Beneficial effects of a novel shark-skin collagen dressing for the promotion of seawater immersion wound healing.

Background: Wounded personnel who work at sea often encounter a plethora of difficulties. The most important of these difficulties is seawater immersion. Common medical dressings have little effect when the affected area is immersed in seawater, and only rarely dressings have been reported for the treatment of seawater-immersed wounds.

Radioprotective effects of cimetidine on rats irradiated by long-term, low-dose-rate neutrons and Co γ-rays.

Background: Cimetidine, an antagonist of histamine type II receptors, has shown protective effects against γ-rays or neutrons. However, there have been no reports on the effects of cimetidine against neutrons combined with γ-rays. This study was carried out to evaluate the protective effects of cimetidine on rats exposed to long-term, low-dose-rate neutron and γ-ray combined irradiation (n-γ LDR).

GPo1 alkB gene expression for improvement of the degradation of diesel oil by a bacterial consortium.

To facilitate the biodegradation of diesel oil, an oil biodegradation bacterial consortium was constructed. The alkane hydroxylase (alkB) gene of Pseudomonas putida GPo1 was constructed in a pCom8 expression vector, and the pCom8-GPo1 alkB plasmid was transformed into Escherichia coli DH5α. The AlkB protein was expressed by diesel oil induction and detected through SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Preparation of total flavonoids from loquat flower and its protective effect on acute alcohol-induced liver injury in mice.

This study aimed to research the preparation techniques of total flavones from loquat flower (TFLF), its anti-oxidation capacity, and its protective effect on hepatic injury. The best extraction parameters by orthogonal experimentation were water at 100°C, extraction time 2.5 hours, solid/liquid ratio 1:20, and three decoctions.

Growth inhibition and induction of early apoptosis by arenicolsterol A, a novel cytotoxic enolic sulphated sterol from the marine annelid, Arenicola cristata.

Arenicolsterol A (ASA), a novel cytotoxic enolic sulphated sterol, was isolated from the marine annelid, Arenicola cristata (AC). Growth inhibition of this compound on cancer cell lines was determined by MTT assay and suppression of tumour stem cells colony formation. The results showed that ASA was selectively cytotoxic on HeLa cell line (IC(50) = 6.

Purification and Functional Characterization of a Shark Cartilage Factor Inhibitory to Angiogenesis.

SCAIF-I, an inhibitor of angiogenesis from shark cartilage was purified to homogeneity. The 4 mol/L guanidinium chloride extract of shark cartilage was fractionally precipitated with 35%-65% acetone, then purified by Resource Q ion exchange chromatography, Sephacryl S-300 gel filtration, and reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography. The pure inhibitor was homogeneous as a single band on a silver-stained 15% sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel.

SCAIF80, a Novel Inhibitor of Angiogenesis, and Its Effect on Tumor Growth.

A novel inhibitor of angiogenesis named SCAIF80 (shark cartilage-derived angiogenesis inhibitory factor) from shark cartilage has been isolated and characterized. SDS-PAGE analysis followed by silver staining revealed a single band with molecular weight (M(r)) of 80 kD. To determine whether this protein was capable of inhibiting angiogensis, it was assayed in endothelial cell (EC) proliferation and migration assay.