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Aim To investigate the regulatory effect of Cortaetin on pathological myocardial hypertrophy induced by isoprenaline (ISO) and the underlying mechanism. Methods ISO was used to stimulate neonatal rat cardiomyocytes for 24 h, and myocardial hypertrophy model was established at the cellular level. C57BL/6 mice were injected subcutaneously with ISO for one week to establish myocardial hypertrophy model at animal level. RT-qPCR was used to detect the changes of mRNA and Western blot was used to detect the changes of relative protein content. Immunofluorescence was used to measure the subcellular location of Cortaetin and the change of its expression. The overex-pression of Cortaetin by adenovirus infection and the knockdown of Cortaetin by transfection of small interfering RNA were studied. Results On the cellular and animal levels, ISO-induced myocardial hypertrophy models were successfully established, and it was observed that ISO caused the decrease of Cortaetin and N-cadherin protein levels. Overexpression of Cortaetin could reverse the decrease of N-cadherin protein level and myocardial hypertrophy caused by ISO. Knockdown of Cortaetin showed the opposite effect. Conclusion Cortaetin, in combination with N-cadherin, may play a role in combating myocardial hypertrophy by enhancing the connections between cardiomyocytes.
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This study investigated the mechanism of Danggui Shaoyao Powder(DSP) against mitophagy in rat model of Alzheimer's disease(AD) induced by streptozotocin(STZ) based on PTEN induced putative kinase 1(PINK1)-Parkin signaling pathway. The AD rat model was established by injecting STZ into the lateral ventricle, and the rats were divided into normal group, model group, DSP low-dose group(12 g·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)), DSP medium-dose group(24 g·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)), and DSP high-dose group(36 g·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)). Morris water maze test was used to detect the learning and memory function of the rats, and transmission electron microscopy and immunofluorescence were employed to detect mitophagy. The protein expression levels of PINK1, Parkin, LC3BⅠ/LC3BⅡ, and p62 were assayed by Western blot. Compared with the normal group, the model group showed a significant decrease in the learning and memory function(P<0.01), reduced protein expression of PINK1 and Parkin(P<0.05), increased protein expression of LC3BⅠ/LC3BⅡ and p62(P<0.05), and decreased occurrence of mitophagy(P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the DSP medium-and high-dose groups notably improved the learning and memory ability of AD rats, which mainly manifested as shortened escape latency, leng-thened time in target quadrants and elevated number of crossing the platform(P<0.05 or P<0.01), remarkably activated mitophagy(P<0.05), up-regulated the protein expression of PINK1 and Parkin, and down-regulated the protein expression of LC3BⅠ/LC3BⅡ and p62(P<0.05 or P<0.01). These results demonstrated that DSP might promote mitophagy mediated by PINK1-Parkin pathway to remove damaged mitochondria and improve mitochondrial function, thereby exerting a neuroprotective effect.
Subject(s)
Rats , Animals , Mitophagy , Alzheimer Disease/genetics , Powders , Protein Kinases/metabolism , Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/metabolismABSTRACT
Aim To investigate the effects of baicalin on the inflammatory response and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD 88)/nuclear factor kappa B (N F-K B) signaling pathway in Alzheimer' s disease (AD) rat model induced by lateral ventricular injection of streptozotocin (STZ). Methods The AD animal model was constructed by lateral ventricular injection of STZ in SD rats, and divided into sham operation group, model group, low-dose (60 mg
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Objective@#To describe the current situation of leisure time physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep duration of children and adolescents aged 6-14 in Beijing, and provide a reference basis for guiding school age children to carry out reasonable physical activities and formulating effective intervention measures.@*Methods@#A multistage stratified cluster random sampling method was used to investigate the nutritional and health status of 3 460 students in the first,third,fifth and seventh grades. Through the questionnaire surveys, the basic information of children and families and the activity information of children physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep were collected and statistically analyzed.@*Results@#The results showed that the median time of children daily leisure time physical activity (LTPA) was 20.0 (8.6, 38.6) min, children in suburb areas (18.6 min) and seventh grade (14.3 min) had shorter LTPA time( Z/H =5.12,119.11, P <0.01). The average daily sleep duration of children was (8.71 ± 0.76) h, the proportion of school age children with insufficient sleep reached 54.7%. With an increase in grades, the incidence of insufficient sleep increased significantly ( χ 2=407.13, P <0.01). The median daily sedentary time of children was 195.7(145.0, 255.7 ) min, and 84.5% of children engaged in more than two hours of sedentary behavior every day. Urban (202.9 min) and obese children (210.4 min) had longer sedentary behavior time, and with the increase in grade, the daily sedentary behavior time of children gradually increased ( Z/H =5.04,14.83,637.98, P <0.01).@*Conclusion@#Children and adolescents aged 6-14 years in Beijing have less LTPA time, too much sedentary time, and insufficient sleep duration. Grade is an important factor affecting physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep duration of children, and body shape may be related to their sedentary behavior and sleep time.It is suggested that targeted policies should be adopted for children of different grades to increase their physical activity and reduce their sedentary behavior to promote their healthy development.
