In Vitro Activity of Taurine-5-Bromosalicylaldehyde Schiff Base Against Planktonic and Biofilm Cultures of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

( Ru Qiang Yuan ),( Yun Peng Diao ),( Wen Li Zhang ),( Yuan Lin ),( Shan Shan Huang ),( Houli Zhang ),( Li Ma ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2014 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.24 No.8

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen, implicated in both community and hospital acquired infections. The therapy for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections is becoming more difficult because of multidrug resistance and strong biofilmforming properties. Schiff bases have attracted attention as promising antibacterial agents. In this study, we investigated the in vitro activity of taurine-5-bromosalicylaldehyde Schiff base (TBSSB) against MRSA. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined using a microtiter broth dilution method. TBSSB effectively inhibited planktonic MRSA, with an MIC of 32 μg/ml. The time-kill curve confirmed that TBSSB exhibited bactericidal activity against MRSA. TBSSB was also found to significantly inhibit MRSA biofilm formation at 24 h, especially at 1×MIC and sub-MIC levels. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed remarkable morphological and ultrastructural changes on the MRSA cell surface, due to exposure to TBSSB. This study indicated that TBSSB may be an effective bactericidal agent against MRSA.

EphB1 and Ephrin-B, New Potential Biomarkers for Squamous Cell/adenosquamous Carcinomas and Adenocarcinomas of the Gallbladder

Yuan, Yuan,Yang, Zhu-Lin,Miao, Xiong-Ying,Liu, Zi-Ru,Li, Dai-Qiang,Zou, Qiong,Li, Jing-He,Liang, Lu-Feng,Zeng, Gui-Xiang,Chen, Sen-Lin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.3

Squamous cell/adenosquamous carcinoma (SC/ASC) of the gallbladder are rare tumors and there are few clinical reports in the literature. Herein we report our clinical experience with 46 patients with SC/ASC and 80 with adenocarcinoma (AC). Expression of EphB1 and Ephrin-B in each tumor was determined using immunohistochemical methods for determination of correlations with prognosis. There was no difference in EphB1 and Ephrin-B expression between SC/ASC and AC tumors (P>0.05), but greater expression in those less than 3 cm in diameter, stage I or II (TNM stage), with no lymph node metastases, with no local invasion and treated with radical resection was apparent. Expression of EphB1 (P<0.05) and Ephrin-B (P<0.01) was higher in well differentiated than in poorly differentiated AC tumors. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that degree of differentiation, tumor diameter, lymph node metastases, local invasion, surgical approach and expression rate of EphB1 and Ephrin-B were closely related to the survival of SC/ASC (P<0.05) and AC patients (P<0.01). Patients with tumors that positive expressed EphB1 and Ephrin-B, whether it is SC/ASC ($P_{SC/ASC}$ =0.000) or AC ($P_{AC}$ =0.000 or $P_{AC}$ =0.002) had longer survival than those negative expression. Cox multivariate analysis indicated a negative correlation between expression of EphB1 or Ephrin-B and overall survival. Hence, EphB1 and Ephrin-B could be regarded as independent good prognostic factorsand important biological markers for SC/ASC and AC of gallbladder.

Canonical transient receptor potential channels and their modulators: biology, pharmacology and therapeutic potentials

Yuan-Yuan Gao,Wen Tian,Hui-Nan Zhang,Yang Sun,Jing-Ru Meng,Wei Cao,Xiao-Qiang Li 대한약학회 2021 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.44 No.4

Canonical transient receptor potential channels(TRPCs) are nonselective, high calcium permeability cationicchannels. The TRPCs family includes TRPC1, TRPC2,TRPC3, TRPC4, TRPC5, TRPC6, and TRPC7. These channelsare widely expressed in the cardiovascular and nervoussystems and exist in many other human tissues and celltypes, playing several crucial roles in the human physiologicaland pathological processes. Hence, the emergenceof TRPCs modulators can help investigate these channels’applications in health and disease. It is worth noting that theTRPCs subfamilies have structural and functional similarities,which presents a signifi cant diffi culty in screening anddiscovering of TRPCs modulators. In the past few years,only a limited number of selective modulators of TRPCswere detected; thus, additional research on more potent andmore selective TRPCs modulators is needed. The presentreview focuses on the striking desired therapeutic eff ectsof TRPCs modulators, which provides intel on the structuralmodifi cation of TRPCs modulators and further pharmacologicalresearch. Importantly, TRPCs modulators cansignifi cantly facilitate future studies of TRPCs and TRPCsrelated diseases.

The MTHFR C677T Polymorphism and Risk of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: an Updated Meta-analysis Based on 37 Case-control Studies

Jiang, Yuan,Hou, Jing,Zhang, Qiang,Jia, Shu-Ting,Wang, Bo-Yuan,Zhang, Ji-Hong,Tang, Wen-Ru,Luo, Ying Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.11

Background: The C677T polymorphism of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) has been associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, results were conflicting. The aim of this study was to quantitatively summarize the evidence for the MTHFRC677T polymorphism and ALL risk. Methods: Electronic searches of PubMed and the Chinese Biomedicine database were conducted to select case-control studies containing available genotype frequencies of C677T and the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the strength of any association. Results: Case-control studies including 6,371 cases and 10,850 controls were identified. The meta-analysis stratified by ethnicity showed that individuals with the homozygous TT genotype had decreased risk of ALL (OR= 0.776, 95% CI: 0.687~0.877, p< 0.001) in Caucasians (OR= 0.715, 95% CI: 0.655~0.781, p= 0.000). However, results among Asians (OR=0.711, 95% CI: 0.591~1.005, p= 0.055) and others (OR=0.913, 95% CI: 0.656~1.271, p= 0. 590) did not suggest an association. A symmetric funnel plot, the Egger's test (P=0.093), and the Begg- test (P=0.072) were all suggestive of the lack of publication bias. Conclusion: This meta-analysis supports the idea that the MTHFR C677T genotype is associated with risk of ALL in Caucasians. To draw comprehensive and true conclusions, further prospective studies with larger numbers of participants worldwide are needed to examine associations between the MTHFRC677T polymorphism and ALL.

Experimental study on seismic behavior of reinforced concrete column retrofitted with prestressed steel strips

Bo Zhang,Yong Yang,Yuan-feng Wei,Ru-yue Liu,Chu Ding,Ke-qiang Zhang 국제구조공학회 2015 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.55 No.6

In this study, a new retrofitting method for improving the seismic performance of reinforced concrete column was presented, in which prestressed steel strips were utilized as retrofitting stuff to confine the reinforced concrete column transversely. In order to figure out the seismic performance of concrete column specimen retrofitted by such prestressed steel strips methods, a series of quasi-static tests of five retrofitted specimens and two unconfined column specimen which acted as control specimens were conducted. Based on the test results, the seismic performance including the failure modes, hysteresis performance, ductility performance, energy dissipation and stiffness degradation of all these specimens were fully investigated and analyzed. And furthermore the influences of some key parameters such as the axial force ratios, shear span ratios and steel strips spacing on seismic performance of those retrofitted reinforced concrete column specimens were also studied. It was shown that the prestressed steel strips provided large transverse confining effect on reinforced concrete column specimens, which resulted in improving the shearing bearing capacity, ductility performance, deformation capacity and energy dissipation performance of retrofitted specimens effectively. In comparison to the specimen which was retrofitted by the carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) strips method, the seismic performance of the specimens retrofitted by the prestressed steel strips was a bit better, and with much less cost both in material and labor. From this research results, it can be concluded that this new retrofitting method is really useful and has significant advantages both in saving money and time over some other retrofitting methods.