Objective To evaluate the association between aortic arterial stiffness and target organ damage, including renal function decline and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction among elderly diabetic patients and to provide theoretical basis for early prevention and intervention. Methods Brachial-ankle-artery pulse wave velocity(baPWV)reflecting aortic arterial stiffness was observed in 151 diabetic patients with(n=78)or without hypertension(n=73). Clinical data were collected, cardiac structure and function were assessed by echocardiography. Estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR)was calculated by CKD-EPI fomula. Results Of 151 subjects, the average age was(75.05±10.13)years and the average baPWV values was (1 803.85±491.04)mm/s. Patients with both diabetes and hypertension had significantly higher baPWV values[(2006.49± 536.70)mm/s]than that of diabetic patients[(1596.96 ±331.02)mm/s, P<0.01]. Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that baPWV was negatively associated with E/A ratio and eGFR(β'=-0.249, -0.225, P<0.05), but positively associated with hypertension(β'=2.008, P<0.05). By applying area under the receiver operator characteristic curve, baPWV had powerful predictive power for renal impairment(AUC=0.695, 95% CI: 0.548-0.842)and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction(AUC=0.687, 95%CI: 0.532-0.842). Conclusion Patients with both diabetes and hypertension had significantly higher baPWV values than that of diabetic patients. Higher baPWV was independently associated with greater burden of sub-clinical disease in renal impairment and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.

The discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells(iPSCs) is a promising advancement in the field of regenerative medicine. Previous studies have indicated that the teratoma-forming propensity of iPSCs is variable; however, the relationship between tumorigenic potential and genomic instability in human iPSCs (HiPSCs) remains to be fully elucidated. Here, we evaluated the malignant potential of HiPSCs by using both colony formation assays and tumorigenicity tests. We demonstrated that HiPSCs formed tumorigenic colonies when grown in cancer cell culture medium and produced malignancies in immunodeficient mice. Furthermore, we analyzed genomic instability in HiPSCs using whole-genome copy number variation analysis and determined that the extent of genomic instability was related with both the cells' propensity to form colonies and their potential for tumorigenesis. These findings indicate a risk for potential malignancy of HiPSCs derived from genomic instability and suggest that quality control tests, including comprehensive tumorigenicity assays and genomic integrity validation, should be rigorously executed before the clinical application of HiPSCs. In addition, HiPSCs should be generated through the use of combined factors or other approaches that decrease the likelihood of genomic instability.
Animals ; Carcinogenesis ; Cells, Cultured ; DNA Copy Number Variations ; Genomic Instability ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; transplantation ; Mice ; Mice, SCID ; NIH 3T3 Cells ; Octamer Transcription Factor-3 ; metabolism ; Teratocarcinoma ; etiology ; Teratoma ; etiology ; Tumor Stem Cell Assay

Bupleuri Radix, serving as the sovereign medicinal in many antidepressant compound preparations, has been proved effective in treating depression in mice, but its effect on the intestinal flora remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of Bupleurum chinense(one of the original materials of Bupleuri Radix) on the behaviors and the diversity of intestinal flora of depressed mice. A depression mouse model was induced by repeated social defeat stress. Specifically, C57 BL/6 J male mice were exposed to the attack from the CD-1 mice. Then, C57 BL/6 J male mice were divided into a depression group and a B. chinense group, with normal saline and B. chinense administered(ig) respectively. Sucrose preference test and tail suspension test were conducted during and after the experiment respectively, to analyze the effects of B. chinense on the behaviors of the depressed mice. The feces were collected after the experiment. The V3-V4 16 S rDNA regions of intestinal flora of mice in each group were sequenced by Ion S5 TMXL for the analysis of the number of operational taxonomic units(OTUs), richness, alpha and beta diversity indexes, and differential phyla and genera. The results indicated that B. chinense could decrease depressive-like behaviors of mice, increase sucrose preference, and shorten the time of immobility in tail suspension test. After B. chinense intervention, the relative abundance of Firmicutes was significantly decreased, while that of Bacteroidetes was increased at the phylum level. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus and Lachnoclostridium decreased(P<0.05), while that of Bacteroides, Alistopes, etc. was elevated(P<0.05). The findings demonstrate that B. chinense can regulate the intestinal flora and improve the depressive-like behaviors of mice with depression.
Animals ; Bupleurum ; Feces ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Lactobacillus ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL