OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of β₃adrenoceptors (β₃-AR) activation on rat thoracic aorta smooth muscle contractility and the possible related mechanism.

METHODSThe endothelium removed thoracic aorta was pre-contracted with 30 mmol/L KCl physiological saline solution (PSS). Then the tension of the thoracic aorta was recorded in presence of BRL37344 (BRL) to determine the action of β₃-AR. The tension of the thoracic aorta was also recorded in the presence of Propranolol (PRA), SR59230A (SR), L-NNA, H-89 and Iberiotoxin (IBTX) respectively to reveal the underling mechanism of β₃-AR activation on rat vascular smooth muscle. Immunohistochemistry was adopted to confirm the existence and the distribution of β₃-AR in rat thoracic aorta.

RESULTSThe results showed that: (1) The thoracic aorta was relaxed by β₃-AR activation, with a relaxation percentage of (10.59 ± 0.79). (2) β₃-AR was expressed in both endothelial and smooth muscle layer in thoracic aorta sections of rats. (3) PRA did not block the effect of BRL on the thoracic aorta. The relaxation actions of BRL could be antagonized by pre-incubating the thoracic aorta with SR. (4) L-NNA (a NOS inhibitor) and H-89 (a PKA inhibitor) reversed the relaxation effect of BRL on vascular smooth muscle. (5) The effect of BRL was decreased after application of Ibriotoxin (IBTX), a large conductance calcium dependent potassium channel blocker.

CONCLUSIONThe results confirmed that activation of β₃-AR led to relaxation of thoracic aorta smooth muscle. The relaxation action of β₃-AR on smooth muscle of rat thoracic aorta was related to activation of NOS and PKA signaling pathway. Large conductance Ca²⁺-K⁺ channels were involved in the relaxation action of β₃-AR activation on rat thoracic aorta smooth muscle.

Animals ; Aorta, Thoracic ; physiology ; In Vitro Techniques ; Isoquinolines ; Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels ; physiology ; Muscle Contraction ; Muscle Relaxation ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; physiology ; Nitroarginine ; Peptides ; Propanolamines ; Propranolol ; Rats ; Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-3 ; physiology ; Signal Transduction ; Sulfonamides

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect and mechanism of Scutellaria Baicalensis Stem-leaf Total Flavonoid (SSTF) on lipid metabolism in hyperlipidemic rat.

METHODOn the basis of establishing hyperlipidemia rat model, blood lipids, lipid metabolic enzyme, antioxidative capacity were investigated after 30 days feeding of fatty emulsion.

RESULTSSTF significantly reduced the serum TC, TG, LDL-C, ApoB concentration and increased HDL-C and ApoAI levels, improved the activity of lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT). SSTF was shown to decreased MDA content in both serum and liver, increased serum SOD activity.

CONCLUSIONSSTF could remarkably modulate the lipid metabolic disorder in hyperlipidemic rats, and has a certain regulating function on lipoprotein, inferring that it could reduce the occuring of atherosclerosis. The mechanism of regulating lipid metabolism might be related with the increasing activity of LCAT and antioxidative capacity.

Animals ; Apolipoprotein A-I ; blood ; Apolipoproteins B ; blood ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; Cholesterol, LDL ; blood ; Flavonoids ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Lipid Metabolism ; drug effects ; Male ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Plant Stems ; chemistry ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Scutellaria baicalensis ; chemistry ; Triglycerides ; blood

Incidence of depression symptoms and its related factors of stroke, including medical, psychological and social factors, were analysed and studied by Zung SDS amony 102 stroke patients at first contact during Oct 1998 to Jan 2000. The result showed that incidence of depression symptoms of stroke is about 44.12%, and there are six related factors including instabile introversion, former focus on hemispheres, family conflict, social support and hand function. The conclusion is that occurance of depression symptoms of stroke should be paid attention, and its medication and prognosis should be multidisciplinary.

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by enterbaeterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction(ERIC-PCR)DNA fingerprint. Methods Mycobacterium tuberculosis positive sputum samples between September 2003 to May 2006 were collected and cultured.Chromosomal DNA were extracted and ERIC-PCR DNA fingerprinting was analyzed by software,such as RAPD PHYLIP and Treeview.Results A total of 42 different fingerprints were detected.Phylogenetic analysis showed that they could be classified into three clusters,the clustering rate was 72.6%.The characteristics of ERIC-PCR fingerprint patterns were related to age,drug resistance,and type of resistance.Conclusions ERIC-PCR DNA fingerprinting technique used in this study is good for epidemiological studies with its strong discrimination,simplicity and rapidness.A high level of recent transmission is found in our city.

Objective To investigate the methods and clinical significance of breast cancer treated with photodynamic.Methods From June to December in 2005,photodynamic therapy was used in 12 cases confirmed intramammary lymph node metastasis before operation and 15 cases confirmed chest wall recur- rences by means of lymph node imaging.Results The intramammary lymph node metastasis whose diameter between 0.5～1.0cm measured by lymph node imaging preoperatively completely disappeared when rechecked 3 months postoperatively.Chest wall recurrence regions of breast cancer whose diameter less than 1.0 cm completely remitted.Conclusion Photodynamic therapy is helpful to eliminate the intramammary lymph node metastasis and to cure the postoperative chest wall recurrence of breast cancer.

BACKGROUNDThe plasma concentration of very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) is negatively correlated to renal function in glomerular diseases. Effects of VLDL on renal function have been partially attributed to the proliferation of mesangial cells. This study examined the potential role of the p42/44 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) in mesangial cell proliferation induced by VLDL.

METHODSMesangial cells were treated with VLDL at different concentrations or for different time. The cell cycle of the mesangial cells was analyzed by XTT assay and flow-cytometry; MAPK activity was also assayed. In some experiments, cells were treated with VLDL together with or without 0.1 µmol/L PD 98059.

RESULTSTen to 500 µg/ml VLDL stimulated the proliferation of mesangial cells cultured in vitro in a concentration-dependent manner. The effect was associated with an increase in p42/44 MAPK activity. Increased proliferation of mesangial cells by VLDL was significantly attenuated by PD98059, a specific p42/44 MAPK inhibitor.

CONCLUSIONThese results indicate that the p42/44 MAPK pathway is an important regulator of mesangial cell proliferation and of renal functions.

Animals ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Lipoproteins, VLDL ; pharmacology ; Male ; Mesangial Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 ; metabolism ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To investigate the antimicrobial resistance of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from patients of first class hospitals in China in 2012.Methods All the clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae were collected and the susceptibility tests of the isolates were performed by 557 first class hospitals around China from 1st Jan.2012 to 31st Dec.2012.The susceptibilities of isolates to antimicrobial agents were determined by using CLSI (2010) guideline and the susceptibility data were processed with Whonet 5.6 software.Results A total of 372052 clinical isolates were collected.Among all the strains Escherichia coli ( 161211starins, 43.3%) outnumbered the other bacteria, followed by Klebsiella pneu-moniae (112600 strains, 30.3%), Enterobacter clacaer (31887strains, 8.6 %).The most effective antimicrobials were carbapenems.The re-sistant rates of Escherichia coli to imipenem and meropenem were both be-low 12.5%, and the rates in other Enterobacteriaceae were below 10%.Besides this, piperacillin/tazobactam, cefoperazone/sulbactam and ami-kacin demonstrated good antibacterial activity against Enterobacteriaceae in vitro.Overall, little difference was observed in the resistant rates of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from first class hospi-tals in different parts of China.Conclusion Enterobacteriaceae from firs class hospital were of different degree resis-tance to various antimicrobial agents.Carbapenems remained very high activity against Enterobacteriaceae,but the car-bapenem resistance strains has appeared and the issue should be attracted attention.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression and pathogenic relevance of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in liver fibrosis by using the rat model of CCl4-induced liver fibrosis.

METHODSThe liver fibrosis model was generated by delivering subcutaneous injections of CCl4 (dissolved in olive oil at a 2:3 ratio; injection dose: 3 ml/kg) every three days for six weeks into male Sprague-Dawley rats. Another group of rats that received simultaneous injections of olive oil alone (3 ml/kg) were used as controls. At week 0, 2, 4, or 6 after the first injection, a subset of rats from each group was sacrificed to obtain liver tissues and serum samples. Pathological analyses were carried out to detect the presence and extent of liver cell degeneration, necrosis, inflammatory cell infiltration, and collagen deposition. ACE2 and ACE gene and protein expressions were measured by real-time PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The significance of differential expression between groups and time points was assessed by t-test and one-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis tests, and correlation with fibrosis was assessed by Spearman's rank correlation coefficient.

