Saponin monomers: Potential candidates for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its complications.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a metabolic disease with persistent hyperglycemia primarily caused by insulin resistance (IR), has become one of the most serious health challenges of the 21st century, with considerable economic and societal implications worldwide. Considering the inevitable side effects of conventional antidiabetic drugs, natural ingredients exhibit promising therapeutic efficacy and can serve as safer and more cost-effective alternatives for the management of T2DM. Saponins are a structurally diverse class of amphiphilic compounds widely distributed in many popular herbal medicinal plants, some animals, and marine organisms.

The Radioprotective Effect of LBP on Neurogenesis and Cognition after Acute Radiation Exposure.

Background: Radiation exposure has been linked to the development of brain damage and cognitive impairment, but the protective effect and mechanism of Lycium barbarum pills (LBP) on radiation-induced neurological damage remains to be clarified.

Methods: Behavioral tests and immunohistochemical studies were conducted to evaluate the protective effects of LBP extract (10 g/kg orally daily for 4 weeks) against radiation-induced damage on neurogenesis and cognitive function in Balb/c mice exposed to 5.5 Gy X-ray acute radiation.

A review on pharmacokinetics of sinomenine and its anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects.

Autoimmune diseases (ADs), with significant effects on morbidity and mortality, are a broad spectrum of disorders featured by body's immune responses being directed against its own tissues, resulting in chronic inflammation and tissue damage. Sinomenine (SIN) is an alkaloid isolated from the root and stem of Sinomenium acutum which is mainly used to treat pain, inflammation and immune disorders for centuries in China. Its potential anti-inflammatory role for treating immune-related disorders in experimental animal models and in some clinical applications have been reported widely, suggesting an inspiring application prospect of SIN.

Advances in experimental models of rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterized by persistent articular inflammation and joint damage. RA was first described over 200 years ago; however, its etiology and pathophysiology remain insufficiently understood. The current treatment of RA is mainly empirical or based on the current understanding of etiology with limited efficacy and/or substantial side effects.

Erratum to "Evaluation of the Mechanism of Modified Lingguizhugan Decoction in the Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2022/4576679.].

Evaluation of the Mechanism of Modified Lingguizhugan Decoction in the Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) may develop into cirrhosis and liver cancer, which imposes a great burden to individuals and society. Lingguizhugan decoction is a commonly used dampness dispelling medication in traditional Chinese medicine and is often used to treat those with phlegm and retained fluid from various causes and pathogeneses. The objective of this study was to explore the effect and mechanism of modified Lingguizhugan decoction (MLGZG) on lipid metabolism and the inflammatory response to identify a theoretical basis to promote its clinical application in NASH therapy.

Ionizing Radiation-Induced Brain Cell Aging and the Potential Underlying Molecular Mechanisms.

Population aging is occurring rapidly worldwide, challenging the global economy and healthcare services. Brain aging is a significant contributor to various age-related neurological and neuropsychological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Several extrinsic factors, such as exposure to ionizing radiation, can accelerate senescence.

Neuroprotective Effects of Berry on Neurobehavioral Changes and Neuronal Loss in the Hippocampus of Mice Exposed to Acute Ionizing Radiation.

Brain exposure to ionizing radiation during the radiotherapy of brain tumor or metastasis of peripheral cancer cells to the brain has resulted in cognitive dysfunction by reducing neurogenesis in hippocampus. The water extract of berry (Lyc), containing water-soluble polysaccharides and flavonoids, can protect the neuronal injury by reducing oxidative stress and suppressing neuroinflammation. To demonstrate the long-term radioprotective effect of Lyc, we evaluated the neurobehavioral alterations and the numbers of NeuN, calbindin (CB), and parvalbumin (PV) immunopositive hippocampal neurons in BALB/c mice after acute 5.

Circular RNAs in cell cycle regulation: Mechanisms to clinical significance.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a type of non-coding RNA, are single-stranded circularized molecules characterized by high abundance, evolutionary conservation and cell development- and tissue-specific expression. A large body of studies has found that circRNAs exert a wide variety of functions in diverse biological processes, including cell cycle. The cell cycle is controlled by the coordinated activation and deactivation of cell cycle regulators.

Progress on the study of the anticancer effects of artesunate.

Artesunate (ART) is a derivative of artemisinin that is extracted from the wormwood plant . ART is an antimalarial drug that has been shown to be safe and effective for clinical use. In addition to its antimalarial properties, ART has been attracting attention over recent years due to its reported inhibitory effects on cancer cell proliferation, invasion and migration.

A case of gynandromorphy in Ducetia japonica (Thunberg, 1815) (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae).

In this paper, we described an example of gynandromorphy in a katydid, Ducetia japonica. Its color is brown, while normal individuals are green. Its left maxilla is smaller, and left maxillary palpus is shorter.

Guanylate cyclases link serotoninergic signaling to modulate ethanol-induced food intake in C. elegans.

Ethanol affects the nervous system of animals to cause a boost of feeding, sexual, verbal, and locomotor behaviors. To understand the neural mechanisms of these ethanol-induced behaviors, we investigated a neural pathway of ethanol-induced feeding behavior by guanylate cyclases and serotonin signals in C. elegans.

Astroglial connexins in epileptogenesis.

The astroglial network connected through gap junctions assembling from connexins physiologically balances the concentrations of ions and neurotransmitters around neurons. Astrocytic dysfunction has been associated with many neurological disorders including epilepsy. Dissociated gap junctions result in the increased activity of connexin hemichannels which triggers brain pathophysiological changes.

Radioprotective Effect of Flavonoids on Ionizing Radiation-Induced Brain Damage.

Patients receiving brain radiotherapy may suffer acute or chronic side effects. Ionizing radiation induces the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species and pro-inflammatory cytokines in the central nervous system, leading to brain damage. Complementary Chinese herbal medicine therapy may reduce radiotherapy-induced side effects.

[Emission Characteristics of Light-Duty Gasoline Vehicle Exhaust Based on Acceleration Simulation Mode].

In this study, 127 light-duty gasoline cars and 10 light-duty gasoline trucks with different emission standards were selected to explore the influences of different conditions and vehicle parameters on the emission characteristics of carbon dioxide (CO), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO), hydrocarbons (HC), and methane (CH) using a portable emission measurement system based on a chassis dynamometer under acceleration simulation mode. The results showed that the gaseous pollutants of light-duty gasoline vehicles displayed a relatively lower emission rate under the idle condition, which accounted for only 22.9% and 25.

Inhibiting 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase selectively targets breast cancer through AMPK activation.

Purpose: 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD), a key enzyme of the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway, is involved in tumor growth and metabolism. Although high 6PGD activity has been shown to be associated with poor prognosis, its role and therapeutic value in breast cancer remain unknown.

Methods: The levels and roles of 6PGD were analyzed in breast cancer cells and their normal counterparts.

Co-expression and significance of Dok2 and Ras p21 protein activator 1 in breast cancer.

Docking protein 2 (Dok2) and Ras p21 protein activator 1 (RASA1) are tumor suppressors which have been identified in numerous solid tumors; however, the association between their expression in breast cancer and patient prognosis remains unclear. A total of 285 consecutive patients diagnosed histopathologically with breast cancer who underwent surgery at Jingzhou Central Hospital were selected for the present study. Dok2 and RASA1 protein were explored using histopathology and western blotting techniques, and the association of patient prognosis with clinicopathological parameters was investigated using univariate and multivariate analyses.

Inhibiting prenylation augments chemotherapy efficacy in renal cell carcinoma through dual inhibition on mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis.

Prenylation is a posttranslational lipid modification required for the proper functions of a number of proteins involved in cell regulation. Here, we show that prenylation inhibition is important for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) growth, survival and response to chemotherapy, and its underlying mechanism may be contributed to mitochondrial dysfunction. We first demonstrated that a HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor pitavastatin inhibited mevalonate pathway and thereby prenylation in RCC cells.

Matrine Suppresses Proliferation and Invasion of SGC7901 Cells through Inactivation of PI3K/Akt/uPA Pathway.

This study was to examine the inhibitory effect of matrine on the proliferation and metastasis of gastric cancer cells, and to explore the possible mechanisms involved in these processes. MTT was used to evaluate the proliferation ability of SGC7901 cells. A two and three-dimensional cell migration assay were performed to determine the effect of matrine on the migration of SGC7901 cells.

[Analysis of malaria epidemiological characteristics in Hechi City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from 2005 to 2015].

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of malaria in Hechi City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from 2005 to 2015, so as to provide the evidence for formulating and adjusting measures of malaria elimination.

Methods: The data of malaria cases in 11 counties of Hechi City from 2005 to 2015 were collected and analyzed by using Micro-soft Office Excel 2003 and SPSS 17.0.