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Typically chronic injury leads to hepatic fibrosis. No effective antifibrotic drugs have been approved, but herbal drugs have potential on the therapy of hepatic fibrosis. The objective of this study used TAA-induced liver fibrosis mouse as a model to elucidate whether aqueous extract of the root of Pluchea indica (PIAE) can reduce liver fibrosis triggered by TAA. Mice were intraperitoneally injected with TAA (200 mg/Kg) three times per week as the TAA group, and those of injected with PIAE once per week as the treatment group. Three PIAE dosages of low- (0.5 mg/ml), medium- (1.0 mg/ml), and high- (1.5 mg/ml) doses were applied. Control mice were intraperitoneally injected with phosphate-buffered saline (2 ml/Kg) three times per week. Mice were sacrificed after 4 or 8 week treatment. Mice serum glutamyl pyruvic transaminases (GPT) were increased in the TAA group while the treatment group effects were declined after 4 or 8 weeks. H&E, Reticular fiber, and Sirius red staining revealed that TAA induced liver fibrosis and fibrotic lesions were reduced by PIAE treatment. Hydroxyproline assay showed that TAA increased collagen contents and PIAE significantly decreased collagen contents after 4 or 8 weeks. Collagen £\1 and £\-SMA mRNA levels were decreased after 4- or 8- week PIAE treatments. The protein levels of ED2, £\-SMA, p53, and phospho-p53 were all significantly declined on 4 or 8 weeks after PIAE treatment. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that the aqueous extract of P. indica shows anti-fibrotic effects on fibrogenesis of mouse liver.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 138 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Over the past two decades, the field of molecular sensing has developed into a mature offshoot of molecular recognition, and sensing protocols based on optical signal modulations have enjoyed particularly great success. Such sensing methods are the focus of this dissertation, in which efforts toward the integration of dendrimers and reactands into separate, optically-based sensing platforms are described. To this end, Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to molecular sensing and its supramolecular underpinnings. The remainder of Chapter 1 is dedicated to dendrimers and their application to molecular recognition and sensing. A discussion of the physicochemical properties of dendrimers is also included to lend perspective on the structure, size, and shape of these macromolecules. The role of dyes and indicators in the elucidation of dendritic structure and function is given special consideration. Finally, selected reports of dendrimers in molecular recognition and optical sensing are summarized. Chapter 2 details original research directed toward the incorporation of dendrimers into molecular sensing ensembles. This use of dendrimers in molecular recognition and sensing is distinguished from those examples described in Chapter 1 by its modular nature. This modularity is achieved through the use of a non-covalent sensing motif based on indicator displacement. The identification and optimization of the appropriate components for use in such dendrimer-based sensing ensembles represents a contribution of the research described herein. An evaluation of indicator dyes for their incorporation into an enantioselective indicator displacement assay (eIDA) for common organic molecules is the subject of the research discussed in Chapter 3. The selected indicator dyes were assessed for use in a novel eIDA that relies on covalent bond formation for the enantioselective signaling of monofunctional organic analytes. A survey of colorimetric methods for the identification and discrimination of amines is included because these compounds served as an initial target in the proposed assay. Optical enantiosensing strategies are also reviewed in light of their relevance to the present work. / text

In order to develop a cheaper alternative to the conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay system, application of dye molecules as labels in immunoassay was investigated in this study. This chromogenic dye-antibody conjugate could be used in colourimetric immunodetection diagnostic assays that could be used in a rural African setting. The chemistry of the interaction between twenty-six dyes of anionic, cationic and ligand dye classes with IgY and other proteins were studied for protein detection and conjugation to antibodies. Out of the twenty-six dyes studied, Direct Red 81 proved to be a good protein stain on nitrocellulose and polyacrylamide gels with comparable sensitivity to Coomassie Blue R 250. Direct Red stained proteins faster (< 5 min) than Coomassie Blue R 250 in polyacrylamide gels. Aurintricarboxylic Acid, Ethyl Red and Gallocyanine with carboxylic acid and/or hydroxyl functional groups were selected, activated with carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) to form amine reactive-imidazole intermediates and conjugated to anti-rabbit albumin IgY. Gallocyanine gave the best molar coupling ratio with IgY (76:1 dye:IgY). The dye-antibody conjugates were used to detect rabbit albumin on nitrocellulose. Aurintricarboxylic Acid-IgY and Gallocyanine-IgY detected 50 ng of rabbit albumin on nitrocellulose, which was 10 fold less sensitive than HRPO-IgY conjugate. Cross-linking of the antibodies by the dyes compromised the immunoreactivity of the Aurintricarboxylic Acid-IgY and Gallocyanine-IgY conjugates. The immunoreactivity of Ethyl Red-IgY was not compromised. Anti-rabbit albumin IgY was conjugated to derivatized dextran as an alternative immunoassay reagent and used to detect rabbit albumin on nitrocellulose by staining the polysaccharide (dextran) in the immune complex with PAS reagent. IgY-dextran complex was able to detect 25 ng of rabbit albumin on nitrocellulose, but PAS staining resulted in high background staining of the nitrocellulose membrane. Dextran-antibody conjugates may have better potential as immunodetecting reagent than dye-IgY conjugates, if a more sensitive and specific method of detecting the dextran in the Ag:Ab-dextran immune complex is developed. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

In the area of translational research, stent developers consult pathologists to obtain the best and most complete amount of data from implanted test devices in the most efficient manner. Through the use of micron-scale computed tomography along with post-fixation staining techniques in this study, full volumes of previously implanted stents have been analyzed in-situ in a non-destructive manner. The increased soft tissue contrast imparted by metal-containing stains allowed for a qualitative analysis of the vessel’s response to the implant with greater sensitivity and specificity while reducing beam-hardening artifact from stent struts. The developed staining techniques included iodine-potassium iodide, phosphomolybdic acid, and phosphotungstic acid, all of which bind to soft tissue and improve image quality through their ability to attenuate high energy X-rays. With these stains, the overall soft tissue contrast increased by up to 85 percent and contrast between medial and neointimal layers of the vessel increased by up to 22 percent. Beam hardening artifact was also reduced by up to 38 percent after staining. Acquiring data from the entirety of the stent and the surrounding tissue increased the quality of stent analysis in multiple ways. The three dimensional data enabled a comprehensive analysis of stent performance, lending information such as neointimal hyperplasia, percent stenosis, delineation of vessel wall layers, stent apposition, and stent fractures. By providing morphological data about stent deployment and host response, this method circumvents the need to make the more traditional histology slides for a morphometric analysis. These same data may also be applied to target regions of interest to ensure histology slides are cut from the optimal locations for a more in-depth analysis. The agents involved in such techniques are readily available in most pathology laboratories, are safe to work with, and allow for rapid processing of tissue. The ability to forego histology altogether or to highly focus what histology is performed on a vessel has the potential to hasten the development process of any coronary stent.

Thesis--Munich. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 26-29).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2004. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.