OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism of the protective effect of Cordyceps sinensis (C. sinensis) on the apoptosis of cultured NRK-52E induced by angiotension II (AngII). METHODS: NRK-52E cells were incubated with C. sinensis (0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg/L) and 10(-8) mol/ L AngII for 24, 48, 72 h. The optimal concentration of C. sinensis was selected. Either NRK-52E cells were incubated with different doses of AngII (0, 10(-12), 10(-10), 10(-8), and 10(-6) mol/L) for 24 h, or with 10(-8) mol/L AngII for 24, 48, and 72 h, to observe the effect of AngII on the apoptosis of NRK- 52E cells. The optimal concentration and time of AngII were selected. In another experiment cells were divided into 5 groups: a control, AngII (10(-8) mol/L), AngII (10(-8) mol/L)+ C. sinensis (40 mg/ L), Ang II (10(-8) mol/L)+ fosinopril (10(-5) mmol/L), and Ang II (10(-8) mol/L)+ fosinopril (10(-5) mol/ L)+C. sinensis (40 mg/L). MTT assay was used to test the changes in the proliferation of NRK-52E cultured with different concentration of C. sinensis for 24, 48, 72 h. The Annecxin V-FITC and PI stainings were applied to detect the apoptosis rate induced by AngII by flow cytometer (FCM) and to determine the eddects of C. sinensis. The activity of caspase-3 was assayed by spectrophotometry. RESULTS: Certain concentrations of C. sinensis (10-40 mg/L) promoted the proliferation of NRK- 52E cells inhibited by AngII(P<0.05). AngII induced the apoptosis of NRK-52E in a dose and timedependent manner, accompanied with increased activity of caspase-3 (P<0.05). C. sinensis partially suppressed the apoptosis of NRK-52E induced by AngII, and declined the activity of caspase-3 (P<0.05). No significant difference was shown as between the fosinopril group and the fosinopril+C. sinensis group (P>0.05). CONCLUSION C. sinensis can suppress the apoptosis of NRK-52E by AngII, and the protective effect of C. sinensis may be inhibiting the activation of caspase-3 during the AngII-induced apoptosis of NRK-52E.
Angiotensin II ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Cell Line ; Cells, Cultured ; Cordyceps ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Epithelial Cells ; cytology ; Humans ; Kidney Tubules ; cytology ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo summarize clinical application of the high tibial osteatomy (HTO) with lateral closing-wedge for the treatment of pain of unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the knee.

METHODSFrom February 2000 to February 2004,9 patients (3 males and 6 females, ranging in age from 52 to 58 years, with an average of 56 years) with unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the knee treated by HTO with lateral closing-wedge. The proximal tibiofibular joint was exposed, the anterior part of the capsule was incised, and to remove a laterally based wedge with saw cuts and osteotomes. Stepped staples were used for the fixation of tibial osteotomies after closing the defect of osteotomy.

RESULTSThe operative course was uneventful. There were no complications after operation. The postoperative follow-up period ranged from 2 to 5.5 years (mean, 3.5 years). The results were evaluated with functional assessment criterion of the osteoarthritis of the knee, among the 9 cases, excellent was in 5 cases, good in 3 cases, fair in 1 case.

CONCLUSIONHTO with lateral closing-wedge is an effective operative method for the treatment of pain of unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the knee, but except for older patients over 60 years.

