This study started from the effect of baicalin (BC), the main active component of the labiaceae plant Scutellaria baicalensis, on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in rats, to explore the mechanism of glucose metabolism reprogramming in fibroblast like synoviocytes (FLSs), a key effector cell of synovial inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). First of all, CIA rats and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced RASFs in vitro and in vivo models were established, the arthritis index (AI) score and histopathological changes of CIA rats after BC administration were observed, and the levels of inflammatory factors in serum and cell supernatant were quantified by ELISA, immunocytochemistry and Western blot were used to detect the expression of G-protein-coupled receptor 81 (GPR81) and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1) proteins. In addition, the kit was used to measure the levels of key products and enzyme activities in glucose metabolism reprogramming. The results showed that BC (50, 100 and 200 mg·kg^-1) could alleviate the symptoms of arthritis in CIA rats in a dose-dependent manner, inhibit synovial hyperplasia, alleviate the infiltration of inflammatory cells, down-regulate the levels of pro-inflammatory factors TNF-α and interleukin (IL)-1β, and up-regulate the levels of anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 in CIA rats. At the same time, the secretion levels of lactate, pyruvate, acetyl-CoA, citrate and the activity of lactate dehydrogenase B (LDH-B) were decreased, and the expressions of GRP81 and PDK1 were down-regulated, suggesting that BC mediated the reprogramming process of glucose metabolism. However, when GPR81 inhibitor 3-OBA inhibited lactate uptake, the activity of LDH-B was significantly increased, suggesting that BC inhibited the expression of PDK1, a key enzyme in the reprogramming metabolism from glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation. All animal experiments in this study were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the Laboratory Animal Care Center of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine (approval number: AHUCM-rats-2021049). These studies revealed that baicalin mediated metabolic reprogramming of RASFs from glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation by inhibiting PDK1 protein expression, and alleviated joint inflammation in CIA rats.

Objective To investigate the role of three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (3D-STE) in providing a novel approach to assessing myocardial viability in patients with myocardial infarction (MI).Methods The subjects from the Department of Cardiology and the Department of Cardiac Surgery admitted from April 2010 through December 2012 were diagnosed as MI by electrocardiogram,myocardial enzymes and angiography.The clear imaging of angiography was selected out and collected.All patients had different degrees of segmental wall motion abnormalities,and some already had percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and coronary stenting or coronary artery bypass grafting.Patients with diabetes,heart disease and severe valvular disease of heart were excluded.A total of 45 MI patients were checked with routine echocardiography,two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) and 3D-STE.Then,radionuclide myocardial perfusion/metabolic imaging was served as a golden standard to distinguish the viable from nonviable myocardium in each patient within a day.In order to determine the most sensitivity and specificity threshold values of circumferential peak-systolic strain (Cs),longitudinal peak-systolic strain (Ls),radial peak-systolic strain (Rs),3D strain and area strain for viability detection from 3D-STE,the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to investigate the sensitivity and specificity of the detection of viable myocardium with strain parameters in the study.Comparisons between viable and non-viable groups were carried out with t test.Data were expressed as the mean value ± standard deviation (-x ± s).Results The ventricular wall motion abnormality by visual assessment was observed in 368 segments from 720 segments in 45 patients.Furthermore,204 segments were confirmed to be viable by radionuclide myocardial perfusion/metabolic imaging whereas the rest 164 segments were identified as nonviable among 368 abnormal segments.There were no significant differences in circumferential peaksystolic strain (Cs),longitudinal peak-systolic strain (Ls) and radial peak-systolic strain (Rs) by 2D-STE between viable and nonviable group.Compared with those in viable group,there wasn' t any difference in Cs,but Rs and Ls decreased significantly by 3D-STE in nonviable group.The 3D strain and area strain in absolute value decreased in nonviable group compared with viable group.According to 3D-STE,when Rs higher than 11.1％,the sensitivity was 95.1％ and the specificity was 53.4％ for identification of viable myocardium,whereas Ls higher than 14.3％ resulted in sensitivity of 65.2％ and a specificity of 65.7％.Besides,3D strain higher than 17.4％ had a sensitivity of 70.6％ and a specificity of 77.2％ for detection of viable myocardium,while area strain higher than 23.2％ allowed a sensitivity of 91.5％ and a specificity of 78.8％.Conclusions The 3D-STE might have potential reliability of myocardial viability detection in the patients with left ventricular dysfunction after MI.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate(S1P) is an important bioactive lipid produced from cell membrane sphingomyelin metabolism process.S1P and cell membrane surface S1P receptors(S1PR1-5) are G protein coupled receptors(GPCRs), which influence the formation of new blood vessels in the immune system via combining the related inflammatory signaling pathway.This review describes briefly the effects of S1P and S1PRs on autoimmune disease angiogenesis through intracellular signal transduction, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, colitis, systemic lupus erythematosus.Further research will be a new therapeutic target on vascular inflammation of autoimmune diseases.

