[Regulating effect of electroacupuncture on left ventricular function and autophagy-specific proteins in spontaneously hypertension rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on cardiac hypertrophy and expression of myocardial autophagy-specific proteins in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). METHODS: Twelve male Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats were selected as the normal control group, and 24 male SHRs were randomized into model and EA groups (n＝12 in each). EA (2 Hz /15 Hz, 1 mA) was applied to "Taichong" (LR3) and "Baihui" (GV20) for 20 min, once a day for successive 30 days. The other two groups only received the same grasping and fixation procedures. The systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured using a non-invasive blood detector, and the left ventricular function including the left ventricular anterior wall diameter (LVAWd), left ventricular posterior wall diameter (LVPWd) and left ventricular internal diameter at end-diastolic dimension (LVIDd) was detected using a real-time echocardiography imaging system, and the left ventricular mass index (left ventricle weight / body weight, LVMI) was calculated. The expression of Beclin-1 and LC3 proteins in the left ventricle tissue was detected by Western blot. Pathological changes of the myocardial tissue were observed by Masson staining and transmission electron microscope (TEM). RESULTS: After the intervention, the elevated SBP was significantly lowered in the EA group relevant to the model group (P<0.01) and the increased LVAWd, LVPWd and LVMI were markedly decreased in the EA group (P<0.01, P<0.05), while the reduced LVIDd was significantly ameliorated in the EA group (P<0.01). Masson staining showed that in SHRs, disorder of arrangement of cardiac myofibers, swelling of cardiomyocytes, widened space among myocardial cells with a large number of collagenous fibers were observed, and under TEM, aggregation and unequal size of myocardial mitochondria with vacuolation and rupture, autophagosomes and autophagic lysosomes were seen. These changes were relatively milder in the EA group. Western blot showed that hypertension induced up-regulation of Beclin-1 and LC3-II and ratio of LC3-II/LC3-I, and down-regulation of LC3-I were significantly suppressed in the EA group (P<0.01, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: EA at LR3 and GV20 may improve the left cardiac function, myocardial morphological changes and the degree of autophagy in SHRs, which is related to its effects in down-regulating the expression of myocardial Beclin-1 and LC3-II and in up-regulating expression of LC3-I.

[Progress of the application of PET technology in acupuncture research].

To further investigate the application of positron emission tomography (PET) technology in acupuncture research field, with "PET" and "acupuncture" as keywords, the related literature published from 1997 to 2018 was searched in PubMed, CNKI and WANFANG database; then the literature was classified and analyzed. The results showed that in clinical and experimental studies, whether in physiological or pathological conditions, PET technology has verified the specificity of acupoints, bidirectional regulation of acupoints, and the clinical effect of qi-arrival from the level of brain functional activity. It has deeply revealed the central mechanism underlying that acupuncture has multi-target, multi-channel and multi-level overall effects. The purpose of this study is to provide objective scientific basis for acupuncture research, and then potentially guide the clinical practice.

Effects of anti-Helicobacter pylori concomitant therapy and probiotic supplementation on the throat and gut microbiota in humans.

The microbiota within humans maintains homeostasis and plays important roles in human health. However, some situations such as the use of antibiotics may disrupt the microbiota balance and result in a series of adverse effects. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a commonly used anti-Helicobacter pylori concomitant therapy on the composition of the gut and throat microbiota and any antibiotic resistance that may develop. In addition to the standard regimen, two different supplementary probiotic regimens that both used Saccharomyces boulardii were included. Microbiological culture-based techniques were used to analyse the microbiota composition and antibiotic resistance. Our results showed marked quantitative and qualitative alterations in both the gut and throat microbiota after treatment with not only the standard concomitant therapy but also with either supplementary probiotic regimen. Nevertheless, most of the changes in the gut microbiota (except for yeast and Bacteroides spp. counts) reverted by Day 71, whereas the alterations in the throat microbiota appeared to persist. Patients treated with the eradication therapy in the absence of probiotic supplementation experienced the most pronounced disturbances in the throat microbiota, whereas changes in the throat microbiota appeared to stabilize in the groups that received probiotic supplementation. We also detected higher antibiotic resistance rates for Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcus spp. and Bacteroides spp. after treatment with the eradication therapy. Co-administration of probiotics is likely to be more effective than post-antibiotic supplementation, and although some beneficial effects were observed, the probiotic combination did not exert significant effects on the unbalanced commensal gut and throat microbiota composition.