OBJECTIVE To investigate the mechanism of baicalin in alleviating the intestinal mucosal barrier injury in rats with intraperitoneal infection-induced sepsis through the vitamin D receptor(VDR)/nuclear factor E2-relat-ed factor 2(Nrf2)/haemoglobin oxygenase-1(HO-1)signalling pathway.METHODS Twenty-four SD rats were randomly divided into a sham-surgery group,a model group,an ulinastatin group and a baicalin group,with six rats in each group.Sepsis models were established via cecal ligation and puncture(CLP)in rats in each groups ex-cept for the sham surgery group.Six hours after modeling,the sham-surgery and the model groups received intra-peritoneal saline,while the ulinastatin and baicalin groups were administered ulinastatin at 20,000 U/kg and ba-icalin at 100 mg/kg,respectively,via intraperitoneal injection once daily for 5 consecutive days.The histopatho-logical changes in the ileum tissue of rats in each group were observed,and the levels of oxidative stress,inflam-matory factors,and the expression of related mRNA and proteins in the VDR/Nrf2/HO-1 signalling pathway were compared.RESULTS Compared with the sham-surgery group,the model group showed disordered villus ar-rangement,severe intestinal mucosal atrophy and inflammatory cell infiltration,with necrotic epithelial cell shed-ding.Additionally,in the model group,the total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC),superoxide dismutase(SOD),and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-PX)levels reduced,while the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),inter-leukin(IL)-6,and IL-1βsignificantly increased,and the expression of VDR mRNA,Nrf2 mRNA,HO-1 mR-NA,and VDR,Nrf2,and HO-1 proteins were downregulated(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,the ulinastatin group and the baicalin group showed that villus arrangement,intestinal mucosal atrophy and inflamma-tory cell infiltration got improved,the levels of T-AOC,SOD,and GSH-PX elevated,the levels of TNF-α,IL-6,and IL-1βdecreased,and expressions of VDR mRNA,Nrf2 mRNA,HO-1 mRNA,and VDR,Nrf2,and HO-1 proteins were upregulated.Moreover,all indicators in the baicalin group were superior to those in the ulinastatin group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION Baicalin can inhibit the expression of inflammatory factors and regulate the bal-ance of oxidative stress in vivo by up-regulating the VDR/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway,thereby alleviate the in-testinal mucosal barrier dysfunction caused by intraperitoneal infection-induced sepsis.

Objective:To investigate effect of SenkyunolideⅠ(Sen Ⅰ)on function of astrocytes induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS)and its mechanism.Methods:Rat neural astrocytes were induced by LPS,and the damaged cell model was constructed.Normal and injured astrocytes were treated with different concentrations of Sen Ⅰ(20,50,100,200 μmol/L),respectively.Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8,cytotoxicity was detected,and the optimal concentration of Sen Ⅰ was determined.Astrocytes were divided into control group,LPS group,LPS+Sen Ⅰ group and LPS+Sen Ⅰ+ML385[nuclear factor E2 associated factor 2(Nrf2)inhibitor]group.Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 assay,expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)was detected by immunofluorescence assay and Western blot,mRNA and protein expression of Nrf2 was detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot,contents of TNF-α and IL-1β in supernatant of cells were detected by ELISA,and expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor(GDNF)in cells was detected by Western blot.Results:Low concentrations of Sen Ⅰ(20,50 μmol/L)were not toxic to astrocytes,while high concentra-tions(100,200 μmol/L)significantly inhibit astrocyte proliferation.The optimal concentration of Sen Ⅰ was 50 μmol/L.Compared with control group,cell proliferation ability,contents of TNF-α and IL-1β in cell supernatant,and expression of GFAP in cells were significantly increased in LPS group(P<0.01),while Nrf2 mRNA and protein level and GDNF protein level in cells were significantly decreased(P<0.01);compared with LPS group,cell proliferation ability,contents of TNF-α and IL-1β in cell supernatant,and ex-pression of GFAP in LPS+Sen Ⅰ group were significantly decreased(P<0.05),while Nrf2 mRNA and protein level and GDNF protein level in cells were significantly increased(P<0.05);compared with LPS+Sen Ⅰ group,LPS+Sen Ⅰ+ML385 group could reverse the above effects(P<0.05).Conclusion:Sen Ⅰ can inhibit the over-activation and inflammatory injury of astrocytes,and the mechanism may be related to the activation of Nrf2 pathway.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the mechanism of baicalin in alleviating the intestinal mucosal barrier injury in rats with intraperitoneal infection-induced sepsis through the vitamin D receptor(VDR)/nuclear factor E2-relat-ed factor 2(Nrf2)/haemoglobin oxygenase-1(HO-1)signalling pathway.METHODS Twenty-four SD rats were randomly divided into a sham-surgery group,a model group,an ulinastatin group and a baicalin group,with six rats in each group.Sepsis models were established via cecal ligation and puncture(CLP)in rats in each groups ex-cept for the sham surgery group.Six hours after modeling,the sham-surgery and the model groups received intra-peritoneal saline,while the ulinastatin and baicalin groups were administered ulinastatin at 20,000 U/kg and ba-icalin at 100 mg/kg,respectively,via intraperitoneal injection once daily for 5 consecutive days.The histopatho-logical changes in the ileum tissue of rats in each group were observed,and the levels of oxidative stress,inflam-matory factors,and the expression of related mRNA and proteins in the VDR/Nrf2/HO-1 signalling pathway were compared.RESULTS Compared with the sham-surgery group,the model group showed disordered villus ar-rangement,severe intestinal mucosal atrophy and inflammatory cell infiltration,with necrotic epithelial cell shed-ding.Additionally,in the model group,the total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC),superoxide dismutase(SOD),and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-PX)levels reduced,while the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),inter-leukin(IL)-6,and IL-1βsignificantly increased,and the expression of VDR mRNA,Nrf2 mRNA,HO-1 mR-NA,and VDR,Nrf2,and HO-1 proteins were downregulated(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,the ulinastatin group and the baicalin group showed that villus arrangement,intestinal mucosal atrophy and inflamma-tory cell infiltration got improved,the levels of T-AOC,SOD,and GSH-PX elevated,the levels of TNF-α,IL-6,and IL-1βdecreased,and expressions of VDR mRNA,Nrf2 mRNA,HO-1 mRNA,and VDR,Nrf2,and HO-1 proteins were upregulated.Moreover,all indicators in the baicalin group were superior to those in the ulinastatin group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION Baicalin can inhibit the expression of inflammatory factors and regulate the bal-ance of oxidative stress in vivo by up-regulating the VDR/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway,thereby alleviate the in-testinal mucosal barrier dysfunction caused by intraperitoneal infection-induced sepsis.

