Dendrobium officinale polysaccharide inhibits vascular calcification via anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects in chronic kidney disease.

Vascular calcification is very common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but so far, there is no effective treatment. Dendrobium officinale polysaccharide (DOP), a natural component of Chinese herbal medicine, has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic activity. Inflammation and apoptosis play an essential role in the progression of vascular calcification. However, the exact role and molecular mechanisms of DOP in vascular calcification remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of DOP on vascular calcification using vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), arterial rings, and CKD rats. Alizarin red staining and gene expression analysis revealed that DOP inhibited calcification and osteogenic differentiation of rat VSMCs in a dose-dependent manner. Similarly, ex vivo studies revealed that DOP inhibited the calcification of rat arterial rings. Furthermore, the administration of DOP alleviated vascular calcification in CKD rats. Moreover, DOP treatment suppressed VSMC inflammation and apoptosis. Finally, DOP treatment upregulated mRNA and protein levels of heme oxygenase-1 (HMOX-1); both pharmacological inhibition of HMOX-1 by the HMOX-1 inhibitor zinc protoporphyrin-9ZnPP9 and knockdown of HMOX-1 by siRNA markedly abrogated the suppression of inflammation and osteogenic differentiation of VSMCs by DOP. Collectively, these results suggest that DOP alleviates vascular calcification in CKD by suppressing apoptosis and inflammation via HMOX-1 activation. These results may provide a promising treatment for vascular calcification in CKD.

The Diagnostic and Prognostic Role of Interleukin 12B and Interleukin 6R Gene Polymorphism in Patients With Ankylosing Spondylitis.

OBJECTIVES: Interleukin 23 (IL-23) pathway and IL-1 cluster genes play prominent role in the etiopathology of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic and prognostic role of 5 single-nucleotide polymorphisms related to IL-23 pathway and IL-1 cluster genes in AS patients. METHODS: Four hundred thirty-one patients with AS and 206 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited in this prospective cohort study. Five potential single-nucleotide polymorphisms (IL-23R [rs11209026], IL-12B [rs6871626], TYK2 [rs6511701], IL-6R [rs4129267], and IL-1R2 [rs2192752]) related to IL-23 pathway and IL-1 cluster genes by analyzing previous studies were genotyped. Among 431 total AS patients, 198 active cases were treated and followed up for 24 weeks. RESULTS: Frequencies of IL-12B AA (rs6871626) and IL-6R TT (rs4129267) genotypes were increased in AS patients compared with healthy controls (both P < 0.001), and IL-12B A (rs6871626) as well as IL-6R T (rs4129267) allele increased the risk of AS independently (both P < 0.001). The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index score was found to be elevated in AS patients with IL-12B AA (rs6871626) compared with patients with the CA and CC genotypes (P = 0.002 and P < 0.001, respectively), and the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index score was also increased in AS patents with IL-12B AA (rs6871626) than in those with the CA and CC genotypes (P = 0.001 and P < 0.001). In addition, IL-6R T (rs4129267) allele could predict a worse ASAS-20 (Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society) response at week 24 as an independent factor by multivariate logistic regression analysis with additive model (P = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: Interleukin 12B (rs6871626) and IL-6R (rs4129267) gene polymorphisms could serve as promising biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis in AS patients.

Comparison of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy versus open lumbar microdiscectomy for lumbar disc herniation: A meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the clinical results of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) and open lumbar microdiscectomy (OLM) for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). METHODS: Randomized controlled trials or non-randomized controlled trials published from the time when databases were built to March 2016 that compared the clinical effectiveness of PELD and OLM surgical approaches for the treatment of LDH were acquired by a comprehensive search in four electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane library). A total of 7 studies (1389 patients) were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Pooled mean differences (MD) and odds ratios (OR) and with 95% CIs were calculated for the outcomes. RESULT: The results showed that there were no statistically between the PELD group and OLM group in terms of preoperative VAS-BP score (WMD = 0.03; 95% CI: -0.99 to 1.05; P = 0.95), postoperative VAS-BP score (WMD = -0.56; 95% CI: -1.43 to 0.31; P = 0.21), postoperative ODI (WMD = -0.98; 95% CI: -4.96 to 3.00; P = 0.63), complication rate (OR = 1.79; 95% CI: 0.95 to 3.37; P = 0.07) or reoperation rate (OR = 1.44; 95% CI: 0.94 to 2.20; P = 0.09). PELD group was associated with shorter operation time (WMD = -12.83; 95% CI: -24.79 to -0.87; P = 0.04) and hospital stay (WMD = -5.49; 95% CI: -8.63 to -2.35; P = 0.0006). CONCLUSION: The existing evidence indicate that no superiority exists between the two surgical approaches for the treatment of LDH in terms of functional outcome, complication rate and reoperation rate, in spite of that PELD surgical group can achieve shorter operation time and hospital stay than OLM surgical group.

Anterior versus posterior approach for the treatment of cervical compressive myelopathy due to ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the clinical results of anterior and posterior approaches for the treatment of cervical compressive myelopathy due to cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). METHODS: Randomized controlled trials or non-randomized controlled trials published since January 1995 to October 2015 that compared the clinical effectiveness of anterior and posterior surgical approaches for the treatment of cervical OPLL were acquired by a comprehensive search in three electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library). A total of 13 studies (1050 patients) were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. RESULT: The results indicated that no statistically significant differences between the anterior group and posterior group in terms of preoperative JOA score [P = 0.16, SMD = 0.1 (-0.04, 0.23)] and recovery rate of patients with canal-occupying ratio < 50%-60% [p = 0.89, SMD = 0.03 (-0.35, 0.41)]. The anterior group showed higher postoperative JOA score [P < 0.05, SMD = 0.23 (0.05, 0.41)], overall recovery rate (regardless of canal-occupying ratio) [P < 0.01, SMD = 0.79 (0.31, 1.27)], especially a significant higher recovery rate of patients with canal-occupying ratio > 50%-60% [P < 0.01, SMD = 1.50 (0.52, 2.47)]. However, it also revealed that the postoperative complication rate [P < 0.05, OR = 1.90 (1.08, 3.36)], blood loss [P < 0.01, SMD = 0.63 (0.34, 0.93)] and operative time [P < 0.01, SMD = 1.86 (1.07, 2.65)] were significantly higher. CONCLUSION: Based on the results above, anterior approach surgery was associated with better overall (regardless of the canal-occupying ratio) postoperative neural function than posterior approach in the treatment of cervical compressive myelopathy due to OPLL. We thought anterior approach especially preferable to patients with canal-occupying ratio > 50%-60%, although it leads to a higher surgical trauma and incidence of surgery-related complications. Posterior approach surgery was relatively safer with lower surgical trauma and incidence of complications. We also suggest posterior approach for patients with canal-occupying ratio < 50%-60%, since the postoperative neural function was similar between the two groups for this part of patients.