Ring roads and urban biodiversity: distribution of butterflies in urban parks in Beijing city and correlations with other indicator species.

The capital of China, Beijing, has a history of more than 800 years of urbanization, representing a unique site for studies of urban ecology. Urbanization can severely impact butterfly communities, yet there have been no reports of the species richness and distribution of butterflies in urban parks in Beijing. Here, we conducted the first butterfly survey in ten urban parks in Beijing and estimated butterfly species richness. Subsequently, we examined the distribution pattern of butterfly species and analyzed correlations between butterfly species richness with park variables (age, area and distance to city center), and richness of other bioindicator groups (birds and plants). We collected 587 individual butterflies belonging to 31 species from five families; 74% of the species were considered cosmopolitan. The highest butterfly species richness and abundance was recorded at parks located at the edge of city and species richness was significantly positively correlated with distance from city center (p < 0.05). No significant correlations were detected between the species richness and park age, park area and other bioindicator groups (p > 0.05). Our study provides the first data of butterfly species in urban Beijing, and serves as a baseline for further surveys and conservation efforts.

Effect of Guanxin No.2 decoction on gene expression in different areas of the myocardial infarcted heart of rats using microarray technology.

OBJECTIVES: We have used microarray technology to detect the effect of Guanxin No.2 decoction on gene expression in different areas of the myocardial infarcted heart of rats. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (180-200 g) were randomly divided into three groups: sham-operated; coronary artery ligation; and coronary artery ligation plus administration of Guanxin No.2 decoction (10.0 g raw materials/kg per day by gavage). The experiment was carried out on day seven after ligation. KEY FINDINGS: We found that the gene expression using microarray technology showed many differences in the border infarcted left ventricular area compared with the remote noninfarcted left ventricular area after administration of Guanxin No.2 decoction. CONCLUSIONS: Guanxin No.2 decoction has a long history in treating ischaemic cardiomyopathy in China, but the molecular mechanism has been unclear. In this study we found that some important genes may have contributed to the cardioprotective effect of Guanxin No.2 decoction.

Comparison of cardioprotective effects of salvianolic acid B and benazepril on large myocardial infarction in rats.

In the present study, we compared cardioprotective effects of salvianolic acid B (Sal B) and the angiotension-converting enzyme inhibitor, benazepril, in rats with large myocardial infarction (MI). The large MI was produced by coronary artery ligation for 4 weeks in rats. The rats were divided into the following groups: sham operation; MI; MI + Sal B (100 mg/kg by a gavage, once a day for 4 weeks) and MI + benazepril (1 mg/kg by a gavage, once a day for 4 weeks). Echocardiogram, hemodynamic and hemorheological changes, angiogenesis, infarct size and cardiac remodeling, as well as messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) of vascular endothelium growth factor (VEGF) were measured. The following similar effects were observed in MI rats treated with Sal B and benazepril: (1) a marked improvement of echocardiographic, hemodynamic and hemorheological parameters, (2) significant reduction of infarct size, (3) significantly attenuated heart hypertrophy, left ventricular (LV) dilatation and fibrosis. The unique effects of Sal B were: angiogenesis and augmented VEGF expression in the border and remote noninfarcted LV area. These results suggest that Sal B and benazepril exerted beneficial cardioprotective effects. However, Sal B enforced some different modality than benazepril, which might improve myocardial microcirculation by augmenting VEGF expression and promoting angiogenesis besides similar effects to benazepril.

Temporal effect of Guanxin No. 2 on cardiac function, blood viscosity and angiogenesis in rats after long-term occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery.

AIM: Cardiac infarction is one of the main causes of death in both developing and developed countries over past decades. Currently available approaches for treating patients with this disease are not satisfactory. Traditional Chinese medicines have been increasingly paid attention to. The aim of this study was to characterize the dynamic protective effects of Guanxin No. 2 decoction (GX II) on cardiac dysfunction combined with the blood viscosity and myocardial hypertrophy parameters in myocardial infarction (MI) rats. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (180-200 g) were randomly divided into three groups: sham-operated, coronary artery ligation (CAL), and CAL plus GX II (GX II, 10.0 g raw materials/kg/d, bid, p.o.). The experiment was carried out at 4 time points as the 3rd, 7th, 14th, and 28th day after ligation. RESULT: It was found that on the one hand, GX II could significantly improve the heart function, and remarkably decrease infarct size and inhibit ventricular remodeling. On the other hand, GX II showed some unique effects such as angiogenesis which was induced in the left ventricular tissue. This result was consistent with the finding of an augmented vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in this area. CONCLUSIONS: The studies demonstrated that GX II exerted extensively beneficial cardioprotective effect on CAL rats, it might stimulate angiogenesis of ischemic region to compensate blood supply to the heart via upregulated VEGF expression.

Decreased FKBP12.6 expression and enhanced endothelin receptor signaling associated with arrhymogenesis in myocardial infarction rats.

