and in defense against biotic and abiotic stress. Many of these compounds are also beneficial to human health and welfare. V-myb myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog （MYB） proteins belong to a large family of transcription factors and are key regulators of the synthesis of phenylpropanoid-derived compounds. This review summarizes the current understanding of MYB proteins and their roles in the regulation of phenylpropanoid metabolism in plants.
文摘AIM: Ursolic acid (UA) and oleanolic acid (OA) are triperpene acids having a similar chemical structure and are distributed wildly in plants all over the world. In recent years, it was found that they had marked anti-tumor effects. There is little literature currently available regarding their effects on colon carcinoma cells. The present study was designed to investigate their inhibitory effects on human colon carcinoma cell line HCT15. METHODS: HCT15 cells were cultured with different drugs. The treated cells were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and their morphologic changes observed under a light microscope. The cytotoxicity of these drugs was evaluated by tetrazolium dye assay. Cell cycle analysis was performed by flow cytometry (FCM). Data were expressed as means +/-SEM and Analysis of variance and Student' t-test for individual comparisons. RESULTS: Twenty-four to 72 h after UA or OA 60 micromol/L treatment, the numbers of dead cells and cell fragments were increased and most cells were dead at the 72nd hour. The cytotoxicity of UA was stronger than that of OA. Seventy-eight hours after 30 micromol/L of UA or OA treatment, a number of cells were degenerated, but cell fragments were rarely seen. The IC(50) values for UA and OA were 30 and 60 micromol/L, respectively. Proliferation assay showed that proliferation of UA and OA-treated cells was slightly increased at 24h and significantly decreased at 48 h and 60 h, whereas untreated control cells maintained an exponential growth curve. Cell cycle analysis by FCM showed HCT15 cells treated with UA 30 and OA 60 for 36 h and 72 h gradually accumulated in G(0)/G(1) phase (both drugs P【0.05 for 72 h), with a concomitant decrease of cell populations in S phase (both drugs P【0.01 for 72 h) and no detectable apoptotic fraction. CONCLUSION: UA and OA have significant anti-tumor activity. The effect of UA is stronger than that of OA. The possible mechanism of action is that both drugs have an inhibitory effect on tumor cell proliferation through cell-cycle arrest.
基金supported by Beijing Project for Young Talents (YETP0819)
文摘Licorice is a common herb which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries.More than 20 triterpenoids and nearly 300 flavonoids have been isolated from licorice. Recent studies have shown that these metabolites possess many pharmacological activities, such as antiviral,antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor and other activities. This paper provides a summary of the antiviral and antimicrobial activities of licorice. The active components and the possible mechanisms for these activities are summarized in detail. This review will be helpful for the further studies of licorice for its potential therapeutic effects as an antiviral or an antimicrobial agent.
基金This research was supported by the Science Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Peoples' Republic of China，the Science Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences，the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘Drought is one of the most serious environmental factors that limit the productivity of agricultural crops worldwide. However, the mechanism underlying drought tolerance in plants is unclear. WRKY transcription factors are known to function in adaptation to abiotic stresses. By screening a pool of WRKY-associated T-DNA insertion mutants, we isolated a gain-of-function mutant, acquired drought tolerance （adt）, showing improved drought tolerance. Under drought stress conditions, adt accumulated higher levels of ABA than wild-type plants. Stomatal aperture analysis indi- cated that adt was more sensitive to ABA than wild-type plants. Molecular genetic analysis revealed that a T-DNA inser- tion in adt led to activated expression of a WRKY gene that encodes the WRKR57 protein. Constitutive expression of WRKY57 also conferred similar drought tolerance. Consistently with the high ABA content and enhanced drought tol- erance, three stress-responsive genes （RD29A, NCED3, and ABA3） were up-regulated in adt. ChIP assays demonstrated that WRKY57 can directly bind the W-box of RD29A and NCED3 promoter sequences. In addition, during ABA treatment, seed germination and early seedling growth of adt were inhibited, whereas, under high osmotic conditions, adt showed a higher seed germination frequency. In summary, our results suggested that the activated expression of WRKY57 improved drought tolerance of Arabidopsis by elevation of ABA levels. Establishment of the functions of WRKY57 will enable improvement of plant drought tolerance through gene manipulation approaches.
基金Supported by the 11th Five-Year Plan from Ministry of Sciences and Technology of China(No.2006BAI04A08)
文摘Objective： To assess the efficacy and safety of Moluodan （摩罗丹~） in treating dysplasia in chronic atrophic gastritis （CAG） patients. Methods： This was a multi-centered, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. The total of 196 subjects were assigned to receive either Moluodan or folic acid in a 2：1 ratio by blocked randomization. Mucosa marking targeting biopsy （MTB） was used to insure the accuracy and consistency between baseline and after 6-month treatment. Primary outcomes were histological score, response rate of pathological lesions and dysplasia disappearance rate. Secondary endpoints included gastroscopic findings, clinical symptom and patient reported outcome （PRO） instrument. Results： Dysplasia score decreased in Moluodan group （P=0.002）, significance was found between groups （P=0.045）. Dysplasia disappearance rates were 24.6% and 15.2% in Moluodan and folic acid groups respectively, no significant differences were found （P=0.127）. The response rate of atrophy and intestinal metaplasia were 34.6% and 23.0% in Moluodan group, 24.3% and 13.6% in folic acid group. Moluodan could improve erythema （P=0.044）, and bile reflux （P=0.059）, no significance between groups. Moluodan was better than folic acid in improving epigastric pain, epigastric suffocation, belching and decreased appetite （P〈0.05）, with symptom disappearance rates of 37% to 83%. Conclusions： Moluodan improved dysplasia score in histopathology, and erythema and bile reflux score in endoscopy, and superior to folic acid in improving epigastric pain, epigastric suffocation, belching and decreased appetite.
文摘Jasmonates （JAs） are plant hormones with essential roles in plant defense and development. The basic- helix-loop-helix （bHLH） transcription factor （TF） MYC2 has recently emerged as a master regulator of most aspects of the jasmonate （JA） signaling pathway in Arabidopsis. MYC2 coordinates JA-mediated defense responses by antagonistically regulating two different branches of the JA signaling pathway that determine resistance to pests and pathogens, respectively. MYC2 is required for induced systemic resistance （ISR） triggered by beneficial soil microbes while MYC2 function is targeted by pathogens during effector-mediated suppression of innate immunity in roots. Another notable function of MYC2 is the regulation of crosstalk between the signaling pathways of JA and those of other phytohormones such as abscisic acid （ABA）, salicylic acid （SA）, gibberellins （GAs）, and auxin （IAA）. MYC2 also regulates interactions between JA signaling and light, phytochrome signaling, and the circadian clock, MYC2 is involved in JA-regulated plant development, lateral and adventitious root formation, flowering time, and shade avoidance syndrome. Related bHLH TFs MYC3 and MYC4 also regulate both overlapping and distinct MYC2-regulated functions in Arabidopsis while MYC2 orthologs act as ＇master switches＇ that regulate JA-mediated biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Here, we briefly review recent studies that revealed mechanistic new insights into the mode of action of this versatile TF.
基金Project supported by the Outstanding Young Scientists Foundation Grant of Shandong Province (No.2005BS08010)China Geological Survey Project (No.1212010310306)Key Project of Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (No.Z2006D04).
文摘Soil microbes play a major role in ecological processes and are closely associated with the aboveground plant community. In order to understand the effects of vegetation type on the characteristics of soil microbial communities, the soil microbial communities were assessed by plate counts, phospholipid fatty acid （PLFA） and Biolog microplate techniques in five plant communities, i.e., soybean field （SF）, artificial turf （AT）, artificial shrub （AS）, natural shrub （NS）, and maize field （MF） in Jinan, Shandong Province, North China. The results showed that plant diversity had little discernible effect on microbial biomass but a positive impact on the evenness of utilized substrates in Biolog microplate. Legumes could significantly enhance the number of cultural microorganisms, microbial biomass, and community catabolic diversity. Except for SF dominated by legumes, the biomass of fungi and the catabolic diversity of microbial community were higher in less disturbed soil beneath NS than in frequently disturbed soils beneath the other vegetation types. These results confirmed that high number of plant species, legumes, and natural vegetation types tend to support soil microbial communities with higher function. The present study also found a significant correlation between the number of cultured bacteria and catabolic diversity of the bacterial community. Different research methods led to varied results in this study. The combination of several approaches is recommended for accurately describing the characteristics of microbial communities in many respects.
基金The work was supported by grants from the First-class university and first-class discipline building project of the Fudan University(No.IDF162005)the Scientific research for special subjects on 2019 novel coronavirus(No.2019-nCoV)the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center(No.2020YJKY01)。
文摘Background:A patient’s infectivity is determined by the presence of the virus in different body fluids,secretions,and excreta.The persistence and clearance of viral RNA from different specimens of patients with 2019 novel coronavirus disease(COVID-19)remain unclear.This study analyzed the clearance time and factors influencing 2019 novel coronavirus(2019-nCoV)RNA in different samples from patients with COVID-19,providing further evidence to improve the management of patients during convalescence.Methods:The clinical data and laboratory test results of convalescent patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to from January 20,2020 to February 10,2020 were collected retrospectively.The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)results for patients’oropharyngeal swab,stool,urine,and serum samples were collected and analyzed.Convalescent patients refer to recovered non-febrile patients without respiratory symptoms who had two successive(minimum 24 h sampling interval)negative RT-PCR results for viral RNA from oropharyngeal swabs.The effects of cluster of differentiation 4(CD4)+T lymphocytes,inflammatory indicators,and glucocorticoid treatment on viral nucleic acid clearance were analyzed.Results:In the 292 confirmed cases,66 patients recovered after treatment and were included in our study.In total,28(42.4%)women and 38 men(57.6%)with a median age of 44.0(34.0-62.0)years were analyzed.After in-hospital treatment,patients’inflammatory indicators decreased with improved clinical condition.The median time from the onset of symptoms to first negative RT-PCR results for oropharyngeal swabs in convalescent patients was 9.5(6.0-11.0)days.By February 10,2020,11 convalescent patients(16.7%)still tested positive for viral RNA from stool specimens and the other 55 patients’stool specimens were negative for 2019-nCoV following a median duration of 11.0(9.0-16.0)days after symptom onset.Among these 55 patients,43 had a longer duration until stool specimens were negative for viral RNA than for throat swabs,with
基金Acknowledgments We are grateful to Dr Xinnian Dong （Duke University, Durham, NC, USA） for critical reading of the manuscript and valuable suggestions. We thank Dr Jianmin Zhou （National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing, China） for providing the fungus strain Botrytis cinerea, Dr Salome Prat （Institut de Biologia Molecular de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain） for providing homozygous atmyc2-2 （T-DNA insertion line SALK_083483） seeds and Dr Daoxin Xie （Tsinghua University, Beijing, China） for providing the coil-I seeds. This work was supported by grants from The National Natural Science Foundation of China （30530440）, The Ministry of Science and Technology of China （2006CB 102004, 2006AA10A 116）, and The Chinese Academy of Sciences （KSCX2-YW-N-045）.
文摘Jasmonic acid （JA） is an important phytohormone that regulates plant defense responses against herbivore attack, pathogen infection and mechanical wounding. In this report, we provided biochemical and genetic evidence to show that the Arabidopsis thaliana NAC family proteins ANAC019 and ANAC055 might function as transcription activators to regulate JA-induced expression of defense genes. The role of the two NAC genes in JA signaling was examined with the anacO19 anac055 double mutant and with transgenic plants overexpressing ANACO19 or ANAC055. The anacO19 anac055 double mutant plants showed attenuated JA-induced VEGETATIVE STORAGE PROTEIN1 （VSP1） and LIPOXYGENASE2 （LOX2） expression, whereas transgenic plants overexpressing the two NAC genes showed enhanced JA-induced VSP1 and LOX2 expression. That the JA-induced expression of the two NAC genes depends on the function of COIl and AtMYC2, together with the finding that overexpression of ANACO19 partially rescued the JA-related phenotype of the atmyc2-2 mutant, has led us to a hypothesis that the two NAC proteins act downstream of AtMYC2 to regulate JA-signaled defense responses. Further evidence to substantiate this idea comes from the observation that the response of the anacO19 anac055 double mutant to a necrotrophic fungus showed high similarity to that of the atmyc2-2 mutant.
文摘Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-specific liver disorder characterized by maternal pruritus in the third trimester, raised serum bile acids and increased rates of adverse fetal outcomes. The etiology of ICP is complex and not fully understood, but it is likely to result from the cholestatic effects of reproductive hormones and their metabolites in genetically susceptible women. Equally unclear are the mechanisms by which the fetal complications occur. This article reviews the epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, etiology and management of ICP.
基金the Research Institute of Veterinary Science,College of Veterinary Medieine,Seoul National University
文摘AIM:Irritable bowel syndrome(IBS)is a functional bowel disorder characterized by visceral hypersensitivity and altered bowel motility.There is increasing evidence suggesting the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of IBS,which addresses the possibility that formerly established rat model of colitis could be used as an IBS model after the inflammation subsided. METHODS:Colitis was induced by intracolonic instillation of 4% acetic acid in male Sprague-Dawley rats.The extent of inflammation was assessed by histological examination and myeloperoxidase(MPO)activity assay.After subsidence of colitis,the rats were subjected to rectal distension and restraint stress,then the abdominal withdrawal reflex and the number of stress-induced fecal output were measured, respectively. RESULTS:At 2 days post-induction of colitis,the colon showed characteristic inflammatory changes in histology and 8-fold increase in MPO activity.At 7 days post-induction of colitis,the histological features and MPO activity returned to normal.The rats at 7 days post-induction of colitis showed hypersensitive response to rectal distension without an accompaning change in rectal compliance,and defecated more stools than control animals when under stress.CONCLUSION: These results concur largely with the characteristic features of IBS, visceral hypersensitivity and altered defecation pattern in the absence of detectable disease, suggesting that this animal model is a methodologically convenient and useful model for studying a subset of IBS.
