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Objective@#To investigate the efficacy of antibacterial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) as an adjunct to subgingival scaling and root planning in the treatment of chronic periodontitis.@*Methods@#This study followed medical ethics guidelines, and informed consent was obtained from all patients. Sixteen patients were recruited for this randomized split-mouth controlled trial. The control group underwent subgingival scaling and root planning (SRP), while the experimental group received subgingival scaling and root planing plus aPDT treatment using Perowave® with a toluidine blue O solution photosensitizer. The probing pocket depth (PD), recession, plaque index (PLI), bleeding index (BI) and proportion of positive sites of bleeding on probing (BOP) (BOP%) at all sites were examined at baseline (before treatment) and at 1, 3 and 6 months after treatment.@*Results@#Follow-up was completed for 13 patients. On the control side, 356 teeth were tested at 2 136 sites. A total of 360 teeth on the test side and 2 160 sites were included in the study. Before treatment, there was no significant difference in the baseline indicators between the two groups. After treatment, both groups showed significant improvement in clinical parameters, including PD, PLI, BI, and BOP%,compared with baseline. At 3 months, the BOP% and PLI in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). The improvement in BOP% and PLI in the experimental group was significantly greater than that in the control group 3 months after treatment (P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#aPDT, as an adjuvant treatment to SRP for chronic periodontitis, can improve gingival bleeding and control periodontal inflammation in the early stage.
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The senescence of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) will induce age-related bone tissue degeneration and chronic inflammation, and reduce its application effect for cell therapy. More and more active ingredients of traditional chinese medicine have been proved to intervene BM - MSCs senescence, playing an important role in bone diseases prevention and treatment, and improving the therapeutic effect of BM-MSCs. In this paper, the latest research progress on the molecular mechanism of traditional chinese medicine active ingredients interfering BM-MSCs senescence was summarized, in order to provide new direction and reference basis for senescence intervention research and clinical application improvement of BM-MSCs.
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INTRODUCTION@#Three doses of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines have been recommended for cancer patients to reduce the risk of severe disease. Anti-neoplastic treatment, such as chemotherapy, may affect long-term vaccine immunogenicity.@*METHOD@#Patients with solid or haematological cancer were recruited from 2 hospitals between July 2021 and March 2022. Humoral response was evaluated using GenScript cPASS surrogate virus neutralisation assays. Clinical outcomes were obtained from medical records and national mandatory-reporting databases.@*RESULTS@#A total of 273 patients were recruited, with 40 having haematological malignancies and the rest solid tumours. Among the participants, 204 (74.7%) were receiving active cancer therapy, including 98 (35.9%) undergoing systemic chemotherapy and the rest targeted therapy or immunotherapy. All patients were seronegative at baseline. Seroconversion rates after receiving 1, 2 and 3 doses of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination were 35.2%, 79.4% and 92.4%, respectively. After 3 doses, patients on active treatment for haematological malignancies had lower antibodies (57.3%±46.2) when compared to patients on immunotherapy (94.1%±9.56, P<0.05) and chemotherapy (92.8%±18.1, P<0.05). SARS-CoV-2 infection was reported in 77 (28.2%) patients, of which 18 were severe. No patient receiving a third dose within 90 days of the second dose experienced severe infection.@*CONCLUSION@#This study demonstrates the benefit of early administration of the third dose among cancer patients.
