OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between angiotensin Ⅱ type 1 receptor autoantibody (AT1-AA) and semen parameters. Methods： The semen samples of 820 male patients who were treated in the Reproductive Medicine Center of Taiyuan Central Hospital from August 2022 to August 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The levels of AT1-AA and Ang Ⅱ of semen were detected by ELISA, and the function of AT1-AA was detected by cardiomyocyte beating assay in suckling rats. The patients were divided into low group, median group and high group according to the OD values of AT1-AA. The differences in general data and semen parameters between different groups were analyzed. And the correlation between AT1-AA level and semen parameters in semen of all study subjects was analyzed by the method of Spearman analysis. And the relationships between AT1-AA OD value, Ang Ⅱ level and semen parameters in the AT1-AA high value group were analyzed as well. RESULTS: AT1-AA was present in semen with good function. There was no significant difference in the general data of patients in different AT1-AA levels (P>0.05). In the comparison of semen parameters among the groups with different levels of AT1-AA, there were differences in sperm concentration, PR concentration, NP％, and ALH among the three groups (P<0.05). And AT1-AA OD value was positively correlated with total sperm count, sperm concentration, PR concentration, and NP％, and negatively correlated with semen volume (P<0.05). In the AT1-AA high value group, the OD value of AT1-AA in semen was negatively correlated with inactive sperm, and positively correlated with total motility (［PR+NP］％), curve rate, mean path rate, and ALH. However, there was no correlation between the level of Ang Ⅱ in semen and semen parameters (P>0.05). CONCLUSION The presence of AT1-AA in semen may be associated with the promotion of sperm motility.
Male ; Humans ; Autoantibodies ; Sperm Motility ; Semen ; Retrospective Studies ; Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1/immunology* ; Animals ; Rats ; Angiotensin II ; Adult ; Sperm Count ; Semen Analysis ; Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 2/immunology*

Objective:This study aims to investigate the differences in hemostatic efficacy and patient comfort between an innovative domestically produced biodegradable nasal packing sponge and a traditional absorbent sponge following endoscopic nasal surgery. Methods:A prospective, randomized controlled trial design was utilized, including 30 patients who were divided into two groups according to random allocation, each receiving one of the two types of nasal packing. The study assessed the hemostatic efficacy, comfort, and safety of the materials by comparing the rates of no bleeding within 24 hours after packing, re-bleeding rates after 48 hours, pain ratings in the head and nasal areas, scores on a visual analog scale for nasal ocular symptoms, and safety indicators between the two groups. Results:The rates of no bleeding within 24 hours post-packing were 73.33% for both the experimental and control groups, with a no-bleeding rate of 100% after 48 hours in both groups. The pain rating in the head and nasal areas at various times post-packing was Grade Ⅰ（100%） in both groups, with no statistically significant difference（P=1.000）. The experimental groups sneezing score on the day of packing was（0.73±1.03）, lower than the control groups（2.27±1.67）, （P=0.007）; after 48 hours, the experimental groups sneezing score was（0.67±0.98）, also lower than the control groups（1.67±1.18）, （P=0.019）. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the Lund-Kennedy scoring during endoscopic examinations at the screening period, 7 days, 1 month, and 3 months post-packing（P>0.05）. Laboratory tests for other examination indicators were normal in both groups. Conclusion:The innovative domestically produced biodegradable nasal packing sponge not only provides hemostatic efficacy comparable to imported materials but also significantly improves patient comfort after surgery. It represents an economical and effective choice for nasal packing materials.
Humans ; Prospective Studies ; Surgical Sponges ; Endoscopy/methods* ; Male ; Female ; Epistaxis/prevention & control* ; Middle Aged ; Nasal Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Adult

