[Therapeutic effect and mechanism of non-polysaccharide fraction of Bletillae Rhizoma in treatment of gastric ulcer based on network pharmacology and animal experiment]

The present study aimed to explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of non-polysaccharide fraction of Bletillae Rhizoma in the treatment of gastric ulcer by network pharmacology and animal experiments. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS was employed to chara-cterize the chemical components of non-polysaccharide fraction of Bletillae Rhizoma, and the common targets of Bletillae Rhizoma and gastric ulcer were screened out by network pharmacology. The "drug-component-target-disease" network was constructed. Protein-protein interaction(PPI) network was established by STRING. Gene Ontology(GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed based on Matescape database to predict the therapeutic effect and mechanism of Bletillae Rhizoma. Finally, the gastric ulcer model was induced in mice by alcohol to verify the therapeutic effect and mechanism of non-polysaccharide fraction of Bletillae Rhizoma on gastric ulcer. Forty-seven chemical components were identified from non-polysaccharide fraction of Bletillae Rhizoma, among which gymnoside Ⅰ, gymnoside Ⅱ, militarine, bletilloside A, and shancigusin I might be the main active components of non-polysaccharide fraction of Bletillae Rhizoma against gastric ulcer. PPI network analysis revealed core targets such as albumin(ALB), serine/threonine kinase 1(AKT1), tumor necrosis factor(TNF), and epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR). The KEGG enrichment analysis showed that non-polysaccharide fraction of Bletillae Rhizoma mainly exerted the therapeutic effect by regulating the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(AKT) signaling pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK) signaling pathway, and Ras signaling pathway. The results of animal experiments showed that non-polysaccharide fraction of Bletillae Rhizoma could significantly improve alcohol-induced ulceration in mice to increase ulcer inhibition rate, decrease the levels of TNF-α, interleukin(IL)-1β, IL-6, vasoactive intestinal peptide(VIP), and thromboxane B2(TXB2), elevated the le-vels of IL-10, prostaglandin E2(PGE2), epidermal growth factor(EGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF), down-re-gulate the protein levels of PI3K and AKT, and up-regulate the protein levels of p-PI3K and p-AKT. This study indicates that Bletillae Rhizoma may play a role in the treatment of gastric ulcer through multiple components, targets, and pathways and verifies partial prediction results of network pharmacology. The findings of this study provide a scientific and experimental basis for clinical application.

P920The impact of tricuspid regurgitation on patient outcome in early and late heart failure

Background

Severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is associated with poor outcome, but TR remains poorly understood and under-treated.

Purpose

To examine the impact of TR at different stages of heart failure.

Methods

3275 patients with outpatient echocardiogram done at our Hospital in 2013–15 with a mean follow-up of 1092 days were analyzed retrospectively. TR was graded by a semi-quantitative approach using jet-area on multiple views and inferior vena cava (IVC) flow pattern. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard model assessed for mortality, time-to-first heart failure hospitalization, and major adverse cardiovascular event in 3 years. Results were adjusted for age, sex, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left atrial enlargement, pre-existing cardiovascular, peripheral vascular and cerebrovascular disease, moderate-to-severe aortic or mitral valve disease, pulmonary hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, malignancy, and heart failure stages (0=no heart failure, A=risk factor present, B=structural abnormality, C=symptomatic D=advanced). Subgroup analysis stratified by heart failure stage 0, stage A/B and stage C/D was done. Kaplan-Meier function, log-rank test, logistic regression, AURUC, and goodness-of-fit test were done.

Results

In patients with stage A-B heart failure, severe TR had a hazard ratio of 2.93 for death in 3 years compared to no TR (95% CI 1.11–7.73, p=0.03) and moderate TR had a hazard ratio of 2.35 (95% CI 1.28–4.31, P=0.006). In stage C/D, severe TR had a hazard ratio of 2.17 (95% CI 1.12–4.16, p=0.02) and moderate TR had no significant effect (hazard ratio 1.09, p=077). For heart failure hospitalization, severe TR had no significant association in stage A/B but had a hazard ratio of 3.74 in stage C/D (95% CI 1.81–7.7, p<0.001). TR had no impact on major adverse cardiovascular event in this model. No significant interaction was found between TR and heart failure stage, ejection fraction, and valvular heart disease. The model had C-statistics of 0.82 for 3-year mortality, 0.90 for heart failure hospitalization, and 0.81 for MACE, with insignificant Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test p for each, indicating good fit.

Conclusion

The association between TR and increased mortality in heart failure is apparent early and attenuated later, whereas that of TR and heart failure symptom decompensation appears late.

Acknowledgement/Funding

None

Caspase‑9 was involved in cell apoptosis in human dental pulp stem cells from deciduous teeth

As one type of adult stem cells (ASCs), human dental pulp stem cells (HDPSCs) have several properties, including high proliferation rate, self‑renewal capability, and multi‑lineage differentiation. However, the apoptotic mechanism underlying the development of dental pulp cells remains unclear. In the present study, a significant increase of apoptosis was observed in HDPSCs from the deciduous teeth compared with that from adult permanent teeth. In addition, the occurrence of cytochrome c expression and mitochondrial‑mediated apoptosis pathway activity in HDPSCs were confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and western blotting. Although caspase‑8 and caspase‑9 showed higher expression in deciduous teeth than in adult permanent teeth, only the knockdown of caspase‑9 via RNA interference in HDPSC cells exhibited a significant reduction in apoptosis, and caspase‑3 expression and activity. All these results revealed that caspase‑9 and activated caspase‑3 predominantly regulates cell apoptosis in HDPSCs from deciduous teeth.

Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase depletion hampers mitochondrial function and osteogenic differentiation in osteoblasts

Mutation of the dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) gene is responsible for Miller syndrome, which is characterized by craniofacial malformations with limb abnormalities. We previously demonstrated that DHODH was involved in forming a mitochondrial supercomplex and that mutated DHODH led to protein instability, loss of enzyme activity, and increased levels of reactive oxygen species in HeLa cells. To explore the etiology of Miller syndrome in more detail, we investigated the effects of DHODH inhibition in the cells involved in skeletal structure. Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase in MC3T3-E1 cells derived from mouse calvaria osteoblast precursor cells was knocked down by specific small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and cell proliferation, ATP production, and expression of bone-related genes were investigated in these cells. After depletion of DHODH using specific siRNAs, inhibition of cell proliferation and cell cycle arrest occurred in MC3T3-E1 cells. In addition, ATP production was reduced in whole cells, especially in mitochondria. Furthermore, the levels of runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) and osteocalcin (Ocn) mRNAs were lower in DHODH siRNA-treated cells compared with controls. These data suggest that depletion of DHODH affects the differentiation and maturation of osteoblasts. This study shows that mitochondrial dysfunction by DHODH depletion in osteoblasts can be directly linked to the abnormal bone formation in Miller syndrome.

Atomic structure and structural stability of Sc75Fe25 nanoglasses

Nanoglasses are solids consisting of nanometer-sized glassy regions connected by interfaces having a reduced density. We studied the structure of Sc(75)Fe(25) nanoglasses by electron microscopy, positron annihilation spectroscopy, and small-/wide-angle X-ray scattering. The positron annihilation spectroscopy measurements showed that the as-prepared nanoglasses consisted of 65 vol% glassy and 35 vol% interfacial regions. By applying temperature annealing to the nanoglasses and measuring in situ small-angle X-ray scattering, we observed that the width of the interfacial regions increased exponentially as a function of the annealing temperature. A quantitative fit to the small-angle X-ray scattering data using a Debye-Bueche random phase model gave a correlation length that is related to the sizes of the interfacial regions in the nanoglass. The correlation length was found to increase exponentially from 1.3 to 1.7 nm when the sample temperature was increased from 25 to 230 °C. Using simple approximations, we correlate this to an increase in the width of interfacial regions from 0.8 to 1.2 nm, while the volume fraction of interfacial regions increased from 31 to 44%. Using micro-compression measurements, we investigated the deformation behavior of ribbon glass and the corresponding nanoglass. While the nanoglass exhibited a remarkable plasticity even in the annealed state owing to the glass-glass interfaces, the corresponding ribbon glass was brittle. As this difference seems not limited to Sc(75)Fe(25) glasses, the reported result suggest that nanoglasses open the way to glasses with high ductility resulting from the nanometer sized microstructure.

Generating high-current monoenergetic proton beams by a circularly polarized laser pulse in the phase-stable acceleration regime

A new ion acceleration method, namely, phase-stable acceleration, using circularly-polarized laser pulses is proposed. When the initial target density n(0) and thickness D satisfy a(L) approximately (n(0)/n(c))D/lambda(L) and D>l(s) with a(L), lambda(L), l(s), and n(c) the normalized laser amplitude, the laser wavelength in vacuum, the plasma skin depth, and the critical density of the incident laser pulse, respectively, a quasiequilibrium for the electrons is established by the light pressure and the space charge electrostatic field at the interacting front of the laser pulse. The ions within the skin depth of the laser pulse are synchronously accelerated and bunched by the electrostatic field, and thereby a high-intensity monoenergetic proton beam can be generated. The proton dynamics is investigated analytically and the results are verified by one- and two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations.

