Study on inter-individual variability of cerebral response to acupuncture with fMRI / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Effects of inter-individual variability on fMRI of acupuncture were observed and the possible influencing factors were further analyzed.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-six healthy volunteers were selected. And acupuncture was applied at Zusanli (ST 36) on the left side with even manipulation. The same experimental designation and data collecting reference were adopted to collect functional data. Then, the same data processing method was applied for analyzing individual data. Data which did not confirm with data analyzing qualification were rejected. The 26 individual data which met the requirement were taken randomly for 5 times according to the principle of random group division. Five groups named with A, B, C, D and E were thus generated with 11 samples in each. Images were processed with the AFNI software for every group, and the activated brain areas were revealed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Activated areas in the brain were observed in all the 5 groups, and the results vary a lot among different groups. Decreased signals of activated brain areas were observed in group C, while increased signals were seen in group D. Partial increasing and partial decreasing signals appeared in the other 3 groups. Compared with other groups, group D demonstrated totally different activated areas. The rate of difference among different groups is 46.7%-100.0%, and most of the differences were over half of the activated areas.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Under the pre-requisites of strict control of experimental designation, acupuncture method, data collecting and processing, great differences have been found in the activated areas of the brain. It indicates that obvious individual differences existes in the activated areas of the brain with acupuncture. And the difference may greatly influence the researching result of fMRI as well as conclusions of those results.</p>

Study on the relative specificity of the heart and lung meridians in brain with fMRI / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the central modulation mechanism on the relative specificity of the Heart and Lung Meridians and to provide the experimental evidence for deeply study on correlation between meridian-viscera and brain.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ten healthy students in Anhui College of TCM were chosen and a modified block design was adopted. After 32 time points of resting and 32 of rotation needling, then 48 of resting and 32 stimulating, and 16 resting time points, functional imagings were collected at last. All the process would last for 10 min 44 sec. Acupuncture work was finished by one acupuncturist with extensive experience by acupuncture at the left Shenmen (HT 7) or Taiyuan (LU 8) with the disposable sterile stainless steel needle, and uniform reinforcing-reducing method was used with frequency of 1 Hz and depth of 1.0 cm. After the experiment, the sensation of acupuncture and the other feeling or psychic process were inquired and recorded detailedly. These data were analyzed by AFNI software.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Acupuncture at Taiyuan (LU 8) could excite the contralateral frontal lobe, apical lobe, cerebral ganglion, VI, VIII areas and inferior semilunar lobule of cerebellum, and restrain bilateral callosal gyrus and homolateral gyrus rectus. Acupuncture at Shenmen (HT 7) could excite the contralateral IV-VIII areas of cerebellum, and homolateral VI, VII areas of cerebellum, and restrain parts of homolateral apical lobe.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupuncture at Shenmen (HT 7) of the Heart Meridian and Taiyuan (LU 8) of the Lung Meridian can excite or restrain different brain areas, indicating that there are relatively specific corresponding brain areas for the Heart Meridian and Lung Meridian.</p>

Expression and significance of new candidate tumor suppressor gene N-Myc downstream-regulated gene 2 in colorectal cancer / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the expression of new candidate tumor suppressor gene N-Myc downstream-regulated gene 2(Ndrg2) in colorectal cancer with different differentiation, and analyze its clinical significance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Specimens of 50 colorectal cancer patients with different differentiation were collected. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to examine the expression of Ndrg2. Colorectal cancer tissue array in large scale was applied to analyze the expression of Ndrg2 and the statistics analysis was performed referring to the patients information of the array.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among 50 cases, Ndrg2 expression level of colorectal cancer was significantly lower in 32 cases as compared to adjacent and normal tissue of the same individual, while Ndrg2 expression of adjacent tissue was significantly lower than that of normal tissue. Ndrg2 protein levels increased from poor-differentiated to well-differentiated carcinomas(P=0.005).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The expression of Ndrg2 in different differentiated colorectal cancer tissues show a significant distinction. Ndrg2 may be involved in the regulation of differentiation in colorectal cancer.</p>

