OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Shexiang Tongxin Dropping Pill (STDP) in treating stable angina patients with phlegm-heat and blood-stasis syndrome by exercise duration and metabolic equivalents. METHODS: This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial enrolled stable angina patients with phlegm-heat and blood-stasis syndrome from 22 hospitals. They were randomized 1:1 to STDP (35 mg/pill, 6 pills per day) or placebo for 56 days. The primary outcome was the exercise duration and metabolic equivalents (METs) assessed by the standard Bruce exercise treadmill test after 56 days of treatment. The secondary outcomes included the total angina symptom score, Chinese medicine (CM) symptom scores, Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) scores, changes in ST-T on electrocardiogram and adverse events (AEs). RESULTS: This trial enrolled 309 patients, including 155 and 154 in the STDP and placebo groups, respectively. STDP significantly prolonged exercise duration with an increase of 51.0 s, compared to a decrease of 12.0 s with placebo (change rate: -11.1% vs. 3.2%, P<0.01). The increase in METs was significantly greater in the STDP group than in the placebo group (change: -0.4 vs. 0.0, change rate: -5.0% vs. 0.0%, P<0.01). The improvement of total angina symptom scores (25.0% vs. 0.0%), CM symptom scores (38.7% vs. 11.8%), reduction of nitroglycerin consumption (100.0% vs. 11.3%), and all domains of SAQ, were significantly greater with STDP than placebo (all P<0.01). The changes in Q-T intervals at 28 and 56 days from baseline were similar between the two groups (both P>0.05). Twenty-five participants (16.3%) with STDP and 16 (10.5%) with placebo experienced AEs (P=0.131), with no serious AEs observed. CONCLUSION STDP could improve exercise tolerance in patients with stable angina and phlegm-heat and blood stasis syndrome, with a favorable safety profile. (Registration No. ChiCTR-IPR-15006020).
Humans ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Angina, Stable/physiopathology* ; Aged ; Syndrome ; Treatment Outcome ; Placebos ; Tablets

Abstract: Objective　To investigate the distribution characteristics of HCV genotypes and subtypes in patients with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus, HIV)/HCV co-infection in Kunming based on the nucleocapsid protein gene sequence of HCV (hepatitis C virus). Methods　Serum was collected from HIV/HCV co-infected patients with household registration in 14 county-level cities, districts and counties under the jurisdiction of Kunming, who admitted to Yunnan Provincial Infectious Disease Hospital from March to August 2019. The viral RNA was extracted from the serum, reverse transcribed to synthesize cDNA, and the HCV nucleocapsid protein gene-specific primers were used for nested PCR amplification. The positive amplification products were sequenced, bioinformatics software such as DNAstar and MEGAX were used for sequence analysis. Results　A total of 64 samples from co-infected patients with clinical diagnosis of suspected HIV/HCV were collected and amplified by HCV nucleocapsid protein gene-specific primers, of which 17 samples were amplified positively. The results of sequence analysis showed that the sequences of 9 cases were located in the same evolutionary branch as the HCV 3b subtype sequence, and the nucleotide homology was 93.3%-95.2%; the sequences of 5 cases were located in the same evolutionary branch as the HCV 1b subtype sequence, and the nucleotide homology was 96.8%-97.6%; the sequence of one case and the subtype sequence of HCV 3a gene were located in the same evolutionary branch, and the nucleotide homology was 95.2%; the sequence of one case and HCV 6n gene subtype sequence were located in the same evolutionary branch, and the nucleotide homology was 97.9%; One case was located in the same evolutionary branch as the HCV 6u gene subtype sequence, and the nucleotide homology was 98.4%. Conclusions　HCV 1b, HCV 3a, HCV 3b, HCV 6n and HCV 6u genotypes or subtypes of HCV are prevalent in Kunming, and HCV 3b is the most prevalent genotype.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the anti-inflammatory effects of ethyl lithospermate in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 murine-derived macrophages and zebrafish, and its underlying mechanisms. METHODS: 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide (MTT) assays were performed to investigate the toxicity of ethyl lithospermate at different concentrations (12.5-100 µ mol/L) in RAW 264.7 cells. The cells were stimulated with LPS (100 ng/mL) for 12 h to establish an inflammation model in vitro, the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) were assessed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Western blot was used to ascertain the protein expressions of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) p65, phospho-STAT3 (p-STAT3, Tyr705), inhibitor of NF-κB (IκB) α, and phospho-I κB α (p-IκB α, Ser32), and confocal imaging was used to identify the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 and p-STAT3 (Tyr705). Additionally, the yolk sacs of zebrafish (3 days post fertilization) were injected with 2 nL LPS (0.5 mg/mL) to induce an inflammation model in vivo. Survival analysis, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, observation of neutrophil migration, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to further study the anti-inflammatory effects of ethyl lithospermate and its probable mechanisms in vivo. RESULTS: The non-toxic concentrations of ethyl lithospermate have been found to range from 12.5 to 100 µ mol/L. Ethyl lithospermate inhibited the release of IL-6 and TNF-α(P<0.05 or P<0.01), decreased IκBα degradation and phosphorylation (P<0.05) as well as the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 and p-STAT3 (Tyr705) in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells (P<0.01). Ethyl lithospermate also decreased inflammatory cells infiltration and neutrophil migration while increasing the survival rate of LPS-stimulated zebrafish (P<0.05 or P<0.01). In addition, ethyl lithospermate also inhibited the mRNA expression levels of of IL-6, TNF-α, IκBα, STAT3, and NF-κB in LPS-stimulated zebrafish (P<0.01). CONCLUSION Ethyl lithospermate exerts anti-Inflammatory effected by inhibiting the NF-κB and STAT3 signal pathways in RAW 264.7 macrophages and zebrafish.
Animals ; Mice ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Lipopolysaccharides ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; Zebrafish ; NF-KappaB Inhibitor alpha/metabolism* ; Interleukin-6/metabolism* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; STAT3 Transcription Factor/metabolism* ; Inflammation/metabolism* ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use*

Aim To investigate the effects of realgar on the proliferation, invasion and ferroptosis of esophageal cancer cells. Methods Different concentrations of realgar(0, 10,20, 40, 60, 80, 100 μmol·L-1)or realgar 1/2IC

Humans ; Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease/complications* ; Hoarseness/etiology*

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to identify the gene expressions of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-infected human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and to study its possible pathogenic mechanism on atherosclerosis using microarray technology. METHODS: The gene expression differences in HCMV AD169 strain-infected HUVECs were studied by the microarray technology to explore the potential molecular mechanism of HCMV infection. The qPCRs were performed to verify the transcriptome results. RESULTS: A total of 2,583 differentially expressed genes, including 407 down-regulated genes and 2,176 up-regulated genes, were detected by the systematic bioinformatics analysis. The Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses showed that the significantly differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in regulating protein kinase activity, inflammatory response, ubiquitination, protein phosphorylation, cell metabolism, and exosomes, among which 12 genes had significant changes and were screened by protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis and verified by qPCR. The experimental qPCR results were consistent with the microarray results. CONCLUSION The GO and KEGG analyses revealed that the regulation of protein kinase activity, inflammatory response, ubiquitination, protein phosphorylation, and cell metabolism played important roles in the process of endothelial cell infection. Furthermore, 12 genes were involved in the process of HCMV infection of endothelial cells and contributed to the current understanding of the infection and pathogenic mechanisms of atherosclerosis.
Humans ; Cytomegalovirus/genetics* ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; Atherosclerosis ; Protein Kinases ; RNA, Messenger

Aim To observe the effeet of changes in miR-124 expression on the proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion of HCC eells and its mecha¬nism.Methods The expression levels of miR-124 and ZEB2 were deteeted in HepG2 eells.CCK8, flow cytometry, Edu and Fran swell were used to deteet the effeets of miR-124 and ZEB2 on eell proliferation, ap¬optosis, migration and invasion.Dual lueiferase and target genes were used to prediet the targeting relation¬ship between miR-124 and ZEB2.The effeet of miR- 124 and ZEB2 on proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion-related protein expression was deteeted by Western blot.Results The expression of miR-124 in HepG2 eells was lower than that in normal liver eells L-02, while ZEB2 and miR-124 showed the opposite trend.The results of bioinformaties prediction and dual lueiferase showed that the expression of ZEB2 was neg¬ atively correlated with the expression of miR-124.Overexpression of miR-124 and silencing ZEB2 signifi¬cantly inhibited cell proliferation activity, migration and invasion ability compared with the control group; silencing miR-124 and overexpression of ZEB2 signifi¬cantly promoted cell proliferation activity, migration and invasion ability.Western blot results showed that overexpression of miR-124 and silencing ZEB2 signifi¬cantly promoted Bax expression and inhibited Bcl-2, PCNA, MMP2 and MMP9 expression levels.Silencing miR-124 and overexpression ZEB2 were the opposite.Conclusion miR-124 could negatively regulate the effects of ZEB2 on the proliferation, migration and in¬vasion of HCC cells.

