OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of "Zhibian" (BL54)-toward-"Shuidao" (ST28) needling technique on the relative protein expression of the signaling pathway of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 1 (NOD1)/ receptor-interacting protein 2 (RIP2)/nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) and the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in the rats with primary dysmenorrhea (PD), so as to explore the underlying mechanism of this acupuncture technique for pain alleviation in PD. METHODS: Thirty female SD rats of SPF grade with normal estrous cycle were randomized into a blank group, a model group and an acupuncture group, 10 rats in each one. Using the intraperitoneal injection with estradiol benzoate combined with oxytocin, PD model was prepared in the model group and the acupuncture group. In the acupuncture group, during model preparation, the intervention with "Zhibian" (BL54)-toward-"Shuidao" (ST28) needling technique was delivered simultaneously, 20 min each time, once daily for consecutive 10 days. On day 11, within 30 min after the intraperitoneal injection with oxytocin, the writhing reaction (latency, frequency and score) was recorded; the morphology of uterine tissue was observed with HE staining, the contents of prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), prostaglandin F_2α (PGF_2α), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-18, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in the serum were detected using ELISA method; the relative protein expression of NOD1, RIP2, NF-κB p65, phosphorylation-NF-κB p65 (p-NF-κB p65) was detected in the uterine tissue using Western blot method; and the mRNA expression of NOD1, RIP2 and NF-κB p65 was detected with the quantitative real-time PCR employed. RESULTS: Compared with the blank group, in the model group, the writhing latency was prolonged (P<0.01), the writhing frequency and score increased (P<0.01) in the rats; the endometrial epithelial cells showed massive degeneration and necrosis, with severe endometrial edema and widespread shedding, combined with neutrophil infiltration; the serum PGE₂ content was dropped (P<0.01), while those of PGF_2α, IL-1β, IL-18, COX-2, and TNF-α elevated (P<0.01); the protein expression of NOD1, RIP2, NF-κB p65 and p-NF-κB p65, and the mRNA expression of NOD1, RIP2 and NF-κB p65 in uterine tissue increased (P<0.01). In comparison with the model group, in the acupuncture group, the writhing latency was prolonged (P<0.01), the writhing frequency and score were reduced (P<0.01) in the rats; there was less degeneration and necrosis of endometrial epithelial cells, with mild endometrial edema and very little neutrophil infiltration; the serum PGE₂ content increased (P<0.01), while those of PGF_2α, IL-1β, IL-18, COX-2, and TNF-α decreased (P<0.01); the protein expression of NOD1, RIP2, NF-κB p65 and p-NF-κB p65 and the mRNA expression of NOD1, RIP2 and NF-κB p65 in uterine tissue were dropped (P<0.05, P<0.01). CONCLUSION "Zhibian" (BL54)-toward-"Shuidao" (ST28) needling technique can alleviate the pain symptom of PD rats, and its action mechanism may be related to inhibiting the active expression of NOD1/RIP2/NF-κB signaling pathway in the uterine tissue, thereby reducing the inflammatory response.
Animals ; Female ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; Signal Transduction ; Dysmenorrhea/metabolism* ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Acupuncture Points ; Humans ; Acupuncture Analgesia ; Nod1 Signaling Adaptor Protein/metabolism* ; Receptor-Interacting Protein Serine-Threonine Kinase 2/metabolism* ; Acupuncture Therapy

