Prevention and treatment strategies for kidney transplant recipients in the context of long-term existence of COVID-19.

The sudden outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in early 2020 posed a massive threat to human life and caused an economic upheaval worldwide. Kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) became susceptible to infection during the COVID-19 pandemic owing to their use of immunosuppressants, resulting in increased hospitalization and mortality rates. Although the current epidemic situation is alleviated, the long-term existence of COVID-19 still seriously threatens the life and health of KTRs with low immunity. The Omicron variant, a highly infectious but less-pathogenic strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has raised concerns among transplant physicians regarding managing KTRs diagnosed with this variant. However, currently, there are no clear and unified guidelines for caring for KTRs infected with this variant. Therefore, we aimed to summarize the ongoing research on drugs that can treat Omicron variant infections in KTRs and explore the potential of adjusting immunotherapy strategies to enhance their responsiveness to vaccines. Herein, we discuss the situation of KTRs since the emergence of COVID-19 and focus on various prevention and treatment strategies for KTRs since the Omicron variant outbreak. We hope to assist physicians in managing KTRs in the presence of long-term COVID-19 variants.

Discovery of a small-molecule NDR1 agonist for prostate cancer therapy.

Prostatic cancer (PCa) is a common malignant neoplasm in men worldwide. Most patients develop castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) after treatment with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), usually resulting in death. Therefore, investigating new therapeutic targets and drugs for PCa patients is urgently needed. Nuclear Dbf2-related kinase 1 (NDR1), also known as STK38, is a serine/threonine kinase in the NDR/LATS kinase family that plays a critical role in cellular processes, including immunity, inflammation, metastasis, and tumorigenesis. It was reported that NDR1 inhibited the metastasis of prostate cancer cells by suppressing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and decreased NDR1 expression might lead to a poorer prognosis, suggesting the enormous potential of NDR1 in antitumorigenesis. In this study, we characterized a small-molecule agonist named aNDR1, which specifically bound to NDR1 and potently promoted NDR1 expression, enzymatic activity and phosphorylation. aNDR1 exhibited drug-like properties, such as favorable stability, plasma protein binding capacity, cell membrane permeability, and PCa cell-specific inhibition, while having no obvious effect on normal prostate cells. Meanwhile, aNDR1 exhibited good antitumor activity both in vitro and in vivo. aNDR1 inhibited proliferation and migration of PCa cells and promoted apoptosis of PCa cells in vitro. We further found that aNDR1 inhibited subcutaneous tumors and lung metastatic nodules in vivo, with no obvious toxicity to the body. In summary, our study presents a potential small-molecule lead compound that targets NDR1 for clinical therapy of PCa patients.

Optimization and characterization of pectin extracted from hawthorn by deep eutectic solvent.

In this study, hawthorn pectin was extracted from dried hawthorn with deep eutectic solvent(DES) and compared with the traditional extraction methods such as acid extraction (AE) and ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE). Under optimal conditions, with a molar ratio of choline chloride to urea at 1:3, a water content of 30 %, a liquid-to-solid ratio of 30:1 (mL/g), an extraction temperature of 80 °C, an extraction time of 60 min, and a pH of 1, the yield of hawthorn pectin was 4.33 % ± 0.02 %. The measured results were consistent with the prediction. In addition, compared with AE and UAE, the experimental results showed that DES had a higher yield, a lower degree of esterification, and a slightly different monosaccharide composition from other extraction methods. The results of infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy showed that DES had a fine microstructure and coarser surface, and the main chemical structure of DES didn't change. The rheological analysis showed that DES had lower apparent viscosity than AE and UAE. These results represent a green source for pectin extraction with high pectin yield and good performance. In conclusion, the deep eutectic solvent has good application prospects in extracting hawthorn pectin.

Targeting the hedgehog pathway in MET mutation cancers and its effects on cells associated with cancer development.

The mutation of MET plays a crucial role in the initiation of cancer, while the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway also plays a significant role in cell differentiation and the maintenance of tumor stem cells. Conventional chemotherapy drugs are primarily designed to target the majority of cell populations within tumors rather than tumor stem cells. Consequently, after a brief period of remission, tumors often relapse. Moreover, the exclusive targeting of tumor stemness cell disregards the potential for other tumor cells to regain stemness and acquire drug resistance. As a result, current drugs that solely target the HGF/c-MET axis and the Hh pathway demonstrate only moderate efficacy in specific types of cancer. Mounting evidence indicates that these two pathways not only play important roles in cancer but also exert significant influence on the development of resistance to single-target therapies through the secretion of their own ligands. In this comprehensive review, we analyze and compare the potential impact of the Hh pathway on the tumor microenvironment (TME) in HGF/c-MET-driven tumor models, as well as the interplay between different cell types. Additionally, we further substantiate the potential and necessity of dual-pathway combination therapy as a critical target in MET addicted cancer treatment. Video Abstract.

TOPK mediates immune evasion of renal cell carcinoma via upregulating the expression of PD-L1.

Although anti-PD-L1 therapy has been used in the clinical treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a proportion of patients are not sensitive to it, which may be attributed to the heterogeneity of PD-L1 expression. Here, we demonstrated that high TOPK (T-LAK cell-originated Protein Kinase) expression in RCC promoted PD-L1 expression by activating ERK2 and TGF-ß/Smad pathways. TOPK was positively correlated with PD-L1 expression levels in RCC. Meanwhile, TOPK significantly inhibited the infiltration and function of CD8+ T cells and promoted the immune escape of RCC. Moreover, inhibition of TOPK significantly enhanced CD8+ T cell infiltration, promoted CD8+ T cell activation, enhanced anti-PD-L1 therapeutic efficacy, and synergistically enhanced anti-RCC immune response. In conclusion, this study proposes a new PD-L1 regulatory mechanism that is expected to improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy for RCC.

Establishment and validation of a novel anoikis-related prognostic signature of clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Despite progression in its treatment, the clinical outcome of patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remains not ideal. Anoikis is a unique form of programmed apoptosis, owing to insufficient cell-matrix interactions. Anoikis plays a crucial role in tumor migration and invasion, and tumor cells could protect themselves through the capacity of anoikis resistance. Methods: Anoikis-related genes (ARGs) were obtained from Genecards and Harmonizome portals. The ARGs related to ccRCC prognosis were identified through univariate Cox regression analysis, then we utilized these ARGs to construct a novel prognostic model for ccRCC patients. Moreover, we explored the expression profile of ARGs in ccRCC using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) database. We also conducted Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) to probe ARGs expression of the risk score. Finally, we performed correlation analysis between ARGs and tumor immune microenvironment. Results: We identified 17 ARGs associated with ccRCC survival, from which 7 genes were chosen to construct a prognostic model. The prognostic model was verified as an independent prognostic indicator. The expression of most ARGs was higher in ccRCC samples. These ARGs were closely correlated with immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint members, and had independent prognostic value respectively. Functional enrichment analysis demonstrated that these ARGs were significantly associated with multiple types of malignances. Conclusion: The prognostic signature was identified to be highly efficient in predicting ccRCC prognosis, and these ARGs were closely related to tumor microenvironment.

Characteristics of spring maize sap flow and its environmental influencing factors in typical mollisol area.

Clarifying the variations of sap flow rate of spring maize in the typical mollisol area and its main control factors is of great significance to explore water consumption from transpiration and regulate field water management. In this study, we installed the wrapped sap flow sensors and TDR probes to continuously monitor the sap flow rate of spring maize during filling-maturity stage and soil water and heat conditions of topsoil. In combination with meteorological data collecting from a nearby automatic weather station, we analyzed the correlation between the sap flow rate of spring maize and environmental factors at different time scales. The results showed that the sap flow rate of spring maize in typical mollisol area had an obvious fluctuation of high diurnal and low nighttime. The instantaneous sap flow rate peaked at daytime, with a value of 139.9 g·h-1, but being weak at nighttime. The starting time, closing time, and peak values of spring maize sap flow were significantly inhibited in cloudy and rainy days, compared with that in sunny days. On hourly scale, the sap flow rate was significantly correlated to solar radiation, saturated vapor pressure deficit (VPD), relative humidity, air temperature, and wind speed. On daily scale, only solar radiation, VPD, and relative humidity were significantly correlated with sap flow rate, with the absolute values of correlation coefficient being all above 0.7. Due to high soil water content during the observation period, the sap flow rate was not significantly correlated with soil water content and soil temperature of 0-20 cm layer, with the absolute values of correlation coefficient being less than 0.1. Under the condition without water stress, solar radiation, VPD, and relative humidity were the top three influencing factors of sap flow rate in this region, on both hourly scale and daily scale.