Objective:To investigate effect of SenkyunolideⅠ(Sen Ⅰ)on function of astrocytes induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS)and its mechanism.Methods:Rat neural astrocytes were induced by LPS,and the damaged cell model was constructed.Normal and injured astrocytes were treated with different concentrations of Sen Ⅰ(20,50,100,200 μmol/L),respectively.Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8,cytotoxicity was detected,and the optimal concentration of Sen Ⅰ was determined.Astrocytes were divided into control group,LPS group,LPS+Sen Ⅰ group and LPS+Sen Ⅰ+ML385[nuclear factor E2 associated factor 2(Nrf2)inhibitor]group.Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 assay,expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)was detected by immunofluorescence assay and Western blot,mRNA and protein expression of Nrf2 was detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot,contents of TNF-α and IL-1β in supernatant of cells were detected by ELISA,and expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor(GDNF)in cells was detected by Western blot.Results:Low concentrations of Sen Ⅰ(20,50 μmol/L)were not toxic to astrocytes,while high concentra-tions(100,200 μmol/L)significantly inhibit astrocyte proliferation.The optimal concentration of Sen Ⅰ was 50 μmol/L.Compared with control group,cell proliferation ability,contents of TNF-α and IL-1β in cell supernatant,and expression of GFAP in cells were significantly increased in LPS group(P<0.01),while Nrf2 mRNA and protein level and GDNF protein level in cells were significantly decreased(P<0.01);compared with LPS group,cell proliferation ability,contents of TNF-α and IL-1β in cell supernatant,and ex-pression of GFAP in LPS+Sen Ⅰ group were significantly decreased(P<0.05),while Nrf2 mRNA and protein level and GDNF protein level in cells were significantly increased(P<0.05);compared with LPS+Sen Ⅰ group,LPS+Sen Ⅰ+ML385 group could reverse the above effects(P<0.05).Conclusion:Sen Ⅰ can inhibit the over-activation and inflammatory injury of astrocytes,and the mechanism may be related to the activation of Nrf2 pathway.

This study aims to investigate the function of lmo2363 gene in stress resistance of Liste-ria monocytogenes strain LM83-1.In this study,the lmo2363 gene deletion strain and complement-ation strain of Listeria monocytogenes were constructed using overlapping extended PCR and ho-mologous recombination techniques,and the growth ability,stress survival rate and biofilm forma-tion ability of wild,deletion strain and complementation strain were compared under different stress environments.lmo2363 gene deletion strain and complementation strain of Listeria monocy-togenes were successfully constructed in this experiment.The growth curves showed that the growth capacity of the deletion strain was weaker than the wild strain LM83-1 under 4 ℃,7％NaCl,10％NaCl,3.5％ethanol,4.0％ethanol and pH5 stress(P＜0.001).The results of stress survival test showed that the survival rate of the deletion strain was significantly lower than the wild strain after 1 h treatment with pH3 and 10 mmol/L H2 O2 stress(P＜0.010).The biofilm forming ability of the deletion strain was decreased compared with that of the wild strain(P＜0.050).This study confirmed that lmo2363 gene mediated the adaptation of LM to low temperature,high osmotic pressure,ethanol and acid stress environment and affected the formation of LM bio-film.This study laid a foundation for further exploring the function of lmo2363 gene in the stress resistance process of Listeria monocytogenes.

Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of domestic bortezomibˉbased chemotherapy for patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Methods The clinical data of 60 MM patients treated with domestic bortezomibˉbased chemotherapy regimen (the observation group) in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from April 2018 to October 2018 were retrospectively analyzed, which were compared with 112 MM patients treated with original treatment regimen (the control group) at the same hospital from November 2010 to November 2014. According to the disease stage, the patients were divided into newly diagnosed MM (NDMM) group and relapsed refractory MM (RRMM) group, and efficacy and adverse reactions of domestic bortezomib were evaluated. Results The total response rate (ORR) of the observation group was 71.7% (43/60), severe complete response (sCR) + complete response (CR) rate was 16.7% (10/60), very good partial response (VGPR) rate was 18.3% (11/60), and partial response (PR) rate was 36.7% (22/60). The ORR of NDMM group (45 cases) and RRMM group (15 cases) was 82.2% (37/45) and 40.0% (6/15), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2＝ 9.877, P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between ISS stage Ⅰ+Ⅱ and stage Ⅲ [ORR: 75.7% (28/37) vs. 65.2% (15/23), respectively; χ2＝0.764, P >0.05]. ORR and CR rates in the NDMM group and RRMM group of the observation group and the control group were not statistically different (all P>0.05). In the treatment of bortezomibˉbased chemotherapy, the common adverse reaction was peripheral neuropathy, mostly belonging to grade 1-2. Other side effects included hematocytopenia, gastrointestinal events and herpes zoster, which could be alleviated or restored to normality after supportive treatments. One patient died of pulmonary infection, respiratory failure and septic shock during the intermittent period of chemotherapy. Conclusion ORR of domestic bortezomibˉbased chemotherapy in treatment of the patients with MM is high, and the incidence of adverse reactions shows no significant increase compared with original drugs.

To enrich the resource pool of endophytic fungi from plants which produce taxol, a taxol-producing endophytic fungus TMS-26 was isolated from the stem of Taxus Media. The result of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed that TMS-26 extract exhibited similar chromatographic peaks and retention time (4.545 min) with authentic taxol. Then mass spectrometry (MS) analysis further confirmed that TMS-26 extracts contained the same mass peaks with authentic taxol ((M+Na)+=876). These indicated that the isolated endophytic fungus TMS-26 can produce taxol. According to the morphological characteristics, the molecular analysis of 18S rDNA and internal transcribed spacer nuclear rDNA gene sequence, the fungus was identified as Aspergillus fumigatus TMS-26.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the pathological course in intracranial aneurysms.

METHODSNormal intracranial artery tissue (cortex fistulization) from 1 case, ruptured aneurysms tissuses from 11 cases, unruptured aneurysm tissues from 2 cases were obtained by neurosurgical excision. Routine HE staining was used to observe histological characteristics. In situ hybridization was used to observe the expression of the monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) mRNA in the walls of the normal artery and aneurysms.

RESULTSBy the HE staining showed that the wall of the ruptured aneurysms (10 cases) and unruptured ones (2 cases) had increased intima and connectivum extima. The fibroblast in the intima was arrayed in the disorder. Monocyte-like cells can be seen in the whole aneurysm wall. In one case aneurysms wall (ruptured) glass-like fiber structure was left over, few cells could be seen. In 9 cases, mural thrombus was found. The thrombus represented with organization. In situ hybridization, MCP-1 mRNA was not detectable in the normal artery. The hybridization signal could be observed in the ruptured aneurysms (10 cases) and unruptured ones (2 cases) often in the intima. MCP-1 mRNA appeared to be expressed by fibroblast cells in its cytoplasm. Monocyte-like cells had little cytoplasm, and the signal was seldom seen. The hybridization signal was discontinuous in the intima, MCP-1 mRNA expressed where fibroblast and monocyte-like cells assembled. One ruptured aneurysm had no signal because there were no cells only glass-like fiber. Mural thrombus showed upregulated hybridization signal in the cytoplasm of fibroblasts, phlogocytes and endotheliocytes of its micrangium.

CONCLUSIONThe pathological representation of the ruptured and unruptured aneurysms and the upregulated expresion of MCP-1 in the aneurysm wall suggest that the development of aneurysm may be a course of chronic inflammation in which main inflammatory cells are monocyte-like cells.