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Objective: To explore the safety and short-term efficacy of venetoclax combined with azacitidine (Ven+AZA) in previously untreated patients unfit for standard chemotherapy and patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in China. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in 60 previously untreated patients unfit for standard chemotherapy and patients with R/R AML who received Ven+ AZA (venetoclax, 100 mg D1, 200 mg D2, 400 mg D3-28; azacitidine, 75 mg/m(2) D1- 7) at the Peking University Institute of Hematology from June 1, 2019 to May 31, 2021. The incidence of adverse events, complete remission (CR) /CR with incomplete hematological recovery (CRi) rate, objective remission rate (ORR) , and minimal residual disease (MRD) status in patients with different risk stratification and gene subtypes were analyzed. Results: The median age of the patients was 54 (18-77) years, 33 (55.0%) were males, and the median follow-up time was 4.8 (1.4-26.3) months. Among the 60 patients, 24 (40.0%) were previously untreated patients unfit for standard chemotherapy, and 36 (60.0%) were R/R patients. The median mumber cycles of Ven+AZA in the two groups were both 1 (1-5) . According to the prognostic risk stratification of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, it was divided into 8 cases of favorable-risk, 2 cases of intermediate risk, and 14 cases of poor-risk. In previously untreated patients unfit for standard chemotherapy, after the first cycle of Ven+AZA, 17/24 (70.8%) cases achieved CR/CRi, 3/24 (12.5%) achieved partial remission (PR) , and the ORR was 83.3%. Among them, nine patients received a second cycle chemotherapy and two received a third cycle. Among CR/CRi patients, 8/17 (47.1%) achieved MRD negativity after two cycles of therapy. In the R/R group, after the first cycle of Ven+AZA, 21/36 (58.3%) cases achieved CR/CRi (7/21 achieved MRD negativity) , 3 achieved PR, and the ORR was 66.7%. Among R/R patients, 12 were treated for more than two cycles. There were no new CR/CRi patients after the second treatment cycle, and 14 cases (66.7%) achieved MRD negativity. According to the time from CR to hematological recurrence, the R/R group was divided into 12 cases in the favorable-risk group (CR to hematological recurrence ≥18 months) and 24 in the poor-risk group (CR to hematological recurrence<18 months, no remission after one cycle of therapy, and no remission after two or more cycles of therapy) . Eleven of 24 (45.8%) cases achieved CR/CRi after one cycle of Ven+AZA in the poor-risk R/R group, and 10 of 12 (83.3%) achieved CR/CRi in the favorable-risk R/R group, which was significantly superior to the poor-risk group (P=0.031) . After one cycle of treatment, 13 patients with IDH1/2 mutations and 4 that were TP53-positive all achieved CR/CRi. The CR/CRi rate of 18 patients with NPM1 mutations was 77.8%. Five patients with RUNX1-RUNX1T1 combined with KIT D816 mutation (two initial diagnoses and three recurrences) had no remission. Ven+ AZA was tolerable for AML patients. Conclusion: Ven+AZA has acceptable safety in previously untreated patients unfit for standard chemotherapy, patients with R/R AML can achieve a high response rate, and some patients can achieve MRD negativity. It is also effective in NPM1-, IDH1/IDH2-, and TP53-positive patients. The long-term efficacy remains to be observed.
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Aged , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Azacitidine/therapeutic use , Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic/therapeutic use , Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/genetics , Retrospective Studies , SulfonamidesABSTRACT
This study investigated the mechanism of baicalin on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)/interferon γ(IFN-γ)-induced inflammatory microglia based on the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2(TREM2)/Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4)/nuclear factor kappaB(NF-κB) pathway. Specifically, LPS and IFN-γ were used to induce inflammation in mouse microglia BV2 cells. Then the normal group, model group, low-dose(5 μmol·L~(-1)) baicalin group, medium-dose(10 μmol·L~(-1)) baicalin group, high-dose(20 μmol·L~(-1)) baicalin group, and minocycline(10 μmol·L~(-1)) group were designed. Cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay and cell morphology was observed under bright field. The expression of interleukin-1β(IL-1β), interleukin-4(IL-4), inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS), interleukin-6(IL-6), interleukin-10(IL-10), and arginase-1(Arg-1) mRNA was detected by real-time quantitative PCR, the protein expression of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), IL-1β, TREM2, TLR4, inhibitor kappaB-alpha(IκBα), p-IκBα, NF-κB p65 and p-NF-κB p65 by Western blot, and transfer of NF-κB p65 from cytoplasm to nucleus by cellular immunofluorescence. Compared with the normal group, most of the BV2 cells in the model group tended to demonstrate the pro-inflammatory M1 amoeba morphology, and the model group showed significant increase in the mRNA levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and iNOS, decrease in the mRNA levels of IL-4, IL-10, and Arg-1(P<0.01), rise of the protein expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, TLR4, p-IκBα, and p-NF-κB p65(P<0.01), reduction in TREM2 protein expression, and increase in the expression of NF-κB p65 in nucleus. Compared with the model group, baicalin groups and minocycline group showed the recovery of BV2 cell morphology, significant decrease in the mRNA levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and iNOS, increase in the mRNA levels of IL-4, IL-10, and Arg-1(P<0.01), reduction in the protein expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, TLR4, p-IκBα, and p-NF-κB p65(P<0.05), rise of TREM2 protein expression, and decrease in the expression of NF-κB p65 in nucleus. In summary, these results suggest that baicalin can regulate the imbalance between TREM2 and TLR4 of microglia and inhibit the activation of downstream NF-κB, thus promoting the polarization of microglia from pro-inflammatory phenotype to anti-inflammatory phenotype.
Subject(s)
Animals , Mice , Flavonoids , Inflammation/genetics , Interferon-gamma , Lipopolysaccharides/adverse effects , NF-kappa B/metabolism , Toll-Like Receptor 4/metabolismABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the neuroprotective effect of Danggui Shaoyaosan (DSS) in a rat model of amyloid-<italic>β</italic>-peptide<sub>1-42</sub> (A<italic>β</italic><sub>1-42</sub>)-induced Alzheimer's disease (AD) as well as its regulatory effect on NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3)/cysteinyl aspartate-specific protease-1 (Caspase-1) signaling pathway. Method:The AD animal model was established via intracerebral injection of A<italic>β</italic><sub>1-42</sub> and treated with different concentrations of DSS after the division of rats into the sham operation group, model group, as well as the high-, medium-, and low-dose DSS groups. Morris water maze test was conducted to determine the learning and memory abilities of rats. The morphology and function of neurons were detected by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and Golgi staining, followed by immunofluorescence co-localization of NLRP3 inflammasome activation. The mRNA expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1<italic>β</italic> and IL-18 were measured by Real-time polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR), and the protein expression levels of NLRP3, Caspase-1, and IL-1<italic>β </italic>were assayed by Western blot. Result:Compared with the sham operation group, the model group exhibited significantly decreased learning and memory abilities (<italic>P</italic><0.01), impaired neuronal morphology and function, up-regulated IL-1<italic>β</italic> and IL-18 mRNA expression, enhanced NLRP3 inflammasome activation, and elevated NLRP3, Caspase-1, and IL-1<italic>β</italic> protein expression (<italic>P</italic><0.01). Compared with the model group, DSS at both medium and high doses remarkably improved the learning and memory abilities of AD rats (<italic>P</italic><0.05, <italic>P</italic><0.01), restored neuronal morphology and function, down-regulated the mRNA expression levels of inflammatory factors IL-1<italic>β</italic> and IL-18, reduced the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes, and lowered the protein expression levels of NLRP3, Caspase-1, and IL-1<italic>β</italic> (<italic>P</italic><0.01). Conclusion:DSS inhibits inflammasome activation and neuroinflammatory response possibly by regulating the NLRP3/Caspase-1 signaling pathway, thus exerting the neuroprotective effect.
