Objective To investigate the protective effect of propofol (Pro) in combination with ligustrazin (Lig) on the liver against ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury and the mechanisms involved.Methods Fifty male SD rats weighing 240-280 g were randomly divided into 5 groups of 10 animals each: group Ⅰ received sham operation (sham); group Ⅱ I/R; group Ⅲ Pro + I/R; group Ⅳ Lig + I/R and group Ⅴ Pro + Lag + I/R. The animals were anesthetized with intraperitoneal pentobarbital 20 mg?kg-1 . Liver ischemia was produced by clamping the hepatic hilum for 30 min, then the clamp was removed for 60 min reperfusion. In group Ⅲ propofol was infused at 20 mg?kg-1 ?h-1 starting from 20 min before ischemia until hepatic hilum was clamped. In group Ⅳ a bolus of ligustrazin 60 mg?kg-1 was given i.v. 20 min before ischemia. In group Ⅴ propofol was infused and a bolus of ligustrazin was given i.v. as in group Ⅲ and Ⅳ 20 min before hepatic ischemia. Blood samples were taken at the end of 60 min reperfusion for determination of serum activities of ALT, AST and LDH and meanwhile a liver specimen was obtained for determination of MDA content, SOD and XOD activities and for electron microscopic examination. Results Serum ALT and AST activities were significantly higher in group Ⅱ , Ⅲ , Ⅳ and Ⅴ than in group Ⅰ (sham) (P

Aim: To study the therapeutic effects of ZK_(14), a novel nitric oxide donor, on hepatic fibrosis in rats. Methods: Rats were injected intraperitoneally with CCl_4 and induced to hepatic fibrosis, followed by intra-gasrtic administration with high dose of 20 mg/kg and low dose of 10 mg/kg of ZK_(14) for 4 weeks. The effects were evaluated in the content of nitric oxide of serum and nitric oxide synthases of liver, in serum levels of the hepatic functions indices and hepatic fibrotic index and in liver histopathology. Results: The biochemical indices and pathology grade were effectively improved in the group of ZK_(14) 20 mg/kg, and liver function was also effectively protected in this group. Conclusion: ZK_(14), a novel nitric oxide donating biphenyldicarboxylate derivative, showed preferable therapeutic effects on hepatic fibrosis of rats induced with CC14, and it may be of potential value in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of prenatal taurine supplementation on the Rho-ROCK signaling pathway activity and synaptophysin (Syp) expression in brain tissues of rats with intrauterine growth restriction.MethodsEighteen pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control group, fetal growth restriction (FGR) group and taurine group, with six rats in each group. Low-protein diet was given in FGR and taurine groups to establish an FGR model. Taurine 300 mg/(kg·d) was supplemented from gestational day 12 until delivery in taurine group. The mRNA expression levels of neurite growth inhibitor-A(Nogo-A), neurite growth inhibitor receptor (NgR), Rho-A and ROCKⅡin fetal rat brain were detected using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (n=24), which are the key signaling molecules of the Rho-ROCK signal pathway. The protein expression levels of Nogo-A and NgR were detected by Western blot (n=12). The mean optical density in Nogo-A, NgR and Syp was determined by immunohistochemistry (n=18). One-way analysis of variance and LSD-t test were used for statistical analysis.Results(1) Expression of mRNA: the expression levels of Nogo-A, NgR, Rho-A and ROCKⅡ mRNA in fetal rat brain were 4.09±1.34, 3.01±0.77, 39.89±7.71 and 7.82±1.83, respectively in FGR group, and were significantly higher than in control group (1.00±0.13, 1.00±0.10, 1.02±0.30 and 1.00±0.10) (t=4.735, 5.204, 7.682 and 10.675, allP<0.05). The expressions in taurine group (1.07±0.30, 1.20±0.27, 5.36±0.41 and 1.89±0.43) were significantly lower than in FGR group (t=4.645, 4.690, 6.687 and 9.485, allP<0.05), and there was no statistical difference between taurine group and control group (allP>0.05). (2) Expression of protein by Western blot: the expressions of Nogo-A and NgR protein in fetal rat brain were 1.51±0.09 and 0.31±0.05 in FGR group, 0.82±0.06 and 0.06±0.01 in taurine group, and 1.04±0.10 and 0.09±0.12 in control group. The expression was significantly higher in FGR group than in control group (t=9.644 and 5.285, bothP<0.05). The expression was significantly lower in taurine group than in FGR group (t=14.163 and 5.825, bothP<0.05), and there was no statistical difference between taurine group and control group (allP>0.05). (3) Positive expression of protein: the positive expressions of Nogo-A and NgR protein in fetal rat brain were 0.28±0.06 and 0.11±0.02 in FGR group, 0.10±0.02 and 0.04±0.01 in taurine group, and 0.07±0.01 and 0.04±0.01 in control group. The expression was significantly higher in FGR group than in control group (t=9.778 and 7.645, bothP<0.05). The expression in taurine group was significantly lower than in FGR group (t=8.679 and 7.413, bothP<0.05), and there was no statistical difference between taurine group and control group (bothP>0.05). The positive expression of Syp protein in fetal rat brain was 0.08±0.01 in FGR group, and was significantly lower than in control group (0.16±0.04,t=4.600,P<0.05). The expression in taurine group (0.14±0.36) was significantly higher than in FGR group (t=3.181,P<0.05), and there was no statistical difference between taurine group and control group (P>0.05).ConclusionsPrenatal taurine supplementation can improve neural axon development via down-regulating the expressions of the key molecules of Rho-ROCK signal pathway in fetal rat brain tissue.

China ; Critical Care ; trends ; Pediatrics ; trends

Objective To study the influence of different trajectories of 3-PH/R ankle rehabilitation robot on joints and muscles. Methods The 3-PH/R ankle rehabilitation robot was simplified and imported into biomechanical modeling software by analyzing the kinematics principles. Using the actual motion trajectory of ankle rehabilitation robot as model driving, the joint and muscle forces were compared under three different trajectories, namely, dorsiflexion/plantarflexion, inversion/eversion and nutation. The correlation analysis on three motion trajectories was conducted. Results Nutation could satisfy the function of both plantar dorsiflexion/plantarflexion, and inversion/eversion, and made the ankle muscles fully exercised. The maximum difference in joint force under three different rehabilitation trajectories was 0.3 N. Different muscles had different sensitivity to trajectories. Conclusions The continuous dynamic analysis of muscle force and joint force under three kinds of rehabilitation trajectories was implemented. The results have certain theoretical significance and clinical reference value for the clinical application of ankle rehabilitation robot and the formulation of rehabilitation trajectory.