Objective To observe the effect of Shenkang-Ⅱ on hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) in nephrotic syndrome rats during high-dose glucocorticoids withdrawal, and provide a theoretical basis for clinical application of Shenkang-Ⅱ during the withdrawing and maintaining stages of glucocorticoids in the treatment of nephrotic syndrome. Methods The models of nephrotic syndrome in rats were established with adriamycin, and treated with high-dose glucocorticoid which can cause HPA axis suppression. After the HPA axis was suppressed, the hormone was reduced gradually. At the same time, the rats were treated by intragastric administration with different doses of Shenkang-Ⅱ. The changes of serum ACTH, cortisol and adrenal morphological in large dose of Shenkang-Ⅱ group, small dose of Shenkang-Ⅱ group, hormone control group, nephrotic syndrome model group and normal group were observed after two weeks. Results In the stage of withdrawing glucocorticoids, there were some amelioration in the changes of serum ACTH, cortisol in every group. After 2 weeks, those changes didn’t return to normal level. However, compared with the level of hormone control group, there were obvious increases in the levels of serum ACTH and cortisol in the large and small dose of Shenkang-Ⅱ group (P

This study was aimed to develop a simultaneous determination of zinc and cadmium with carbon fiber electrode by linear sweep stripping voltammetry. Effects of analytical base solution, accumulation potential, ac-cumulation time and scanning velocity were also investigated on the determination. The results showed that in 1 mol·L-1 H2SO4 medium solution, zinc and cadmium had good electrochemical response on the carbon fiber electrode and appeared sensitive anodic stripping peaks at-0.97 V and-0.77 V, respectively. The anodic stripping peak cur-rents and concentrations of zinc and cadmium showed good linear relationships, with correlation coefficients R2 of 0.996 5 and 0.995 4, respectively. The detection limits of zinc and cadmium (S/N=3) were 1.5×10-9 mol·L-1 and 1.0×10-10 mol·L-1, respectively. The average recoveries of zinc and cadmium were 98.9%and 98.1%with the rela-tive standard deviations (RSD) of 2.72%and 2.45%(n=6), respectively. It was concluded that the method of simul-taneous determination of zinc and cadmium with carbon fiber electrode was simple, sensitive and accurate.

Objective To investigate the effects and mechanisms of prostaglandin E2 receptor subtype 3 (EP3) on transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1)-induced mouse mesangial cells damage. Methods Primary mouse mesangial cells were separated and cultured. Three siRNAs were synthesized and transfected into mesangial cells for silencing EP3 by LipofectamineTM 2000 and the best one was chosen. MCs were grouped into: (1)control group; (2)TGF-β1 (10 μg/L) group; (3)NC-siRNA plus TGF-β1 (10 μg/L) group; (4) EP3-siRNA group; (5)EP3-siRNA plus TGF-β1 (10 μg/L). Then the proliferation of MCs was evaluated by CCK-8 assay. The expression of PGE2 and cAMP in cell supernatant were detected by ELISA. The mRNA and protein expression of fibronectin (FN), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2), membrane-bound prostaglandin E2 synthase 1 (mPGES1) were detected by real - time quantitative PCR and Western blotting. The phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and ERK1/2 was decected by Western blotting. Results Compared with control group, the cell proliferation induced by TGF-β1 was increased (P<0.05), the expression of PGE2 and cAMP were improved, mRNA and protein expression of FN, CTGF, COX2 and mPGES1 were up-regulated (all P<0.05). Compared with TGF-β1 group, the cell proliferation in EP3-siRNA plus TGF-β1 group was reduced, the expression of FN, CTGF, COX2 and mPGES1 mRNA and protein were downregulated (all P<0.05), the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, p38 MAPK were also declined (P<0.05). Conclusion EP3-siRNA may reduce TGF-β1-induced cell damage through upregulating the expression of cAMP, repressing the activity of ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK, inhibiting the expression of COX2 mPGES1 and PGE2 by feedback, then decreased the expression of FN and CTGF.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of Pollen Typhae total flavone (PTF) on glucose and lipid metabolism in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. METHODS: The content of glucose which disappeared from the culture medium after incubation with drugs for 24 hours was determined as glucose consumption of the cells. The activity of cells was detected by XTT method. The transport of glucose was observed by (3)H-glucose uptake method. The efflux of free fatty acid (FFA) from adipocytes was observed by the concentration of FFA in the culture medium. RESULTS: The glucose concentration in culture medium was significantly decreased with a concentration-dependent effect, when PTF concentrations were from 0.025 g/L to 0.4 g/L. The toxic effect on cells appeared while PTF concentration was 0.4 g/L, and the MTT value decreased. PTF also significantly increased glucose transportation in the 3T3-L1 adipocytes as rosiglitazone (ROS) did. At the same time, FFA concentration in culture medium was significantly decreased as compared to the normal control group, while ROS-treated group did not show any difference. CONCLUSION: PTF can increase insulin sensitivity by increasing glucose transportation and consumption in the 3T3-L1 adipocytes as well as decreasing the FFA efflux from the cells.