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Objective:To investigate the neuroprotective effects of Danggui Shaoyaosan (DSS) on APP<sub>swe</sub>/PS1<sub>ΔE9 </sub>transgenic (APP/PS1) mice and its mechanism related to circular RNA (circRNA). Method:Totally twenty 6-month-old APP/PS1 mice were divided into model group and DSS group, and 10 C57BL/6 wild-type mice were set as the normal control group. The normal group and model group received the same volume of normal saline, and DSS group received drug by gavage administration, all for 8 weeks. The differentially expressed circRNA of APP/PS1 mice before and after DSS intervention was analyzed by circRNA sequencing to construct circRNA-miRNA mRNA interaction network. The results of cricRNA sequencing were then verified by Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR). The protein expression levels of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), p-PI3K, protein kinase B1 (Akt1), p-Akt1, B lymphocytoma-2 (Bcl-2), and Bcl-2-Associated X protein (Bax) in the hippocampus were detected by immunoblotting (Western blot). The protein expression of Caspase-3 in the hippocampus was detected by immunohistochemistry and the level of apoptosis in the hippocampus was detected by the TUNEL method. Result:Compared with the model group, there were 90 differentially expressed circRNA after intervention with DSS, of which 46 were up-regulated and 44 down-regulated. Compared with the normal group, the expression levels of circRNA1398 and circRNA1399 in the model group decreased, and the expression levels of miR-103-3p, miR-153-3p, miR-143-3p, and miR-143-5p increased. Compared with the model group, the expression levels of circRNA1398 and circRNA1399 in the DSS group were up-regulated, while the expression levels of miR-103-3p, miR-153-3p, miR-143-3p, and miR-143-5p were down-regulated. Compared with the normal group, the expression of p-PI3K, Akt1, p-Akt1, and Bcl-2 in the model group decreased (<italic>P</italic><0.05,<italic> P</italic><0.01), and the expression of Bax and Caspase in the model group increased (<italic>P</italic><0.01). Compared with the model group, the expression of p-PI3K, Akt1, p-Akt1, and Bcl-2 in the hippocampus of the DSS group increased (<italic>P</italic><0.01), and the protein expression of Bax and Caspase decreased (<italic>P</italic><0.01). Compared with the normal group, the apoptosis level in the hippocampus of the model group increased, with an apoptosis rate of (43.76±2.92)%. Compared with the model group, the apoptosis rate of DSS group was (24.64±3.39)%. Conclusion:DSS can activate PI3K/Akt pathway and inhibit apoptosis in hippocampal neurons of APP / PS1 mice, and play a neuroprotective role. The specific mechanism may be related to the regulation of circRNA1398 and circRNA1399 expression and the corresponding miRNA expression.
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The concentrations of seven anti-inflammatory components in blood and tissues were determined by UPLC-MS/MS after oral administration of Tetrastigma hemsleyanum aerial part(THAA) in healthy and inflammatory pathological model rats. The determination was carried out by using positive and negative ion switching technique, and multiple reaction monitoring(MRM) mode. The tissue distributions of the seven components in different physiological states were compared, and the patterns and characteristics of the effective components of THAA were studied. The results revealed that the seven effective components have large drug-time-curve areas(AUC) in heart, brain, small intestine, and stomach in both normal rats and inflammatory pathological model rats. This suggests that the anti-inflammatory effective component groups in THAA extract can all penetrate the blood-brain barrier, and have a large distribution area in gastrointestinal tract. It is inferred that gastrointestinal reabsorption may be one of the causes of the bimodal distribution of the drug-time curve of the drug blood distribution graph. As compared to normal rats, the effective component groups in THAA extract have higher drug-time curve area(AUC) in heart, brain, small intestine, stomach, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, and muscle of inflammatory pathological model rats. Among them, the effective component groups have the largest distribution area in heart, brain, small intestine, and stomach. This suggests that the binding force of organ tissues and drugs in the body may change under pathological conditions. It is speculated that the heart, brain, small intestine, and stomach may be the target tissues of THAA to produce anti-inflammatory effect. The retention times of THAA effective component groups in various organ tissues of rats in different physiological states are all relatively short, and do not have much difference. This suggests that no effective component accumulates in body, and that the pathological state of inflammation does not affect the onset times of the effective component groups. This experiment elucidates the patterns and characteristics of the in vivo target-effecting tissue distribution of THAA anti-inflammatory extract, and provides an experimental basis for clinical treatment.
