BackgroundImpaired glucose regulation (IGR) patients have increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Identifying relevant risk factors in IGR subjects could facilitate early detection and prevention of IGR progression to diabetes. This study investigated the association between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) body constitution and serum cytokines, and whether body constitution could independently predict diabetes in IGR subjects.MethodPatients with IGR (n = 306) received a blood test and their body constitution type was assessed using a body constitution questionnaire (BCQ). Serum levels of cytokines were measured by ELISA. Patients were followed up for at least three years, and their status of diabetes were recorded. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) of diabetes for body constitution.ResultsPhlegm-damp, Damp-heat and Qi-deficiency were three most common unbanlenced constitutions among IGR subjects. Phlegm-damp and Damp-heat constitution subjects showed higher serum levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), leptin and lower serum levels of adiponectin (P<0.05). Qi-deficiency constitution subjects showed higher serum levels of leptin and lower serum levels of adiponectin, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) (P<0.05). Subjects with Phlegm-damp or Damp-heat constitution demonstrated a significantly higher risk of diabetes (P<0.05).ConclusionPhlegm-damp and Damp-heat TCM body constitution are strongly associated with abnormal serum cytokines, and could potentially serve as a predictor of diabetes in IGR subjects. Body constitution can help to identify IGR subjects who are at a high risk of progression to diabetes.

Feiyanning formula (FYN) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription used for more than 20 years in the treatment of lung cancer. FYN is composed of Astragalus membranaceus, Polygonatum sibiricum, Atractylodes macrocephala, Cornus officinalis, Paris polyphylla, and Polistes olivaceous, etc. All of them have been proved to have anti-tumor effect. In this study, we used the TCM network pharmacological analysis to perform the collection of compound and disease target, the prediction of compound target and biological signal and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. It was found that the activation of mitochondrial pathway might be the molecular mechanism of the anti-lung cancer effect of FYN. The experimental results showed that FYN had an inhibitory effect on the growth of lung cancer cells in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. Moreover, FYN induced G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death as early as 6 h after treatment. In addition, FYN significantly induced mitochondrial membrane depolarization and increased calreticulin expression. Metabolomics analysis showed the increase of ATP utilization (assessed by a significant increase of the AMP/ATP and ADP/ATP ratio, necessary for apoptosis induction) and decrease of polyamines (that reflects growth potential). Taken together, our study suggested that FYN induced apoptosis of lung adenocarcinoma cells by promoting metabolism and changing the mitochondrial membrane potential, further supporting the validity of network pharmacological prediction.

We developed and tested a high-pressure optical chamber system for cultivation and microscopic observation of deep-sea organisms. The system is composed of an optical chamber, a highpressure pump, a pressure sensor and a microscope. The chamber has an observation cavity, 2 cultivation cavities and 2 sapphire windows. The pump is employed for perfusion of culture medium and for increasing the pressure. The pressure sensor monitors the pressure in the chamber. The microscope is used for observing samples through the sapphire windows. In the future, the optical chamber system could be used alone for short-term research or be connected to a large high-pressure vessel to create a flow-through system for long-term research. Using the system, the swimming activity of Bosmina longirostris (Branchiopoda: Cladocera) was observed at different pressures. Swimming activity increased with increasing compression up to 30 MPa. During decompression, this activity reappeared when pressure decreased to 45 MPa and increased with further decreasing pressure. KEY WORDS: Optical chamber system · Real-time · Microscopic observation · PlanktonResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher Aquat Biol 11: 157-162, 2010 To overcome these drawbacks, we developed a high-pressure optical chamber system specifically used for cultivation and microscopic observation of organisms ranging from 100 to 1000 µm in size. The high-pressure chamber is made of titanium, which has been proven to be an excellent biocompatible material and can be used under high pressure up to 60 MPa (6000 m depth in the deep sea). The chamber can either be used alone for short-term research or as part of a flow-through system by connection with a large vessel. A flow-through system could maintain water chemistry conditions in the pressure chamber for longterm observation without decreasing the pressure. We examined the stability of the pressure chamber system and successfully made real-time observations of plankton under different pressures. MATERIALS AND METHODSOptical chamber system. The highhydrostatic-pressure optical chamber system is mainly composed of an optical pressure chamber, a microscope, a pressure pump and a pressure sensor. The temperature is controlled by a water bath.High-hydrostatic-pressure optical chamber: The optical chamber (Fig. 1) is made of titanium, an excellent material for highpressure research. The chamber is in the form of a rectangular box (180 × 44 × 38 mm), which has an observation cavity and 2 cultivation cavities. The maximum pressure in the chamber is 60 MPa.The observation cavity (Fig. 2a) is 13 mm in diameter and provides 2 opposite optical windows for real-time microscopic observation. The optical window (Fig. 2b) is made of sapphire, 16 mm in diameter and 8 mm in thickness. It provides clear images with common microscopes and excellent biocompatibility. A fluorine rubber O-ring (16 mm diameter, 1.8 mm thick) is used to seal the window. The sapphire window is tightened by a compression cove...

Purpose This study reported the efficacy and underlying mechanism of agrimonolide (AM) in treating colon cancer. Methods Colon cancer-AM-related targets were screened from online database. AM targets for colon cancer were identified by Venn diagram. Main molecular function, biological process, cellular component and pathways associated with AM targets for colon cancer were analyzed by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis. Relationship of the 10 core targets of AM for colon cancer with the top 15 BP and KEGG pathways was analyzed by Cytoscape software. A “component-target-pathway” network was constructed to select the hub genes of AM for colon cancer. AM effects on colon cancer cell viability, proliferation, invasion, migration and apoptosis were researched by CCK-8, colony formation, Transwell invasion, wound healing and flow cytometry assays. Tumor-bearing nude mice models were constructed and given AM treatment. Hub gene expression in cells/tissues was detected by Western blot. Results A total of 107 targets were selected as AM targets for colon cancer. The 10 core targets were related to the top 15 biological process terms and KEGG pathways. PI3K, AKT and mTOR were selected as the hub genes of AM for colon cancer. AM weakened colon cell proliferation, invasion, migration and apoptosis inhibition, and suppressed colon cell in vivo growth. AM up-regulated Caspase-3 and BAX proteins, down-regulated C-Myc, Cyclin D1 and BCL-2 proteins, and inactivated the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway both in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion AM suppressed colon cancer progression through inactivating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. It may be useful for colon cancer treatment.