1.MRI findings of the brain after gas explosion and its relationship with post-traumatic stress disorder
Ruifeng ZHAO ; Jilong JIN ; Huabing LI ; Shufeng LI ; Shuwen TIAN ; Haixue LI ; Yanhui CHEN ; Tianliang WANG ; Lin MA ; Zijing REN
Chinese Journal of Radiology 2008;42(12):1241-1245
Objective To investigate MR findings and dynamic changes of the brain after gas explosion,and to evaluate the relationship between MR findings and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Methods Forty-nine survivors of a gas explosion (group A) were examined with brain MRI within 1 to 3 days,and serial MR follow-up examinations were also performed.Forty miners not under the ground that day were assigned as group B,and 40 staff working on the ground as group C.The signal intensity values of hippocampus and globus pallidus on T2WI were measured in the three groups and F test was performed by using SPSS 13.0.The relationship between signal intensity values of hippocampus/globns pallidus and PTSD was explored,and the relationship between ADC values of hippocampus and PTSD was also investigated.Results In group A,slight low signal on T1WI and high signal on T2WI were detected on initial MRI in hippocampus (33 cases),globus pallidus (12 cases),cortex (10 cases),and midbrain (2 cases),respectively.On follow-up MRI at 2 months,lesions in hippocampus disappeared (25 cases) or remained slight high signal on T2WI (8 cases),lesions in globus pallidus disappeared (3 cases,5 sides) or showed shrinkage and encephalomalacia (9 cases),cortical lesions resulted in encephalomalacia in 2 cases and returned normal in the others,and lesions in the midbrain showed encephalomatacia.For comparison of T2 signal intensity values in hippocampus and globus pallidus,there was significant difference between group A and group B(P <0.01),and also between group A and group C(P <0.01),but no difference was detected between group B and group C (P>0.05).In group A,the T2 signal intensities of PTSD and non-PTSD were 455±37 and 462±53 in the left hippocarnpus,and 458±36 and 460±43 in the right hippoeampus on 1 to 3 days,and the T2 signal intensities of PTSD and non-PTSD were 438±29 and 424±37 in the left hippocampns,and 442±31 and 430±32 in the right hippocampus at 2 months.The T2 signal intensities of PTSD and non-PTSD were 361 ±35 and 366±63 in the left globus pallidus,and 363 ±41 and 375±62 in the right globus pallidus on 1 to 3 days,and the T2 signal intensities of PTSD and non-PTSD were 341±24 and 337±39 in the left globns pallidus,340±26 and 332±35 in the tight glohus pallidns at 2 months.There was no difference of T2 signal intensity values in hippocampus and globus pallidus between PTSD and non-PTSD( t=0.350,0.826,0.503,0.907,P>0.05).In group A,ADC values of PTSD and nun-PTSD were (8.1±1.1)×10-4 and(8.1 ±0.9)×10-4mm2/s in the left hippocampus,and (8.2±1.0)×10-4 and(8.2±0.8)×10-4mm2/s in the tight hippocampus on 1 to 3 days,ADC values were (8.8±0.7)×10-4 and (9.0±1.0)×10-4mm2/s in the left hippocampus,and (8.5±0.9)×10-4 and (9.3±1.1)×10-4mm2/s in the tight hippocampus at 2 months.ADC values in hippocampns showed no difference between PTSD and non-PTSD(t=0.016,0.081,P>0.05)on initial MRI,but showed significant difference between PTSD and non-PTSD in tight hippocampus (t=7.407,P < 0.05) on follow-up MRI at 2 months,while no difference in left hippocampus (t =0.333,P>0.05) was observed at 2 months.Conclusion Hippocampns and globus pallidus are the most vulnerable structures in gas explosion.The occurrence of PTSD may be related to the injury of fight hippocampus,but not related to the injury of globns pallidus.
2.Artesunate reduces neuronal apoptosis and inflammatory response in model rats with ischemic stroke in vivo, and promotes microglia polarization in vitro
Zijing REN ; Xingyue LI ; Yue WANG ; Jiajia MA ; Ming SANG ; Peiyang ZHOU
Chinese Journal of Behavioral Medicine and Brain Science 2023;32(2):119-126
Objective:To investigate the effects of artesunate ( ART ) on neuronal apoptosis, inflammatory response after stroke in rats and microglia polarization.Methods:(1)Animal experiment: twenty-seven male SD rats of SPF grade were divided into sham operation group, model group and ART treatment group according to the random number table method, with 9 rats in each group.Rats in the model group and ART treatment group were used to establish a stroke model by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). And rats in the ART treatment group were intraperitoneally injected with ART (25 mg/kg) once a day for three days before modeling, while the rats in sham operation group and the model group were injected with the same amount of solvent.And 24 h after the modeling, TTC staining was used to evaluate the volume of cerebral infarction, Western blot was used to detect the expression of Bcl2 in the infarct area, penumbra and hippocampus, TUNEL method was used to detect neuronal apoptosis, and tissue immunofluorescence was used to observe the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in the penumbra region of cerebral cortex.(2)Cell experiments: microglia BV2 were cultured and divided into control group, oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation group, oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation + 0.05 μmol/L ART group, oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation + 0.1 μmol/L ART group and oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation + 0.5 μmol/L ART group.The levels of inflammatory factors interleukin-6(IL-6), interleukin-1β(IL-1β) and TNF-α were detected by qRT-PCR, the expressions of M2 type microglia marker protein CD206 and ARG1 were detected by Western blot, the BV2 cell medium after treatment in each of the above groups was collected as conditioned medium to culture HT22 hippocampal neuron cells and cell activity was measured by CCK8 method.GraphPad Prism 7 software was used for data analysis.One-way ANOVA was used for comparison of differences among multiple groups, and LSD was used for further two-by-two comparisons.Results:(1)Animal experiment results: TTC staining results showed that the percentage of cerebral infarction volume in the ART treatment group was smaller than that in the model