An increased propensity towards cardiac arrhythmias and aggravated heart function is observed in myocardial infarction (MI), the development of which is associated with the calcium handling system in the myocardium. It was hypothesized that the abnormal changes in the MI model may be a consequence of the abnormal expression and function of the RyR2-FKBP12.6 channel complex and that these abnormalities may be related to an over-activated endothelin (ET) system. Salvianolic acid B is expected to suppress life-threatening arrhythmias and to restore the abnormality of the RyR2-FKBP12.6 complex in rats. MI was produced by ligating the coronary artery for 4 weeks. Salvianolic acid B (100 mg/kg/day, p.o. for 4 weeks) was administered to rats 0.5 h before surgery. Measurements of cardiac arrhythmias, cardiac function, calcium transient, cardiac calcium release channel handling proteins and the endothelin system were conducted. The aggravated arrhythmia and compromised cardiac function in MI rats was accompanied by elevated diastolic Ca(2+) levels in the cytosol and a significant down-regulation of expression of RyR2-FKBP12.6. These were closely linked with an over-activated ET pathway in the myocardium. After a 4-week treatment with salvianolic acid B, all abnormalities were reversed significantly. Salvianolic acid B was capable of normalizing FKBP12.6 expression levels and decreasing the propensity towards arrhythmias by attenuating the up-regulated ET pathway.

Comparison of cardioprotective effects using salvianolic acid B and benazepril for the treatment of chronic myocardial infarction in rats.

The aim of this study was to compare the cardioprotective effects of salvianolic acid B (Sal B) and the angiotension-converting enzyme inhibitor, benazepril, in rats with chronic myocardial infarction (MI) that resulted from a coronary artery ligation for 4 weeks. The rats were divided into four groups: those undergoing a sham operation; a MI group; a MI+SalB group (100 mg/kg by a gavage, once a day for 4 weeks); a MI+benazepril group (10 mg/kg by a gavage, once a day for 4 weeks). The following parameters were measured: echocardiographic, hemodynamic and hemorheological changes, angiogenesis, infarct size and cardiac remodeling and the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) of vascular endothelium growth factor (VEGF). Rats treated with SalB or benazepril manifested the following: (1) marked improvements in echocardiographic, hemodynamic and hemorheological parameters; (2) significant reduction of infarct size; (3) significantly attenuated heart, kidney and lung hypertrophies, left ventricular (LV) dilatation and fibrosis. The unique effects of SalB were angiogenesis and augmented VEGF expression in the border and remote noninfarcted left ventricular area. These results suggest that both SalB and benazepril exerted beneficial cardioprotective effects in our experimental system, but that the modality of Sal B was different from that of benazepril. The additional beneficial effects of Sal B relative to benazpril, augmenting VEGF expression and promoting angiogenesis, may result in improved myocardial microcirculation.

Protective effects of hydroxysafflor yellow A on acute and chronic congestive cardiac failure mediated by reducing ET-1, NOS and oxidative stress in rats.

The present study was conducted to investigate whether hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) has a protective effect on acute and chronic heart failure (AHF/CHF) induced by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery for 3 h and 8 weeks, respectively. The rats were divided into the following groups: sham operation, coronary artery ligation (CAL), CAL+HSYA (100 mg kg(-1) by gavage) and CAL+diltiazem (20 mg kg(-1) by gavage). In the AHF model, heart function, as determined by haemodynamic studies and echocardiography, was improved significantly by pretreatment with HSYA or diltiazem. Significant reductions in elevated serum creatine phosphokinase, lactate dehydrogenase, malondialdehyde (MDA), glutamic oxalacetic transaminase, glutamic pyruvic transaminase and blood viscosity were observed, and the activity of serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) was enhanced (all P<0.01). In the CHF model, HSYA and diltiazem restored abnormal heart function, and completely suppressed the elevated plasma atrial natriuretic polypeptide (ANP) and endothelin-1 (ET-1), serum and left-ventricular tissue inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS), NO and MDA, and improved the decrease in SOD. HSYA and diltiazem improved cardiac performance in AHF and reduced cardiac remodelling in CHF by reducing tissue weight indices: left ventricular weight/body weight (BW), right ventricular weight/BW, kidney weight/BW and lung weight/BW, and attenuating increases in infarct size, inner diameter of the left ventricle and collagen volume fraction in non-infarcted areas, and the decrease in mean wall thickness of infarcted myocardium. These results suggest that HSYA exerted beneficial actions in cardiac performance in models of both AHF and CHF, mainly by suppressing ET-1, iNOS and oxidative stress in infarcted tissue.

Protective effect of Liuwei Dihuang decoction on early diabetic nephropathy induced by streptozotocin via modulating ET-ROS axis and matrix metalloproteinase activity in rats.

We aimed to investigate the effects of Liuwei Dihuang decoction (LW) on the endothelin-1-reactive oxidative species (ET-ROS) system and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the early diabetic nephropathy induced by streptozotocin (STZ) in rats. Rats were divided into six groups as follows: the control group, the untreated model group, the treated groups with the LW (5, 10 and 15 g kg(-1), p.o.) and the aminoguanidine-treated group (100 mg kg(-1), orally). The treatment was performed for 4 weeks, beginning on the fifth week after one intraperitoneal injection of STZ (65 mg kg(-1)). In the untreated model group, increased blood glucose, decreased plasma insulin level and an impaired renal function were observed. There was an altered redox system shown by an increased malondialdehyde and decreased activity of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase in the renal cortex. An enhanced inducible nitric oxide synthetase, total nitric oxide synthase and constitutive nitric oxide synthase and a declined nitric oxide were found. An increased extracellular matrix was indicated by an abnormality of MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities and an increase in hydroxyproline. An up-regulated ET-1 level and increased mRNA expression of endothelin-converting enzyme, preproET-1 and ET( A) receptor were presented in the affected renal cortex, but no change in ET(B) receptor mRNA. The LW was most effective in reversing these changes in diabetic rats and was as effective as aminoguanidine. The benefits of the extracts in relieving the abnormalities in early diabetic nephropathy are likely to be mediated by suppression of the renal ET-ROS system and escalating the activity of MMPs.