The Crucial Role of AR-V7 in Enzalutamide-Resistance of Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

Prostate cancer (PCa) has the second highest incidence of malignancies occurring in men worldwide. The first-line therapy of PCa is androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Nonetheless, most patients progress to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) after being treated by ADT. As a second-generation androgen receptor (AR) antagonist, enzalutamide (ENZ) is the current mainstay of new endocrine therapies for CRPC in clinical use. However, almost all patients develop resistance during AR antagonist therapy due to various mechanisms. At present, ENZ resistance (ENZR) has become challenging in the clinical treatment of CRPC. AR splice variant 7 (AR-V7) refers to a ligand-independent and constitutively active variant of the AR and is considered a key driver of ENZR in CRPC. In this review, we summarize the mechanisms and biological behaviors of AR-V7 in ENZR of CRPC to contribute novel insights for CRPC therapy.

Colorimetric detections of iodide and mercuric ions based on a regulation of an Enzyme-Like activity from gold nanoclusters.

A simple colorimetric method was developed for sensitive and selective detections of I- and Hg2+. Histidine stabilized gold nanoclusters (His-AuNCs) were synthesized and catalyzed the oxidation of colorless 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to a blue product. As a strong ligand toward gold, iodide (I-) attached to the surface of the His-AuNCs and significantly enhanced the oxidase-like activity of the His-AuNCs. Based on this enhancement, a sensitive colorimetric response toward I- was obtained. Furthermore, the strong interaction between Hg2+ and I- was adopted for an indirect Hg2+ detection. Under the optimal conditions, the platform presented high selectivity for the determinations of I- and Hg2+ in the ranges 0.02-1 µM and 0.05-0.8 µM, with detection limits as 3.3 nM and 8 nM respectively. This colorimetric assay was successfully applied for analysis of real samples.

Ready-to-Use Colorimetric Platform for Versatile Enzyme Assays through Copper Ion-Mediated Catalysis.

A low cost and versatile colorimetric platform is developed for selective detections of various enzymes. Similar to peroxidases, free copper ion catalyzes the oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of H2O2 and turns TMB into a blue product. Bindings from ligands toward copper ions inhibit this catalysis. Enzymes catalyze the reactions of related substrates with generation or consumption the ligands for the binding and thus in turn alter the color changes as responses toward the enzymes. With suitable substrates, exemplary enzymes, including trypsin, acid phosphatase, and tyrosinase, can be sensitively measured, with limits of detection of 0.003 µg/mL, 0.004 U/L, and 0.02 U/mL, respectively. This platform is built with directly available reagents, and the signals can be obtained with inexpensive photometers or visual observations. The low cost and convenience make it suitable for cases where complicated instrumentations are not available, such as point-of-care testing.

Sensitive detection of glutathione through inhibiting quenching of copper nanoclusters fluorescence.

A method for a sensitive fluorescence detection of glutathione was established. Glutathione-stabilized copper nanoclusters (CuNCs) were synthesized via a facile process. These CuNCs showed blue fluorescence with a peak around 450 nm. In the presence of p-benzoquinone (PBQ), the electron transfer from the copper nanoclusters to PBQ quenched the fluorescence of the CuNCs. Glutathione (GSH), as a reducing agent, formed a complex with PBQ. This formation inhibited the quenching from PBQ, and a restored fluorescence was obtained. This interaction provided a fluorescence enhancement for the measurement of GSH. Under the optimal condition, linear responses were obtained toward GSH in the ranges of 0.06-6.0 µM, with a limit of detection at 20 nM. This developed assay was easy in operation with high sensitivity and selectivity. The applicability was approved with successful glutathione measurements in real samples.

Evaluation of an e-Learning Breastfeeding Program for Postpartum Mothers of Moderately High-Risk Newborn Infants Admitted to the Special Care Nursery.

Because of a lack of proper breastfeeding education to mothers and the visitation policy in the special care nursery, breastfeeding initiation and maintenance can be very challenging for both the mother and her infant who is admitted to the neonatal special care nursery after birth. Difficulties associated with forming initial bonds may contribute to some mothers changing their mind about their initially chosen feeding method. The aim of this quasi-experimental study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an e-learning breastfeeding program on maternal breastfeeding outcomes. Thirty-four mothers in the comparison group received routine care; 34 in the intervention group received an e-learning breastfeeding program and routine care. The program included 28 modules of different topics downloaded to a personal tablet computer. Each module elaborated on a breastfeeding issue and provided video clips to show practice steps. During the mothers' 3- to 5-day stay in the postpartum unit, they could repeatedly watch selected topics related to their situations at their own pace. After adjusting for each infant's birth weight, mothers in the intervention group had better attachment to their infants, greater perceived nurse support, and a higher exclusive breastfeeding rate than mothers in the comparison group. Using a tablet computer device to disseminate breastfeeding education is a feasible and supplemental method for postpartum mothers whose infants are in the special care nursery. Through the demonstrated situations, mothers are better prepared to understand their high-risk infants and the situations they may encounter during breastfeeding.

Analysis of hospitalization costs related to fall injuries in elderly patients.

BACKGROUND: With the aging world population, the incidence of falls has intensified and fall-related hospitalization costs are increasing. Falls are one type of event studied in the health economics of patient safety, and many developed countries have conducted such research on fall-related hospitalization costs. However, China, a developing country, still lacks large-scale studies in this area. AIM: To investigate the factors related to the hospitalization costs of fall-related injuries in elderly inpatients and establish factor-based, cost-related groupings. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted. Patient information and cost data for elderly inpatients (age ≥ 60 years, n = 3362) who were hospitalized between 2016 and 2019 due to falls was collected from the medical record systems of two grade-A tertiary hospitals in China. Quantile regression (QR) analysis was used to identify the factors related to fall-related hospitalization costs. A decision tree model based on the chi-squared automatic interaction detector algorithm for hospitalization cost grouping was built by setting the factors in the regression results as separation nodes. RESULTS: The total hospitalization cost of fall-related injuries in the included elderly patients was 180479203.03 RMB, and the reimbursement rate of medical benefit funds was 51.0% (92039709.52 RMB/180479203.03 RMB). The medical material costs were the highest component of the total hospitalization cost, followed (in order) by drug costs, test costs, treatment costs, integrated medical service costs and blood transfusion costs The QR results showed that patient age, gender, length of hospital stay, payment method, wound position, wound type, operation times and operation type significantly influenced the inpatient cost (P < 0.05). The cost grouping model was established based on the QR results, and age, length of stay, operation type, wound position and wound type were the most important influencing factors in the model. Furthermore, the cost of each combination varied significantly. CONCLUSION: Our grouping model of hospitalization costs clearly reflected the key factors affecting hospitalization costs and can be used to strengthen the reasonable control of these costs.

Bipolar versus monopolar transurethral resection of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy and safety of bipolar and monopolar transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURBT) in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) treatment. METHODS: A systematic search of all Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), which compared bipolar TURBT (bTURBT) and monopolar TURBT (mTURBT) in NMIBC treatment, were performed in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Embase up to February 1, 2019. We evaluated their efficacy by operative time, hospitalization time, catheterization time, and recurrence rate. While obturator jerk, bladder perforation, thermal damage, and overall complications were used to evaluate their safety. RESULTS: A total of 13 RCTs, involving 2379 patients, were included. There were no statistically significant differences in efficacy between bTURBT and mTURBT in NMIBC treatment, such as operative time (p = 0.12), hospitalization time (p = 0.13), catheterization time (p = 0.50), and recurrence rate (p = 0.88). Compared to the safety in mTURBT in NMIBC treatment, no significant advantages were observed in that in bTURBT as well, such as obturator jerk (p = 0.12), bladder perforation (p = 0.11), thermal damage (p = 0.24), and overall complications (p = 0.65). CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis demonstrated that bTURBT has no significant advantages in efficacy and safety in NMIBC treatment compared to that in mTURBT. Thus, bTURBT could not completely replace mTURBT as a safer and more effective NMIBC treatment.

Esterification modified starch by phosphates and urea via alcohol solvothermal route for its potential utilization for urea slow-releasing.

The natural starch (NS) is modified by an esterification process which is accomplished by reacting the NS and phosphate together with urea via a facile alcohol solvothermal method. After modification, a series of obvious variations can be easily confirmed for the resulted starch phosphate carbamides (denoted as SPC) compared with that of NS, such as the introduction of new groups of CO, PO, P-O-C and P-O-H together with new elements of N and P in starch molecular structure unit confirmed in FT-IR and XPS analyses and the decreased crystallinity along with formed surface defect demonstrated in XRD and SEM measurements. Furthermore, the formed SPC has a higher viscosity of 480 mPa.s-1 and lower gelatinization temperature of under 10 °C than that of the NS. More importantly, when the SPC is utilized as outer coating material together with ethylcellulose (EC) as inner coating material for preparing double-layer slow-release urea (denoted as EC/SPC based SRU), the EC/SPC based SRU has a desirable slow-release behavior with release percentages of 40.9% for 12 h in water and merely 59.6% for 20 day together with even exceeding 30 days in soil. Conclusively, this work provides a facile preparation approach for the SPC and its creative application for the preparation of SRU.

Design, Preparation, and Performance of a Novel Bilayer Tissue-Engineered Small-Diameter Vascular Graft.

In clinical practice, the need for small-diameter vascular grafts continues to increase. Decellularized xenografts are commonly used for vascular reconstructive procedures. Here, porcine coronary arteries are decellularized, which destroys the extracellular matrix structure, leading to the decrease of vascular strength and the increase of vascular permeability. A bilayer tissue-engineered vascular graft (BTEV) is fabricated by electrospinning poly(l-lactide-co-carprolactone)/gelatin outside of the decellularized vessels and functionalized by immobilizing heparin, which increases the biomechanical strength and anticoagulant activity of decellularized vessels. The biosafety and efficacy of the heparin-modified BTEVs (HBTEVs) are verified by implanting in rat models. HBTEVs remain patent and display no expansion or aneurism. After 4 weeks of implantation, a cell monolayer in the internal surface and a dense middle layer have formed, and the mechanical properties of regenerated vessels are similar to those of rat abdominal aorta. Therefore, HBTEVs can be used for rapid remodeling of small-diameter blood vessels.

Design, preparation and performance of a novel drug-eluting stent with multiple layer coatings.

Drug-eluting stents (DESs) can effectively control the harmful effects of coronary artery disease, because of their excellent ability to reduce in-stent restenosis. However, delayed re-endothelialization and late stent thrombosis have caused concern over the safety of DESs. In this study, according to time-ordered pathological responses after stent implantation, a hierarchical multiple drug-eluting stent was designed and prepared to overcome the existing DES limitations. A platelet membrane glycoprotein IIIa monoclonal antibody (SZ-21) and a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF121) were loaded into the inner coating of 316L stainless steel (316L SS) stents to inhibit thrombosis and promote re-endothelialization; rapamycin (RAPA) was loaded into the third layer to inhibit intima hyperplasia; a drug-free poly-l-lactic acid coating was located on the second and fourth layers and used as sustained release layers. The results showed that the three drugs exhibited sequential release kinetics without significant burst release. RAPA released quickly at the early stage, while SZ-21 and VEGF121 achieved a slow and prolonged release. In vitro experiments showed that the stents had excellent hemocompatibility and anti-inflammatory properties, and promoted the proliferation and migration of endothelial cells while inhibiting the proliferation and migration of smooth muscle cells. Finally the stents were implanted in the carotid arteries of New Zealand white rabbits. In vivo results showed that compared to 316L SS stents, the multiple drug-eluting stents could accelerate re-endothelialization and inhibit thrombosis, inflammation and in-stent restenosis after 4 weeks (12.79 ± 2.45% vs. 25.27 ± 4.81%) and 12 weeks (15.87 ± 3.62% vs. 58.84 ± 6.87%). These results indicate that the novel drug-eluting stent with multiple layer coatings will have a highly potential clinical application.

Cytotoxic effects of docetaxel as a candidate drug of drug-eluting stent on human umbilical vein endothelial cells and the signaling pathway of cell migration inhibition, adhesion delay and shape change.

Docetaxel (DTX), a paclitaxel analogue, can efficiently inhibit proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells and has broadly been used as an antiangiogenesis drug. However, as a candidate drug of drug-eluting stent, the effects of DTX on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) are still not well understood. Herein, we investigated the effects of DTX on proliferation, apoptosis, adhesion, migration and morphology of HUVECs in vitro. We found that DTX had the cytostatic and cytotoxic effects at low and high concentrations, respectively. DTX could inhibit the proliferation and migration of HUVECs, induce HUVECs apoptosis, delay HUVECs adhesion and decrease spreading area and aspect ratio of individual cells. The signaling pathway that DTX led to the migration inhibition, adhesion delay and shape change of HUVECs is the VE-cadherin mediated integrin ß1/FAK/ROCK signaling pathway. The study will provide a theoretical basis for the clinical application of DTX.

Characterization of OsLEA1a and its inhibitory effect on the resistance of E. coli to diverse abiotic stresses.

OsLEA1a is a late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) protein gene from Oryza sativa L, which contains an open reading frame of 282-bp that encodes a putative polypeptide of 93 amino acids. OsLEA1a protein contains abundant of Lys, Ala, Glu, Asp, Gly, Arg and Leu, but depleted in Cys, His, Phe, Trp and Tyr residues; and is strongly hydrophilic. OsLEA1a includes six helical domains and a ß-sheet domain. Real-time PCR analysis showed that OsLEA1a was expressed in roots, leaves and panicles of rice, with no or only a few transcripts in stem tissues, and remained at a relatively higher level in leaves during the tillering period, the heading period, the filling period and the full ripe period. To make sense of OsLEA1a functions, TrxA-OsLEA1a fusion protein expression vector and OsLEA1a protein expression vector were transformed into Escherichia coli DL21 (DE3), respectively. The accumulation of the TrxA-OsLEA1a fusion protein or OsLEA1a protein interfered with the resistance of E. coli to high salinity, metal ions, hyperosmotic, oxidation, heat and freeze-thaw stresses. The purified TrxA-OsLEA1a fusion protein reduced stabilization of LDH and increased damage of diverse abiotic stresses to LDH. The findings suggested that the OsLEA1a may confor antibacterial activity under abiotic stresses.

[Anti-aging Effect of Urtica Polysaccharides in D-galactose Induced Aging Mice].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anti-aging effect of polysaccharides from Urtica lobatifolia (Urtica polysaccharides) on subacute aging mice induced by D-galactose. METHODS: 90 mice were randomly divided into six groups: normal group, aging mice model group, V(E) group [100 mg/(kg x d), ig], high level of Urtica polysaccharides group [200 mg/(kg x d), ig], medium level of Urtica polysaccharides group [100 mg/(kg x d), ig] and low level of Urtica polysaccharides group [50 mg/(kg x d), ig]. The normal group was injected saline [10 mL/(kg x d), sc], while the other groups were injected D-galactose [150 mg/(kg x d), sc]. After six weeks, all the animals were weighed. After eight arm maze experiment and swimming endurance experiment, serum, liver and brain was collected. The content of protein in serum,liver and brain was detected. Total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), activities of total superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in liver and brain samples were evaluated by kits. RESULTS: Compared with the model group, Urtica polysaccharides groups mice had larger body weight, longer swimming time, shorter time out of the maze and fewer numbers of error, as well as higher protein content in serum, liver and brain. The capacity of T-AOC, the activities of SOD and GSH-Px of polysaccharides groups in brain and liver tissue were increased significantly, and the MDA content was decreased significantly. CONCLUSION: Polysaccharides from Urtica lobatifolia has anti-aging effects on aging model mice, and the mechanism may be related to its antioxidant effect.