improving-application-high-molecular-weight-biotinylated-dextran

Improving the Application of High Molecular Weight Biotinylated Dextran Amine for Thalamocortical Projection Tracing in the Rat

High molecular weight biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) has been used as a highly sensitive neuroanatomical tracer for many decades. Since the quality of ...

visualizing-calcitonin-gene-related-peptide-immunoreactive

Visualizing the Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Immunoreactive Innervation of the Rat Cranial Dura Mater with Immunofluorescence and Neural Tracing

The aim of this study was to examine the distribution and origin of the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-immunoreactive sensory nerve fibers of the ...

China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences

China Academy Of Chinese Medical Sciences

To investigate the microstructure (blood vessels and nerve fibers) of the skin tissue in "Taichong" (LR 3) region for reveling morphological characteristics of acupoint.

[Characteristics of Distribution of Blood Vessels and Nerve Fibers in the Skin Tissues of Acupoint "Taichong" (LR 3) in the Rat].

The anatomical structure of acupuncture points is the carrier for needling stimulation induced neurobiological effects. Although researchers have never stopped investigating its structure and experienced different stages from macroscopic to microcosmic morphological material basis, our understanding still largely lags behind the requirements of the times. In the present paper, we review development of researches on acupuncture points in recent decades from 1) macroscopic anatomical structure including skin, bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels, etc.; 2) macro-microcosmic structure as the thickness of skin and muscles, distribution of blood vessels and nerve fibers, and innervation; 3) microstructure including cell categories (mast cells, fibroblasts, macrophages, etc.), peptidergic nerve fibers, various receptors, chemical substances, and their relationship with the brain and immune-endocrine system (cutaneous-neuro-immune-endocrine-mental biological communication), etc. These research outcomes will not only help us demonstrate the acupoint's structure better at the level of the body surface and regional anatomy, but also, at the microstructural level, reveal different kinds of cells and their chemical compositions in its structure as well as their relationship with the regulatory system of the whole body. From the perspective of the cutaneous and systemic neuro-immuno-endocrine networks, it undoubtedly prompts us to profoundly explore the underlying biological mechanisms of acupuncture. To observe the regional mutual connection and interaction of different kinds of cells and their chemical mediators and molecules in the acupuncture point will improve our understanding about the nature of acupuncture points from the static to the dynamic point of view. This might be a new approach for us to further reveal the functional roles of acupuncture points.

[Our Considerations About Studies on Structure of Acupuncture Points].

To explore the neuroanatomical basis of acupoint-visceral correlation by studying the distribution of the neurons associated with acupoint "Shenshu" (BL 23) area and adrenal gland in rats.

[Neuronal Correlation Between Acupoint BL 23 and the Adrenal Gland in Rats].

To compare the neural pathways associated with the tissues located at different traditional acupuncture points in the rat forehead and face using the cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) neural tracing technique.

Differential innervation of tissues located at traditional acupuncture points in the rat forehead and face.

To explore the effect of moxa-stick moxibustion and joss-stick moxibustion at "Guanyuan" (CV4) on the activity of mast cells in the small intestine tissue in rats.

[Moxa-stick moxibustion activates mast cells of small intestine tissue in rats].

To investigate the expression of serotonin (5-HT) in local tissue of different acupoint regions at the hind limbs of rats.

[Distribution of serotonin-positive cells in local cutaneous tissues of different acupuncture points at hindlimbs in rats].

To collect literatures on the application of neural tracing technique in experimental acupuncture research, and summarize its application status in acupoints, meridians and Zang-fu organs.

[Review on application of neural tracing technique to experimental research of acupuncture].

The Diels-Alder reaction is one of the most powerful and widely used methods in synthetic chemistry for the stereospecific construction of carbon-carbon bonds. Despite the importance of Diels-Alder reactions in the biosynthesis of numerous secondary metabolites, no naturally occurring stand-alone Diels-Alderase has been demonstrated to catalyse intermolecular Diels-Alder transformations. Here we report a flavin adenine dinucleotide-dependent enzyme, Morus alba Diels-Alderase (MaDA), from Morus cell cultures, that catalyses an intermolecular [4+2] cycloaddition to produce the natural isoprenylated flavonoid chalcomoracin with a high efficiency and enantioselectivity. Density functional theory calculations and preliminary measurements of the kinetic isotope effects establish a concerted but asynchronous pericyclic pathway. Structure-guided mutagenesis and docking studies demonstrate the interactions of MaDA with the diene and dienophile to catalyse the [4+2] cycloaddition. MaDA exhibits a substrate promiscuity towards both dienes and dienophiles, which enables the expedient syntheses of structurally diverse natural products. We also report a biosynthetic intermediate probe (BIP)-based target identification strategy used to discover MaDA.

FAD-dependent enzyme-catalysed intermolecular [4+2] cycloaddition in natural product biosynthesis.

The neurovascular structures in the cranial dura mater have been studied with various histological techniques in the past years. In order to obtain a proper approach to reveal the detailed structures, different labeling methods for the cranial vessels and nerve fibers were tested in this study. Firstly, the labeling characteristics of phalloidin, alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and CD31 were compared in rat whole-mount cranial dura mater by using fluorescent immunohistochemistry or histochemistry. Secondly, according to their properties, phalloidin and α-SMA were selected to combine with calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) to further demonstrate the cranial neurovascular structure. By these approaches, a three-dimensional map of blood vessels and nerve fibers within the whole-mount rat cranial dura mater was obtained. The results showed that phalloidin, α-SMA, and CD31 were preferably expressed in the wall of cranial vessels, corresponding to the arteriors, venules, and capillaries, respectively. Additionally, CGRP + nerve fibers were clearly demonstrated together with phalloidin + or α-SMA + vessels, forming a delicate neurovascular network in the cranial dura mater. The thick nerve bundles ran closely to the phalloidin + or α-SMA + vessels in parallel pattern, while the thin nerve fibers branched off from the bundles tending to surround the phalloidin + arterioles rather than α-SMA + venules. These findings suggest that phalloidin could be an appropriate biochemical maker to be effectively used together with CGRP for experiments examining the detailed spatial correlation of cranial blood vessels and nerve fibers in a three-dimensional view, which may provide clues for understanding the underlying mechanisms of cranial neurovascular disorders.

A new approach for examining the neurovascular structure with phalloidin and calcitonin gene-related peptide in the rat cranial dura mater.

To provide a new method for investigating the histological characteristics of acupoints by obser-ving the microstructure of the lymphatic vessels in the skin tissue of "Taichong" (LR3) and "Yongquan" (KI1) regions.

Chen She

Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion

China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences

Improving the Application of High Molecular Weight Biotinylated Dextran Amine for Thalamocortical Projection Tracing in the Rat

Visualizing the Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Immunoreactive Innervation of the Rat Cranial Dura Mater with Immunofluorescence and Neural Tracing

Chen She

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion

China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences

Improving the Application of High Molecular Weight Biotinylated Dextran Amine for Thalamocortical Projection Tracing in the Rat

Visualizing the Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Immunoreactive Innervation of the Rat Cranial Dura Mater with Immunofluorescence and Neural Tracing

Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion