Objective To investigate the roles of adrenomedullin(ADM) and endothelin-1(ET-1) in left-to-right shunt congenital heart disease(CHD) complicated with congestive heart failure(CHF).Methods Plasma ADM and ET-1 concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay in heart failure stage and recovery period of 18 infants with left-to-right shunt CHD.Also 20 healthy infants acted as control group were measured.Results Plasma concentrations of ADM and EF-1 were significantly higher in heart failure stage of left-to-right CHD infants than those in their recovery period,and both in their heart failure stage and in their recovery period were higher than that in control group(P

Objective To observe the expression of anti-cardiac myosin antibody(AMA) and the collagen volume fraction(CVF) in serum in mice with chronic viral myocarditis(CVMC),and to explore the preventive and protective function of oxymatrine on myocardium.Methods BALB/c mice(n=60) were infected with coxsackievirus B3(CVB3) of increased dose biweekly to establish CVMC model.Mice in normal control group(n=8) received equal-volume 9 g?L-1 saline without CVB3 at the same time.The surviving mice in CVMC model group were randomly divided into CVMC control group(n=8) and oxymatrine therapy group(n=8) at the 42th day.From then on,mice in oxymatrine therapy group were treated with oxymatrine at the dose of 100 mg?kg-1?d-1 by gastric perfusion once a day for 28 days,and meanwhile mice in CVMC control group and the normal control group received equal-volume 9 g?L-1 saline by gastric perfusion every day.Then all mice were sacrificed at the end of the experiment.The ratio between heart weight to body weight(HW/BW) was calculated.Myocardium slides were stained with collagen specific Picric acid-Sirius red staining,and the CVF was calculated with image analysis software.The serum level of AMA(optical density value,A value) was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results HW/BW(0.007 9?0.000 3),CVF [(15.30?1.08)%] and the A value of AMA(0.286?0.053) in mice of CVMC control group were increased significantly compared with those in normal control group HW/BW(0.005 5?0.000 2),CVF[(6.84?1.11)%],the A value of AMA(0.160?0.050)(Pa

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Brain ; blood supply ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carrier Proteins ; genetics ; DNA-(Apurinic or Apyrimidinic Site) Lyase ; genetics ; Gene Expression ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain ; genetics ; pathology ; In Situ Hybridization ; Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 13 ; Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

In order to clarify material basis of effective parts of liangxue tongyu prescription, blood-heat and blood-stasis rat model induced by dry yeast was established. The changes of rectal temperature, blood viscosity and plasma viscosity were used to evaluate the cooling-blood and activating-blood effects of liangxue tongyu prescription and its parts. Compared with the model group, the extract from liangxue tongyu prescription, its volatile oil and n-butanol part could significantly reduce rectal temperature (P<0.01), and also reduce blood viscosity and plasma viscosity to various degrees (P<0.01 or P<0.05). So volatile oil and n-butanol part were primarily identified as effective parts of liangxue tongyu prescription. By using GC-MS with normalization method of area to analyze volatile oil of liangxue tongyu prescription, 70 compounds were identified, accounting for about 92.54%, mainly as β-asarone, paeonol, α-asarone and shyobunone. 42 compounds such as peony glycosides, tannins, and iridoid glycosides were identified by HPLC-MS techniques and standard comparison. The study determined the effective parts of liangxue tongyu prescription and clarified the chemical composition providing the foundation for further studies on material basis of liangxue tongyu prescription.
Acetophenones ; chemistry ; Animals ; Anisoles ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Oils, Volatile ; chemistry ; Rats ; Tannins ; chemistry

Objective To investigate the effects of elasticity resistance (Ers) in respiratory system on oxygenation in patients with acute lung injury (ALI) after recruitment maneuvers (RM). Method Meta-analysis of data about the effects of recruitment maneuvers on oxygenation in ALI patients with different elasticity resistances in respiratory system carried out with pooling of study-oriented data stored in Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science databases from January 1999 to June 2010. Results A total of 281 articles were taken, and 20 of them included a sample size of 395 ALI patients. In patients treated with RM in different degrees of respiratory system elasticity resistance ( ≥33.3 cmH2O/L and ＜33.3 cmH2O/L), the effect of RM was better in patients with the high respiratory system elasticity resistance than that with the low one [(51.97 + 8.89) mmHg vs. (35.13 ± 10.33 ) mmHg], P ＜ 0. 01 ), but the high respiratory system elasticity resistance was potentially to lower blood pressure [(4. 33 ± 1.32 ) mmHg vs. (0.22 ± 1.03 ) mmHg],P ＜ 0.01 ). Conclusions This study suggests RM could improve oxygenation of ALI patients with high respiratory system elasticity resistance, and caution must be made to avoid hypotension during RM.

Animals ; Berberine/pharmacology* ; Blood Glucose ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/drug therapy* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Rats

OBJECTIVE: To explore. HRCT and MRI three-dimensional fast imaging employing steady state ac-quisition(3D-FIESTA) imaging features and clinical characteristics of bilateral large vestibular aqueduct syndrome(LVAS). METHOD: The imaging and clinical features of 14 cases of bilateral LVAS identified over a 5-year periodwere retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent HRCT and MRI 3D-FIESTA scanning of head and neck;MRI three dimensional reconstructions of internal acoustical meatus were also completed at the same time. RESULT: Audiogram showed mild to moderate hearing loss and was progressive. The cut-off values for the coronal midpointand operculum planes on the HRCT scan to diagnose an EVA were 1. 5 mm and 4. 3 mm respectively; the averagevalue was 2. 4 mm. VA expansion degree were not linked to the degree of hearing loss. MRI showed VA andlymph sac abnormalities. Concomitant image finding was cochlear hypoplasia. CONCLUSION HRCT and MRI 3D-FI-ESTA are important examinations for accurate diagnosis of LVAS. HRCT can acquire the specific size of reamedVA. MRI and 3D reconstructions of internal acoustical meatus can noninasive show more intuitive display ofLVAS and other inner ear malformations than HRCT.
Ear, Inner ; Head ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Tests ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Retrospective Studies ; Temporal Bone ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Vestibular Aqueduct ; pathology ; Vestibular Diseases ; diagnosis

Pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic and progressive lung disease that poses a threat to human health. Current treatment options are limited, highlighting the urgent need for more effective therapeutic strategies. Tetrandrine (TET), a bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloid extracted from Stephania tetrandra, has been known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects, but its specific mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated the anti-fibrotic effects of TET in a chronic model of pulmonary fibrosis, aiming to delineate the molecular mechanisms underlying TET-mediated inhibition of fibroblast activation. The results showed that TET significantly alleviated the pathological changes in a murine model of multiple bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis and effectively inhibited TGF-β1-induced fibroblast activation. Mechanistically, TET predominantly inhibited the TGF-β/SMAD signaling pathway and diminished intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Utilizing CRISPR-Cas9 library screening, we identified that angiotensin II type 1 receptor associated protein (AGTRAP) and membrane palmitoylated protein 6 (MPP6) played important roles in TET's suppressive impact of ROS levels, with the knockout of two genes attenuating TET's antifibrotic activity. All animal treatment procedures were approved according to the Committee on the Ethics of Animal Experiments of the Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (IMB-20230406D507). This research not only elucidates the pharmacological mechanism of TET but also provides a novel therapeutic avenue for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of Wenjingtong Composita (WJTC) on blood glucose and advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs) in sciatic nerve of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.

METHODSSTZ-induced diabetic rats were randomized to WJTC prevention group and WJTC treatment group. The levels of blood glucose and AGEs in sciatic nerve of the animals were checked after 12 weeks treatment and compared with that of aminoguanidine (AG) treatment group.

RESULTSBlood glucose level in the WJTC prevention and treatment group, and AGEs in sciatic nerve of the WJTC prevention group and the AG group were lower than those of the non-treated group (P < 0.01). Blood glucose level in the AG group was higher than that in the WJTC prevention group (P < 0.05), but was not significantly different from that in the non-treated group (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONWJTC might prevent diabetic peripheral neuropathy by decreasing blood glucose and inhibiting AGEs formation in sciatic nerve in STZ-induced diabetic rats.

Animals ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; blood ; metabolism ; Diabetic Neuropathies ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Glycosylation ; drug effects ; Guanidines ; pharmacology ; Male ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sciatic Nerve ; metabolism ; Sciatic Neuropathy ; metabolism

Aged ; Female ; Heart Atria ; pathology ; Humans ; Middle Aged