Identification of Main Phenolic Compounds of Nitraria Retusa Leaf and Stem Extracts and Evaluation of Their Anti-Adipogenic Activity in 3T3-L1 Cells

The edible halophyte Nitraria retusa known in traditional medicine purposes was used as a support in this study. The present study investigated the chemical analyses of the general composition of leaf and stem extracts using RP-HPLC. Results showed the richness of these extracts in phenolics especially flavonoids as luteolin-7-O-glucoside, isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside, isorhamnetin, quercetin and others. In total, nine compounds were identified for each organ extract. Luteolin-7-O-glucoside, isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside and Isorhamnetin are three flavonoids which are common in leaves and stems. Adipogenesis assay was performed to investigate the effect of organs, as well as the three last compounds on the adipocyte differentiation and on the lipid droplets accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells. Based on Oil-Red-O content quantification in 3T3-L1 cells, results showed that each extract of N. retusa at 25, 50, 100, 200 and 400 μg/mL could not inhibit the lipid droplet accumulation compared to untreated cells, in dose dependent manner. However, compounds showed better effect especially with isorhamnetin even with 5μM. Moreover, the effect of extracts and single bioactive components on cell proliferation of 3T3-L1 cells showed that stem extract was more efficient than leaf one. Besides, according to morphological observation, isorhamnetin strongly and significantly affected cell proliferation.

Multisensory enhancement of burst activity in an insect auditory neuron

Detecting predators is crucial for survival. In insects, a few sensory interneurons receiving sensory input from a distinct receptive organ extract specific features informing the animal about approaching predators and mediate avoidance behaviors. Although integration of multiple sensory cues relevant to the predator enhances sensitivity and precision, it has not been established whether the sensory interneurons that act as predator detectors integrate multiple modalities of sensory inputs elicited by predators. Using intracellular recording techniques, we found that the cricket auditory neuron AN2, which is sensitive to the ultrasound-like echolocation calls of bats, responds to airflow stimuli transduced by the cercal organ, a mechanoreceptor in the abdomen. AN2 enhanced spike outputs in response to cross-modal stimuli combining sound with airflow, and the linearity of the summation of multisensory integration depended on the magnitude of the evoked response. The enhanced AN2 activity contained bursts, triggering avoidance behavior. Moreover, cross-modal stimuli elicited larger and longer lasting excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSP) than unimodal stimuli, which would result from a sublinear summation of EPSPs evoked respectively by sound or airflow. The persistence of EPSPs was correlated with the occurrence and structure of burst activity. Our findings indicate that AN2 integrates bimodal signals and that multisensory integration rather than unimodal stimulation alone more reliably generates bursting activity. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Crickets detect ultrasound with their tympanum and airflow with their cercal organ and process them as alert signals of predators. These sensory signals are integrated by auditory neuron AN2 in the early stages of sensory processing. Multisensory inputs from different sensory channels enhanced excitatory postsynaptic potentials to facilitate burst firing, which could trigger avoidance steering in flying crickets. Our results highlight the cellular basis of multisensory integration in AN2 and possible effects on escape behavior.

Experimental systemic amyloidosis induced by immunization with syngeneic organ extracts in mice.

Systemic amyloidosis was induced consistently in mice by intramuscular injection of syngeneic organ (liver and kidney) extracts mixed with CFA six times at weekly intervals. Syngeneic organ extract with CFA also induced amyloidosis of a lesser degree. All three strains of mice (C57BL/6, C3H/He, and BALB/c) injected with a syngeneic liver extract mixed with CFA developed systemic amyloidosis; the most prominent amyloid deposition occurred in C57BL/6 (B6) mice, followed by C3H/He and BALB/c. The amyloid substance deposited in these animals was identified as mouse amyloid A protein (AA). Furthermore, an organ specificity of the immunogen in inducing amyloidosis was suggested with liver and kidney extracts. Primed spleen cells of the immunized B6 mice were fractionated by a nylon-wool column and injected to normal recipient mice via the tail vein. Organs of the recipient mice developed systemic amyloidosis 8 wk after the transfer, and the most prominent histological changes occurred in the recipient mice given nylon-wool column adherent spleen cells. Using anti-Thy-1,2; Ly-1; Ly-2, antibody and complement, it was suggested that T cells, especially Ly-1,2,3+ T cell populations in the primed nylon-wool adherent cells, play an important role in the induction of systemic amyloidosis. It was shown further that the amyloidosis-inducing substance in liver extract was composed of unstable proteins or protein-bound substance.

Electrophysiological Investigations of the Heart of Squilla Mantis

1. There was a seasonal variation in the strength of the effect which extracts of the pericardial organs of Squilla mantis exert on the animal's heart. The extract was most effective in the spring and summer. 2. An investigation was made of the way in which the pericardial organ extract acts at a cellular level to increase the amplitude and frequency of the heart beat. 3. The extract did not affect the rate of impulse firing within the ganglionic nerve trunk burst. It increased the ratio of the number of impulses per burst: burst interval. 4. It initiated burst firing in complete g.n.t.'s which had become quiescent, and in those which had previously given only one impulse in response to an applied stimulus. 5. The junction potentials recorded intracellularly from Squilla heart muscle increased in height on adding pericardial extract. Some of this increase resulted from facilitation of the junction potentials at the increased heart rate, but 10-20% of the increase was rate-independent. 6. These results suggest that the extract acts at a minimum of two primary sites within the heart.

RESPIRATION OF MAMMALIAN ERYTHROCYTES

Non-nucleated mammalian erythrocytes do not respire even in the presence of sugar, but they do respire after addition of a small amount of methylene blue. It is shown in this paper that aqueous extracts of various organs, especially liver, act in the same way as methylene blue. The respiration of erythrocytes induced by an organ extract is not altered in the presence of carbon monoxide. The content of this respiratory supplement in extracts of organs varies according to the organ: liver and kidney show the best effect; muscle, brain, and blood serum the least. With hemolyzed erythrocytes no respiration can be induced either by methylene blue or by organ extracts.

INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION

Dogs may be immunized against lethal doses of the duodenal loop poison by means of small doses of the loop fluid from dog or cat and by material obtained from human cases of intestinal obstruction. The immunity is transient and may disappear within a few weeks. Dogs immunized by repeated doses of loop fluid show a definite resistance against the intoxication of a closed duodenal loop and may survive twice the usual period. A dog that recovers from simple intestinal obstruction may possess a strong resistance to the intoxication of a closed duodenal loop, thus indicating a similar type of intoxication in the two conditions. The sera of immune dogs are inactive when incubated with duodenal loop fluid. The organ extracts and emulsions (liver, spleen, lung) of immune dogs rapidly destroy the loop poison during incubation in vitro. This destructive property is possessed by a clear filtrate of the digested immune organs, excluding adsorption, and is lost after long periods of incubation (twelve weeks). We are investigating the action of this immune organ extract to determine whether it can destroy the closed-loop poison in vivo and perhaps be of value in treatment.