Objective Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and tuberculosis (TB) are major public health and social issues worldwide. The long-term follow-up of COVID-19 with pulmonary TB (PTB) survivors after discharge is unclear. This study aimed to comprehensively describe clinical outcomes, including sequela and recurrence at 3, 12, and 24 months after discharge, among COVID-19 with PTB survivors. Methods From January 22, 2020 to May 6, 2022, with a follow-up by August 26, 2022, a prospective, multicenter follow-up study was conducted on COVID-19 with PTB survivors after discharge in 13hospitals from four provinces in China. Clinical outcomes, including sequela, recurrence of COVID-19, and PTB survivors, were collected via telephone and face-to-face interviews at 3, 12, and 24 months after discharge. Results Thirty-two COVID-19 with PTB survivors were included. The median age was 52 (45, 59) years, and 23 (71.9％) were men. Among them, nearly two-thirds (62.5％) of the survivors were moderate, three (9.4％) were severe, and more than half (59.4％) had at least one comorbidity (PTB excluded). The proportion of COVID-19 survivors with at least one sequela symptom decreased from 40.6％ at 3 months to 15.8％ at 24 months, with anxiety having a higher proportion over a follow-up. Cough and amnesia recovered at the 12-month follow-up, while anxiety, fatigue, and trouble sleeping remained after 24 months. Additionally, one (3.1％) case presented two recurrences of PTB and no re-positive COVID-19 during the follow-up period. Conclusion The proportion of long symptoms in COVID-19 with PTB survivors decreased over time, while nearly one in six still experience persistent symptoms with a higher proportion of anxiety. The recurrence of PTB and the psychological support of COVID-19 with PTB after discharge require more attention.

This study aimed to evaluate the vasorelaxant effect and mechanisms of compound reserpine and triamterene tablets (CRTTs) and its component triamterene on isolated rat thoracic aorta rings. Isolated rat thoracic aorta rings pre-contracted by high potassium or norepinephrine (NE) were used to evaluate the vasodilatory effect of CRTTs and its component triamterene. The mechanisms concerning endothelium, potassium channels and calcium channels were studied through the interventions of several tool drugs. Animal welfare and experimental procedures followed the requirements of the Laboratory Animal Management and Animal Welfare Ethics Committee of the Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College. The results showed that both CRTTs and triamterene had potent relaxant effect on KCl and NE pre-contracted vessels. Triamterene showed partial endothelium dependency, and N-nitro-L-argininemethyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME) could influence the relaxant effect, which may be related to the opening of calcium-activated potassium channels. Meanwhile, CRTTs could inhibit intracellular Ca²⁺ release and extracellular Ca²⁺ influx. Overall, CRTTs and its component triamterene have vasorelaxant effects on vessels in vitro, and the vasorelaxant effect of CRTTs may be related to intracellular Ca²⁺ release and extracellular Ca²⁺ influx, while this effect of triamterene may depend on vascular endothelial function and may also be related to the opening of calcium-activated potassium channels.

This study investigated the effect of puerarin on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) injured with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). HUVEC were divided into three groups: a control group, a model group (H₂O₂ 400 μmol·L^-1) and a puerarin-treated group (3, 10, 30 and 100 μmol·L^-1). HUVEC were cultured with varied concentration of puerarin for 2 h and treated with H₂O₂ for another 24 h. Cell proliferation was detected by a CCK-8 assay. The mitochondrial membrane potential was measured by a JC-1 fluorescent probe. A transwell chamber assay was adopted to observe cell migration ability. Mitochondrial respiratory function was measured in a two-chamber titration injection respirometer (Oxygraph-2k). The expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-18 (IL-18) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was detected by quantitative real-time PCR. The expression of pyroptosis-mediated proteins, including cleaved-cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase-1 (caspase-1), N-gasdermin D (N-GSDMD), NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) and purinergic ligand-gated ion channel 7 receptor (P2X7R) was detected by Western blot. The results show that 400 μmol·L^-1 H₂O₂ treatment for 24 h causes obvious damage to HUVEC. Compared with the model group, puerarin protected against cellular injury in a dose-dependent manner, with the greatest effect at a dose of 30 and 100 μmol·L^-1. Puerarin significantly decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential and improved mitochondrial function. Puerarin inhibited cell migration induced by H₂O₂, suppressed the expression of IL-1β, IL-18 and TNF-α, and down-regulated the pyroptosis-mediated protein. These changes are statistically significant (P < 0.05). These findings demonstrate that puerarin has a protective effect against H₂O₂-induced oxidative damage of HUVEC by inhibiting the migration of HUVEC cells. The mechanism may be related to improved mitochondrial respiratory function and inhibition of pyroptosis.