基金The authors are grateful to Dr. Lu Huayu from the State Key Laboratory of Loess and QuaternaryGeology for his assistance in field work. This work was supported by NKBRSF (G1999043400), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 49725307) a
文摘Major and trace elements as well as strontium isotopic composition have been analyzed on the acid-insoluble (AI) phase of the loess-paleosol sequence from Luochuan, Shaanxi Province, China. Results show that the chemical composition of AI phase of loess and paleosols is distinctive to the average composition of upper continental crust (UCC), characterized by depletion of mobile elements Na, Ca and Sr. The distribution pattern of elements in AI phase reveals that initial dust, derived from a vast area of Asian inland, has suffered from Na- and Ca-removed chemical weathering compared to UCC. Some geochemical parameters (such as CIA values, Na/K, Rb/Sr and87Sr/86Sr ratios) display a regular variation and evolution, reflecting that the chemical weathering in the source region of loess deposits has decreased gradually since 2.5 Ma with the general increase of global ice volume. This coincidence reflects that the aridity of Asian inland since the Quaternary is a possible regional response to the global climate change.
基金supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (IOS-0842716) to Dr.Z Mou
文摘The small phenolic compound salicylic acid （SA） plays an important regulatory role in multiple physiological processes including plant im- mune response. Significant progress has been made during the past two decades in understanding the SA-mediated defense signaling network. Characterization of a number of genes functioning in SA biosynthesis, conjugation, accumulation, signaling, and crosstalk with other hormones such as jasmonic acid, ethylene, abscisic acid, auxin, gibberellic acid, cytokinin, brassinosteroid, and peptide hormones has sketched the finely tuned immune response network. Full understanding of the mech- anism of plant immunity will need to take advantage of fast developing genomics tools and bioinformatics techniques. However, elucidating genetic components involved in these pathways by conventional ge- netics, biochemistry, and molecular biology approaches will continue to be a major task of the community. High-throughput method for SA quantification holds the potential for isolating additional mutants related to SA-mediated defense signaling.
文摘AIM: To evaluate the antifibrotic effect of different doses of recombinant human Gamma-Interferon (IFN-gamma) in two rat models of hepatic fibrosis, and to observe its effect on moderate chronic hepatitis B virus fibrosis. METHODS: Hepatic fibrosis was successfully induced in 150 and 196 rats by subcutaneous injection of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and intraperitoneal injection of dimethylnitrosamine (DMN), respectively. Each of the two model groups was divided into: (1) fibrotic model group; (2) colchicine treatment group (0.1 mg/kg/day, gastrogavage for 8 weeks); (3) high-dose IFN-gamma group (15 MU/kg per day, i.m. for 8 weeks); (4) medium-dose IFN-gamma group (5 MU/kg daily, i.m. for 8 weeks); and (5) Y low-dose IFN-gamma group (1.67 MU/kg daily, i.m. for 8 weeks). Another group of 10 rats without any treatment was used as normal controls. At the end of the experiment, semi-quantitative histopathological scores of inflammation and fibrosis, liver alpha smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) expression level, liver hydroxyl proline content and serum hyaluronic acid levels were compared. And 47 medium chronic hepatitis B viral fibrosis patients were studied. They were given IFN-gamma treatment, 100 MU/day i.m. for the first three months and 100 MU qod i.m. for the next six months. Semi-quantitative pathological scores of inflammation and fibrosis and serum hepatic fibrosis indices were compared within the 9 months. RESULTS: In animal experiment, the pathological fibrosis scores and liver hydroxyl proline content were found to be significantly lower in rats treated with different doses of IFN-gamma as compared with rats in fibrotic model group induced by either CCl4 or DMN, in a dose-dependent manner. For CCl4-induced model, pathological fibrosis scores in high, medium and low doses IFN-gamma groups were 5.10 +/- 2.88, 7.70 +/- 3.53 and 8.00 +/- 3.30, respectively, but the score was 14.60 +/- 7.82 in fibrotic model group. Hydroxyl proline contents were 2.83 +/- 1.18, 3.59 +/- 1.22 and 4.80 +/- 1.62, in the three IFN-ga
