Angelica Sinensis Polysaccharide Induces Erythroid Differentiation of Human Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia K562 Cells

Wang, Lu,Jiang, Rong,Song, Shu-Dan,Hua, Zi-Sen,Wang, Jian-Wei,Wang, Ya-Ping Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.9

Leukemia is a clonal disorder with blocked normal differentiation and cell death of hematopoietic progenitor cells. Traditional modalities with most used radiation and chemotherapy are nonspecific and toxic which cause adverse effects on normal cells. Differentiation inducing therapy forcing malignant cells to undergo terminal differentiation has been proven to be a promising strategy. However, there is still scarce of potent differentiation inducing agents. We show here that Angelica sinensis polysaccharide (ASP), a major active component in Dong quai (Chinese Angelica sinensis), has potential differentiation inducing activity in human chronic erythro-megakaryoblastic leukemia K562 cells. MTT assays and flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that ASP inhibited K562 cell proliferation and arrested the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase. ASP also triggered K562 cells to undergo erythroid differentiaton as revealed by morphological changes, intensive benzidine staining and hemoglobin colorimetric reaction, as well as increased expression of glycophorin A (GPA) protein. ASP induced redistribution of STAT5 protein from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Western blotting analysis further identified that ASP markedly sensitized K562 cells to exogenous erythropoietin (EPO) by activating EPO-induced JAK2/STAT5 tyrosine phosphorylation, thus augmenting the EPO-mediated JAK2/STAT5 signaling pathway. On the basis of these findings, we propose that ASP might be developed as a potential candidate for chronic myelogenous leukemia inducing differentiation treatment.

Load Sharing Performance of Herringbone Planetary Gear System with Flexible Pin

Chang-lu Wang,Jing Wei,Zi-heng Wu,Long Lu,Hao Gao 한국정밀공학회 2019 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.20 No.12

To study the load distribution mechanism of the power-split transmission, and improve the carrying capacity of the herringbone star gear transmission system, the dynamic model of the planetary gear system for a geared turbofan engine with the flexible pin was established based on the node finite element method. The model considered the comprehensive influence of meshing error, time-varying meshing stiffness, bearing supporting stiffness and meshing phase. The dynamic load sharing performance of the system were studied in the equivalent meshing error, and the influence of the error incentives and structure of pins on the load sharing characteristics was analyzed. The results indicate that the vibration track of the center gears deviates from the origin because of the eccentricity error. The load sharing performance of the system can be improved by improving gears’ manufacturing precision. Moreover, the influence of manufacturing errors is larger than that of assembling errors. The flexible pin improved by Montestruc has the best load sharing performance among the four types of pin models designed in the study. The load sharing performance declines with an increase of in input speed and a decrease in input power.

Spatial Patterns of Methane Oxidation and Methanotrophic Diversity in Landfill Cover Soils of Southern China

( Zi Fang Chi ),( Wen Jing Lu ),( Hong Tao Wang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2015 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.25 No.4

Aerobic CH4 oxidation is an important CH4 sink in landfills. To investigate the distribution and community diversity of methanotrophs and link with soil characteristics and operational parameters (e.g., concentrations of O2, CH4), cover soil samples were collected at different locations and depths from the Mengzi semi-aerobic landfill (SAL) in Yunnan Province of southern China. Specific PCR followed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and realtime PCR were used to examine methanotrophs in the landfill cover soils. The results showed that different locations did harbor distinct methanotroph communities. Methanotrophs were more abundant in areas near the venting pipes because of the higher O2 concentrations. The depth of 20-25 cm, where the ratio of the CH4 to O2 was within the range from 1.3 to 8.6, was more conducive to the growth of CH4-oxidizing bacteria. Type II methanotrophs dominated in all samples compared with Type I methanotrophs, as evidenced by the high ratio of Type II to Type I methanotrophic copy numbers (from 1.76 to 11.60). The total copy numbers of methanotrophs detected were similar to other ecosystems, although the CH4 concentration was much higher in SAL cover soil. Methylobacter and Methylocystis were the most abundant Type I and Type II methanotrophs genera, respectively, in the Mengzi SAL. The results suggested that SALs could provide a special environment with both high concentrations of CH4 and O2 for methanotrophs, especially around the vertical venting pipes.

Estrous Response and Fertility in Postpartum Suckled Female Yaks (Bos grunniens) Treated with an Intravaginal Device Containing Progesterone(CIDR), Pregnant Mares' Serum Gonadotrophin and Prostaglandin Analogue

Zi, X.D.,Chang, S.,Lu, H.,Wang, X. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2005 Animal Bioscience Vol.18 No.4

The efficiency of a short-term treatment with an intravaginal device containing progesterone (CIDR) combined with pregnant mares' serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) and prostaglandin analogue ($PGF_{2\alpha}$) was evaluated for the induction of estrus, initiation of cyclic activity, and fertility in postpartum suckled yak cows. Seventy-five postpartum suckled yak cows were assigned to three treatments: (1) insertion of a CIDR intravaginal progesterone (1.9 g) (day 0), an administration of $PGF_{2\alpha}$ (0.2 mg i.m.) on day 6 and PMSG (1,000 IU i.m.) at the time of CIDR withdrawal on day 7 (CPP group, n=28); (2) an administration of $PGF_{2\alpha}$ (0.2 mg i.m.) on day 6 and PMSG (1,000 IU i.m.) on day 7 (PP group, n=21); (3) untreated animals served as the control (CG group, n=26). Seven yak bulls were placed in pastures with the cows for natural mating. Estrus rate in the CPP group (28/28) was higher (p<0.01) than in the PP group (6/21) and in the CG group (0/26) within 96 h after the end of treatment. The first service conception rate in the CPP group (21/28) was higher (p<0.01) compared with in the PP group (2/9) as judged by serum $P_4$ concentration $\geq$2.35 ng/ml on day 21 after breeding. It is concluded that a short-term progesterone treatment combined with PMSG and prostaglandin increased the proportion of yak cows that exhibited behavioral estrus with more synchronized estrus response and satisfactory conception rate in postpartum suckled yak cows.

Auricular acupressure promotes uterine involution after cesarean section: A randomized controlled trial

Shu-xin Wang,Jing-chun Zeng,Ting Li,Wan-lan Zhang,Yan-fang Li,Run-jin Zhou,Zi-jun Liu,Yu-ling Liu,Xun Zhuang,Rui Zhang,Li-ming Lu,Guo-hua Lin 한국한의학연구원 2021 Integrative Medicine Research Vol.10 No.3

Background: Postpartum subinvolution of the uterus is a more common condition after cesarean section. Auricular acupressure (AA) is widely used for the treatment of postpartum diseases. However, few studies have explored the effects of AA as a treatment of uterine involution following cesarean section to date. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of AA for uterine involution after cesarean section. Methods: A total of 109 women who underwent cesarean section participated in this study. They were randomly allocated to either real AA or sham AA in a 1:1 ratio by a computer program. For 3 days, the real AA and sham AA groups received treatment 3 times daily. A series of assessments at 42 days after cesarean section, namely on the uterine size, the incidence of hydrometra, the first anal exsufflation time, bleeding volume at 6 hours, bleeding volume at 6–24 hours along with other general assessments were carried out. Results: A total of 89 women completed the study. The uterine size at 42 days after a cesarean section was 6.3 cm smaller in the real AA group than in the sham AA group (P < 0.01). The incidence of hydrometra on day 42 postpartum was lower in the real AA group than in the sham AA group (P < 0.01). The lochia duration and the first anal exsufflation time after cesarean section were shorter in the real AA group than in the sham AA group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: AA improves uterine involution after cesarean section. Trial registration: ChiCTR1800015569.

