Rapid determination of patulin in medicinal hawthorn fruits by HPLC-MS/MS

An HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the determination of patulin (PAT) in dried medicinal hawthorn fruit, a well-known traditional medicine in China. Liquid-liquid extraction was applied in the sample preparation. Multiple reaction monitoring was performed at m/z 153/109 for PAT and m/z 317/273 for internal standard zearalenone in the negative ion mode with electrospray ionisation source. Good linearity was achieved when spiked PAT concentrations were in the range of 10-500 μg/kg, with coefficient being 0.9993. The limit of quantitation was 10 μg/kg. The extraction recoveries for the spiked PAT at concentrations of 20, 100 and 400 μg/kg were 64.5%, 64.6% and 63.9%, respectively, with relative standard deviations of 1.25%, 2.82% and 2.61%. The intra-day and inter-day precision were in the range of 2.2-9.6% and 5.9-6.4%. This rapid, sensitive and reliable method was applied in 25 batches of medicinal hawthorn fruit, in which PAT was detected in 8 batches, including those that were baked or charred.

Efficacy and safety of mitiglinide versus nateglinide in newly diagnose patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized double blind trial

This study was performed to examine the efficacy and safety of mitiglinide in type 2 diabetes patients (T2DM). Enrolled patients had received treatment with diet and exercise in the previous 3 months with glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) 7-10%, and were randomized to receive mitiglinide (n = 111, 5-20 mg/meal) or nateglinide (n = 114,60-120 mg/meal) for 16 weeks. Primary and secondary efficacy endpoints were assessed by the changes in HbA1c, fasting blood glucose (FBG) and postprandial glucose (PBG) levels. The baseline HbA1c value was 8.2 and 8.3% in both groups. At the end of study, the reduction of HbA1c values from baseline by mitiglinide was slightly more than that by nateglinide (-1.11% vs. -0.76%), but not statically significant (p = 0.06). Final FBG and PBG were comparable for the two treatments. There were 2.8% subjects treated with nateglinide who had hypoglycaemic episodes, but none in the mitiglinide treatment group. The results indicate that mitiglinide and nateglinide had similar effects on FBG, PBG and HbA1c in T2DM patients after the 16-week treatments.

A stable focal cerebral ischemia injury model in adult mice: assessment using 7T MR imaging

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

A stable stroke experimental model is highly desirable for performing longitudinal studies using MR imaging. The purpose of this study is to establish a stable focal cerebral ischemia model with a high survival rate in adult mice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One hundred twenty adult mice were randomly divided into 10 groups of 12 each to respectively undergo intraluminal suture occlusion, with suture insertion depths from 0.8 cm to maximum; thromboembolic occlusion; and hypoxic-ischemic injury with hypoxia exposure times from 30-120 minutes. Coronal brain T2-weighted images were obtained on a 7T scanner. The induced infarct volume and location were assessed and correlated with histologic TTC staining. One-day and 7-day survival rates were recorded.

RESULTS

The infarct location was highly variable in the thromboembolic model, while it showed a cortex predominance in the intraluminal model with the suture insertion depth ≥1.4 cm, and the HI model with hypoxia exposure times ≥60 minutes (P = .001). The infarct volume in the intraluminal model with suture depths ≥1.4 cm (29.7 ± 3.3%, 35.4 ± 4.3%) and the HI model with the hypoxia exposure times ≥90 minutes (26.3 ± 4.1%, 33.4 ± 2.8%) were larger than other groups (9.7 ± 3.3%-20.9 ± 9.3%; P < .05). The HI group (72.5%) had higher 7-day survival rate than the intraluminal suture occlusion (28%) and thromboembolic occlusion groups (20%; P = .001).

CONCLUSIONS

The HI injury model with a reproducible ishemia and high survival rate can be used for a longitudinal study of brain ischemia in adult mice.

Search for a vectorlike quark with charge 2/3 in t+Z events from pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

A search for pair-produced heavy vectorlike charge-2/3 quarks, T, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, is performed with the CMS detector at the LHC. Events consistent with the flavor-changing-neutral-current decay of a T quark to a top quark and a Z boson are selected by requiring two leptons from the Z-boson decay, as well as an additional isolated charged lepton. In a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.14  fb(-1), the number of observed events is found to be consistent with the standard model background prediction. Assuming a branching fraction of 100% for the decay T→tZ, a T quark with a mass less than 475  GeV/c(2) is excluded at the 95% confidence level.

Curcumin protects against sepsis-induced acute lung injury in rats

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of curcumin on sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in rats, and explore its possible mechanisms. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the following five experimental groups (n = 20 per group): animals undergoing a sham cecal ligature puncture (CLP) (sham group); animals undergoing CLP (control group); or animals undergoing CLP and treated with vehicle (vehicle group), curcumin at 50 mg/kg (low-dose curcumin [L-Cur] group), or curcumin at 200 mg/kg (high-dose curcumin [H-Cur] group).At 6, 12, 24 h after CLP, blood, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue were collected. The lung wet/dry weight (W/D) ratio, protein level, and the number of inflammatory cells in the BALF were determined. Optical microscopy was performed to examine the pathologic changes in lungs. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, as well as superoxidase dismutase (SOD) activity were measured in lung tissues. The expression of inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interluekin-8 (IL-8), and macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) were determined in the BALF. Survival rates were recorded at 72 h in the five groups in another experiment. Treatment with curcumin significantly attenuated the CLP-induced pulmonary edema and inflammation, as it significantly decreased lung W/D ratio, protein concentration, and the accumulation of the inflammatory cells in the BALF, as well as pulmonary MPO activity. This was supported by the histopathologic examination, which revealed marked attenuation of CLP-induced ALI in curcumin treated rats. In addition, curcumin significantly increased SOD activity with significant decrease in MDA content in the lung. Also, curcumin caused down-regulation of the inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-8, and MIF levels in the lung. Importantly, curcumin improved the survival rate of rats by 40%-50% with CLP-induced ALI. Taken together, these results demonstrate the protective effects of curcumin against the CLP-induced ALI. This effect can be attributed to curcumin ability to counteract the inflammatory cells infiltration and, hence, ROS generation and regulate cytokine effects.

P5-01-18: Identification of Pax6 as a Human Breast Cancer-Testis Antigen

Background

Cancer-testis antigens (CTAs) are specifically expressed in the normal testis and various types of cancer cells, but not or expressed with very low level in the other normal tissues. CTAs are considered to be promising targets for immunotherapy. Little is known on CTAs which specifically expressed in breast cancer. Studies show that the transcriptional activation by CpG island hypomethylation is believed to be an important mechanism of their increased expression.

Objective: To find CTAs which specifically expressed in breast cancer; prove the increase of its expression in human breast cancer, and explore the possibility for it to be developed as target for the immunodiagnosis and immunotherapy of breast cancer.

Methods and results Genomic DNAs were isolated from testis tissue, breast cancer and normal breast tissues respectively. To perform CpG island microarray assays, genomic DNAs were prepared from 15 paired breast cancer biopsies and their normal controls. After obtaining sequence information for those clones from the CpG island database, they were then used to search for surrounding genes in the gene banks. We found several testis specific genes, such as, Pax6, NDRG3 and Synaptojanin 2. Since the last two genes had been extended investigated, they were not the subjects of this study. The Pax6 Gene Was Activated in Established and Primary Breast Cancer Cell Lines. First, we examined Pax6 gene expression levels in a breast cancer cell line panel that included Hs578T, MDA-231, MDA-436, MDA-468, T47D, MCF7 and MCF7/Adr, by performing RT-PCR where b-actin served as control. In addition, the RNAs obtained from normal breast and testis tissues were used as negative and positive controls.We found that Pax6 was re-expressed in MDA-436, MDA-468, T47D, and MCF7/Adr. To further test the Pax6 gene's behavior in primary breast cancer cells, we isolated breast cancer epithelial cells from the effusions of 8 patients (E4, E5, K151, K259, K473, K573, K596 and K605). cRNAs were prepared from those cells and the normal human breast cell line (NHBEC) for RT-PCR assays, where cRNAs of paired MCF7 cells and b-actin served as controls. Results showed that Pax6 was expressed in K259, K573, K596 and K605 cells to various degrees. Pax6 Was Expressed in a Majority of Breast Cancer Biopsies. To test if Pax6 was also expressed in breast cancer tissues, IHC assays were carried out using 19 patients’ biopsies where human testes served as positive controls. We found that the Pax6 protein existed mainly in the cytoplasm of breast cancer cells, but was not detectable in normal breast tissue sections.

Conclusion CpG islands of pax6 promoter region were hypomethylated in human breast cancer. The mRNA level of Pax6 in human breast cancer was significantly increased contrast to normal breast tissue, contrast to all other analyzed normal tissues, suggesting Pax6 is a CTA for breast cancer and might be applied as molecular target in immunotherapy against human breast cancer.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-01-18.

Novel mucus-penetrating liposomes as a potential oral drug delivery system: preparation, in vitro characterization, and enhanced cellular uptake

Background

The aim of this study was to investigate the intestinal mucus-penetrating properties and intestinal cellular uptake of two types of liposomes modified by Pluronic F127 (PF127).

