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Abstract Aims Previous studies indicate that the anti-hypoxia effects of Tibetan Turnip (Brassica rapa ssp. rapa) were closely related to its characteristic components being p -coumaric acid (CA) and p -coumaric acid‑β‑ d ‑glucopyranoside (CAG). Since CAG would be converted to CA in vivo, this study aims to further examine the efficacy and mechanism of CA against pulmonary edema induced by normobaric hypoxia. Main methods Male ICR mice were assigned to the normoxia group and several hypoxia groups, given sterile water, CA or dexamethasone orally, once daily for four consecutive days. One hour after the final gavage, mice in the above hypoxia groups were put into the normobaric hypoxia chamber (9.5% O 2) for 24 h while mice in normoxia group remained outside the chamber. After hypoxia exposure, lung water content (LWC), pulmonary vascular permeability, the protein content of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), plasma total nitrate/nitrite (NO x) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) content, histological and ultra-microstructure analyses were performed. Expression of occludin was assayed by immunohistochemistry. Key findings In a hypoxic environment of 9.5% O 2 , mice treated with 100 mg/kg body wt CA had significantly lower LWC and BALF protein content than mice in the hypoxia vehicle group. Meanwhile, mice in CA group showed intact lung blood-gas-barrier, increased levels of plasma total NO, decreased levels of plasma ET-1 and upregulation of occludin expression. Significance CA exerts preventive effects against normobaric hypoxic pulmonary edema in mice, its mechanisms involved improving the integrity of the lung barrier, inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel polysaccharide–peptide complex CNP-1-2 with molecular weight of 9.17 × 10 4 Da was obtained from Clinacanthus nutans Lindau leaves by hot water extraction, ethanol precipitation, and purification with Superdex 200 and DEAE-Sepharose Fast Flow column chromatography. CNP-1-2 exhibited the highest growth inhibitory effect on human gastric cancer cells SGC-7901 with inhibition ratio of 92.34% and stimulated activation of macrophages with NO secretion level of 47.53 μmol/L among the polysaccharide fractions. CNP-1-2 comprised approximately 87.25% carbohydrate and 9.37% protein. Monosaccharide analysis suggested that CNP-1-2 was composed of l -rhamnose, l -arabinose, d -mannose, d -glucose and d -galactose with a molar ratio of 1.30:1.00:2.56:4.95:5.09. Methylation analysis, FT-IR, and 1 H NMR spectroscopy analysis revealed that CNP-1-2 might have a backbone consisting of 1,4-linked Glcp, 1,3-linked Glcp, 1,3-linked Manp, 1,4-linked Galp, 1,2,6-linked Galp and 1,2,6-linked Galp. Its side chain might be composed of 1-linked Araf, 1,6-linked Galp and 1-linked Rhap residues. AFM (atomic force micrograph) analysis revealed that CNP-1-2 had the molecular aggregation along with branched and entangled structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstracts HEG-5 is a novel polysaccharide-protein purified from the fermented mycelia of Hericium erinaceus CZ-2. The present study aims to investigate the effects of HEG-5 on proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of human gastric cancer cells SGC-7901. Here, we first uncover that HEG-5 significantly inhibited the proliferation and colony formation of SGC-7901 cells by promoting apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at S phase. RT-PCR and Western blot analysis suggested that HEG-5 could decrease the expressions of Bcl2, PI3K and AKT1, while increase the expressions of Caspase-8, Caspase-3, p53, CDK4, Bax and Bad. These findings indicated that the Caspase-8/-3-dependent, p53-dependent mitochondrial-mediated and PI3k/Akt signaling pathways involved in the molecular events of HEG-5 induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Thus, our study provides in vitro evidence that HEG-5 may be taken as a potential candidate for treating gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel glycoprotein GFG-3a with the molecular weight of 88.01kDa and potent anti-tumor activity was isolated from the cultured mycelia of Grifola frondosa GF9801. GFG-3a was heat-sensitive with the decreasing anti-proliferative activity after treated from 56°C to 100°C for 10–120min. GFG-3a was a glycoprotein with O-glycosylation and contained 6.20% carbohydrate composed of d-arabinose, d-fructose, d-mannose, and d-glucose with a molar ratio of 1.33:4.51:2.46:1.00. FT-IR and NMR spectra proved that GFG-3a contained protein and carbohydrate portions with 3-O-methyl-galactose residues, (1→4)-linked β-galactose residues, and β-linked glucose residues. Circular dichroism (CD) revealed that GFG-3a was a predominantly β-sheet glycoprotein with a relatively small α-helical content. Protein sequencing and 3D model of GFG-3a were finally predicted by using MALDI-TOF-MS, NCBI blast search and online SWISS-MODLE Workspace service. Our findings will be a reference for the further structure–activity relationship analysis of the mushroom glycoproteins. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ethnopharmacological relevance Tibetan turnip ( Brassica rapa L.), widely distributed in Tibet region, is an edible and medical plant with effects of “tonic and anti-hypoxia” “heat-clearing and detoxification” and “alleviating fatigue” according to traditional Tibetan medical books. Aim of the study This research systematically studied the effects of Tibetan turnip on promoting hypoxia-tolerance in humans and the mechanisms. Materials and Methods A 7-d, self-control and single-blind human feeding trial was conducted among 27 healthy subjects with 8 males and 10 females in feeding group fed with 7.5 g turnip powder 2 times daily while 4 males and 5 females in control group fed with 7.5 g radish powder twice a day. Subjects were required to undergo a hypoxia tolerance test (7.1% O 2 ) and a cardiopulmonary function evaluation (Bruce treadmill protocol) before (1st day) and after (9th day) the trial. Simultaneously, the anti-oxidative activities (SOD, CAT, GSH-Px, MDA), routine and biochemical analyses of blood samples were evaluated. Results The females’ SpO 2 increased significantly by 6.4% at the end of the hypoxia tolerance test after taking turnips (p<0.05), and the hypoxia symptoms in most of the subjects were alleviated as well. The anaerobic threshold, peak O 2 pulse and peak VO 2 /kg were significantly improved after 7-d turnip consumption during the Bruce treadmill test (p<0.05). As for the blood analysis, anti-oxidative activities were boosted effectively after the 7-d treatments. Moreover, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) in the males of feeding group increased significantly (p<0.05). However, little changes of all variables were observed in the control group. Conclusions Consumption of Tibetan turnips for 7 days likely contributed to the hypoxia tolerance in healthy humans, which could be due to its abilities of improving oxygen uptake and delivery, enhancing body antioxidant capacity and increasing MCHC. However, further studies with larger samples and double-blind design are warranted, and future studies covering more diverse populations (unhealthy, athletic) would be also considered. Moreover, researches on identifying Tibetan turnip's active compounds are desired as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Hypoxia-ischemia with LPS impaired myelination in developing brains of mice. • Blocking of A 2B AR with PSB-603 attenuated cerebral white matter injury in mice with PVL. • Blocking of A 2B AR with PSB-603 promoted myelination and functional recovery in adult mice with PVL via the PKC/Erk/Creb/HIF-1α signaling pathway. Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), the dominant cerebral white matter injury disease, is induced by hypoxia–ischemia and inflammation in premature infants. The activation of A 2B adenosine receptor (A 2B AR) is shown to involve into inflammation, ischemia, and other typical stress reactions, but its exact function in PVL has not been clarified. We gained initial insight from PVL mouse model (P9) by the induction of hypoxia–ischemia with right carotid ligation followed by exposure to hypoxia and intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of Lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The results showed that treatment of PSB-603, an A 2B AR selective antagonist, greatly ameliorated cerebral ischemic injury by increasing body weights, reducing infarct volume, brain injury, inflammation and contributing to long-term learning memory functional recovery of the PVL mice. Meanwhile, PSB-603 treatment suppressed neurons apoptosis as characterized by reducing of Caspase-3 level, inhibited microglia activation and attenuated hypomyelination through promoting MBP expression and oligodendrocytes differentiation. A 2B AR inhibition also augmented PKC expression, the activity of PKC downstream signaling molecules were then explored. Erk expression and Creb phosphorylation exhibited upregulation in PSB-603 treatment group compared with the control group. Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1α (HIF-1α), a direct target of hypoxia, which is a key regulator of adenosine signaling by binding to the A 2B AR promoter to induce expression of A 2B AR, was shown to be decreased by PSB-603. Taken together, A 2B AR inhibition can ameliorate hypoxic-ischemic injury in PVL mice maybe through PKC/Erk/Creb/HIF-1α signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]