OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associated factors of endogenous erythropoietin (EPO) and its association with 10-year risks of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in a Chinese community-based general population. METHODS: The participants of this study were from an atherosclerosis cohort survey which was established by the Department of Cardiology, Peking University First Hospital in 2011. The cohort survey was performed in the Gucheng and Pingguoyuan communities of Shijingshan district in Beijing, China. The inclusion criteria of this study were: (1) endogenous EPO was measured; (2) health questionnaire data and other clinical data were complete; (3) participatants who had cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases (defined as self-reported coronary heart disease, stroke or transient ischemic attack) or anemia or estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 mL/(min·1.73 m²) at baseline were excluded. Multivariate linear regression model was used to examine the associated factors of endogenous EPO. The participants were grouped into low (< 5%), moderate (5%-10%) and high risk (≥10%) groups, based on predicted 10-year cardiovascular disease risk using the prediction for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk in China (China-PAR) equations. RESULTS: A total of 4 013 participants were included. Mean age of them was (55.9±8.2) years, 62.2% (n=2 496) of them were female, and 46.3% (n=1 859), 70.9% (n=2 845), 21.9% (n=879) had hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes, individually. The average body mass index was (26.1±3.3) kg/m². The median of EPO level was 12.8 (9.3-17.4) IU/L and 25.1% (n=998) were at high 10-years risk of cardiovascular disease. Hemoglobin (β=-0.05, 95%CI: -0.07 to -0.04) and eGFR ≥90 mL/(min·1.73 m²) (β=-0.05, 95%CI: -0.07 to -0.04) were associated with lower in transformed EPO levels while hypertension (β=0.08, 95%CI: 0.05 to 0.12) and obesity (β=0.14, 95%CI: 0.09 to 0.18) were associated with higher in transformed EPO levels in multivariate linear regression analyses. Ten-year cardiovascular disease risks were positively associated with in transformed EPO levels (β=0.07, 95%CI: 0.05 to 0.09). The participants at moderate and high cardiovascular disease risks had significant higher EPO levels than the low risk group (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION In community-based Beijing populations, endogenous EPO was associated with hemoglobin, renal function, obesity and hypertension. Individuals at high 10-years cardiovascular disease risks have higher endogenous EPO levels. Endogenous EPO may be a potential risk marker of cardiovascular disease.
Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology* ; Erythropoietin ; Hemoglobins ; Hypertension/epidemiology* ; Obesity ; Risk Factors

Objective: To assess the two-year treatment outcomes of chemoembolization with drug-eluting embolics (DEE) for nodular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and Methods: This study was a prospective, multicenter, registry-based, single-arm trial conducted at five university hospitals in Korea. Patients were recruited between May 2011 and April 2013, with a target population of 200. A DC Bead loaded with doxorubicin was used as the DEE agent. Patients were followed up for two years. Per-patient and perlesion tumor response analysis, per-patient overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) analysis, and per-lesion tumor control analysis were performed. Results: The final study population included 152 patients, with 207 target lesions for the per-lesion analysis. At one-month, six-month, one-year, and two-year per-patient assessments, complete response (CR) rates were 40.1%, 43.0%, 33.3%, and 19.6%, respectively. The objective response (OR) rates were 91.4%, 55.4%, 35.1%, and 19.6%, respectively. The cumulative two-year OS rate was 79.7%. The cumulative two-year PFS rate was 22.4% and the median survival was 9.3 months. In multivariable analysis, the Child-Pugh score (p = 0.019) was an independent predictor of OS, and tumor multiplicity (p < 0.001), tumor size (p = 0.020), and Child-Pugh score (p = 0.006) were independent predictors of PFS. In per-lesion analysis, one-month, six-month, one-year and two-year CR rates were 57.5%, 58.5%, 45.2%, and 33.3%, respectively, and the OR rates were 84.1%, 65.2%, 46.6%, and 33.3%, respectively. The cumulative two-year per-lesion tumor control rate was 36.2%, and the median time was 14.1 months. The Child-Pugh score (p < 0.001) was the only independent predictor of tumor control. Serious adverse events were reported in 11 patients (7.2%). Conclusion DEE chemoembolization for nodular HCCs in the Korean population showed acceptable survival, tumor response, and safety profiles after a two-year follow-up. Good liver function (Child-Pugh score A5) was a key predictor of per-patient OS, PFS, and per-lesion tumor control.

