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Abstract: Asiatic acid is a triterpenoid component possessing antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activity. In this issue, we explored the protective effects of asiatic acid and the relative mechanism in the D-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide (D-GalN/LPS)-induced hepatotoxicity in hepatocytes and kupffer cells co-cultured system. The cultures were pretreated with asiatic acid for 12 h, followed by D-GalN/LPS exposure for 12 h. Asiatic acid reduced aspartate aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase generation and increased cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner. Meanwhile, the effects of asiatic acid in leukotriene C4 synthase (LTC4S) expression and cellular redox status including reactive oxygen species and GSH content were detected. The results showed that D-GalN/LPS induced the increase of reactive oxygen species followed by extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK 1/2) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation. Treatment with ERK 1/2 specific inhibitor 1,4-diamino-2,3-dicyano-1,4-bis[2-aminophenylthio] butadiene (U0126) abolished the ERK1/2 protein phosphorylation and blunted LTC4S expression. Reactive oxygen species signaling pathway inhibitor pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) inhibited reactive oxygen species generation and NF-κB activation, which in turn blocked LTC4S expression and attenuated the injury. Asiatic acid can protect the hepatocytes against D-GalN/LPS-induced hepatotoxicity. During which, the cell redox was ameliorated and increased expression of LTC4S was reversed by the pretreatment of asiatic acid. Taken together, asiatic acid can protect against D-GalN/LPS-induced hepatotoxicity partly via redox-regulated LTC4S expression pathway. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Diisononyl phthalate (DINP) is a synthetic material that has been widely used as a substitute for other plasticizers prohibited due to reproductive toxicity in consumer products. Some phthalates have been associated with testicular dysgenesis syndrome in male fetus when female pregnant dams were exposed to them. The present study investigated effects of DINP on fetal Leydig cell function and testis development. Female pregnant Sprague Dawley rats received control vehicle (corn oil) or DINP (10, 100, 500, and 1000 mg/kg) by oral gavage from gestational day (GD) 12 to 21. At GD 21.5, testicular testosterone production, fetal Leydig cell numbers and distribution, testicular gene and protein expression levels were examined. DINP showed dose-dependent increase of fetal Leydig cell aggregation with the low observed adverse-effect level (LOAEL) of 10 mg/kg and multinucleated gonocyte with LOAEL of 100 mg/kg. At 10 mg/kg, DINP also significantly increased fetal Leydig cell size, but inhibited insulin-like 3 and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase gene expression and protein levels. DINP inhibited testicular testosterone levels at 1000 mg/kg. The results indicate that in utero exposure to DINP affects the expression levels of some fetal Leydig cell steroidogenic genes, gonocyte multinucleation and Leydig cell aggregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatic aldolase (ALD) A mRNA transcription and ALD B S-nitrosylation have been confirmed in endotoxemic rats and mice, respectively. In the present study we investigated whether the skeletal muscle ALD A shared potential for S-nitrosylation to act as a hypoxiarelated signaling mechanism in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenged rats. Materials and methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats were treated (i.p.) as follows, control group (n = 6) with 0.9% NaCl, tested group (n = 6) with a single dose of 2 mg/kg LPS. Protein S-nitrosylation was determined by biotin switch and dot blotting analysis. ALD A, hypoxia-inducible factor 1α and vascular endothelial growth factor were determined by western blotting. ALD A catalytic activity treated with S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), an exogenous NO-donor, was examined in vitro. Results: There were several S-nitrosylated proteins under basal conditions. ALD A was over-expressed in a hypoxia-related way in the skeletal muscle of LPS challenged rats. Importantly, treatment of ALD A with GSNO at concentration 50 μmol/L ∼ 1000 μmol/L that inhibited catalytic activity, increased the number of S-nitrosylated bands and led to hyper-nitrosylation of basally S-nitrosylated proteins of ALD A. Quantization of enzyme S-nitrosothiol showed that a maximal of four cysteines per subunit was modified by S-nitrosylation in the presence of GSNO. Conclusions: These findings suggested that S-nitrosylation of ALD A might serve as a novel mechanism for controlling ALD A activity at the post-translational level in endotoxemic rats. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The histamine H 3 receptor, prominently expressed in neurons with a minor presence in glial cells, acts as both an autoreceptor and an alloreceptor, controlling the release of histamine and other neurotransmitters. The receptor impacts various essential physiological processes. Our team's initial investigations had demonstrated that the histamine H 3 receptor antagonists could facilitate nerve regeneration by promoting the histamine H 1 receptors on primary neural stem cells (NSCs) in the traumatic brain injury mouse, which suggested the potential of histamine H 3 receptor as a promising target for treating neurological disorders and promoting nerve regeneration. Pitolisant (PITO) is the only histamine H 3 receptor antagonist approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating narcolepsy. However, there is no report on Pitolisant in neural development or regeneration, and it is urgent to be further studied in strong biological activity models in vitro. The embryonic stem (ES) cells were differentiated into neural cells in vitro, which replicated the neurodevelopmental processes that occur in vivo. It also provided an alternative model for studying neurodevelopmental processes and testing drugs for neurological conditions. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the regulatory role of Pitolisant in the early differentiation of ES cells into neural cells. Our results demonstrated that Pitolisant could promote the differentiation of ES cells toward NSCs and stimulated the formation of growth cones. Furthermore, Pitolisant was capable of inducing the polarization of NSCs through the cAMP-LKB1-SAD/MARK2 pathway, but had no significant effect on later neuronal maturation. Pitolisant altered mitochondrial morphology and upregulated the levels of mitochondrion-related proteins TOM20, Drp1, and p-Drp1, and reversed the inhibitory effect of Mdivi-1 on mitochondrial fission during the early neural differentiation of ES cells. In addition, Pitolisant induced the increase in cytosolic Ca 2+ . Our study provided an experimental foundation for the potential application of histamine H 3 receptor-targeted modulators in the field of neuroregeneration.

Objective: To explore the expression, localization and regulatory effect on mitochondrial calcium signaling of Rictor in embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (ESC-CMs)., Methods: Classical embryonic stem cell cardiomyogenesis model was used for differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells into cardiomyocytes. The location of Rictor in ESC-CMs was investigated by immunofluorescence and Western blot. The expression of Rictor in mouse embryonic stem cells was interfered with lentiviral technology, then the superposition of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in ESC-CMs was detected with immunofluorescence method; the cellular ultrastructure of ESC-CMs was observed by transmission electron microscope; the mitochondrial calcium transients of ESC-CMs was detected by living cell workstation;immunoprecipitation was used to detect the interaction between 1,5,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3 receptor, IP3R), glucose-regulated protein 75 (Grp75) and voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1) in mitochondrial outer membrane; the expression of mitochondrial fusion protein (mitonusin-2, Mfn2) was detected by Western blot., Results: Rictor was mainly localized in the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial-endoplasmic reticulum membrane (MAM) in ESC-CMs. Immunofluorescence results showed that Rictor was highly overlapped with ER and mitochondria in ESC-CMs. After mitochondrial and ER were labeled with Mito-Tracker Red and ER-Tracker Green, it was demonstrated that the mitochondria of the myocardial cells in the Rictor group were scattered, and the superimposition rate of mitochondria and ER was lower than that of the negative control group ( P <0.01). The MAM structures were decreased in ESC-CMs after knockdown of Rictor. The results of the living cell workstation showed that the amplitude of mitochondrial calcium transients by ATP stimulation in ESC-CMs was decreased after knockdown of Rictor ( P <0.01). The results of co-immunoprecipitation showed that the interaction between IP3R, Grp75 and VDAC1 in the MAM structure of the cardiomyocytes in the Rictor group was significantly attenuated ( P <0.01); the results of Western blot showed that the expression of Mfn2 protein was significantly decreased ( P <0.01)., Conclusions: Using lentiviral technology to interfere Rictor expression in mouse embryonic stem cells, the release of calcium from the endoplasmic reticulum to mitochondria in ESC-CMs decreases, which may be affected by reducing the interaction of IP3R, Grp75, VDAC1 and decreasing the expression of Mfn2, leading to the damage of MAM structure.

Mirtazapine is a new antidepressant that can increase noradrenergic and serotonergic neurotransmission. It is also a postsynaptic antagonist of 5-HT2 and 5-HT3. In addition, it has only a weak affinity for 5-HT1 receptors and has very weak muscarinic anticholinergic and histamine (H1) antagonist properties. We report a case of hypertensive urgency that ensued after a patient took a single low dose of mirtazapine.

Icariin (ICA) has demonstrated to induce cardiomyocyte differentiation from murine embryonic stem (ES) cells in vitro, however, the mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we investigated whether phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase enhancer (PIKE) was involved in ICA induced cardiomyocyte differentiation of ES cells. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) of PIKE was applied to investigate the role of PIKE in ICA induced cardiomyocyte differentiation. The cardiomyocytes derived from ES cells were verified using immunofluorescence. The expressions of Troponin T, PIKE, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) were detected by western blot. The change of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was estimated using the fluorescent dye 2', 7' - dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate. The results showed that PIKE expression increased during cardiomyocyte differentiation. ICA markedly enhanced PIKE and PI3K expression in a time-dependent manner. Knockdown of PIKE by siRNAs blocked the differentiation of ES cells into cardiomyocytes expressing alpha-actinin for cardiac sarcomeric structures. Moreover, reduced ROS generation and NF-kappaB nuclear translocation were responsible for the inhibitory effect of si-PIKE. In conclusion, PIKE was involved in ICA induced cardiomyocyte differentiation, and ROS generation and NF-kappaB nuclear translocation were associated with PIKE activation.