ABSTRACT
AIM To investigate the effects of asiatic acid (AA) on 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced Parkinson's disease (PD)-like motor symptoms in mice and its neuroprotective mechanism.METHODS Forty-five male C57BL/6 mice,except the nine mice in control group,were induced to be the PD models by peritoneal injection of 25 mg/kg MPTP for seven days and then were randomly assigned to model group,low-dose,high-dose AA groups and positive control group.Both the control group and the model group were administered with 0.5％ sodium carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC-Na) solution,the AA groups were dosed with 12.5 mg/kg and 25 mg/kg AA,respectively,and the positive control group was given 75 mg/kg daily intragastric gavage of levodopa for eleven days.On the twelfth day,behavioral tests were performed.Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive cells in substantia nigra were detected by immunohistochemistry.The mRNA expressions of iNOS,COX-2,TNF-α,IL-1β,and malonaldehyde (MDA) content in midbrain were measured.The levels of IL-1 β and TNF-α in the serum were detected using ELISA kits.RESULTS The mice treated with asiatic acid performed better in behavior tests than those in the model group (P ＜0.05,P ＜0.01).In addition,asiatic acid effectively protected the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra due to upregulated TH expression and increased number of TH positive cells (P ＜ 0.05).The asiatic acid-treated mice had their mRNA expressions of IL-1β,TNF-α,iNOS and COX-2 in midbrain markedly suppressed (P ＜0.05,P ＜0.01),and a significant MDA level decrease in the midbrain tissue as well (P ＜ 0.01).Furthermore,reductions of IL-1 β and TNF-α contents in the serum were observed (P ＜ 0.05,P ＜ 0.01).CONCLUSION Asiatic acid attenuates motor dysfunction and dopaminergic neuronal deficits in PD mice,and the neuroprotective mechanisms may attribute to its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities.
ABSTRACT
Asiatic acid (AA), a pentacyclic triterpene found in, displays significant anti-proliferative effects on cancer cellsalthough the underlying mechanism of this effect remains unknown. This study investigated the efficacy and mechanism of action of AA against lung cancer bothand. Using the MTT assay, AA was found to induce apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner, an effect enhanced by pretreatment with an autophagy inhibitor. It also elevated expression of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) and decreased the expression of p62. Furthermore, exposure to AA resulted in collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), suggesting mitochondria are the target of AA. In the mouse lung cancer xenograft model, oral administration of AA significantly inhibited tumor volume and weight accompanied by significant apoptosis of lung cancer cells. In addition, it led to a significant decrease in the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). In summary, the results show that AA significantly reduces lung cancer cell growth bothandand that the associated apoptosis is mediated through mitochondrial damage.
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ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of fast-track surgery (FTS) in perioperative nursing for biliary calculi surgery. MethodsOnline databases of PubMed, Cochrane Library, CBM, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang Data were comprehensively searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Potential bias was evaluated by Cochrane tools and data were analyzed by RevMan 5.3. ResultsA total of 11 RCTs with 1455 patients were included (738 cases in FTS group and 717 cases in control group). The results of meta-analysis showed that FTS significantly reduced the length of postoperative hospital stay (MD=-4.10, 95% CI: -5.68 to -2.52, P＜0.000 01) and hospital costs (MD=-0.47, 95%CI: -0.60 to -0.34, P＜0.000 01); meanwhile, FTS shortened the time to gastrointestinal recovery (SMD=-2.05, 95%CI: -2.84 to -1.27, P＜0.000 01), as well as the time to first defecation (SMD=-1.27, 95% CI: -2.08 to -0.46, P＜0.000 01). As for safety, FTS significantly reduced the total complications of choledocholithiasis (RR=0.53, 95%CI: 0.43-0.65, P＜0.000 01) and hepatolithiasis (RR=0.52, 95% CI: 0.35-0.77, P=0.001). ConclusionFTS is effective and safe in perioperative nursing for biliary calculi surgery. It can significantly reduce the length of postoperative hospital stay, enhance gastrointestinal recovery, shorten the time to first defecation, and reduce total complications.
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Objective To evaluate the morphological characteristics of large and small infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) with 64-slice spiral CT angiography (CTA). Methods Forty-five patients with infrarenal true AAA underwent CTA. The morphological characteristics of AAA were evaluated. The patients were divided into two groups: small AAA (diameter<5 cm, n=20) and large AAA (diameter≥5.0 cm, n=25). The clinical risk factors and morphological characteristics between small and large AAA were compared. The correlation between the size of AAA and the other morphological characteristics was analyzed. Results Compared to patients with small AAA, those with large AAA showed lower systolic blood pressure and larger prevalence of smoking (P＜0.05). The length of aneurysms body, diameter of proximal and distal neck, the prevalence of thrombus in posterior wall, and aneurysm wall calcification score in large AAA were significantly larger than those of small AAA (P＜0.05). The length of AAA was positively correlated with proximal neck angle (r=0.418, P＜0.01) and diameter (r=0.411, P＜0.01), whereas negatively correlated with entry angle (r=-0.478, P＜0.01)and proximal neck length (r=-0.562, P＜0.01). Conclusion The size of infrarenal AAA is associated with the other morphological characteristics.
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As a renewable clean energy,biodiesel has been the subject of much research in recent years owing to its excellent environmental performance.The bio-enzymatic method possesses unparalleled advantages over conventional chemical catalysis,and it would be the direction in biodiesel industrialization process.The progress and application of three biocatalytic approaches for biodiesel production including immobilized lipase,free lipase and whole-cell catalysis were summerized.Finally,the challenges of biodiesel industrialization in China are analyzed,and some effective measures are put forward.