BACKGROUND:Obesity has become a global health issue,often accompanied by complications including obesity-related muscle atrophy.While exercise has been reported to improve various obesity-related diseases,there is limited research focusing on exercise modes. OBJECTIVE:To compare the effects of moderate-intensity continuous training(MICT)and high-intensity interval training(HIIT)on obesity-related muscle atrophy in mice under the premise of the same exercise distance,providing a scientific basis for exercise interventions for obesity-related muscle atrophy. METHODS:Seventy-two male C57BL/6 mice were divided into six groups(n=12 per group):standard chow diet,standard chow diet+MICT,standard chow diet+HIIT,high-fat diet,high-fat diet+MICT,and high-fat diet+HIIT.The study evaluated the effects of 8-week treadmill training with different exercise modes on long-term high-fat diet-induced muscle atrophy by detecting muscle mass,muscle index,muscle fiber cross-sectional area,muscle lipid deposition,and the expression of muscle atrophy marker genes Murf-1 and Atrogin-1 in the gastrocnemius muscle of mice exposed to long-term high-fat diet. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared to the high-fat diet group,both MICT and HIIT improved the decrease in gastrocnemius muscle index(MICT+18.8%vs.HIIT+17.6%,not significant between the two modes),muscle fiber atrophy(MICT+15.5%vs.HIIT+13.7%,not significant between the two modes),and muscle lipid deposition(MICT-19.8%vs.HIIT-17.1%,not significant between the two modes).At the gene level,compared with the high-fat diet group,both MICT and HIIT could significantly down-regulate the expression of Murf-1(MICT-62.4%vs.HIIT-52.6%,the down-regulation caused by MICT was significantly greater than that by HIIT;P＜0.01)and Atrogin-1(MICT-43.3%vs.HIIT-29.8%,the down-regulation caused by MICT was significantly greater than that by HIIT;P＜0.01).Based on exercise mode comfort and genetic evidence,MICT mode might be more suitable for exercise interventions in obesity-related muscle atrophy.

Objective:To investigate the value of brain functional connectivity density (FCD) derived from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) in differentially diagnosing 2 subtypes of Parkinson's disease (PD): tremor dominant (TD) and non-tremor dominant (nTD), as well as its correlation with clinical symptom scores.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed; 45 PD patients (25 with TD and 20 with nTD), admitted to Department of Neurology, Drum Tower Hospital Affiliated to Medical School of Nanjing University were chosen; and 24 middle-aged and elderly volunteers matched in age, gender and years of education at the same time were chosen as normal controls (NCs). The rs-fMRI data were collected and FCD map of the whole brain was computed. The FCD differences in whole brain and brain regions enjoying different FCD were compared among the 3 groups. ROC curve was used to analyze the differential diagnostic efficacy of FCD in brain regions enjoying different FCD in TD and nTD. Correlations of FCD in brain regions enjoying different FCD with disease course, Hoehn-Yahr (H-Y) grading, unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) III scores, tremor scores and non-tremor scores were analyzed by Pearson or Spearman correlation analyses.Results:Brain regions enjoying different FCD among the TD, nTD, and NC groups were the right lingual gyrus, right orbital medial frontal gyrus, right insula, left superior temporal gyrus, left insula, right anterior central gyrus, left posterior central gyrus, right medial and paracingulate gyrus, and left angular gyrus. FCD in the right orbital medial frontal gyrus and left angular gyrus of TD group was significantly higher than that in the nTD group ( P<0.05); while FCD in the right insula, right anterior central gyrus, left posterior central gyrus and right medial and paracingulate gyrus of TD group was significantly lower than that in the nTD group ( P<0.05). Area under the curve of combined application of FCD in brain regions enjoying different FCD in differentially diagnosing TD and nTD was 0.842, with sensitivity and specificity of 80.0%. FCD in the left superior temporal gyrus and left posterior central gyrus was positively correlated with H-Y grading ( P<0.05), while FCD in the left angular gyrus was negatively correlated with H-Y grading ( P<0.05). FCD in the left superior temporal gyrus was positively correlated with UPDRS III scores ( P<0.05). FCD in the right lingual gyrus, right insula, left insula, right anterior central gyrus, left posterior central gyrus, right medial and paracingulate gyrus was negatively correlated with tremor scores ( P<0.05). FCD in the left superior temporal gyrus, right medial and paracingulate gyrus was positively correlated with non-tremor scores ( P<0.05), whereas that in the left angular gyrus was negatively correlated with non-tremor scores ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Abnormalities in FCD exist in certain brain regions of PD patients, with disparities between TD and nTD. Combined application of FCD in brain regions enjoying different FCD can effectively differentiate TD and nTD, and this FCD is also partially correlated with the symptom scores of PD patients.

The present study investigated the mechanism of components in stasis-resolving and collateral-dredging Chinese herbal medicines, including scutellarin(Scu), paeonol(Pae), and hydroxy safflower yellow A(HSYA), in the treatment of psoriasis by regulating angiogenesis and inflammation. The human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs) cultured in vitro were divided into a normal group, a model group, a VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor Ⅱ(VRI) group, and Scu, Pae, and HSYA groups with low, me-dium, and high doses. Cell viability was detected by the CCK-8 assay. Cell migration was detected by wound healing assay. Tube formation assay was used to measure the tube formation ability. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of the VEGFR2/Akt/ERK1/2 signaling pathway. The secretion levels of inflammatory cytokines IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α were detected by ELISA. The results showed that compared with the model group, all the Scu, Pae, and HSYA groups could reduce cell viability, inhibit cell migration and tube formation(P<0.05, P<0.01), and down-regulated the protein expression of VEGFR2, p-VEGFR2, Akt, p-Akt, ERK1/2, and p-ERK1/2. Scu and Pae could down-regulate VEGFR2 expression(P<0.05, P<0.01), while other groups only showed a downward trend. Scu and Pae significantly reduced IFN-γ and IL-6 levels(P<0.01), and HSYA significantly reduced the levels of IFN-γ, IL-1β, and IL-6(P<0.01). Scu, Pae, and HSYA had no significant effect on TNF-α. The results suggested that Scu, Pae, and HSYA may exert a therapeutic role in psoriasis-related angiogenesis and inflammation by inhibiting VEGFR2/Akt/ERK1/2 signaling pathway and inhibiting the secretion of IFN-γ, IL-1β, and IL-6.
Angiogenesis Inhibitors/pharmacology* ; China ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; Humans ; Neovascularization, Pathologic/drug therapy* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolism*

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of compound glycyrrhizin combined with tripterygium wilfordii polyglycosides for psoriasis.Methods:Literature search was conducted in CNKI, Wanfang, VIP databases, Sinomed, PubMed, the Cochrane Library and Embase with the deadline of September 28th, 2020. The randomly controlled trials of compound glycyrrhizin combined with tripterygium wilfordii polyglycosides in treating psoriasis was included. The publication bias and methodology quality of RCTs were evaluated according to the Cochrane 5.0.1 bias risk assessment method. The RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta analysis.Results:Ten studies with 961 patients were included, with the experimental group ( n=486) and the control group ( n=475). The results of meta-analysis showed that the total effective rate [ OR=3.16, 95% CI (2.00-4.99), P<0.001], the cure rate [ OR=2.56, 95% CI (1.94-3.61), P<0.001], the recurrence rate [ OR=0.15, 95% CI (0.04-0.60), P=0.007], the total incidence of adverse reactions [ OR=0.53, 95% CI (0.34-0.82), P=0.004], the incidence of abnormal liver function [ OR=0.17, 95% CI (0.06-0.47), P=0.001] in the experimental group were better than those in the control group. There was no significant difference on the incidence of adverse reactions of digestive tract ( P>0.05) or lower extremity or facial edema ( P>0.05) between both groups. Conclusions:Compound glycyrrhizin combined with tripterygium wilfordii polyglycosides is effective in the treatment of psoriasis than tripterygium wilfordii polyglycosides alone, and can reduce the recurrence rate and the incidence of adverse reactions. However, a large number of large samples and high-quality studies are still needed.

Objective:To observe the effect of Guizhitang （GZT） on peripheral blood monocytes， intestinal flora and AS plaque formation of ApoE^-/- mice induced by Western diet （WD）. Method:In this study， 40 12-week-old homozygous female ApoE^-/- mice were randomly divided into chow diet （CD） group （ApoE^-/-+CD）， WD group （ApoE^-/-+WD）， GZT group （ApoE^-/-+WD+GZT， 7.83 g·kg^-1） and atorvastatin （Atr） group （ApoE^-/-+WD+Atr， 3.33 mg·kg^-1）. And 10 matched C57BL/6 mice were set as wild CD control group （C57BL/6+CD）. Except the CD group， the rest groups were given WD to induce models. Treatment groups were given Guizhitang or atorvastatin orally in addition to WD， while ApoE^-/-+CD and ApoE^-/-+WD model groups were treated with the same volume of double steam water at the same time. After 4 weeks of intervention， 5 mice in each group were selected to collect the eyeball blood samples. The levels of plasma lipids were detected by automatic biochemical analyzer， and the proportion of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and its subtypes， and the expression levels of surface receptors toll like receptor 4 （TLR4） and CD36 were detected by flow cytometry， the intestinal flora of mice was detected by 16S rDNA sequencing. The remaining 5 mice in each group were intervened for 12 weeks， and the aorta was taken to detect the formation of aortic plaque by oil red O staining. Result:After intervention for 4 week， compared with C57BL/6+CD group， the levels of plasma total cholesterol （TC） and low-density lipoprotein （LDL） levels in ApoE^-/-+CD and ApoE^-/-+WD groups were increased （P<0.01）. ApoE^-/-+WD group showed increase in the proportion of monocytes， their inflammatory subtypes Ly6C^__， and TLR4 expression on monocyte surface in blood （P<0.05）. ApoE^-/-+WD group induced the imbalance of intestinal flora， with increase of Firmicutes and decrease of Verrucomicrobia in ileum of ApoE^-/- mice. Compared with ApoE^-/-+WD group， there was no significant change in blood lipid level and monocyte proportion in ApoE^-/-+WD+GZT group， but with decrease in the proportion of Ly6C^__， increase in the proportion of anti-inflammatory subtype Ly6C^-， and decrease in the expression of TLR4 and CD36 on monocyte surface （P<0.05）. ApoE^-/-+WD+GZT group showed decrease of Firmicutes and increase of Bacteroidetes and Verrucomicrobia in ileum of ApoE^-/- mice. After 12 weeks of intervention， ApoE^-/-+WD group showed increase in the number and area of aortic plaques in ApoE^-/- mice. ApoE^-/-+WD+GZT group showed decrease of the area of aortic AS plaques. Conclusion:GZT can reduce the immune damage and imbalance of intestinal flora caused by WD， then inhibit the formation of AS plaque.

Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) has been identified as an inhibitor of platelet function and an inducer of fibrinogen protein complex. However, the regulatory mechanism of FXR in hemostatic system remains incompletely understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the functions of FXR in regulating antithrombin III (AT III). C57BL/6 mice and FXR knockout (FXR KO) mice were treated with or without GW4064 (30 mg/kg per day). FXR activation significantly prolonged prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), lowered activity of activated factor X (FXa) and concentrations of thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT) and activated factor II (FIIa), and increased level of AT III, whereas all of these effects were markedly reversed in FXR KO mice. In vivo, hepatic AT III mRNA and protein expression levels were up-regulated in wild-type mice after FXR activation, but down-regulated in FXR KO mice. In vitro study showed that FXR activation induced, while FXR knockdown inhibited, AT III expression in mouse primary hepatocytes. The luciferase assay and ChIP assay revealed that FXR can bind to the promoter region of AT III gene where FXR activation increased AT III transcription. These results suggest FXR activation inhibits coagulation process via inducing hepatic AT III expression in mice. The present study reveals a new role of FXR in hemostatic homeostasis and indicates that FXR might act as a potential therapeutic target for diseases related to hypercoagulation.
Animals ; Antithrombin III ; Blood Coagulation ; Hepatocytes ; Liver ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Knockout ; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear/genetics*

OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of glucose metabolism disorders on the short-term prognosis in neonates with asphyxia. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of the neonates with asphyxia who were admitted to 52 hospitals in Hubei Province of China from January to December, 2018 and had blood glucose data within 12 hours after birth. Their blood glucose data at 1, 2, 6, and 12 hours after birth (with an allowable time error of 0.5 hour) were recorded. According to the presence or absence of brain injury and/or death during hospitalization, the neonates were divided into a poor prognosis group with 693 neonates and a good prognosis group with 779 neonates. The two groups were compared in the incidence of glucose metabolism disorders within 12 hours after birth and short-term prognosis. RESULTS: Compared with the good prognosis group, the poor prognosis group had a significantly higher proportion of neonates from secondary hospitals (48.5% vs 42.6%, CONCLUSIONS Recurrent hyperglycemia in neonates with asphyxia may suggest poor short-term prognosis, and it is necessary to strengthen the early monitoring and management of the nervous system in such neonates.
Asphyxia ; Asphyxia Neonatorum/epidemiology* ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia ; Infant, Newborn ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

Objective: To discuss the success rate and image quality in pediatric patients who used chloral hydrate before their cone beam computed tomography exam. Methods: 1752 patients aged 1 to 6 were selected for this retrospective study. They were divided into sedated group (219 cases) and non-sedated group (1 533 cases). The success rate and image quality were compared between two groups. Results: The sedated group had a higher success rate to non-sedated group: 99.5%(218/219) vs. 90.4% (1 386/1 533). The motion artifact in sedated group was lower than non- sedated group with I degree: 4.8% (15/314) vs. 20.1%(327/1 630) and II degree: 0.3%(1/314) vs. 12.2%(199/1 630). Conclusion Giving chloral hydrate to pediatric patients before their CBCT exam would improve both success rate and image quality, and reduce unnecessary radiation expose.

Objective Reports are rarely seen on the role of autophagy in missed abortion. This study aimed to explore the association of missed abortion with autophagy by detecting the expressions of the autophagy-related factors Beclin-1 and LC3 in the villus and decidua of normal pregnancy and missed abortion women so as to provide some theoretical evidence for the early prevention of missed abortion.Methods We included in the experimental group 30 missed abortion patients treated in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, from January to March 2017 and enrolled another 30 normal pregnancy women as controls. We determined the expression level of Beclin-1 mRNA in the villus and decidua by quantitative fluorescence PCR and those of Beclin-1 and LC3II/LC3I proteins by Western blot. We also positioned Beclin-1 in the villus and decidua tissues of the two groups of women by immunohistochemistry.Results Compared with the normal pregnancy women, the patients with missed abortion showed significantly up-regulated expression of Beclin-1 mRNA in the villus (1.00±0.28 vs 2.17±0.87, P<0.05) and decidua (1.75±0.41 vs 4.74±0.93, P<0.05) and those of Beclin-1 and LC3II/LC3I proteins (P<0.05). Immunohistochemistry revealed markedly increased expression of the Beclin-1 protein in the villus and decidua of the missed abortion patients (P<0.05).Conclusion Beclin-1 mRNA, Beclin-1 protein and LC3II/LC3I are all up-regulated in the villus and decidua of missed abortion patients, suggesting the involvement of autophagy in the occurrence of missed abortion, which may provide a new theoretical basis for studying the pathogenesis of missed abortion.

Objective Whether the Ubi-p63E gene regulates spermatogenesis and tumorigenesis remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the regulatory effect of Ubi-p63E on germline stem cells (GSC) in the GSC niche of the Drosophila testis. Methods We used the UAS-Gal4 system for knockdown of the Ubi-p63E gene in the specific GSCs of the Drosophila testis and divided the male flies for this experiment into three groups: control (wild-type W1118 flies), nos>Ubi-p63E RNAi (knockdown of the Ubi-p63E gene in the early germ cells), and tj>Ubi-p63E RNAi (knockdown of the Ubi-p63E gene in the cystoblasts). We determined the fertility rate of the flies by fertility tests and examined the effect of Ubi-p63E on the Drosophila testis in the GSC niche by immunofluorescence staining. Results Fertility tests manifested a significantly lower rate of fertility in the nos>Ubi-p63E RNAi and tj>Ubi-p63E RNAi groups than in the control (0.00% and 4.12% vs 97.26%, P < 0.01). Morphologically abnormal testes were observed in the nos>Ubi-p63E RNAi and tj>Ubi-p63E RNAi groups, only 22.77% and 18.86% as long as the testes of the control flies. Immunofluorescence staining revealed no morphologically normal testes in the tj>Ubi-p63E RNAi group, but quite a few masses of abnormal cells, and mostly Vasa-positive cells. Conclusion The Ubi-p63E gene affects the self-renewal ability of GSCs in the GSC niche of the Drosophila testis as well as the differentiation of GSCs via cystoblasts, and consequently leads to the formation of germ cell tumors.