Chemotherapeutic drugs typically induce peripheral neuropathy, which is a major dose-limiting side effect of these drugs and is difficult to manage. In this study, we examined whether the traditional herbal formulation Kei-kyoh-zoh-soh-oh-shin-bu-toh (KSOT) could relieve the mechanical allodynia induced by chemotherapeutic drugs (oxaliplatin, paclitaxel, vincristine, and bortezomib) in mice. A single intraperitoneal injection of oxaliplatin, paclitaxel, vincristine, and bortezomib was used to induce mechanical allodynia, which peaked on days 10, 14, 14, and 12 after the injection, respectively. A single oral administration of KSOT did not inhibit mechanical allodynia after any of the treatments. However, prophylactic repetitive oral administrations of KSOT inhibited the exacerbation of mechanical allodynia induced by oxaliplatin but were not effective for allodynia induced by the other drugs. A single intraperitoneal injection of oxaliplatin did not alter the mRNA expression of the NMDA receptor NR2B in the spinal cord and that of neuregulin-1 in the sciatic nerve. In addition, the number of microglia in spinal dorsal horn did not increase in oxaliplatin-treated mice. However, the number of reactivated astrocytes in the spinal dorsal horn increased, which could be inhibited by repetitive administration of KSOT. These results suggest that prophylactic repetitive treatment of KSOT attenuates oxaliplatin-induced mechanical allodynia by decreasing the number of spinal astrocytes.
β-fructofuranosidase (FFase) of Aspergillus niger ATCC 20611 can transfer fructosyl residues from one sucrose to another for the synthesis of glucose and fructooligosaccharides composed of 1-kestose (GF 2 ), nystose (GF 3 ), and β-fructofuranosylnystose (GF 4 ). The FFase gene, under the control of the sporamin gene promoter from sweet potato, was introduced into tobacco plants. Sporamin promoter activity is induced by sugar and exhibits preferential expression in stem and root tissues. Thin-layer and high performance liquid chromatographic analyses showed that soluble extracts from the transgenic plants contained considerable amounts of fructooligosaccharides such as GF 2 and GF 3 . The conversion of sucrose into fructooligosaccharides did not affect plant growth or development. Our results indicate that the transgenic plants could be utilized as bioreactors, and this opens up the possibility for efficient production of fructooligosaccharides in sucroseproducing plants such as sugar beet and sugarcane.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.