RESULTSCCl4 administration led to significantly up-regulated ACE2 mRNA levels at week 2 (3.055+/-1.034), 4 (3.545+/-1.947), and 6 (6.448+/-1.836) (vs. controls; H = 23.224, P less than 0.001). Similarly, hepatic ACE mRNA was significantly increased after the CCl4 injections (week 2: 3.055+/-1.034, week 4: 3.545+/-1.947, week 6: 6.448+/-1.836; vs. controls: F = 12.982, P less than 0.001). There was a significant correlation between the ACE and ACE2 gene expression levels (r = 0.750, P less than 0.001). Protein levels of ACE2 also showed an increasing trend following CCl4 administration (week 0: 0.034, week 2: 0.097, week 4: 0.356, week 6: 0.512). The hepatic ACE2 gene expression strongly correlated with levels of alanine aminotransferase (r = 0.669, P less than 0.0001) and aspartate aminotransferase (r = 0.815, P less than 0.0001), and with the Ishak fibrosis score (r = 0.850, P less than 0.001). Finally, there was a significant correlation between circulating ACE2 and the Ishak fibrosis score (r = 0.730, P less than 0.001).

CONCLUSIONA significant relationship exists between ACE2 gene expression and extent of liver fibrosis. ACE2 may play a crucial role in liver fibrogenesis.

Animals ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; metabolism ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of chlorogenic acid on disordered glucose and lipid metabolism in db/db mice and its mechanism.

METHODSThirteen 5-6-week-old male db/db mice were randomly divided into db/db-CGA group (n=7) and db/db-CON group (n=6), and thirteen 5-6-week-old male db/m mice were randomly divided into db/m-CGA group (n=6) and db/m-CON group (n=7). Mice in the CGA groups were administrated with CGA 80 mg/(kg·d)by gavage, and mice in the CON groups were administrated with PBS in the same volume by gavage. Twelve weeks later, the level of biomedical parameters in plasma, liver, and skeletal muscle were determined, the concentrations of adiponectin and visfatin in visceral adipose, and the mRNA expression of glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) and peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α) as well as the protein level of PPAR-α in liver were detected.

RESULTSTwelve weeks after CGA administration, the levels of triglycerides in plasma, liver, and skeletal muscle and the fasting plasma glucose in db/db-CGA group were significantly lower than those in db/db-CON group(P<0.05). The muscle glycogen level was significantly higher than that in db/db-CON group (P<0.05), and the adiponectin concentration was significantly higher than that in db/db-CON group ( P<0.01) and lower than that in db/m-CGA group(P<0.05). The visfatin concentration in db/db-CGA group was significantly lower than that in db/db-CON group (P<0.01) and significantly higher than that in db/m-CGA group(P<0.05). The mRNA expression level of G-6-Pase was significantly down-regulated in db/db-CGA group when compared with db/db-CON group (P<0.05). Both the mRNA and the protein expression levels of PPAR-α were significantly up-regulated in db/db-CGA group(P<0.05) compared with in db/db-CON group.

CONCLUSIONCGA improves the disordered glucose/lipid metabolism in db/db mice, which is speculated to be related with its role in modulating the adipokines secretion, up-regulating hepatic PPAR-α, and inhibiting G-6-Pase expression.

Adiponectin ; metabolism ; Animals ; Chlorogenic Acid ; pharmacology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Glucose-6-Phosphatase ; metabolism ; Lipid Metabolism ; drug effects ; Liver ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; PPAR alpha ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDThe consumption of carbohydrate-electrolyte beverages (CEs) has been known to be more effective than plain water for recovery from dehydration. This phenomenon suggests that the ingestion of CEs after dehydration is better than water for maintaining body fluid and plasma volume, and for the recovery from hemoconcentration and high blood viscosity as well. High blood viscosity causes infarction and other cardiovascular events. In this study, CE was compared with water and tea for the ability to reduce increased blood viscosity after dehydration.

METHODSA crossover random control study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of three beverages for rehydration and decreasing of blood viscosity. Following exercise-induced dehydration of 2.2% of body weight in a permanent warm environment, 10 male subjects rested in a thermoneutral environment for 3 hours (rehydration period, REP). The subjects ingested test beverages equal to their body weight loss during the first 20 minutes in REP. Blood and urine samples were obtained throughout the experiments to assess the rehydration effect.

RESULTSThe change in blood viscosity at a shear rate of 5/s was significantly lower in CE ((-1.66 ± 0.21) mPa×s) in comparison to water ((-0.95 ± 0.26) mPa×s) or tea ((-0.92 ± 0.14) mPa×s) at 60th minute during the REP. The fluid retention rate was significantly greater for CE ((77.0 ± 3.9)%) than water ((61.2 ± 3.4)%) and tea ((60.5 ± 3.7)%) for 3 hours of rest in REP.

CONCLUSIONSThe recovery from high blood viscosity induced by dehydration was higher with CE consumption than with water or tea. These results suggest that CE is useful for normalizing increased blood viscosity due to exercise-induced dehydration.

Beverages ; adverse effects ; Blood Viscosity ; drug effects ; Carbohydrates ; Dehydration ; Electrolytes ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Male