Presenilin 1 Is a Therapeutic Target in Pulmonary Hypertension and Promotes Vascular Remodeling.

Small muscular pulmonary artery remodeling is a dominant feature of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). PSEN1 affects angiogenesis, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. We aimed to determine the role of PSEN1 in the pathogenesis of vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension (PH).

[Role of non-coding RNAs in vascular smooth muscle cell calcification].

Vascular calcification, the deposition of calcium in the arterial wall, is often linked to increased stiffness of the vascular wall. Vascular calcification is one of the important factors for high morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as an important biomarker in atherosclerotic cardiovascular events, stroke and peripheral vascular diseases. The mechanism of vascular calcification has not been fully elucidated.

[Role of 15-lipoxygenase/15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid in hypoxic pulmonary arterial hypertension].

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease with a complex aetiology characterized by elevated pulmonary artery resistance, which leads to progressive right ventricular failure and ultimately death. The aberrant metabolism of arachidonic acid in the pulmonary vasculature plays a central role in the pathogenesis of PAH. The levels of 15-lipoxygenase (15-LO) and 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE) are elevated in the pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (PAECs), pulmonary smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and fibroblasts of PAH patients.

Lipopolysaccharide-induced proliferation and glycolysis in airway smooth muscle cells via activation of Drp1.

Abnormal airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) proliferation is an important pathological process in airway remodeling contributes to increased mortality in asthma. Mitochondrial dynamics and metabolism have a central role in the maintenance of the cell function. In this study, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ASMCs proliferative model was used to investigate the effect of mitochondria on the proliferation of ASMCs and the possible mechanism.

[Effect of puerarin on hypoxic pulmonary hypertension and accompanying pulmonary fibrosi].

To investigate the effect and regulatory mechanism of puerarin on pulmonary arterial hypertension due to hypoxia and the possible accompanying pulmonary fibrosis, The rat model of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension and the rat model of hypoxia were established. Totally 18 clean-grade SD rats were fed and randomly divided into normal control group, model group and hypoxia+medicine group. Each group received intraperitoneal injection 30 min before modeling every day; hypoxia+medicine group was injected with 20 mg·kg⁻¹ puerarin.

[Taurine affects expression of ICAM-1, VCAM-1 by p38 pathway in hypoxic endothelial cells].

To investigate the effect of taurine(Tau) on ICAM-1, VCAM-1 by p-p38 pathway in bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells(PAECs) and explore its mechanism of action. Generation 4-12 cells in primary cultures of PAECs were used in experiments and divided into five groups： control group, hypoxia(hyp) group, inhibitor(SB203580) group, treatment(Tau) group, and treatment+inhibitor(SB+Tau) group. The concentration of Tau：100 mmol•L⁻¹; p38 inhibitor SB203580： 20 μmol•L⁻¹; and the treatment time was 12 h.

The 15-LO-1/15-HETE system promotes angiogenesis by upregulating VEGF in ischemic brains.

Objectives: Angiogenesis promotes neurobehavioral recovery after cerebral ischemic stroke. 15(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE) is one of the major metabolites of arachidonic acid by 15-lipoxygenase (15-LO) and stimulates the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), thus, inducing autocrine-mediated angiogenesis. The present study aimed to investigate the role of 15-LO/15-HETE system on VEGF expression and angiogenesis in brain ischemia.

[Effect of puerarin on PI3K/AKT pathway-mediated apoptosis of PASMCs].

To discuss the effect of puerarin (Pue) on the proliferation of hypoxia-induced pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and discuss whether the extracellular signal PI3K/AKT pathway was involved in the Pue-induced PASMC apoptosis. With the serum starvation group (SD group) as the control group, the MTT colorimetry method, Annexin V-FITC apoptosis detection kit and Western blot were used to detect Pue's effect on apoptosis of rat PASMCs. The protein immunoblot assay was used to detect whether PI3K/AKT pathway was involved in the inhibition of hypoxia-induced PASMC apoptosis process.

[Effect of puerarin on hypoxia induced proliferation of PASMCs by regulating reactive oxygen].

To discuss the effect of puerarin (Pue) on the proliferation of hypoxia-induced pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and discuss whether its mechanism is achieved by regulating reactive oxygen. PASMCs of primarily cultured rats (2-5 generations) were selected in the experiment. MTT, Western blot, FCM and DCFH-DA were used to observe Pue's effect the proliferation of PASMCs.

[Inhibitory effect of taurine in hypoxia-induced rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation and signal transduction mechanism].

Objective: To discuss the effect of taurine (Tau) on the proliferation of hypoxia-induced pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), and study whether the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) signal pathway participated in the Tau-inhibited PASMC proliferation process and the possible molecular mechanism.

Method: The primary culture was performed for PASMCs in rats. The second to fifth generations were adopted for the experiment.

Differential efficiency in exogenous DNA acquisition among closely related Salmonella strains: implications in bacterial speciation.

Background: Acquisition of exogenous genetic material is a key event in bacterial speciation. It seems reasonable to assume that recombination of the incoming DNA into genome would be more efficient with higher levels of relatedness between the DNA donor and recipient. If so, bacterial speciation would be a smooth process, leading to a continuous spectrum of genomic divergence of bacteria, which, however, is not the case as shown by recent findings.

Genomic comparison of Salmonella typhimurium DT104 with non-DT104 strains.

