Objective To investigate the effect of remifentanil preconditioning on hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) injury to human hepatocytes.Methods Human HL7702 hepatocytes were cultured in vitro and randomly divided into 6 groups (n =16 each):control group (group C),H/R group,preconditioning with low,median and high concentrations of remifentanil groups (groups RP1-3) and normal saline group (group NS).H/R was produced by 8 h exposure of cells to 94％ N2-5％ CO2-1％ O2 in glucose-free DMEM liquid culture medium followed by 4 h reoxygenation.Remifentanil with the final concentrations of 0.5,5.0 and 50.0 ng/ml were added before hypoxia in groups RP1-3 respectively.Normal saline equal to the volume of remifentanil was added before hypoxia,the culture medium was replaced with glucose-free DMEM liquid culture medium 1 b later and H/R was produced in group NS.At 4 h of reoxygenation,the cell viability was measured by MTT,and activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT),aspartate amino transferase (AST) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) in the culture medium and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the cells were determined.The cell morphology was also examined.Results Compared with group C,the cell viability was significantly decreased,the activities of AST,ALT and LDH in the culture medium and MDA content in the cells were significantly increased in the other groups (P ＜ 0.05).Compared with groups H/R and NS,the cell viability was significantly increased,the activities of AST and LDH in the culture medium and MDA content in the cells were significantly decreased in group RP2 (P ＜ 0.05),and no significant change was found in the parameters mentioned above in groups RP1 and RP3 (P ＞ 0.05).The degree of damage to the hepatocytes was significantly reduced in group H/R compared with group RP2,and comparable in groups H/R,RP1 and RP3.Conclusion Preconditioning with the median concentration of remifentanil (5 ng/ml) can reduce H/ R injury to the human hepatocytes,while the low (0.5 ng/ml) or high (50 ng/ml) concentration of remifentanil has no such effect.

ObjectiveTo investigate the different effects of Yunvjian with or without Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix on glucose and lipid metabolism and inflammatory response in diabetic rats with the syndrome of Yin deficiency and internal heat. MethodThe rat model of diabetes due to Yin deficiency and internal heat was established by feeding with a high-sugar and high-fat diet and injection of thyroxine and streptozotocin. The successfully modeled rats were randomized into model control， Yunvjian without Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix （11.8 g·kg^-1）， Yunvjian with Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix （12.8 g·kg^-1）， and Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix （1.0 g·kg^-1） groups （n=10）， and another 10 rats were taken as the normal control group. Each group was administrated with corresponding drugs or saline by gavage for 28 days. The fasting blood glucose （FBG）， fasting insulin （FINS）， total cholesterol （TC）， triglycerides （TG）， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）， and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C） in rats were measured. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to determine the levels of cyclic adenosine monophosphate （cAMP）， cyclic guanosine monophosphate （cGMP）， triiodothyronine （T₃）， thyroxine （T₄）， interleukin （IL）-1β， IL-6， tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α， and C-reactive protein （CRP） in the serum. The histopathological changes of the liver were observed. The expression of lipoxygenase-2 （COX-2） was detected by immunofluorescence. The mRNA levels of nuclear transcription factors-κB （NF-κB）， monocyte chemotactic protein-1 （MCP-1）， and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 （ICAM-1） were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）.Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of NF-κB in hibitory protein（IκB） kinase β （IKKβ）， IκBα， and phosphorylated IκBα （p-IκBα） in the liver and the protein levels of NF-κB in the cytoplasm and nucleus. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed elevated levels of FBG， FINS， insulin resistance index， TC， TG， LDL-C， cAMP， T₃， T₄， IL-1β， IL-6， TNF-α， and CRP， up-regulated mRNA levels of NF-κB， MCP-1， and ICAM-1， and up-regulated protein levels of COX-2， p-IκBα， and nuclear NF-κB （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， Yunvjian without Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix lowered the levels of FBG， FINS， insulin resistance index， TC， TG， LDL-C， cAMP， T₃， T₄， IL-1β， IL-6， TNF-α， and CRP， down-regulated the mRNA levels of NF-κB， MCP-1， and ICAM-1， and down-regulated the protein levels of COX-2， p-IκBα and nuclear NF-κB （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the Yunvjian without Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix， Yunvjian with Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix showed lowered levels of FBG， FINS， insulin resistance index， and inflammatory cytokines， down-regulated mRNA levels of NF-κB， MCP-1， and ICAM-1， and down-regulated protein levels of p-IκBα and nuclear NF-κB （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionAchyranthis Bidentatae Radix can enhance the performance of Yunvjian in reducing blood glucose and inhibiting inflammation in diabetic rats with the syndrome of yin deficiency and internal heat by down-regulating the IKK/IκB/NF-κB signaling pathway.