OBJECTIVETo discuss the effect of taurine (Tau) on the proliferation of hypoxia-induced pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), and study whether the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) signal pathway participated in the Tau-inhibited PASMC proliferation process and the possible molecular mechanism.

METHODThe primary culture was performed for PASMCs in rats. The second to fifth generations were adopted for the experiment. The Tau concentration was 80 mmol x L(-1). The concentration of ERK1/2 blocker (PD98059) was 50 micromol x L(-1). The drug administration time was 24 h. The effect of Tau on the PASMC proliferation was detected by MTT assay, immunofluorescence staining method and western blot under different conditions. The PASMCs were growing were divided into four groups: the normoxia group, the normoxia + Tau group, the hypoxia group and the hypoxia + Tau group. The Western blot was adopted to detect whether the ERK1/2 signal pathway participated in the Tau-inhibited PASMC proliferation process. Subsequently, the PASMCs were divided into five groups: the normoxia group, the hypoxia group, the hypoxia + Tau group, the hypoxia + Tau + PD98059 group and the hypoxia + PD98059 group.

RESULTHypoxia could induce the PASMC proliferation. Under the conditions of normoxia, Tau had no effect on the PASMC proliferation. Under the conditions of normoxia and hypoxia, Tau had no effect on the expression of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) among PASMCs. Tau could reverse the expression up-regulation of hypoxia-induced proliferative cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) (P < 0.01) and Cyclin A (Cyclin A) (P < 0. 05). Under the conditions of normoxia, Tau had no effect on the expression of phosphoryl extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (p-ERK1/2). Hypoxia could up-regulate the p-ERK1/2 expression (P < 0.01). Tau could reverse the up-regulation of the hypoxia-induced p-ERK1/2 expression(P < 0.01). Both PD98059 and Tau could inhibit the up-regulated expressions of PCNA, Cyclin A and p-ERK1/2. According to the comparison between the single addition of Tau and PD98059 under conditions of hypoxia, the hypoxia + Tau + PD98059 group showed more significant down-regulation in the expressions of PCNA, Cyclin A and p-ERK1/2.

CONCLUSIONTau could inhibit the hypoxia-induced PASMC proliferation, and may regulate it through ERK1/2 pathway.

Animals ; Cell Hypoxia ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; drug effects ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Oxygen ; metabolism ; Pulmonary Artery ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Taurine ; pharmacology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect between less invasive stabilization system (LISS) plate and anatomical plate internal fixation for the treatment of tibial plateau fractures. Methods The clinical data of 58 patients with tibial plateau fractures were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into LISS plate group and anatomical plate group according to the internal fixation method with 29 cases each. The operative time, blood loss, incision length, fracture healing time, postoperative weight-bearing time, postoperative complications and therapeutic effect (according to Rasmussen knee joint function score scale) were compared between 2 groups. Results The operative time, incision length, blood loss and incidence of postoperative complications in LISS plate group were significantly lower than those in anatomical plate group:(68.5 ± 7.1) min vs. (92.3 ± 9.4) min, (5.8 ± 1.4) cm vs. (8.6 ± 2.1) cm, (208.5 ± 27.8) ml vs. (329.7 ± 25.2) ml and 17.2%(5/29) vs. 41.4%(12/29), and the excellent rate was significantly higher than that in anatomical plate group: 86.2% 25/29) vs. 62.1%(18/29), and there were statistical differences (P<0.05);there were no statistical differences in fracture healing time and postoperative weight-bearing time between 2 groups (P>0.05). Conclusions Both of LISS plate and anatomical plate internal fixation for the treatment of tibial plateau fractures have good clinical efficacy, but the LISS plate has advantages of shorter operation time, less tissue trauma, less blood loss, quicker fracture healing and less postoperative adverse reaction.

Spices have enjoyed a long history and a worldwide application. Of particular interest is the pharmaceutical value of spices in addition to its basic seasoning function in cooking. Concretely, equipped with complex chemical compositions, spices are of significant importance in pharmacologic actions, like antioxidant, antibacterial, antitumor, as well as therapeutical effects in gastrointestinal disorders and cardiovascular disease. Although increasing evidences in support of its distinct role in the medical field has recently reported, little information is available for substantive, thorough and sophisticated researches on its chemical constituents and pharmacological activities, especially mechanism of these actions. Therefore, in popular wave of studies directed at a single spice, this review presents systematic studies on the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities associated with common used spices, together with current typical individual studies on functional mechanism, in order to pave the way for the exploitation and development of new medicines derived from the chemical compounds of spice (such as, piperine, curcumin, geniposide, cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic acid, linalool, estragole, perillaldehyde, syringic acid, crocin).
Anti-Infective Agents ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Antioxidants ; pharmacology ; Cardiovascular System ; drug effects ; Digestive System ; drug effects ; Spices ; analysis ; toxicity

ObjectiveAnalyze preoperative clinical relevanted factors of acute type A aortic dissection with hypoxemia according to a group clinical data.MethodsFrom January 2011 to June 2011,we have collected 54 preoperative cases of acute type A aortic dissection,including 42 males,12 females,aged 28-73 years old,onset to treatment time is 0.4-14.0 days.General information:age,gender,time of onset,body mass index,hypertension,diabetes mellitus,smoking,drinking,heart ejection fraction,prothrombin time,quantitative fibrinogen,fibrinogen degradation products,D-dimer,C-reactive protein,procalcitonin,ICU time,length of hospital stay.According to the blood gas analysis of quiet state case without oxygen,with PaO2 ＜ ( 100-age ×0.33 ±5) mm Hg is for the hypoxemia group,equal or higher than this is no-hypoxemia group.ResultsNo-hypoxemia group has 14 cases,11 males,3 females,average aged (51.14 ± 14.24) years old,including 12 operation patients ( no death) and 2 no-operation patients(2 cases death).Hypoxemia group has 40 cases,31 males,9 females,average aged (50.53 ± 9.73 ) years old,including 33 operation patients(2 cases death) and 7 no-operation patients(7 cases death).There is no significant difference in age,gender,time of onset,hypertension,diabetes mellitus,smoking,drinking,cardiac ejection fraction,prothrombin time and fibrinogen.There is statistically significant on body mass index,fibrinogen degradation products,D-dimer,C-reactive protein,procalcitonin,ICU time and length of hospital stay time ( P ＜ 0.05 ).ConclusionPreoperative hypoxemia with acute type A aortic dissection is associated with obesity,excessive inflammation and activation of coagulation and fibrinclytic system,and hypoxemia may prolong the time of operative patients with acute type A aortic dissection in ICU and hospital.

Aim ToinvestigatetheeffectsofCa2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase Ⅱ inhibitor KN-93 on calcium overload-induced heart injury.Methods Thirty-twoisolatedratheartswererandomlydivided into the control group,KN-93 control group,calcium paradox group,and calcium paradox with KN-93 treat-ment group.Left ventricular pressure were recorded, and the heart function was evaluated by the left ventric-ular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP ) and developed pressure (LVDP).Coronary flow (CF)were collect-ed,and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)content was de-termined.Triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining was usedtomeasuretheinfarctsize.Results Compared with the control group,KN-93 at 2. 5 μmol·L-1 had no effects on coronary flow,cardiac performance and cell death at the end of perfusion in normal rats (P>0. 05 );The hearts of calcium paradox exhibited a de-crease in LVDP and CF,meanwhile an increase in LV-EDP,LDH,and infarct size of 18 ±7. 2% (P <0. 01).2. 5 μmol·L-1 KN-93 further increased the levels of LVEDP,LDH and infarct size (P<0. 01)in Ca2+paradoxical hearts,while it provoked the decline intheCFandLVDP(P<0.01).Conclusion The data demonstrates that KN-93 aggravates heart injury in calcium paradox,it also suggests that CaMKⅡ is in-volved in the Ca2+overload-induced heart injury.

Objective To evaluate the impact of cerebrospinal fluid drain(CSFD) on the incidence of acute spinal cord injury(SCI) following extensive TAAA repair.Methods From February 2009 to July 2016,153 patients underwent extensive TAAA repairs with a consistent strategy of normal thermia,non-circulatory bypass,sequential aortic cross clamping,aortic-lilac bypass,and intercostal artery reconstruction.The repairs were performed with preoperative CSFD (n =78) or without CSFD (n =75).In the former group,CSFD was inserted after the patient has been anaesthetized and continued for 72 hours after surgery.The target CSF pressure was 10 mmHg or less.Results The mean age of patients was (38 ± 10) years and 108 (70.6％) were male.There were 87 (53.8％) patients with previous aortic surgeries and 33 (22％) with Marfan syndrome.The two groups had similar risk factors for paraplegia.Aortic clamp time,operation time and number of reattached intercostal arteries were similar in both groups.In-hospital mortality rates were 1.3％ (one patient) and 6.7％ (five patients) for CSFD and the group without CSFD,respectively (P =0.086).Ten patients (13.3 ％) in the group without CSFD had paraplegia develop.In contrast,only two patients in the CSFD group(2.6％) had postoperative paraplegia(P =0.013).Stepwise logistic regression analysis identified CSFD had spinal cord protection,P =0.026;OR =0.171;95％ CI:0.036-0.809).No patients occurred CSF catheter related complications.Conclusion This randomized clinical trial showed that preoperative CSFD placement could be an effective strategy in preventing SCI following extensive aortic aneurysm repair.Care should be taken to prevent complications related to overdrainage.

