The effect of fenofibrate, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α agonist, on cardiac damage from sepsis in BALB/c mice.

Cardiac dysfunction can be a fatal consequence of sepsis and lead to increased inflammatory responses or reduced fatty acid oxidation and final ATP depletion. Fenofibrate, which is an agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α, has been used primarily in hypercholesterolemia and mixed dyslipidemia. Recent studies found that fenofibrate could alleviate energy metabolism and inflammation caused by cardiac damage during sepsis, and thus it had been paid great attention. This study was to investigate the possible protective roles of fenofibrate against cardiac damage in septic BALB/c mice. Methods: Forty male BALB/c mice aged 8 weeks old were divided randomly into four groups: control group; fenofibrate group; cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) group; and fenofibrate + CLP group. After administering fenofibrate or saline for 2 weeks, CLP was performed. Cardiac tissue and plasma were obtained 48 hours later. Plasma Troponin-T (Tnt), ATP, ADP and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were determined. PPARα and 53 protein levels were detected using western blotting. IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) were also assayed. We found that fenofibrate decreased plasma cTnT, ROS and increased the ratio of ATP/ADP. The elevations of IL-6, TNFα and P53 induced by sepsis were significantly suppressed by fenofibrate. Our results suggest that fenofibrate can regulate energy metabolism efficiently, which makes it a possible agent for treating sepsis-induced cardiac damage.

[Quantitative taxonomic study on agronomic traits of cultivated Gastrodia elata].

To better understand the formation mechanism of Gastrodia elata traits, the agronomic traits of aboveground tissues and tubers were measured and analyzed in this study. It has shown that the color and thickness of the stems of the 39 samples of the G. elata collected are affected by the germplasm and variation. Clustering analysis of 39 agronomic traits of G. elata was conducted with Ward's method and Euclidean distance. The threshold of 11.0 was divided into three groups, namely hybrid G. elata, G. elata f. elata and G. elata f. glauca. Simultaneously, the correlation analysis, coefficient of variation analysis, factor analysis and cluster analysis of 13 agronomic traits of 105 G. elata tuber samples were carried out. The results showed that the weight of G. elata was significantly positively correlated with tuber length and width. The agronomic traits of tuber were highly variable, and the depth of variability of the scar was the largest and 13 agronomic traits could be divided into 6 types of factors and the contribution up to 89.348%, furthermore, tuber length factor, width and weight factor contributed more than 20%, indicating that it is of great significance for distinguishing G. elata germplasm. Cluster analysis was performed by Ward's method and Euclidean distance, with 8.0 as the threshold can be divided into three categories in the light of the origin of the source, 33 samples from Shanxi and Hubei are clustered into one category, and 19 samples from Yunnan and Guizhou are clustered into one group, and the remaining samples are grouped into one category. This study will provide a basis for the identification and purification of G. elata germplasm and germplasm resources.

Protective role of fenofibrate in sepsis-induced acute kidney injury in BALB/c mice.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a severe complication of sepsis, which largely contributes to the associated high mortality rate. Fenofibrate, a peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α (PPARα) agonist, has received considerable attention because of its effects related to renal damage-related energy metabolism and inflammation. The present study investigated the effects of fenofibrate on sepsis-associated AKI in BALB/c mice subjected to caecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Eight-week-old male BALB/c mice were divided into four groups: control group, fenofibrate group, caecal ligation and puncture (CLP) group, and fenofibrate + CLP group. CLP was performed after mice were gavaged with fenofibrate for 2 weeks. After 48 hours, we measured the histopathological alterations of the kidney tissue and plasma levels of serum creatinine (CRE), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), reactive oxygen species (ROS), ATP, and ADP. We evaluated PPARα and P53 protein levels as well as interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, and tumour necrosis factor-α mRNA levels. Our results showed that administering fenofibrate significantly reduced kidney histological alterations caused by CLP. Fenofibrate inhibited the plasma levels of ROS, CRE, NGAL, and increased the ATP/ADP ratio. Fenofibrate significantly inhibited elevations in P53, IL-1ß, IL-6, and tumour necrosis factor-α expression. The results suggest that fenofibrate administration effectively modulates energy metabolism and may be a novel approach to treat sepsis-induced renal damage.