AIM To explore the ameliorative effects of Ziyin Mingmu Pills on mouse retinitis pigmentosa(RP)and the possible mechanism.METHODS The RP transgenic mice(rd10)were randomly divided into the model group,the Leding group(0.15 g/kg)and the low and high dose Ziyin Mingmu Pills groups(4.50,9.00 g/kg),in contrast to the C57BL/6 mice of the normal group,with 12 mice in each group.The mice had their retinal pathological changes detected by HE staining;their visual function detected by electroretinogram(ERG);their fundus conditions and retinal thickness detected by optical coherence tomography(OCT);their retinal blood perfusion detected by laser speckle blood flow technique;their mRNA expressions of Shh,Ptc,Smo,Gli1,N-myc and Cyclin mRNA detected by digital PCR;and their protein expressions of Shh,Ptc,Smo,Gli1,N-myc and Cyclin detected by immunofluorescence staining.RESULTS Compared with the normal group,the model group displayed pathological changes in the fundus and retina and decreased amplitudes of ERG a wave and b wave(P＜0.01);decreased retinal thickness(P＜0.01);decreased retinal blood perfusion(P＜0.01);and decreased retinal expressions of Shh,Ptc,Smo,Gli1,N-myc,Cyclin mRNA and protein(P＜0.01).Compared with the model group,the groups intervened with Ziyin Mingmu Pills or Leding shared improved pathological changes in the fundus and retina tissue,and increased retinal thickness(P＜0.01);increased retinal blood flow(P＜0.01);increased amplitudes of ERG a wave and b wave(P＜0.01);and increased retinal Shh,Ptc,Smo,Gli1,N-myc and Cyclin mRNA and protein expressions(P＜0.01).CONCLUSION Ziyin Mingmu Pills can improve the fundus pathological changes and visual function to delay RP in mice because of their efficacy in ameliorating retinal thickness and blood flow possibly by activating Shh signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Cidan Capsule combined with adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with a high risk of early recurrence after curative resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: A multicenter, randomized controlled trial was conducted in patients with high-risk recurrence factors after curative resection of HCC from 9 medical centers between July 2014 and July 2018. Totally 249 patients were randomly assigned to TACE with or without Cidan Capsule administration groups by stratified block in a 1:1 ratio. Postoperative adjuvant TACE was given 4-5 weeks after hepatic resection in both groups. Additionally, 125 patients in the TACE plus Cidan group were administrated Cidan Capsule (0.27 g/capsule, 5 capsules every time, 4 times a day) for 6 months with a 24-month follow-up. Primary endpoints included disease-free survival (DFS) and tumor recurrence rate (TRR). Secondary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Any drug-related adverse events (AEs) were observed and recorded. RESULTS: As the data cutoff in July 9th, 2018, the median DFS was not reached in the TACE plus Cidan group and 234.0 days in the TACE group (hazard ratio, 0.420, 95% confidence interval, 0.290-0.608; P<0.01). The 1- and 2-year TRR in the TACE plus Cidan and TACE groups were 31.5%, 37.1%, and 60.8%, 63.4%, respectively (P<0.01). Median OS was not reached in both groups. The 1- and 2-year OS rates in TACE plus Cidan and TACE groups were 98.4%, 98.4%, and 89.5%, 87.9%, respectively (P<0.05). The most common grade 3-4 AEs included fatigue, abdominal pain, lumbar pain, and nausea. One serious AE was reported in 1 patient in the TACE plus Cidan group, the death was due to retroperitoneal mass hemorrhage and hemorrhagic shock, and was not related to study drug. CONCLUSIONS Cidan Capsule in combination with TACE can reduce the incidence of early recurrence in HCC patients at high-risk of recurrence after radical hepatectomy and may be an appropriate option in postoperative anti-recurrence treatment. (Registration No. NCT02253511).

Acute leukemia (AL) is a kind of malignant clonal disease of hematopoietic stem cells. Rearrangement of mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene can be observed in about 5%-10% of AL patients. Currently, AL patients with MLL-rearrangements (MLL-r) lack effective treatment and are usually associated with poor prognoses. Recent studies have shown that many epigenetic regulators are directly or indirectly involved in the occurrence and development of AL carrying MLL-r (MLL), which provides a biological basis for the use of epigenetic regulation strategies to treat MLL. In this review, we start from the epigenetic regulation mechanism of MLL, and select representative drug targets to briefly analyze the relationship between each target and MLL and summarize the development progress of their inhibitors, hoping to provide reference for the subsequent research and development of drugs for the treatment of MLL.

