Search

Intracranial ‘kissing’ aneurysms are rare types of multiple aneurysms referring to two adjacent aneurysms arising from identical or different arteries with separate origins and partially adherent walls. The present study reported a 54‑year‑old female patient, who was identified with a ‘kissing’ aneurysm in the A3 segment of the bilateral anterior cerebral arteries, as demonstrated by head computed tomography and emergency cerebral digital subtraction angiography analysis. In total, 12 days following the clipping of the aneurysms, the patient was discharged with a Modified Rankin Scale=0 and recovered well with no neurological deficits. Based on previous literature, it was indicated that the majority of patients with ‘kissing’ aneurysm have a good prognosis and the cure rate is as high as 96.8%. However, the recovery rate may not be that high as the sample size is not large enough to thoroughly demonstrate the complete prognosis of ‘kissing’ aneurysms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is now known that excess alcohol consumption during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome to develop. However, it is not known whether excess ethanol exposure could directly affect angiogenesis in the embryo or angiogenesis being indirectly affected because of ethanol-induced fetal alcohol syndrome. Using the chick yolk sac membrane (YSM) model, we demonstrated that ethanol exposure dramatically inhibited angiogenesis in the YSM of 9-day-old chick embryos, in a dose-dependent manner. Likewise, the anti-angiogenesis effect of ethanol could be seen in the developing vessel plexus (at the same extra-embryonic regions) during earlier stages of embryo development. The anti-angiogenic effect of ethanol was found associated with excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) production; as glutathione peroxidase activity increased while superoxide dismutase 1 and 2 activities decreased in the YSMs. We further validated this observation by exposing chick embryos to 2,2′-azobis-amidinopropane dihydrochloride (a ROS inducer) and obtained a similar anti-angiogenesis effect as ethanol treatment. Semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis of the experimental YSMs revealed that expression of angiogenesis-related genes, vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptor, fibroblast growth factor 2 and hypoxia-inducible factor, were all repressed following ethanol and 2,2′-azobis-amidinopropane dihydrochloride treatment. In summary, our results suggest that excess ethanol exposure inhibits embryonic angiogenesis through promoting superfluous ROS production during embryo development. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnopharmacological relevance Berberine (BER) and BER-original herbal medicines have a variety of pharmacological functions and have been widely used in clinical. However, its effect of enzyme induction on cytochrome P450 (CYP) in human hepatocytes is unknown. Material and method Metabolism of berberine and its effect on main metabolic enzymes in HepG2 cell in vitro was investigated. Cocktail probe drugs, mRNA expression and protein expression were used to evaluate the metabolism potency. Meanwhile, an UPLC–MS/MS method was validated for the analysis of BER and four probe drugs in HepG2 cell. Result BER significantly increased the metabolism of midazolam, phenacetin and tolbutamide by inducing the CYP1A2 and 3A4 enzyme in a dose-dependent manner, the mRNA and protein expression of CYP1A2 and 3A4 were increased by berberine at 1000 ng·mL −1 . The activity of CYP1A2 and 3A4 could be induced by BER more than 500 ng·mL −1 in HepG2 cell, which was confirmed by the increase of its mRNA and protein expression. Conclusion BER increases the metabolism of cocktail drugs such as midazolam, phenacetin and tolbutamide by increasing the mRNA and protein expression of CYP1A2 and 3A4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report here for the first time the 16,566-bp mitochondrial genome sequence of the human neuroblastoma cell line 751-NA. The 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs, and 22 tRNAs are organized in a virtually identical fashion to a previously reported human mitochondrial genome, except that the 1,136-bp d-loop region is slightly variable between them., (Copyright © 2017 Zhang et al.)

Phenobarbital is an antiepileptic drug that is widely used to treat epilepsy in a clinical setting. However, a long term of phenobarbital administration in pregnant women may produce side effects on embryonic skeletogenesis. In this study, we aim to investigate the mechanism by which phenobarbital treatment induces developmental defects in long bones. We first determined that phenobarbital treatment decreased chondrogenesis and inhibited the proliferation of chondrocytes in chick embryos. Phenobarbital treatment also suppressed mineralization in both in vivo and in vitro long bone models. Next, we established that phenobarbital treatment delayed blood vessel invasion in a cartilage template, and this finding was supported by the down-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor in the hypertrophic zone following phenobarbital treatment. Phenobarbital treatment inhibited tube formation and the migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. In addition, it impaired angiogenesis in chick yolk sac membrane model and chorioallantoic membrane model. In summary, phenobarbital exposure led to shortened lengths of long bones during embryogenesis, which might result from inhibiting mesenchyme differentiation, chondrocyte proliferation, and delaying mineralization by impairing vascular invasion.

Coptidis rhizoma (Coptis) and its alkaloids exert various pharmacological functions in cells and tissues; however, the oral absorption of these alkaloids requires further elucidation. The present study aimed to examine the mechanism underlying the poor absorption of alkaloids, including berberine (BER), coptisine (COP), palmatine (PAL) and jatrorrhizine (JAT). An ultra‑performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) method was validated for the determination of BER, COP, PAL and JAT in the above experimental medium. In addition, the apparent oil‑water partition coefficient (Po/w); apparent permeability coefficient (Papp), determined using a parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA) plate; membrane retention coefficient (R %); and effect of P‑glycoprotein (P‑gp) inhibitor on the Papp of the four alkaloids were investigated. The intestinal absorption rate constant (Ka) and absorption percentage (A %) of the four alkaloids were also determined. The results of the present study demonstrated that the Po/w of the four alkaloids in 0.1 mol·l‑1 HCl medium was significantly higher (P<0.01), compared with those of the alkaloids in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). The Papp of BER was 1.0‑1.2x10‑6 cm·s‑1, determined using a PAMPA plate, and the Papp of BER, COP, PAL and JAT decreased sequentially. The concentrations of the four alkaloids on the apical‑to‑basolateral (AP‑BL) surface and the basolateral‑to‑apical (BL‑AP) surface increased in a linear manner, with increasing concentrations between 10 and 100 µmol. In addition, the transportation of BER on the BL‑AP surface was significantly faster (P<0.01), compared with that on the AP‑BL surface and, following the addition of verpamil (a P‑gp inhibitor), the Papp (AP‑BL) of the four alkaloids increased, whereas the Papp (BL‑AP) was significantly decreased (P<0.01). The rat intestinal perfusion experiment demonstrated that the four alkaloids were poorly absorbed; however, the Ka of BER was significantly higher, compared with the three other alkaloids. Furthermore, the A % and Ka provided evidence that the absorption of BER was increased in the jejunum, compared with in the ileum. In conclusion, the four alkaloids from Coptis appeared to be poorly absorbed, determined using a shake flask, pre‑coated PAMPA plates, a Caco‑2 cell monolayer model and intestinal perfusion; however, absorption was higher in the jejunum than in the ileum. Among the four alkaloids, the permeability of BER was markedly higher than the others, and P‑gp efflux had a significant effect on the absorption of those alkaloids.

In the title compound C(21)H(21)ClF(2)N(3)O(2) (+)·NO(3) (-), the triazole ring makes dihedral angles of 40.7 (3) and 30.2 (4)° with the 4-chloro-pheny and 2,4-difluoro-phenyl rings, respectively. The cation adopts a Z-configuration about the C=C double bond which links the triazole ring to the 4-chloro-phen-oxy unit via a but-yloxy chain. In the crystal, the cations and the anions are linked by N-H⋯O, C-H⋯O and C-H⋯F hydrogen bonding.