Subject(s)
Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , COVID-19/prevention & control , Treatment Outcome , Neoplasms/drug therapy , Hematologic Neoplasms , Vaccination , RNA, Messenger , Antibodies, Viral , Immunogenicity, VaccineABSTRACT
Long-acting analgesia is a common clinical treatment method after surgery. The slow-release injection with long-acting analgesia has the advantages of less medication frequency and stable effect. In this study, the analgesic drug lappaconitine hydrobromide lyotropic liquid crystal injection was prepared, and its sustained release mechanism, drug release and pharmacodynamic characteristics were evaluated. The results of polarizing microscope and freeze-transmission electron microscope showed that the lyotropic liquid crystal injection of the liquid crystal precursor preparation of lappaconitine hydrobromide could be obtained by the combination of glycerol monooleate (GMO) and soybean lecithin (SPC) in different proportions. The results of dissolution study in vitro showed that the drug release rate of different forms of liquid crystal preparations was layered liquid crystal > cubic liquid crystal > hexagonal liquid crystal. The mathematical model fitting results of the release data showed that the external release of layered liquid crystal, cubic liquid crystal and hexagonal liquid crystal conforms to the Ritger-Peppas model, and the release mechanism was Fick diffusion. The results of pharmacodynamics study in vivo showed that the analgesic effect of lappaconitine hydrobromide lyotropic liquid crystal injection lasted for 3 days, and there was no abnormality in the incision and local tissue, showing good safety and tolerance. The study on drug release and elimination process of the in vivo gel repository showed that lappaconitine hydrobromide could be completely released from the lyotropic liquid crystal 3 days after administration, and the sustained-release materials could be gradually eliminated locally. All animal experiments were approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. 2021-08-GY-61) and the experiments were conducted in accordance with the relevant guiding principles and regulations. The lyotropic liquid crystal injection of lappaconitine hydrobromide prepared in this study presented a solution state at room temperature, and underwent phase transition in contact with the body fluid at the administration site, formed a drug depot and exerted a slow drug release effect. This preparation can reduce systemic toxicity, prolong the duration of analgesia, reduce the number of administrations, improve the compliance of postoperative patients, and provide a reference for the design of long-term sustained release analgesic preparations.
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The commonly used terms "sham acupuncture" and "placebo acupuncture" in clinical acupuncture research is compared and analyzed in this article. In terms of their respective characteristics, sham acupuncture has a wider scope, including various types of acupoints, needle insertion at non-acupoint or non-insertion at acupoints, while placebo acupuncture mainly focuses on non-insertion at acupoints. Sham acupuncture mainly emphasizes the appearance similarity to real acupuncture, while placebo acupuncture emphasizes both similarity in appearance and the absence of therapeutic effects. Properly distinguishing and applying sham acupuncture and placebo acupuncture can help standardize their usage in terminology. Considering the difficulty in setting up qualified placebo acupuncture, it is suggested that researchers use the term "sham acupuncture" to describe the acupuncture control methods used in clinical research.
Subject(s)
Humans , Acupuncture Therapy , Needles , Research Personnel , Clinical Trials as TopicABSTRACT
BACKGROUND@#Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent and debilitating condition that poses a significant burden on healthcare systems. Acupuncture has been proposed as a promising intervention for LBP, but the evidence supporting its specific effect is insufficient, and the use of sham acupuncture as a control in clinical trials presents challenges due to variations in sham acupuncture techniques and the magnitude of the placebo effect.@*OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the magnitude of the placebo response of sham acupuncture in trials of acupuncture for nonspecific LBP, and to assess whether different types of sham acupuncture are associated with different responses.@*METHODS@#Four databases including PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library were searched through April 15, 2023, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included if they randomized patients with LBP to receive acupuncture or sham acupuncture intervention. The main outcomes included the placebo response in pain intensity, back-specific function and quality of life. Placebo response was defined as the change in these outcome measures from baseline to the end of treatment. Random-effects models were used to synthesize the results, standardized mean differences (SMDs, Hedges'g) were applied to estimate the effect size.@*RESULTS@#A total of 18 RCTs with 3,321 patients were included. Sham acupuncture showed a noteworthy pooled placebo response in pain intensity in patients with LBP [SMD -1.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.95 to -0.91, I2=89%]. A significant placebo response was also shown in back-specific functional status (SMD -0.49, 95% CI -0.70 to -0.29, I2=73%), but not in quality of life (SMD 0.34, 95% CI -0.20 to 0.88, I2=84%). Trials in which the sham acupuncture penetrated the skin or performed with regular needles had a significantly higher placebo response in pain intensity reduction, but other factors such as the location of sham acupuncture did not have a significant impact on the placebo response.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Sham acupuncture is associated with a large placebo response in pain intensity among patients with LBP. Researchers should also be aware that the types of sham acupuncture applied may potentially impact the evaluation of the efficacy of acupuncture. Nonetheless, considering the nature of placebo response, the effect of other contextual factors cannot be ruled out in this study. (PROSPERO registration No. CRD42022304416).
