OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of Qingda Granule (QDG) in ameliorating hypertension-induced cardiac damage and investigate the underlying mechanisms involved. METHODS: Twenty spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were used to develope a hypertension-induced cardiac damage model. Another 10 Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats were used as normotension group. Rats were administrated intragastrically QDG [0.9 g/(kg•d)] or an equivalent volume of pure water for 8 weeks. Blood pressure, histopathological changes, cardiac function, levels of oxidative stress and inflammatory response markers were measured. Furthermore, to gain insights into the potential mechanisms underlying the protective effects of QDG against hypertension-induced cardiac injury, a network pharmacology study was conducted. Predicted results were validated by Western blot, radioimmunoassay immunohistochemistry and quantitative polymerase chain reaction, respectively. RESULTS: The administration of QDG resulted in a significant decrease in blood pressure levels in SHRs (P<0.01). Histological examinations, including hematoxylin-eosin staining and Masson trichrome staining revealed that QDG effectively attenuated hypertension-induced cardiac damage. Furthermore, echocardiography demonstrated that QDG improved hypertension-associated cardiac dysfunction. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and colorimetric method indicated that QDG significantly reduced oxidative stress and inflammatory response levels in both myocardial tissue and serum (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Both network pharmacology and experimental investigations confirmed that QDG exerted its beneficial effects in decreasing hypertension-induced cardiac damage by regulating the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)/angiotensin II (Ang II)/Ang II receptor type 1 axis and ACE/Ang II/Ang II receptor type 2 axis.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Hypertension/pathology* ; Renin-Angiotensin System/drug effects* ; Rats, Inbred SHR ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Male ; Rats, Inbred WKY ; Blood Pressure/drug effects* ; Myocardium/pathology* ; Rats ; Inflammation/pathology*

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a diabetic ocular complication that can lead to poor vision and blindness. This experiment aimed to investigate the ameliorative effect and its mechanism of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) eye drops on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) in rats. All experiments were approved by the Animal Research Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Animal welfare and the animal experimental protocols were strictly consistent with related ethics regulations of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. PZSHUTCM 211115004). Diabetes mellitus was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ into rats. Two months later, PNS solution was dropped binocular twice per day at 6 h intervals at dose of 20, 40, and 80 mg·kg^-1 continuously for 1 month. The morphological structure and activation of microglia of the retina were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemical assay. The disruption of the blood-retina barrier (BRB) was conducted by the Evans blue dye leakage assay. The number of acellular capillaries in the retina was assessed by digesting and hematoxylin-eosin staining assay. The number of retinal leukocyte adhesion was observed by fluorescein isothiocyanate-coupled concanavalin A lectin labeling assay. The serum expression of inflammatory factors was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Western blot experiments were used to detect the expression of relevant proteins in retinal tissue and transcriptional activation of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB). The results revealed that PNS eye drops significantly increased the thickness of the retina, decreased the number of acellular capillaries, and up-regulated the expression of the tight junction proteins claudin-1 and occludin, thereby alleviating BRB damage. In addition, PNS eye drops were also able to significantly reduce leukocyte adhesion and microglia activation, the expression of inflammatory factors in serum, and the nuclear translocation of retinal p65 proteins, effectively inhibiting the occurrence of retinal inflammation. The above results showed that PNS eye drops played a role in improving NPDR by inhibiting the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway and reducing inflammation.

Objective: To examine the clinical value of fluorescence-guided indocyanine green (ICG) laparoscopic anatomical hepatectomy in the treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: Data from patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma and who underwent laparoscopic hepatectomy with ICG fluorescence navigation in the Department of Liver Surgery and Liver Transplantation Center of West China Hospital between September 2020 and May 2022 were retrospectively collected. There were 53 males and 19 females, with an age of (55.5±12.9)years(range:42.6 to 68.4 years). Among them, 13 of the cases underwent laparoscopic anatomical liver resection(LALR) guided by tans-arterial ICG,43 of the cases received LAIR guided by portal vein negative ICG, and 16 of the cases received LALR positive by portal vein. Comparison among the three groups was performed by one-way ANOVA; and the rank sum test was used for comparison between groups. The counting data was expressed as percentage,and the χ² test or Fisher's exact probability method was used for comparison between groups. Results: (1) Postoperative pathology: Resection R0 was achieved in all operations. The maximum tumor diameter of the patients in the arterial staining group, the reverse staining group, and the positive staining group(M (IQR)) was 2.5 (2.4) cm, 3.0 (2.5) cm and 3.0(2.4) cm,respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in the maximum tumor diameter between the three groups (P=0.364). The minimum tumor margin was 1.1 (1.1) cm, 1.0 (1.0) cm, 1.1 (1.6) cm in the the arterial staining group, reverse staining group and the positive staining group, respectively. There was no significant difference in the margin among the three groups (P=0.878). (2) Operation conditions: the operation time of the arterial staining group, the negative staining group, and the positive portal staining group was (348±93)minutes,(277±112)minutes,and (295±116)minutes,respectively. There were no significant differences in operation time among the three groups (P=0.134). The intraoperative blood loss of the three groups was 80(150)ml,200(350)ml,and 100(150)ml,respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in intraoperative bleeding volume between the three groups(P=0.743). All cases were not transfused during the operation and were not converted to laparotomy. ALT in the arterial staining group was higher than in the negative staining group in the first two days after the operation ((559±398)IU/L307(257) IU/L, q=235.5,P=0.004;(611±389)IU/L(331±242) IU/L, q=265.2, P=0.002). There was only one case of a grade III complication (Clavien-Dindo grading system) postoperative complication in the negative and positive staining group of the portal vein, respectively. Tumor markers in all patients decreased to the normal range after 2 months of operation. Conclusion: Laparoscopic anatomical hepatectomy guided by ICG fluorescence through arterial staining and portal vein staining is safe and feasible for primary hepatocellular carcinoma treatment.

Aim To develop an LC-MS/MS method for the determination of prucalopride(PCP)in human plasma.Methods Prucalopride -13CD3(dPCP)was used as the internal standard.The analytes were extracted from human plasma through liquid-liquid extraction method using ethyl acetate, followed by being dried, and then the reconstitution was injected into LC-MS/MS systems.Agilent ZORBAX SB C18(3.0×100 mm, 3.5 μm)column and isocratic elution system composing of methanol and 1 mmol·L-1 ammonium acetate(80:20, V/V)provided chromatographic separation of PCP and dPCP.AB Sciex API4000 mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source in positive ion mode was employed for mass detection, and data acquisition was carried out in multiple reaction monitoring(MRM)mode.The mass transition ion-pair was followed as m/z 368.4/196.0 for PCP and m/z 374.4/198.0 for dPCP.Results PCP and dPCP were eluted at 3.6 min, with no interference in human blank plasma.PCP in human plasma showed good linearity over the concentration range of 0.058 96-7.547 μg·L-1 with the correlation coefficient of 0.996 3-0.999 6.The lower limit of quantitation of this method was 0.058 96 μg·L-1.The intra-batch and inter-batch accuracy ranged from 98.29% to 108.2%, with good precision(CV<5.2%).The average matrix factors of normal, haemolysed and lipaemic matrix human samples all ranged from 96.48% to 106.3% with CV less than 8.39%.The average extraction recoveries of PCP at low, medium and high concentrations were 89.88%, 95.27% and 94.52% respectively, with CV less than 7.21%.PCP was stable in human samples after 6 h at room temperature, 60 h at -20 ℃, 56 days or three freeze-thaw cycles at -80 ℃; meanwhile, the processed plasma samples remained stable after being stored for 24 hours in autosampler at 8 ℃.Furthermore, PCP in human blood samples was proved to be stable after 4 h at room temperature.Conclusions The present LC-MS/MS method for the determination of PCP in human plasma was convenient, accurate, sensitive, stable, specific and reproducible and was proved to be suitable for the clinical pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence studies of PCP preparations.

The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of circRNA-0028171 on the apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells induced by arsenic trioxide (As₂O₃). Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with 0-15 μmol/L As₂O₃ for 24 h. Then, cellular viability was measured by MTT assay. The expression levels of circRNA-0028171, Bcl-2 and Bax mRNA were detected by real-time quantitative PCR. Bcl-2/Bax protein ratio was detected by Western blot. Whether circRNA-0028171 was involved in the regulation of HUVECs by As₂O₃ was investigated by transfection with overexpression plasmid of circRNA-0028171 and siRNA. The results showed that compared with the control group, As₂O₃ group showed decreased cellular viability, reduced Bcl-2/Bax mRNA and protein ratios, and significantly lower expression of circRNA-0028171. Overexpression of circRNA-0028171 inhibited apoptosis of HUVECs induced by As₂O₃. Knockdown of circRNA-0028171 by siRNA promoted As₂O₃-induced apoptosis in HUVECs. These results suggest that circRNA-0028171 is involved in the vascular endothelial cell apoptosis induced by As₂O₃.
Humans ; Arsenic Trioxide/pharmacology* ; RNA, Circular ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein/metabolism* ; RNA, Small Interfering/metabolism* ; Apoptosis ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/metabolism* ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells/metabolism* ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the combination of Naoxintong Capsule with standard care could further reduce the recurrence of ischemic stroke without increasing the risk of severe bleeding. METHODS: A total of 23 Chinese medical centers participated in this trial. Adult patients with a history of ischemic stroke were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio using a block design to receive either Naoxintong Capsule (1.2 g orally, twice a day) or placebo in addition to standard care. The primary endpoint was recurrence of ischemic stroke within 2 years. Secondary outcomes included myocardial infarction, death due to recurrent ischemic stroke, and all-cause mortality. The safety of drugs was monitored. Results were analyzed using the intention-to-treat principle. RESULTS: A total of 2,200 patients were enrolled from March 2015 to March 2016, of whom 143 and 158 in the Naoxintong and placebo groups were lost to follow-up, respectively. Compared with the placebo group, the recurrence rate of ischemic stroke within 2 years was significantly lower in the Naoxintong group [6.5% vs. 9.5%, hazard ratio (HR): 0.665, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.492-0.899, P=0.008]. The two groups showed no significant differences in the secondary outcomes and safety, including rates of severe hemorrhage, cerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage (P>0.05). CONCLUSION The combination of Naoxintong Capsule with standard care reduced the 2-year stroke recurrence rate in patients with ischemic stroke without increasing the risk of severe hemorrhage in high-risk patients. (Trial registration No. NCT02334969).
Adult ; Humans ; Secondary Prevention/methods* ; Ischemic Stroke ; Stroke/prevention & control* ; Cerebral Hemorrhage/complications* ; Double-Blind Method ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors

Objective: To investigate the incidence and trend of short-term outcomes among preterm infants born <34 weeks' gestation. Methods: A secondary analysis of data from the standardized database established by a multicenter cluster-randomized controlled study "reduction of infection in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) using the evidence-based practice for improving quality (REIN-EPIQ) study". This study was conducted in 25 tertiary NICU. A total of 27 192 infants with gestational age <34 weeks at birth and admitted to NICU within the first 7 days of life from May 2015 to April 2018 were enrolled. Infants with severe congenital malformation were excluded. Descriptive analyses were used to describe the mortality and major morbidities of preterm infants by gestational age groups and different admission year groups. Cochran-Armitage test and Jonckheere-Terpstra test were used to analyze the trend of incidences of mortality and morbidities in 3 study-years. Multiple Logistic regression model was constructed to analyze the differences of outcomes in 3 study-years adjusting for confounders. Results: A total of 27 192 preterm infants were enrolled with gestational age of (31.3±2.0) weeks at birth and weight of (1 617±415) g at birth. Overall, 9.5% (2 594/27 192) of infants were discharged against medical advice, and the overall mortality rate was 10.7% (2 907/27 192). Mortality for infants who received complete care was 4.7% (1 147/24 598), and mortality or any major morbidity was 26.2% (6 452/24 598). The incidences of moderate to severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia, sepsis, severe intraventricular hemorrhage or periventricular leukomalacia, proven necrotizing enterocolitis, and severe retinopathy of prematurity were 16.0% (4 342/27 192), 11.9% (3 225/27 192), 6.8% (1 641/24 206), 3.6% (939/25 762) and 1.5% (214/13 868), respectively. There was a decreasing of the overall mortality (P<0.001) during the 3 years. Also, the incidences for sepsis and severe retinopathy of prematurity both decreased (both P<0.001). However, there were no significant differences in the major morbidity in preterm infants who received complete care during the 3-year study period (P=0.230). After adjusting for confounders, infants admitted during the third study year showed significantly lower risk of overall mortality (adjust OR=0.62, 95%CI 0.55-0.69, P<0.001), mortality or major morbidity, moderate to severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia, sepsis and severe retinopathy of prematurity, compared to those admitted in the first study year (all P<0.05). Conclusions: From 2015 to 2018, the mortality and major morbidities among preterm infants in Chinese NICU decreased, but there is still space for further efforts. Further targeted quality improvement is needed to improve the overall outcome of preterm infants.
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/epidemiology* ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Mortality/trends* ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Premature, Diseases/epidemiology* ; Patient Discharge ; Retinopathy of Prematurity/epidemiology* ; Sepsis/epidemiology*

Objective: To describe the distribution characteristics of coronary heart disease in adult twins recruited from Chinese Twin Registry (CNTR), and provide clues and evidence for the effect of genetic and environmental influences on coronary heart disease. Methods: By using the data of CNTR during 2010-2018, a total of 34 583 twin pairs aged ≥18 years who completed questionnaire survey and had related information were included in the current study to analyze the population and area distribution characteristics of coronary heart disease. Random effect models were used to compare the differences between groups. The concordane rate of coronary heart disease were calculated respectively in monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs and dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs to estimate the heritability. Results: The twin pairs included in this analysis were aged (34.2±12.4) years. The overall prevalence rate of coronary heart disease in twin pairs was 0.7%. Twin pairs who were women, older, obese and lived in northern China had higher prevalence of coronary heart disease (P<0.05). Intra-pair analysis in the same-sex twin pairs found that the concordane rate of coronary heart disease was higher in MZ twin pairs (25.3%) than in DZ twins (7.4%), and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). The overall heritability of coronary heart disease was 19.3% (95%CI: 11.8%-26.8%). Stratified by gender, age and area, the concordane rate was still higher in MZ twin pairs than in DZ pairs. Participants who were women, aged 18-30 years or ≥60 years and lived in northern China had a higher heritability of coronary heart disease. Conclusion: The distribution of coronary heart disease in twin pairs differed in populations and areas. The prevalence of coronary heart disease was affected by genetic factors, but the effect varied with age, gender and area.
Adolescent ; Adult ; China/epidemiology* ; Coronary Disease/genetics* ; Diseases in Twins/genetics* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Twins, Dizygotic ; Twins, Monozygotic/genetics*

Objective: To summarize the clinical characteristics of inflammasomopathies, enhance the recognition of those diseases, and help to establish the early diagnosis. Methods: The clinical manifestations including fever, rash, systems involvement as well as laboratory results and genotypic characteristics of 35 children with inflammasomopathies diagnosed by the Department of Pediatrics, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. Results: A total of 35 cases of inflammasomopathies were diagnosed, and 20 of them were boys while 15 were girls. Inflammasomopathies patients have early onset, the age of onset as well as diagnostic age were 1 (0,7) and 7 (3,12), respectively. Among those patients, 10 had familial mediterranean fever, 3 had mevalonate kinase deficiency, 15 cases had NLRP3 gene associated autoinflammatory disease, 4 cases had NLRP12-associated autoinflammatory disease, 2 cases had familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome 3, and 1 case had familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome 4. A total of 34 cases (97%) showed recurrent fever, 27 cases (77%) had skin rashes, while 11 cases (31%), 10 cases (29%), and 8 cases (23%) were presented with lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly and growth retardation, respectively. In terms of systemic involvement, there were 18 cases (51%), 12 cases (34%), 8 cases (23%), and 5 cases (14%) with skeletal, neurological, auditory, and renal involvement, respectively. Central nervous system involvement was seen only in NLRP3 gene associtated autoinflammatory diseases (12 cases), sensorineural deafness was seen in NLRP3 gene associtated autoinflammatory diseases (6 cases) and NLRP12 gene associated autoinflammatory diseases (2 cases), and abdominal pain was observed in familial Mediterranean fever (5 cases), mevalonate kinase deficiency (1 case) and NLRP12 gene related autoinflammatory diseases (1 case). In the acute inflammatory phase, the acute phase reactants (erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP)) of 35 cases (100%) were significantly increased. There were 21 cases received ferritin examination, and only 4 cases (19%) showed an increase of it. In terms of autoantibodies, among all 35 patients, 4 cases (11%) were positive for antinuclear antibodies (ANA). Conclusions: Fever, skin rash, and skeletal manifestations are the most common clinical features, accompanied with increased CRP and ESR, and negative results of autoantibodies such as ANA. The clinical manifestations of those diseases are complex and diverse, and it is prone to delayed diagnosis and treatment.
Child ; Familial Mediterranean Fever ; Female ; Fever/etiology* ; Genotype ; Hereditary Autoinflammatory Diseases ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies

ObjectiveTo observe the repair effect of Dahuanglingxian prescription （DHLX） on bile duct epithelial cells of rats. To explore whether its mechanism of action is to adjust the mutual binding of transforming growth factor -β （TGF-β） activated kinase 1（TAK1） and tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 （TRAF6）， and regulate the activation of the nuclear transcription factor -κB （NF-κB）/mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK） signaling pathway. MethodThe 20 SD rats were randomly divided into normal group and DHLX group， 10 rats in each group， were given saline and DHLX （320 mg·kg^-1·d^-1） for 8 days， to prepare normal serum and DHLX serum. Biliary epithelial cells were extracted from normal SD rats and divided into 9 groups： Normal group， model group （20 mg·L^-1）， LPS+DHLX group （20 mg·L^-1+10% DHLX）， LPS+PDTC group （20 mg·L^-1+200 μmol·L^-1）， LPS+SB203580 group （20 mg·L^-1+0.5 μmol·L^-1）， LPS+PDTC+SB203580 group （20 mg·L^-1+200 μmol·L^-1+0.5 μmol·L^-1）， LPS+PDTC+DHLX group （20 mg·L^-1+200 μmol·L^-1+10% DHLX serum）， LPS+SB203580+DHLX group （20 mg·L^-1+0.5 μmol·L^-1+10% DHLX serum）， LPS+PDTC+SB203580 +DHLX group （20 mg·L^-1+200 μmol·L^-1+0.5 μmol·L^-1+10% DHLX serum）. The microscopic observation of morphological changes in each group of cells after drug intervention. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） was used to detect the expression of （IL）-1β and IL-6 in each group of cells. Western blot detected the expression levels of TAK1 and TRAF6 proteins in each group of cells， Co-IP detected the interaction between TAK1 and TRAF6， and further observed the distribution and co-localization of TAK1 and TRAF6 using Laser confocal microscope. ResultAfter the action of LPS， the cell synapses are reduced， the cell body becomes significantly rounded and smaller， but the cell morphology of each group tends to be normal after medication. Compared with normal group， the expression levels of IL-1β and IL-6 in model group were significantly increased （P<0.05）， while the expression level of TAK1 was decreased while the expression level of TRAF6 was increased （P<0.05）. The content of TAK1-TRAF6 protein complex showed a decreasing trend， and the two proteins co-located in the cytoplasm. Compared with model group， the expression levels of IL-1β and IL-6 in LPS+DHLX group were significantly decreased （P<0.05）， the expression level of TAK1 was increased and the expression level of TRAF6 was decreased （P<0.05）， the content of TAK1-TRAF6 protein complex was significantly increased （P<0.01）， and the two proteins were significantly co-located in cytoplasm. Compared with LPS+DHLX group， the expression levels of IL-1β and IL-6 in other groups were significantly decreased （P<0.05，P<0.01）. TAK1-TRAF6 protein complex content in each group was significantly decreased after pathway blocker intervention （P<0.05）， while TAK1-TRAF6 protein complex content in each group was significantly increased after pathway blocker combined with DHLX intervention （P<0.05）. Co-localization of the TAK1-TRAF6 in cytoplasm was not obvious. ConclusionIn the LPS-induced inflammatory response of bile duct cells， the binding of TAK1 and TRAF6 showed a weakening trend， but DHLX could reverse the phenomenon， we think the mechanism of action may be related to promoting the mutual binding of TAK1 and TARF6 to inhibit the activation of the NF-κB/MAPK signaling pathway.