Relationship of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 gene polymorphisms and vulnerability to coronary heart disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the association of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) gene polymorphisms and coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This study involved 121 patients with T2DM and 94 with diabetic macroangiopathy. The polymorphisms of G8790A in ACE2 gene was analyzed using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis in these patients, and the clinical, biochemical and echocardiographic data were also analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>No obvious difference was found in the genotyping data between the two groups. Among the male patients with diabetic macroangiopathy, the interventricular septal end-diastolic thickness (IVSTd) were significantly greater in patients of GG genotypes of ACE2 gene G8790A than in those of AA genotypes (P<0.01), and the left ventricular mass (LVMI) and urine protein were also significantly higher in GG genotypes (P<0.05). No similar results were found the uncomplicated diabetic group or the female diabetic patients with CAD.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The ACE2 gene G8790A polymorphism plays a role in the pathogenesis of CAD in patients with type 2 diabetes, suggesting that ACE2 genotyping is helpful to screen the susceptible patients.</p>

Effect of enalapril on diabetic rat myocardial ultrastructure / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the changes in the myocardial ultrastructure of diabetic rats and the effect of enalapril treatment.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Male Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups, namely the control group, diabetic group and enalapril intervention group. Diabetes was induced with peritoneal injection of streptozotocin in the latter 2 groups, and in enalapril group, the rats were treated with enalapril at the daily oral dose of 2 mg/kg for 1, 3 and 5 months after streptozotocin injection. Histological analysis of the left ventricular tissue was performed with transmission electron microscope 1, 3, and 5 months after establishment of diabetes.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Onset of myocardial damages was observed 1 month after the development of diabetes in the rats with gradual time-dependent exacerbation. Enalapril treatment could partially reverse the myocardial destruction in the diabetic rats.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Enalapril intervention may improve the ultrastructural pathology of the myocardium in diabetic rats, which is suggestive of the action mechanisms of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in myocardium preservation.</p>

Effects of proadrenomedullin N-terminal 20 peptide on angiotensin II-induced NO production in rat cardiac fibroblasts / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effects of proadrenomedullin N-terminal 20 peptide (PAMP) on nitric oxide (NO) production in rat cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) induced by angiotensin II (AngII) stimulation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Neonatal SD rat CFs isolated by trypsin digestion were cultured and stimulated with PAMP, AngII or their combination, and NO production in the CFs in response to the treatments was measured by nitric acid reductase method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>NO levels in the cell culture treated with 1x10(-9), 1x10(-8), 1x10(-7), and 1x10(-6) micromol/L AngII were 73.88-/+2.23, 64.34-/+3.02, 54.12-/+2.82, and 40.21-/+1.45 micromol/L, respectively, showing significant differences between the groups (P<0.01), whereas treatment of the cells with 1x10(-9), 1x10(-8), 1x10(-7), and 1x10(-6) micromol/L PAMP did not result in significant variation in NO production (74.40-/+3.42, 74.91-/+2.66, 75.77-/+3.31, and 74.23-/+2.43 micromol/L, respectively) in comparison with that of the blank control group (74.57-/+2.49 micromol/L, P>0.05). Combined treatments with 1x10(-7) micromol/L AngII and PAMP at 1x10(-9), 1x10(-8), 1x10(-7), and 1x10(-6) micromol/L PAMP caused significant increment of NO production (66.15-/+2.95, 80.58-/+3.77, 88.67-/+1.46, and 96.22-/+2.96 micromol/L, respectively, P<0.01) in a PAMP dose-dependent manner, suggesting the abolishment of AngII-induced enhancement of NO production in the CFs by PAMP.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>PAMP increases NO production in the CFs in the presence of AngII but it does not induce significant changes in NO production when used alone.</p>

Effect of urotensin II on secretion of adrenomedullin from human vascular endothelial cells / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of human urotensin II (HU II) on secretion of adrenomedullin (ADM) from human vascular endothelial cells (HVEC) and its mechanism.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>In cultured HVEC, different concentrations of HUII were used to stimulate the ADM secretion from HVEC, and the inhibitors of different signal transduction pathway were used to investigate their effects on ADM secretion. The contents of ADM in medium were determined by radio immunoassay.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>HUII stimulated secretion of ADM from HVEC in a time-dependent and concentration-dependent manner. The contents of ADM in the experiment groups were changed compared with that in control group (P < 0.05). The increase of ADM could be inhibited by inhibitor of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (PD(98059)), inhibitor of P38 kinase (SB(202190)), inhibitor of calmodulin (W(7)) and inhibitor of Ca(2+) (nicardipine) (P < 0.05). The inhibition ratio in those groups was 68%, 78%, 24% and 25% respectively. But the inhibitor of Calcineurin (CaN) and inhibitor of protein kinase C (H(7)) had no influence on the secretion of ADM from HVEC (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The stimulated effect of HUII on the ADM secretion from HVEC may be mediated by Ca(2+), ERKs, CaM-PK and P38 signal transduction pathways.</p>