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Four new lupane triterpenoid saponins, along with one known lupane and eight hederagenin saponins, were isolated from the EtOH extract of the buds of Lonicera similis Hemsl. The structures of the new compounds were established as 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranosyl 23-hydroxybetulinic acid 28-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (lonisimilioside A, 1), 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranosyl 23-hydroxybetulinic acid 28-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (lonisimilioside B, 2), 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranosyl betulinic acid 28-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (lonisimilioside C, 3) and 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranosyl betulinic acid 28-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (lonisimilioside D, 4), respectively. The cytotoxic activities of the isolates against human cancer cell lines HepG2, MCF-7 and A-549 were evaluated. Only the monodesmosidic saponin with a free carboxyl group at C-28 (12) exhibited significant cytotoxicities against HepG2, MCF-7 and A-549 cell lines with the IC50 values of 8.98 ± 0.19, 12.48 ± 0.45 and 11.62 ± 0.54 μM, respectively. Furthermore, Hoechst fluorescence 33342 staining was used to demonstrate that 12 could induce HepG2 and A-549 cells apoptosis significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic value and clinical application of prenatal ultrasonography (US) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for different types of fetal Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum (ACC)., Material and Methods: There were 42 cases of fetal ACC discovered by routine US, including complete ACC 18 cases and partial ACC 24 cases, checked by MRI within 1 week. The results were confirmed by head ultrasound after birth or brain biopsy after labor induction., Results: From prenatal ultrasonic diagnosis, 18 cases were complete ACC and 24 cases were partial ACC. MRI was able to find complete ACC in 11 cases, partial ACC in 16 cases, and non-ACC in 15 cases. Labor induction or birth confirmed that, 11 cases were complete ACC, 14 cases were partial ACC, and 17 cases were non-ACC.The results of different types of ACC were detected by ultrasound and MRI were statistically significant (p < 0.05).MRI examination was superior to ultrasound in specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, Youden index, and diagnostic index., Conclusions: MRI is high specific degrees, diagnostic performance is satisfactory, should be use as a necessary method for prenatal definitive diagnosis of ACC. However, prenatal ultrasound can be tested repeatedly and can be combined with blood flow imaging detection in real time, and it is still the preferred method for screening fetal structural malformation in a comprehensive way, which is suitable for general screening of ACC.

Background: Antegrade selective cerebral perfusion (ASCP) is regarded to perform cerebral protection during the thoracic aorta surgery as an adjunctive technique to deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA). However, brain metabolism profile after ASCP has not been systematically investigated by metabolomics technology., Methods: To clarify the metabolomics profiling of ASCP, 12 New Zealand white rabbits were randomly assigned into 60 min DHCA with (DHCA+ASCP [DA] group, n = 6) and without ( DHCA [D] group, n = 6) ASCP according to the random number table. ASCP was conducted by cannulation on the right subclavian artery and cross-clamping of the innominate artery. Rabbits were sacrificed 60 min after weaning off cardiopulmonary bypass. The metabolic features of the cerebral cortex were analyzed by a nontargeted metabolic profiling strategy based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Variable importance projection values exceeding 1.0 were selected as potentially changed metabolites, and then Student's t-test was applied to test for statistical significance between the two groups., Results: Metabolic profiling of brain was distinctive significantly between the two groups (Q 2 Y = 0.88 for partial least squares-DA model). In comparing to group D, 62 definable metabolites were varied significantly after ASCP, which were mainly related to amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and lipid metabolism. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis revealed that metabolic pathways after DHCA with ASCP were mainly involved in the activated glycolytic pathway, subdued anaerobic metabolism, and oxidative stress. In addition, L-kynurenine (P = 0.0019), 5-methoxyindole-3-acetic acid (P = 0.0499), and 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (P = 0.0495) in tryptophan metabolism pathways were decreased, and citrulline (P = 0.0158) in urea cycle was increased in group DA comparing to group D., Conclusions: The present study applied metabolomics analysis to identify the cerebral metabolic profiling in rabbits with ASCP, and the results may shed new lights that cerebral metabolism is better preserved by ASCP compared with DHCA alone.