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of Mudan Granule (MD) on the glucose metabolism and beta cell function in monosodium glutamate (MSG) induced obese mice with insulin resistance (IR).

METHODSMSG obese mice were induced by subcutaneous injecting MSG (4 g/kg for 7 successive days in neonatal ICR mice). Forty MSG mice with IR features were recruited and divided into four groups according to body weight, fasting blood glucose, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and the percentage of blood glucose decreased within 40 min in the IR test, i.e., the model group (Con), the low dose MD group, the high dose MD group, and the Metformin group (Met). Besides, another 10 ICR mice were recruited as the normal control group (Nor). The water solvent of 2.5 g/kg MD or 5 g/kg MD was respectively administered to mice in the low dose MD group and the high dose MD group. Metformin hydrochloride was given to mice in the Met group at 0.2 g/kg body weight. Equal dose solvent distilled water was administered to mice in the Nor group and the Con group by gastrogavage, once per day. All medication was lasted for 15 weeks. Insulin tolerance test (ITT) and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were performed after 6 weeks of treatment. Beta cell function was assessed by hyperglycemic clamp technique. The morphological changes in the pancreas were evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. Changes of iNOS, NF-kappaB p65, and p-NF-kappaB p65 in the pancreas were tested.

RESULTSCompared with the Nor group, the blood glucose level, AUC, and fasting blood insulin, ONOO-contents, iNOS activities, and the expression of iNOS, NF-kappaB p65 subunit, pNF-kappaB p65 subunit obviously increased; decreased percentage of blood glucose within 40 min in ITT, glucose infusion rate (GIR), Clamp 1 min insulin, and Max-Insulin obviously decreased in the Con group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Compared with the Con group, the aforesaid indices could be improved in the Met group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). In the low dose MD group, AUC, iNOS activities, and the expression of iNOS and p-NF-kappaB p65 subunit obviously decreased; percentage of blood glucose within 40 min in ITT and GIR obviously increased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). In the high dose MD group, AUC, ONOO-contents, iNOS activities, and the expression of iNOS, NF-kappaB p65 subunit, and p-NF-KB p65 subunit obviously decreased; percentage of blood glucose within 40 min in ITT, Max-Insulin, and GIR obviously increased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONMD could significantly improve IR and functional disorder of 3 cells in MSG obese mice, which might be associated with lowering inflammatory reaction in the pancreas.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Insulin Resistance ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Metformin ; pharmacology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Mice, Obese ; Obesity ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; Pancreas ; cytology ; drug effects ; Sodium Glutamate

This study is to evaluate the effects of the metformin (Met) on β cell function of diabetic KKAy mice. Female diabetic KKAy mice selected by insulin tolerance test (ITT) were divided randomly into two groups. Con group was orally administered by gavage with water, Met group with metformin hydrochloride at a dose of 0.2 g x kg(-1) for about 12 weeks. ITT and glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) were determined. Beta cell function was assessed by hyperglycemic clamp. Pancreatic biochemical indicators were tested. The changes of gene and protein expression in the pancreas and islets were also analyzed by Real-Time-PCR and immunostaining. Met significantly improved glucose intolerance and insulin resistance in KKAy mice. Fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels were also decreased. In addition, Met markedly increased glucose infusion rate (GIR) and elevated the Ist phase and maximum insulin secretion during clamp. It showed that Met decreased TG content and iNOS activities and increased Ca(2+) -Mg(2+)-ATPase activity in pancreas. Islets periphery was improved, and down-regulation of glucagon and up-regulated insulin protein expressions were found after Met treatment. Pancreatic mRNA expressions of inflammation factors including TLR4, NF-κB, JNK, IL-6 and TNF-α were down-regulated, p-NF-κB p65 protein levels also down-regulated by Met. And mRNA expressions of ion homeostasis involved in insulin secretion including SERCA2 and Kir6.2 were up-regulated by Met. Met increased SIRT5 expression level in pancreas of KKAy mice under the hyperglycemic clamp. These results indicated that chronic administration of Met regulated pancreatic inflammation generation, ion and hormone homeostasis and improved β cell function of diabetic KKAy mice.
Animals ; Blood Glucose ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; drug therapy ; Down-Regulation ; Female ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Homeostasis ; Inflammation ; drug therapy ; Insulin ; secretion ; Insulin Resistance ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; drug effects ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Metformin ; pharmacology ; Mice ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Pancreas ; drug effects ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

Objective:To investigate the impact of aging on the correlation between the intestinal microorganism Akkermansia and obesity, and to analyze the features of the correlation in the elderly population. Methods:This was a cross-sectional study.A total of 6896 cases were collected from the Guangdong intestinal microbiome in 2018, aged 18-94 years old, including 3806 females, 1641 cases with abdominal obesity(23.7%)and 707 cases with systemic obesity(10.3%). The 16S rRNA sequencing data were from individuals of Cantonese descent.The abundance of Akkermansia was calculated after data cleaning, clustering and annotation.The type of abdominal obesity or systemic obesity was diagnosed based on the standards of the Working Group on Obesity in China(2002). According to the five quintiles of the abundance of Akkermansia, subjects were divided into Q1~Q5(Q1-Q4: n=1379, Q5: n=1380). Logistic regression was used to study the relationship between Akkermansia and obesity after adjusting for common confoundors such as gender.Subjects were subgrouped into two types of age groups: the <65 group(n=5467)and the ≥65 group(n=1519); the <70 group(n=6136)and the ≥70 group(n=850). Age windows were used to analyze changes in characteristics of this relationship with increasing age. Results:There were significant differences in age and gender among different Akkermansia groups( t/ χ2=3.51, -5.03, P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for two main confounding factors, age and gender, the risk of systemic obesity and abdominal obesity gradually decreased from Q2 to Q5 group, compared with Q1 group( P<0.001). The correlation between Akkermansia and obesity decreased with age.The protective effect of Akkermansia on obesity was weaker in the ≥65 and ≥70 groups, respectively, than in the <65 and <70 groups. Conclusions:Akkermansia is a protective factor for obesity, but the protective effect is affected by aging and weakened in the elderly.

Objective To analyze monitoring results of iodized salt and distribution characteristics of problem areas with non-iodized salt in Gansu province during 2001 - 2009 and to provide a basis to develop countermeasures to iodine deficiency disorders. Methods According to the criterion of "The National Scheme of Iodized Salt Surveillance", two levels of monitoring were carried out on production and wholesale-level(during 2001 -2007) and household-level(during 2001 - 2009). Salt iodine was determined by direct titration method (GB/T13025.7-1999), and Sichuan salt or special salt was determined with an arbitration method. Criteria for qualified iodized salt was (35 ± 15)mg/kg(20 - 50 mg/kg), and for non-iodized salt was ＜ 5 mg/kg. Results During 2001 - 2007, a total of 4900 salt samples at production and wholesale-levels were examined, with a qualification rate of 97.80% (4792/4900). Non-iodized salt rates were all below 5% in Gansu province, consumption rate of qualified iodized salt was higher than 90% after 2003. During 2001 - 2009, cities(states) with non-iodized salt problems appeared 23 times, with Linxia accounting for 39.1%(9/23), Wuwei accounting for 21.7%(5/23). During 2001 -2009, counties(districts) with non-iodized salt problem appeared 123 times, including 68 times of ethnic minorities and state poverty counties, accounting for 55.3%(68/123). During 2001 - 2005 and 2006 - 2009, ethnic minorities and state poverty counties were accounting for 49.4%(44/89) and 70.6%(24/34) in counties with non-iodized salt problem. Conclusions The quality of iodized-salt at production and wholesale level is satisfactory in Gansu province, household consumption rate of qualified iodized salt have reached national standard for eliminating iodine deficiency disorders. But ethnic minorities and state poverty counties are main regions with non-iodized salt problem,these areas will be the key areas of prevention of iodine deficiency disorders in Gansu province in the future.