Heavy concrete shielding properties for carbon therapy

Jin-Long Wang,Jiade J Lu,Da-Jun Ding,Wen-Hua Jiang,Ya-Dong Li,Rui Qiu,Hui Zhang,Xiao-Zhong Wang,Huo-Sheng Ruan,Yan-Bing Teng,Xiao-Guang Wu,Yun Zheng,Zi-Hao Zhao,Kai-Zhong Liao,Huan-Cheng Mai,Xiao-Dong Korean Nuclear Society 2023 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.55 No.6

As medical facilities are usually built at urban areas, special concrete aggregates and evaluation methods are needed to optimize the design of concrete walls by balancing density, thickness, material composition, cost, and other factors. Carbon treatment rooms require a high radiation shielding requirement, as the neutron yield from carbon therapy is much higher than the neutron yield of protons. In this case study, the maximum carbon energy is 430 MeV/u and the maximum current is 0.27 nA from a hybrid particle therapy system. Hospital or facility construction should consider this requirement to design a special heavy concrete. In this work, magnetite is adopted as the major aggregate. Density is determined mainly by the major aggregate content of magnetite, and a heavy concrete test block was constructed for structural tests. The compressive strength is 35.7 MPa. The density ranges from 3.65 g/cm³ to 4.14 g/cm³, and the iron mass content ranges from 53.78% to 60.38% from the 12 cored sample measurements. It was found that there is a linear relationship between density and iron content, and mixing impurities should be the major reason leading to the nonuniform element and density distribution. The effect of this nonuniformity on radiation shielding properties for a carbon treatment room is investigated by three groups of Monte Carlo simulations. Higher density dominates to reduce shielding thickness. However, a higher content of high-Z elements will weaken the shielding strength, especially at a lower dose rate threshold and vice versa. The weakened side effect of a high iron content on the shielding property is obvious at 2.5 µSv=h. Therefore, we should not blindly pursue high Z content in engineering. If the thickness is constrained to 2 m, then the density can be reduced to 3.3 g/cm³, which will save cost by reducing the magnetite composition with 50.44% iron content. If a higher density of 3.9 g/cm³ with 57.65% iron content is selected for construction, then the thickness of the wall can be reduced to 174.2 cm, which will save space for equipment installation.

Beneficial effects of natural Jeju groundwaters on lipid metabolism in high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemic rats

Yan-chao Wang,Jin-miao Lu,Hui-zi Jin,Ai-niu Ma,Jin-yang Zhang,Nian Gong,Qi Xiao,Bin Zhu,Ying-fang Lv,Na Yu,Wei-dong Zhang,Yong-xiang Wang 한국영양학회 2014 Nutrition Research and Practice Vol.8 No.2

BACKGROUND: Groundwater is believed to possess many beneficial effects due to its natural source of various minerals. In this study, we examined the effects of natural Jeju groundwater S1 (SamdasooTM), S2 and S3 pumped up from different locations of Jeju Island, Korea, along with local tap water, on body weight gain, serum lipids and lipoproteins, and liver histopathology in high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemic rats. MATERIALS/METHODS: Rats were randomly and equally divided into 6 groups. Different water samples were supplied to the hyperlipidemic rats as their daily drinking water and the widely-used anti-hyperlipidemic drug simvastatin was used as a positive control. Body weight, serum lipids and lipoproteins were measured weekly. Liver weight, liver index and liver histopathology were examined after the execution of the rats. RESULTS: After drinking Jeju groundwaters for two months, S2 but not S3 significantly reduced weight growth and serum triglycerides levels and increased high density lipoprotein-C (HDL-C) without affecting total cholesterol or LDL-C. S1 and particularly S2 significantly reduced the severity of liver hypertrophy and steatosis. All Groundwaters had much higher contents of vanadium (S3>S2>S1>>tap water) whereas S1 and S2 but not S3 markedly blocked autoxidation of ferrous ions. CONCLUSION: Jeju Groundwater S1 and particularly S2 exhibit protective effects against hyperlipidemia and fatty liver and hypothesize that the beneficial effect of Jeju Groundwaters may be contributed from blockade of autoxidation of ferrous ions rather than their high contents of vanadium.