Female ; Humans ; Knee Joint ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; surgery ; Osteotomy ; methods ; Tibia ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To analyze the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in Kazakh population, using the NCEP-ATP Ⅲ, CDS, IDF MS standards. Methods Questionnaire-based survey,physical examination and blood testing were conducted according to cluster random samplings in Kazakh residents in Xinjiang. 2745 samples were collected and diagnosed by NCEP-ATP Ⅲ, CDS,IDF standards to analyze the prevalence, with the distribution of its main components of MS, among the Kazakhs population. Results The prevalence rates of MS diagnosed by NCEP-ATP Ⅲ, CDS,IDF standards were 18.5%, 14.2% and 26.6%, while they became 14.2%, 10.9% and 20.1% after standardized by age. The prevalence of MS diagnosed by NCEP-ATP Ⅲ and IDF standard in males were higher than in females, while CDS was in the opposite situtation. The prevalence of MS by these three standards increased with age. Among all the main components of MS diagnosed after these three standardization process, the prevalence of obesity, blood pressure rising and the abnormity of HDL-C were rather high. The prevalence of MS main components ≥1, ≥2, ≥3, ≥4, 5 ranked the highest compared to the lowest as to the IDF, ATP Ⅲ ' and CDS diagnostic. standards Conclusion The prevalence rates and gender distribution of MS diagnosed by different standards among Kazakhs were different. The prevalence of IDF standard was the highest, with the IDF standard better than the others in early identifying the risk factors of cardiovascular disease.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease(ASCVD)frequently results in sudden death and poses a serious threat to public health worldwide.The drugs approved for the prevention and treatment of ASCVD are usually used in combination but are inefficient owing to their side effects and single therapeutic targets.Therefore,the use of natural products in developing drugs for the prevention and treatment of ASCVD has received great scholarly attention.Andrographolide(AG)is a diterpenoid lactone compound extracted from Andrographis paniculata.In addition to its use in conditions such as sore throat,AG can be used to prevent and treat ASCVD.It is different from drugs that are commonly used in the prevention and treatment of ASCVD and can not only treat obesity,diabetes,hyperlipidaemia and ASCVD but also inhibit the pathological process of atherosclerosis(AS)including lipid accumulation,inflammation,oxidative stress and cellular abnormalities by regulating various targets and pathways.However,the pharmaco-logical mechanisms of AG underlying the prevention and treatment of ASCVD have not been corrobo-rated,which may hinder its clinical development and application.Therefore,this review summarizes the physiological and pathological mechanisms underlying the development of ASCVD and the in vivo and in vitro pharmacological effects of AG on the relative risk factors of AS and ASCVD.The findings support the use of the old pharmacological compound('old bottle')as a novel drug('novel wine')for the pre-vention and treatment of ASCVD.Additionally,this review summarizes studies on the availability as well as pharmaceutical and pharmacokinetic properties of AG,aiming to provide more information regarding the clinical application and further research and development of AG.

BACKGROUND: Since 2019, a novel coronavirus named 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has emerged worldwide. Apart from fever and respiratory complications, acute kidney injury has been observed in a few patients with coronavirus disease 2019. Furthermore, according to recent findings, the virus has been detected in urine. Angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) has been proposed to serve as the receptor for the entry of 2019-nCoV, which is the same as that for the severe acute respiratory syndrome. This study aimed to investigate the possible cause of kidney damage and the potential route of 2019-nCoV infection in the urinary system. METHODS: We used both published kidney and bladder cell atlas data and new independent kidney single-cell RNA sequencing data generated in-house to evaluate ACE2 gene expression in all cell types in healthy kidneys and bladders. The Pearson correlation coefficients between ACE2 and all other genes were first generated. Then, genes with r values larger than 0.1 and P values smaller than 0.01 were deemed significant co-expression genes with ACE2. RESULTS: Our results showed the enriched expression of ACE2 in all subtypes of proximal tubule (PT) cells of the kidney. ACE2 expression was found in 5.12%, 5.80%, and 14.38% of the proximal convoluted tubule cells, PT cells, and proximal straight tubule cells, respectively, in three published kidney cell atlas datasets. In addition, ACE2 expression was also confirmed in 12.05%, 6.80%, and 10.20% of cells of the proximal convoluted tubule, PT, and proximal straight tubule, respectively, in our own two healthy kidney samples. For the analysis of public data from three bladder samples, ACE2 expression was low but detectable in bladder epithelial cells. Only 0.25% and 1.28% of intermediate cells and umbrella cells, respectively, had ACE2 expression. CONCLUSION This study has provided bioinformatics evidence of the potential route of 2019-nCoV infection in the urinary system.
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2/metabolism* ; COVID-19 ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Kidney/metabolism* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Sequence Analysis, RNA ; Single-Cell Analysis ; Urinary Bladder/metabolism*