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Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the leading causes of death in the world. With the improvement of clinical therapy, the mortality of acute MI has been significantly reduced. However, as for the long-term impact of MI on cardiac remodeling and cardiac function, there is no effective prevention and treatment measures. Erythropoietin (EPO), a glycoprotein cytokine essential to hematopoiesis, has anti-apoptotic and pro-angiogenetic effects. Studies have shown that EPO plays a protective role in cardiomyocytes in cardiovascular diseases, such as cardiac ischemia injury and heart failure. EPO has been demonstrated to protect ischemic myocardium and improve MI repair by promoting the activation of cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs). This study aimed to investigate whether EPO can promote MI repair by enhancing the activity of stem cell antigen 1 positive stem cells (Sca-1+ SCs). Darbepoetin alpha (a long-acting EPO analog, EPOanlg) was injected into the border zone of MI in adult mice. Infarct size, cardiac remodeling and performance, cardiomyocyte apoptosis and microvessel density were measured. Lin- Sca-1+ SCs were isolated from neonatal and adult mouse hearts by magnetic sorting technology, and were used to identify the colony forming ability and the effect of EPO, respectively. The results showed that, compared to MI alone, EPOanlg reduced the infarct percentage, cardiomyocyte apoptosis ratio and left ventricular (LV) chamber dilatation, improved cardiac performance, and increased the numbers of coronary microvessels in vivo. In vitro, EPO increased the proliferation, migration and clone formation of Lin- Sca-1+ SCs likely via the EPO receptor and downstream STAT-5/p38 MAPK signaling pathways. These results suggest that EPO participates in the repair process of MI by activating Sca-1+ SCs.
Subject(s)
Animals , Mice , Ventricular Remodeling , Erythropoietin , Myocardial Infarction , Heart , Stem CellsABSTRACT
@#Objective To investigate the feasibility of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lung resection in the treatment of tuberculosis. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 164 tuberculosis patients who underwent lung resection in Xi'an Chest Hospital from 2013 to 2017. Patients were divided into two groups according to the surgical procedure: a VATS group (85 patients, 56 males and 29 females) and a thoracotomy group (79 patients, 52 males and 27 females). The clinical effect of the two groups was compared. Results Compared to the thoracotomy group, the VATS group had less operation time (151.59±76.75 min vs. 233.48±93.89 min, P<0.001), amount of intraoperative blood loss (200.00 ml vs. 600.00 ml, P<0.001), the postoperative drainage (575.00 ml vs. 1 110.00 ml, P=0.001), extubation time (4 d vs. 6 d, P<0.001) and hospital stay (13.00 d vs. 17.00 d, P<0.001). There was no statistical difference in postoperative complications (10 patients vs.17 patients, P=0.092) between the two groups. A total of 97 patients underwent lobectomy, including 36 of the VATS group and 61 of the thoracotomy group. The operation time (211.39±70.88 min vs. 258.20±87.16 min, P=0.008), the intraoperative blood loss (400.00 ml vs. 700 ml, P<0.010), the postoperative drainage (800.00 ml vs. 1 250.00 ml, P=0.001), extubation time (5.00 d vs. 8.00 d, P=0.002) and hospital stay (13.11±4.45 d vs. 19.46±7.74 d, P<0.010) in the VATS group were significantly better than those in the thoracotomy group. There was no statistical difference in postoperative complication rate (4 patients vs. 14 patients, P=0.147) between the two[1]，groups. Conclusion Compared with conventional thoracotomy, VATS lung resection has obvious advantages in treatment of tuberculosis, which may be the preferred technique.
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The central carbon metabolic system is the upstream energy source for microbial fermentation. In addition, it is a master switch for increasing the production of metabolites and an important part of the microbial metabolic network. Investigation into the relationship between genes, environmental factors, and metabolic networks is a main focus of systems biology, which significantly impacts research in biochemistry, metabolic engineering, and synthetic biology. To this end, the central carbon metabolic flux under a variety of growth conditions or using strains with various genetic modifications was previously measured in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using 13C tracer technology. However, the measured values were not integrated and investigated further. In this study, we collected and analyzed the metabolic flux rates of the central carbon metabolic system in S. cerevisiae measured in recent studies. We carried out preliminary analyses of flux values of each pathway, performed regression analyses on relationship between different fluxes, and extracted principal component factors of the flux variables. Based on the results, the general characteristics of pathway flux distribution were clustered and explored, and the effects of environmental and genetic factors on the flux distribution were analyzed. Furthermore, this study explored the relationship between similarity in the enzyme's transcriptional regulation and the correlations in the enzyme's reaction flux. Our results provide a foundation for further studies on the control of the central carbon metabolic flux and facilitate the search for targets in metabolic engineering research.
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Objective In cerebral aneurysm clipping and embolization, blood pressure control and temporary parent artery blocking are common methods to prevent aneurysm rupture. Their influence on the prognosis is uncertain. In this study, we try to find out the association between methods above and prognostic indicators.Methods We held a retrospective analysis on patients' medical records of cerebral aneurysms surgical clipping and endovascular coiling , and recorded gender, age, diagnosis, Hunt-Hess grade, Glasgow coma scale score, treatment methods, a history of hypertension, preoperative systolic blood pressure, with or without controlled hypotension, systolic blood pressure difference before and after controlled hypotension, with or without temporary artery blocking, with or without hypertension after treated aneurysm, prognostic indicators including mortality after 1 month, intensive care unit (ICU) stay time of survivors, discharged Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) score. Prognostic indicators were regarded as dependent variable, all the factors were regarded as independent variable, and the strength analysis of influence factors on prognostic indicators was made by binary logistic regression.Results Total cases were 165, including 68 males and 97 females, with an average age of 56 (12-85) years. The mortality after 1 month was 10.9% (18 cases). The ICU stay time of survivors was 7.35 (0-67) days. GOS score at discharge was 1-3 in 40 (24.2%) patients and 4-5 in 125 (75.8%) patients. Systolic blood pressure difference before and after controlled hypotension was an independent factor influencing mortality (t=2.273, P=0.024), and the greater the difference was, the higher the mortality would be. Timely hypertension after aneurysm treated was an independent factor affecting ICU stay time of survivors and patients with hypertension had shorter ICU stay time (χ=10.017, P=0.001). Blood pressure control (χ=0.088, P=0.767) and temporary blocking (χ=1.307, P=0.253) did not show significant influence on GOS score at discharge.Conclusions Timely controlled hypertension after aneurysm clipping and embolization can significantly shorten the stay time in ICU. The degree of controlled hypotension associates with postoperative mortality, the greater systolic blood pressure difference before and after antihypertensive treatment is, the higher the mortality will be.
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Since the autoantibodies against the second extracellular loop of β(1)-adrenoceptor (β(1)-AABs) have been found in the sera of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM), the involvement of autoimmune mechanisms in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases has extensively been investigated. Our previous study found that urinary occult blood and protein excretion were frequently found in the rats with positive β(1)-AABs, but the mechanisms are unclear. Therefore, we infused the β(1)-AABs into the vein periodically in an attempt to investigate whether β(1)-AABs could induce morphological and functional changes in the kidneys of adult and aged rats and explore the possible mechanisms. The synthetic peptide according to the sequences of the second extracellular loop of β(1)-adrenoceptor (β(1)-AR-ECII) was used to immunize the adult rats to acquire enough β(1)-AABs for use. Neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) culture was used to observe the biological effects of β(1)-AABs on the beating rate. The purified β(1)-AABs were transfused into the vein of rats. The sera level of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (CR), uric acid (UA), urinary specific gravity, protein excretion, occult blood and urinary glucose were detected at the different time points by biochemistry and urine analyzers. HE and Masson's trichrome staining were used to detect the changes in kidney structure of passively immunized rats. Enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and β(1)-AR-EGFP plasmids were transfected into the human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) cells in order to observe the changes in cell injury with the treatment of β(1)-AABs. It was found that the sera level of BUN, CR and UA increased gradually and the ratio of BUN to CR decreased progressively with the administration of β(1)-AABs. The increasing of proteinuria, urinary occult blood and urinary glucose was detected by urine analyzer in β(1)-AABs group. By HE and Masson's coloration, lots of mononuclear cell infiltration and collagen fibers deposition could be observed at the 24th week of immunization. After the treatment of β(1)-AABs, the caspase-3 activity increased significantly in the HEK293 cells transfected with β(1)-AR-EGFP plasmids, while no significant changes were observed for lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. The results indicate that long-term presence of β(1)-AABs can induce the morphological and functional damage of the kidneys in adult and aged rats.
Subject(s)
Animals , Humans , Rats , Acute Kidney Injury , Allergy and Immunology , Autoantibodies , Allergy and Immunology , HEK293 Cells , Myocytes, Cardiac , Physiology , Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-1 , Allergy and ImmunologyABSTRACT
Objective To find out the status of brick-tea type fluorosis in the epidemic areas.Methods Based on "Scheme for Epidemiological Brick-tea Type Fluorosis in Sichuan Province",ten counties were selected in Sichuan brick-tea areas and ten towns were selected in every county,then the epidemicologic survey was performed in children of 8～12 year-old and adults aged above 20 years old.Results 5044 children and 4053 adults were selected from brick-tea areas.The rates of dental fluorosis in children and adults were 55.69%(2809/5044)and 60.41%(4053/6709)respectively.The dental fluorosis was mainly of mild damage.The skeletal fluorosis found in X-ray film was 44.64%(167/1241)and in clinical examination,38.94%(3883/9973).The levels of urine fluoride in children and adults were 1.88 and 2.78 mg/L.The level of urine fluoride was not differenet among children of different age,but in adults it was higher in the elder than the younger.The level of fluoride in urine was related to the severeness of skeletal fluorosis(r=0.74).The detective rates of skeletal fluorosis in agricuIture,pasturing,and agriculture-pasturing areaswere 31.70%(1369/4318),50.04%(1228/2454),and 40.17%(1286/3201),respectively.The X-ray detecting rates of skeletal fluorosis in men and wonlen were 49.57%(229/462)and 41.72%(325/779) respectively(χ2=11.72,P＜0.05).Conclusion The prevalence of brick-tea type fluorosis is very serious in the regions studied.