Engeletin protects against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by modulating the VEGF/vasohibin and Ang-1/Tie-2 pathways

Engeletin is a natural derivative of Smilax glabra rhizomilax that exhibits anti-inflammatory activity and suppresses lipid peroxidation. In the present study, we sought to elucidate the mechanistic basis for the neuroprotective and pro-angiogenic activity of engeltin in a human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R) model system and a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat model of cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury. These analyses revealed that engeletin (10, 20, or 40 mg/kg) was able to reduce the infarct volume, increase cerebral blood flow, improve neurological function, and bolster the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), vasohibin-2 (Vash-2), angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1), phosphorylated human angiopoietin receptor tyrosine kinase 2 (p-Tie2), and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1/CD31) in MCAO rats. Similarly, engeletin (100, 200, or 400 nM) markedly enhanced the migration, tube formation, and VEGF expression of HUVECs in an OGD/R model system, while the VEGF receptor (R) inhibitor axitinib reversed the observed changes in HUVEC tube formation activity and Vash-2, VEGF, and CD31 expression. These data suggested that engeletin exhibited significant neuroprotective effects against cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury in rats, and improved cerebrovascular angiogenesis by modulating the VEGF/vasohibin and Ang-1/Tie-2 pathways.

Investigation on a cluster of overseas imported COVID-19 in Qingtian County / 预防医学

Objective@#To conduct an epidemiological investigation on a cluster of overseas imported cases of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)in Qingtian County, Lishui,so as to provide reference for the prevention and control of COVID-19 imported from abroad. @*Methods@#According to the COVID-19 Prevention and Control Program (FiFth Edition) issued by National Health Commission of China,a field investigation was employed and the close contacts of the case were tracked down ;the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay was performed to detect the nucleic acid of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from the sputum specimens or throat swabs of cases;the epidemiological characteristics,source of infection,route of transmission and disposal of the cluster were analyzed. @*Results@#From March 1 to March 6,2020,eight confirmed cases and one asymptomatic case of COVID-19 were reported. Their median age was 33 years old. The nine cases all had no fever,no decrease in leukocyte and lymphocyte levels,and the clinical symptoms of seven cases were not obvious. The asymptomatic case had been tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 for six times,but had been weakly positive for IgM antibody and strongly positive for IgG antibody. Nine cases were all the employees of the same restaurant in Begamo,Italy. They lived in three independent villas and usually had lunch and dinner in the restaurant where they worked. Begamo had COVID-19 epidemic,but the staff of the restaurant did not take any protective measures such as wearing masks and environmental disinfection. Eight cases reported to have cold symptoms in Italy during mid February. Through a closed-loop management of“all people,all sites,all chains ”,such as treatment of current cases,screening and isolation of close contacts and health education,totally 372 close contacts were traced back,yet no fever or respiratory symptoms have been found. @*Conclusions @# It was a cluster of COVID-19 cases imported from abroad. The clinical symptoms of the cases were not obvious. Qingtian County adopted the closed-loop management in time,and effectively controlled the spread of the epidemic. No second-generation cases have been found.

Prevalence and patterns of Y chromosome microdeletion in infertile men with azoospermia and oligzoospermia in Northeast China

In some cases infertile men showed small deletions of specific genes in the Y chromosome. It had been confirmed, these deleted genes are greatly associated with spermatogenic failure. However, the frequency and the patterns of such microdeletions among infertile men are not clearly clarified. We sought to determine the frequency and the patterns of Y chromosome microdeletions in azoospermic and oligozoospermic infertile men in Northeast China, and try to optimize the selection of sequence tagged sites [STSs] of AZF microdeletions in multiplex polymerase chain reaction [PCR]. 720 azoospermic and 330 oligozoospermic infertile men, from Northeast China were included in this retrospective study during May 2008 to November 2012. Semen analysis was performed according to the World Health Organization guidelines. Y chromosome microdeletions were detected by polymerase chain reaction assays. G-banding method was used for chromosome Karyotype analysis. Chi-square tests were used to compare patterns of Y chromosome microdeletions in azoospermic and oligozoospermic patients. Of 1050 infertile men, 12.95% cases had shown Y chromosome microdeletions, and 19.43% of cases showed abnormal chromosomal karyotype. Deletions in AZFc region was the most frequent 75.00%, followed by deletions in AZFb region 13.33%, AZFbc region 09.62%, and AZFa region 2.22%. All oligozoospermic patients showed presence of sY84, sY86, sY127, and sY134. Deletion of sY127 [p=0.0101] and sY157 [p=0.0043] showed significant difference between azoospermic group and oligozoospermic group. Deletions of sY127 may relate to azoospermia while sY84, sY86, sY127 can be ignored in AZF screening for oligozoospermic patients