BACKGROUND:Spinal cord injury involves mechanisms such as oxidative stress,inflammation,apoptosis and autophagy.Activation of autophagy can improve neuromotor function after spinal cord injury and play a protective role in the spinal cord. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of Periplaneta americana powder on hindlimb motor function and the autophagy protein Beclin-1 in the injured site of rats after spinal cord hemisection. METHODS:Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats,6-8 weeks of age,were randomly divided into three groups(n=10 per group).In the sham-operated group,the lamina was just opened to exposure the spinal cord followed by suturing.Normal saline group and Periplaneta americana powder group both underwent left hemisection of the spinal cord to prepare animal models of spinal cord hemisection.The normal saline group was continuously gavaged with normal saline for 14 days,and the Periplaneta americana powder group was continuously gavaged with Periplaneta americana powder for 14 days.The Basso Beattie Bresnahan scale score was performed at the 6th hour,1st day,3rd day,7th day and 14th day after operation to observe the hindlimb motor function.After 14 days of administration,the rats were sacrificed and sampled.Immunohistochemistry,western blot and immunofluorescence were used to detect the expression of Beclin-1 in the injured site of the spinal cord after hemisection. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:After operation,the Basso Beattie Bresnahan scale scores were gradually increased in the normal saline group and Periplaneta americana powder group.Compared with the sham-operated group,the Basso Beattie Bresnahan scale scores were significantly reduced in the normal saline group and Periplaneta americana powder group at the 6th hour,1st day,3rd day,7th day and 14th day after operation(P<0.05).The Basso Beattie Bresnahan scale scores in the Periplaneta americana powder group were significantly higher than those in the normal saline group at the 7th and 14th days after operation(P<0.05).Immunohistochemical staining showed that Beclin-1 was weakly positive in the sham-operated group,mainly expressed in the cytoplasm;in the normal saline group,Beclin-1 was mainly expressed in the cytoplasm and partially expressed in the nuclear membrane;in the Periplaneta americana powder group,Beclin-1 was mainly expressed in the cytoplasm and partially expressed in the nuclear membrane.The proportion of Beclin-1 positive cells was higher in the normal saline and Periplaneta americana powder groups than in the sham-operated group(P<0.05),while the proportion of Beclin-1 positive cells was higher in the Periplaneta americana powder group than in the normal saline group(P<0.05).Western blot assay and immunofluorescence staining showed that the Beclin-1 protein expression was higher in the normal saline and Periplaneta americana powder groups than in the sham-operated group(P<0.05),and moreover,the Beclin-1 protein expression was higher in the Periplaneta americana powder group than in the normal saline group(P<0.05).To conclude,Periplaneta americana powder could improve the hindlimb motor function of rats with spinal cord hemisection injury,and the mechanism may be that polysaccharides in the Periplaneta americana powder increase the expression of Beclin-1.

Objective To explore the protective effect and possible mechanism of Periplaneta americana powder on rats with spinal cord injury.Methods Forty-eight male SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation,saline,Periplaneta americana powder,and Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4)inhibitor groups.Except for the sham operation group,a rat spinal cord hemi-transection injury model was established in the other three groups.The sham operation group received no treatment after the operation,saline and drug groups were subjected to intragastric administration of equal volumes of normal saline and Periplaneta americana powder(630 mg/kg),respectively,and the TLR4 inhibitor group was administered an intraperitoneal injection of TLR4 inhibitor(3 mg/kg).On days 1,3,7,and 14 after the operation,the motor function of rat hind limbs was evaluated by the Basso,Beattie,and Bresnahan(BBB)score.Histopathological changes of the spinal cord were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining.Changes in the number of neurons were observed by immunohistochemistry.The levels of inflammatory factors IL-1,IL-6,IL-10,and TNF-α were measured by ELISA,and expression of TLR4,myeloid differentiation factor 88(MyD88),and NF-κB p65 was detected by Western Blot.Results Compared with the sham operation group,the BBB score and number of neurons in the saline group were significantly decreased,while the degree of pathological damage,and IL-1,IL-6,TNF-α,TLR4,MyD88,and NF-κB p65 levels were significantly increased(P＜0.05).Compared with the saline group,periplaneta americana powder and TLR4 inhibitor groups showed an increase in BBB scores and the number of neurons,and decreases in the degree of pathological damage and IL-1,IL-6,TNF-α,TLR4,MyD88,and NF-κB p65 levels(P＜0.05).Compared with the TLR4 inhibitor group,the periplaneta americana powder group had better increases in the BBB score,number of neurons and decreases in the degree of pathological damage and expression of IL-1 and TNF-α.Conclusions Periplaneta americana powder reduces the production of inflammatory factors after spinal cord injury by inhibiting the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway,protects nerves,and promotes motor recovery.

Radiotherapy is the most common treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and the radiotherapy technique is essential for the prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Due to the complexity of the structure of the intensity-modulated device and the accuracy of the clinical requirements of radiotherapy, it is inevitable that higher requirements will be imposed on the process of intensity-modulated radiotherapy. Currently, gaps exist in the radiotherapy equipment and personnel qualification among radiotherapy units, and thus the homogenization in the radiotherapy remains to be strengthened in China. With the application of radiotherapy information management system, digital medicine and artificial intelligence technologies in the field of radiotherapy, the original process fails to meet the application needs of the new precise radiotherapy technology. Therefore, this process is designed based on the existing radiotherapy procedures for nasopharyngeal carcinoma in combination with the latest developments in the field of radiotherapy, aiming to establish a novel standard process recommendation, ensuring the standardization and homogenization of radiotherapy and achieve the individualized intensity-modulated radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.