Objective To investigate the optimal dose of apocynin to protect severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and SAP caused intestinal injury in rats. Methods A total of 53 SPF male Wistar rats were randomly allocated into five groups:sham operation group (SO group, n=10), SAP group (n=12), low-dose apocynin group (25 mg/kg,n=11), medium-dose apocynin group (50 mg/kg, n=10) and high-dose apocynin group (100 mg/kg,n=10). SAP model was prepared by retrograde infusing 5%sodium taurocholate (1 mL/kg) into biliopancreatic duct of rat. At thirty minutes before modeling, apocynin was injected into rat to intervention. The survival condition was recorded at 12 h after modeling, and blood samples were obtained for detecting serum amylase (AMY), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and creatinine (Cr). Pancreatic and ileal tissue samples were obtained for HE staining and pathological examination. Results Two rats died in SAP group and one died in low-dose apocynin group. The quantity of ascites, the levels of AMY, ALT, Cr and pancreatic and intestinal pathologic scores were significantly increased in SAP group than those in SO group (P<0.05). Except the levels of Cr and intestinal pathologic score, there was no significant difference between low-dose apocynin group and SAP group. The quantity of ascites ascites, levels of AMY, Cr and pancreatic and intestinal pathologic scores were significantly lower in medium-dose and high-dose apocynin groups than those in SAP group (P<0.05). The levels of ALT and Cr were significantly higher in high-dose apocynin group than those of medium-dose apocynin group (P<0.05). Conclusion Apocynin improves SAP symptoms and reduces SAP caused intestinal injury in rats, which may be related to the inhibition of NOX activity, and 50 mg/kg of apocynin is the optimal dose.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of sodium ferulate (SF) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced preterm delivery and intra-uterine fetal death (IUFD). METHODS Pregnant Kunming mice were subcutaneously pretreated with SF (25 or 50 mg · kg-1) from gestational day (GD) 10 to GD 15 and with the single injection of LPS (150μg·kg-1, ip) on GD15.5. The incidence of preterm delivery and IUFD was observed. HE staining was used for uterine and placental histological evaluation. The levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and reduced glutathione (GSH) as well as the activities of glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were detected in the maternal liver, placenta, and fetal liver using commercial kits. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels in amniotic fluid were evaluated by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS For LPS group, the incidence of preterm was 47.8%, delivery time was (17.5 ± 1.3) d, and the pups′survival rate was only 42.6%. Compared with LPS-treated group, SF 50 mg · kg-1 group showed a lower incidence of preterm (14.3%, P<0.01), longer gestational days (18.4 ± 0.5, P<0.05), and a higher pups′survival rate (75.6%, P<0.01). SF 50 mg · kg-1 restored the LPS-induced GSH both in the maternal and fatal liver (a tendency without statistical significance), GST activity〔(163±82) kU·g-1 protein vs (95±90) kU·g-1 protein, P<0.01)〕in the placenta, TBARS content〔(2.5±0.4)μmol·g-1 protein vs (3.1±0.6)μmol·g-1 protein, P<0.01〕in the fetal liver, and TNF-αlevel〔(11±8) ng·L-1 vs (20±8) ng·L-1, P<0.01〕in the amniotic fluid. SF also attenuated LPS-induced placental congestion and neutrophil infiltra?tion in the uterus. CONCLUSION SF may protect against LPS-induced preterm delivery and IUFD, and anti-oxidation as well as anti-inflammation may contribute to these effects.

Objectives To evaluate the protective effect of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor perindopril on diabetic glomerulopathy in rats with experimentally induced diabetes and explore its possible mechanisms. Methods Ninety-two adult male Wistar rats were randomly allocated into diabetes mellitus (DM), diabetes mellitus + perindopril (DMP) and control (C) groups. According to the duration of diabetes or observation (1, 3, 6 months), each group was randomly subdivided into DM1, DM3, DM6; DMP1, DMP3, DMP6; and C1, C3, C6 groups. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. The rats in the DMP groups received perindopril 1 mg*kg-1*d-1, through gastric intubation. Urinary protein excretion rate was determined by the method of Coomassie brilliant blue. Plasma renin activity, renal tissue renin activity, and plasma and renal tissue angiotensin Ⅱ concentration were assayed by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Renal tissue total RNA was extracted by the Chomezymskis AGPC method. Renal angiotensinogen mRNA expression level was assessed by slot blot hybridization using a full length rat angiotensinogen cDNA probe labelled with 32P-dCTP and a random primer.Results There was increased activity of the renin angiotensin system in diabetic rats. Perindopril decreased proteinuria and delayed the progression of glomerular basement membrane thickening. However, it did not reduce the expansion of the mesangial matrix (P<0.05). Renin activity increased and angiotensin Ⅱ concentration decreased significantly in both plasma and renal tissue in diabetes+perindopril groups (P<0.05).Conclusions Perindopril may help prevent the progression of diabetic glomerulopathy, and the inhibition of renin angiotensin system activity may be a mechanism for this action.

Objective:To investigate the effect of diallyl trisulfide (DATS) on the expression of folate receptor α (FRα) in human gastric cancer cells and the related regulatory mechanism.Methods:Human gastric cancer cell lines BGC823 and AGS were selected, BGC823 cells were treated with 10, 20, 40, 80 μmol/L DATS for 48 hours, and AGS cells were treated with 5, 10, 20, 40 μmol/L DATS for 48 hours. Cells treated with 6 μmol/L histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) were used as positive control for epigenetic study, and cells untreated with DATS were used as negative control. The apoptosis of gastric cancer cells induced by DATS was detected by flow cytometry. After BGC823 and AGS cells were treated by DATS for 48 hours, they were replaced with DATS-free cell culture medium and cultured for different time to detect the changes in FRα protein expression. BGC823 and AGS cells were treated with 6 μmol/L TSA or 40 μmol/L DATS. The protein expression levels of FRα, HDAC1 and HDAC2, and histone H3 lysine 9 acetylation (H3K9ac) and histone H4 lysine 5 acetylation (H4K5ac) were detected by Western blot. BGC823 cells were inoculated into BALB/c nude mice to establish tumor bearing model. The nude mice in DATS group were injected intraperitoneally with 10 mg/kg DATS for 16 days, and then the protein in tumor-bearing tissues was extracted to detect the expression of target protein, while the control group was injected with equal dose of 0.9% NaCl solution.Results:The expressions of FRα protein in BGC823 and AGS cells were up-regulated in a dose-dependent way after gradient concentrations of DATS treatment ( F = 65.68, P < 0.01; F = 26.65, P < 0.01). After changing the cell culture medium without DATS, the expressions of FRα protein in BGC823 and AGS cells gradually decreased and returned to the initial levels ( F = 74.57, P < 0.01; F = 30.92, P < 0.01). With the increase of DATS concentration, the apoptosis rates of BGC823 and AGS cells increased ( F = 32.95, P < 0.01; F = 38.97, P < 0.01). After TSA treatment, FRα protein expressions in BGC823 and AGS cells were up-regulated by 4.5 times ( t = -12.62, P < 0.01) and 3.6 times ( t = -10.00, P < 0.01). After 40 μmol/L and 20 μmol/L DATS treatment, the expression level of FRα protein in BGC823 and AGS cells was up-regulated (both P < 0.01), the expressions of HDAC1 and HDAC2 were inhibited (all P < 0.01), and the levels of H3K9ac and H4K5ac acetylation modification increased (all P < 0.01). The results of tumor-bearing nude mice experiment showed that the volume of transplanted tumor in DATS group was smaller than that in the control group [(214±39) mm 3 vs. (577±98) mm 3], and the difference was statistically significant ( t = 4.86, P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, FRα protein expression in the transplanted tumor tissues of DATS group was up-regulated about 2 times ( t = -5.29, P < 0.01), and the expression levels of HDAC1 and HDAC2 proteins were down-regulated ( t = 9.36, P < 0.01; t = 9.88, P < 0.01). Conclusions:DATS up-regulates the expression of FRα protein in human gastric cancer BGC823 and AGS cells in a dose-dependent and reversible manner. The mechanism may be related to the effect of DATS on histone acetylation modification in tumor cells.

In recent years, owing to the miniaturization of the fluidic environment, microfluidic technology offers unique opportunities for the implementation of nano drug delivery systems (NDDSs) production processes. Compared with traditional methods, microfluidics improves the controllability and uniformity of NDDSs. The fast mixing and laminar flow properties achieved in the microchannels can tune the physicochemical properties of NDDSs, including particle size, distribution and morphology, resulting in narrow particle size distribution and high drug-loading capacity. The success of lipid nanoparticles encapsulated mRNA vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 by microfluidics also confirmed its feasibility for scaling up the preparation of NDDSs via parallelization or numbering-up. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of microfluidics-based NDDSs, including the fundamentals of microfluidics, microfluidic synthesis of NDDSs, and their industrialization. The challenges of microfluidics-based NDDSs in the current status and the prospects for future development are also discussed. We believe that this review will provide good guidance for microfluidics-based NDDSs.

Objective:To investigate the feasibility and safety of right-sided abdominal evisceration in retroperitoneal liposarcoma.Methods:The clinical data of 16 cases of retroperitoneal liposarcoma performed with right-sided abdominal evisceration at Sarcoma Center of Peking University Cancer Hospital from Sep 2015 to Feb 2019 were analyzed retrospectively.Results:Complete resection were successfully performed in all 16 cases.The median tumor size was 29cm(13-43 cm), the median operative time was 660 min(429-940 min), the median estimated blood loss was 2 000 ml(300-6 000 ml). The major postoperative complications rate (Clavien-Dindo classification Ⅲ-Ⅴ) was 38%. Median overall survival is 41.0 months while the median disease-free survival is 32.6 months.Conclusions:Right-sided abdominal evisceration is a favorable procedure to attain complete resection with acceptable complication rate.