Epimedium regulates stem cell-like character of breast cancer via miR-148a / 中国药理学通报

Aim To observe the effect of epimedium on the proliferation and stem cell-like character expression of breast cancer cells, and investigate the relationship between the inhibition of stem cell-like character and miR-148a by epimedium, and its molecular mechanism. Methods After treatment with different concentrations of epimedium, cell viability and population dependence were detected by MTT assay and colony formation assay; the breast cancer stem cell-derived mammosphere formation was examined by Mammosphere assay; the expression levels of CD44,ALDH-1, Oct4,BMIl and EpCAM were detected by qPCR; the protein expression levels of EpCAM, SOX4, ZO-1, E-cadherin and vimentin were detected by Western blot; the protein localization of EpCAM was observed by im-munofluorescence assay; the effect of epimedium on migration was detected by wound healing assay. The miR-148a mimic was transfected into MDA-MB-231 cells, and the effects of epimedium on stem-like character expression of transfected MDA-MB-231 cells were observed. Results Epimedium significantly inhibited the proliferation and population dependence of MDA-MB-231 cells (P < 0.05 ), and reduced the breast cancer stem cell-derived mammosphere formation; compared with control group, epimedium significantly decreased mRNA levels of CD44, ALDH-1, Oct4, BMI1 and EpCAM (P <0.05) ,decreased protein contents of EpCAM, SOX4 and Vimentin (P < 0.05 ), up-regulated the protein expression of ZO-1 and e-cadherin ( P <0.05) ,and decreased the migration ability of MDA-MB-231 cells (P < 0.05). Epimedium up-regulated the expression of miR-148a in MDA-MB-231 cells (P <0.01). YYH + miR-148a mimic group significantly inhibited stem-like character expression and EMT process of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells compared with control group (P <0.05). Conclusions Epimedium can inhibit the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells, which may be related to the up-regulation of miR-148a, decrease of stem-like character expression of breast cancer cells,and inhibition of EMT.

Silencing of DsbA-L gene impairs the PPARγ agonist function of improving insulin resistance in a high-glucose cell model / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

Disulfide-bond A oxidoreductase-like protein (DsbA-L) is a molecular chaperone involved in the multimerization of adiponectin. Recent studies have found that DsbA-L is related to metabolic diseases including gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and can be regulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) agonists; the specific mechanism, however, is uncertain. Furthermore, the relationship between DsbA-L and the novel adipokine chemerin is also unclear. This article aims to investigate the role of DsbA-L in the improvement of insulin resistance by PPARγ agonists in trophoblast cells cultured by the high-glucose simulation of GDM placenta. Immunohistochemistry and western blot were used to detect differences between GDM patients and normal pregnant women in DsbA-L expression in the adipose tissue. The western blot technique was performed to verify the relationship between PPARγ agonists and DsbA-L, and to explore changes in key molecules of the insulin signaling pathway, as well as the effect of chemerin on DsbA-L. Results showed that DsbA-L was significantly downregulated in the adipose tissue of GDM patients. Both PPARγ agonists and chemerin could upregulate the level of DsbA-L. Silencing DsbA-L affected the function of rosiglitazone to promote the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (PKB)/AKT pathway. Therefore, it is plausible to speculate that DsbA-L is essential in the environment of PPARγ agonists for raising insulin sensitivity. Overall, we further clarified the mechanism by which PPARγ agonists improve insulin resistance.

Prognostic value of Montreal Cognitive Assessment in heart failure patients / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective: To explore the occurrence of cognitive impairment in Chinese heart failure (HF) patients and it's impact on prognosis. Methods: In this prospective observational study, a total of 990 HF patients were enrolled from 24 hospitals in China during December 2012 to November 2014. All patients were administrated with the interview-format Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), according to which they were divided into MoCA<26 (with cognitive impairment) group and MoCA≥26 (without cognitive impairment) group. Baseline data were collected and a 1-year follow up was carried out. Univariate and multivariate logistic or Cox regression were performed for 1-year outcomes. Results: Cognitive impairment was evidenced in 628 patients (63.4%) and they were more likely to be older, female, and with higher proportion of New York Heart Association(NYHA) class Ⅲ-Ⅳ, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), ischemic heart disease, while body mass index (BMI), education level, and medical insurance rate were lower (all P<0.05) as compared to patients in MoCA≥26 group. The rate of percutaneous intervention, device implantation, cardiac surgery and evidence-based medications were significantly lower in MoCA<26 group than in MoCA≥26 group (all P<0.05). During the 1-year follow up, patients in the MoCA<26 group had higher all-cause mortality (10.2%(64/628) vs. 2.2%(8/362), P<0.01), cardiovascular mortality (5.9%(37/628) vs. 0.8%(3/362), P<0.01) and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) (9.6%(60/628) vs. 2.5%(8/362), P<0.01) than patients in the MoCA≥26 group. In univariate regression, MoCA<26 was associated with increased all-cause mortality (HR(95%CI):4.739(2.272-9.885), P<0.01), cardiovascular mortality (HR(95%CI):7.258(2.237-23.548), P=0.001) and MACCE (OR(95%CI):4.143(2.031-8.453), P<0.01). After adjustment by multivariate regression, MoCA<26 was indicated as an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality (HR(95%CI): 6.387(2.533-16.104), P<0.01), cardiovascular mortality (HR(95%CI): 10.848(2.586-45.506), P=0.001) and MACCE (OR(95%CI): 4.081(1.299-12.816), P=0.016), while not for re-hospitalization for HF (OR(95%CI):1.010(0.700-1.457), P=0.957). Conclusions: Cognitive impairment is common in HF patients,and it is an independent prognostic factor for 1-year outcomes. Routine cognitive function assessment and active intervention are thus recommended for HF patients.

Timing and complications of cesarean section for scarred uterus / 中国实用妇科与产科杂志

With the implementation of the two-child policy and the wide application of hysteroscopy and laparoscopy,pregnancy of scarred uterus women is increasing year by year,and most patients still choose cesarean section.Complications of cesarean section has also increased.It is an important task for obstetricians to master the timing and mode of termination of pregnancy and reduce complications.The authors make a comprehensive analysis of the timing and complications of cesarean section for the second pregnancy of scarred uterus.

Application of Combined Special Staining in the Observation of Vascular Pathology / 中国医学科学院学报

Objective To evaluate the value of combined special staining technique in observing pathological changes in blood vessels. Methods Totally 999 vascular specimen were harvested from patients with complete medical records,clear diagnosis,and age≥18 years in the Pathology Department of Beijing Anzhen Hospital from January 2014 to September 2017.All specimen were stained with HE,Verhoef-Van Gieson,AB/PAS,and Masson. Then,the result of HE staining was compared with that of the combined special staining (Verhoef-Van Gieson,AB/PAS,and Masson).Results HE staining only showed a small amount of elastic fiber fracture. In contrast,the combined special staining clearly showed the pathological changes including fractures,decreased elastic fibers,and aggregation of extracellular mucous matrix. Diseases in these 999 patients included aneurysm of sinus of valsalva (SVA) (n=3),aortic root aneurysm (ARA) (n=177),thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) (n=78),abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) (n=17),total thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (tTAAA) (n=32),and aortic dissection (AD) (n=692). The median scores of combined special staining of SVA (Z=3.857,P=0.040),ARA (Z=14.307,P=0.000),TAA (Z=26.939,P=0.000),AAA (Z=22.412,P=0.000),tTAAA (Z=15.926,P=0.000),and AD (Z=39.213,P=0.000) were significantly higher than that of HE staining. Conclusion The combined Verhoeff-Van Gieson,AB/PAS,and Masson special staining is an effective technique for observing pathological changes of elastic fibers and mucus in blood vessels.

A time series analysis on under 5 mortality rate in Zhejiang Province / 预防医学

Objective To study the temporal distribution regular pattern of under 5 mortality rate(U5MR)from 1 998 to 201 4 in Zhejiang Province,and to predict the under 5 mortality rate in 201 5.Methods A time series ARIMA (p,d,q) forecasting model for U5MR was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0 statistical analysis software.Results The UMAR showed downward trend.The ARIMA(2,1 ,2)model of U5MR from 1 998 to 201 4 in Zhejiang Province is yt =-0.696 +0.636yt -1 +0.024yt -2 +0.340yt -3 +αt -0.003αt -1 +0.997αt -2 ,and the model fitting was good.Each of the actual mortality was consistent with the trend of model prediction,and was within the 95% confidence interval.The predicted value of U5MR was 4.08‰ (95% CI:1 .52‰ -6.64‰)in 201 5.Conclusion Time series analysis is an effective way to analyze the temporal distribution regular pattern of U5MR,which could be used for short -term prediction.

Effect of storax on concentration of sulpiride in brain and blood by MD-HPLC / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of traditional Chinese medicine storax on the concentration of combined western medicine sulpiride in brain and blood, discuss the effect of storax in inducing resuscitation and increasing the permeability of the gastrointestinal barrier (GB) and the blood-brain-barrier (BBB), and explore the interaction between storax and sulpiride.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Rats were orally administered with the drugs for one week, probes were implanted in their brains and necks by surgery. After balance for 60 min, brain microdialysis and blood microdialysis were adopted for collect dislysates from blood in right atrum and cerebral hippocampus at time periods of 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180 min. The concentration of sulpirde in the samples was detected by RP-HPLC. Statistical approaches were adopted to compare the contents of sulpirde in brain and blood of the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The sulpiride combined with storax group showed a significant higher concentration of sulpiride than the pure sulpiride group. The pure sulpiride group showed a concentration ratio between sulpiride in brain and blood of 1:0.2; while the sulpiride combined with storax group increased the concentration ratio between sulpiride in brain and blood to 1:0.3. Compared with the pure sulpiride group, the sulpiride combined with storax group showed an increase of concentration by 39% in brain and 69% in blood.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Storax can notably increase the concentration of sulpiride in rat brain and blood, indicating that it can increase the permeation of sulpiride through gastrointestinal barrier and BBB. This study reveals the mechanism of storax in inducing resuscitation by promoting the permeation through gastrointestinal barrier and BBB.</p>

Polymorphisms in genes involved in folate metabolism as maternal risk factors for Down syndrome in China / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the relationship between genetic polymorphisms in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), methionine synthase reductase (MTRR), the central enzymes in folate metabolism that affects DNA methylation and synthesis, and the risk of Down syndrome in China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Genomic DNA was isolated from the peripheral lymphocytes of 64 mothers of children with Down syndrome and 70 age matched control subjects. Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism were used to examine the polymorphisms of MTHFR 677C-->T, MTRR 66A-->G and the relationship between these genotypes and the risk of Down syndrome was analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The results show that the MTHFR 677C-->T polymorphism is more prevalent among mothers of children with Down syndrome than among control mothers, with an odds ratio of 3.78 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.78 approximately 8.47). In addition, the homozygous MTRR 66A-->G polymorphism was independently associated with a 5.2-fold increase in estimated risk (95% CI, 1.90 approximately 14.22). The combined presence of both polymorphisms was associated with a greater risk of Down syndrome than the presence of either alone, with an odds ratio of 6.0 (95% CI, 2.058 approximately 17.496). The two polymorphisms appear to act without a multiplicative interaction.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>MTHFR and MTRR gene mutation alleles are related to Down syndrome, and CT, TT and GG gene mutation types increase the risk of Down syndrome.</p>