Pseudolaric acid B extracted from the Chinese medicinal herb Cortex Pseudolaricis ameliorates DNFB-induced atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in BALB/c mice

Objective:Pseudolaric acid B(PB)is a newly identified diterpenoid isolated from Tujinpi(Cortex Pseudolaricis).In the present study,we aimed to explore the anti-inflammatory effects of PB on atopic dermatitis(AD),as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying its effects.Methods:BALB/c mice treated with 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene were orally administered with PB(10 mg?kg-1?d-1).After evaluating the AD score,serum levels of IgE and the mRNA expression of NLRP3 inflammasome and IL-1βwere measured by ELISA and qRT-PCR respectively.Results:The results showed that PB treatment significantly ameliorated the development of AD-like clinical symptoms and effectively suppressed the infiltration of inflammatory cells.Furthermore,PB inhibited the expression of NLRP3 inflammasome and IL-1βin skin lesions,and downregulated serum IgE levels.Conclusion:The anti-inflammatory properties of PB were demonstrated using the 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene-induced mouse model of AD-like skin lesions.Our study highlighted the potential use of PB as a novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of inflammation-associated skin diseases.

Sequential expression of cyclooxygenase-2, glutamate receptor-2, and platelet activating factor receptor in rat hippocampal neurons after fluid percussion injury

Traumatic brain injury causes gene expression changes in different brain regions. Occurrence and development of traumatic brain injury are closely related, involving expression of three factors, namely cyclooxygenase-2, glutamate receptor-2, and platelet activating factor receptor. However, little is known about the correlation of these three factors and brain neuronal injury. In this study, primary cultured rat hippocampal neurons were subjected to fluid percussion injury according to Scott’s method, with some modifications. RT-PCR and semi-quantitative immunocytochemical staining was used to measure the expression levels of cyclooxygenase-2, glutamate receptor-2, and platelet activating factor receptor. Our results found that cyclooxygenase-2 expression were firstly increased post-injury, and then decreased. Both mRNA and protein expression levels reached peaks at 8 and 12 hours post-injury, respectively. Similar sequential changes in glutamate receptor 2 were observed, with highest levels mRNA and protein expression at 8 and 12 hours post-injury respectively. On the contrary, the expressions of platelet activating factor receptor were firstly decreased post-injury, and then increased. Both mRNA and protein expression levels reached the lowest levels at 8 and 12 hours post-injury, respectively. Totally, our findings suggest that these three factors are involved in occurrence and development of hippocampal neuronal injury.

Co-culture of oligodendrocytes and neurons can be used to assess drugs for axon regeneration in the central nervous system

We present a novel in vitro model in which to investigate the efficacy of experimental drugs for the promotion of axon regeneration in the central nervous system. We co-cultured rat hippocampal neurons and cerebral cortical oligodendrocytes, and tested the co-culture system using a Nogo-66 receptor antagonist peptide（NEP1–40）, which promotes axonal growth. Primary cultured oligodendrocytes suppressed axonal growth in the rat hippocampus, but NEP1–40 stimulated axonal growth in the co-culture system. Our results confirm the validity of the neuron-oligodendrocyte co-culture system as an assay for the evaluation of drugs for axon regeneration in the central nervous system.

Correlation of the BRAFV600E and RAS mutations with clinicopathological characteristics of papillary thyroid cancer using TCGA database analysis

Objective:To investigate the occurrence of BRAFV600E and RAS mutations in thyroid papillary carcinoma (PTC) and to study their correlation with clinicopathological features of PTC. Methods Relevant information of PTC was downloaded and organized from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) via cBioPortal, then the gene mutation and clinical information of 402 PTC samples were analyzed. The correlation of BRAFV600E and RAS mutations with clinicopathological features and prognosis of PTC were subjected to univariate analysis. Secondly, we use Binary Logistic multivariate analysis to analyze the factors screened above. Results BRAFV600E mutation rate is 48.5% (195/402) and RAS mutation rate is 10.2% (41/402) in 402 cases of PTC. Univariate analysis showed that BRAFV600E mutation has nothing to do with age and sex of the patient. There is a significant correlation among BRAFV600E mutation and lymph node metastasis, extrathyroidal invasion, staging, recurrence, progression and pathological subtypes in PTC. There is no significant correlation among RAS and age, sex, staging, recurrence, progression. There is a significant correlation among RAS and lymph node metastasis, extrathyroidal invasion and pathological subtypes in PTC. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that there is a significant correlation among BRAFV600E mutation and extrathyroidal invasion, pathological subtypes in PTC. There is a significant correlation among RAS and lymph node metastasis, extrathyroidal invasion and pathological subtypes in PTC.ConclusionThe mutation rate of BRAFV600E was significantly higher than that of RAS in PTC. Mutations in BRAFV600E and RAS can be used as predictors of prognosis in PTC.

Zinc(Ⅱ)metal-organic framework eluting titanium implant as propulsive agent to boost the endothelium regeneration

The advent of antiproliferative drug-eluting vascular stents can dramatically reduce in-stent restenosis via inhibiting the hyperproliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells.However,the antiproliferative drugs also restrain the repair of the injured endothelial layer,which in turn leads to the very later in-stent restenosis.Evidence points that competent endothelium plays a critical role in guaranteeing the long-term patency via maintaining vascular homeostasis.Boosting the regeneration of endothelium on the implanted vascular stents could be rendered as a promising strategy to reduce stent implantation complications.In this regard,bioactive zinc(II)metal-organic framework modified with endothelial cell-targeting Arg-Glu-Asp-Val peptide was embedded in poly(lactide-co-caprolactone)to serve as a functional coating on the surface of titanium substrate,which can promote the proliferation and migration of endothelial cells.The in vitro cell experiments revealed that the zinc(II)metal-organic framework embedded in the polymer coating was able to modulate the behaviors of endothelial cells owing to the bioactive effects of zinc ion and peptide.Our results confirmed that zinc(II)metal-organic framework eluting coating represented a new possibility for promoting the repair of the damaged endothelium with potential clinical implications in vascular-related biomaterials and tissue engineering applications.

One-year clinical study of NeuroR egen scaffold implantation following scar resection in complete chronic spinal cord injury patients

The objective of this clinical study was to assess the safety and feasibility of the collagen scaffold, Neuro Regen scaffold, one year after scar tissue resection and implantation. Scar tissue is a physical and chemical barrier that prevents neural regeneration. However, identification of scar tissue is still a major challenge. In this study, the nerve electrophysiology method was used to distinguish scar tissue from normal neural tissue, and then different lengths of scars ranging from 0.5–4.5 cm were surgically resected in five complete chronic spinal cord injury(SCI) patients. The NeuroR egen scaffold along with autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells(BMMCs), which have been proven to promote neural regeneration and SCI recovery in animal models, were transplanted into the gap in the spinal cord following scar tissue resection. No obvious adverse effects related to scar resection or Neuro Regen scaffold transplantation were observed immediately after surgery or at the 12-month follow-up. In addition, patients showed partially autonomic nervous function improvement, and the recovery of somatosensory evoked potentials(SSEP) from the lower limbs was also detected. The results indicate that scar resection and Neuro Regen scaffold transplantation could be a promising clinical approach to treating SCI.