This study was designed to investigate the role of activation of the ferroptosis pathway in the inhibition of esophageal cancer proliferation and metastasis by realgar, using esophageal cancer Eca109 and KYSE150 cells as the target cells. The rate of inhibition and half-inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) were measured by the CCK-8 method; clone formation ability was measured by clone formation assay; the changes in reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected by flow cytometry; the ultrastructure of the cells was observed by transmission electron microscopy; the distribution of intracellular iron particles was observed by Prussian blue staining; the expression of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) was detected by immunofluorescence staining; the scratch assay was used to detect the cell migration ability; the Transwell assay was used to detect the cell invasion ability; and western blotting was used to detect E-cadherin, Slug and N-cadherin protein expression in the cells. The results show that realgar inhibited the proliferation of Eca109 and KYSE150 cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, and the IC₅₀ of Eca109 and KYSE150 cells was 64.297 and 51.337 μmol‧L^-1, respectively. Compared with the control group, many mitochondria in the cytoplasm of Eca109 and KYSE150 cells in the realgar 2IC₅₀ group were swollen and blue-stained particles of different sizes and amounts were found, and ROS fluorescence intensity was significantly increased while GPX4 protein expression was significantly reduced (P < 0.01). Compared with the realgar group, the proliferation, migration, membrane penetration and Slug and N-cadherin protein expression were significantly increased, and the cell inhibition rate and E-cadherin protein expression were significantly decreased in Eca109 and KYSE150 cells in the realgar+ZVAD-FMK group (P < 0.05). The proliferation, migration, membrane penetration and Slug and N-cadherin protein expression were significantly decreased, and the cell inhibition rate and E-cadherin protein expression were significantly increased of Eca109 and KYSE150 cells in the realgar +erastin group (P < 0.05). The above results show that realgar inhibited the proliferation of Eca109 and KYSE150 cells and induced partial ferroptosis in the cells, and the proliferation and metastasis effects of realgar on esophageal cancer cells may work through partial ferroptosis pathway activation.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the temporal trends and characteristics associated with waist circumference (WC) among elderly Chinese people. Methods: We used data from 3,096 adults ≥ 65 years who participated in the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), an ongoing cohort study, between 1993 and 2015. We used longitudinal quantile regression models to explore the temporal trends and characteristics associated with WC. Results: WC increased gradually among the elderly Chinese population during the survey. The WC curves shifted to the right with wider distributions and lower peaks in men and women. All WC percentile curves shifted upward with similar growth rates in the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles. The WC means increased from 78 cm to 86 cm during the 22 years of our study. WC significantly increased with age and body mass index and decreased with physical activity (PA). These associations were stronger in the higher percentiles than in the lower percentiles. Conclusions WC is rising among Chinese adults ≥ 65 years. Factors affecting WC in elderly people may have different effects on different percentiles of the WC distribution, and PA was the most important protective factor in the higher percentiles of the WC distribution. Thus, different interventional strategies are needed.
Aged ; Body Mass Index ; China/epidemiology* ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Waist Circumference

The aim of the present study was to observe the activation of microglia in the prefrontal cortex of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) mice, and the expression of the marker genes of the disease-associated microglia (DAM) associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Sixty healthy adult male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into two groups, normal control (CON) group and T1DM group. Streptozocin (STZ) was injected intraperitoneally to induce T1DM mice. The spatial learning and memory function of mice was detected by Morris water maze at the 8th week after the successful model establishment. The number and activation of microglia in the prefrontal cortex of mice were detected by immunofluorescence staining and Western blot. Changes in the mRNA level of several DAM molecular markers were detected by RT-FQ-PCR. The results showed that, compared with CON mice, the fasting blood glucose of T1DM mice increased significantly, while the body weight of T1DM mice decreased remarkably (P < 0.05). The escape latency of water maze in T1DM mice was longer than that in CON mice (P < 0.05). Compared with CON group, the Iba1 protein expression and the number of microglia in prefrontal cortex of T1DM group increased significantly (P < 0.05). In addition, the mRNA levels of several DAM markers in prefrontal cortex of T1DM group were increased significantly (P < 0.05). These results suggest that the microglia are activated and transformed to DAM type in the prefrontal cortex of T1DM mice.
Animals ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 ; Hippocampus ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Microglia ; Prefrontal Cortex