AIM: To investigate the protective effect of microRNA-218 (miR-218) silencing on kidney tissue of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic nephropathy rats and the potential mechanism.METHODS: The diabetic rat model was established by a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (50 mg/kg).Meanwhile, the miR-218 short hairpin RNA (shRNA) lentiviral vector was constructed.The Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: healthy control group, diabetes group, empty vector group and miR-218-shRNA group.The blood glucose, 24 h urinary protein, serum creatinine (SCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in the rats at different time points (4, 8 and 12 weeks) were measured by an automated analyzer.The expression of miR-218 was detected by RT-qPCR, while the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), nephrin and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) at mRNA and protein levels in the kidney tissues was determined by RT-qPCR and Western blot.The caspase-3 activity was detected by caspase-3 activity assay kit, and the cell apoptosis of the kidney tissues was analyzed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL).RESULTS: Compared with healthy control group, the expression of miR-218 was significantly increased in STZ-treated rats.Meanwhile, the concentrations of blood glucose, 24 h urinary protein, SCr and BUN were significantly increased in STZ-treated rats (P<0.05).The mRNA and protein expression of HO-1 and nephrin was significantly decreased, while the level of phosphorylated p38 MAPK was significantly increased in STZ-treated rats.In addition, the activity of caspase-3 was also significantly increased in STZ-treated rats.When the model rats were infected with miR-218-shRNA, the expression of miR-218 was significantly decreased and the above effects were markedly reversed.Furthermore, TUNEL results showed that compared with diabetic group and empty vector group, miR-218 silencing significantly attenuated the cell apoptosis in the kidney tissues in miR-218-shRNA group.CONCLUSION: miR-218 is involved in the kidney injury in diabetic rats, and silencing of miR-218 by lentiviral vector-mediated miR-218-shRNA transfection effectively inhibits kidney cell apoptosis, suggesting that miR-218 is a potential target for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.

BACKGROUND:Bone mineral density is the clinical gold standard for determining bone strength,but bone mineral density is less sensitive to changes in bone mass,with large changes in bone mineral density only occurring when bone mass is significantly reduced,so bone mineral density has limited ability to predict changes in bone strength and fracture risk. OBJECTIVE:A model of the normal and osteoporotic hip joint was developed to analyze the stresses and deformation in the hip of normal and osteoporotic patients under single-leg standing conditions. METHODS:A healthy adult female volunteer at the age of 36 years was selected as the study subject.The CT data of the hip joint of this volunteer were obtained and saved in DICOM format.The hip joint model was reconstructed in three dimensions,and the material properties were assigned by the gray value assignment method to obtain the normal and osteoporotic hip joint models according to the empirical formula.The same boundary conditions and loads were set to simulate the stresses and deformation in the normal and osteoporotic hip joints in the single-leg standing position. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)In the finite element model of the normal and osteoporotic hip,the stress distribution was more concentrated in the medial region of the femoral neck.(2)In the hip bone,the stress distribution was mainly concentrated in the upper part of the acetabulum.(3)The stress peaks in the medial femoral neck and upper acetabulum were larger in the normal hip model than in the osteoporotic hip model,probably due to the reduced bone strength of the osteoporotic bone.(4)The peak Von Mises of both normal and osteoporotic hip models were concentrated on the medial femoral neck,and the peak Von Mises of the hip bone was smaller,indicating that the overall effect of osteoporosis on hip bone stresses was relatively small.(5)In terms of deformation in the single-leg standing position,the maximum deformation in the normal hip model was located at the acetabulum and femoral head,and the maximum deformation was located at the upper part of the greater trochanter of the femur.(6)It is suggested that the finite element analysis method to model the values of parameters related to bone tissue in osteoporosis may improve clinical prediction of bone strength changes and fracture risk.It is explained from the biomechanical view that the intertrochanteric femur and femoral neck are good sites for osteoporotic hip fractures.

ObjectiveTo explore the clinical efficacy of Gouteng prescription in treating the patients with primary hypertension with anxiety disorder due to yang hyperactivity and heat toxin and the impact of the formula on the balance of inflammatory cytokines. MethodA total of 98 patients diagnosed with primary hypertension and anxiety disorder were randomized into control and observation groups. On the basis of conventional western medicine treatment for hypertension， the control group （47 patients） was treated with Shugan Jieyu capsules for 8 weeks， while the treatment group （51 patients） with Gouteng prescription for 8 weeks. The two groups were compared in terms of the blood pressure level， 24-hour blood pressure variability， Hamilton anxiety scale （HAMA） score， Pittsburgh sleep quality index （PSQI） score， quality of life （SF-36 scale） score， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score and efficacy， incidence of adverse reactions， and the levels of interleukin （IL）-1β， IL-6， IL-10， and IL-4 in the serum of peripheral blood. ResultThe final trial was completed with 95 patients， including 46 in the control group and 49 in the observation group. The treatment in both groups lowered the blood pressure and blood pressure variability （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The observation group outperformed the control group in recovering the systolic blood pressure （SBP）， 24-hour mean systolic blood pressure （24 h SBP）， 24-hour systolic blood pressure variability （24 h SBPV）， and 24-hour diastolic blood pressure variability （24 h DBPV） （P<0.05）. After treatment， the HAMA and PSQI scores in both groups decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the observation group had lower HAMA and PSQI scores than the control group （P<0.05）. Compared with those before treatment， the SF-36 scores in both groups increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. After treatment， the observation group had higher scores of physiological function （PF）， bodily pain （BP）， social function （SF）， role-emotional （RE）， and mental health （MH） indicators than the control group （P<0.05）. After treatment， the TCM syndrome scores in both groups decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the observation group had lower score than the control group （P<0.05）. The total response rate regarding TCM syndrome in the observation group was 85.71% （42/49）， which was higher than that （63.04%， 29/46） in the control group （χ²=6.621， P<0.05）. The treatment in both groups lowered the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines （IL-1β， IL-6） and elevated the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines （IL-10， IL-4） （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the changes were more obvious in the observation group than in the control group （P<0.05）. There were no adverse events during the research process. ConclusionGouteng prescription can recover the blood pressure level， reduce blood pressure variability， suppress anxiety state， improve sleep and quality of life， decrease TCM syndrome score， increase total response rate， lower serum IL-1β and IL-6 levels， and elevate serum IL-10 and IL-4 levels in the patients with primary hypertension complicated with anxiety disorder due to yang hyperactivity and heat toxin. It may exert the effects by regulating the balance of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines.