Exenatide has been widely used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, its short plasma half-life of 2.4 hours has limited its clinical application. The exenatide products on the market, twice-daily Byetta™ and once-weekly Bydureon™ (both Amylin Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA, USA), are still not perfect. Many researchers have attempted to prolong the acting time of exenatide by preparing sustained-release dosage forms, modifying its structure, gene therapies, and other means. This review summarizes recent advances in long-acting exenatide preparations.
Abstract:Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second-most common age-dependent neurodegenerative disorder and is caused by severe degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Unfortunately, current treatment only targets symptoms and involves dopamine replacement therapy, which does not counteract progressive degeneration. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small RNA molecules implicated in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression during development. Recent studies show that miRNAs are playing an important role in the pathophysiology of PD. miRNA-based therapy is a powerful tool with which to study gene function, investigate the mechanism of the disease, and validate drug targets. In this review, we focus on the recent advances of the use of miRNAs in the pathogenesis of PD.
RNAi technology has a promising future in anti-VEGF treatment, most of the investigations are encouraging and exciting. More anti-VEGF candidates will enter clinical trials and may be a novel therapeutic strategy.
Burmanniaceae is one major group within the monocot order Dioscoreales that has not had its plastome sequenced. Members of Burmanniaceae are mostly achlorophyllous, although the genus Burmannia also includes autotrophs. Here, we report sequencing and analysis of the first Burmanniaceae plastid genome from Burmannia disticha L.. This plastome is 157,480 bp and was assembled as a circular sequence with the typical quadripartite structure of plant plastid genomes. This plastome has a regular number of potentially functional genes with a total of 111, including 78 protein coding genes, 4 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and 29 tRNA genes. The ratio of the total length of genic:intergenic DNA is 1.58:1, and the mean length of intergenic regions is 398 bp, the longest being 1918 bp. The overall GC content of the B. disticha plastome is 34.90%, and the IR regions in B. disticha are more GC rich (39.50%) than the LSC (32.30%) and SSC (28.80%) regions. Phylogenetic analysis of protein-coding sequences from plastomes of related species in the order Dioscoreales support a clade comprising Burmanniaceae and Dioscoreaceae. This phylogenetic placement is congruent with previous findings based on nuclear and mitochondrial evidence.
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