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Plant sources, chemical properties, bioactivities, as well as the synthesis of indigo dye and its derivatives, are reviewed in this paper. These compounds were chosen because of their significant benefits and scope of application as both coloring agents in the textile industry and as pharmacologically active natural products. Their use in traditional chinese medicine (TCM) has directed the attention of European researchers and medical doctors alike. The preparation of indigoferous plants--Indigo naturalis is currently about to be introduced into the European Pharmacopoeia.

Objective: Sequence variation at Ch9p21 is a predisposing genetic factor for a number of diseases, including myocardial infarction (MI) and diabetes. We determined the risk of MI associated with various alleles and haplotypes, established and compared the predictive values of risk alleles, tested for the independence of associations between different risk alleles and MI, and sought to provide evidence for dual association of alleles with MI and diabetes., Methods: With the use of 35 single nucleotide polymorphisms, together capturing common variation seen in the associated interval, we genotyped 3657 MI cases and 1211 controls prospectively sampled in a European population., Results: Polymorphisms rs10757278 and rs1333049 both exhibited the strongest individual risk signal (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.32-1.59). Two haplotype blocks were established, each of which was mainly represented by a pair of a risk-conferring and a protective haplotype, but none of the risk-associated haplotypes exhibited stronger effects than rs10757278 or rs1333049 alone. Specific polymorphisms (rs7865618, rs1537378, rs7857345, rs1333049) were identified as independent predictors of MI in multivariable models adjusted for conventional cardiovascular risk factors. In specific instances, the presence of two or three polymorphisms in a model, instead of only one, improved the discriminating power. Finally, evidence was provided to suggest dual association of rs7865618 with MI and diabetes., Conclusion: In keeping with published results, this work was consistent with the association of alleles and haplotypes at Ch9p21 with MI and extended prior knowledge by also showing independence of associations among different risk alleles and an association of a specific polymorphism with both MI and diabetes., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The effects of estrogen on blood vessels are partly due to changes in vascular cell gene expression and protein synthesis that are mediated by estrogen receptors. In previous association studies, the -397T/C (rs2234693) and -351A/G (rs9340799) single nucleotide polymorphisms in the estrogen receptor alpha gene (ESR1) have been implicated in the risk of coronary atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction. To test these findings, we examined the relationship of the polymorphisms to myocardial infarction in a large sample of white patients and control individuals of predominantly European descent., Methods and Results: The case group included 3657 patients with myocardial infarction, and the control group comprised 1211 individuals with angiographically normal coronary arteries and without signs or symptoms of myocardial infarction. TaqMan assays were used for the determination of genotypes. Genotype distributions of the -397T/C and -351A/G polymorphisms were not significantly different between the control and patient groups (P> or =0.85). The frequencies of haplotypes defined by the -397T/C and -351A/G polymorphisms were similar in the control group and the patient group (P=0.42). In addition, the distributions of haplotype-defined genotypes (diplotypes) were not significantly different between the control group and the patient group (P=0.81). Separate analyses in women and men did not reveal sex-related associations of specific genotypes or haplotypes of the polymorphisms with myocardial infarction (P> or =0.25)., Conclusions: The results indicate that the -397T/C and -351A/G polymorphisms of ESR1 or haplotypes based on these polymorphisms are not associated with myocardial infarction in a white population.

Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis are two subphenotypes of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a complex disorder resulting from gene-environment interaction. We refined our previously defined linkage region for IBD on chromosome 10q23 and used positional cloning to identify genetic variants in DLG5 associated with IBD. DLG5 encodes a scaffolding protein involved in the maintenance of epithelial integrity. We identified two distinct haplotypes with a replicable distortion in transmission (P = 0.000023 and P = 0.004 for association with IBD, P = 0.00012 and P = 0.04 for association with Crohn disease). One of the risk-associated DLG5 haplotypes is distinguished from the common haplotype by a nonsynonymous single-nucleotide polymorphism 113G-->A, resulting in the amino acid substitution R30Q in the DUF622 domain of DLG5. This mutation probably impedes scaffolding of DLG5. We stratified the study sample according to the presence of risk-associated CARD15 variants to study potential gene-gene interaction. We found a significant difference in association of the 113A DLG5 variant with Crohn disease in affected individuals carrying the risk-associated CARD15 alleles versus those carrying non-risk-associated CARD15 alleles. This is suggestive of a complex pattern of gene-gene interaction between DLG5 and CARD15, reflecting the complex nature of polygenic diseases. Further functional studies will evaluate the biological significance of DLG5 variants.