ObjectiveTo explore the possible mechanism of Danggui Sini Granules （当归四逆颗粒） in treatment of coronary heart disease with cold congealing and blood stasis syndrome. MethodsFifty SD rats were randomly divided into a blank group， a model group， a Danshen Pill （丹参滴丸） group， and a low- and high-dosage Danggui Sini Granules group， with 10 rats in each group. Except for the blank group， the rat model of coronary heart disease with cold congealing and blood stasis syndrome was established by repeated cold stimulation at low temperature combined with intraperitoneal injection of posterior pituitary hormone in all other groups. In the 6th week of modelling， 0.073 g·kg^-1·d^-1 of compound Danshen Pill was given to the Danshen Pill group， 20.2 and 40.4 g·kg^-1·d^-1 of Danggui Sini Granules were given to the low- and high-dose Danggui Sini Granules groups， respectively， and 0.2 ml/10 g of sterile water was given to the blank group and the model group， all for 2 consecutive weeks. The general conditions of the rats were recorded， and the body mass was compared weekly. At the end of the intervention， electrocardiogram， blood rheological indexes， including whole blood low-cut viscosity， whole blood high-cut viscosity， erythrocyte aggregation index， and cardiac index were detected to evaluate the effect of the medication， and HE staining was used to observe the myocardial histopathological changes， TUNEL staining to detect the apoptotic situation of cardiomyocytes， and ELISA to detect the serum thyroid-stimulating hormone （TSH）， free triiodothyronine （FT₃）， free tetraiodothyronine （FT₄） levels and thromboxane B₂ （TXB₂）， 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α （6-Keto-PGF_1α）， endothelin 1 （ET-1）， and nitric oxide （NO） levels. ResultsCompared with the blank group at the same time point， the body mass of rats in the remaining groups decreased at all time points （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）； compared with the model group at the same time point， the body mass of rats in high-dose Danggui Sini Granules group and Danshen Pill group increased at the 6th and 7th weeks （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. In the blank group， the S-T segment of the electrocardiogram was close to the isoelectric line， the myocardial structure was regular， the fibres were closely arranged， and the nuclei of the cells were intact and neatly aligned； in the model group， the S-T segment of the electrocardiogram significantly elevated， and the arrangement of the myocardial fibres was obviously disordered， with myocardial cells appearing to be swollen， necrotic， and infiltrated by inflammatory cells， and the apoptosis-positive cells of the cardiac muscle cells obviously increased； in each of the medication groups， the electrocardiogram had a lowered S-T segment， and myocardial fibres were aligned， myocyte structure and morphology were improved， inflammatory cells reduced， and the number of apoptosis-positive cells significantly reduced. Compared with the blank group， the cardiac index， whole blood high cut viscosity， whole blood low cut viscosity， erythrocyte aggregation index increased in the model group， and the serum levels of TSH， FT₃， FT₄， NO， 6-Keto-PGF_1α significantly reduced， and the levels of ET-1 and TXB₂ significantly increased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with the model group， the levels of cardiac index， whole blood high cut viscosity， whole blood low cut viscosity， erythrocyte aggregation index， ET-1 and TXB₂ significantly decreased and the levels of NO and 6-Keto-PGF_1α significantly increased in each medication group， and the serum levels of TSH， FT₃， and FT₄ elevated in the high-dose Danggui Sini Granules group and Danshen Pill group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The serum TSH level of rats in the low-dose Danggui Sini Granules group was lower than that in Danshen Pill group and the high-dose Danggui Sini Granules group （P＜0.01）. ConclusionDanggui Sini Granules have the effect of alleviating myocardial injury in coronary heart disease with cold congealing and blood stasis syndrome， and its mechanism may be related to reducing myocardial cell apoptosis， improving energy metabolism， and regulating the level of vasoactive factors.

Objective: To develop a simple digital chylous plasma device and validate its ability to accurately, standardly, and non-destructively determine chylous plasma in blood banks and clinical transfusions in hospitals. Methods: A digital chylous plasma assessment device was designed and manufactured. This device was used to measure the chylous degrees of chylous plasma samples before freezing, after freeze-thawing, before viral inactivation, and after viral inactivation. The measured chylosity index values were categorized according to the requirements specified in Appendix A of the Chinese national standard GB 18469-2001 "Quality Requirements for Whole Blood and Blood Components". This process established a digital standard for chylous plasma, enabling the identification of severe, moderate and mild chylous plasma, and non-chylous plasma. Results: The initial simple product of the digital chylous assessment device was successfully designed and manufactured. There was no significant difference in the degree of chylous plasma between pre-freezing 468.11±217.73 lux and post-thawing 538.91±273.39 lux of chylous plasma (P>0.05), or between pre-viral inactivation 858.33±387.79 lux and post-viral inactivation 928.33±166.51 lux of chylous plasma (P>0.05). The median of chylous degree values for plasma chylous index grades 0 to 6 were 45 lux, 250 lux, 620 lux, 835 lux, 1 130 lux, 1 390 lux, and 1 700 lux, respectively. The defined cutoff values/ranges for the chylous degree values corresponding to plasma chylous index grade 0 to 6 were ≤125 lux, 126-465 lux, 466-740 lux, 741-1 000 lux, 1 001-1 233 lux, 1 234-1 560 lux, and ≥1 561 lux. Conclusion: This study successfully developed the initial product of the digital chylous device and established digital standards for classifying chylous plasma. The device demonstrates the potential to meet the needs for assessment of chylous plasma in both blood banks and clinical transfusions in hospitals, thereby promoting the development and application of standardized, non-destructive chylous plasma assessment technology.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the pathogenic role of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) in pulmonary hyper-permeability and inflammation induced by lung-protective mechanical ventilation (LPMV) in rabbits. METHODS: Thirty-two healthy Japanese white rabbits were randomized into 4 groups for treatment with vehicle or bestatin (a leukotriene A4 hydrolase inhibitor that inhibits LTB4 production) administered intragastrically at the daily dose of 8 mg/kg for 5 days, followed by sham operation (group S and group BS, respectively, in which the rabbits were anesthetized only) or LPMV (group PM and group BPM, respectively, in which the rabbits received ventilation with 50% oxygen at a tidal volume of 8 mL/kg for 5 h). The concentrations of LTB4 and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in the lung tissues were analyzed by ELISA. cAMP content, protein kinase A (PKA) protein expression and the Rap1-GTP protein to total Rap1 protein ratio were determined to assess the activities of cAMP/PKA and Rap1 signaling pathways. The lung injury was evaluated by assessing lung permeability index, lung wet/dry weight ratio, polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), pulmonary myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and lung histological scores. RESULTS: None of the examined parameters differed significantly between group S and group BS. All the parameters with the exception of lung histological score increased significantly in group PM and group BPM as compared to those in group S ( CONCLUSIONS LPMV can induce LTB4 overproduction to down-regulate cAMP/PKA and Rap1 signaling pathways in the lungs of rabbits, which results in lung hyper-permeability and inflammation. Bestatin can inhibit LTB4 production in the lungs to protect against LPMV-induced lung hyper-permeability and inflammation.
Animals ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; Leukotriene B4 ; Lung ; Lung Injury/prevention & control* ; Neutrophils ; Rabbits ; Respiration, Artificial/adverse effects*

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