Mitigating CH4 Emissions in Semi-Aerobic Landfills: Impacts of Operating Conditions on Abundance and Community Structure of Methanotrophs in Cover Soils

( Huai Li ),( Zi Fang Chi ),( Wen Jing Lu ),( Hong Tao Wang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2013 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.23 No.7

aprE of Bacillus subtilis, aprECB1, was cloned from B. amyloliquefaciens CB1, and DNA

<i>Chd7</i> Is Critical for Early T-Cell Development and Thymus Organogenesis in Zebrafish

Liu, Zhi-Zhi,Wang, Zi-Long,Choi, Tae-Ik,Huang, Wen-Ting,Wang, Han-Tsing,Han, Ying-Ying,Zhu, Lou-Yin,Kim, Hyun-Taek,Choi, Jung-Hwa,Lee, Jin-Soo,Kim, Hyung-Goo,Zhao, Jian,Chen, Yue,Lu, Zhuo,Tian, Xiao-L Elsevier 2018 The American journal of pathology Vol.188 No.4

<P>Coloboma, heart defect, atresia choanae, retarded growth and development, genital hypoplasia, ear anomalies/deafness (CHARGE) syndrome is a congenital disorder affecting multiple organs and mainly caused by mutations in CHD7, a gene encoding a chromatin-remodeling protein. Immunodeficiency and reduced T cells have been noted in CHARGE syndrome. However, the mechanisms underlying T lymphopenia are largely unexplored. Herein, we observed dramatic decrease of T cells in both chd7knockdown and knockout zebrafish embryos. Unexpectedly, hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and, particularly, lymphoid progenitor cells were increased peripherally in nonthymic areas in chd7-deficient embryos, unlikely to contribute to the T-cell decrease. Further analysis demonstrated that both the organogenesis and homing function of the thymus were seriously impaired. Chd7 might regulate thymus organogenesis through modulating the development of both neural crest cell-derived mesenchyme and pharyngeal endoderm-derived thymic epithelial cells. The expression of faxn1, a central regulator of thymic epithelium, was remarkably down-regulated in the pharyngeal region in chd7-deficient embryos. Moreover, the T-cell reduction in chd7-deficient embryos was partially rescued by overexpressingfoxnl, suggesting that restoring thymic epithelium may be a potential therapeutic strategy for treating immunodeficiency in CHARGE syndrome. Collectively, the results indicated that chd7 was critical for thymic development and T-lymphopenia in CHARGE syndrome may be mainly attributed to the defects of thymic organogenesis. The current finding may benefit the diagnosis and therapy of T lymphopenia and immunodeficiency in CHARGE syndrome.</P>

Interleukin-18 Synergism with Interleukin-2 in Cytotoxicity and NKG2D Expression of Human Natural Killer Cells

Qi, Yuan-Ying,Lu, Chao,Ju, Ying,Wang, Zi-E,Li, Yuan-Tang,Shen, Ya-Juan,Lu, Zhi-Ming Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.18

Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in anti-tumor immunity. Interleukin (IL)-18 is an immunoregulatory cytokine that induces potent NK cell-dependent anti-tumor responses when administrated with other cytokines. In this study, we explored the effects of combining IL-18 and IL-2 on NK cytotoxicity as well as expression levels of the NK cell receptor NKG2D in vitro. Freshly isolated PBMCs were incubated for 48 h with IL-18 and IL-2, then CD107a expression on $CD3^-CD56^+$ NK cells was determined by three-colour flow cytometry to evaluate the cytotoxicity of NK cells against human erythroleukemia K562 cells and human colon carcinoma HT29 cells. Flow cytometric analysis was also employed to determine NKG2D expression on NK cells. The combined use of IL-18 and IL-2 significantly increased CD107a expression on NK cells compared with using IL-18 or IL-2 alone, suggesting that the combination of these two cytokines exerted synergistic enhancement of NK cytotoxicity. IL-18 also enhanced NKG2D expression on NK cells when administered with IL-2. In addition, blockade of NKG2D signaling with NKG2D-blocking antibody attenuated the up-regulatory effect of combining IL-18 and IL-2 on NK cytolysis. Our data revealed that IL-18 synergized with IL-2 to dramatically enhance the cytolytic activity of human NK cells in a NKG2D-dependent manner. The results appear encouraging for the use of combined IL-18 and IL-2 in tumor immunotherapy.