1.Advances on associations of exposure to air pollutants during pregnancy with congenital heart disease in offspring
Jiena ZHOU ; Jing GUO ; Guangdi CHEN
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2023;40(3):362-367
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect and one of the major causes of neonatal death, with an average prevalence of 9.4‰ worldwide. We reviewed recent epidemiological studies and found that exposure to air pollutants is associated with increased CHD risks, but the associations are inconsistent between exposure to air pollutants and different subtypes of CHD due to developmental and etiological heterogeneity among different subtypes of CHD. It has been reported that air pollutants are associated with increased risks of ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, pulmonary stenosis, tetralogy of Fallot, and transposition of the great arteries. However, associations between maternal exposure to air pollutants and atrial septal defect (ASD) are contradictory, with significantly positive associations of inhalable particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide exposure, negative associations of fine particulate matter and carbon monoxide, and mixed associations of sulfur dioxide. Adverse effects of air pollutant on cardiac development cover a wide time window beyond 3-8 weeks during gestation; particulate matter and nitrogen oxide are more likely to affect fetal heart in early pregnancy, while the association strength of carbon monoxide shows a trough in early pregnancy, and sulfur dioxide and ozone affect cardiac health throughout pregnancy. In addition, we discussed the limitations of previous studies on the associations between maternal air pollutant exposure and CHD, and highlighted the application of precise assessment on exposure to air pollutants, the performance of prospective cohort studies and longitudinal studies, and the necessity of studies on CHD subtypes, in order to provide scientific evidence to control exposure to environmental pollutants and CHD occurrence.
2.Bayesian Network Meta-analysis of Therapeutic Efficacy of Xianling Gubao Capsules Combined with Routine Therapy for Postmenopausal Osteoporosis
Xiangjun ZENG ; Jiena CHEN ; Huaqing JIANG ; Chushuo SHI ; Hongyu TANG ; Chi ZHOU ; Haibin WANG
China Pharmacy 2019;30(18):2556-2562
OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the difference of therapeutic efficacy of Xianling gubao capsules combined with routine therapy for postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP). METHODS: Retrieved from Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, ClinicalTrials, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang database and CBM, clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about Xianling gubao capsules combined with placebo and routine treatment (trial group) versus placebo and routine treatment or Xianling gubao capsules (control group) alone in the treatment of PMOP were collected. After literature screening and data extraction, the quality of included literatures were evaluated with Cochrane system evaluator manual 5.3 recommend bias risk evaluation tool. Bayesian Network Meta-analysis was performed with Stata 14.0 software and Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo. RESULTS: A total of 16 RCTs were included, involving a total of 1 360 patients and 3 intervention measures as Xianling gubao capsules alone, Xianling gubao capsules combined with routine treatment, routine treatment. Results of Meta-analysis showed that in respect of improving total response rate, compared with routine treatment, Xianling gubao capsules combined with routine treatment [OR=0.28,95%CI(0.12, 0.64),P<0.05]could significantly improve total response rate; network Meta-analysis ranking showed that Xianling gubao capsules combined with routine treatment>Xianling gubao capsules alone>routine treatment. In terms of increasing bone mineral density (BMD), compared with routine treatment, Xianling gubao capsules combined with routine treatment [OR=0.45,95%CI(0.24, 0.84),P<0.05] and Xianling gubao capsules alone [OR=0.78, 95%CI(0.32, 0.84),P<0.05] could significantly improve BMD; network Meta-analysis ranking showed that Xianling gubao capsules combined with routine treatment>Xianling gubao capsules alone>routine treatment. In the term of improving serum calcium level, compared with Xianling gubao capsules alone [OR=4.76,95%CI(2.14, 10.59),P<0.05] and routine treatment [OR=0.45, 95%CI(0.21, 0.99),P<0.05], Xianling gubao capsules combined with routine treatment could significantly improve serum calcium level; network Meta-analysis ranking showed that Xianling gubao capsules combined with routine treatment>routine treatment>Xianling gubao capsules alone. In the term of improving serum phosphorus level, compared with Xianling gubao capsules alone, Xianling gubao capsules combined with routine treatment [OR=2.85,95%CI(1.81, 4.48),P<0.05] and routine treatment [OR=2.93,95%CI(1.76, 4.86),P<0.05] could significantly improve serum phosphorus level; network Meta-analysis ranking showed that routine treatment>Xianling gubao capsules combined with routine treatment>Xianling gubao capsules alone. CONCLUSIONS: Xianling gubao capsules combined with routine treatment can significantly improve therapeutic efficacy of PP patients, increase BMD and serum calcium level after treatment, but routine treatment is the best in improving serum phosphorous level.
3.Mechanism of Shugan Huazheng Prescription Against Liver Fibrosis Based on HIF-1α/VEGF/TGF-β1 Pathway
Anli XING ; Kunpeng ZHAO ; Qiuju ZHANG ; Jiena LI ; Shiyu CHEN ; Jiaqi GUO ; Ming ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2024;30(8):57-65
ObjectiveTo observe the therapeutic effect of Shugan Huazheng prescription on hepatic fibrosis model rats induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and explore whether it plays its role through hypoxia-induced factor-1α/vascular endothelial growth factor/transforming growth factor-β1 (HIF-1α/VEGF/TGF-β1) pathway. MethodA total of 54 male SPF SD rats were randomly divided into six groups: blank group, model group, colchicine group (0.2 mg·kg-1), and high-, medium-, and low-dose groups (29.52, 14.76, and 7.38 g·kg-1) of Shugan Huazheng prescription, with nine rats in each group. The molding was conducted three times a week for eight weeks. Administration began the day after the first injection, and the drug intervention was once a day for eight weeks. On the day after the last administration, the rats were deprived of food and water, and they were killed the next day, during which the physiological status of each group of rats was dynamically monitored. The pathological changes in the liver were observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and the content of hydroxyproline (HYP) and angiotensin Ⅱ (AngⅡ) in liver tissue were detected by enzyme-related immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (Real-time PCR) was used to determine the mRNA expression levels of HIF-1α, VEGF, and TGF-β1 in liver tissue, and immunohistochemical method (IHC) and Western blot were used to detect the protein expression levels of HIF-1α, VEGF, and TGF-β1 in liver tissue. ResultCompared with the blank group, the overall condition of rats in the model group decreased significantly. The proliferation of connective tissue and the increase in adipose cells between hepatocytes were obvious. The content of HYP and Ang was increased. The mRNA and protein expressions of HIF-1α, VEGF, and TGF-β1 were increased to varying degrees (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the proliferation of connective tissue and inflammatory cell infiltration in the liver tissue of colchicine and Shugan Huazheng prescription groups were reduced. The content of HYP and Ang was decreased. The mRNA and protein expression levels of HIF-1α, VEGF, and TGF-β1 were decreased, and the colchicine group and high-dose group of Shugan Huazheng prescription were the most significant (P<0.05). ConclusionShugan Huazheng prescription has an obvious therapeutic effect on CCl4-induced hepatic fibrosis model rats. Its therapeutic mechanism may be related to the regulation of the HIF-1α/VEGF/TGF-β1 signaling pathway and the improvement of hepatic hypoxia, vascular remodeling, and the syndrome of Qi deficiency and blood stasis in hepatic fibrosis.