Adult ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Glycogen ; metabolism ; Glycogen Storage Disease Type II ; pathology ; Humans ; Liver ; metabolism ; pathology ; Muscle, Skeletal ; metabolism ; pathology ; Muscular Dystrophies, Limb-Girdle ; pathology ; Pyomyositis ; pathology ; Young Adult

Scoliosis is a common disease in children that causes deformity of spine and thoracic cage. The deformity not only affects the appearance, but also leads to irreversible impairment of lung function and respiratory failure in severe cases. This systematic review on publications over past 50 years demonstrates that scoliosis impairs growth and development of lungs, limits chest wall movement, and results in restrictive ventilation defect and gas exchange dysfunction. Respiratory failure occurs primarily in early-onset scoliosis and/or during latter half of gestation. Surgery corrects deformity and may slow down its progression. However, invasive procedure itself impairs lung function. Non invasive procedures prevent the deterioration of lung function rather than promoting growth and development of lungs. As a consequence, reserve of pulmonary function is recommended when surgical intervention is considered.
Humans ; Lung ; physiopathology ; Respiration ; Retrospective Studies ; Scoliosis ; physiopathology

Objective:To investigate the role of coupler perfusion in transrectal ultrasound in the diagnosis of preoperative T staging of rectal cancer.Methods:A retrospective analysis of the preoperative clinical data of 132 patients with rectal cancer in the People′s Hospital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from June 2015 to November 2020. According to whether or not the patients agreed to coupler perfusion before ultrasound examination, they were divided into 2 groups, namely the perfusion group 69 cases and the non-perfusion group of 63 cases, with postoperative pathology as the gold standard, and compared with magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) to evaluate the accuracy of the 2 groups and MRI in the T staging of rectal cancer.Results:The total coincidence rates of the coupling agent perfusion group, non-perfusion group and MRI group for the diagnosis of rectal cancer T staging were 89.9%, 76.2% and 87.9%, respectively, and the difference among the three methods was statistically significant (χ 2=6.096, P=0.047). The diagnostic sensitivity of the coupling agent perfusion group for T1 stage was 96.0%, which was higher than 61.5% of the non-perfusion group and 92.3% of the MRI ( P=0.010). The specificity of the perfusion group for the diagnosis of T2 stage was 95.7%, higher than the non-perfusion group and MRI ( P=0.037), the positive predictive value of the perfusion group for T2 stage was 90.9%, which was higher than the non-perfusion group and MRI ( P=0.035). The diagnostic accuracy of the perfusion group for T2 stage was 94.2%, higher than the non-perfusion group and MRI (χ 2=7.070, P=0.029). There were no statistically significant differences in diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy among the perfusion group and the non-perfusion group and the MRI for T3 and T4 (all P>0.05). Conclusions:Coupled-agent perfusion makes it convenient and fast for intracavity ultrasound to diagnose T staging of rectal cancer, and the diagnostic efficiency is comparable to MRI. In particular, it can be used as a highly reliable imaging method for T1 and T2 rectal cancer.

