Astragaloside IV attenuates high glucose-induced EMT by inhibiting the TGF-ß/Smad pathway in renal proximal tubular epithelial cells.

In the present study, we examined the molecular mechanism of astragaloside IV (AS-IV) in high glucose (HG)-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in renal proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTCs). NRK-52E cell viability and apoptosis were determined by the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and flow cytometric analysis, respectively. Expressions of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, vimentin, and occludin were measured by Western blot, and those of E-cadherin and N-cadherin were additionally measured by immunofluorescence analysis. Transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expressions were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot. The expressions of Smad2, Smad3, phosphorylated-Smad2 (p-Smad2), and p-Smad3 were measured using Western blot. We found that AS-IV could recover NRK-52E cell viability and inhibit HG-induced cell apoptosis. TGF-ß1, α-SMA, Smad2, Smad3, p-Smad2, and p-Smad3 expressions were decreased in the AS-IV-treated groups compared with the HG group. Moreover, the expressions of E-cadherin and occludin were remarkably up-regulated and those of N-cadherin and vimentin were down-regulated in the AS-IV-treated groups compared with the HG group. Interestingly, the TGF-ß1 activator SRI-011381 hydrochloride had an antagonistic effect to AS-IV on HG-induced EMT behavior. In conclusion, AS-IV attenuates HG-induced EMT by inhibiting the TGF-ß/Smad pathway in renal PTCs.

Genome-wide profiling of mRNA and lncRNA expression in dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) are recurrent diseases that are widespread in the tropics. Here, we identified candidate genes associated with these diseases by performing integrated analyses of DF (GSE51808) and DHF (GSE18090) microarray datasets in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). In all, we identified 7635 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in DF and 8147 DEGs in DHF as compared to healthy controls (P < 0.05). In addition, we discovered 215 differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (DElncRNAs) in DF and 225 DElncRNAs in DHF. There were 1256 common DEGs and eight common DElncRNAs in DHF vs DF, DHF vs normal control, and DF vs normal control groups. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis revealed that signal transduction (false discovery rate = 8.33E-10), 'toxoplasmosis', and 'protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum' were significantly enriched pathways for common DEGs. We conclude that the MAGED1,STAT1, and IL12A genes may play crucial roles in DF and DHF, and suggest that our findings may facilitate the identification of biomarkers and the development of new drug design strategies for DF and DHF treatment.

Establishment of a novel rat model of blast-related diffuse axonal injury.

Although studies concerning blast-related traumatic brain injury (bTBI) have demonstrated the significance of diffuse axonal injury (DAI), no standard models for this type of injury have been widely accepted. The present study investigated a mechanism of inducing DAI through real blast injury, which was achieved by performing instantaneous high-speed swinging of the rat head, thus establishing a stable animal model of blast DAI. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 150±10 g were randomly divided into experimental (n=16), control (n=10) and sham control (n=6) groups. The frontal, parietal and occipital cortex of the rats in the experimental group were exposed, whereas those of the control group were unexposed; the sham control group rats were anesthetized and attached to the craniocerebral blast device without experiencing a blast. The rats were subjected to craniocerebral blast injury through a blast equivalent to 400 mg of trinitrotoluene using an electric detonator. Biomechanical parameters, and physical and behavioural changes of the sagittal head swing were measured using a high-speed camera. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were conducted at 2, 12, 24 and 48 h after craniocerebral injury, only the experimental group indicated brain stem injury. The rats were sacrificed immediately following the MRI at 48 h for pathological examination of the brain stem using haematoxylin and eosin staining. The results indicated that 14 rats (87.5%) in the experimental group exhibited blast DAI, while no DAI was observed in the control and sham control groups, and the difference between the groups was significant (P<0.05). The present results indicated that this experimental design may serve to provide a stable model of blast DAI in rats.

Clinical observation on the effects of Bo's abdominal acupuncture in 40 cases of chronic fatigue syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the curative effect of Bo's abdominal acupuncture on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). METHODS: Forty cases with CFS were treated by Bo's abdominal acupuncture at the points for conducting qi back to its origin and 4 points on the abdomen once a day for 2 weeks. Scores for symptoms and scores for fatigue questionnaires were compared before and after treatment. RESULTS: After treatment, the clinical symptoms of patients were differently alleviated, and scores for symptoms, mental condition and neural feeling in questionnaires on fatigue were obviously reduced (P<0.01-0.05). CONCLUSION: Bo's abdominal acupuncture has a good curative effect on general disease with complex symptoms, especially on lassitude, anorexia, insomnia, amnesia, diarrhea, and general pain.