Objective:To evaluate the effect of electroacupuncture on P2X4R-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK)-brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling pathway in trigeminal ganglion of rats with trigeminal neuralgia.Methods:Thirty-six clean-grade healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 190-230 g, aged 2-3 months, were divided into 3 groups ( n=12 each) using a random number table method: sham operation group (S group), trigeminal neuralgia group (TN group), and electroacupuncture group (E group). The model was developed by chronic constriction of the infraorbital nerve in anesthetized animals. The infraorbital nerve was only exposed without ligation in group S. Rats received electroacupuncture stimulation at the Baihui and Xiaguan acupoints on the affected side for 20 min after developing the model, with a frequency of 80 Hz, twice a day, for 14 consecutive days in E group. Facial mechanical pain threshold (FMT) was measured at 1 day before developing the model and 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after developing the model. The rats were sacrificed after the last behavioral testing, and the trigeminal ganglia were taken for examination of histopathological changes of trigeminal ganglion (by HE staining) and for determination of the expression of P2X4R, p38 MAPK, phosphorylated p38 MAPK (p-p38 MAPK) and BDNF (by Western blot) and contents of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and IL-6 (by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). Results:Compared with group S, the FMT was significantly decreased at each time point after developing the model, the expression of P2X4R, p-p38 MAPK and BDNF in trigeminal ganglion was up-regulated, and the contents of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were increased ( P<0.05), the pathological changes of the trigeminal ganglion were obvious in group TN. Compared with group TN, the FMT was significantly increased at each time point after developing the model, and the expression of P2X4R, p-p38 MAPK and BDNF in trigeminal ganglion was down-regulated, and the contents of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were decreased ( P<0.05), and the pathological changes of the trigeminal ganglion were significantly attenuated in group E. Conclusions:The mechanism by which electroacupuncture alleviates trigeminal neuralgia may be related to inhibiting the activity of P2X4R-p38MAPK-BDNF signaling pathway and reducing neuroinflammation in rats.

Objective To investigate whether discontinuous sleep supplementation can reduce myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in diabetic rats aggravated by circadian rhythm disorder.Methods The rats were injected intra-peritoneal with 1％streptozotocin(STZ)30 mg/kg combined with high-fat and high-glucose diet to replicate diabetic model.Forty diabetic rats were randomly divided into four groups with 10 in each:sham surgery group(Sham group),ischemia-reperfusion group(I/R group),in which the left anterior descending coronary artery(LDA)was ligated for thirty minutes and reperfusion for 2 h,circadian rhythm disorder group(Crd group,24 h daily light and food),discontinuous sleep supplementation group(Dss group,every 3 hours of illumination and 1.5 hours break at night).We analyzed the myocardial infarct size(by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride stai-ning),determined serum creatine kinase-myoglobin(CK-MB)activity and cardiac troponinⅠ(cTnⅠ)concentrations;the expression level of BMAL1 and REV-ERBα was determined by Western blot.Results Compared to the sham group,the I/R group showed a significantly increased in myocardial infarct size,serum CK-MB activity and cTnⅠ concentration.The expression of the myocardial biological clock gene BMAL1 was down-regulated,while the ex-pression of REV-ERBα was up-regulated(P<0.05).Compared to the I/R group,the Crd group showed a signifi-cantly increase in myocardial infarct size,serum CK-MB activity and cTnⅠ concentration.The expression of the myocardial biological clock gene BMAL1 was down-regulated,while the expression of REV-ERBα was up-regulated(P<0.05).Compared to the Crd group,Dss group showed a significantly decrease in the myocardial infarct size,serum cTn concentration and CK-MB activity.Furthermore,there was an increased protein expression of BMAL1 and a decrease of REV-ERBα(P<0.05).Conclusions Discontinuous sleep supplementation can reduce myocardial is-chemia-reperfusion injury in diabetic rats aggravated by circadian rhythm disorder.

Objective:To evaluate the role of P2X4 receptor (P2X4R) in the maintenance of trigeminal neuralgia and the relationship with p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK)/brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling pathway in rats.Methods:Forty-eight clean-grade healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 190-230 g, aged 2-3 months, were divided into 4 groups ( n=12 each) using a random number table method: sham operation group (S group), trigeminal neuralgia group (TN group), trigeminal neuralgia+ dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) group (TN+ DMSO group), and trigeminal neuralgia+ P2X4R specific antagonist 5-BDBD group (TN+ 5-BDBD group). The model was developed by chronic constriction of the infraorbital nerve. The infraorbital nerve was only exposed without ligation in group S. At 3, 7, 10 and 14 days after developing the model, 5 μg/μl 5-BDBD 10 μl was intrathecally injected in TN+ 5-BDBD group, and 2% DMSO 10 μl was intrathecally injected in TN+ DMSO group. The facial mechanical pain withdrawal threshold (MWT) was measured at 1 day before developing the model and 1, 3, 7, 10, 14 and 28 days after developing the model (T 0-6). The rats were sacrificed and the trigeminal ganglia were taken for determination of the expression of P2X4R, p38 MAPK, phosphorylated p38 MAPK (p-p38 MAPK) and BDNF (by Western blot) and contents of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 (by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). Results:Compared with group S, the MWT was significantly decreased at T 1-6, the expression of P2X4R, p-p38 MAPK and BDNF in trigeminal ganglion was up-regulated, and the contents of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were increased in TN group ( P<0.05). Compared with TN group, the MWT was significantly increased at T 3-6, and the expression of P2X4R, p-p38 MAPK and BDNF in trigeminal ganglion was down-regulated, and the contents of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were decreased in TN+ 5-BDBD group ( P<0.05), and no significant change was found in the indexes mentioned above in TN+ DMSO group ( P>0.05). Conclusions:P2X4R is involved in the maintenance of trigeminal neuralgia in rats, which may be related to the activation of p38 MAPK/BDNF signaling pathway and the increase in inflammatory mediator release.

Background/Aims: The aim of this study was to analyze the chronological changes in postoperative complications in surgical ulcerative colitis patients over the past decade in China and to investigate the potential parameters that contributed to the changes. Methods: Ulcerative colitis patients who underwent surgery during 2008–2017 were retrospectively enrolled from 13 hospitals in China. Postoperative complications were compared among different operation years. Risk factors for complications were identified by logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 446 surgical ulcerative colitis patients were analyzed. Fewer short-term complications (24.8% vs. 41.0%, P=0.001) and more laparoscopic surgeries (66.4% vs. 25.0%, P<0.001) were found among patients who received surgery during 2014–2017 than 2008–2013. Logistic regression suggested that independent protective factors against short-term complications were a higher preoperative body mass index (odds ratio [OR], 0.870; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.785–0.964; P=0.008), laparoscopic surgery (OR, 0.391; 95% CI, 0.217–0.705; P=0.002) and elective surgery (OR, 0.213; 95% CI, 0.067–0.675; P=0.009). The chronological decrease in short-term complications was associated with an increase in laparoscopic surgery. Conclusions Our data revealed a downward trend of short-term postoperative complications among surgical ulcerative colitis patients in China during the past decade, which may be due to the promotion of minimally invasive techniques among Chinese surgeons.

Cadmium (Cd) is a common heavy metal in the environment. Cd²⁺ may penetrate the blood-brain barrier and produce neurotoxicity, thus inducing various neurodegenerative diseases. Celastrol is an effective component of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F., which has many pharmacological effects such as anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory. Here we explored the effect of celastrol on the corresponding neurotoxicity induced by Cd²⁺. Cell proliferation test, cell membrane integrity test, and cell morphology were observed to analyze the effect of Cd²⁺ on the viability of HMC3. The neurotoxicity of Cd²⁺ and the effect of celastrol on the corresponding neurotoxicity induced by Cd²⁺ were analyzed by nitric oxide (NO) test, lipid peroxidation (MDA) test, and Western blotting. When the concentration of Cd²⁺ reached 40 μmol/L, the inhibition rate of HMC3 cell proliferation was (57.17±8.23)% (P < 0.01, n=5), compared with the control group. The cell activity continued to reduce when the Cd²⁺ concentration further increased. When the concentration of Cd²⁺ was higher than 40 μmol/L, the cell membrane of HMC3 was significantly damaged, and the damage was dose-dependent. Upon increasing the Cd²⁺ concentration, the cell morphology began to change and the adhesion also became worse. Cd²⁺ significantly increased the amount of NO released by HMC3 cells, while celastrol effectively inhibited the NO release of HMC3 cells induced by Cd²⁺. Cd²⁺ greatly increased the release of MDA in HMC3 cells, and the level of MDA decreased rapidly upon the addition of 10^-7 mol/L celastrol. Cd²⁺ increased the expression of p-PI3K protein, and the levels of p-PI3K protein and p-AKT protein were inhibited by the addition of celastrol (10^‒7 mol/L, 10^‒6 mol/L), thus preventing cell apoptosis. In conclusion, celastrol inhibits Cd²⁺ induced microglial cytotoxicity and plays a neuroprotective role.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents/pharmacology* ; Apoptosis ; Cadmium/toxicity* ; Nitric Oxide/pharmacology* ; Pentacyclic Triterpenes ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Triterpenes/pharmacology*

Objective:To identify the potential pathogenic genes for perioperative neurocognitive disorder (PND) in the patients with digestive system tumors.Methods:The gene expression data of esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer and liver cancer in The Cancer Genome Atlas database were analyzed by bioinformatics analysis method, and the differentially expressed genes in tumor tissues in above-mentioned disease samples were identified compared with para-carcinoma tissues.Secretory proteome differential genes with the same expression trend in digestive system tumors were obtained by comparing with human secretory proteome genes.The correlation between secretomics and PND was determined by comparing with the GeneCards database.Hub genes were identified through PPI network construction and calculation, and the functions and signaling pathways of the above-mentioned differential genes were identified through GO and KEGG enrichment analysis.Results:Compared with para-carcinoma tissues, the expression of 2 640 genes was significantly up-regulated and the expression of 1 423 genes was down-regulated in esophageal cancer tissues; the expression of 3 748 genes was up-regulated and the expression of 908 genes was down-regulated in gastric cancer samples; the expression of 2 684 genes was up-regulated and the expression of 2 678 genes was down-regulated in colon cancer samples; the expression of 2 876 genes was up-regulated and the expression of 2 945 genes was down-regulated in rectal cancer samples; the expression of 1 484 genes was up-regulated and the expression of 723 genes was down-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma samples.Among them, the expression of the encoding genes of 53 secreted proteins was uniformly up-regulated and the expression of the encoding genes of 20 secreted proteins was uniformly down-regulated in the above tumors.Twenty up-regulated genes and 3 down-regulated genes were associated with PND.PPI network analysis showed that MMP9 was the hub gene.The results of GO and KEGG analysis suggested that differentially expressed genes were mainly related to receptor-ligand activity, cytokine activity and chemokine activity, and were mainly enriched in signaling pathways related to cell cycle and cellular senescence.Conclusions:About 23 differentially expressed genes in digestive system tumors are potentially related to PND, of which MMP9 and other genes may be the hub genes, mainly acting on receptor-ligand binding, regulation of cytokine and chemokine activity, cell cycle, cellular senescence and other related signaling pathways.

Objective:To evaluate the role of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) in hippocampus in memory decline after myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) in rats.Methods:Twenty-four healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats, aged 2-3 months, weighing 220-280 g, were divided into 3 groups ( n=8 each) using a random number table method: sham operation group (group S), myocardial I/R group (group I/R) and ALDH2 agonist ALDA-1 group (group ALDA-1). Myocardial I/R was induced by 30 min occlusion of left anterior descending branch of coronary artery followed by 120 min reperfusion in anesthetized animals.ALDA-1 10 mg/kg was intraperitoneally injected at 5 min before ischemia in group ALDA-1.The positioning navigation training in Morris water maze test was started from 6 days before developing the model.The spatial exploration in Morris water maze test was performed at 24 h after developing the model.The rats were sacrificed after the end of behavioral experiment, and the hippocampus was extracted for microscopic examination of the pathological changes (by hematoxylin and eosin staining) and for determination of the apoptosis index (AI) (by TUNEL staining), activity of ALDH2 (by colorimetry), contents of 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) and malondialdehyde (MDA) (by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), and expression of ALDH2 and 4-HNE (by Western blot). Results:Compared with group S, the number of crossing the original platform was significantly decreased, the time spent in the target quadrant was shortened, the activity of ALDH2 in the hippocampus was decreased, the expression of 4-HNE was up-regulated, and the contents of 4-HNE and MDA and AI were increased in group I/R ( P<0.05). Compared with group I/R, the number of crossing the original platform was significantly increased, the time spent in the target quadrant was prolonged, the ALDH2 activity was increased, the expression of 4-HNE was down-regulated, and the contents of 4-HNE and MDA and AI were decreased in group ALDA-1 ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in ALDH2 expression in hippocampus among the three groups ( P>0.05). Conclusions:The mechanism of memory decline developed after myocardial I/R may be related to the decrease in ALDH2 activity and promotion of accumulation of aldehydes in the hippocampus of rats.

COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection severely threatens global health and economic development. No effective antiviral drug is currently available to treat COVID-19 and any other human coronavirus infections. We report herein that a macrolide antibiotic, carrimycin, potently inhibited the cytopathic effects (CPE) and reduced the levels of viral protein and RNA in multiple cell types infected by human coronavirus 229E, OC43, and SARS-CoV-2. Time-of-addition and pseudotype virus infection studies indicated that carrimycin inhibited one or multiple post-entry replication events of human coronavirus infection. In support of this notion, metabolic labelling studies showed that carrimycin significantly inhibited the synthesis of viral RNA. Our studies thus strongly suggest that carrimycin is an antiviral agent against a broad-spectrum of human coronaviruses and its therapeutic efficacy to COVID-19 is currently under clinical investigation.

Objective:To investigate the different outcomes of two types of acute kidney injury (AKI) according to standard of Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes-AKI (KDIGO-AKI), and to analyze the risk factors that affect the prognosis of intensive care unit (ICU) patients in China.Methods:A secondary analysis was performed on the database of a previous study conducted by China Critical Care Clinical Trial Group (CCCCTG), which was a multicenter prospective study involving 3 063 patients in 22 tertiary ICUs in 19 provinces and autonomous regions of China. The demographic data, scores reflecting severity of illness, laboratory findings, intervention during ICU stay were extracted. All patients were divided into pure AKI (PAKI) and acute on chronic kidney disease (AoCKD). PAKI was defined as meeting the serum creatinine (SCr) standard of KDIGO-AKI (KDIGO-AKI SCr) and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at baseline was ≥ 60 mL·min -1·1.73 m -2, and AoCKD was defined as meeting the KDIGO-AKI SCr standard and baseline eGFR was 15-59 mL·min -1·1.73 m -2. All-cause mortality in ICU within 28 days was the primary outcome, while the length of ICU stay and renal replacement therapy (RRT) were the secondary outcome. The differences in baseline data and outcomes between the two groups were compared. The cumulative survival rate of ICU within 28 days was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier survival curve, and the risk factors of ICU death within 28 days were screened by Cox multivariate analysis. Results:Of the 3 063 patients, 1 042 were enrolled, 345 with AKI, 697 without AKI. The AKI incidence was 33.11%, while ICU mortality within 28 days of AKI patients was 13.91% (48/345). Compared with PAKI patients ( n = 322), AoCKD patients ( n = 23) were older [years old: 74 (59, 77) vs. 58 (41, 72)] and more critical when entering ICU [acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHEⅡ) score: 23 (19, 27) vs. 15 (11, 22)], had worse basic renal function [eGFR (mL·min -1·1.73 m -2): 49 (38, 54) vs. 115 (94, 136)], more basic complications [Charlson comorbidity index (CCI): 3 (2, 4) vs. 0 (0, 1)] and higher SCr during ICU stay [peak SCr for diagnosis of AKI (μmol/L): 412 (280, 515) vs. 176 (124, 340), all P < 0.01]. The mortality and RRT incidence within 28 days in ICU of AoCKD patients were significantly higher than those of PAKI patients [39.13% (9/23) vs. 12.11% (39/322), 26.09% (6/23) vs. 4.04% (13/322), both P < 0.01], while no significant difference was found in the length of ICU stay. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that the 28-day cumulative survival rate in ICU in AoCKD patients was significantly lower than PAKI patients (Log-Rank: χ2 = 5.939, P = 0.015). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that admission to ICU due to respiratory failure [hazard ratio ( HR) = 4.458, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was 1.141-17.413, P = 0.032], vasoactive agents treatment in ICU ( HR = 5.181, 95% CI was 2.033-13.199, P = 0.001), and AoCKD ( HR = 5.377, 95% CI was 1.303-22.186, P = 0.020) were independent risk factors for ICU death within 28 days. Conclusion:Further detailed classification (PAKI, AoCKD) based on KDIGO-AKI SCr standard combined with eGFR is related to ICU mortality in critical patients within 28 days.

Objective To investigate the relationship between glycoprotein synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3β) and mitochondrial cleavage protein (Drp-1) during diabetes mellitus-caused antagonization of cardioprotection induced by sevoflurane postconditioning in rats.Methods Clean-grade healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats,weighing 250-300 g,were used in this study.Diabetes mellitus was induced by high-fat and high-sucrose diet and intraperitoneal streptozotocin 30 g/kg.Forty rats with diabetes mellitus were divided into 5 groups (n =8 each) using a random number table method:ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) group,sevoflurane postconditioning group (SP group),sevoflurane postconditioning plus Drp1 inhibitor Mivi-1 group (SM group),sevoflurane postconditioning plus GSK-3β inhibitor SB216763 group (SB group) and sevoflurane postconditioning plus Mivi-1 plus SB216763 group (SMB group).Myocardial I/R was induced by 30 min occlusion of the left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery followed by 120 min reperfusion.The rats inhaled 2.5％ sevoflurane for 10 min starting from 5 min before reperfusion in SP,SM,SB and SBM groups.Mivi-1 1.2 mg/kg was injected via the caudal vein at 15 min before reperfusion in group SM.SB216763 0.2 mg/kg was injected via the caudal vein at 5 min before reperfusion in group SB.Mivi-1 1.2 mg/kg and SB216763 0.2 mg/kg were injected via the caudal vein at 15 and 5 min before reperfusion,respectively,in group SMB.Blood samples were collected from the abdominal aorta at 120 min of reperfusion for determination of serum cardiac troponin Ⅰ (cTnⅠ) concentrations.The rats were sacrificed and myocardial specimens were obtained from the apex for determination of the cell apoptosis (by TUNEL) and expression of caspase-3 (by Western blot),and apoptotic index (AI) was calculated.Results Compared with group I/R,no significant change was found in caspase-3 expression,AI or serum cTnⅠ concentrations (P＞0.05),and the pathological changes of myocardium were comparable in group SP,and the expression of caspase-3 was significantly down-regulated,and AI and serum cTnⅠ concentration were decreased (P＜0.05),and the pathological changes of myocardium were significantly attenuated in SM,SB and SMB groups.Compared with group SP,the expression of caspase-3 was significantly down-regulated,AI and serum cTnⅠ concentrations were decreased (P＜0.05),and the pathological changes of myocardium were significantly attenuated in SM,SB and SMB groups.Compared with group SMB or group SB,the expression of caspase-3 was significantly down-regulated,AI and serum cTnI concentrations were decreased (P＜0.05),and the pathological changes of myocardium were significantly attenuated in group SMB.Conclusion It is not a single regulatory relationship between GSK-3β and Drp-1 in the pathophysiological process of diabetes mellitus-caused antagonization of cardioprotection induced by sevoflurane postconditioning in rats.