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Polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia and primary myelofibrosis are members of the Philadelphia negative chronic subgroup of Myeloproliferative neoplasm. Published studies showed that the mutation JAK2 V617F is mostly responsible for the diseases; therefore, an accurate, low-cost and rapid molecular method to identify this mutation is important in screening and early diagnostic of these diseases. Different methods for genotyping of JAK2 V617F have been proposed. In this study, we evaluated the quality and cost-effectiveness of three genotyping methods, i.e., PCR-ARMS, PCR-RFLP, Sanger sequencing, to determine the appropriate genotyping for JAK2 V617F and predicted in silico the effect of this mutation on the structure and function of Janus kinase 2 protein. Results showed that the Sanger sequencing and PCR-RFLP genotyping methods were more accurate than PCR-ARMS. PCR-RFLP was also more rapid and economical than the other methods. In silico studies also demonstrated that the JAK2 V617F mutation had a large effect on the activity of corresponding protein. These results provided the initial data for further studies on genetic screening and prediction of myeloproliferative neoplasm and other related diseases in the Vietnamese population.

A new megastigmane glycoside, (3

Two new merosesquiterpenes, hippomeroterpenes A and B (1 and 2), and four known compounds langconol B (3), 20-demethoxy-20-methylaminodactyloquinone D (4), smenospongidine (5), and smenospongic acid (6) were isolated from the sponge Hippospongia fistulosa. Their structures were determined by extensive analyses of HR ESI MS and NMR spectral data. At concentration of 100 μM, compounds 1-6 exhibited weak cytotoxic effects on Hep-G2, MCF-7, SK-LU-1, and SK-Mel-2 human cancer cells with percentages of dead cells ranging from 8.3 ± 0.3%–36.3 ± 1.5 %.

One new phenylpropanoid glycoside, tinosinen A (

Four new

Four new dihydrostilbene glycosides, assastilbosides A–D (1-4), along with seven known compounds, 5,4′-dihydroxydihydrostilbene 3-O-β- d -glucopyranoside (5), 3,5-dihydroxydihydrostilbene 4′-O-β- d -glucopyranoside (6), 3,5-dihydroxydihydrostilbene 4′-O-[6′′-O-(4′′′-methoxy)galloyl]-β- d -glucopyranoside (7), 3,5-dimethoxydihydrostilbene 4′-O-α- l -rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-β- d -glucopyranoside (8), (­)-epicatechin (9), (­)-epicatechin 3-O-gallate (10), and (-)-epigallocatechin 3-O-gallate (11) were isolated from methanol extract of the leaves of Camellia sinensis var. assamica (J.W.Mast.) Kitam. Their structures were elucidated by HR-ESI-MS, 1D- and 2D-NMR spectra and compared with NMR data in the literature. In addition, all isolated compounds were screened by α-glucosidase assay. Compounds 10 and 11 showed significant inhibitory α-glucosidase with IC50 values of 18.3 ± 1.1 and 21.9 ± 0.8 μM, respectively.

Four new aaptamine alkaloids, named as 9-methoxy-N-demethylaaptanone (1), 3,5-dicarbomethoxy-1,​6-​naphthyridine (2), aaptosvanphongs A and B (3 and 4), and three known aaptamine alkaloids as 2-methoxy-3-oxoaaptamine (5), 8,9,9-trimethoxy-9H-benzo[de][1,6]-naphthyridine (6), and demethyl(oxy)aaptamine (7) were isolated from the sponge Aaptos by various chromatographic methods. Their structures were established by extensive spectroscopic analyses (HR-ESI-MS, 1 D and 2 D NMR) and by comparison of the spectral data with those reported in the literature. Compounds 1-7 significantly showed cytotoxic effects against SK-LU-1, MCF-7, HepG2, and SK-Mel-2 cell lines with IC50 values in range from 7.7 ± 0.8 to 51.4 ± 1.8 µM. Among them, compound 7 exhibited the most cytotoxic activity with corresponding IC50 values of 9.2 ± 1.0, 7.8 ± 0.6, 8.4 ± 0.8, and 7.7 ± 0.8 µM.

Sarcopenia is having a serious impact on highly aged populations. A Japanese traditional medicinal remedy containing Schisandra fruits and Astragalus roots recently showed effective treatment of sarcopenia and thus needed to be investigated further. This current study selected Schisandra cauliflora fruits for investigation of their chemical constituents and evaluation of their antisarcopenia effects. Dried S cauliflora fruits were ultrasonically extracted with methylene chloride. This extract was purified by a combination of chromatographic techniques. The isolated compounds were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, electronic circular dichroism, and high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry methods. Antisarcopenia activities of the isolated compounds were evaluated by their effects on the viability and proliferation of C2C12 skeletal muscle cells. Seven dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans, including 2 that had been previously undescribed, cauliflorins A and B (1 and 2), ananolignan C (3), 6- epi-ananolignan D (4), ananolignan F (5), ananonin H (6), and ananonin J (7) were isolated from the methylene chloride extract of the fruits of S cauliflora. The C2C12 cells treated with compounds 1-7 (5 µM) exhibited proliferation in the range of 75.7% ± 7.4% to 98.2% ± 11.7%, compared to 100.0% ± 6.0% of the untreated cells. Two previously undescribed and 5 known dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans were isolated from S cauliflora fruits. All the isolated compounds were inactive on the proliferative enhancement of C2C12 skeletal muscle cells.

Two new sucrose derivatives, named as cannadica A (1) and cannadica B (2), and eight known compounds, 6′-O-acetyl-3-O-(E)-p-coumaroylsucrose (3), heterophylloside C (4), 6′-O-vanilloylarbutin (5), isotachioside (6), 2,6-dimethoxy-p-hydroquinone 1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), 3,5-dimethoxy-p-hydroquinone 1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (8), benzyl glucoside (9), and 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (10) were isolated from the roots of Canna indica L. by various chromatographic methods. Their structures were established by extensive spectroscopic analysis (UV, IR, HR-ESI-MS and NMR) and by comparison of the spectral data with those reported in the literature. Compounds 1-10 were evaluated their antioxidant activity by peroxyl radical absorbance capacity assay. Compounds 4 and 5 exhibited the most peroxyl radical absorbance capacity. At concentration of 1 µM, their ORACROO* values were 4.86 ± 0.39 and 3.11 ± 0.26, respectively, fold-up to that of trolox as an internal standard.

The study is about breast lesions which is a common cause of mortality and morbidity among females. To avoid negative consequences, there is need for urgent diagnosis and treatment. Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) is a useful diagnostic tool and possess higher level of accuracy. In this study, the objective was to determine the accuracy of FNAC in diagnosis of palpable breast lumps. Additionally, the objective was to find the correlation between cytological findings and histopathological examination of surgical specimens. The methodology of the study was based on retrospective study method. FNAC of breast lump was conducted on 271 patients out of which 104 formed the base group. The results showed that there were 104 patients of base study who had average age of 32 years. There were 54 patients with lump in left breasts, and 46 patients with lump in right breasts and 4 patient had bilateral lump. There were 77 patients with benign, 34 patients with malignant, and 3 had atypica;/suspicious lesions on cytological examination. Based on histopathological examination, 77 cases were related to benign, 26 were related to malignant, and 1 with atypical/suspicious. Cyto-histological concurrence was 93.05% and 79.2% for Fibroadenoma and Infiltrating ductal carcinoma respectively. Overall sensitivity of FNAC procedure was 94.17%, specificity 100% and accuracy 93.26%. On the basis of result, it is concluded that FNAC is a simple, reliable method for diagnosis of both benign and malignant lesions and can be used in the evaluation of breast lesions.

Three new pregnane glycosides, drevoluosides O-Q (1-3) along with five known volubiloside C (4), dreageoside A11 (5), 17β-marsdenin (6), stavaroside H (7), and hoyacarnoside G (8) were isolated from the methanol extract of the Dregea volubilis leaves. Their structures were elucidated by chemical and spectroscopic methods. Compounds 6-8 showed significant anti α-glucosidase activity with the inhibitory percentages ranging from 32.6 to 47.1% at the concentration of 200 μM. Compound 3 showed significant inhibitory α-amylase activity with IC50 value of 51.3 ± 2.1 μM.

Three new isomalabaricanes (1-3), a new α-pyrone derivative (4), together with four known isomalabaricane analogs rhabdastrellin G (5), isogeoditin A (6), stelliferin A (7), and (13

Seven phenolic compounds, including a new phenylethanoid, named passifoside (1), and 6 previously described compounds, syringaresinol (2), berchemol (3), threo-guaiacylglycerol (4), p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (5), 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl- O- β-D-glucopyranoside (6), and trans- p-coumaric acid (7), were identified from the aerial parts of Passiflora foetida. Their chemical structures were elucidated from HR-ESI-MS and NMR spectral data, and comparison with the literature. Compound 2 inhibited nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW264.7 cells, showing an IC50 value of 9.45 ± 0.33 µM. The other compounds showed either weak or no significant activity compared to L-NMMA, which was used as a positive control.

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a crucial staple crop, and provides carbohydrate energy to more than half a billion people in the tropics. Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) is the most important disease of cassava in Africa. Since Sri Lanka Cassava Mosaic Virus (SLCMV) was first reported in South East Asia in 2015, establishing sustainable solutions to CMD has become a top priority for the cassava program at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and its partners. In the present study, we screened two populations for CMD resistance: VNM142, 142 clones collected from farms throughout Vietnam, and CIAT102, 102 clones resistant to CMD or mites, which were introduced from CIAT. High broad-sense heritability was observed in all the trials (&gt, 0.80). From the population VNM142, eight clones showed high CMD resistance with CMD severity scores less than 2.0. Two resistant clones had the same DNA fingerprinting with the accessions CR63 (PER262 or TAI9) and KM57 (VNM8) in the genebank, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first report of CMD resistance in the genebank at CIAT. We also used the two populations to validate the CMD markers S12_7926132 and S14_4626854. Both markers explained 51% of the population variance in the segregating population CIAT102, but only 11% in the diverse population VNM142. Thus, we concluded that the two CMD markers could not be used to select for CMD resistance in diverse populations, but could predict the CMD resistance in segregating populations when the susceptible parents do not have resistant marker alleles and the resistance of the CMD2 donors is confirmed.

Five new cycloartane saponins, mussaglaosides A–E (1–5) together with five known saponins, mussaendoside O, mussaendoside, G mussaendoside U, mussaendoside P, and mussaendoside Q (6–10) were isolated from the leaves of Mussaenda glabra. Their structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic methods, including 1D-, 2D-NMR, and MS data. All compounds were evaluated for ANO1 inhibitory activity using calcium-activated chloride channel and YFP expressing HT29 cells. Among the tested compounds, compound 6 strongly inhibited chloride channel activity with IC50 value of 22.0 ± 1.7 μM without any cytotoxicity.

Three new muurolane type sesquiterpene glycosides, named balanoindicosides A − C (1 − 3), were isolated from the whole plant of Balanophora fungosa subsp. indica using various chromatographic methods. Their structures were determined by extensive analysis of HR-ESI-MS and NMR spectroscopy. The stereochemistry of muurolane sesquiterpene backbone was demonstrated by NOESY analysis. Configuration of C-12 in compounds 2 and 3 could be distinguished by chemical shift value of C-14. Compounds 1-3 exhibited weak cytotoxic activity towards HepG-2, HL-60, LU-1, and MCF-7 cell lines.

Four new sesterterpenes, named as hippotulosas A-D (

Four new aaptamine alkaloids, named as 9-methoxy-N-demethylaaptanone (

Phytochemical study of the methanolic extract of the stems and leaves of Strychnos vanprukii led to the isolation of three new (1-3) and four known (4-7) compounds. Their chemical structures were elucidated to be (+)-lyoniresinol 3 α-O- β-D-allopyranoside (1), (-)-lyoniresinol 3 α-O- β-D-allopyranoside (2), 2 α-[(3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxy)-benzoyl]-(-)-lyoniresinol-3 α-O- β-D-glucopyranoside (3), (+)-lyoniresinol 3 α-O- β-D-glucopyranoside (4), (-)-lyoniresinol 3 α-O- β-D-glucopyranoside (5), palicoside (6), and rutin (7) by means of detailed HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analysis. In addition, the absolute configurations of 1–3 were determined by experimental Circular Dichroism (CD) spectra. This is the first report of compounds 5 and 7 from S. vanprukii. Compounds 1 - 7 showed inhibitory effects on NO production in LPS stimulated RAW 264.7 cells with IC50 values of 58.50 ± 2.30, 67.70 ± 2.23, 54.44 ± 1.26, 71.58 ± 3.59, 74.47 ± 2.61, 83.62 ± 2.25, and 47.57 ± 4.01 µM, respectively, compared to a value of 43.24 ± 2.41 µM for the positive control compound, NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA).

Gymnema sylvestre, a medicinal plant, has been used in Indian ayurvedic traditional medicine for the treatment of diabetes. Phytochemical investigation of Gymnema sylvestre led to the isolation of five new pregnane glycosides, gymsylosides A&ndash, E (1&ndash, 5) and four known oleanane saponins, 3&beta, O-&beta, D-glucopyranosyl (1&rarr, 6)-&beta, D-glucopyranosyl oleanolic acid 28-O-&beta, D-glucopyranosyl ester (6), gymnemoside-W1 (7), 3&beta, D-xylopyranosyl-(1&rarr, D- glucopyranosyl-(1&rarr, D-glucopyranosyl ester (8), and alternoside XIX (9). Their structures were identified based on spectroscopic evidence and comparison with those reported in the literature. All compounds were evaluated for their &alpha, glucosidase and &alpha, amylase inhibitory activities. Compounds 2&ndash, 4 showed significant &alpha, amylase inhibitory activity, with IC50 values ranging from 113.0 to 176.2 &micro, M.

Polycythemia Vera (PV) is a slowly progressing blood cancer associated with myeloproliferative neoplasms. The disease is characterized by an abnormal proliferation of three cell types including red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets and a symptom of pruritus caused by release of itching agents of activated mast cells. The enhanced expression of several genes involved in immune system control including CTLA-4, PD-1 and LAG3 are linked to activation immune tolerance. Klotho gene has anti-aging, anti-inflammation and anti-cancer functions. The SHP gene group belongs to the tyrosine phosphatase protein signaling family that regulates cancer cell proliferation through maturation, migration and apoptosis and includes two main genes, SHP-1 and SHP-2. The increased serum content of cancer antigen CA125 is considered as a cancer marker of several blood and hematopoietic disorders. In this study, we conducted experiments to determine mRNA expression of above genes in PV patients by realtime-PCR and CA125 concentration by ELISA. Results showed that expression of klotho, LAG3, CTLA-4 and PD-1 genes was decreased in PV patients, indicating that the immune tolerance was inactivated in PV patients. CA125 concentration was significantly increased in PV patients compared to healthy individuals and interestingly, there was a positive association among three patients, who having increased CA125 concentration and biochemical indicators including LDH, AST and ALT. The results in this study provide an important reference document for further studies that serve for the early detection of PV disease.