Actins ; metabolism ; Adult ; Desmin ; metabolism ; Electromyography ; Humans ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Muscle, Skeletal ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Myopathies, Nemaline ; metabolism ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo explore the correlation of histologically proven prostatitis with the level of prostate specific antigen (PSA), prostate volume, PSA density (PSAD), international prostate symptom score (IPSS), maximum flow rate (Qmax) and post-void residual volume (PVR) in men with symptoms of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH).

METHODSTotally 673 patients surgically treated for BPH were divided into Groups A and B in accordance with histological findings, the former including those with histological prostatitis, and the latter without it. Comparisons were made between the two groups in the PSA level, prostate volume, PSAD, IPSS, Qmax and PVR.

RESULTSThe PSA level, prostate volume, IPSS and PVR were significantly higher in Group A ([5.64 +/- 2.48] microg/L, [43.66 +/- 13.11] ml, 24.72 +/- 5.39 and [124.90 +/- 49.80] ml) than in B ([4.97 +/- 1.99] microg/L, [40.41 +/- 11.44] ml, 23.40 +/- 6.21 and [112.73 +/- 50.03] ml) (P<0.05), while Qmax markedly lower in the former ([6.94 +/- 3.23] ml/s) than in the latter ([7.75 +/- 3.52] ml/s) (P<0.05), but PSAD showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (0.129 +/- 0.048 vs 0.123 +/- 0.034, P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONHistological prostatitis can significantly increase the PSA level, prostate volume, IPSS and PVR, and reduce the Qmax of the patient, but is not correlated with PSAD. It is an important factor influencing the clinical progression of BPH.

Aged ; Humans ; Male ; Organ Size ; Prostate ; metabolism ; pathology ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; metabolism ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; metabolism ; pathology ; urine ; Prostatitis ; metabolism ; pathology ; urine

The larvae of musca domestica were put in use to discard the dead tissue of a case of severe burn. A total of 50 000 aseptic maggots were put onto the infective wound surface, and aseptic dressings overlaid the surface. Three days later, another 20 000 maggots were put onto the wound for the second therapy. After twice maggot debridement, most necrotic muscle tissues of the wound were cleaned up, and eventually fresh granulation tissue grew and later the wound was covered and healed by 3 times of skin grafting. The result demonstrates that maggot therapy is safe and effective with no adverse complications except pain.
Animals ; Burns ; Debridement ; Humans ; Larva ; Skin Transplantation ; Wound Healing

OBJECTIVEThe aim of this study was to explore the effect of celecoxib, a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, on induction of apoptosis and inhibition of angiogenesis in gastric cancer.

METHODSFifty nine gastric cancer patients were randomly divided into 2 groups: celecoxib group (n = 37) and control group (n = 22). The patients in the celecoxib group were treated orally with celecoxib 200 mg twice daily for 7 days before resection. The patients in the control group received surgical resection alone. Another group of 20 healthy subjects were recruited as normal control. The number of apoptotic tumor cells was measured by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferse-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL). The expression of COX-2, VEGF and the microvessel density (MVD) were evaluated by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSThe TUNEL results showed an increase of apoptosis in the tumor cells after celecoxib treatment in comparison with that in the control group (7.1% +/- 1.0% vs. 6.2% +/- 0.9%, P < 0.05). The expression level of COX-2 and VEGF in the gastric cancer tissues was significantly decreased in the celecoxib group compared with those in the control group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, MVD was also significantly lower in the celecoxib group when compared with that in the control group (30.48 +/- 5.02 vs. 38.98 +/- 4.58, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONOral intake of celecoxib can induce apoptosis and suppress angiogenesis in gastric cancer. It may become an effective agent in the treatment of gastric cancer.

Adenocarcinoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Adult ; Aged ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Celecoxib ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; metabolism ; Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Microvessels ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Middle Aged ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; prevention & control ; Pyrazoles ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Stomach Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Sulfonamides ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism