RESUMO
Objectives: To investigate the impact of high-salt diet on plasma level of vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) in healthy subjects and hypertension patients; to explore the relationship between VEGF-C level and blood pressure (BP). Methods: Our research included in 2 groups: Essential hypertension (EH) group, 75 patients treated in our hospital from 2013 to 2014 and Control group, 98 healthy subjects at the same period. Using salt-intake 6 g/day as the borderline, both groups were respectively divided into High-sodium diet (HS) subgroups and Low-sodium diet (LS) subgroups. The age, gender, creatinine clearance (CCr), UA, fast blood glucose (FBG), body mass index (BMI), blood lipids (TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse pressure (PP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR) and CF-PWV were compared between EH group and Control group, HS subgroups and LS subgroups. Results: Compared with Control group, EH group had increased plasma level of VEGF-C, (3 940.8±1 141.1) pg/ml vs (2 938.0±987.0) pg/ml, P<0.001; the age, BMI, SPB, DBP, PP, MAP and CF-PWV were different between 2 group, all P<0.005. In ES group, compared with LS subgroup, HS subgroup showed the higher VEGF-C (4 208.8±113.1) pg/ml vs (3 515.8±1 070.1) pg/ml, P=0.009; the age, SBP, DBP and PP were different between 2 group, all P<0.005. In Control group, compared with LS subgroup, HS subgroup showed the higher VEGF-C (3 158.7±917.2) pg/ml vs (2 655.7±1 011.3) pg/ml, P=0.012; the age BMI and CCr were different between 2 group, all P<0.005, while BP was similar between 2 subgroups. Spearman correlation study presented that with adjusted confounding factors, no matter in all participates and in EH group or Control group, MAP were positively related to plasma levels of VEGF-C (r=0.536, P<0.001 and r=0.546, P=0.002 or r=0.291, P=0.006) respectively. Conclusions: High-sodium diet could increase plasma VEGF-C level in either healthy subjects or hypertension patients, VEGF-C level was positively related to BP.
RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the mechanism of Bushen Qiangji Granule (, BSQJ) in restraining the osteogenic differentiation of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) fifibroblasts.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Hip joint capsules were obtained from AS patients (n=10) receiving total hip replacement and healthy hip joint capsules from patients with hip fracture (n=10) receiving surgery as a control. Finite fifibroblast lines were established from these tissue samples to observe the effect of BSQJ on suppressing osteogenic differentiation of fifibroblasts. The expression of osteogenic marker gene corebinding factor a1 (Cbfa1) and Smad family proteins were examined by Western blot and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mRNA expression level of Cbfa1 was significantly higher in AS fibroblasts than that in normal fibroblasts and the expression of pSmad1, pSmad5, Smad4 and Cbfa1 in AS fibroblasts was also higher, demonstrating the activation of the BMP/Smads signal pathway in AS fifibroblasts. BSQJ-medicated serum not only restrained the mRNA and protein expression levels of Cbfa1 and inhibited protein expression level of Smad4 but also decreased the expression quantities of pSmad1 and pSmad5.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>BSQJ can inhibit osteogenic differentiation of AS fifibroblasts in vitro by suppressing the activation of the BMP/Smads signal pathway. This may be the important molecular mechanism of BSQJ in regulating AS ossifification.</p>