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BACKGROUND@#Currently, more and more infertility couples are opting for combined acupuncture to improve success rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF). However, evidence from acupuncture for improving IVF pregnancy outcomes remains a matter of debate.@*OBJECTIVE@#To quantitatively summarized the evidence of the efficacy of acupuncture among women undergoing IVF by means of systematic review and meta-analysis.@*METHODS@#Four English (PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Register of Controlled Clinical Trials) and Four Chinese databases (Wanfang Databases, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database, and SinoMed) were searched from database inception until July 2, 2023. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the acupuncture's effects for women undergoing IVF were included. The subgroup analysis was conducted with respect to the age of participants, different acupuncture types, type of control, acupuncture timing, geographical origin of the study, whether or not repeated IVF failure, and acupuncture sessions. Sensitivity analyses were predefifined to explore the robustness of results. The primary outcomes were clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) and live birth rate (LBR), and the secondary outcomes were ongoing pregnancy rate and miscarriage rate. Random effects model with I2 statistics were used to quantify heterogeneity. Publication bias was estimated by funnel plots and Egger's tests.@*RESULTS@#A total of 58 eligible RCTs representing 10,968 women undergoing IVF for pregnant success were identifified. Pooled CPR and LBR showed a signifificant difference between acupuncture and control groups [69 comparisons, relative risk (RR) 1.19, 95% confifidence intervals (CI) 1.12 to 1.25, I2=0], extremely low evidence; 23 comparisons, RR 1.11, 95%CI 1.02 to 1.21, I2=14.6, low evidence, respectively). Only transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation showed a positive effect on both CPR (16 comparisons, RR 1.17, 95%CI 1.06 to 1.29; I2=0, moderate evidence) and LBR (9 comparisons, RR 1.20, 95%CI 1.04 to 1.37; I2=8.5, extremely low evidence). Heterogeneity across studies was found and no studies were graded as high-quality evidence.@*CONCLUSION@#Results showed that the convincing evidence levels on the associations between acupuncture and IVF pregnant outcomes were relatively low, and the varied methodological design and heterogeneity might inflfluence the fifindings. (Registration No. PROSPERO CRD42021232430).
Subject(s)
Pregnancy , Female , Humans , Live Birth , Fertilization in Vitro/methods , Pregnancy Outcome , Abortion, Spontaneous , Acupuncture TherapyABSTRACT
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant radiohormonal therapy for oligometastatic prostate cancer (OMPC), we conducted a 3 + 3 dose escalation, prospective, phase I/II, single-arm clinical trial (CHiCTR1900025743), in which long-term neoadjuvant androgen deprivation was adopted 1 month before radiotherapy, comprising intensity modulated radiotherapy to the pelvis, and stereotactic body radiation therapy to all extra-pelvic bone metastases for 4-7 weeks, at 39.6, 45, 50.4, and 54 Gy. Robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy was performed after 5-14 weeks. The primary outcome was treatment-related toxicities and adverse events; secondary outcomes were radiological treatment response, positive surgical margin (pSM), postoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA), pathological down-grading and tumor regression grade, and survival parameters. Twelve patients were recruited from March 2019 to February 2020, aging 66.2 years in average (range, 52-80). Median baseline PSA was 62.0 ng/mL. All underwent RARP successfully without open conversions. Ten patients recorded pathological tumor down-staging (83.3%), and 5 (41.7%) with cN1 recorded negative regional lymph nodes on final pathology. 66.7% (8/12) recorded tumor regression grading (TRG) -I and 25% (3/12) recorded TRG-II. Median follow-up was 16.5 months. Mean radiological progression-free survival (RPFS) was 21.3 months, with 2-year RPFS of 83.3%. In all, neoadjuvant radiohormonal therapy is well tolerated for oligometastatic prostate cancer.
Subject(s)
Male , Humans , Prostatic Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Prostate-Specific Antigen/therapeutic use , Neoadjuvant Therapy , Androgen Antagonists/therapeutic use , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
In observational studies, herbal prescriptions are usually studied in the form of "similar prescriptions". At present, the classification of prescriptions is mainly based on clinical experience judgment, but there are some problems in manual judgment, such as lack of unified criteria, labor consumption, and difficulty in verification. In the construction of a database of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19), our research group tried to classify real-world herbal prescriptions using a similarity matching algorithm. The main steps include 78 target prescriptions are determined in advance; four levels of importance labeling shall be carried out for the drugs of each target prescription; the combination, format conversion, and standardization of drug names of the prescriptions to be identified in the herbal medicine database; calculate the similarity between the prescriptions to be identified and each target prescription one by one; prescription discrimination is performed based on the preset criteria; remove the name of the prescriptions with "large prescriptions cover the small". Through the similarity matching algorithm, 87.49% of the real prescriptions in the herbal medicine database of this study can be identified, which preliminarily proves that this method can complete the classification of herbal prescriptions. However, this method does not consider the influence of herbal dosage on the results, and there is no recognized standard for the weight of drug importance and criteria, so there are some limitations, which need to be further explored and improved in future research.
