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Cyclina sinensis belongs to the family Veneroida, Veneridae, a marine mollusks having high economic value. It is distributed in the coastal waters of Southeast Asia. In recent years, the recourses of C. sinensis have been severely depleted due to overfishing and pollution. Genetic divergency has also been reported. It is necessary to protect this bivalve from the hazards. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of C. sinensis has been determined. The total number of nucleic acids were 21 799 bp. The genome contains 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and a non-coding control region. The phylogenetic analysis was conducted with 11 related species and confirmed the classification status.

Apocynum venetum (A. venetum) has high medicinal value that belongs to the family Apocynaceae. Here, we reported the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of A. venetum, which was 150,858 bp in length. The cp genome was characterized by a typical quadripartite structure composed of a large single-copy region (LSC 81,919 bp) and a small single-copy region (SSC 17,257 bp) interspersed by a pair of 25,841 bp inverted repeat regions (IRs), and it contained 86 protein-coding genes, eight rRNAs, and 37 tRNAs. A maximum-likelihood (ML) phylogenetic tree indicated that A. venetum was closely related to Trachelospermum jasminoides.

Apocynum venetum (A. venetum) has high medicinal value that belongs to the family Apocynaceae. Here, we reported the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of A. venetum, which was 150,858 bp in length. The cp genome was characterized by a typical quadripartite structure composed of a large single-copy region (LSC 81,919 bp) and a small single-copy region (SSC 17,257 bp) interspersed by a pair of 25,841 bp inverted repeat regions (IRs), and it contained 86 protein-coding genes, eight rRNAs, and 37 tRNAs. A maximum-likelihood (ML) phylogenetic tree indicated that A. venetum was closely related to Trachelospermum jasminoides.

Backgroud Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have been characterized as one of the key effectors of endothelial healing. The effect of Danhong injection (DHI), the most widely prescribed Chinese medicine for coronary heart disease (CHD), on EPCs mobilization remains unclear. Purpose We aimed to assess the effect of DHI on EPCs mobilization to repair percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) induced vascular injury, and to investigate the characteristics and potential mechanism of DHI on EPCs mobilization. Method Forty-two patients with CHD underwent PCI and received stent implantation were enrolled in a Phase II clinical trials. All patients received routine western medical treatment after PCI, patients of DHI group received DHI in addition. The levels of CECs, cytokines (vWF, IL-6, CRP) and EPCs were analyzed at baseline, post-PCI and after treatment. To investigate the characteristics of DHI on EPCs mobilization, 12 healthy volunteers received intravenous infusion of DHI once and the other 12 received for 7 days. EPCs enumeration were done at a series of time points. At last we tested the effect of DHI and three chemical constituents of DHI (danshensu; lithospermic acid, LA; salvianolic acid D, SaD) on EPCs level and expression of Akt, eNOS and MMP-9 in bone marrow cells of myocardial infarction (MI) mice. Results In the DHI group the angina symptoms were improved, the levels of cytokines and CECs were reduced; while EPCs population was increased after treatment. In the phase I clinical trials, EPCs counts reached a plateau phase in 9 h and maintained for more than 10 h after a single dose. After continuous administration, EPCs levels plateaued on the 3rd or 4th day, and maintain till 1 day after the withdrawal, then its levels gradually declined. DHI treatment induced a timely dependent mobilization of EPCs. DHI promoted EPCs mobilization via upregulating the expression of Akt, eNOS and MMP-9 in BM. LA and SaD have played a valuable role in EPCs mobilization. Conclusion These initial results demonstrated that DHI is effective in alleviating endothelial injury and promoting endothelial repair through enhancing EPCs mobilization and revealed the effect feature and possible mechanisms of DHI in mobilizing EPCs.

Erigeron breviscapus has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and its total flavonoid component is commonly used to treat ischemic stroke, coronary heart disease, diabetes and hypertension. Scutellarin is the major ingredient of E. breviscapus and scutellarein is one of the main bioactive metabolites of scutellarin in vivo, but the latter's pharmacological activities have not been fully characterized. Provided evidence that could inhibit platelet aggregation, the effect of scutellarein on rat washed platelets and its underlying mechanisms were evaluated in our research. Scutellarein inhibited platelet adhesion and aggregation induced by multiple G protein coupled receptor agonists such as thrombin, U46619 and ADP, in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, the mild effect of scutellarein on intracellular Ca(2+) mobilization and cyclic AMP (cAMP) level was observed. On the other hand, the role of scutellarein as potential protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor was confirmed by PKC activity analysis and molecular docking. The phorbol myristate acetate-induced platelets aggregation assay with or without ADP implied that the scutellarein takes PKC(s) as its primary target(s), and acts on it in a reversible way. Finally, scutellarein as a promising agent exhibited a high inhibition effect on ADP-induced platelet aggregation among its analogues. This study clarifies the PKC-related signaling pathway involved in antiplatelet action of scutellarein, and may be beneficial for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Cyclina sinensis belongs to the family Veneroida, Veneridae, a marine mollusks having high economic value. It is distributed in the coastal waters of Southeast Asia. In recent years, the recourses of C. sinensis have been severely depleted due to overfishing and pollution. Genetic divergency has also been reported. It is necessary to protect this bivalve from the hazards. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of C. sinensis has been determined. The total number of nucleic acids were 21 799 bp. The genome contains 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and a non-coding control region. The phylogenetic analysis was conducted with 11 related species and confirmed the classification status.

Background Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) derived from bone marrow are associated with the repair of vascular injury by accelerating re-endothelisation, and represent a potential therapeutic target for ischaemic disease. Danhong injection (DHI), a Chinese Materia Medica standardised product extracted from Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza and Flos Carthamus tinctorius L, is effective in the treatment of ischaemic heart disease. We assessed the effect of DHI on the mobilisation of EPCs and vascular repair mediated by EPCs after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods In a prospective, randomised clinical trial (ChiCTR-ONRC-14004100), patients with coronary heart disease and chest pain (n=54) who were referred to coronary angiography and underwent PCI were enrolled; 12 dropped out because of incomplete blood sample collection. The remaining 42 patients (age 35–75 years) were randomly assigned by random number table method to either a control group (14 men, seven women) that received standard medical treatment or a DHI group (14 men, seven women) that received standard medical treatment combined with DHI (40 mL per day) for 7 days at the affiliated cardiovascular hospital of Qingdao University. The primary outcomes were endothelial lesion and endothelial regeneration. Endothelial lesion was assessed by enumeration of CD45– CD146+ KDR+ circulating endothelial cells (CECs) and inflammatory factors (interleukin 6, C-reactive protein [CRP], tumour necrosis factor α [TNFα]). Endothelial regeneration was evaluated by measurement of CD45dim CD34+ KDR+ EPCs, as determined by flow cytometry. Measurements were taken before PCI, 1 day after PCI, and 7 days after treatment by two investigators masked to treatment assignment. All healthy participants and those with coronary heart disease gave informed consent to participate in the study. All protocols were approved by each of the local ethics committees. Findings Baseline cytokines, CECs, and EPCs did not differ between DHI and control groups. PCI increased interleukin 6 (p=0·004 in control group; p=0·045 in DHI group), TNF α (p=0·001 in control group; p=0·16 in DHI group), and CECs concentrations (p=0·008 in control group; p=0·005 in DHI group), whereas EPCs decreased (p=0·002 in control group; p=0·001 in DHI group). Compared with the control group, the mean expression levels of cytokines were significantly reduced (interleukin 6 14·98 pg/mL [SD 13·51] vs 7·25 pg/mL [8·03], p=0·001; TNFα 594·17 pg/mL [368·34] vs 388·48 pg/mL [210·24], p vs 22·42 ng/mL [5·94], p=0·04), and CECs were significantly reduced (0·1228% of PBMC [0·0669] vs 0·0564% of PBMC [0·0445], p vs 0·2569 of PBMC [0·1215], p Interpretation These initial results suggest that DHI is effective in improving endothelial repair and protecting the endothelial lesion by mobilising EPCs, by inhibiting the inflammatory response, and by inhibiting of shedding of endothelial cells after PCI in patients with coronary heart disease. Funding China National Basic Research Program (973 programme, number 2012CB518404).