OBJECTIVE: To explore the possible mechanism by which the "Zhibian" (BL54) toward "Shuidao" (ST28) acupuncture improves ovarian function in mice with poor ovarian response (POR) by observing its effect on gut microbiota. METHODS: A total of 35 SPF-grade C57BL/6 female mice were screened for normal estrous cycles using vaginal smears, and 30 mice were selected. Ten mice were assigned to the blank group, while the remaining mice were used to establish the POR model by intragastric administration of tripterygium wilfordii suspension. The successfully modeled mice were randomly divided into a model group and an acupuncture group, with 10 mice in each group. After modeling, the acupuncture group received the "Zhibian" (BL54) toward "Shuidao" (ST28) acupuncture method once daily for 20 minutes per session. Ovulation induction began the day after the intervention, and samples were collected after ovulation induction. Vaginal cytology was used to observe estrous cycle changes, and the number of oocytes obtained, ovarian wet weight, and ovarian index were recorded. Serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) were detected using ELISA. HE staining was used to observe ovarian histology. Gut microbiota was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology. Western blot was used to detect the relative protein expression levels of Occludin and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) in colonic tissue. Correlation analysis was conducted among serum hormone indexes, the number of oocytes obtained, ovarian index and gut microbiota. RESULTS: Compared with the blank group, the model group showed a higher estrous cycle disorder rate (P<0.01), increased serum FSH and LH levels, and a higher LH/FSH ratio (P<0.01), while the number of oocytes obtained, ovarian wet weight, ovarian index, and serum E2 and AMH levels were significantly reduced (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the acupuncture group showed a lower estrous cycle disorder rate (P<0.01), decreased serum FSH and LH levels, and a lower LH/FSH ratio (P<0.01), along with an increased number of oocytes obtained, higher ovarian wet weight, ovarian index, and elevated serum AMH and E2 levels (P<0.01, P<0.05). The blank group had a large number of well-developed primordial follicles, with abundant and closely arranged follicles at various stages. In the model group, there was a significant increase in the number of atretic follicles, a reduction in the number of follicles at various stages, and loosely arranged ovarian tissue. Compared with the blank group, the model group showed a significant decrease in the number of normal follicles (P<0.01) and an increase in the number of atretic follicles (P<0.01). The acupuncture group showed a reduction in atretic follicles and an increase in the number of follicles at various stages compared with the model group, with a significant increase in normal follicles (P<0.01) and a decrease in atretic follicles (P<0.01). Compared with the blank group, the model group exhibited reduced gut microbiota diversity and richness, with significantly lower Chao1 and Shannon indices (P<0.01), and a greater clustering distance from the blank group. The model group also showed an increase in the relative abundance of Firmicutes_D, Verrucomicrobiota, Paramuribaculum, Dubosiella, and Muribaculum (P<0.01, P<0.05), while the relative abundance of Firmicutes_A and the relative protein expression of Occludin and ZO-1 in colonic tissue were decreased (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the acupuncture group showed improved gut microbiota diversity and richness, with increased Chao1 and Shannon indices (P<0.05), and a clustering distance closer to the blank group. The acupuncture group exhibited reduced relative abundance of Firmicutes_D, Verrucomicrobiota, and Muribaculum (P<0.05, P<0.01), while the relative abundance of Firmicutes_A and the relative protein expression of Occludin and ZO-1 were significantly increased (P<0.01, P<0.05). Correlation analysis indicated a relationship between gut microbiota and serum hormone indicators, as well as the ovarian index. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that the metabolic pathways of the intersecting species were related to amino acid biosynthesis and nucleotide metabolism. CONCLUSION The "Zhibian" (BL54) toward "Shuidao" (ST28) acupuncture method improves ovarian function in POR mice, and its mechanism may be related to regulating gut microbiota structure and maintaining intestinal barrier homeostasis.
Animals ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Mice ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Humans ; Ovary/physiopathology* ; Acupuncture Points ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone/metabolism* ; Luteinizing Hormone/metabolism* ; Estrous Cycle ; Anti-Mullerian Hormone/blood*

Severe muscle injury is hard to heal and always results in a poor prognosis. Recent studies found that extracellular vesicle-based therapy has promising prospects for regeneration medicine, however, whether extracellular vesicles have therapeutic effects on severe muscle injury is still unknown. Herein, we extracted apoptotic extracellular vesicles derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs-ApoEVs) to treat cardiotoxin induced tibialis anterior (TA) injury and found that MSCs-ApoEVs promoted muscles regeneration and increased the proportion of multinucleated cells. Besides that, we also found that apoptosis was synchronized during myoblasts fusion and MSCs-ApoEVs promoted the apoptosis ratio as well as the fusion index of myoblasts. Furthermore, we revealed that MSCs-ApoEVs increased the relative level of creatine during myoblasts fusion, which was released via activated Pannexin 1 channel. Moreover, we also found that activated Pannexin 1 channel was highly expressed on the membrane of myoblasts-derived ApoEVs (Myo-ApoEVs) instead of apoptotic myoblasts, and creatine was the pivotal metabolite involved in myoblasts fusion. Collectively, our findings firstly revealed that MSCs-ApoEVs can promote muscle regeneration and elucidated that the new function of ApoEVs as passing inter-cell messages through releasing metabolites from activated Pannexin 1 channel, which will provide new evidence for extracellular vesicles-based therapy as well as improving the understanding of new functions of extracellular vesicles.
Creatine/metabolism* ; Extracellular Vesicles ; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism* ; Myoblasts/metabolism* ; Regeneration ; Connexins/metabolism*

The situation of population aging is grim.And scientific and technological innovation is an important strategic support means to solve the problem of population aging.President Xi Jinping has put forward the guiding ideology of "Four Facing" of scientific and technological innovation, pointing out the direction of using science and technology to support the high-quality development of the aging cause and to realize healthy aging.The scientific and technological innovation of population aging has always been highly integrated with exploring international science frontiers, serving main economic sectors, meeting major national needs and safeguarding people's life and health.This paper elaborates on the deep integration between the aging population and the "four facing" of scientific and technological innovation, in order to better construct a new development pattern, and for science to help actively cope with the smooth implementation of the national strategy of population aging.

【Objective】 To study the technology of separating and purifying C1 esterase inhibitor (C1-INH) by using the waste washing liquid as raw materia during the preparation of human prothrombin complex (PCC) l. 【Methods】 C1-INH was isolated and purified by a two-step method of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000 precipitation and cation chromatography. The pH of raw materials and the concentration of PEG4000 were adjusted to investigate the optimal conditions of PEG4000 precipitation method. After PEG was precipitated and centrifuged, the supernatant is treated as the loading solution for cation exchange chromatography, using Fractogel EMD SE HiCap(M) gel and CM Sepharose FF gel for ion exchange chromatography. The most suitable gel and separation conditions were selected by comparing the C1-INH antigen yield, activity yield and specific activity. 【Results】 Under the condition of pH 6.1, when the mass fraction of PEG4000 was 14%, the recovery rate of C1 esterase inhibitor was close to 70%, and the removal rate of ceruloplasmin was more than 95% after stirring for 10 minutes. As fractogel EMD SE HiCap(M) gel was used for cation exchange chromatography, when the eluent salt concentration was 0.25 M sodium chloride, the activity yield of C1 esterase inhibitor was greater than 80%, and the specific activity was greater than 5 IU/mg. 【Conclusions】 Using the waste washing liquid as the raw material during the preparation of PCC, the C1 esterase inhibitor with high specific activity can be prepared through PEG precipitation and purification by Fractogel EMD SE HiCap(M) ion exchange chromatography.

Objective:To observe the changes of varicella zoster virus (VZV)-DNA load in aqueous humour samples in VZV-induced acute retinal necrosis (ARN) in the early stages of antiviral treatment.Methods:A retrospective observational clinical study. From April 2016 to April 2018, 24 patients with 24 eyes of VZV-induced ARN who were diagnosed by Department of Ophthalmology, Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University and received complete aqueous humor sampling were included in the study. Among them, there were 13 males with 13 eyes, 11 females with 11 eyes; 12 left eyes and 12 right eyes; the age was 52.0±9.5 years old (39-71 years old). The time from the onset of ocular symptoms to the diagnosis of ARN was 16.6±6.1 days (7-30 days). Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and ultra-wide-field fundus imaging were performed in all affected eyes. The BCVA examination was carried out using the Snellen visual acuity chart, which was converted into the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) visual acuity. All patients were given intravitreal injection of 40 mg/ml ganciclovir 0.1 ml (including 4 mg of ganciclovir), 2 times a week, until the active necrotizing retinal lesions subsided, at most after the diagnosis 4 weeks, with a maximum of 9 injections. The follow-up period was 12.8±5.6 months. The aqueous humor samples were collected at presentation and 4, 7, 14, 21, 28 days after the initiation of antiviral therapy, and the VZV-DNA load was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. A plateau phase and a logarithmic reduction phase of the DNA load changes were observed after antiviral treatment began. Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare and analyze the differences in BCVA between the eyes at baseline and last follow-up.Results:The mean viral load at presentation was 8.6×10 7±1.3×10 8 copies/ml. The initial plateau phase last for an average of 7.4±2.4 days. In the following logarithmic reduction phase, the mean slope of the decline in viral load was -0.13±0.04 log/day, and the expected time for half reduction of the initial viral load was 2.5±0.7 days. After 28 days antiviral treatment, the viral load decreased to 1.7×10 5±1.8×10 5 copies/ml. In the course of the disease, rhegmatogenous retinal detachment occurred in 16 eyes. Before treatment and at the last follow-up, the logMAR BCVA of the affected eye was 1.1±0.6 and 0.8±0.7, respectively. The results of correlation analysis showed that the logMAR BCVA at the last follow-up was correlated with the initial VZV-DNA load ( r=0.467, P=0.033). Conclusion:The VZV-DNA load in the aqueous humor of eyes with VZV-induced ARN is significantly decreased after antiviral treatment, which is closely related to the clinical process of ARN.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic joint disease,whose main pathological changes are the degeneration of articular cartilage and secondary bone hyperplasia.The limitation of current treatment methods including pain relief and joint replacement surgery is that they cannot fundamentally improve the damage of articular cartilage.The emergence of disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOAD) may break the above limitations.They fundamentally inhibit the structural degeneration of articular cartilage by participating in the regulation of cartilage metabolic balance, regulation of subchondral bone remodeling,and control of local inflammation.Thereby,OA patients will get symptom improvement including pain relief and joint function restoration,delay the artificial joint replacement surgery, and improve the quality of life. There are still no DMOAD drugs widely available on the market worldwide.This paper reviews the background of R&D,the classification of mechanisms of action and research progress of representative drugs under different inechanisms so as to provide reference for future research.

【Objective】 To explore the effects of nerve growth factor （NGF） on bladder function and axon injury repair in rats with traumatic spinal cord injury （t-SCI） so as to explore its molecular mechanism. 【Methods】 Traumatic spinal cord injury model was constructed in 30 male SD rats by modified Allen’s beating method. The rats were randomly divided into sham-operation group， injury group and NGF group， with 10 rats in each group. We used the BBB score to observe the motor function of the rats’ hind limbs before and after the operation. The BL-420 biometer experimental system detected the urodynamics. Six anterior roots of the left lumbar taken from the distal end of the anastomosis were stained with toluidine blue， and the number of myelinated axons was counted. We used HE to stain rat bladder tissue， TUNEL to stain the rats’ severely injured spinal cord， and observed the spinal cord apoptosis rate. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expressions of Raf-1， p-MEK-2， MEK-2， ERK1/2， and p-ERK1/2 in spinal cord tissue. 【Results】 The BBB score results showed that there was no difference in the scores of the sham-operation group， the injury group and the NGF group before the operation. After the operation， the scores of the injury group and the NGF group were significantly lower than those in the sham-operation group （P<0.05）. The maximum detrusive pressure and the number of axons were significantly lower in the injury group than in the sham-operation group and the NGF group （P<0.05）， but the residual urine volume and bladder cell apoptosis rate in the injury group were notablely higher than those in the other two groups （P<0.05）. HE staining results showed that bladder edema in the injury group was severe and the detrusor muscle structure was loose， while the NGF group had reduced bladder injury. Western blot results showed that the protein ratio of p-ERK1/2/ERK1/2 and p-MEK-2/MEK-2 and the expression of Raf-1 in the injury group were significantly higher than those in the sham operation group and NGF group （P<0.05）. However， there was no significant difference between the sham operation group and the NGF group in maximum detrusive pressure， the number of myelin axons， residual urine volume， bladder cell apoptosis rate， or protein （P>0.05）. 【Conclusion】 NGF may hinder the conduction of MAPK/ERK pathway， thereby affecting the repair of axon damage and improving the bladder function of t-SCI rats.

Using the enterprise resource planning(ERP)management mode,the paper analyzed the present medical insurance payment audit accounts at public hospitals,and probed into the establishment of an information management platform for medical insurance payment audit accounts in the ERP environment.The purpose is to perfect the management of medical insurance payment audit accounts,increase the efficiency of hospital's working capital,strengthen the quality and efficiency of hospital management.

Objective To explore the effect of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) on proliferation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and related mechanism.Methods The bone marrow MSCs were isolated from male Sprague Dawley rats and cultured in vitro.The flow cytometer was used to identify the bone marrow MSCs by detecting positive labels (CD29 and CD90) and negative labels (CD34 and CD45).The advanced glycation end products-bovine serum albumin (AGE-BSA),one of the AGEs,was used in this study.The methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) method was used to detect the effect of AGE-BSA on proliferation of the bone marrow MSCs.In MTT test,there were 3 groups:AGE-BSA group,BSA group,and control group.In AGE-BSA group,different doses of AGE-BSA (0,25,50,100 and 200 μg/ml) was used to stimulate the bone marrow MSCs for 6 h,12 h or 24 h.In BSA group,the 200 μg/ml BSA was used to stimulate the bone marrow MSCs for 6 h,12 h or 24 h.Gene chips detection was used to detect change of genes expression in bone marrow MSCs.Results The proliferation of the bone marrow MSCs could be inhibited by AGE-BSA,in a dose- and time-related manner.Compared with the BSA group,after being treated with 100 μg/ml AGE-BSA for 24 h or 200 μg/ml AGE-BSA for 12 h and 24 h,the proliferation of the bone marrow MSCs decreased obviously.The gene chips detection found that there were changes in expression of 17 genes in the bone marrow MSCs after being treated with AGE-BSA (200 μ.g/ml) for 12 h or 24 h,and the genes were same at the two time points.Among 17 genes,the expression of 12 genes increased,including four inflammatory factors (CCL3,CCL2,CCL4 and IL-1β),and 5 genes decreased.Conclusion AGE-BSA can inhibit the proliferation of bone marrow MSCs,which may be related to the onset of the diabetic osteoporosis.