Subject(s)
Humans , COVID-19 , Algorithms , Databases, Factual , Prescriptions , Plant ExtractsABSTRACT
In the past, the use of neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer did not exhibit survival benefits and was not recommended by the practicing guidelines. In recent years, with the emergence of novel hormonal therapeutics such as Abiraterone, Enzalutamide, Apalutamide and Darolutamide, the interest for neoadjuvant therapy has been reignited. Here, we summarize the four categories of neoadjuvant therapy with new hormonal agents, and discuss how to evaluate the efficacy and explore the molecular mechanism after neoadjuvant therapy.
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BACKGROUND@#The placebo response of sham acupuncture in patients with primary dysmenorrhea is a substantial factor associated with analgesia. However, the magnitude of the placebo response is unclear.@*OBJECTIVE@#This meta-analysis assessed the effects of sham acupuncture in patients with primary dysmenorrhea and the factors contributing to these effects.@*SEARCH STRATEGY@#PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane CENTRAL databases were searched from inception up to August 20, 2022.@*INCLUSION CRITERIA@#Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using sham acupuncture as a control for female patients of reproductive age with primary dysmenorrhea were included.@*DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS@#Pain intensity, retrospective symptom scale, and health-related quality of life were outcome measures used in these trials. Placebo response was defined as the change in the outcome of interest from baseline to endpoint. We used standardized mean difference (SMD) to estimate the effect size of the placebo response.@*RESULTS@#Thirteen RCTs were included. The pooled placebo response size for pain intensity was the largest (SMD = -0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.31 to -0.68), followed by the retrospective symptom scale (Total frequency rating score: SMD = -0.20; 95% CI, -0.80 to -0.39. Average severity score: SMD = -0.35; 95% CI, -0.90 to -0.20) and physical component of SF-36 (SMD = 0.27; 95% CI, -0.17 to 0.72). Studies using blunt-tip needles, single-center trials, studies with a low risk of bias, studies in which patients had a longer disease course, studies in which clinicians had < 5 years of experience, and trials conducted outside Asia were more likely to have a lower placebo response.@*CONCLUSION@#Strong placebo response and some relative factors were found in patients with primary dysmenorrhea. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022304215. Please cite this article as: Sun CY, Xiong ZY, Sun CY, Ma PH, Liu XY, Sun CY, Xin ZY, Liu BY, Liu CZ, Yan SY. Placebo response of sham acupuncture in patients with primary dysmenorrhea: A meta-analysis. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(5): 455-463.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Dysmenorrhea/therapy , Acupuncture Therapy , Pain Management , Needles , Placebo EffectABSTRACT
Aim To investigate the involvement and mechanism of miR-619-5p in the proliferation, migration and invasion of human breast cancer cells. Methods The expression of miR-619-5p in breast cancer and normal breast tissue and cells was detected using bioinformatic analysis or qRT-PCR. After transfection with miR-619-5p mimics or inhibitors, the expression of miR-619-5p and EMT-related molecule mRNA was determined by qRT-PCR. Cell proliferation was detected using CCK-8 assay; cell migration and invasion capacity was estimated by the wound healing assay and Transwell assay. The protein levels of EMT-related molecules were analyzed by Western blot. The target genes of miR-619-5p were analyzed by bioinformatic a-nalysis, and a preliminary analysis of the potential target gene CREB1 was carried out. Results miR-619-5p was low expressed in breast cancer tissues and breast cancer cells. Compared with the control group, over-expression of miR-619-5p resulted in up-regula-tion of miR-619-5p expression levels and EMT epithelial markers, down-regulation of pro-EMT molecules and mesenchymal markers, impairment of cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and down-regulation of CREB1 expression. The results of the low miR-619-5p expression group were opposite to the above results. Conclusions In breast cancer tissue and cells, miR-619-5p expression is lower. miR-619-5p inhibits the proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT of breast cancer cells, and its possible mechanism of the effects may be targeting CREB1.
