Objective To detect the changes in serum concentrations of angiogenic factors in patients with unstable angina pectoris.Methods A total of 57 patients with unstable angina pectoris were eligible for study and divided into diabetes group (n =23) and non-diabetes group (n =34).Exclusion criteria included complicated diseases,symptomatic peripheral vascular diseases,renal or liver diseases,cerebral embolism and evidence of ongoing infection.Another 36 age-matched healthy subjects from medical examination center were enrolled as control group.Serum samples were collected,and serum concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF),angiopoietin-1,angiopoietin-2,angiogenin,angiostatin,basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) were measured by using cytokine array technology.The data were analyzed by independent-samples t test with the SPSS 13.0statistic software package.Results Compared with the control group,the serum concentrations of VEGF and angiopoietin-2 were significantly increased in patients with unstable angina pectoris (both P ＜ 0.01).Whereas,no significant differences in serum concentrations of angiogenin,angiopoietin-1,angiostatin,bFGF,and PDGF-BB were detected between control group and patient groups.There were no significant differences in serum concentrations of above all 7 biomarkers between diabetes group and non-diabetes group.Conclusions Serum concentrations of VEGF and angiopoietin-2 were increased in patients with unstable angina pectoris,and diabetes didn' t affect the increases in serum concentrations of VEGF and angiopoietin2 caused by unstable angina pectoris.

Ischemic heart disease (IHD), which has been considered to be exclusively caused by stenosis or occlusion of coronary artery, is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Mitochondrial dysfunction is the main pathological basis of ischemic heart disease and reperfusion injury, and moderate mitochondrial autophagy can selectively remove damage proteins and organelles to maintain intracellular homeostasis, so mitochondrial autophagy is important for maintaining the homeostasis of cardiomyocytes. Natural drugs from plants are widely used in ischemic heart disease. In recent years, more and more natural drugs have been proven to alleviate myocardial cell damage after ischemia/reperfusion through mitochondrial autophagy. This paper reviews the research progress of natural drugs from plants medicines regulating mitochondrial autophagy in the treatment of ischemia heart disease.

Salvianolic acids are the main water-soluble active compounds of Salvia miltiorrhiza and have been widely used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Based on the latest studies in China and abroad, we summarize the pharmacological effects and mechanism of salvianolic acids on ischemic heart disease by describing how salvianolic acid A and salvianolic acid B protect the vascular endothelium, relax coronary arteries, promote angiogenesis and anti-platelet aggregation, inhibit the inflammatory response, anti-cell apoptosis, and scavenge free radicals. This review provides a theoretical basis for further research on the effects of salvianolic acids on ischemic heart disease and their potential for drug development.

Objective To explore the value of color doppler ultrasonography by bed side in the early diagnosis of HIE in full term neonates.Methods The changes of cerebral parenchymal and cerebral arterial blood stream parameter on 35 cases of neonates clinically diagnosed HIE of mild and moderate degree and 40 cases of normal newborns on the 24,48 and 72 hours after birth were observed by color doppler ultrasonography by bed side.Results 1.The cerebral parenchyma was even echo in normal newborns,but it was maldistributed and reinforced in mild asphyxia neonates and it was more serious in moderate degree.The echo of cerebral parenchyma in mild degree was near normal in 48 hours after birth,while the echo of cerebral parenchyma in moderate degree was still maldistributed and reinforced in 48 and 72 hours after birth.2.There was obvious changes in the cerebral arterial blood stream parameter and hemodynamics of the asphyxia newborns compared with normals.The systolic peak velocity(Vs)and end diastolic velocity(Vd)of the cerebral arteries in mild and moderate degree were obviously lower than that of control group in 24,48 hours after birth(Pa0.05).3.Resistance index(RI)of the cerebral arteries in mild and moderate degree were higher than that of control group in 24,48 hours after birth(Pa0.05).Conclusion Color doppler ultrasonography by bed side is a convenient,noninvasive method for diagnosing HIE.

Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Coal Mining ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Morbidity ; Pneumoconiosis ; epidemiology

Renal transplant (RT) recipients have a high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.However,the effects of renal transplantation on the development of arteriosclerosis have been controversial.The carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and diameter (CD) are important indicators of vascular remodeling and arteriosclerosis.In this study,31 patients with hemodialysis (HD),31 RT recipients and 84 age-and gender-matched control subjects were enrolled.Their CIMT and CD were measured by ultrasonic radiofrequency tracking,and the linear regression models and Z test were used to identify the progression of arteriosclerosis and the risk factors.Compared with HD group,RT group had significantly lower CIMT and CD.CIMT was found to be associated with age,body weight,resistance index and diastolic velocity,while CD was associated significantly with age,body weight,pulsatility index,end diastolic velocity and diastolic blood pressure (DBP),respectively.The correlation curves between CIMT and age showed the slopes of curves were decreased successively in control,RT and HD groups,and the curves between CD and age showed the slopes were decreased in order of RT ＞ control ＞ HD groups.It was concluded that CIMT and CD were significantly correlated with age in RT and moderately with age in HD patients.RT could reduce the progress of arteriosclerosis in patients with end-stage renal disease.

