Search

Background: Emerging evidence indicates that the interaction between glucocorticoid receptor α (GRα) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) is a key pathogenetic cross talk in the autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. The objective of this study was to determine the GRα expression in patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) and investigate its correlation with NF-κB in OLP.Methods: We compared the expression of GRα and NF-κB in oral biopsy specimens from patients with OLP(n = 32) against normal controls (n = 12) and investigated the correlation between the expression of GRα and NF-κB in OLP.Results: Immunohistochemistry showed that GRα mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of keratinocytes of basal and spinosum layer of OLP. Both real-time quantitative PCR and Western blots revealed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of GRα were decreased compared with normal controls (both P < 0.001). Conversely, those levels of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) were increased compared with normal controls (both P < 0.001). Importantly, a significant inverse correlation between the GRα and NF-κB was found (P < 0.05).Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that low expression of GRα in OLP correlates with activation of NF-κB, which indicates that the cross talk between GRα and NF-κB in OLP may become a new therapeutic target and represent a new approach to explore the pathogenesis of OLP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Emerging evidence indicates that the interaction between glucocorticoid receptor α ( GRα) and nuclear factor κB ( NF-κB) is a key pathogenetic cross talk in the autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. The objective of this study was to determine the GRα expression in patients with oral lichen planus ( OLP) and investigate its correlation with NF-κB in OLP. Methods We compared the expression of GRα and NF-κB in oral biopsy specimens from patients with OLP ( n = 32) against normal controls ( n = 12) and investigated the correlation between the expression of GRα and NF-κB in OLP. Results Immunohistochemistry showed that GRα mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of keratinocytes of basal and spinosum layer of OLP. Both real-time quantitative PCR and Western blots revealed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of GRα were decreased compared with normal controls (both P < 0.001). Conversely, those levels of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) were increased compared with normal controls (both P < 0.001). Importantly, a significant inverse correlation between the GRα and NF-κB was found ( P < 0.05). Conclusions Our findings demonstrated that low expression of GRα in OLP correlates with activation of NF-κB, which indicates that the cross talk between GRα and NF-κB in OLP may become a new therapeutic target and represent a new approach to explore the pathogenesis of OLP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To isolate plant-derived compounds with antimicrobial activity from the leaves of Mikania micrantha, to determine the compounds configuration, and to evaluate their antimicrobial activity against eight plant pathogenic fungi (Exserohilum turcicum, Colletotrichum lagenarium, Pseudoperonispora cubensis, Botrytis cirerea, Rhizoctonia solani, Phytophthora parasitica, Fusarium solani, and Pythium aphanidermatum,) and four plant pathogenic bacteria (gram negative bacteria: Ralstonia dolaanacearum, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. Oryzae, Xanthomonas Campestris pv. Vesicatoria, and Xanthomonas campestris pv. Citri), and four bacteria (gram positive bacteria: Staphyloccocus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus, and Bacillus cereus). Methods and Results: Antimicrobial constituents of the leaves of M. micrantha were isolated using bioactivity- guided fractionation. The antifungal activity of the isolated compounds was evaluated by the inhibit hypha growth method and inhibit spore germination method. Characterization of antibacterial activity was carried out using the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs). MIC and MBC were determined by the broth microdilution method. Six compounds – deoxymikanolide, scandenolide, dihydroscandenolide, mikanolide, dihydromikanolide, and m - methoxy benzoic acid – have been isolated from leaves of Mikania micrantha H. B. K. Deoxymikanolide, scandenolide, and dihydroscandenolide were new compounds. The result of bioassay showed that all of isolated compounds were effective against tested strains and deoxymikanolide showed the strongest activity. Conclusions and Significance: The leaves of M. micrantha may be a promising source in the search for new antimicrobial drugs due to its efficacy and the broadest range. Meanwhile, adverse impact of M. micrantha will be eliminated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current study, by solvothermal reaction of Cu(NO 3) 2 ·3H 2 O or Co(NO 3) 2 ·6H 2 O with the H 4 Tdada ligand in a mixed solvent of H 2 O and DMA, two novel coordination polymers (CPs) were prepared and their chemical formulae are {[(CH 3) 2 NH 2 ] 2 [Co(Tdada)](H 2 O) 3 } n (1) and {[Cu 2 (Tdada)(H 2 O)(DMA)](DMA) 3 } n (2 , H 4 Tdada ​= ​5,5′-((thiophene-2,5-dicarbonyl) bis(azanediyl)) diisophthalic acid). The single crystal X-diffraction studies show that compound 1 shows a 3D 2-fold interpenetrated framework with a 4-connected dia topology and compound 2 shows a non-interpenetrated framework with a 4-connected lon topology. The magnetic investigations indicate that the two compounds possess antiferromagnetic coupling between neighboring metallic ions, and the Curie-Weiss constant is −7.5 ​K for 1 and -6.04 ​K for 2 , respectively. Their treatment activity on viral myocarditis was evaluated and the related mechanism was discussed at the same time. First of all, the Cell Counting Kit-8 was carried out to evaluate the toxicity of compounds 1 and 2. The Annexin V-FITC Apoptosis Detection Kit was conducted and the apoptosis of the virus infected cardiomyocytes was measured. In addition to this, the ELISA detection was used to measure the hs-cTnT in the cardiomyocytes after compound 1 or 2 treatment. Image 1 • Two novel coordination polymers were solvothermally prepared. • The magnetic investigations indicate their antiferromagnetic interactions. • The apoptosis of the virus infected cardiomyocytes was measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anoectochilus roxburghii is a traditional Chinese medicine and natural health products. In the modern cultivation system, A. roxburghii is micropropagated in tissue culture, and the plants are transferred to soil cultivation for months. However, it remains unclear about the necessity of soil cultivation for the accumulation of health beneficial compounds. In this paper, we performed nontargeted metabolomic analysis using GC-TOF-MS and UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, on A. roxburghii plants at tissue culture stage or after 3 months of soil cultivation. The results showed that the primary metabolites such as alcohols and organic acids are abundant in the tissue culture plants. In contrast, polysaccharide, nucleoside, esters and secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, terpenoids were significantly accumulated in cultivated seedlings. Flavonoids and polysaccharides are considered as the principle effective components in A. roxburghii. Soil cultivation period is therefore essential for the accumulation of these metabolites., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) are key factors in numerous physiological and pathological processes. However, studies on their involvement in the pathogenesis of oral lichen planus (OLP) and its progression toward oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) are scarce. In this study, we examined the protein and gene expressions of both HIF-1α and GLUT1 in normal mucosa, nonatrophic OLP (OLPI), atrophic OLP (OLPII), and OSCC resulting from OLP. Tissues were obtained from 60 cases of OLP patients (n=36 for OLPI, n=24 for OLPII), 20 cases of OSCC patients and 30 healthy control individuals. In addition, in order to investigate if the pathological changes are due to hypoxia, we cultured keratinocytes under hypoxia conditions and measured the expression of HIF-1α and GLUT1. The results indicated that the expressions of HIF-1α and GLUT1 were gradually amplified from normal mucosa to OLPI, OLPII, and OSCC. The expression of both HIF-1α and GLUT1 in OLPII was significantly greater than OLPII. Likewise, the HIF-1α and GLUT1 expressions in OSCC were markedly higher compared to both OLPI and OLPII. Similar trends were obtained in real time PCR and Western blot analyses. A progressive increased micro-vessel density (MVD) was also recorded from normal mucosa to OLPI, OLPII, and OSCC. Moreover, the correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations between HIF-1α and GLUT1 which were both correlated with MVD in the OLP and OSCC groups. Culture of keratinocytes isolated from OLP tissues under hypoxic and normoxic conditions showed a time-dependent inhibition of keratinocyte proliferation and increased expression of HIF-1α and GLUT1 under hypoxia conditions. In summary, we provided new evidence that hypoxia markers HIF-1α and GLUT1 are upregulated in OLP and are potentially involved in pathological changes leading to malignant transformation of OLP. Further characterization of these factors will provide new ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of OLP., Competing Interests: None., (IJCEP Copyright © 2017.)