group ((23.09±8.51)%, (39.63±5.71)%, t=33.93, P<0.01). The results of TUNEL staining showed that the number of apoptotic cells in the model group and ART treatment group was higher than that in the sham operation group ((638.90±177.82)cells/mm 2, (72.75±13.21) cells/mm 2, (16.16±2.73) cells/mm 2, both P<0.05), and the number of apoptotic cells in the ART treatment group was lower than that in the model group ( P<0.05). Western blot results showed that the levels of Bcl2 protein in penumbra and infarct area of the model group were both lower than those in sham group(both P<0.05). The levels of Bcl2 protein in penumbra, the hippocampus and infarcted area of the ART treatment group were significantly lower than those of the model group(all P<0.05). The results of tissue immunofluorescence showed that the fluorescence intensities of TNF-α in the model group and ART treatment group were higher than those in the sham group (all P<0.05), while the fluorescence intensity of TNF-α in the ART treatment group was lower than that in the model group ( P<0.05). (2)Cell experiment: qRT-PCR results showed that compared with the control group, the mRNA levels of IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α (all P<0.05) in oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation group were significantly higher than those of the control group.And the mRNA levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation + 0.05 μmol/L ART group, oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation + 0.1 μmol/L ART group and oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation + 0.5 μmol/L ART group were significantly lower than those of the oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation group (all P<0.05). Western blot results showed that compared with the control group, the expression of CD206 ((0.85±0.04), (1.07±0.07), P<0.05) was significantly down-regulated in the oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation group.The CD206 and ARG in oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation + 0.1 μmol/L ART group((1.22±0.06), (1.35±0.08)) and oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation + 0.5 μmol/L ART group((1.24±0.14), (1.14±0.07)) were significantly higer than those of oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation group((0.85±0.04), (0.85±0.05))(all P<0.05). The results of CCK8 showed that compared with the control group, the cell viability in the oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation group was significantly decreased( P<0.05). The cell viability of the oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation + 0.05 μmol/L ART group, the oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation + 0.1 μmol/L ART group, the oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation + 0.5 μmol/L ART group were all higher than those of oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation group(all P<0.05). Conclusion:ART reduces neuronal apoptosis after stroke, decreases the neuroinflammatory response after stroke, and promotes oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation-activated microglia BV2 polarization to the M2 type.
3.Clinical and mechanism research progress of chronic atrophic gastritis treated with TCM
Yang ZHANG ; Zijing QI ; Jing REN ; Sha LIU ; Qiyuan TIAN
International Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2022;44(9):1069-1073
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) alone or combined with western medicine has obvious clinical therapeutic effects on chronic atrophic gastritis, especially in improving symptoms and reversing lesions, based on the basic pathogenesis of chronic atrophic gastritis with deficiency in origin and excess in superficiality. The therapeutic methods include invigorating spleen, activating blood circulation and detoxification. The main mechanism is to inhibit cell proliferation, induce apoptosis, change the micro-environment, reduce the degree of inflammation, repair damaged mucosa and improve immune function.
4.N-acetylcysteine reduces artesunate-induced pancreatic carcinoma cell death by activating protective autophagy via the AMPK/mTOR pathway
Zijing REN ; Hongxia XU ; Xingyue LI ; Yue WANG ; Jiajia MA ; Peiyang ZHOU
Journal of Xi'an Jiaotong University(Medical Sciences) 2022;43(3):354-360
【Objective】 In this study, reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) was used to explore the inhibitory effect and mechanism of artesunate (ART) on pancreatic carcinoma (PC) cells. 【Methods】 Different concentrations of ART interfered with 3 PC cell lines CFPAC-1, Capan-2 and BxPC3. Cell viability was measured by CCK8; cell migration ability was measured by Transwell method, and the expressions of migration-related proteins E-cadherin, N-cadherin and Vimentin were measured by Western blotting. ROS probe DCFH-DA was used to measure intracellular ROS; LC3 cell immunofluorescence (IF) was used to detect the formation of intracellular autophagosomes. After adding NAC or autophagy inhibitor 3-MA, the cell viability was tested again by CCK8, and the expressions of p-AMPK/ AMPK, p-mTOR/mTOR, p62 and LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ were detected by Western blotting. 【Results】 ART inhibited the growth of CFPAC-1 and Capan-2 in a time- and dose-dependent manner. After treatment of CFPAC-1 and Capan-2 cells with 200 μmol/L of ART for 48 h, the expression of E-cadherin was upregulated, while N-cadherin and Vimentin were downregulated, and the cell migration ability was significantly reduced. ART significantly upregulated intracellular ROS level and promoted the formation of autophagosomes. NAC could reduce the inhibitory effect of ART on CFPAC-1 and Capan-2 cells, upregulate p-AMPK/AMPK, P62 and LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ, downregulate the expression of p-mTOR/mTOR, and intensify autophagy. 3-MA could not reverse the inhibitory effect of ART on PC cells. 【Conclusion】 ART is dependent on ROS, but not on autophagy, in exerting an anti-pancreatic carcinoma effect. NAC attenuates the inhibitory effect of ART on PC cells by activating protective autophagy through AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway.