The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) plays an important role in mediating dioxins toxicity. Currently, genes of P450 families are major research interests in studies on AhR-mediated gene alterations caused by dioxins. Genes related to other metabolic pathways or processes may be also responsive to dioxin exposures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKai-Xin-San (KXS), a Chinese herbal decoction, has been applied to medical care of depression for thousands of years. It is composed of two functional paired-herbs: Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (GR)-Polygalae Radix (PR) and Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma (ATR)-Poria (PO). The compatibility of the paired-herbs has been frequently changed to meet the criteria of syndrome differentiation and treatment variation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKai-Xin-San (KXS), a Chinese herbal decoction for anti-depression, is a combination of paired-herbs, i.e. Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (GR)-Polygalae Radix (PR) and Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma (ATR)-Poria (PO).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although the chlorinated flame retardant Dechlorane (Dec) 602 has been detected in food, human blood, and breast milk, there is limited information on potential health effects, including possible immunotoxicity.
Objectives: We determined the immunotoxic potential of Dec 602 in mice by examining the expression of phenotypic markers on thymocyte and splenic lymphocyte subsets, Th1/Th2 transcription factors, and the production of cytokines and antibodies.
Methods: Adult male C57BL/6 mice were orally exposed to environmentally relevant doses of Dec 602 (1 and 10 μg/kg body weight per day) for 7 consecutive days.
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a ligand-dependent nuclear receptor, is involved in a diverse spectrum of biological and toxicological effects. Due to the lack of three dimensional (3D) crystal or nuclear magnetic resonance structure, the mechanisms of these complex effects of AhR remain to be unclear. Also, commercial monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against human AhR protein (hAhR), as alternative immunological tools, are very limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEthnopharmacological Relevance: Kai-Xin-San (KXS), a well-known traditional Chinese herbal decoction, has been widely used to treat mental depression and memory loss in China. It has a combination of four herbs: Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (GR; root and rhizome of Panax ginseng C. A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is great challenge to generate multifunctionality of vascular grafts and stents to enable vascular cell selectivity and improve hemocompatibility. Micro/nanopatterning of vascular implant surfaces for such multifunctionality is a direction to be explored. We developed a novel patterned platform featuring two typical geometries (groove and pillar) and six pattern sizes (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA mussel-inspired surface functionalization of the polydopamine (PDA) coating has been demonstrated to be a promising strategy to ensure the biocompatibility of various biomaterials. To explore the multifunctionality of the PDA coating for vascular stents and elucidate the mechanisms by which the PDA coating modulates vascular cell behavior, this study examined the protein adsorption, the responses of endothelial cells (ECs) and smooth muscle cells (SMCs), and platelet adhesion to various PDA-coated surfaces synthesized at varied initial dopamine concentrations. Our results indicate that various PDA coatings present distinct and varied functionalities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe fruit of Ziziphus jujuba Mill., known as Chinese date or jujube, is consumed as a health supplement worldwide. To study the role of jujube in brain benefits, its effects on neuronal differentiation of PC12 cells were studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFlavonoids, a family of phenolic compounds, are distributed in a variety of fruits, vegetables, tea, and wine. More importantly, many flavonoids are served as the active ingredients in traditional Chinese herbal medicines, which in general do not have side effects. Several lines of evidence support that flavonoids have impacts on many aspects of human health, including anti-tumor, anti-oxidation, and anti-inflammation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFlavonoids, a family of phenolic compounds, are widely present in our daily diet and exist in traditional Chinese medicines, in which they act as the major active functional ingredients. Different lines of evidence indicate that flavonoids have positive impacts on human health. Here, different subclasses of flavonoids were analyzed for their inductive roles in promoting the expression of synaptic proteins, synaptotagmin, and post-synaptic density protein-95 in cultured rat cortical neurons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKai-xin-san (KXS), a Chinese herbal decoction prescribed by Sun Simiao in Beiji Qianjin Yaofang about 1400 years ago, contains Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Polygalae Radix, Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma, and Poria. In China, KXS has been used to treat stress-related psychiatric diseases with the symptoms of depression and forgetfulness. Although animal study has supported the antidepression function of KXS, the mechanism in cellular level is still unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSong Bu Li decoction (SBL) is a traditional Uyghur medicinal herbal preparation, containing Nardostachyos Radix et Rhizoma. Recently, SBL is being used to treat neurological disorders (insomnia and neurasthenia) and heart disorders (arrhythmia and palpitation). Although this herbal extract has been used for many years, there is no scientific basis about its effectiveness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvid Based Complement Alternat Med
September 2013
Despite the classical hormonal effect, estrogen has been reported to mediate neuroprotection in the brain, which leads to the searching of estrogen-like substances for treating neurodegenerative diseases. Flavonoids, a group of natural compounds, are well known to possess estrogenic effects and used to substitute estrogen, that is, phytoestrogen. Flavonoid serves as one of the potential targets for the development of natural supplements and therapeutic drugs against different diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurotrophic factors are playing vital roles in survival, growth, and function of neurons. Regulation of neurotrophic factors in the brain has been considered as one of the targets in developing drug or therapy against neuronal disorders. Flavonoids, a family of multifunctional natural compounds, are well known for their neuronal beneficial effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFlavonoids, a group of compounds mainly derived from vegetables and herbal medicines, share a chemical resemblance to estrogen, and indeed some of which have been used as estrogen substitutes. In searching for possible functions of flavonoids, the neuroprotective effect in brain could lead to novel treatment, or prevention, for neurodegenerative diseases. Here, different subclasses of flavonoids were analyzed for its inductive role in neurite outgrowth of cultured PC12 cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRhodiolae Crenulatae Radix et Rhizoma (Rhodiola), the root and rhizome of Rhodiola crenulata (Hook. f. et Thoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcetylcholinesterase (AChE) is responsible for the hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, in the nervous system. The functional localization and oligomerization of AChE T variant are depending primarily on the association of their anchoring partners, either collagen tail (ColQ) or proline-rich membrane anchor (PRiMA). Complexes with ColQ represent the asymmetric forms (A(12)) in muscle, while complexes with PRiMA represent tetrameric globular forms (G(4)) mainly found in brain and muscle.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFlavonoids, a group of natural compounds found in a variety of vegetables and herbal medicines, have been intensively reported on regarding their estrogen-like activities and particularly their ability to affect bone metabolism. Here, different subclasses of flavonoids were screened for their osteogenic properties by measuring alkaline phosphatase activity in cultured rat osteoblasts. The flavone baicalin derived mainly from the roots of Scutellaria baicalensis showed the strongest induction of alkaline phosphatase activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRhodiolae Crenulatae Radix et Rhizoma (Rhodiola), the root and rhizome of Rhodiola crenulata (Hook. f. et Thoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKaixinsan is an ancient Chinese herbal decoction mainly prescribed for patients suffering from mental depression. This decoction was created by Sun Si-miao of Tang Dynasty (A.D.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Biomed Mater Res A
November 2010
Percutaneous orthopedic and dental implants require not only good adhesion with bone but also the ability to attach and form seals with connective tissues and the skin. To solve the skin-seal problem of such implants, an electrochemical deposition method was used to modify the surfaces of metallic implants to improve their antibacterial ability and skin seals around them. A dense and uniform fluoridated calcium phosphate coating with a thickness of about 200 nm was deposited on an acid-etched pure titanium substrate by controlling the current density and reaction duration of the electrochemical process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors are widely used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Several AChE inhibitors, e.g.
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