Implication of IGF1R signaling in the protective effect of Astragaloside IV on ischemia and reperfusion-induced cardiac microvascular endothelial hyperpermeability.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) causes damage to coronary capillary endothelial barrier and microvascular leakage (MVL), aggravating tissue injury and heart dysfunction. However, the effective strategy for protecting endothelium barrier of cardiac vasculature remains limited. PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the effect of Astragaloside IV (ASIV) on coronary MVL after cardiac I/R and the underlying mechanism. STUDY DESIGN: Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were used for assessment of the efficacy of Astragaloside IV in protection of myocardial I/R injury, while human cardiac microvascular endothelial cells were applied to gain more insight into the underlying mechanism. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats with or without pretreatment by ASIV at 10 mg/kg were subjected to occlusion of left coronary anterior descending artery followed by reperfusion. Endothelial cells were exposed to hypoxia and re-oxygenation (H/R). The distribution of junction proteins was detected by immunofluorescence staining and confocal microscope, the content of junction proteins was detected by Western blot, the level of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) was detected by ELISA, and the signal pathway related to permeability was detected by siRNA infection. The fluorescence intensity of FITC-albumin and FITC-Dextran was measured to evaluate the permeability of endothelial cells. RESULTS: ASIV exhibited protective effects on capillary damage, myocardium edema, albumin leakage, leucocyte infiltration, and the downregulated expression of endothelial junction proteins after I/R. Moreover, ASIV displayed ability to protect ATP from depletion after I/R or H/R, and the effect of ASIV on regulating vascular permeability and junction proteins was abolished once ATP synthase was inhibited. Notably, ASIV activated the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) and downstream signaling after reoxygenation. Knocking IGF1R down abolished the effect of ASIV on restoration of ATP, junction proteins and endothelial barrier after H/R. CONCLUSION: ASIV was potential to prevent MVL after I/R in heart. Moreover, the study for the first time demonstrated that the beneficial role of ASIV depended on promoting production of ATP through activating IGF1R signaling pathway. This result provided novel insight for better understanding the mechanism underlying the potential of ASIV to cope with cardiac I/R injury.

QiShenYiQi Pills Attenuates Ischemia/Reperfusion-Induced Cardiac Microvascular Hyperpermeability Implicating Src/Caveolin-1 and RhoA/ROCK/MLC Signaling.

Aims: Coronary microvascular hyperpermeability is an important contributor to ischemia or reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the effective strategy for this insult remains limited. This study aimed to explore the protective effect of the compound Chinese medicine QiShenYiQi Pills (QSYQ) against coronary microvascular hyperpermeability after cardiac I/R with focusing on the underlying mechanism. Methods and Results: Male Sprague-Dawley rats under anesthesia were subjected to occlusion of left coronary anterior descending artery followed by reperfusion. QSYQ was administrated 90 min before ischemia initiation. Human cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (HCMECs) underwent hypoxia or reoxygenation (H/R) challenge with QSYQ administrated 1 h prior to hypoxia. QSYQ exhibited effects on attenuating microvascular damage and albumin leakage after I/R injury, showing a role in maintaining endothelial junctions, caveolae, and collagen in basement membrane (BM) of microvessels. Study using HCMECs disclosed that QSYQ protected endothelial barrier from impairment by H/R, attenuating the decline of respiratory chain complex I and ATP synthase, activation of Src/caveolin-1 and increase of RhoA/ROCK/p-MLC, MMP-9, and CTSS. PP2, a Src inhibitor, partially imitated the effect of QSYQ. Conclusions: The QSYQ was able to prevent I/R-induced cardiac microvascular hyperpermeability via a mechanism involving Src/caveolin-1 and RhoA/ROCK/MLC signaling.

Xiaoqinglong granules as add-on therapy for asthma: latent class analysis of symptom predictors of response.

Xiaoqinglong granules (XQLG) has been shown to be an effective therapy in asthma animal models. We reviewed the literature and conducted this study to assess the impact of XQLG as an add-on therapy to treatment with fluticasone/salmeterol (seretide) in adult patients with mild-to-moderate, persistent asthma. A total of 178 patients were randomly assigned to receive XQLG and seretide or seretide plus placebo for 90 days. Asthma control was assessed by asthma control test (ACT), symptoms scores, FEV(1), and PEF. Baseline patient-reported Chinese medicine (CM)-specific symptoms were analyzed to determine whether the symptoms may be possible indicators of treatment response by conducting latent class analysis (LCA). There was no statistically significant difference in ACT score between two groups. In the subset of 70 patients with symptoms defined by CM criteria, XQLG add-on therapy was found to significantly increase the levels of asthma control according to global initiative for asthma (GINA) guidelines (P = 0.0329). There was no significant difference in another subset of 100 patients with relatively low levels of the above-mentioned symptoms (P = 0.1291). Results of LCA suggest that patients with the six typical symptoms defined in CM may benefit from XQLG.

QiShenYiQi Pills® prevent cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury via energy modulation.

BACKGROUND: QiShenYiQi Pills® (QSYQ) is a compound Chinese medicine used in China for alleviating cardiac function. The present study was designed to explore the effect and mechanism of QSYQ on ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced disorders in myocardial structure and function, with particularly focusing on the regulation of energy metabolism. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats, with or without QSYQ pretreatment, were subjected to 30 min occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery and followed by 90 min or 24h reperfusion. Myocardial blood flow (MBF) and cardiac function were evaluated at baseline, immediately after ischemia and 30, 60, 90 min, and 24h after reperfusion. Myocardial infarction, myocardial histology and ultrastructure were assessed. Double staining of alpha-cardiac actinin and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling was conducted to assess myocardial apoptosis. ATP, ADP and AMP content was determined by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, F-actin in myocardial cells determined by immunofluorescence microscopy and expression of ATP synthase α, ATP5D, and phosphorylated-Myosin Light Chain (P-MLC) determined by western blotting. RESULTS: Pre-treatment with QSYQ protected against I/R-induced MBF decrease, myocardial infarction and apoptosis at 90 min and 24h after reperfusion. Moreover, I/R 90 min caused an impairment on cardiac function, a decrease in the ratio of ADP/ATP and AMP/ATP, accompanying with reduction of ATP 5D expression and increase in the expression of P-MLC, meanwhile, myocardium to exhibit myocardial fiber rupture, interstitial edema, and mitochondria swelling, all of which were significantly ameliorated by pre-treatment with QSYQ. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study suggest an involvement of regulation of energy metabolism in the action of QSYQ to protect against myocardial I/R injury.

[Predictive role of diagnostic information in treatment efficacy of rheumatoid arthritis based on neural network model analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the indications of the therapies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with neural network model analysis. METHODS: Three hundred and ninety-seven patients were included in the clinical trial from 9 clinical centers. They were randomly divided into Western medicine (WM) treated group, 194 cases; and traditional Chinese herbal medicine (CM) treated group, 203 cases. A complete physical examination and 18 common clinical manifestations were prepared before the randomization and after the treatment. The WM therapy included voltaren extended action tablet, methotrexate and sulfasalazine. The CM therapy included Glucosidorum Tripterygii Totorum Tablet and syndrome differentiation treatment. The American College of Rheumatology 20 (ACR20) was taken as efficacy evaluation. All data were analyzed on SAS 8.2 statistical package. The relationships between each variable and efficacy were analyzed, and the variables with P<0.2 were included for the data mining analysis with neural network model. All data were classified into training set (75%) and verification set (25%) for further verification on the data-mining model. RESULTS: Eighteen variables in CM and 24 variables in WM were included in the data-mining model. In CM, morning stiffness, swollen joint number, peripheral immunoglobulin M (IgM) level, tenderness joint number, tenderness, rheumatoid factor (RF), C-reactive protein (CRP) and joint pain were positively related to the efficacy, and disease duration and more urination at night negatively related to the efficacy. In WM, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), weak waist, white fur in tongue, joint pain, joint stiffness and swollen joint were positively related to the efficacy, and yellow fur in tongue, red tongue, white blood negatively related to the efficacy. In the analysis with the neural network model in the patients of verification set, the predictive response rates of 20% patients would be 100% and 90% in the treatment with CM and WM, respectively. CONCLUSION: Neural network model analysis, based on the full clinical trial data with collection of both traditional Chinese medicine and modern medicine diagnostic information, shows a good predictive role for the information in the efficacy in rheumatoid arthritis.

Effects of huoxiangzhengqi liquid on enteric mucosal immune responses in mice with Bacillus dysenteriae and Salmonella typhimurium induced diarrhea.

AIM: To explore effects of huoxiangzhengqi liquid (HXZQ) on enteric mucosal immune responses in mice with Bacillus dysenteriae and Salmonella typhimurium induced diarrhea (BSD). METHODS: BSD was induced in Balb/c mice by oral administration with Bacillus dysenteriae and Salmonella typhimurium. HXZQ was administrated from the day of diarrhea induction at dosages of 5.21 g/kg and 0.52 g/kg, respectively. The onset of diarrhea and lasting time were recorded. Peyer's patches and peripheral lymphocytes were prepared for flow cytometry, and levels of TNF-alpha in peripheral blood and enteric tissue homogenates were determined with ELISA. Student's t test was employed for statistics. RESULTS: Mice in BSD group started showing continuous diarrhea on the day of induction until the fourth day when they were sacrificed. Diarrhea in the mice of HXZQ high and low dose groups lasted for 36 and 54 h, respectively. There were more CD4+ and CD8+ cells in peripheral blood, fewer CD4+ cells in Peyer's patches in BSD mice compared to normal mice. Fewer CD4+ and CD8+ cells was shown in the mice in HXZQ high group compared to BSD mice. In Peyer's patch, there were more CD8+ cells in mice in HXZQ high and low dose groups and more CD4+ in mice in HXZQ high group. Higher levels of TNF-alpha in peripheral blood and intestinal tissue homogenates in BSD group were observed. Mice in HXZQ high group showed decreased levels of TNF-alpha in peripheral blood and enteric tissue homogenates. CONCLUSION: The immune regulation of CD4+ and CD8+ cells in Peyer's patch and suppression of TNF-alpha levels in enteric homogenates may partially explain the effect of HXZQ on improvement of BSD.