Aim To investigate the effects of ampelopsin (AMP) on proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of human cervical cancer SiHa cells, and its possible mechanism of action. Methods MTT assay was used to detect the inhibitory effect of AMP with different concentrations (10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320 μmol • L

Animals ; Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein ; genetics ; metabolism ; Male ; MicroRNAs ; radiation effects ; Microwaves ; adverse effects ; Neuronal Plasticity ; radiation effects ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective: To explore the clinical application value of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in the laparoscopic surgery for cholecystolithiasis comorbid with choledocholithiasis. Methods: The prospective study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 52 patients with cholecystolithiasis comorbid with choledocholithiasis who were admitted to the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University from September 2016 to September 2018 were collected. Patients were divided into 2 groups by random number table: patients in observation group received laparoscopic cholecystectomy + choledocholithotomy + choledochoscopic exploration + T-tube drainage (or primary suture of common bile duct) and perioperative management guided by the concept of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS), and patients in control group received traditional perioperative management. Observation indicators: (1) surgical situations; (2) postoperative situations; (3) postoperative complications; (4) postoperative pain scores; (5) changes in hepatic function and blood routine during perioperative period. Follow-up using outpatient examination and telephone interview was performed to detect complications during the postoperative 6 months up to March 2019. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean±SD, and comparison between groups was analyzed using the paired t test or repeated ANOVA. Count data were described as absolute numbers and percentages, and comparison between groups was analyzed using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Results: Fifty-two patients were screened for eligibility, including 20 males and 32 females, aged 25-68 years, with an average age of 53 years. There were 30 patients in the observation group and 22 in the control group. (1) Surgical situations: the operation time and volume of intraoperative blood loss were (133±19)minutes and (47±21)mL in the observation group, and (136±22)minutes and (49±23)mL in the control group, respectively, showing no significant difference between the two groups (t=-0.386, -0.211, P>0.05). (2) Postoperative situations: time to out-of-bed activity, time to initial food intake, time to first anal flatus, duration of postoperative hospital stay, and hospital expenses were (18±4)hours, (19±5)hours, (28±2)hours, (4.0±1.0)days, and (1.82±0.22)×10⁴ yuan in the observation group, and (29±7)hours, (46±9)hours, (37±4)hours, (6.6±1.6)days, and (2.25±0.29)×10⁴ yuan in the control group, respectively, showing significant differences between the two groups (t=-7.054, -14.169, -9.426, -6.582, -5.809, P<0.05). (3) Postoperative complications: 1 of 30 patients in the observation group had postoperative biliary leakage, with a postoperative complication rate of 3.3%, and was cured after symptomatic support treatment. Six of 22 patients in the control group had postoperative complication, with a postoperative complication rate of 27.3%, including 2 of biliary leakage, 1 of hemorrhage, 1 of abdominal infection, 1 of pulmonary infection, 1 of urinary infection, and they were cured after symptomatic support treatment. There was a significant difference between the two groups (χ²=4.358, P<0.05). (4) Postoperative pain scores: from postoperative 6 hours to 48 hours, the postoperative pain score changed from 2.4±0.7 to 1.9±0.9 in the observation group, and from 4.1±0.7 to 2.9±0.9 in the control group, respectively, showing a significant difference in the changing trend between the two groups (F=78.053, P<0.05). (5) Changes in hepatic function and blood routine during perioperative period: from preoperation to postoperative 3 days, levels of alamine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), total bilirubin (TBil), and count of white blood cells in the observation group changed from (77±20)U/L to (53±12)U/L, from (85±22)U/L to (61±17)U/L, from (166±39)U/L to (55±24)U/L, from (40±13)μmol/L to (29±12)μmol/L, from (7.0±2.0)×10⁹/L to (6.8±1.9)×10⁹/L, and changed from (79±23)U/L to (62±14)U/L, from (88±24)U/L to (64±17)U/L, from (179±34)U/L to (74±29)U/L, from (45±13)μmol/L to (35±12)μmol/L, from (7.9±2.4)×10⁹/L to (7.5±1.9)×10⁹/L in the control group, respectively. The levels of ALT, AST, GGT, TBiL, and count of WBC showed increasing at postoperative 1 day, and decreasing at postoperative 3 days. There was no significant difference in the changing trend between the two groups (F=0.058, 0.471, 3.021, 1.593, 2.172, P>0.05). Conclusion ERAS is safe and effective in the laparoscopic surgery for choledocholithiasis comorbid with cholecystolithiasis.

MSC transplantation has been explored as a new clinical approach to stem cell-based therapies for bone diseases in regenerative medicine due to their osteogenic capability. However, only a small population of implanted MSC could successfully reach the injured areas. Therefore, enhancing MSC migration could be a beneficial strategy to improve the therapeutic potential of cell transplantation. Catharmus tinctorius volatile oil (CTVO) was found to facilitate MSC migration. Further exploration of the underlying molecular mechanism participating in the pro-migratory ability may provide a novel strategy to improve MSC transplantation efficacy. This study indicated that CTVO promotes MSC migration through enhancing ROCK2 mRNA and protein expressions. MSC migration induced by CTVO was blunted by ROCK2 inhibitor, which also decreased myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation. Meanwhile, the siRNA for ROCK2 inhibited the effect of CTVO on MSC migration ability and attenuated MLC phosphorylation, suggesting that CTVO may promote BMSC migration via the ROCK2/MLC signaling. Taken together, this study indicates that C. tinctorius volatile oil could enhance MSC migration via ROCK2/MLC signaling in vitro. C. tinctorius volatile oil-targeted therapy could be a beneficial strategy to improve the therapeutic potential of cell transplantation for bone diseases in regenerative medicine.

Objective:Using an area in east of China as a case,the paper exploit the methodology to define and visualize the scope of the medical insurance pharmacy service through using ArcGIS and its function modules to analy-zing the basic data including this area's population distribution,address of drugstores,administrative districts,road network and soon.Plan A based on the 15-minute walk distance norm for defining the scopes, shows that this area need to increase 548 medical insurances designated drugstore,the effect of which was service area can be increased by 12.36%,service population can be increased by 10.82%, designated drugstore healthy competition rate can be increased by 8.36%;Plan B based on the 10-minute walk distance norm for defining the scopes, displays that this area need to increase 1197 medical insurance designated drugstore, the effect of which was service area can be in-creased by 15.23%,service population can be increased by 20.49%,designated drugstore healthy competition rate can be increased by 19%.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the major neurodegenerative disorders of the elderly, which is characterized by the accumulation and deposition of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide in human brains. Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation induced by Aβ in brain are increasingly considered to be responsible for the pathogenesis of AD. The present study aimed to determine the protective effects of walnut peptides against the neurotoxicity induced by Aβ25-35 in vivo. Briefly, the AD model was induced by injecting Aβ25-35 into bilateral hippocampi of mice. The animals were treated with distilled water or walnut peptides (200, 400 and 800 mg/kg, p.o.) for five consecutive weeks. Spatial learning and memory abilities of mice were investigated by Morris water maze test and step-down avoidance test. To further explore the underlying mechanisms of the neuroprotectivity of walnut peptides, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), acetylcholine esterase (AChE), and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) as well as the level of nitric oxide (NO) in the hippocampus of mice were measured by spectrophotometric method. In addition, the levels of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and IL-6 in the samples were determined using ELISA. The hippocampal expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) were evaluated by Western blot analysis. The results showed that walnut peptides supplementation effectively ameliorated the cognitive deficits and memory impairment of mice. Meanwhile, our study also revealed effective restoration of levels of antioxidant enzymes as well as inflammatory mediators with supplementation of walnut peptides (400 or 800 mg/kg). All the above findings suggested that walnut peptides may have a protective effect on AD by reducing inflammatory responses and modulating antioxidant system.
Acetylcholinesterase ; metabolism ; Alzheimer Disease ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Amyloid beta-Peptides ; toxicity ; Animals ; Female ; Glutathione ; metabolism ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Interleukins ; metabolism ; Juglans ; chemistry ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Maze Learning ; Memory Disorders ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Mice ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Peptide Fragments ; toxicity ; Peptides ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

This study investigated the effect of diosgenin, a natural sapogenin possessing various pharmacological activities, on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in rats and the possible mechanisms. BPH was established in the castrated rats by subcutaneous injection of testosterone propionate. Animals were randomly divided into four groups (n=10 each): model group (0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose); positive control group (3 mg/kg finasteride); two diosgenin groups (50 and 100 mg/kg). The drugs were intragastricaly given in each group for consecutive 3 weeks. Another 10 rats with no testicles cut off served as negative controls and they were subcutaneously injected with 0.1 mL olive oil per day and then treated with 0.5% sodium carboxymethylcellulose. After 3-week administration, the prostate index and serum PSA level were determined, and histopathological examination was carried out. The levels of MDA, SOD and GPx in prostates were also measured. Additionally, the expression of Bcl-2, Bax and p53 was examined using Western blotting. The results showed that the prostate index and serum PSA level were significantly decreased, and the pathological changes of the prostate gland were greatly improved in diosgenin groups as compared with the model group. Elevated activities of SOD and GPx, and reduced MDA level were also observed in diosgenin-treated rats. In addition, the expression of Bcl-2 in prostates was down-regulated, whereas that of Bax and p53 was up-regulated in diosgenin-treated rats. These results indicated that diosgenin was effective in inhibiting testosterone propionate-induced prostate enlargement and may be a candidate agent for the treatment of BPH.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Diosgenin ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; metabolism ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; Prostate ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; drug therapy ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; metabolism ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism