Aim To explore the impact and mechanism of proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9(PCSK9)on the progression of abdominal aortic aneurysm(AAA).Methods 6～8 week old ApoE-/-mice were selected to estab-lish the AAA model.Angiotensin Ⅱ(Ang Ⅱ)was continuously infused through subcutaneous implantation of a micro-os-motic pump.The mice were fed with high-fat diet and killed after 28 days.The expression of PCSK9 in abdominal aor-tic smooth muscle cells was detected by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence in normal abdominal aortic blood vessels and AAA samples in human and mice.Primary cultured murine vascular smooth muscle cells(mVSMC)of C57BL/6 mice were treated with different concentrations of AngⅡ for 24 h,and the expression of PCSK9 mRNA and pro-tein was detected.PCSK9 overexpression and knockdown cell models were established,and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species(mtROS),mitochondrial membrane potential(MMP),mitochondrial permeability transition pore(MPTP)open-ing,and Z-DNA binding protein 1(ZBP1)protein expression were detected.Bioinformatics was used to analyze the dif-ferential expression of multiple single-cell sequencing datasets to obtain the key differentially expressed genes,and to study their expression and role in AAA.Results Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence results showed that PCSK9 expression in human and mouse AAA increased(P＜0.01),and co-localized with smooth muscle.Ang Ⅱ promoted PCSK9 expression in mVSMC in a concentration-dependent manner,the 2.0 μmol/L Ang Ⅱ group showed a 2.9-fold and 1.1-fold increase in the expression of PCSK9 mRNA and protein,respectively(P＜0.01),with the most significant effect observed.After successfully constructing PCSK9 overexpression and PCSK9 interference mVSMC models,PCSK9 overex-pression led to an increase in intracellular mtROS,a decrease in MMP,an increase in MPTP opening,and a decrease in cellular activity(P＜0.01);PCSK9 knockdown could reduce Ang Ⅱ induced increase in mtROS,decrease in MMP and MPTP opening;compared with the siNC+Ang Ⅱ group,the siPCSK9+Ang Ⅱ group showed a decrease in mtROS and an in-crease in the fluorescence brightness of MMP and MPTP(P＜0.05).Bioinformatics analysis revealed that ZBP1 was a core differentially expressed gene in AAA.Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence results showed that ZBP1 ex-pression in human and mouse AAA tissues increased,and co-localized with smooth muscle.Western blot results showed that PCSK9 overexpression or treatment with 2.0 μmol/L Ang Ⅱ could increase ZBP1 protein expression(P＜0.01),while PCSK9 knockdown could alleviate the increased ZBP1 expression caused by AngⅡ(P＜0.05).Conclusion PCSK9 may induce mitochondrial damage in smooth muscle cells,activate downstream molecule ZBP1 to cause cell damage,and promote the development of AAA.

Aim To explore the impact and mechanism of proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9(PCSK9)on the progression of abdominal aortic aneurysm(AAA).Methods 6～8 week old ApoE-/-mice were selected to estab-lish the AAA model.Angiotensin Ⅱ(Ang Ⅱ)was continuously infused through subcutaneous implantation of a micro-os-motic pump.The mice were fed with high-fat diet and killed after 28 days.The expression of PCSK9 in abdominal aor-tic smooth muscle cells was detected by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence in normal abdominal aortic blood vessels and AAA samples in human and mice.Primary cultured murine vascular smooth muscle cells(mVSMC)of C57BL/6 mice were treated with different concentrations of AngⅡ for 24 h,and the expression of PCSK9 mRNA and pro-tein was detected.PCSK9 overexpression and knockdown cell models were established,and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species(mtROS),mitochondrial membrane potential(MMP),mitochondrial permeability transition pore(MPTP)open-ing,and Z-DNA binding protein 1(ZBP1)protein expression were detected.Bioinformatics was used to analyze the dif-ferential expression of multiple single-cell sequencing datasets to obtain the key differentially expressed genes,and to study their expression and role in AAA.Results Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence results showed that PCSK9 expression in human and mouse AAA increased(P＜0.01),and co-localized with smooth muscle.Ang Ⅱ promoted PCSK9 expression in mVSMC in a concentration-dependent manner,the 2.0 μmol/L Ang Ⅱ group showed a 2.9-fold and 1.1-fold increase in the expression of PCSK9 mRNA and protein,respectively(P＜0.01),with the most significant effect observed.After successfully constructing PCSK9 overexpression and PCSK9 interference mVSMC models,PCSK9 overex-pression led to an increase in intracellular mtROS,a decrease in MMP,an increase in MPTP opening,and a decrease in cellular activity(P＜0.01);PCSK9 knockdown could reduce Ang Ⅱ induced increase in mtROS,decrease in MMP and MPTP opening;compared with the siNC+Ang Ⅱ group,the siPCSK9+Ang Ⅱ group showed a decrease in mtROS and an in-crease in the fluorescence brightness of MMP and MPTP(P＜0.05).Bioinformatics analysis revealed that ZBP1 was a core differentially expressed gene in AAA.Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence results showed that ZBP1 ex-pression in human and mouse AAA tissues increased,and co-localized with smooth muscle.Western blot results showed that PCSK9 overexpression or treatment with 2.0 μmol/L Ang Ⅱ could increase ZBP1 protein expression(P＜0.01),while PCSK9 knockdown could alleviate the increased ZBP1 expression caused by AngⅡ(P＜0.05).Conclusion PCSK9 may induce mitochondrial damage in smooth muscle cells,activate downstream molecule ZBP1 to cause cell damage,and promote the development of AAA.

ObjectiveTo explore the risk factors of stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) for patients with mild to moderate acute ischemic stroke (AIS). MethodsFrom October, 2016 to December, 2019, 321 patients with mild to moderate AIS in Beijing Bo'ai Hospital were collected and divided into SAP group (n = 71) and non-SAP group (n = 250) according to whether they were complicated with SAP. Gender, age, time from symptom onset to admission, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, scores of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at admission, and medical history were recorded. Laboratory indexes including the count of white blood cell and platelet, levels of D-dimer, hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (α-HBDH) were measured. ResultsUnivariate analysis showed that age, NIHSS score, history of hypertension, atrial fibrillation, prior cerebral infarction, the count of white blood cell and platelet, the levels of D-dimer, hs-CRP and α-HBDH were the influencing factors of SAP (P < 0.2). Multivariate Logistic regression showed that age > 70 years old (OR = 7.121, 95%CI 3.493 to 14.514, P < 0.001), NIHSS score > 4 (5 to 10, OR = 4.861, 95% CI 2.412 to 9.797, P < 0.001), the count of platelet > 300×10⁹/L (OR = 6.978, 95% CI 1.864 to 26.128, P = 0.004), and the level of D-dimer > 1.0 mg/L (OR = 3.036, 95% CI, 1.518 to 6.071, P = 0.002) were the risk factors of SAP. The model fitted the original data well (HL = 1.509，P = 0.680) and appeared a good prediction (AUC = 0.847, 95% CI 0.796 to 0.898, P < 0.001). ConclusionAge > 70 years old, NIHSS score > 4 (5 to 10), the count of platelet > 300×10⁹/L and the level of D-dimer > 1.0 mg/L were the risk factors of SAP for patients with mild to moderate AIS.

Objective:To explore the construction and effect of biobank in biological research in nursing field.Methods:Through the establishment of a biological research plan for nursing in Affiliated Jinhua Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, the biobank in biological research for nursing was constructed from aspects of biological samples, instruments and equipment, operating software, biobanking team formation, personnel training and standardized process formulation.Results:In August 2020, the Nursing Department and Central Laboratory of Affiliated Jinhua Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine established a biobank for biological research in the nursing field, formed a biobank team, conducted personnel training and formulated standardized procedures. From December 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, biological samples were collected from 264 gastric cancer patients and 56 healthy controls, mainly including whole blood, serum and urine.Conclusions:The construction of biobank for biological research in nursing field can collect abundant biological samples, which lays a foundation for subsequent independent biological research in nursing field.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between sleep quality and slow-flow in patients with acute coronary syndrome during percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI) and its impact on clinical prognosis.Methods:200 patients with ACS hospitalized in the cardiology department of Guangzhou First People's Hospital from January 2017 to October 2018 were selected. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was measured before elective PCI, and the sleep breathing of patients was monitored by micro motion sensitive mattress sleep monitoring system (MSMSMS). The patients were divided into normal sleep group (68 cases, PSQI≤7 points) and sleep disorder group (132 cases, PSQI>7 points). The levels of plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1) and nitric oxide (NO) were measured. The " slow-flow" that took place during PCI were also recorded. Major cardiac adverse events (MACE) of patients took placed during 12 months follow-up periods were recorded and compared between two groups.Results:Compared with normal sleep group, patients in sleep disorder group had higher ratio of sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (SAHS), hypoxemia and lower deep sleep (25.00% vs 10.29%, 25.76% vs 11.76%, 66.67% vs 48.53%, all P<0.05); lower level of NO and higher level of ET-1 [(28.65±3.26)μmol/L vs (30.24±4.08)μmol/L; (21.17±3.08)pg/ml vs (18.90±2.95)pg/ml, P<0.05]; more slow-flow events took place during PCI in sleep disorder group than normal sleep group (16.67 vs 5.88%, P<0.05); After 12 months of follow-up, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed patients of the two groups had significantly different cumulative non-events survival rates (19.70% vs 7.35%, Log rank=5.06, P=0.025). Conclusions:Sleep disorder increase the slow-flow phenomenon during PCI in patients with ACS and affect the clinical prognosis.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors affecting the urogenital system, accounting for 90% of renal malignancies. Traditional chemotherapy options are often the front-line choice of regimen in the treatment of patients with RCC, but responses may be modest or limited due to resistance of the tumor to anticarcinogen. Downregulated expression of organic cation transporter OCT2 is a possible mechanism underlying oxaliplatin resistance in RCC treatment. In this study, we observed that miR-489-3p and miR-630 suppress OCT2 expression by directly binding to the OCT2 3'-UTR. Meanwhile, 786-O-OCT2-miRNAs stable expression cell models, we found that miRNAs could repress the classic substrate 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP), fluorogenic substrate ,-dimethyl-4-(2-pyridin-4-ylethenyl) aniline (ASP), and oxaliplatin uptake by OCT2 both and in xenografts. In 33 clinical samples, miR-489-3p and miR-630 were significantly upregulated in RCC, negatively correlating with the OCT2 expression level compared to that in adjacent normal tissues, using tissue microarray analysis and qPCR validation. The increased binding of c-Myc to the promoter of pri-miR-630, responsible for the upregulation of miR-630 in RCC, was further evidenced by chromatin immunoprecipitation and dual-luciferase reporter assay. Overall, this study indicated that miR-489-3p and miR-630 function as oncotherapy-obstructing microRNAs by directly targeting OCT2 in RCC.

Objective To investigate the effect of renal sympathetic denervation (RSD) on the activity of renalase in dogs with chronic heart failure (CHF).Methods After induced by abdominal aorta constriction,dogs were divided into three groups according to whether they underwent double renal artery ablation:2 dogs in control group,2 dogs in sham-operated group (no renal artery ablation),and 5 dogs in RSD group (renal artery ablation).Plasma noradrenaline (NE),B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP),and renalase were determined in 5 dogs with RSD (RSD group),2 control dogs (control group),and 2 shamoperated dogs (sham-operated group).Results NE,BNP and heart rate were significantly higher and renalase was lower in CHF group than those in control group (all P ＜ 0.05).Compared to the control dogs with CHF,the levels of renalase were significantly increased in 6 weeks after RSD [(1 948.78 ±49.19) ng/ml vs (1 847.35 ±20.72)ng/ml,P =0.029],and NE [(166.30 ±7.68)pg/ml vs (181.29 ±8.57)pg/ml],and BNP [(75.10 ± 5.58)lμg/ml vs (89.79 ± 2.04) μg/ml] were decreased in 8 weeks after RSD (all P ＜ 0.05).An decreased trend of the levels of renalase was observed in 8 weeks than in 6 weeks in CHF dogs after RSD,without significant difference (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The activity of renalase in dogs with CHF can be affected by RSD.

Objective To develop a peer support demand scale for patients with malignant tumor, and to test its reliability and validity,so as to provide an assessment tool for evaluating demand of peer support in patients with malignant tumor.Methods Guided by peer support theory,with theoretical review and qualitative interview,item pool of the peer support demand scale was preliminarily made. After a two-round expert consultation and preliminary scale investigation,first draft of the items was determined. 300 patients with malignant tumor were surveyed by the first draft of the scale,so that reliability and validity of the scale were tested.Results In the peer support demand scale for patients with malignant tumor,4 factors with 21 items were included,namely demands on peer support understanding,emotion,information and evaluation,The cumulative variance contribution rate was 59.684%. The content validity (S-CVI) was 0.920. Cronbacha′s α coefficient of the internal consistency reliability was 0.815,and the retest reliability was 0.824. Conclusions Content validity and internal consistency reliability are within acceptable range,which makes it basically qualified and can be used for investigation on patients with malignant tumor about their peer support demands.

OBJECTIVETo explore the effects of principal-subordinate acupoints combination on improving myocardial ischemia, and the gene regulatory pathways for the protection of myocardial ischemia.

METHODSAccording to the random number table method, 70 SPF Wistar male rats were divided into a normal group, a model group, a LY294002 group, an insulin-like growth factors-1(IGF-1) group, a Neiguan group, an acupoint combination group and an acupoint combination + LY294002 group, 10 rats in each one. Rats in the normal group were injected with 0.9% NaCl solution, while rats in the remaining groups were treated with abdominal subcutaneous injection of isoroterenol hydrochloride to establish the rat model of myocardial ischemia. Rats in the LY294002 group and IGF-1 group were treated with injection of LY294002 solution and IGF-1 solution for 14 days. Rats in the Neiguan group were treated with electroacupuncture (EA) at "Neiguan" (PC 6) by using Han-200 EA apparatus for 10 min per treatment. Rats in the acupoint combination group were treated with EA at "Neiguan" (PC 6), "Zusanli" (ST 36) and "Guanyuan" (CV 4) by using Han-200 EA apparatus for 10 min per treatment. Rats in the acupoint combination + LY294002 group were treated with LY294002 solution for 14 days, and EA at "Neiguan" (PC 6), "Zusanli" (ST 36) and "Guanyuan" (CV 4) was given before model establishment, once a day for 21 days. EA pretreatment was given before model establishment in all acupuncture groups. The heart rate (HR) and ST segment voltage were detected before and after treatment; the myocardial pathological morphology was observed by HE staining; the expressions of P13K mRNA and Akt mRNA were tested.

RESULTSAfter modeling, HR and ST segment voltage in all intervention groups were higher than those in the normal group (all P < 0.01); after the intervention, the HR and the ST segment voltage in the acupoint combination group, IGF-1 group and IGF-1 group were improved (P < 0.01, P < 0.05), which was more significant in the acupoint combination group and Neiguan group (all P < 0.01). As for the myocardial pathological morphology, obvious myocardial ischemia was observed in the model group, and that in the LY294002 group was the most serious, and that in the acupoint combination+ LY294002 group was moderate. After intervention, the myocardial pathological damage in the IGF-1 group, Neiguan group and acupoint combination group was significant improved, which was more significant in the IGF-1 group and acupoint combination group. As for the expression of PI3K mRNA and Akt mRNA, compared with normal group, the expression of PI3K mRNA was increased in the remaining groups after modeling (P < 0.01, P < 0.05), which was more significant in the IGF-1 group and acupoint combination group (all P < 0. 01). The expression of Akt mRNA in the LY294002 group and acupoint combination + LY294002 group was reduced (P < 0. 01, P < 0.05), while that in the remaining groups was increased (P < 0.01, P < 0.05), which was more significant in the IGF-1 group and acupoint combination group (all P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe principal-subordinate acupoints combination could improve heart rate and ST segment voltage in rats with chronic myocardial ischemia, reduce myocardial pathological damage, which is superior to single selection of "Neiguan" (PC 6). The PI3K/Akt signaling pathway may be involved in the regulation mechanism of principal-subordinate acupoints combination for the protection of chronic myocardial ischemia.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Chronic Disease ; therapy ; Electroacupuncture ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; metabolism ; Male ; Myocardial Ischemia ; enzymology ; pathology ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Myocardium ; pathology ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Objective To explore the demand of peer support in tumor patients, to provide the basis for the construction and improvement of peer support systems for cancer patients. Methods Self-designed questionnaire was used to investigate the demand of peer support in 94 tumor patients.Results Results showed that among the 94 patients surveyed, 46. 8% of them had received peer support; up to 77. 6% of the patients were willing to accept peer support; three aspects of patients′ demand for peer support in a descending order were emotional demand ( 72. 34%) , information demand ( 68. 9%) and evaluation requirements ( 56. 6%) . Conclusions Tumor patients need peer support, and peer support development has a broader space.