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OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine whether the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale was associated with the short- and long-term prognosis of patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with intravenous thrombolysis. METHODS: A total of 247 patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted to the hospital from April 2019 to October 2020 were retrospectively selected as study subjects, and the immediate and long-term prognosis after thrombolysis was assessed using the modified Rankin Scale and divided into good prognosis group (119 cases) and poor prognosis group (128 cases) based on the effect of thrombolysis. Both groups were treated with alteplase, the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale of the two groups was compared, and the factors affecting the prognosis of acute ischemic stroke were analyzed. RESULTS: After intravenous thrombolysis, 24 h, and 7 days of treatment, the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale in the poor prognosis group was higher than those of patients in the good prognosis group, and the differences were statistically significant (p<0.05). The results of the multivariate analysis suggested that National Institute of Health Stroke Scale before treatment was an independent factor associated with the 3-month (OR: 1.068, 95%CI 1.015-1.123, p=0.011) and long-term poor prognosis (OR: 1.064, 95%CI 1.012-1.119, p=0.015) in patients with acute ischemic stroke receiving intravenous thrombolysis after adjustment of age, gender, body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumer, onset-to-door time, door-to-needle time, and imaging score. CONCLUSION: The National Institute of Health Stroke Scale could be a promising indicator for the prognosis, and active intervention is needed to improve the quality of life in patients with acute ischemic stroke.
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Objective:To construct a serine protease inhibitor Kazal type-5 (Spink5) conditional knockout mouse model, and to identify its phenotype.Methods:B cell-specific Spink5 conditional knockout mice of genotype Mb1 cre/+Spink5 floxp/floxp were constructed by using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) /CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) technology, and served as the knockout group. Mice of genotype Mb1 +/+Spink5 floxp/floxp served as the control group. The mice of genotype Mb1 cre/+Spink5 floxp/floxp or Mb1 +/+Spink5 floxp/floxp were sacrificed when they were 4 to 6 weeks old, splenic mononuclear cells were isolated, and B lymphocytes and non-B lymphocytes were sorted by flow cytometry and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Genotype identification was performed by PCR, and protein expression of lymphoepithelial Kazal-type-related inhibitor (LEKTI) was determined by Western blot analysis. Skin tissues were resected from the mice, and subjected to hematoxylin-eosin staining for measuring the epidermal thickness. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to determine fluorescence intensity of LEKTI protein in the mouse skin tissues. Paired t test or two-independent-sample t test was used for comparisons between groups. Results:Genotype identification results demonstrated that the stable B lymphocyte-specific Spink5 conditional knockout mouse model was successfully constructed. Western blot analysis revealed that the relative protein expression of LEKTI in the B lymphocytes in the knockout group was 0.01 ± 0.02, which was significantly lower than that in the non-B lymphocytes in the knockout group (0.66 ± 0.11, t = 9.99, P < 0.001) , and that in the B lymphocytes in the control group (1.08 ± 0.13, t = 13.78, P < 0.001) . Among 39 mice in the knockout group, 4 presented with dry skin and scattered scaly hypertrophic maculopapules. The epidermal thickness of the lesional skin tissues in the knockout group was 90.42 ± 21.31 μm, significantly higher than that of the non-lesional skin tissues in the knockout group (29.71 ± 3.63 μm, t = 5.05, P = 0.002) and that of normal skin tissues in the control group (12.42 ± 2.21 μm, t = 6.74, P < 0.001) . Immunofluorescence staining showed no significant difference in the fluorescence intensity of LEKTI protein among the lesional skin tissues (46.21 ± 1.21) , non-lesional skin tissues (46.62 ± 2.13) in the knockout group and normal skin tissues in the control group (47.69 ± 1.71, P > 0.05) . Conclusion:The B lymphocyte-specific Spink5 conditional knockout mouse model was successfully constructed, which provides a basis for further exploring mechanisms underlying skin barrier defects and immune dysfunction in Netherton syndrome.
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ObjectiveTo investigate the nephroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of Fufang Shelong capsules (FFSL) in rats with membranous nephropathy (MN), and the role of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. MethodMale SD rats of SPF grade were divided into a normal group and an experimental group. The MN model was induced by tail vein injection of cationized bovine serum albumin in the experimental group. After screening, the eligible model rats were included and divided into a positive control group (tripterygium glycosides tablets) and low-, medium-, and high-dose FFSL groups (0.375, 0.75, 1.5g·kg-1). The rats were treated correspondingly for eight weeks, and urine protein was detected during drug intervention. Renal function and inflammation-related indicators were detected after drug intervention. The changes in 24-hour urine total protein (24 h UP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), creatinine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), total protein (TP), albumin (Alb), and total cholesterol (TC) were detected. Flow cytometry was used to detect CD4+/CD8+ changes. Kidney tissues were collected to observe pathological changes under a light microscope and an electron microscope. The protein expression of p38 MAPK and phosphorylated p38 MAPK (p-p38 MAPK) in kidney tissues was detected by Western blot. ResultCompared with the normal group, the model group showed increased 24 h UP (P<0.01), elevated serum Cr, BUN, TC, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α (P<0.05,P<0.01), decreased serum Alb and TP levels (P<0.05,P<0.01), increased CD4+/CD8+ in the peripheral blood (P<0.01), and up-regulated protein expression of p38 MAPK and p-p38 MAPK in kidney tissues (P<0.05). Additionally, in the model group, immune complex deposition and foot process fusion, accompanied by infiltration of inflammatory cells, were observed on the epithelial side of the basement membrane in the pathological kidney tissues. Compared with the model group, the groups with drug intervention showed declining 24 h UP levels at six weeks (P<0.05,P<0.01), decreased serum Cr, BUN, TC, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α (P<0.05,P<0.01), increased serum Alb and TP levels (P<0.05,P<0.01), reduced CD4+/CD8+ in the peripheral blood (P<0.01), improved renal pathological damage, and down-regulated p38 MAPK and p-p38 MAPK in kidney tissues (P<0.05,P<0.01). ConclusionFFSL can decrease the expression of inflammatory factors, reduce proteinuria, delay kidney damage, and protect kidney function by inhibiting the expression of the p38 MAPK signaling pathway.
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Puerarin was conjugated with bovine serum albumin(BSA) and ovalbumin(OVA) by periodate oxidation to serve as the immunogen and coating antigen, respectively. BALB/c mice were immunized with puerarin-BSA according to the routine immunization procedure, and the titer and specificity of serum were detected after three immunization. After booster immunization, mouse spleen lymphocytes were fused with mouse myeloma cells, and 24 hybridoma cell lines of the monoclonal antibodies against puerarin were screened by monoclonal antibody screening technique. Ascites was prepared and purified. The cross-reactivity of monoclonal antibody(mAb) M1 with 4'-methoxy puerarin, daidzin, puerarin-6″-O-xyloside, daidzein, mirificin, 3'-methoxy puerarin, and 3'-hydroxy puerarin was 239.84%, 112.18%, 67.89%, 58.28%, 22.37%, 0.40%, and 0.20%, respectively, and those with other analogs such as baicalein and baicalin were all less than 0.10%. The IC_(50) and the working range of the indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(icELISA) for puerarin were 44.80 ng·mL~(-1) and 8.20-292.30 ng·mL~(-1), respectively. The average recovery was 91.95%-98.20% with an RSD in the range of 0.70%-2.60%. The content of puerarin in different Puerariae Lobatae Radix samples was determined with icELISA and validated by UPLC-MS. The correlation between data obtained from icELISA and UPLC-MS was 0.999 0, indicating that icELISA is suitable for the rapid detection of puerarin in Puerariae Lobatae Radix samples.
Subject(s)
Animals , Mice , Antibodies, Monoclonal , Chromatography, Liquid , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/methods , Hybridomas/metabolism , Isoflavones , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Tandem Mass SpectrometryABSTRACT
The progress of Chinese clinical research on acupuncture and moxibustion in recent 10 years was reviewed and analyzed, and corresponding suggestions were put forward for the current problems. In the past 10 years, Chinese clinical research on acupuncture and moxibustion has made considerable progress, mainly in the following areas: a series of internationally recognized clinical research evidences have been published, a preliminary acupuncture clinical evaluation system has formed, sham/placebo acupuncture control is widely used internationally, acupuncture clinical research norms and standards have been initially established. However, the following issues still need to be paid attention to in follow-up research: focus on the overall layout and refinement of clinical research, further improvement of clinical evaluation system, developing relevant norms for sham/placebo acupuncture setting and reporting, strengthening data sharing and platform integration, building a smooth basic and two-way transformation clinical pathway, etc.
Subject(s)
Acupuncture , Acupuncture Therapy , Medicine, Chinese Traditional , Moxibustion , PublicationsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To analyze the main factors affecting the positive results of acupuncture for chronic pain in English literature of randomized controlled trial (RCT), in order to provide reference for the design of acupuncture clinical research.@*METHODS@#The RCTs of acupuncture for chronic pain published before March 26, 2020 were searched in PubMed, EMbase and Cochrane Library by computer. A total of 21 factors were analyzed by single-factor analysis, and the factors with statistically significant difference were selected for multivariate Logistic regression analysis.@*RESULTS@#A total of 69 RCTs were included, including 47 RCTs (68.12%) with positive results and 22 RCTs (31.88%) with non-positive results. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis was performed with the three screened factors (publication year, treatment frequency and intervention form) selected by single-factor analysis, and the results showed that the positive results were related to the frequency of acupuncture treatment. The positive rate of RCT with frequency≥2 times a week was 3.24 times of that with frequency<2 times a week (OR=3.24, 95%CI =[1.07,9.83], P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Acupuncture frequency may be the main factor affecting the positive results of RCT in English literature of acupuncture for chronic pain. More researches are needed in the future to explore the influence of acupuncture frequency on the curative effect.
Subject(s)
Humans , Acupuncture , Acupuncture Therapy , Chronic Pain/therapy , PubMedABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the effect of gap junction protein Cx43 inhibitor carbenoxolone (CBX) on cognitive function and its possible mechanism in epileptic rats.Methods:One hundred and twenty Wistar rats were randomly divided into sham-operated group, epilepsy group, epilepsy+solvent group, and epilepsy+CBX group ( n=30). The models of temporal lobe epilepsy in the later three groups were prepared by injection of kainic acid in the hippocampus. Intraperitoneal injection of CBX (20 mg/kg) or equal amount of normal saline were given to the rats in the epilepsy+CBX group and epilepsy+solvent group 30 min before modeling. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expressions of phosphorylated (p)-Cx43 and microtubule associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) in the hippocampus 6, 12, and 24 h after modeling; the protein localization of p-Cx43 and LC3 in the hippocampus and optical density of their positive cells were detected by immunohistochemistry 24 h after modeling; the learning and memory abilities of rats were tested by Morris water maze experiment 30 d after modeling. Results:Western blotting results showed that as compared with those in the sham-operated group, p-CX43 and LC3 protein expressions in the hippocampal CA3 regions of epilepsy group and epilepsy+solvent group were significantly increased at 6, 12 and 24 h after modeling ( P<0.05); as compared with the epilepsy group and epilepsy+solvent group, the epilepsy+CBX group had statistically decreased p-CX43 and LC3 protein expressions in the hippocampal CA3 regions at each time point ( P<0.05). Immunohistochemical staining showed that p-CX43 was localized at the cell membrane and cytoplasm of hippocampal astrocytes; LC3 was located at the cytoplasm of hippocampal neurons. As compared with those in the sham-operated group, the optical density values of p-CX43 and LC3 positive cells in hippocampal CA3 regions of epilepsy group and epilepsy+solvent group were increased ( P<0.05). As compared with those in the epilepsy group and the epilepsy+solvent group, the optical density values of p-CX43 and LC3 positive cells in the hippocampal CA3 regions of the epilepsy+CBX group were significantly decreased ( P<0.05). Morris water maze test results showed that as compared with that in the sham-operated group, the escape latency in the epilepsy group and epilepsy+solvent group was significantly prolonged ( P<0.05); as compared with that in the epilepsy group and epilepsy+solvent group, the latency in the epilepsy+CBX group was significantly shortened ( P<0.05). Conclusion:CBX can weaken the neuronal autophagy and reduce the damage to cognitive function by inhibiting the p-Cx43 protein expression in the astrocytes of the hippocampal CA3 regions.
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Pilot study is essential prerequisite for large-scale research. Acupuncture is a complex intervention measure. The factors of its clinical effect and effect mechanism are complicated. Hence, the resource waste is easily induced in research if the large-scale clinical research is rashly carried out before scientific verification. Currently, there is still a lack of high-quality evidence of clinical research, which affects the promotion and application of the curative effect of acupuncture. The pilot study of acupuncture can evaluate the feasibility and the process coordination of trial, optimize program and process and provide the basis of sample size calculation prior to launching a full-scale trial. Thereby, the methodological quality of acupuncture research and the reliability of trial results can be improved. In the paper, the arguments focus on the definition, design and report of pilot study so as to provide the approaches and references for the design and implementation of pilot study of clinical research of acupuncture.