DT104 emerged as a new branch of Salmonella typhimurium with resistance to multiple antimicrobials. To reveal some general genomic features of DT104 for clues of evolutionary events possibly associated with the emergence of this relatively new type of this pathogen, we mapped 11 independent DT104 strains and compared them with non-DT104 S. typhimurium strains.

Liposomes modified with P-aminophenyl-α-D-mannopyranoside: a carrier for targeting cerebral functional regions in mice.

Targeting of intracerebral functional regions has been limited by the inability to transport drugs across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and by poor accumulation in these regions. To overcome these hurdles, liposomes modified with P-aminophenyl-α-d-mannopyranoside (MAN) were used as a fluorescent dye carrier through the BBB and used the specific distribution of liposomes (LIP) modified with MAN (MAN-LIP) to target various functional regions of the brain. An in vitro BBB model was established to evaluate the transendothelial ability of MAN-LIP, and liposomes uptake by C6 glioma cells was analyzed by flow cytometry and live cell imaging.

[Isolation of a high hydrogen-producing mutant TB34 generated by transposon insertion and analysis of hydrogen production].

To increase the hydrogen-producing capacity of Pantoea agglomerans BH18, isolated from mangrove sludge, we constructed a stable transposon mutagenesis library of this strain. A Tn7-based transposon was randomly inserted into the genomic DNA. Mutants were screened by kanamycin resistance and identified by amplification of the inserted transposon sequences.

Two new cyanogenic glucosides from the leaves of Hydrangea macrophylla.

Chemical investigation of the ethanol extract of the aerial parts of Hydrangea macrophylla collected in the Sichuan Province of China resulted in the isolation of two new cyanogenic glucosides. Their structures were elucidated as [(2R)-2-β-D-glucopyranosyloxy)-2-(3,4-dimethoxy-phenyl)] acetonitrile (1) and {(2R)-2-[α-D-glucopyranosyl(1-->6)β-D-glucopyranosyloxy]-2-(3-hydroxy-4-methoxy-phenyl)}acetonitrile (2) on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis (1D, 2D NMR and HRESIMS) and chemical studies.

Complete genome sequence of Salmonella enterica serovar pullorum RKS5078.

Salmonella enterica serovar Pullorum is a chicken-adapted pathogen, causing pullorum disease. Its strict host adaptation has been suspected to result in gene decay. To validate this hypothesis and identify the decayed genes, we sequenced the complete genome of S.

[Preparation, characterization and application of polyclonal antibody against human carboxylesterases-II].

Aim: To construct a prokaryotic plasmid expressing human carboxyles-terases-II (hCE-II ), purify the recombinant protein and investigate the rabbit polyclonal antibody against hCE-II .

Methods: A recombinant plasmid expressing pGEX-4T-1-hCE-II (hCE-II -GST) and pET-32a- hCE-II (hCE-II -His) was constructed and then it was expressed in E.coli BL21 induced by IPTG.

[Preparation and characterization of antibodies against clusterin].

Aim: To prepare rabbit polyclonal antibodies (pAb) and mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against human clusterin(CLU) and characterize these antibodies' properties.

Methods: CLU fragment was amplified from human liver cDNA library, and recombinant expression vectors pGEX-4T-1-CLU and PET-32a-CLU were constructed. GST-CLU fusion protein was expressed in E.

[Effect of Qingkailing injection on rat CYP1A2 and CYP2D6 activity].

Objective: The present study investigates the influence of Qingkailing injection on rat liver CYP1A2 and CYP2D6 activity in vivo and in vitro, respectively.

Method: We employed HPLC to measure the metabolites of caffeine in the whole blood and calculated the ratio be between the metabolite and caffeine, which was used as index to evaluate the effect of Qingkailing injection on rat CYP1A2 activity in vivo; We also detected the CYP1A2 and CYP2D6 activity in microsomal reconstituted system by analysis of phenacetin metabolism and dextromethorphan metabolism with HPLC.

Result: The metabolism of caffeine in treated groups was (15.

[The role of subtypes of voltage-gated K+ channels in pulmonary vasoconstriction induced by 15-hydroeicosatetraenoic acid].

Aim: To observe the effect of subtypes of Kv channels in rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) on the process of pulmonary vasoconstriction induced by 15-HETE.

Methods: In the present study, ring of rabbit PA with specific Kv channel blockers were employed to functionally identify certain channel subtypes that took part in the process of 15-HETE induced pulmonary vasoconstriction; RT-PCR and Western blotting analysis were also used to measure the expression of subtypes of Kv in PASMCs exposed to 15-HETE,chronic hypoxia.

Results: Blocking of Kv1.

[Kv3.4 channel is involved in rat pulmonary vasoconstriction induced by 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid].

We have reported that hypoxia increases the activation of 15-lipoxygenase (15-LO), which converts arachidonic acid (AA) into 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE) in small pulmonary arteries (PAs). Through inhibition of Kv channels, 15-HETE causes more robust concentration-dependent contraction of PA rings from the hypoxic compared to the normoxic controls. However, the subtypes of Kv channels inhibited by 15-HETE are incompletely understood.

15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid depressed endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity in pulmonary artery.

15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE) plays an important role in hypoxia-induced pulmonary vasoconstriction. Release of nitric oxide (NO) is apparently decreased and activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is impaired in chronic hypoxia. However, little is known whether 15-HETE contributes to eNOS/NO pathway in the constriction induced by 15-HETE.