Subject(s)
Animals , Rats , Anti-Inflammatory Agents , Chromatography, Liquid , Plant Components, Aerial , Plant Extracts , Tandem Mass Spectrometry , Tissue DistributionABSTRACT
Aim To prepare hyaluronic acid nanoparti-cles(Ade/GA-HA) using glycyrrhetinic acid modified hyaluronic acid as the carrier and adenine as a model drug, and analyze their physicochemical property and proliferation effect on Bel-7402 cells. Methods Gly-cyrrhetinic acid and hyaluronic acid were combined by chemical cross-linking method, dialysis and freeze-dr-ying,based on which Ade/GA-HA was prepared using ultrasonic method, and the particle size and Zeta po-tential were determined by Malvern laser particle analy-zer,and the morphology was observed by transmission electron microscopy, and the absorbance was deter-mined by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer, high performance liquid chromatograph and microplate read-er to caculate drug load, encapsulation efficiency and in vitro release. MTT assays were utilized to determine the proliferation of nanoparticles treated Bel-7402 cells. Results GA-HA nanoparticles had spherical shape with a good dispersion, at diameters of 398.1 nm, of which Zeta potential was - 34.2 mV, and presented good short term stability. The drug load and encapsulation efficiency of Ade/GA-HA nanoparticles were (22.5 ± 5.8)% and (87.27 ± 0.33) %, re-spectively. Burst release was observed in Ade/GA-HA nanoparticles within 4 h, while controlled release 4 h later. Compared with free adenine,Ade/GA-HA nano-particles had a stronger inhibitory effect on cell prolif-eration with statistically significant difference. Conclu-sion GA-HA nanoparticles has excellent physico-chemical properties and meet the design requirement.
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Objective: To determine the influence of donor-recipient sex matching on outcome of haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-HSCT) for acute leukemia in the setting of T-cell-replete transplants. Methods: The retrospective study is based on 1 160 consecutive patients who received their first haplo-HSCT for acute leukemia between April 2002 and December 2014 at Peking University Institute of Hematology. The patients were divided into the sex-matched group and sex-mismatched group in terms of the recipient and donor sex. Then we conducted an analysis in four subgroups, male patients with male donors (M→M), male patients with female donors (F→M), female patients with female donors (F→F), and female patients with male donors (M→F). Transplant outcomes were measured in terms of hematopoietic recovery, acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD), relapse, nonrelapse mortality (NRM), disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in the above four subgroups. Then univariate and multivariate analysis were conducted. Results: There was a higher 3-year and 5-year NRM but no difference in other transplant outcomes in sex-mismatched group when compared with the sex-matched group. F→M was compared with M→M, and the former group had higher 3-year and 5-year cumulative incidences of NRM (25.5% vs 16.1%, P=0.002; 27.1% vs 17.3%, P=0.002), decreased 5-year DFS (56.9% vs 64.4%, P=0.044), decreased 3-year OS (62.6% vs 69.8%, P=0.045). There was no significant difference in 3-year DFS and 5-year OS. There was no significant difference in grade Ⅱ-Ⅳ aGVHD and cGVHD incidence. When F→F group was compared with M→F group, only a higher grade Ⅱ-Ⅳ aGVHD incidence (43.9% vs 34.6%, P=0.047) existed. F→M was proved to be the independent risk factor influencing NRM and OS in multivariate analysis. Conclusion: In haplo-HSCT for acute leukemia, the donor-recipient sex combination of male patients with female donors was of a poorer prognosis, so a male donor was a better choice for a male patient.
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Female , Humans , Male , Graft vs Host Disease , Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation , Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/therapy , Retrospective Studies , Tissue DonorsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To develop a kind of Agkistrodon acutus (Günther) DNA test kit, evaluate its quality indexes including specificity, stability, sensitivity and repeatability, and inspect the qualities of commercialAgkistrodon acutus (Günther) samples. METHODS: The Agkistrodon acutus (Günther) DNA test kit was developed and modified according to the method recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 edition). EighteenAgkistrodon acutus (Günther) samples were randomly collected from Beijing, Tianjin, and Changchun. The kit assay was performed to identify these samples with the pharmacopoeia method as the standard control. RESULTS: The kit proved effective after 20 times of freezing and thawing, and repeatability test showed same data for three tests. The lower limit of quantitation was 0.025 g. The specificity test confirmed that 14 samples were genuine, and 4 were adulterants. All of the identification results by the kit assay were in accordance with the ones by the pharmacopoeia method. CONCLUSION: The developed DNA test kit is accurate and effective for identification of Agkistrodon acutus (Günther). Compared with the pharmacopoeia method, it is simpler and more rapid, demonstrating broad prospect in quality inspection of Agkistrodon acutus (Günther).