In the treatment of hypertensive crisis, the novel Rho kinase inhibitor DL0805-2 can rapidly lower systematic blood pressure, reduce pulmonary artery pressure, and has a significant protective effect on lung injury. This experiment intends to evaluate the efficacy of DL0805-2 against pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and preliminarily reveals its underlying mechanism. Animal welfare and experimental procedures are in accordance with the provision of the Animal Ethics Committee of the Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into DL0805-2 low, medium, and high dose groups (1, 3, and 10 mg·kg^-1), bosentan positive control group, model group, and blank control group. The drug was administered daily on the 7th day after model establishment by monocrotaline injection. On the 25th day of the experiment, relevant indicators were examined to observe the therapeutic effect of DL0805-2 on pulmonary hypertension. DL0805-2 significantly relieved the abnormal changes in the physiological parameters related to PAH induced by monocrotaline, including reducing right ventricular systolic pressure, alleviating cardiac damage caused by pressure overload, and reducing the levels of endothelin-1 and inflammatory factors in lung tissues. DL0805-2 also attenuated pulmonary arteries remodeling. It was preliminarily discovered that DL0805-2 exerts preventive and therapeutic effect on PAH through Rho-kinase pathway. Our results suggested that DL0805-2 had good therapeutic effects on monocrotaline-induced PAH rat model. It intervened early in the disease process, effectively prevented the development of the disease, and reduced the mortality of the diseased animals. The mechanism is related to Rho-kinase pathway.

This study is to investigate the effect of total flavonoids of Uygur medicine bugloss (BTF) on rats with myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, and to explore the mechanisms by which it acts. Left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery in rats was occluded for 30 min followed by 4 h reperfusion. Meanwhile, BTF dissolved in saline was administered intraperitoneally at dosage of 10, 30 and 50 mg x kg(-1). Electrocardiograph, infarction index, serum myocardial enzymes and heart function were determined to evaluate the effect of BTF. Some other observations were carried out to explore whether inhibiting inflammation and apoptosis is involved in the mechanisms underlying BTF. Our results showed that in ischemia/reperfusion injured rats BTF could dose-dependently reduce myocardial infarction index and myocardial enzyme leakage, and enhance heart function, indicating that it possesses significant cardio protection. ELISA analysis showed that BTF could decrease the content of myocardial inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1beta, IL-6 and TNF-alpha. Western-blotting confirmed that BTF could increase the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and reduce the expression of proapoptosis protein Bax. Further more, the phosphorylation level of PI3K and Akt was upregulated by BTF treatment. BTF can protect rat against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. Anti-inflammation and inhibition of apoptosis through upregulating PI3K/Akt signal pathway may contribute to the protective effect of BTF.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; Boraginaceae ; chemistry ; Flavonoids ; pharmacology ; Heart ; Interleukin-6 ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury ; drug therapy ; Myocardium ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; Phosphorylation ; Protective Agents ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; Rats ; Signal Transduction ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein

Flavonoids are a large family of bioactive compounds widely found in foods and plants. Mang studies have proven the preventive and therapeutic effects of flavonoids in cardiovascular disease.Flavonoids has a wide range of pharmacological effects,including antioxidant,anti-inflammatory,vaso-dilation,avoiding the thrombus formation,improving endothelial function,modifying lipid levels and regulating blood lipids through different mechanisms of action.The cardiovascular protective mechanism of flavo-noids are the enzymes that inhibit the production of oxygen derived free radicals,inhibition of lipid peroxida-tion and inflammatory factor, down-regulation of epoxy synthase activity and the activation of AMPK and nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathway. In this review article we review and summarize the so far acquired knowledge of the most important mechanisms of action of flavonoids,to provide theoretical basis for the research and development of the active monomers in flavonoid and compound preparations.

Curcumin is the principal curcuminoid of the rhizomes of Curcuma longa(turmeric,Jiang Huang), which has more than 6000 years of application history in India and other Asian countries. At present,curcumin is sold as an herbal supplement,cosmetics ingredient,food flavoring,and food coloring. In China curcumin is mainly used in food, while in western countries it has been regarded as a health care product and is contained in the British Pharmacopoeia (2017), United States Pharmacopeia (40) and European Pharmacopoeia (8.7th ed.). Curcumin has been proved to have multiple pharmacology effects including anti-fibrosis, anti-tumor, anti-inflammation effects and so on. As its broad biological activities, it is applicated in a lot of diseases such as hyperlipidemia, infection and cancer. Among them, the anti-cancer effect of curcumin is the most attractive. In the treatment of cancer and related diseases, curcumin has been tested in phase I and II clinical trials in several research centers across the world and has been approved by the U.S.FDA into the phase III clinical trial.It has been listed as the third generation of cancer chemoprevention agent by the U.S.National Cancer Institute.Curcumin has been proved to inhibit the proliferation of a variety of tumor cells through regulating a variety of tran-scription factors(NF-κB,AP-1,etc),mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK),growth factor receptor ki-nase(PDGFR,VEGFR,etc)and cyclooxygenase.It plays an important role in the cell cycle and further to inhibit proliferation.Curcumin can also inhibit the migration of tumor cells by activating caspase and in-ducing tumor cell apoptosis.However,curcumin still needs researches to confirm its effects and mecha-nisms and find its exact indications. There is still a long way to go to make curcumin better applied in clinical practice in the further.