Animals ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Autophagy/drug effects* ; Carnitine/pharmacology* ; Cells, Cultured ; Endothelial Cells ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Mice

Objective: Several COVID-19 patients have overlapping comorbidities. The independent role of each component contributing to the risk of COVID-19 is unknown, and how some non-cardiometabolic comorbidities affect the risk of COVID-19 remains unclear. Methods: A retrospective follow-up design was adopted. A total of 1,160 laboratory-confirmed patients were enrolled from nine provinces in China. Data on comorbidities were obtained from the patients' medical records. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio ( Results: Overall, 158 (13.6%) patients were diagnosed with severe illness and 32 (2.7%) had unfavorable outcomes. Hypertension (2.87, 1.30-6.32), type 2 diabetes (T2DM) (3.57, 2.32-5.49), cardiovascular disease (CVD) (3.78, 1.81-7.89), fatty liver disease (7.53, 1.96-28.96), hyperlipidemia (2.15, 1.26-3.67), other lung diseases (6.00, 3.01-11.96), and electrolyte imbalance (10.40, 3.00-26.10) were independently linked to increased odds of being severely ill. T2DM (6.07, 2.89-12.75), CVD (8.47, 6.03-11.89), and electrolyte imbalance (19.44, 11.47-32.96) were also strong predictors of unfavorable outcomes. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease on admission (5.46, 3.25-9.19), while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes (6.58, 1.46-29.64) within two weeks. Conclusion Besides hypertension, diabetes, and CVD, fatty liver disease, hyperlipidemia, other lung diseases, and electrolyte imbalance were independent risk factors for COVID-19 severity and poor treatment outcome. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease, while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes.
Adult ; Aged ; COVID-19/virology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Severity of Illness Index ; Treatment Outcome

Background: Esophageal cancer is associated with substantial disease burden in China, and data on the economic burden are fundamental for setting priorities in cancer interventions. The medical expenditure for the diagnosis and treatment of esophageal cancer in China has not been fully quantified. This study aimed to examine the medical expenditure of Chinese patients with esophageal cancer and the associated trends. Methods: From 2012 to 2014, a hospital-based multicenter retrospective survey was conducted in 37 hospitals in 13 provinces/municipalities across China as a part of the Cancer Screening Program of Urban China. For each esophageal cancer patient diagnosed between 2002 and 2011, clinical information and expense data were extracted by using structured questionnaires. All expense data were reported in Chinese Yuan (CNY; 1 CNY= 0.155 USD) based on the 2011 value and inflated using the year-specific health care consumer price index for China. Results: A total of 14,967 esophageal cancer patients were included in the analysis. It was estimated that the overall average expenditure per patient was 38,666 CNY, and an average annual increase of 6.27％ was observed from 2002 (25,111 CNY) to 2011 (46,124 CNY). The average expenditures were 34,460 CNY for stage Ⅰ, 39,302 CNY for stage Ⅱ, 40,353 CNY for stage Ⅲ, and 37,432 CNY for stage IV diseases (P < 0.01). The expenditure also differed by the therapy type, which was 38,492 CNY for surgery, 27,933 CNY for radiotherapy, and 27,805 CNY for chemotherapy (P < 0.05). Drugs contributed to 45.02％ of the overall expenditure. Conclusions: These conservative estimates suggested that medical expenditures for esophageal cancer in China substantially increased in the last 10 years, treatment for early-stage esophageal cancer costs less than that for advanced cases, and spending on drugs continued to account for a considerable proportion of the overall expenditure.

To construct a recombinant replication-defective human adenovirus type 5 expressing Cap protein of PCV2 and test the immunological efficacy in mice. In this study, the recombinant replication-defective human adenovirus type 5, named as rAd5-Cap (wt-rAd5), was constructed through homologous recombination internally in the HEK293AD cells after co-transfection of the Pac I-linearized backbone plasmid and the shuttle plasmid pacAd5CMV-Cap containing the open reading frame (ORF2) of the porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) cap protein or pacAd5CMV without inserted fragment. Furthermore, the rAd5-Cap could induce the expression of PCV2 cap protein in the HEK293AD cells with high efficacy evaluated by the RT-PCR and indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). The virus titer of rAd5-Cap could reach up to 10(8.5) TCID50/mL similarly to that of wt-rAd5, indicating that there was little affect on the virus proliferation after the insertion of PCV2 cap protein gene. The humeral immune responses could be activated and detected 14 days after the inoculation of the mice with 10(7) TCID50 rAd5-Cap intramuscularly, and constantly in crease in another 14 days. These molecular biological and animal experiments results demonstrated that the PCV2 cap protein could be efficiently expressed by the recombinant adenovirus rAd5-Cap in eukaryotic cells and induce robust immune responses in mice, which laid a good foundation for the development of new type vaccine against porcine circovirus.
Adenoviruses, Human ; genetics ; Animals ; Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; Capsid Proteins ; genetics ; immunology ; Circovirus ; immunology ; Defective Viruses ; genetics ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; Mice ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; immunology ; Virus Replication

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether apoptosis induced by low-dose radiation (LDR) is regulated by mitochondrial pathways in testicular cells.

METHODSMale mice were exposed to whole-body LDR, and changes in mitochondrial function and in expression of apoptotic factors were analyzed in the testicular cells as follows. Total nitric-oxide synthase (T-NOS) and Na+/K+ ATPase activities were biochemically assayed. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) were determined by flow cytometry using fluorescent probes. Levels of mRNAs encoding cytochrome c (Cyt c) and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) were quantified by real-time reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR). Expression of Cyt c, AIF, caspase-9, and caspase-3 at the protein level was assessed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSLDR induced an increase in T-NOS activity and ROS levels, and a decrease in Na+/K+ ATPase activity and mitochondrial Δψm, in the testicular cells. The intensity of these effects increased with time after irradiation and with dose. The cells showed remarkable swelling and vacuolization of mitochondria, and displayed a time- and dose-dependent increase in the expression of Cyt c, AIF, procaspase-9, and procaspase-3. Activation of the two procaspases was confirmed by detection of the cleaved caspases. The changes in expression of the four apoptotic factors were mostly limited to spermatogonia and spermatocytes.

CONCLUSIONLDR can induce testicular cell apoptosis through mitochondrial signaling pathways.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Caspases ; Cytochromes c ; metabolism ; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial ; drug effects ; Mice ; Mitochondria ; drug effects ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism

The study examined the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and signaling pathways of inositol-requiring enzyme-1 (IRE1), RNA-activated protein kinase-like ER kinase (PERK) and activating transcription factor-6 (ATF6) in apoptosis of mouse testicular cells treated with low-dose radiation (LDR). In the dose-dependent experiment, the mice were treated with whole-body X-ray irradiation at different doses (25, 50, 75, 100 or 200 mGy) and sacrificed 12 h later. In the time-dependent experiment, the mice were exposed to 75 mGy X-ray irradiation and killed at different time points (3, 6, 12, 18 or 24 h). Testicular cells were harvested for experiments. H(2)O(2) and NO concentrations, and Ca(2+)-ATPase activity were detected by biochemical assays, the calcium ion concentration ([Ca(2+)]i) by flow cytometry using fluo-3 probe, and GRP78 mRNA and protein expressions by quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting, respectively. The mRNA expressions of S-XBP1, JNK, caspase-12 and CHOP were measured by qRT-PCR, and the protein expressions of IRE1α, S-XBP1, p-PERK, p-eIF2α, ATF6 p50, p-JNK, pro-caspase-12, cleaved caspase-12 and CHOP by Western blotting. The results showed that the concentrations of H2O2 and NO, the mRNA expressions of GRP78, S-XBP1, JNK, caspase-12 and CHOP, and the protein expressions of GRP78, S-XBP1, IRE1α, p-PERK, p-eIF2α, ATF6 p50, p-JNK, pro-caspase-12, cleaved caspase-12 and CHOP were significantly increased in a time- and dose-dependent manner after LDR. But the [Ca(2+)]i and Ca(2+)-ATPase activities were significantly decreased in a time- and dose-dependent manner. It was concluded that the ERS, regulated by IRE1, PERK and ATF6 pathways, is involved in the apoptosis of testicular cells in LDR mice, which is associated with ERS-apoptotic signaling molecules of JNK, caspase-12 and CHOP.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; physiology ; radiation effects ; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress ; physiology ; radiation effects ; Male ; Mice ; Radiation ; Testis ; physiology ; radiation effects

OBJECTIVETo explore the correlation of low-dose radiation with endoplasmic reticulum stress and the activation of the PERK-CHOP signaling pathway in mouse testicular cells.

METHODSHealthy Kunming mice were randomly assigned to time-effect (0, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h of irradiation at 75 mGy) and dose-effect (12 h of irradiation at 0, 50, 75, 100 and 200 mGy) groups. The contents of H202 and MDA were measured by colorimetry with the agent kits, the expressions of GRP78, PERK and CHOP mRNA detected by quantitative RT-PCR, and the levels of GRP7B, PERK, phosphorylated PERK (pho-PERK) and CHOP proteins determined by Western blotting and image analysis.

RESULTSAfter whole-body irradiation of the mice with 75 mGy, the content of H2 02 in the testis tissue was increased with time prolongation, while that of MDA decreased slightly at 3 and 6 h and then increased with the lengthening of time, both increased significantly at 12 and 24 h as compared with those at 0 h (P < 0. 05, P < 0. 01). Apart from reduced levels of GRP78 mRNA at 3 and 24 h and GRP78 protein at 6 h after irradiation, significant increases were found in the mRNA expressions of GRP78 at 12 h, PERK at 3,6, 12 and 24 hand CHOP at 12 and 24 h (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), as well as in the protein levels of GRP78 at 12 and 24 h, pho-PERK at 3, 12 and 24 h and CHOP at 3, 6, 12 and 24 h in comparison with those at 0 h (P < 0. 05, P < 0. 01). No obvious regularity was observed in the change of the PERK protein expression. After 12 h of whole-body irradiation, the content of H202 was increased at 50, 75 and 100 mGy, but decreased slightly at 200 mGy, while that of MDA was increased with dose increasing, with significant increases in the content of H2 02 at 75 and 100 mCy and in that of MDA at 75, 100 and 200 mGy as compared with the 0 mGy group. Apart from the reduced levels of GRP78 mRNA at 50 and 200 mCy, significant increases were found in the mRNA expressions of PERK at 75, 100 and 200 mGy and CHOP at 50, 75, 100 and 200 (P c 0. 05, P < 0.01) as well as in the protein levels of GRP78 at 100 and 200 mGy, pho-PERK at 50, 100 and 200 mGy and CHOP at 50, 75, 100 and 200 mCy as compared with those at 0 mGy (P < 0. 05, P < 0. 01). There were differences in the changes of different protein expressions, but no obvious regularity was seen in the change of the PERK protein expression.

CONCLUSIONLow-dose radiation can induce endoplasmic reticulum stress in mouse testicular cells, and activate the PERK-CHOP signaling pathway.

Animals ; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress ; radiation effects ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred Strains ; Radiation Dosage ; Radiation, Ionizing ; Signal Transduction ; radiation effects ; Testis ; cytology ; metabolism ; radiation effects ; Transcription Factor CHOP ; metabolism ; Whole-Body Irradiation ; eIF-2 Kinase ; metabolism