Effect of Triptolide on Expression of Oxidative Carbonyl Protein in Renal Cortex of Rats with Diabetic Nephropathy

The traditional Chinese medicine（Tripterygium wilfordii Hook.f., TWH） has been clinically used to treat primary and secondary renal diseases and proteinuria for nearly 40 years. However, there is a rare literature about the effect of triptolide（the main active ingredient of TWH） on the expression of oxidative carbonyl protein（OCP） in diabetic nephropathy（DN）. This study aimed to provide experimental evidence for triptolide treatment on DN through its effect on the expression of OCP, in order to investigate the effects of triptolide on the expression of OCP in rats with DN. Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into five groups： control group, high-dose triptolide（Th） group, low-dose triptolide（Tl） group, DN model group, and positive control（benazepril） group. The DN model was established using streptozotocin. Urinary protein excretion, fasting blood glucose（FBG）, superoxide dismutase（SOD） in renal homogenate, malondialdehyde（MDA） in renal homogenate and renal nitrotyrosine by immunohistochemistry, and the expression of OCP by oxyblotimmune blotting were detected. In the DN model group, rat urinary protein excretion and renal MDA were significantly increased, while renal SOD significantly decreased and nitrotyrosine expression was obviously upregulated in the kidney. After triptolide treatment, 24-h urinary protein excretion（61.96±19.00 vs. 18.32±4.78 mg/day, P〈0.001）, renal MDA（8.09±0.79 vs. 5.45±0.68 nmol/L, P〈0.001）, and nitrotyrosine expression were decreased. Furthermore, renal OCP significantly decreased, while renal SOD（82.50±19.10 vs. 124.00±20.52 U/L, P〈0.001） was elevated. This study revealed that triptolide can down-regulate the expression of OCP in the renal cortex of DN rats.

Assessment of oxidative stress in chronic pancreatitis patients

AIM: To assess the levels of antioxidant capacity and oxidative damage in blood of chronic pancreatitis (CP) patients in comparison with those in healthy control sub- jects, by using several different analytical techniques. METHODS: Thirty-five CP patients and 35 healthy con- trol subjects were investigated prospectively with re- spect to plasma levels of thiols, ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP, i.e. antioxidant capacity), levels of protein carbonyls and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). Additionally, we evaluated the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in whole blood. RESULTS: The antioxidative thiols including cysteine, cysteinylglycine and glutathione were significantly lower in CP patients. In addition, the non-enzymatic antioxi- dant capacity was significantly lower in CP patients, which correlated with the amount of oxidative protein (protein carbonyls) and the extent of lipid damage (TBARS), both were significantly higher in CP patients. The ROS production in whole blood after stimulation with phorbol 12-myritate 13-acetaat, demonstrated a strong tendency to produce more ROS in CP patients. CONCLUSION: Oxidative stress may contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic pancreatitis by decreasing anti- oxidant capacity and increasing oxidative damage in CP patients may be a rationale for intervention with antioxi- dant therapy.

Evaluation of oxidative and nitrosative stress in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting the central nervous system (CNS) through demyelination and neurodegeneration. Several lines of evidence support a role for oxidative and nitrative stress (OS and NS) in pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis. The mechanism of influence of OS and NS on blood-brainbarrier (BBB) has critical importance for evaluating antioxidant therapies. As far as we know, markers of oxidative and nitrative stress in MS patients have been investigated independently for their relationship with the state of the blood-brain-barrier. Blood plasma samples of 58 patients with relapse-remitting MS (RRMS) with normal (Group A, n = 48, 36.2 ± 10.5 years) and damaged BBB (Group B, n = 10, 38.2 ± 11.2 years) and of 44 healthy controls (39.2 ± 14.9 years) were analyzed. TAS (total antioxidant plasma status), lipoperoxides, protein carbonyls, 3-nitrotyrosine and uric acid were evaluated in each group. Our results confirmed decreased TAS (Group A: 1.35 ± 0.55 mmol/l, P e level of lipoperoxidation positively correlated with the state of BBB (P of protein’s carbonyls (A: 0.48 ± 0.11 nmol/mg protein, P nmol/l, P ed damage to plasma proteins, what was confirmed by their positive mutual correlation (P The level of uric acid was physiological and correlated negatively with protein’s carbonyls (P 0.05) while there was no significant relationship with 3-nitotyrosine. The results suggest the role of this antioxidant in the protection of the proteins against OS what was confirmed by its positive correlation with TAS

Star fruit extract and C-glycosylated flavonoid components have potential to prevent air pollutant-induced skin inflammation and premature aging

Air pollution adversely affects skin,leading to skin inflammation and premature skin aging.Plant derived antioxidant compounds have been considered to be promising in discovery of effective agents for the protection of skin from the damage by air pollutants.Our previous studies demonstrated that Averrhoa carambola fruit(known as star fruit)is rich in flavonoid C-glycosides with unique structures and potent antioxidant activity.Thus,the star fruit extract(SFE)and main flavonoid C-glycoside components,carambolasides I,J,and P(1-3),carambolaflavone B(4),and isovitexin 2″-O-α-l-rhamnoside(5),were investigated for the activity against air pollutant stress in human epidermis.As a result,SFE and compounds 1-5 exhibited significant inhibitory activity against protein carbonylation in oxidative-stressed stratum corneum with the best activity being shown by compound 3.SFE and compounds 2-5 were also active against engine exhaust-induced protein carbonylation in stratum corneum.When further evaluated,SFE and com-pound 3 significantly inhibited gene expression of the key inflammation mediators IL-1αand COX-2 in PM-stressed keratinocytes.The results indicated that SFE and the flavonoid C-glycosides are potentially effective against air pollutant-induced skin inflammation and premature aging.

Mechanism of Novel Natural Products Maintaining Skin

The inducement of skin carbonylation was briefly introduced,then the mechanism of protein carbonylation from skin was discussed and adverse reactions to human skin were analyzed.Finally,according to the mechanism of protein carbonylation and the degradation mode,the proposed solutions were as follows:diglucosyl gallic acid,Hibiscus sabdariffa flower extract;Prunus cerasus flower extract can reduce the protein carbonylation level of skin by reducing t ROS and Phaeodactylum tricornutum extract can improve the activity of 20s enzyme and accelerating the hydrolysis level of carbonyl protein,to achieve the perfect repair of skin.