Further evidence for the association between G72/G30 genes and schizophrenia in two ethnically distinct populations

Recently, the nested genes G72 and G30 on chromosome 13q32-q33 have been implicated in the etiology of schizophrenia. We genotyped six single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs: rs3916965, rs3916967, rs2391191, rs778294, rs779293 and rs3918342), which span approximately 82.5 kb in the region encompassing the G72/G30 genes in 1176 Han Chinese subjects (588 cases and 588 controls) and 365 Scottish subjects (183 cases and 182 controls). Significant association between an allele of marker rs778293 and schizophrenia was found in our Chinese samples (P = 0.0013), and was replicated in the Scottish samples (P = 0.022). LD analysis revealed that four SNPs between rs3916965 and rs778294 were in LD, called block I, and the two distal SNPs (rs778293 and rs3918342) constituted a block II in both the Chinese and Scottish samples. We selected one SNP from each block (rs778294 from block I and rs778293 from block II), and then analyzed the haplotypes. A significant difference was observed for the common haplotype GC in the Chinese sample (P = 0.0145), and was replicated in the Scottish sample (P = 0.003). On meta-analysis, we separately analyzed the studies in Asian and European populations because of significant heterogeneity in the homogeneity test. We found a statistically significant association between rs778293 and schizophrenia in Asian populations, but no difference was found between cases and controls in the European populations. Overall, our data give further support to the existing evidence that G72/G30 genes are involved in conferring susceptibility to schizophrenia.

[Study on application of CODIS loci to excluding paternity]

OBJECTIVE

The study was carried out on application of CODIS loci (FGA, vWA, CSF1PO, TH01, TPOX, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51 and D21S11) in 100 cases of excluding paternity.

METHODS

The PCR amplified products of Profiler Plus and Cofiler amplification kit were injected into a capillary on the ABI PRISM 310 Genetic Analyzer. GeneScan software analyzed the collected data, which can then be imported into Genotyper software for genotyping of alleles.

RESULTS

In the group of Mother-Child-Alleged Father, more than 3 STR loci incompatibilities between alleged father and child were found in all observed cases, the mean incompatibility was 6.63; In the group of Alleged Father-Child, 94.0% of all cases observed was found more than 3 STR loci incompatibilities, the mean incompatibility was 5.01.

CONCLUSION

The results showed that CODIS loci had good application to excluding paternity, and the choice of hyperpolymorphic markers in investigation, which were valued by DP, H and PE, had direct relation with the augmentation of incompatibilities in excluding paternity.

[Analysis of electrophoretic patterns of different body hairs of the same individual]

Keratin contents of different hairs from the head, pubic, armpit and leg of one individual were analyzed by SDS-PAGGE. Samples were collected from 20 individuals. The results showed that the electrophoretic patterns of different body hairs of the same individual were almost identical. The relative contents of keratin composition from the same individual were tested by Laser Densimetic Scanning. No obvious difference was found. Electrophoretic keratin patterns and relative keratin contents of head hairs from different parts (crown, left side, right side, forehead and occiput) of the same individual were observed. No obvious difference was found. It is concluded the analysis of electrophoretic keratin pattern of human body hairs can be used as an important evidence for forensic individual identification.

Accurate monitoring of an interferometric fiber-optic sensor with a multimode semiconductor laser

A technique for monitoring interferometric sensors by correlation of the optical signal from the sensor with the signal from a phase-modulated reference interferometer is described. The technique is applied to temperature measurement with a fiber Fabry-Perot sensing head. We extend the 7 degrees C unambiguous measurement range obtained with a 1.3-mum laser diode as the light source to 43 degrees C by adding a second laser diode emitting at 1.55mum . Experimentally, a rms phase-measurement error of +/-0.28rad , corresponding to a temperature error of +/-0.32 degrees C , was achieved with a low-quality multimode Fabry-Perot laser. The phase error was improved to +/-0.14rad , corresponding to a temperature error of +/-0.16 degrees C , by use of a distributed-feedback laser diode.

[Effects of total saponins of Panax notoginseng on increasing PGI2 in carotid artery and decreasing TXA2 in blood platelets]

Total saponins of Panax notoginseng (PNS) were given orally 100 mg/(kg.d) to rabbit for 8 wk. Aortic atherosclerotic plaque formation was restrained as compared to the control group. Radioimmunoassay was used to investigate the effects of PNS on the contents of prostacyclin in carotid artery and thromboxane A2 in blood platelets of rat. Oral administration of PNS 25,50,100 mg/(kg.d) for 10 d, the caused an increase of prostacyclin in carotid artery and a decrease of thromboxane A2 in blood platelets as compared to the control group. These results show that the anti-atherosclerotic action of PNS may be a result of the correction of the unbalance between prostacyclin and thromboxane A2.