Moxibustion enables protective effects on rheumatoid arthritis-induced myocardial injury transforming growth factor beta1 signaling and metabolic reprogramming.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of moxibustion on myocardial injury and myocardial metabolomics in rats with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) based on the transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-ß1)/Smads signaling pathway. METHODS: One hundred rats were treated with saline [normal control (NC) group] or complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) by right plantar injection for the RA model group, and the latter were randomly divided into 4 groups. Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycoside tablets (, TPT) have anti-inflammatory and are widely used in the clinical treatment of RA, therefore serving as a positive control group. Three days post injection rats were given TPT tablet (TPT group), acupuncture therapy (APT group), and moxibustion treatment (MOX group) for 15 consecutive days, while NC group and model group were equally grasped and fixed and received normal saline. Rat joint swelling scores and arthritis index (AI) were evaluated in each group before the CFA challenge, therapy and after receiving therapy. Myocardial ultrastructure was observed by electron microscope. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels in rat myocardial tissue. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting analysis were used to measure the mRNA and protein levels of TGF-ß signaling molecules including TGF-ß1, Smad2, Smad3, Smad4, and Smad7. Myocardial metabolomics was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometer. RESULTS: Compared with model group, RA model rats receiving TPT, acupuncture, or moxibustion therapy all showed reduced joint swelling scores and AI (all P < 0.01) and improved myocardial damage, whereas rats treated with moxibustion were found to be more marked. Consistently, the expressions of cTnI, TGF-ß1, Smad2, Smad3, and Smad4 were found to be elevated in model rat group in contrast to NC rats and were significantly downregulated in TPT, APT and MOX group when compared with model group, while the levels of Smad7 showed the opposite result (all P < 0.01). Moreover, the dissection of metabolomics suggested a novel metabolite biomarker panel including D-Xylulose 5-phosphate, dihydroxyacetone phosphate, arachidonic acid, etc was defined and implicated in amino acid, glucose, and fatty acid metabolic processes as revealed by principal component analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis. CONCLUSION: Moxibustion prevents RA-induced inflammatory response and offers potent therapeutic effects on myocardial dysfunctions. The protective effects might be associated with its role in TGF-ß1 inactivation and metabolic reprogramming.

Changes of intestinal macrophage subsets at different stages in mice of inflammatory bowel disease / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective:To establish a mice model of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), and to analyze the changes in intestinal inflammation and macrophage subsets at different stages, so as to find a new target for the treatment of IBD.Methods:Thirty male C57BL/6 mice of 6-8 weeks were randomly divided into control group, activation stage group and resolution stage group.The latter 2 groups were given 25 g/L DSS for 5 consecutive days to establish the IBD model.After 5 days, the mice were given filtered and sterilized water and sacrificed on the 10 th and 15 th day, respectively.Colon inflammation in mice was evaluated, including body weight, disease activity index (DAI) score, changes in colon length, histopathology and histopathological score.Then the expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β in colon tissues were detected by quantitative real-time PCR(qPCR). Finally, the changes of intestinal macrophage subsets were detected by flow cytometry. Results:The colon inflammation of mice in the activation stage group was significantly more severe than that in the control group, while the colon inflammation of mice in the resolution stage group was reduced.The colon length of mice in the activation stage group was (5.94±0.40) cm, which was significantly shorter than that in the control group [(7.25±0.29) cm], and the situation was slightly improved in the resolution stage with the colon length of [(6.87±0.95) cm], and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). The mRNA expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the activation stage were 53.40±6.58, 117.69±30.78 and 2.52±0.25, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the control group (1.00±0.13, 1.00±0.39, 1.00±0.10); the mRNA expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the resolution stage were 2.51±0.13, 5.43±0.51 and 1.73±0.14, respectively, which were significantly lower than those in the activation stages(all P<0.05). The expression level of anti-inflammatory cytokine TGF-β in the resolution stage was 2.41±0.17, which was significantly higher than that in the activation stage (0.94±0.12), and the diffe-rence was statistically significant ( P<0.05). During the progression of IBD, there were 3 groups of macrophages in the lamina propria of intestinal mucosa of mice, of which the number of F4/80 lowCD 64-MHCⅡ - macrophage subset with the lowest maturity increased significantly in the activation stage of IBD, accounting for (10.68±4.62)%, and it decreased and returned to the normal level in the resolution stage, accounting for (4.63±1.06)%, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Macrophages play an important role in the progression of IBD, the hindrance of maturation and development may be the main cause of inflammatory injury in the activation stage of IBD, and the transformation of macrophage subsets may become a new target for the treatment of IBD.

Ultrasonography measurement of thumb and great toe distal phalanx bottom and its clinical significance / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective To measure the normal sagittal and coronal diameters of thumb and great toe distal phalanx bottom by ultrasonography. Methods One hundred and twenty volunteers' sagittal and coronal diameters of thumb and great toe distal phalanx bottom were measured by ultrasonography. The measurements was analysed by the statistical method. Results The thumb and great toe distal phalanx bottom showed hyperechoic zone,clear boundary with the adjacent fascia and tendon tissue showed low echo area at cross section by high frequency ultrasound. The sagittal diameters of thumb distal phalanx bottom was (8. 07 ± 0. 67)mm in men, while that of great toe distal phalanx bottom was (8. 34 ± 1. 02) mm( t = 1.73, P =0.86).The coronal diameters of thumb distal phalanx bottom was (11.61 ±0.89)mm in men, while that of great toe distal phalanx bottom was (14. 25 ± 0. 84)mm( t = 16. 77, P = 0. 00). The sagittal diameters of thumb distal phalanx bottom was (7. 52 ± 0. 62) mm in women, while that of great toe distal phalanx bottom was (7. 72 ± 0. 67) mm( t = 1. 72, P =0. 14). The coronal diameters of thumb distal phalanx bottom was (10.94 ± 0.97) mm in women, while that of great toe distal phalanx bottom was (13. 51 ±0. 75) mm( t =16.21, P = 0.00). Conclusions The normal sagittal and coronal diameters of thumb and great toe distal phalanx bottom measured by the ultrasonography can guide the operation of wrap-around flap of a great toe with phalanx ungual for thumb II degree defect reconstruction.