Methods

The two types of liposomes, ie, PF127-inlaid liposomes and PF127-adsorbed liposomes, were prepared by a thin-film hydration method followed by extrusion, in which coumarin 6 was loaded as a fluorescence marker. A modified Franz diffusion cell mounted with the intestinal mucus of rats was used to study the diffusion characteristics of the two types of PF127 liposomes. Cell uptake studies were conducted in Caco-2 cells and analyzed using confocal laser scanning microcopy as well as flow cytometry.

Results

The diffusion efficiency of the two types of PF127-modified liposomes through intestinal rat mucus was 5–7-fold higher than that of unmodified liposomes. Compared with unmodified liposomes, PF127-inlaid liposomes showed significantly higher cellular uptake of courmarin 6. PF127-adsorbed liposomes showed a lower cellular uptake. Moreover, and interestingly, the two types of PF127-modified liposomes showed different cellular uptake mechanisms in Caco-2 cells.

Conclusion

PF127-inlaid liposomes with improved intestinal mucus-penetrating ability and enhanced cellular uptake might be a potential carrier candidate for oral drug delivery.

Search for supersymmetry at the LHC in events with jets and missing transverse energy

A search for events with jets and missing transverse energy is performed in a data sample of pp collisions collected at √s=7 TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The analyzed data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.14 fb(-1). In this search, a kinematic variable α(T) is used as the main discriminator between events with genuine and misreconstructed missing transverse energy. No excess of events over the standard model expectation is found. Exclusion limits in the parameter space of the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model are set. In this model, squark masses below 1.1 TeV are excluded at 95% C.L. Gluino masses below 1.1 TeV are also ruled out at 95% C.L. for values of the universal scalar mass parameter below 500 GeV.

Search for new physics with a monojet and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV

A study of events with missing transverse energy and an energetic jet is performed using pp collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. The data were collected by the CMS detector at the LHC, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36 pb(-1). An excess of these events over standard model contributions is a signature of new physics such as large extra dimensions and unparticles. The number of observed events is in good agreement with the prediction of the standard model, and significant extension of the current limits on parameters of new physics benchmark models is achieved.

Search for B(s)(0) → μ+ μ- and B(0) → μ+ μ- decays in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV

A search for the rare decays B(s)(0) → μ+ μ- and B(0) → μ+ μ- is performed in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV, with a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.14 fb(-1), collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. In both cases, the number of events observed after all selection requirements is consistent with expectations from background and standard-model signal predictions. The resulting upper limits on the branching fractions are B(B(s)(0) → μ+ μ-) < 1.9 × 10(-8) and B(B(0) → μ+ μ-)<4.6 × 10(-9), at 95% confidence level.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists versus insulin in inadequately controlled patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of clinical trials

To compare the effect and safety of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) with insulin therapy on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients inadequately controlled with metformin and/or sulfonylurea. A systematic literature search on MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted using specific search terms 'GLP-1 insulin type 2 diabetes clinical trials' and eight eligible studies were retrieved. Data on mean change in haemoglobin A1c (HbA1C), weight loss, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), incidence of hypoglycaemia and gastrointestinal adverse events were extracted from each study and pooled in meta-analysis. Data on postprandial plasma glucose (PPG) and adverse events were also described or tabulated. Data from eight RCTs enrolling 2782 patients were pooled using a random-effects model. The mean net change [95% confidence interval (CIs)] for HbA1c, weight loss and FPG for patients treated with GLP-1 RA as compared with insulin was -0.14% (-2 mmol/mol) [95% CI; (-0.27, -0.02)%; p = 0.03]; -4.40 kg [95% CI; (-5.23, -3.56) kg; p < 0.01] and 1.18 mmol/l [95% CI; (0.43, 1.93) mmol/l; p < 0.01], respectively, with negative values favouring GLP-1 and positive values favouring insulin. The GLP-1 group was associated with a greater reduction in PPG than the insulin group. Overall, hypoglycaemia was reported less in the GLP-1 group [Mantel-Haenszel odds ratio (M-H OR) 0.45 (0.27, 0.76); p < 0.01], while there was no significant difference in occurrence of severe hypoglycaemia [M-H OR 0.65 (0.29,1.45); p = 0.29]. A significantly higher number of gastrointestinal adverse events were reported with GLP-1 group [M-H OR 15.00 (5.44,41.35) p < 0.01]. GLP-1 RA are promising new agents compared with insulin. Further prospective clinical trials are expected to fully evaluate the long-term effectiveness and safety of these therapies within the T2DM treatment paradigm.

ηπ+ π- resonant structure around 1.8 GeV/c(2) and η(1405) in J/ψ → ωηπ+ π-

We present results of a study of the decay J/ψ → ωηπ+ π- using a sample of (225.2 ± 2.8) × 10(6) J/ψ events collected by the BESIII detector, and report the observation of a new process J/ψ → ωX(1870) with a statistical significance of 7.2σ, in which X(1870) decays to a(0)(±)(980)π±. Fitting to ηπ+ π- mass spectrum yields a mass M = 1877.3 ± 6.3(stat)(-7.4)(+3.4)(syst) MeV/c(2), a width Γ = 57 ± 12(stat)(-4)(+19)(syst) MeV/c(2), and a product branching fraction B(J/ψ → ωX) × B(X→a(0)(±)(980)π±) × B(a(0) (±)(980) → ηπ±) = [1.50 ± 0.26(stat)(-0.36)(+0.72) (syst)] × 10(-4). Signals for J/ψ → ωf(1)(1285) and J/ψ → ω η(1405) are also clearly observed and measured.

Increased Plasma Levels of Nesfatin-1 in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Nesfatin-1, which is derived from nucleobindin2 (NUCB2), has been recently identified as a novel satiety regulator. However, its pathophysiological role in humans remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate plasma nesfatin-1 levels and the association between plasma nesfatin-1 levels and various metabolic parameters in humans.

74 subjects with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (nT2DM), 73 subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and 73 subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) were enrolled in this study. Plasma nesfatin-1 levels were measured by a commercially available enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay.

Plasma nesfatin-1 levels were elevated in subjects with both nT2DM and IGT compared to controls (1.91±0.79 and 1.80±0.80 vs. 1.41±0.58 μ g/L, P<0.05 or P<0.01 ). Simple regression analysis showed that in subjects with IGT and nT2DM, plasma nesfatin-1 correlated positively with body mass index (BMI), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2 h blood glucose after a glucose load (2hPBG), fasting plasma insulin (FINS) and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that plasma nesfatin-1 was significantly associated with IGT and nT2DM, even after controlling for differences in BMI.

Plasma nesfatin-1 concentrations were found to be elevated in subjects with both IGT and nT2DM and to be related with several clinical parameters known to be associated with insulin resistance.

Influence of solvent evaporation rate and formulation factors on solid dispersion physical stability

New chemical entities (NCEs) often show poor water solubility necessitating solid dispersion formulation. The aim of the current study is to employ design of experiments in investigating the influence of one critical process factor (solvent evaporation rate) and two formulation factors (PVP:piroxicam ratio (PVP:PRX) and PVP molecular weight (P(MW))) on the physical stability of PRX solid dispersion prepared by the solvent evaporation method. The results showed the rank order of an increase in factors contributing to a decrease in the extent of PRX nucleation being evaporation rate>PVP:PRX>P(MW). The same rank order was found for the decrease in the extent of PRX crystal growth in PVP matrices from day 0 up to day 12. However, after 12days the rank became PVP:PRX>evaporation rate>P(MW). The effects of an increase in evaporation rate and PVP:PRX ratio in stabilizing PRX were of the same order of magnitude, while the effect from P(MW) was much smaller. The findings were confirmed by XRPD. FT-IR showed that PRX recrystallization in the PVP matrix followed Ostwald's step rule, and an increase in the three factors all led to increased hydrogen bonding interaction between PRX and PVP. The present study showed the applicability of the Quality by Design approach in solid dispersion research, and highlights the need for multifactorial analysis.

Thalidomide attenuates graft arteriosclerosis of aortic transplant in a rat model

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of thalidomide on graft arteriosclerosis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Male Lewis rats received abdominal aorta grafts from male Brown-Norway rats. The animals were divided into 4 groups: no treatment controls, a low-dose group that received thalidomide (50 mg/kg per day), a middle dose group that received thalidomide (100 mg/kg per day), and a high-dose group that received thalidomide (200 mg/kg per day) by daily intragastric administration. Rats were humanely killed at 60 days after surgery. The grafted aortas were analyzed by histology, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot analysis. The serum was analyzed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTS

The neointimal thickness of the thalidomide treated aortas was significantly thinner compared with that of no treatment aortas (P < .05). Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), platelet-derived growth factor, and intracellular adhesian molecule (ICAM-1) protein expression in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < .05). Moreover, thalidomide significantly inhibited the production of VEGF and ICAM-1 in serum (P < .05).

CONCLUSION

Our data suggested that thalidomide can attenuate graft arteriosclerosis so as to protect aortic grafts.