Objective:To investigate the effect of human growth hormone releasing hormone receptor splice variant type 1 (GHRHR SV1) on the proliferation of human liver cancer HepG2 cells,and to clarify the proliferation effect of GHRHR SV1 on the human cancer cells.Methods:The GHRHR SV1 plasmids were transfected into the human HepG2 cells to construct the HepG2-SV1 cell line.HepG2 group(HepG2 cells),HepG2-empty group(HepG2-pcDNA3.0 cell line) and HepG2-SV1 group(HepG2-SV1 cells) were set up.PCR and Western blotting methods were used to identify the HepG2-SV1 cell line;CCK-8 method was used to detect prolifernation rate of cells;colony formation assay was used to detect the colony formation rate of cells;cell wound healing assay was used to evaluate the migration rate of cells.Results:The PCR and Western blotting results showed the HepG2-SV1 cell line expressed GHRHR SV1 steadily.The CCK-8 results showed that the proliferation rate of the HepG2-SV1 cells in HepG2-SV1 group was higher than that of the HepG2-pcDNA3.0 cells in HepG2-empty group(P<0.05).The colony formation assay results showed that the colony formation rate of HepG2-SV1 cells in HepG2-SV1 group was 3.5 times higher than that of the HepG2-pcDNA3.0 cells in HepG2-empty group(P<0.05).The cell wound scratch assay results showed that the migration rate of the HepG2-SV1 cells in HepG2-SV1 group was higher than that of the HepG2-pcDNA3.0 cells in HepG2-empty group(P<0.05).Conclusion:GHRHR SV1 could increase the proliferation of HepG2 cells.

Objective To explore the effects and mechanisms of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) receptor 1 antagonist (SC-19220) on proliferation,prostaglandin synthase and extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) signal pathway induced by transforming growth factor β1(TGF-β1) in glomerular mesangial cells.Methods Mouse glomerular mesangial cells (GMCs) were divided into 5 groups:control group,TGF-β1 (10 μg/L) group,TGF-β1 (10 μg/L) plus SC-19220 group (0.1,0.5,1.0 μmol/L).The proliferation of GMCs was measured by CCK-8.The PGE2 in supernatant was measured by ELISA.The expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF),laminin (LN),cyclooxygenase 2(COX2),membrane-bound prostaglandin E2 synthase 1 (mPGES1) protein and mRNA was examined by Westem blotting and real-time quantitative PCR,ERK1/2 or phospho-ERK1/2 was measured by Western blotting as well.Results TGF-β1 induced the proliferation of GMCs and increased the secretion of PGE2.Besides,TGF-β1 significantly up-regulated the expression of CTGF,LN,COX2 and mPGES1 mRNA and protein (P ＜ 0.05),and increased the expression of phospho-ERK1/2 protein (P ＜ 0.05).However,SC-19220 significantly attenuated the changes of above-mentioned parameters and their activities (P ＜ 0.05).All the effects of SC-19220 were in dose-dependent manner.Conclusions SC19220 may reduce TGF-β1-induced cell damage by suppressing the activity of ERK1/2,and feedback inhibition of COX2,mPGES1 and PGE2,thus decreases the expression of LN and CTGF.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of five external treatment methods of traditional Chinese medicine on the pain of patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) through a network Meta-analysis.Methods:The published article on the effect of external treatment methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine in patients with LDH was retrieved by computer in China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang Database, VIP, China Biomedical Database, PubMed, Cochrane Library and Web of Science. The retrieval time limit was from the establishment of the database to May 31, 2022. Two researchers independently screened the article according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted the information and evaluated the quality. Review Manger 5.4 software was used to draw the bias risk map and Stata SE 16.0 software was used to conduct the network Meta-analysis.Results:A total of 1 133 patients were included in 12 articles, and there were five kinds of external treatment methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The results of network Meta-analysis showed that except for acupoint application, scraping, Traditional Chinese Medicine iontophoresis, Traditional Chinese Medicine scalding, auricular point sticking had statistically significant differences in the effect of pain compared with conventional treatment and nursing ( P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the five external treatment methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine ( P>0.05). The cumulative ranking plot showed that scraping was the best intervention method for pain in LDH patients, with a surface under the cumulative ranking ( SUCRA) value of 80.3%. Conclusions:Scraping is the best external treatment of traditional Chinese medicine to relieve the pain of LDH patients, but it still needs to be further demonstrated by a large number of high-quality randomized controlled trials.

Objective:To explore the potential biomarkers and pathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) using bioinformatics techniques.Methods:Three DKD glomerular tissue datasets, GSE30528, GSE96804, and GSE104948, were downloaded from the gene expression database. The bioinformatics techniques, combined with machine learning, were applied to screen DKD biomarkers and establish a DKD gene diagnostic model. The CIBERSORT algorithm was applied to analyze immune cell infiltration in DKD glomerular tissue. The correlation between biomarkers and immune cells, model risk scores, and the glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of patients was investigated.Results:A three-gene model consisting of G6PC, CDH10 and TPPP3 was screened and established from 26 differentially expressed genes, which showed good diagnostic efficacy in both the training set (AUC=0.984) and validation set (AUC=0.992). Analysis of infiltrating immune cells in DKD glomerular tissue showed that γδ T cells, activated NK cells, M2 macrophages, resting dendritic cells, resting mast cells, activated mast cells, and neutrophils may be involved in the DKD process, and that G6PC, CDH10 and TPPP3 were associated with multiple immune cell infiltrations. Using the model to calculate the risk score of DKD patients, the higher the score, the lower the eGFR level, and the risk score was significantly negatively correlated with the eGFR level. Conclusions:G6PC, CDH10 and TPPP3 can be good diagnostic markers for DKD, correlate with DKD immune cell infiltration, and be used as targets for DKD diagnosis and treatment.

Objective To explore the risk factors of early venous thromboembolism (VTE) based on Caprini risk assessment model among patients with thoracoscopic lobectomy for lung. Methods From June 2015 to December 2017, retrospective analysis was used to collect the data of 28 patients with pulmonary embolism one week after thoracoscopic lobectomy for lung of Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, in observation group. And we selected 84 patients with the same operation in the same term by convenience sampling in control group according to the ratio of 1:3. Patients of two groups were scored with the Caprini risk assessment model. Single factor analysis and Logistic regression analysis were used to the risk factors in Caprini risk assessment model and related factors of lung lobectomy. Results The Caprini score of patients group in observation group was higher than that in control group with a significant difference (P＜0.01). The proportion of moderate risk and high risk in patients with VTE was 78.6% in observation group and was 20.2% in control group with a statistical difference in the risk classification (P＜ 0.01). Logistic regression analysis took patients in case group as dependent variable and 16 risk factors in clinical baseline information as the independent variable showed the body mass index≥25 kg/m2, smoking history, preoperative plasma D-dimer higher than the critical value had positive correlations with the risk of VTE after surgery (OR=13.354, 5.639, 3.084;P＜0.05). Conclusions The Caprini risk assessment model can well determine the risk factors of VTE among patients with thoracoscopic lobectomy for lung. The high risk factors of VTE of these patients may include long-term and heavy smoking, overweight and preoperative plasma D-dimer higher than the critical value.

Skeletal muscle dysfunction is a common extrapulmonary disease in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) , and about 92% of COPD patients have skeletal muscle dysfunction. In order to effectively deal with and control the skeletal muscle dysfunction in COPD patients, it is particularly important to choose a scientific and effective evaluation method to accurately and reliably assess the skeletal muscle function. This article reviews the common evaluation methods of skeletal muscle function in COPD patients from the aspects of muscle strength, muscle mass, muscle endurance, and exercise ability, and discusses the application status, advantages and disadvantages of different evaluation methods, so as to provide references for follow-up research and targeted intervention.