[ ABSTRACT] AIM:To investigate the effects of Chaihu Shugan powder ( CSP) on lipid metabolism and the pro-teins involved in adenosine 5’-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) pathway in the liver tissues of the rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly di-vided into normal control ( NC) group, with HFD ( HFD) group and CSP group.The NAFLD models were established by feeding with HFD for 16 weeks in the rats.The rats in CSP group were intragastrically administered with CSP extracts (9.6 g· kg-1 · d-1 ) , and blood and liver samples were collected 16 weeks later.Serum and liver levels of total cholesterol ( TC) and triglyceride ( TG) , and serum levels of alanine aminotransferase ( ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase ( AST) were measured using an automatic biochemical analyzer.The histological changes of liver tissues were observed with HE staining, while the lipid deposition was observed with Oil Red O staining.The ultrastructural changes of the liver tissues were observed under transmission electron microscope.Moreover, the protein levels of AMPK, phosphorylated AMPK (pAMPK), SIRT1 and uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) in the liver were detected by Western blot.RESULTS:The results of HE staining, Oil Red O staining and electron microscopy demonstrated that NAFLD rat model was successfully estab-lished.Compared with NC group, the serum and liver levels of TC and TG, and serum level of AST in model group were markedly elevated ( P<0.01) .Moreover, the protein levels of pAMPK and SIRT1 in HFD group were markedly reduced (P<0.01), whereas UCP2 level was elevated (P<0.01).Furthermore, liver levels of TC and TG, and serum level of AST in GSP group were markedly reduced as compared with HFD group ( P<0.05 ) .The protein levels of pAMPK and SIRT1 were elevated ( P<0.05 ) , whereas the UCP2 level was reduced as compared with HFD group ( P<0.01 ) .The protein level of AMPK between the 3 groups had no significant difference.CONCLUSION: CSP attenuates hepatic lipid disorder and hepatic lipid deposition in NAFLD rats induced by feeding with HFD for 16 weeks, which is associated with the activation of AMPK/SIRT1 pathway.

BACKGROUND: It has been confirmed that high-frequency chest wall oscillatory (HFCWO) is a new type of auxiliary sputum discharge device. However, up to now, the specific therapeutic effect of HFCWO is still uncertain. This study aimed to compare the changes of the sputum volume before and after the treatment of HFCWO, and to investigate the effect of HFCWO on lung function and arterial blood gas analysis after single port video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy (S-VATS). METHODS: A total of 90 patients with S-VATS lobectomy were collected in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2017 to December 2017, which were randomly divided into the experimental group with HFCWO (n=45) and the control group (n=45) with routine clapping, respectively. The sputum volume of the two groups was measured 5 days before operation. Lung function and arterial blood gas analysis was measured before and 7th days after surgery. RESULTS: The sputum volume was higher in the experimental group than that of the control group after surgery, there was statistically significant difference for the first three days (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁), forced vital capacity (FVC) and oxygen partial pressure (PaO₂) before surgery (P>0.05); Compared with those before surgery, FEV₁, FVC and PaO₂ decreased in both groups after surgery (P<0.05); However, FEV₁, FVC and PaO₂ in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05); There was no statistically significant difference in preoperative and postoperative partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO₂) between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS HFCWO can significantly increase the amount of sputum excretion, improve lung function and alleviate hypoxia status after S-VATS lobectomy. This study provides a promising approach for HFCWO toward hypoxia status after S-VATS lobectomy.
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Adult ; Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; High-Frequency Ventilation ; Humans ; Lung ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Lung Neoplasms ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonectomy ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted ; Thoracic Wall ; surgery ; Young Adult

Tumor microenvironment contributes to poor prognosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) patients. Proper regulation could improve survival. Melatonin is an endogenous hormone that delivers multiple bioactivities. Here we showed that pancreatic melatonin level is associated with patients' survival. In PAAD mice models, melatonin supplementation suppressed tumor growth, while blockade of melatonin pathway exacerbated tumor progression. This anti-tumor effect was independent of cytotoxicity but associated with tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs), and TANs depletion reversed effects of melatonin. Melatonin induced TANs infiltration and activation, therefore induced cell apoptosis of PAAD cells. Cytokine arrays revealed that melatonin had minimal impact on neutrophils but induced secretion of Cxcl2 from tumor cells. Knockdown of Cxcl2 in tumor cells abolished neutrophil migration and activation. Melatonin-induced neutrophils presented an N1-like anti-tumor phenotype, with increased neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) causing tumor cell apoptosis through cell-to-cell contact. Proteomics analysis revealed that this reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated inhibition was fueled by fatty acid oxidation (FAO) in neutrophils, while FAO inhibitor abolished the anti-tumor effect. Analysis of PAAD patient specimens revealed that CXCL2 expression was associated with neutrophil infiltration. CXCL2, or TANs, combined with NET marker, can better predict patients' prognosis. Collectively, we discovered an anti-tumor mechanism of melatonin through recruiting N1-neutrophils and beneficial NET formation.