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To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Zusanli"(ST36) on the phosphorylated tau levels in pancreas and hippocampus of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats，so as to explore the underlying mechanism of EA in diabetic demention rats.Forty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control, model and EA groups, with 16 rats in each group. The T2DM model was established by 6 weeks of high-fat, high-sugar diet as well as intrape-ritoneal injection of streptozocin (STZ) solution (35 mg/kg). After that, EA (2 Hz, 0.1 mA) was applied to unilateral "Zusanli"(ST36) for 30 min, once a day, 6 times a week for 4 weeks. The survival rate was recorded every week, and the fasting blood glucose (FBG) was detected on the 1st, 6th and 11th week. The level of serum insulin (INS) was measured by using ELISA. The morphological structure of pancreas islet was observed by H.E. staining. The expressions of phosphorylated tau at the sites of Ser 396 (pS396) and Thr 231 (pT231), total tau (Tau5), phosphorylated glycogen synthase kinase-3β (pGSK-3β) and total glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) in pancreas and hippocampus were detected by Western blot. The expression and distribution of pS396 and pT231 in pancreas and hippocampus were assayed with immunohistochemistry.Compared with the control group, the survival rate presented a significant decline, the contents of FBG and INS were obviously higher(EA at ST36 can reduce the level of tau phosphorylation via regulating the activity of GSK-3β in the pancreas and hippocampus of T2DM rats, which may be related with the effect of EA on the brain function in T2DM rats.

Chronic gastritis (CG) places a considerable burden on the healthcare system worldwide. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formulas characterized by multicompounds and multitargets have been acknowledged with striking effects in the treatment of CG in China’s history. Nevertheless, their accurate mechanisms of action are still ambiguous. In this study, we analyzed the effective compounds, potential targets, and related biological pathway of Lianpu Drink (LPD), a TCM formula which has been reported to have a therapeutic effect on CG, by contrasting a “compound-target-disease” network. According to the results, 92 compounds and 5762 putative targets of LPD were screened; among them, 8 compounds derived from different herbs in LPD and 30 common targets related to LPD and CG were selected as candidate compounds and precision targets, respectively. Meanwhile, the predicted common targets were verified by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) signaling pathway analysis and pharmacological experiments. The results demonstrated that quercetin, ephedrine, trigonelline, crocetin, and β-sitosterol were major effective compounds of LPD responsible for the CG treatment by inhibiting the activation of the JAK 2-STAT 3 signaling pathway to reduce the expressions of cyclin D1 and Bcl-2 proteins. The study provides evidence for the mechanism of understanding of LPD for the treatment of CG.

Objective The study explored the effect of applying electroacupuncture (EA) preconditioning at ST 36 on mitochondria in rats with intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury. Methods Forty SD rats were divided into four sets: sham operation group (sham group); intestinal ischemia/reperfusion group (I/R group); EA preconditioning at ST 36 followed by intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury (ST 36 + I/R group); EA preconditioning at the lateral site away from ST36 0.5 cm followed by intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury (N + I/R group). For the sham group, the rats were opened abdominal cavity for 3 h and 20 min and their abdominal cavities were covered with wet gauze avoiding drying and kept on the thermostat at 37 °C. For the ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) group, rats were anaesthetised and their abdominal cavities were opened to expose jejunum segments. The segment's collateral blood supply was restricted by bilateral ligation of the intestine. Next, one of the branches of a mesenteric artery was occluded with a thread for 20 min and then the thread was released after such ischemia conditions, keeping reperfusion for 3 h. For the ST36 + I/R group, the electroacupuncture at ST36 was first performed, then the intestinal ischemia/reperfusion model was constructed. For the N + I/R group, electroacupuncture at non ST36 acupoint, which is away from ST36 about 0.5 cm, and then the intestinal ischemia/reperfusion model was performed. Measurements of the levels of inflammatory markers tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), cytochrome c (CYCS), and the mitochondrial membrane pro-apoptotic protein (BAX), anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 were performed. Results Compared to I/R group, the intensity of cytoplasmic CYCS in intestinal tissues was significantly decreased in the ST 36 + I/R group (1.65 vs. 0.18, p Conclusion The results suggest the EA intervention has a protective effect upon mitochondria, preventing CYCS release and the subsequent activation of downstream apoptosis pathway. It is proposed that patients due to undergo gastrointestinal surgery get benefit from EA preconditioning at ST 36.

During the laboratory optimization and the late phase manufacturing studies of the cholesterol absorption inhibitor Ezetimibe 1, the formation of several stereoisomers was observed. To study the complete stereoisomer profile of Ezetimibe 1, we have synthesized and completely characterized several key stereoisomers of Ezetimibe 1 for the first time. This study will provide an access to the reference standard of these stereoisomers and may have some implications in the development of new medicines.

Enhanced neurogenesis has been reported in the hippocampus of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common neurodegenerative disorder characterized with amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregation, tau hyperphosphorylation, and progressive neuronal loss. Previously we reported that tau phosphorylation played an essential role in adult hippocampal neurogenesis, and activation of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK-3), a crucial tau kinase, could induce increased hippocampal neurogenesis. In the present study, we found that treatment of D-galactose rats with Puerarin could significantly improve behavioral performance and ameliorate the enhanced neurogenesis and microtubule-associated protein tau hyperphosphorylation in the hippocampus of D-galactose rat brains. FGF-2/GSK-3 signaling pathway might be involved in the effects of Puerarin on hippocampal neurogenesis and tau hyperphosphorylation. Our finding provides primary in vivo evidence that Puerarin can attenuate AD-like enhanced hippocampal neurogenesis and tau hyperphosphorylation. Our finding also suggests Puerarin can be served as a treatment for age-related neurodegenerative disorders, such as AD.

In this study, we describe another new and efficient route for preparing Ulipristal acetate. The 1,4-addition compound 5 was greatly improved after the starting material ketone 1 was underwent epoxidation, cyanation, hydroxyl group protection and Grignard addition. The synthetic procedure is only 6 steps and the total yield is about 27.4%, which is much suitable for industrial process.