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Wen-pi-tang-Hab-Wu-ling-san (WHW), an oriental herbal prescription, is currently used in oriental clinics for the treatment of chronic renal failure (CRF). While its effectiveness has been supported by a series of modern studies, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. CRF progression involves tubulointerstitial fibrosis where transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) plays a critical role by inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transdifferentiation (EMT). This study examined whether WHW extract attenuated the TGF-beta1-induced EMT in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. When the cells were stimulated by TGF-beta1 (2.5 ng/mL), they exhibited an elongated, spindle-shaped appearance but this morphological change was significantly suppressed by WHW extract (1 mg/mL). The WHW extract did not show notable cytotoxicity and even mitigated the cytotoxic effects of TGF-beta1. It inhibited the expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), a marker of EMT, but not the secretion of matrix metalloproteinases stimulated by TGF-beta1. The WHW extract also inhibited the phosphorylation of Smad2 that mediates TGF-beta1 signaling leading to alpha-SMA expression. The present study suggests that WHW extract may provide renal protective effects through modulation of the TGF-beta1/Smad2/alpha-SMA pathway involved in fibrosis.

Background:Antioxidants from natural resources possess multifaceted and importance of the activities provides substantial scope in neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the free radical scavenging activities of Cnidium officinale and Ligusticum chuanxiong, which are closely related species.Materials and Methods:The scavenging activities of plant materials were evaluated using Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), superoxide radical (O2·-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hydroxyl (OH·), nitric oxide radical (NO·) and metal chelation. In addition, the cell viability and nitric oxide release were assayed using Neuro-2a (N2a) cells.Results:The methanolic extracts of C. officinale and L. chuanxiong showed scavenging activities of free radicals with an additional antioxidant capacity. Moreover, the efficacy on the cell viability and nitric oxide release in cell culture model has been established.Conclusion:Results of the present study suggests that the extracts of C. officinale and L. chuanxiong have comparatively similar free radical scavenging activities in vitro and may have important health effects.

PurposeMagnetocardiography (MCG) has been proposed as a noninvasive, diagnostic tool for risk-stratifying patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This study evaluated whether MCG predicts long-term prognosis in AMI.Materials and MethodsIn 124 AMI patients (95 males, mean age 60±11 years), including 39 with ST-elevation myocardial infarction, a 64-channel MCG was performed within 2 days after AMI. During a mean follow-up period of 6.1 years, major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were evaluated.ResultsMACE occurred in 31 (25%) patients, including 20 revascularizations, 8 deaths, and 3 re-infarctions. Non-dipole patterns were observed at the end of the T wave in every patients. However, they were observed at T-peak in 77% (24/31) and 54% (50/93) of patients with and without MACE, respectively (p=0.03). Maximum current, field map angles, and distance dynamics were not different between groups. In the multivariate analysis, patients with non-dipole patterns at T-peak had increased age- and gender-adjusted hazard ratios for MACE (hazard ratio 2.89, 95% confidence interval 1.20–6.97, p=0.02) and lower cumulative MACE-free survival than those with dipole patterns (p=0.02).ConclusionNon-dipole patterns at T-peak were more frequently observed in patients with MACE and were related to poor long-term prognosis. Thus, repolarization heterogeneity measured by MCG may be a useful predictor for AMI prognosis.

Ostericum koreanummaximowicz (Umbelliferae), a medicinal herb in Korean Oriental Medicine, has been applied to treat cold, headache, neuralgia and arthralgia. The ethyl acetate fraction ofO. koreanumroot was subjected toin vitroantioxidant activity with different methods for free radical scavenging activities. In addition, the cell viability and nitric oxide release assays were performed here for the first time in neuroblastoma (Neuro-2a) cell cultures. Among all the tested methods, the ethyl acetate fraction was expressed very active, exhibiting a good Trolox equivalent values and IC50, comparable to that of the commercial antioxidants, Trolox and ascorbic acid, respectively. The results showed that there was a reduction of cell viability by the fraction in a concentration dependent manner. These results suggest thatO. koreanumshows good antioxidant activitiesin vitroby inhibiting free radicals. These findings provide a rationale for thein vivotesting. Also, the major constituents behind the antioxidant mechanisms of this fraction warrant further study.