Effect of electroacupuncture at "Neiguan" (PC6) on pain and brain orexin 1 receptor in mice with inflammatory pain. / 电针"å† å ³"å¯¹ç‚Žæ€§ç—›å°é¼ è„‘å† é£Ÿæ¬²ç´ 1受体的影响.

OBJECTIVES: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Neiguan" (PC6) on pain response in mice injected with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) in the hind paw, so as to investigate the mechanism of orexin 1 receptor (OX1R) -endogenous cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) pathway in acupuncture analgesia. METHODS: A total of 48 male C57BL/6 mice were used in the present study. In the first part of this study, 18 mice were randomized into control, model and EA groups, with 6 mice in each group. In the second part of this study, 30 mice were randomized into control, model, EA, EA+Naloxone, EA+OX1R antagonist (SB33486) groups, with 6 mice in each group. Inflammatory pain model was established by subcutaneous injection of 20 µL CFA solution in the left hind paw. EA (2 Hz, 2 mA ) was applied to bilateral PC6 for 20 min, once a day for 5 consecutive days. The mice in the EA+Naloxone and EA+SB33486 groups were intraperitoneally injected with naloxone (10 mg/kg) or SB33486 (15 mg/kg) 15 min before EA intervention on day 5, respectively. Tail-flick method and Von Frey method were used to detect the thermal pain threshold and mechanical pain threshold of mice. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect the expression level of ß-endorphin mRNA in periaqueductal gray (PAG) of mice. The expression of OX1R positive cells in the lateral hypothalamic area (LH) and CB1R positive cells in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) were detected by immunofluorescence. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the thermal pain threshold and mechanical pain threshold of the model group were decreased (P<0.001), the expression level of ß-endorphin mRNA in PAG was decreased (P<0.001), and the numbers of OX1R positive cells in LH and CB1R positive cells in vlPAG were decreased (P<0.05, P<0.001). Compared with the model group, the thermal pain threshold and mechanical pain threshold of the EA group were significantly increased (P<0.001), and the numbers of OX1R positive cells in LH and CB1R positive cells in vlPAG were increased (P<0.01, P<0.001). Compared with the EA group, the mechanical pain threshold in the EA+SB33486 group was significantly decreased (P<0.01), but there was no significant difference in the mechanical pain threshold between the EA+Naloxone group and EA group, and the numbers of OX1R positive neurons in LH and CB1R positive neurons in vlPAG were decreased in the EA+SB33486 group (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: EA at PC6 can achieve analgesic effect on CFA mice by activating the OX1R-CB1R pathway in the brain, and this effect is opioid-independent.

Effect of electroacupuncture on inflammatory response and immune cells in mice with chronic inflammatory pain. / ç”µé’ˆå¯¹æ ¢æ€§ç‚Žæ€§ç—›å°é¼ ç‚Žæ€§ååº”å’Œå ç–«ç»†èƒžçš„å½±å“.

OBJECTIVES: To observe the effects of electroacupuncture(EA) on local inflammatory mediators and macrophage polarization, and immune cells in the spleen of mice with chronic inflammatory pain induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) in the hind paw, so as to investigate the immunoinflammatory regulatory mechanisms of EA in relieving pain and swelling in mice with chronic inflammatory pain. METHODS: Thirty C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control, model, and EA groups, with 10 mice in each group. Chronic inflammatory pain model were established by subcutaneous injection of 20 µL CFA solution in the left hind paw for 7 consecutive days. After modeling, mice in the EA group received EA at bilateral "Zusanli"(ST36) for 20 min (2 Hz/100 Hz, 1 mA) once a day for 18 consecutive days. Mechanical pain threshold, heat pain thresholds, and paw thickness were measured before and after mode-ling, and after interventions. Western blot was used to detect the expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1ß, and NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) in the paw tissue. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the positive expression of M1-type macrophage marker inducible nitric oride synthase (iNOS) and M2-type marker CD206 in the paw, and flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of F4/80+ CD11b+ macrophages, Ly6G+ CD11b+ neutrophils, and CD25+ Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) in the spleen. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, mechanical pain and heat pain thresholds were significantly reduced(P<0.000 1), while paw thickness, expressions of IL-1ß, TNF-α, and NLRP3 in the paw, and positive expression of M1 macrophage marker iNOS in the paw, the proportions of macrophages and neutrophils in the spleen were significantly increased (P<0.000 1, P<0.001) in the model group. Compared with the model group, mechanical pain threshold and heat pain thresholds, CD206 positive expression in the paw, and Treg cell proportion in spleen were significantly increased (P<0.01), while paw thickness, the expressions of IL-1ß, TNF-α and NLRP3 in the paw, as well as the positive expression of M1 macrophage marker iNOS in the paw, the proportions of macrophages and neutrophils in the spleen were significantly reduced (P<0.001, P<0.01, P<0.05)in mice of the EA group after intervention. CONCLUSIONS: EA may alleviate pain and swelling in mice with chronic inflammatory pain by regulating the numbers of macrophages, neutrophils, and Treg cells, as well as promoting M2 polarization of local macrophages and inhibiting the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

M6P-modified solid lipid nanoparticles loaded with matrine for the treatment of fibrotic liver.

Liver fibrosis is a key pathological process shared by the progression of various chronic liver diseases. Treatment of liver fibrosis can effectively block the occurrence and development of hepatic cirrhosis or even carcinoma. Currently, there is no effective drug delivery vehicle for curing liver fibrosis. In this study, we designed matrine (MT)-loaded mannose 6-phosphate (M6P) modified human serum albumin (HSA) conjugated solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), named M6P-HSA-MT-SLN for treatment of hepatic fibrosis. We demonstrated that M6P-HSA-MT-SLN exhibited controlled and sustained release properties and good stability over 7 days. The drug release experiments showed that M6P-HSA-MT-SLN exhibited slow and controlled drug release characteristics. In addition, M6P-HSA-MT-SLN showed a significant targeted ability to fibrotic liver. Importantly, in vivo studies indicated that M6P-HSA-MT-SLN could significantly improve histopathological morphology and inhibit the fibrotic phenotype. In addition, in vivo experiments demonstrate that M6P-HSA-MT-SLN could reduce the expression of fibrosis markers and alleviate the damage of liver structure. Hence, the M6P-HSA-MT-SLN provide a promising strategy to deliver therapeutic agents to fibrotic liver to prevent liver fibrosis.

[Effect of different electrical current intensities of electroacupuncture preconditioning on cardiac function and macrophage polarization in mice with acute myocardial ischemia].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of different intensities of electroacupuncture (EA) preconditioning on car-diac function and polarization state of macrophages in mice with acute myocardial ischemia (AMI), so as to explore its possible mechanism underlying improvement of AMI. METHODS: A total of 50 male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into sham ope-ration, AMI model, and EA pretreatment groups (0.5 mA, 1 mA, 3 mA subgroups), with 10 mice in each group/subgroup. The mice in the EA pretreatment groups were subjected to EA stimulation of bilateral "Neiguan"(PC6) with 0.5, 1.0 and 3 mA respectively and frequency of 2 Hz/15 Hz for 20 min, once a day, for 3 days. The acute myocardial ischemia model was established by ligating the anterior descending branch (ADB) of the left coronary artery, while the sham operation only had a surgical suture trans-passed below the ADB but without ligation. The myocardial infarction area was measured after TTC staining, and the cardiac function ï¼»left ventricular ejection fraction (EF), short-axis contraction rate (FS)ï¼½ was detected by using echocardiography. The M1 macrophages were labeled with CD11b+F480+CD206low, M2 macrophages were labeled with CD11b+F480+CD206high and detected by using flow cytometry, and the expression levels of myocardial interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) proteins were detected by using Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with the sham operation group, the model group had a significant increase in the infarction area (P<0.000 1), number of cardiac macrophages and percentage of M1 type macrophages (P<0.000 1), and the expression levels of myocardial IL-1ß, TNF-α, TLR4 proteins (P<0.001, P<0.01), and a remarkable decrease in the levels of EF, FS and the percentage of M2 type macrophages (P<0.000 1). In contrast to those of the model group, the area of myocardial infarction (P<0.000 1, P<0.01), expression levels of myocardial IL-1ß, TNF-α, TLR4 proteins (P<0.01, P<0.05, P<0.001) in the 0.5 mA, 1 mA and 3 mA groups, number of macrophages and percentage of M1 macrophages (P<0.05) in the 1 mA group were significantly decreased, while the levels of EF and FS (P<0.000 1, P<0.05, P<0.001) in the 3 EA groups, and percentage of M2 macrophage (P<0.05) in the 1 mA group were significantly increased. Comparison among the 3 EA groups displayed that the effects of 1 mA group were significantly superior to those of 0.5 and 3 mA groups in up-regulating EF and FS (P<0.01, P<0.001), and in down-regulating the area of infarct myocardium (P<0.01, P<0.000 1), and the expression of TLR4 protein (P<0.01), and 0.5 mA group in the expression of IL-1ß and TNF-α proteins (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: EA preconditioning with electrical current intensities of 0.5 mA, 1 mA and 3 mA can effectively reduce myocardial infarction size, improve cardiac function in mice with AMI, which may be related with its effects in reducing the number of cardiac macrophages and down-regulating the expression of myocardial IL-1ß, TNF-α and TLR4 proteins. The therapeutic effect of 1 mA is better than that of 0.5 and 3 mA.

A scoring system for gallbladder polyps based on the cross-sectional area and patient characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Current management guidelines for gallbladder polyps (GBPs) focus on a diameter more than 1 cm as an indication for cholecystectomy. Since most GBPs are not malignant, unnecessary cholecystectomies can lead to unnecessary complications and costs. We developed a score to identify true polyps focusing on their cross-sectional area (CSA). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the demographic, clinical, laboratory, and sonographic characteristics of 522 patients with GBPs who had undergone cholecystectomy at our hospital between January 2010 and July 2020 (reference group). We used univariate analysis to compare these parameters between 88 true polyps and 434 pseudopolyps and multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify parameters to include in our scoring model. Receiver operating characteristics and area under the curve were used to identify cut-off values. The model was tested on a validation group of 98 patients. RESULTS: In the multivariate analysis, a CSA >123 mm2, positive blood flow signal, age >55.5 years, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels > 50 U/L, and an ALT/aspartate aminotransferase ratio > 0.77 were significantly associated with true polyps (odds ratio 6.528, 2.377, 2.617, 2.445, and -0.372, respectively). A prediction model based on cut-off values was used to distinguish a low-risk and high-risk GBP group; true polyps accounted for 6.54% and 58.72%, respectively (p < 0.001). In the low-risk and high-risk validation groups, true polyps comprised 12.35% and 82.35%, respectively (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our scoring system shows high accuracy and specificity in identifying true polyps and helps determine the need for surgical resection.

Corrigendum to "Yiqi Huayu Jiedu Decoction Inhibits the Invasion and Metastasis of Gastric Cancer Cells through TGF-ß/Smad Pathway".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2017/1871298.].

Yiqi Huayu Jiedu Decoction Inhibits the Invasion and Metastasis of Gastric Cancer Cells through TGF-ß/Smad Pathway.

Background. Yiqi Huayu Jiedu Decoction (YHJD) can obviously improve the quality of life of those patients with gastric cancer and prolong their survival. Methods. In vitro experiments, we observe YHJD's effect on the cells' proliferation by MTT assay. Cell adhesion assay, wound-healing assay, and Transwell invasion assay serve to detect its influence on cells' adhesion, migration, and invasion, respectively. Inhibitor (10 µM/L of SB431542) and activator (10 ng/mL of TGF-ß) of TGF-ß/Smad pathway were used to estimate whether YHJD's impact on the biological behavior of gastric cancer cells was related to TGF-ß/Smad pathway. In in vivo studies, YHJD was administered to the nude mice transplanted with gastric cancer to observe its effect on the tumor. Western blotting and immunohistochemical assay were used to test relevant cytokines of TGF-ß/Smad pathway and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in MGC-803 cells and the tumor bearing nude mice. Results. YHJD inhibited proliferation, adhesion, migration, and invasion of MGC-803 gastric cancer cells in vitro. In in vivo studies, YHJD reduced the volume of the transplanted tumors. It also enhanced the expression of E-cadherin and decreased the levels of N-cadherin, TGF-ß, Snail, and Slug in both MGC-803 cells and the transplanted tumor by western blot assay. The immunohistochemical assay revealed that YHJD raised E-cadherin in the tumors of the mice; on the contrary, the expression of N-cadherin, Twist, vimentin, TGF-ßR I, p-Smad2, p-Smad3, Snail, and Slug reduced. Conclusion. YHJD can effectively inhibit the invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cells. The mechanism may be related to TGF-ß/Smad pathway.

Compound Wumei Powder Inhibits the Invasion and Metastasis of Gastric Cancer via Cox-2/PGE2-PI3K/AKT/GSK3ß/ß-Catenin Signaling Pathway.

To explore the role of CWP in invasion and migration of gastric cancer cells and its underlying molecular mechanism, we performed the experiment in SGC-7901 cells both in vitro and in vivo. In the cell experiment, we evaluated cell proliferation by MTT assay. The results showed that CWP can inhibit the growth of SGC-7901 cells. The influence on cell migration and invasion was detected by wound-healing and Transwell invasion assays. The results showed that the abilities of invasion and migration are restrained in CWP group. Western blot showed that CWP can decrease the expression of Cox-2 and inhibit the PI3K/AKT/GSK3ß/ß-catenin signaling pathway. In the animal experiment, we observed that CWP had an inhibitory effect on the growth of xenograft tumors of nude mice. IHC assay, ELISA, RT-PCR assay, and Western blot assay were used to test relevant cytokines of Cox-2/PGE2-PI3K/AKT/GSK3ß/ß-catenin pathway. The results showed that CWP can suppress relevant cytokines of Cox-2/PGE2-PI3K/AKT/GSK3ß/ß-catenin pathway. In conclusion, we suggest that CWP inhibits the invasion and metastasis of SGC-7901 cells via Cox-2/PGE2-PI3K/AKT/GSK3ß/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

Insights into the bamboo genome: syntenic relationships to rice and sorghum.

Bamboo occupies an important phylogenetic node in the grass family and plays a significant role in the forest industry. We produced 1.2 Mb of tetraploid moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens E. Mazel ex H. de Leh.) sequences from 13 bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones, and these are the largest genomic sequences available so far from the subfamily Bambusoideae. The content of repetitive elements (36.2%) in bamboo is similar to that in rice. Both rice and sorghum exhibit high genomic synteny with bamboo, which suggests that rice and sorghum may be useful as models for decoding Bambusoideae genomes.

A new coral structure TiO2/Ti film electrode applied to photoelectrocatalytic degradation of Reactive Brilliant Red.

A novel structure TiO2/Ti film was prepared on a titanium matrix using anodic oxidation technique and applied to degrade Reactive Brilliant Red (RBR) dye in simulative textile effluents. The film was characterized by Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), Laser Micro-Raman Spectrometer (LMRS), UV-vis spectrophotometer (UVS) and Photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) experiment. The results show that the surface morphology of the film is coral structure, and the crystal structure of the film is anatase. The absorbency of the coral structure TiO2/Ti film is 87-93% in the UV light region, and 77-87% in the visible light region. PEC experiment indicates that the photocurrent density of the coral structure TiO2/Ti film electrode achieves 160 microA/cm(2). The color and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal efficiencies of RBR achieve 73% and 60% in 1h, respectively. These are 16% and 58% higher than those of nanotube TiO2/Ti film electrode. These were attributed to that these electrodes with different surface morphologies exhibit distinct surface areas and light absorption rate.