Objective · To evaluate the clinical characteristics of endometrial pathology in postmenopausal women with asymptomatic thickened endometrium. Methods · A retrospective review was conducted of the patients between October 2013 and October 2015 in the International Peace Maternity & Child Health Hospital. The postmenopausal women with asymptomatic thickened endometrium of 5 mm or more found by transvaginal ultrasonography were recruited. They underwent hysteroscopy and endometrial sampling to analyze the relationship between endometrial pathology and endometrial thickness. Results · A total of 257 patients were recruited. The average age was 61.3 years old, the average menopause period was 122 months, and the average endometrium thickness was 8.6 mm. The endometrial pathology included normal atrophic endometrium, endometrial polyp, submucous myoma, intrauterine adhesion, uterine septum, endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer. The most common pathological type was endometrial polyp, accounting for 66.9% of the all patients and 83.9% (172/205) of all pathological types. Three cases of adenocarcinoma (1.2%) were diagnosed. There was significant difference in endometrial thickness among normal endometrium, endometrial polyp and endometrial cancer (P<0.05). The endometrium in endometrial cancer was the thickest, which was (13.20±5.38) mm averagely. There was significant difference in ages among the pathological types (P=0.004). Conclusion · There are few patients of malignancy among asymptomatic postmenopausal women with thickened endometrium. Follow-up visits were recommended to these women.

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of Meilian Xiaoke capsule (a traditional Chinese medicinal preparation) combined with metformin for protecting islet cells and lowering blood glucose in diabetic rats.

METHODSRat models with type 2 diabetes, established by high-fat and high-glucose diet combined with streptozotocin (STZ) injection, were treated with a low dose of metformin, Meilian Xiaoke capsule, or both for 4 weeks by gavage. Blood glucose level was tested in the rats, and islet pathologies and changes in islet β cell number after the treatment were observed with HE staining and aldehyde fuchsin staining, respectively.

RESULTSTreatment with metformin or Meilian Xiaoke capsule alone for 2 or 4 weeks did not produce significant improvement of blood glucose in the diabetic rats. Their combined treatment for 4 weeks resulted in significantly lowered blood glucose level and improved glucose tolerance with also obviously increased islet β cell number and lessened islet pathologies.

CONCLUSIONSMeilian Xiaoke capsule and metformin show a synergistic effect to significantly enhance the therapeutic effect in rats with type 2 diabetes.

Animals ; Blood Glucose ; drug effects ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; drug therapy ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; drug therapy ; Drug Synergism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; pharmacology ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; pathology ; Metformin ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Streptozocin

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT ) is known to be involved in airway remodeling and fibrosis of bronchial asthma. However, the molecular mechanisms leading to EMT have yet to be fully clarified. The current study was designed to reveal the potential mechanism of microRNA-21 (miR-21) and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) affecting EMT through the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Human bronchial epithelial cells (16HBE cells) were transfected with miR-21 mimics/inhibitors and PARP-1 plasmid/small interfering RNA (siRNA). A dual luciferase reporter assay and biotin-labeled RNA pull-down experiments were conducted to verify the targeting relationship between miR-21 mimics and PARP-1. The migration ability of 16HBE cells was evaluated by Transwell assay. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting experiments were applied to determine the expression of Snail, ZEB1, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, Vimentin, and PARP-1. The effects of the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 on the migration of 16HBE cells and EMT were investigated. Overexpression of miR-21 mimics induced migration and EMT of 16HBE cells, which was significantly inhibited by overexpression of PARP-1. Our findings showed that PARP-1 was a direct target of miR-21, and that miR-21 targeted PARP-1 to promote migration and EMT of 16HBE cells through the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Using LY294002 to block PI3K/AKT signaling pathway resulted in a significant reduction in the migration and EMT of 16HBE cells. These results suggest that miR-21 promotes EMT and migration of HBE cells by targeting PARP-1. Additionally, the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway might be involved in this mechanism, which could indicate its usefulness as a therapeutic target for asthma.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between the molecular characteristics and phylogenetic evolution of rabies N gene.

METHODSSaliva samples were collected from rabies cases, and RT-PCR was used to amplify the N gene of rabies virus with the specific primers. The amplifying product of RT-PCR was cloned to pUCm-T vector and transformed into E.coli XL1-Blue and then the blue-white selection, PCR screening and gene sequencing were carried out to identify the positive clones. Finally, ExPASy and other bioinformatics software were used to analyze and predict the structure and biological characteristics of the N genome.

RESULTSThe amplification product of RT-PCR was 1 353 bp, the recombinant plasmid pUCm-T/N was constructed, the whole length of the N gene open reading frame was composed of 1 353 nucleotide residues to code 450 amino acids (20 kinds), the accession number submitted to the Genbank was HM756692, its sequence homology of nucleotides and amino acids compared with the vaccine strain CTN-1-V was 90% and 99% respectively. The evolutionary analysis showed that the isolated strain belonged to genotype I with certain geographic regionality.

CONCLUSIONThe characteristics investigation and bioinformatics analysis of Hunan0806 N gene will provide fundamental data to reveal the significance of the N gene characteristics for rabies epidemiology and its prevention & control.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Gene Expression Regulation, Viral ; physiology ; Humans ; Models, Molecular ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Nucleocapsid Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Phylogeny ; Protein Conformation ; Rabies ; virology ; Rabies virus ; genetics ; metabolism ; Saliva ; virology

During pandemic of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19), emergency orthopedic trauma is commonly seen. It is particularly important to ensure the emergency treatment quality of orthopedic trauma but avoid cross-infection between doctors and patients. The double-buffered diagnosis and treatment mode refers to the model of patients first undergoing medical observation in the comprehensive buffer ward and the inpatient buffer rooms of various disciplines after admission to confirm the exclusion of COVID-19 and then receiving specialist diagnosis and treatment. The authors summarize the experiences of using the double-buffered diagnosis and treatment model in the Department of Orthopedics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University during the prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic so as to provide a reference for treatment of orthopedic patients.

Osteoporotic thoracolumbar fracture in the elderly will seriously reduce their quality of life and life expectancy. For osteoporotic thoracolumbar fracture in the elderly, spinal reconstruction is necessary, which should comprehensively consider factors such as the physical condition, fracture type, clinical characteristics and osteoporosis degree. While there lacks relevant clinical norms or guidelines on selection of spinal reconstruction strategies. In order to standardize the concept of spinal reconstruction for osteoporotic thoracolumbar fracture in the elderly, based on the principles of scientificity, practicality and progressiveness, the authors formulated the Clinical guideline for spinal reconstruction of osteoporotic thoracolumbar fracture in elderly patients ( version 2022), in which suggestions based on evidence of evidence-based medicine were put forward upon 10 important issues related to the fracture classification, non-operative treatment strategies and surgical treatment strategies in spinal reconstruction after osteoporosis thoracolumbar fracture in the elderly, hoping to provide a reference for clinical treatment.

Background Arsenic exposure is a common and important environmental and occupational hazardous factor in China, and arsenic-induced insulin resistance (IR) has attracted widespread attention as a negative health outcome to the population. Objective To explore part of the mechanism of hepatic IR induced by arsenic exposure based on the peroxisome proliferators-activated receptors γ (PPARγ)/ glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) pathway, and to investigate potential effects of Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) on hepatic IR induced by arsenic exposure and associated mechanism of action. Methods The target of drug action was predicted by network pharmacology and verified by in vivo and in vitro experiments. In vivo experiments: 48 SPF C57BL/6J male mice were divided into 4 groups, including control group, 50 mg·L⁻¹ NaAsO₂ model group (NaAsO₂), 50 mg·L⁻¹ NaAsO₂+10 mg·kg⁻¹ GBE intervene group (NaAsO₂+GBE), and 10 mg·kg⁻¹ GBE group (GBE), 12 mice in each group. The animals were given free access to purified water containing 50 mg·L⁻¹ NaAsO₂, or given intraperitoneal injection of normal saline containing 10 mg·kg⁻¹ GBE once per week. After 6 months of exposure, blood glucose detection, intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT), and insulin tolerance test (ITT) were performed. Serum and liver tissues were collected after the mice were neutralized, liver histopathological sections were obtained, serum insulin levels, liver tissue glycogen content, glucose content were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the expression of PPARγ and GLUT4 proteins was detected by Western blot (WB). In vitro experiments: HepG2 cells were divided into 4 groups, including control group, 8 μmol·L⁻¹ NaAsO₂ group (NaAsO₂), 8 μmol·L⁻¹ NaAsO₂ + 200 mg·L⁻¹ GBE intervene group (NaAsO₂+GBE), and 200 mg·L⁻¹ GBE group (GBE). The levels of glycogen and glucose were detected by ELISA, and the expression of PPARγ and GLUT4 proteins was detected by WB. Results A strong binding effect between GBE and PPARγ was revealed by network pharmacology. In in vivo experiments, the NaAsO₂ group exhibited an elevated blood glucose compared to the control group, and the NaAsO₂+GBE group showed a decreased blood glucose compared to the NaAsO₂ group (P<0.01). The histopathological sections indicated severe liver structural damage in the arsenic exposure groups (NaAsO₂ group and NaAsO₂+GBE group), with varying staining intensity, partial liver cell necrosis, and diffuse red blood cell appearance. Both results of in vitro and in vivo experiments showed a decrease in glycogen synthesis and glucose uptake in the NaAsO₂ groups compared to the control groups, which was alleviated in the NaAsO₂+GBE group (P<0.01). The results of WB revealed inhibited PPARγ expression and reduced GLUT4 levels on the cell membrane, and all these changes were alleviated in the NaAsO₂+GBE group (P<0.01). Conclusion This study findings suggest that GBE antagonizes arsenic exposure-induced hepatic IR by regulating the PPARγ/GLUT4 pathway, indicating that GBE has a protective effect on arsenic exposure-induced hepatic IR, and PPARγ may be a potential therapeutic target for arsenic exposure-induced hepatic IR.

In carbohydrate chemistry, the stereoselective synthesis of 1,2-cis-glycosides remains a formidable challenge. This complexity is comparable to the synthesis of 1,2-cis-β-D-mannosides, primarily due to the adverse anomeric and Δ-2 effects. Over the past decades, to attain β-stereoselectivity in D-rhamnosylation, researchers have devised numerous direct and indirect methodologies, including the hydrogen-bond-mediated aglycone delivery (HAD) method, the synthesis of β-D-mannoside paired with C6 deoxygenation, and the combined approach of 1,2-trans-glycosylation and C2 epimerization. This review elaborates on the advancements in β-D-rhamnosylation and its implications for the total synthesis of tiacumicin B and other physiologically relevant glycans.
Glycosides ; Mannosides ; Glycosylation ; Stereoisomerism