Objective To investigate the incidence rate,clinical characteristics,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen,China.Methods Led by Shenzhen Children's Hospital,the Shenzhen Neonatal Data Collaboration Network organized 21 institutions to collect 36 cases of neonatal stroke from January 2020 to December 2022.The incidence,clinical characteristics,treatment,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen were analyzed.Results The incidence rate of neonatal stroke in 21 hospitals from 2020 to 2022 was 1/15 137,1/6 060,and 1/7 704,respectively.Ischemic stroke accounted for 75％(27/36);boys accounted for 64％(23/36).Among the 36 neonates,31(86％)had disease onset within 3 days after birth,and 19(53％)had convulsion as the initial presentation.Cerebral MRI showed that 22 neonates(61％)had left cerebral infarction and 13(36％)had basal ganglia infarction.Magnetic resonance angiography was performed for 12 neonates,among whom 9(75％)had involvement of the middle cerebral artery.Electroencephalography was performed for 29 neonates,with sharp waves in 21 neonates(72％)and seizures in 10 neonates(34％).Symptomatic/supportive treatment varied across different hospitals.Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessment was performed for 12 neonates(33％,12/36),with a mean score of(32±4)points.The prognosis of 27 neonates was followed up to around 12 months of age,with 44％(12/27)of the neonates having a good prognosis.Conclusions Ischemic stroke is the main type of neonatal stroke,often with convulsions as the initial presentation,involvement of the middle cerebral artery,sharp waves on electroencephalography,and a relatively low neurodevelopment score.Symptomatic/supportive treatment is the main treatment method,and some neonates tend to have a poor prognosis.

OBJECTIVE: Exposure to high intensity, low frequency noise (HI-LFN) causes vibroacoustic disease (VAD), with memory deficit as a primary non-auditory symptomatic effect of VAD. However, the underlying mechanism of the memory deficit is unknown. This study aimed to characterize potential mechanisms involving morphological changes of neurons and nerve fibers in the hippocampus, after exposure to HI-LFN. METHODS: Adult wild-type and transient receptor potential vanilloid subtype 4 knockout (TRPV4^-/-) mice were used for construction of the HI-LFN injury model. The new object recognition task and the Morris water maze test were used to measure the memory of these animals. Hemoxylin and eosin and immunofluorescence staining were used to examine morphological changes of the hippocampus after exposure to HI-LFN. RESULTS: The expression of TRPV4 was significantly upregulated in the hippocampus after HI-LFN exposure. Furthermore, memory deficits correlated with lower densities of neurons and neurofilament-positive nerve fibers in the cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) and dentate gyrus (DG) hippocampal areas in wild-type mice. However, TRPV4^-/- mice showed better performance in memory tests and more integrated neurofilament-positive nerve fibers in the CA1 and DG areas after HI-LFN exposure. CONCLUSION TRPV4 up-regulation induced neurofilament positive nerve fiber injury in the hippocampus, which was a possible mechanism for memory impairment and cognitive decline resulting from HI-LFN exposure. Together, these results identified a promising therapeutic target for treating cognitive dysfunction in VAD patients.
Animals ; Mice ; TRPV Cation Channels/metabolism* ; Intermediate Filaments/metabolism* ; Hippocampus/metabolism* ; Neurons/metabolism* ; Memory Disorders/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Tianshu" (ST 25) and "Shangjuxu" (ST 37) on mental state, visceral sensitivity and protein expression of nerve growth factor (NGF), tyrosine kinase receptor A (TrkA) and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) of colonic tissue in diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) rats, and to explore its possible mechanism on treating IBS-D. METHODS: A total of 36 male SD rats of SPF grade were randomized into a blank group, a model group, an EA group and a western medication group, 9 rats in each group. In the model group, the EA group and the western medication group, IBS-D model was established by enema of dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (DNBS) combined with chronic restraint stress method. In the EA group, EA was applied at "Tianshu" (ST 25) and "Shangjuxu" (ST 37), with disperse-dense wave, in frequency of 2 Hz/100 Hz, 20 min each time, once a day for 7 days. In the western medication group, pinaverium bromide suspension was given by gavage (15 mg•kg^-1•d^-1) for 7 days. Before and after model establishment, and after intervention, the body mass, 24 h food intake and fecal water content were observed, the visceral sensitivity was detected by abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR); after intervention, the mental state was evaluated by elevated plus maze (EPM) test, the protein expression of NGF, TrkA and TRPV1 was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot in the 4 groups. RESULTS: After model establishment, compared with the blank group, the body mass and 24 h food intake were decreased (P<0.05), first systolic latency of AWR was shortened and number of contraction wave of AWR was increased (P<0.05), and fecal water content was increased (P<0.05) in the model group, the EA group and the western medication group. After intervention, compared with the blank group, open arm residence time ratio (OT%) of EPM was decreased (P<0.05) and protein expression of NGF, TrkA, TRPV1 in colonic tissue was increased in the model group (P<0.05); compared with the model group, the body mass and 24 h food intake were increased (P<0.05), first systolic latency of AWR was lengthened and number of contraction wave of AWR was decreased (P<0.05), the fecal water content was decreased (P<0.05), OT% of EPM was increased (P<0.05), and protein expression of NGF, TrkA, TRPV1 in colonic tissue was decreased (P<0.05) in the EA group and the western medication group. CONCLUSION Electroacupuncture at "Tianshu" (ST 25) and "Shangjuxu" (ST 37) can relieve the anxiety and depression-like behaviors in IBS-D rats, down-regulate the protein expression of NGF, TrkA, TRPV1 in colonic tissue, so as to reduce the visceral sensitivity and relieve symptoms.
Male ; Rats ; Animals ; Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome/therapy* ; Sulfonic Acids ; Nerve Growth Factors ; TRPV Cation Channels/genetics*

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupuncture at "Guanyuan" (CV 4) and "Xiajuxu" (ST 39) on intestinal flora and Toll-like receptors-4 (TLR4) in brain and intestinal tissue in rats with stress gastric ulcer (SGU), and to explore the possible mechanism of acupuncture for SGU. METHODS: Thirty-one male SD rats were randomly divided into a blank group ( RESULTS: Compared with the blank group, the gastric mucosal damage index was significantly increased in the model group ( CONCLUSION Acupuncture at "Guanyuan" (CV 4) and "Xiajuxu" (ST 39) could alleviate SGU in rats, and its mechanism may be related to increasing the diversity of intestinal flora, promoting the disorder of intestinal flora to normal, and reducing the overexpression of TLR4 in brain and intestinal tissues.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Brain ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Stomach Ulcer/therapy* ; Toll-Like Receptor 4/genetics*

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupuncture at "Baihui" (GV 20), "Zhongwan" (CV 12) and "Zusanli" (ST 36) on intestinal flora in rats with stress gastric ulcer (SGU) , and to explore the mechanism of acupuncture promoting SGU recovery. METHODS: Thirty-one SPF SD rats were randomly divided into a control group (7 rats), a model control group (8 rats), an acupuncture group (8 rats) and a medication group (8 rats). The rats in the model group, acupuncture group and medication group were selected to applied the improved restraint water-immersion stress method to establish the SGU model. After modeling, the rats in the control group and model group were fixed and restrained for 20 min every day for a total of 5 days; the rats in the acupuncture group were intervented with acupuncture at "Baihui" (GV 20), "Zhongwan" (CV 12) and "Zusanli" (ST 36), once a day, 20 min each time, and twisting needle for 30 s every 5 min for a total of 5 days; the rats in the medication group were gavaged by solution of omeprazole enteric-coated tablet (200 mg/mL), 2 mL for each rat, once a day. Guth method was used to calculate the gastric mucosal damage index (GMDI), HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of gastric mucosa, and 16SrDNA identification was used to detect the structural abundance of intestinal flora. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the GMDI of rats in the model group was increased (<0.01), the gastric mucosal pathological changes were significant, and the intestinal flora richness index Chao1, Observed species and diversity index Shannon were all decreased (<0.05), the diversity index Simpson was increased (<0.05). Compared with the model group, the GMDI of rats in the acupuncture group and medication group was reduced (<0.01, <0.05), the gastric mucosal damage degree was reduced, and the intestinal flora richness index Chao1, Observed species and diversity index Shannon were all increased (<0.05) and the diversity index Simpson decreased (<0.05). Compared with the medication group, the GMDI of rats in the acupuncture group was reduced (<0.01), the recovery of gastric mucosal injury was better than that of the medication group. CONCLUSION Acupuncture can effectively improve gastric mucosal injury of SGU, and the mechanism may be related to increasing the diversity of intestinal flora and promoting the correction of the disordered intestinal flora.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Stomach Ulcer ; microbiology ; therapy

In this study, the effect of benzo[α]pyrene (BaP) on chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) in a simulated hypoxia environment was observed and the relationship to heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) was clarified. With HSP90 inhibitor geldanamycin (GA) and HSP90α silenced, the mRNA and protein expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), HSP90, heat shock cognate protein 70 (HSC70), and lysosomal associated protein 2A (LAMP-2A) of A549 cells on hypoxic environment by BaP were tested. Alkaline comet experiment, immunofluorescence γ-H2AX focus experiment, quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), and Western blot analyses were used to clarify the relationship between the DNA damage of different concentrations of BaP in A549 cells and the mRNA and protein expression of CMA-related factors. The results show that hypoxia can promote the expression of mRNA and protein of CMA-related factors in A549 cells. This study found that BaP has an inhibitory effect on CMA under the hypoxic environment. The inhibition or silencing of HSP90 will enhance the inhibitory effect of BaP on CMA. In a normoxic environment, BaP causes DNA damage and promotes CMA.

The therapeutic application of deoxypodophyllotoxin (DPT) is limited due to its poor water solubility and stability. In the present study, the micelles assembled by the amphiphilic block copolymers (mPEG-PDLLA) were constructed to improve the solubility and safety of DPT for their in vitro and in vivo application. The central composite design was utilized to develop the optimal formulation composed of 1221.41 mg mPEG-PDLLA, the weight ratio of 1 : 4 (mPEG-PDLLA : DPT), 30 mL hydration volume and the hydration temperature at 40 °C. The results showed that the micelles exhibited uniformly spherical shape with the diameter of 20 nm. The drug-loading and entrapment efficiency of deoxypodophyllotoxin-polymeric micelles (DPT-PM) were about (20 ± 2.84)% and (98 ± 0.79)%, respectively, indicating that the mathematical models predicted well for the results. Compared to the free DPT, the cytotoxicity showed that blank micelles possessed great safety for Hela cells. In addition, the DPT loaded micelle formulation achieved stronger cytotoxicity at the concentration of 1 × 10 mol·L, which showed significant difference from free DPT (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the micelles were highly promising nano-carriers for the anti-tumor therapy with DPT.
Antineoplastic Agents ; chemistry ; toxicity ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Drug Carriers ; chemistry ; Drug Delivery Systems ; methods ; Drug Design ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Micelles ; Particle Size ; Podophyllotoxin ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; toxicity ; Polyesters ; chemistry ; Polyethylene Glycols ; chemistry ; Solubility ; Surface Properties

Based on the transcriptome data, the study cloned full-length cDNA of TwGPPS1 and TwGPPS2 genes from Tripterygium wilfordii suspension cells and then analyzed the bioinformation of the sequence and protein expression. The cloned TwGPPS1 has a 1 278 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polypeptide of 425 amino acids. The deduced isoelectric point (pI) was 6.68, a calculated molecular weight was about 47.189 kDa. The full-length cDNA of the TwGPPS2 contains a 1 269 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polypeptide of 422 amino acids. The deduced isoelectric point (pI) was 6.71, a calculated molecular weight was about 46.774 kDa.The entire reading frame of TwGPPS1,2 was cloned into the pET-32a(+) vector and expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) cells to obtain the TwGPPS protein, which laid a basis for further study on the regulation of terpenoid secondary metabolism and biological synthesis.