OBJECTIVE To establish HPLC fingerprint of Guzhecuoshang capsules, and its quality was evaluated by chemical pattern recognition. METHODS The HPLC-DAD method was used to establish the fingerprint of Guzhecuoshang capsules. The main chromatographic peaks were confirmed and assigned, and finally analyzed them through cluster analysis(CA), principal component analysis(PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) models. RESULTS The similarity of 75 batches of Guzhecuoshang capsules was covered from 0.685 to 0.986. A total of 26 common peaks were marked, and 6 components were identified respectively: hydroxysafflor yellow A(peak 1), ferulic acid(peak 6), aloeemodin(peak 15), emodin(peak 19), chrysophanol(peak 24) and physcion(peak 26). CA could be divided into five categories. The PCA and OPLS-DA screened out 13 main differentially contributing components, and it was indicated by the attribution of components that controlling the quality of safflower play an important role in ensuring the stability of the quality of Guzhecuoshang capsules. CONCLUSION The established HPLC fingerprint is relatively stable and reliable, which can basically reflect the characteristics of the chemical components in the compound, and can also provide a reference for the quality control and standard improvement of Guzhecuoshang capsules.

Objective     To evaluate the early clinical outcomes of the Renatus® balloon-expandable valve in the treatment of severe aortic stenosis. Methods    From November 2021 to April 2022, a total of 38 patients who received Renatus® balloon-expandable valve for severe aortic stenosis in Guangdong Provincial People&#39;s Hospital were included. There were 22 males and 16 females, with an average age of 73.7±5.3 years. Mean aortic gradient and peak aortic jet velocity at baseline, post-procedure, and follow-up were compared. Clinical outcomes including all-cause mortality, perivalvular leakage, serious adverse cardiovascular events and the occurrence of permanent pacemaker implantation were assessed. Results    All patients completed the procedure successfully without conversion to thoracotomy or perioperative death. The post-implant mean aortic pressure gradient was decreased from 41.5 (27.8, 58.8) mm Hg to 6.0 (3.0, 8.0) mm Hg, and the peak aortic jet velocity was also decreased from 4.1±0.9 m/s to 1.7±0.4 m/s (P<0.001). Pacemakers were required in 2 (5.3%) patients. The median follow-up time was 27.5 (23.0, 87.5) d, with a follow-up rate of 100.0%. The mean aortic gradient was 8.0 (7.0, 10.8) mm Hg and peak aortic jet velocity was 2.0±0.3 m/s, showing significant improvement compared with those in the preoperative period (P<0.001). No severe aortic regurgitation or paravalvular leak was observed. There was no serious cardiovascular adverse event or reoperative event during the study period. Conclusion    Transcatheter aortic valve replacement with the domestic Renatus® balloon-expandable valve system is a safe and effective procedure for selected patients with severe aortic stenosis who are at high risk or not candidates for surgical aortic valve replacement.

We reported a 26-year-old male who was diagnosed with apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with left ventricular aneurysm. The location of the hypertrophic myocardium and the extent of resection were accurately assessed preoperatively using 3D modeling and printing technology. Myectomy was performed via transapical approach, and the intraoperative exploration was consistent with the description of the preoperative 3D modeling. The patient underwent the surgery successfully without any complications during the hospitalization, and the cardiopulmonary bypass time was 117 min, the aortic cross-clamping time was 57 min, and the hospital stay time was 7 d. The postoperative echocardiography demonstrated left ventricular cavity flow patency. This case provides a reference for the management of patients with apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Objective: To explore the protective effects of anthrahydroquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AH 2 QDS) on the kidneys of paraquat (PQ) poisoned rats via the apelin-APJ pathway. Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four experimental groups: control, PQ, PQ+sivelestat, and PQ+AH 2 QDS. The PQ+sivelestat group served as the positive control group. The model of poisoning was established via intragastric treatment with a 20% PQ pesticide solution at 200 mg/kg. Two hours after poisoning, the PQ+sivelestat group was treated with sivelestat, while the PQ+AH 2 QDS group was given AH 2 QDS. Six rats were selected from each group on the first, third, and seventh days after poisoning and dissected after anesthesia. The PQ content of the kidneys was measured using the sodium disulfite method. Hematoxylin-eosin staining of renal tissues was performed to detect pathological changes. Apelin expression in the renal tissues was detected using immunofluorescence. Western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of the following proteins in the kidney tissues: IL-6, TNF-α, apelin-APJ (the apelin-Angiotensin receptor), NF-κB p65, caspase-1, caspase-8, glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), and the C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP). In in vitro study, a PQ toxicity model was established using human tubular epithelial cells treated with standard PQ. Twenty-four hours after poisoning, sivelestat and AH 2 QDS were administered. The levels of oxidative stress in human renal tubular epithelial cells were assessed using a reactive oxygen species fluorescence probe. Results: The PQ content in the kidney tissues of the PQ group was higher than that of the PQ+AH 2 QDS group. Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed extensive hemorrhage and congestion in the renal parenchyma of the PQ group. Vacuolar degeneration of the renal tubule epithelial cells, deposition of crescent-like red staining material in renal follicles, infiltration by a few inflammatory cells, and a small number of cast formation were also observed. However, these pathological changes were less severe in the PQ+sivelestat group and the PQ+AH 2 QDS group (P<0.05). On the third day after poisoning, immunofluorescence assay showed that the level of apelin in the renal tissues was significantly higher in the PQ+AH 2 QDS group than in the PQ group. Western blotting analysis results showed that IL-6, TNF-α, NF-κB p65, caspase-1, caspase-8, GRP78, and CHOP protein levels in the PQ group were higher than in the PQ+AH 2 QDS group (P<0.05). The expression of apelin-APJ proteins in the PQ+AH 2 QDS group was higher than in the PQ+sivelestat and PQ groups (P<0.05); this difference was significant on Day 3 and Day 7. The level of oxidative stress in the renal tubular epithelial cells of the PQ+AH 2 QDS group and the PQ+sivelestat group was significantly lower than in the PQ group (P<0.05). Conclusions: This study confirms that AH 2 QDS has a protective effect on PQ-poisoned kidneys and its positive effect is superior to that of sivelestat. The mechanism of the protective effects of AH 2 QDS may be linked to reduction in cellular oxidative stress, PQ content of renal tissue, inflammatory injury, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and apoptosis. AH 2 QDS may play a role in the treatment of PQ poisoning by upregulating the expression of the apelin-APJ.

Thymosin β4 (Tβ4) is a key factor in cardiac development, growth, disease, epicardial integrity, blood vessel formation and has cardio-protective properties. However, its role in murine embryonic stem cells (mESCs) proliferation and cardiovascular differentiation remains unclear. Thus we aimed to elucidate the influence of Tβ4 on mESCs. Target genes during mESCs proliferation and differentiation were detected by real-time PCR or Western blotting, and patch clamp was applied to characterize the mESCs-derived cardiomyocytes. It was found that Tβ4 decreased mESCs proliferation in a partial dose-dependent manner and the expression of cell cycle regulatory genes c-myc, c-fos and c-jun. However, mESCs self-renewal markers Oct4 and Nanog were elevated, indicating the maintenance of self-renewal ability in these mESCs. Phosphorylation of STAT3 and Akt was inhibited by Tβ4 while the expression of RAS and phosphorylation of ERK were enhanced. No significant difference was found in BMP2/BMP4 or their downstream protein smad. Wnt3 and Wnt11 were remarkably decreased by Tβ4 with upregulation of Tcf3 and constant β-catenin. Under mESCs differentiation, Tβ4 treatment did not change the expression of cardiovascular cell markers α-MHC, PECAM, and α-SMA. Neither the electrophysiological properties of mESCs-derived cardiomyocytes nor the hormonal regulation by Iso/Cch was affected by Tβ4. In conclusion, Tβ4 suppressed mESCs proliferation by affecting the activity of STAT3, Akt, ERK and Wnt pathways. However, Tβ4 did not influence the in vitro cardiovascular differentiation.
Animals ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; genetics ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation ; drug effects ; JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Nanog Homeobox Protein ; genetics ; metabolism ; Octamer Transcription Factor-3 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; Primary Cell Culture ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; genetics ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos ; genetics ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc ; genetics ; metabolism ; STAT3 Transcription Factor ; genetics ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Thymosin ; pharmacology