Objective: To assess the two-year treatment outcomes of chemoembolization with drug-eluting embolics (DEE) for nodular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and Methods: This study was a prospective, multicenter, registry-based, single-arm trial conducted at five university hospitals in Korea. Patients were recruited between May 2011 and April 2013, with a target population of 200. A DC Bead loaded with doxorubicin was used as the DEE agent. Patients were followed up for two years. Per-patient and perlesion tumor response analysis, per-patient overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) analysis, and per-lesion tumor control analysis were performed. Results: The final study population included 152 patients, with 207 target lesions for the per-lesion analysis. At one-month, six-month, one-year, and two-year per-patient assessments, complete response (CR) rates were 40.1%, 43.0%, 33.3%, and 19.6%, respectively. The objective response (OR) rates were 91.4%, 55.4%, 35.1%, and 19.6%, respectively. The cumulative two-year OS rate was 79.7%. The cumulative two-year PFS rate was 22.4% and the median survival was 9.3 months. In multivariable analysis, the Child-Pugh score (p = 0.019) was an independent predictor of OS, and tumor multiplicity (p < 0.001), tumor size (p = 0.020), and Child-Pugh score (p = 0.006) were independent predictors of PFS. In per-lesion analysis, one-month, six-month, one-year and two-year CR rates were 57.5%, 58.5%, 45.2%, and 33.3%, respectively, and the OR rates were 84.1%, 65.2%, 46.6%, and 33.3%, respectively. The cumulative two-year per-lesion tumor control rate was 36.2%, and the median time was 14.1 months. The Child-Pugh score (p < 0.001) was the only independent predictor of tumor control. Serious adverse events were reported in 11 patients (7.2%). Conclusion DEE chemoembolization for nodular HCCs in the Korean population showed acceptable survival, tumor response, and safety profiles after a two-year follow-up. Good liver function (Child-Pugh score A5) was a key predictor of per-patient OS, PFS, and per-lesion tumor control.

Objective: Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) have impaired attention, inhibition control, and memory function. The aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2 ) gene has been associated with OUD and ALDH2 gene polymorphisms may affect aldehyde metabolism and cognitive function in other substance use disorder. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether ALDH2 genotypes have significant effects on neuropsychological functions in OUD patients undergoing methadone maintenance therapy (MMT). Methods: OUD patients undergoing MMT were investigated and followed-up for 12 weeks. ALDH2 gene polymorphisms were genotyped. Connors’ Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) were administered at baseline and after 12 weeks of MMT. Multivariate linear regressions and generalized estimating equations (GEEs) were used to examine the correlation between the ALDH2 genotypes and performance on the CPTs and WMS-R. Results: We enrolled 86 patients at baseline; 61 patients completed the end-of-study assessments. The GEE analysis showed that, after the 12 weeks of MMT, OUD patients with the ALDH2 *1/*2＋*2/*2 (ALDH2 inactive) genotypes had significantly higher commission error T-scores (p = 0.03), significantly lower hit reaction time T-scores (p = 0.04), and significantly lower WMS-R visual memory index scores (p = 0.03) than did patients with the ALDH2 1 */*1 (ALDH2 active) genotype. Conclusion OUD patients with the ALDH2 inactive genotypes performed worse in cognitive domains of attention, impulse control, and memory than did those with the ALDH2 active genotype. We conclude that the ALDH2 gene is important in OUD and is associated with neuropsychological performance after MMT.

Objective: To optimize the HPLC characteristic spectrum of flavonoid glycosides of Dendrobium officinale,and identify the common and specific components of different provenances. Method: Kromasil 100-5 C₁₈ column was adopted, with tetrahydrofuran-acetonitrile-methanol (10:22:5)-0.05% phosphoric acid as mobile phase (gradient elution). The detection wavelength was 340 nm,the column temperature was 30℃,and the flow rate was 1.0 mL ·min^-1. Result: 13 flavonoid characteristic peaks were marked in 27 batches of D. officinale,and 7 characteristic peaks of 6 flavonoid C-glycosides (vicenin Ⅱ,vicenin Ⅰ,schaftoside,isoschaftoside,violanthin and isoviolanthin) and one flavonoid O-glycosides (rutin) was identified. 7-11 characteristic peaks were detected in different batches of samples. Among them,vicenin Ⅱ was a relatively stable common peak in different source samples,and the characteristic peaks of rutin,schaftoside and isoschaftoside were quite different. According to the relative abundance of the characteristic peaks,the samples could be divided into three categories. Among them,the first category had 10 batches of samples,which mainly came from Danxia landforms of Guangdong,Jiangxi,Fujian and Zhejiang (Wuyi) Province (which called "Danxia landform species") and characterized by detection of obvious peak of rutin. The second category had 11 batches of samples,which mainly came from Yunnan and Guangxi Province (which included "Yunnan Guangnan species" and "Guangxi Tiepilan species") and characterized by detection of violanthin and isoviolanthin. And the third category had 6 batches of samples, which were mainly derived from Zhejiang Province (which called "native species from Zhejiang") and characterized by detection of different degrees of rutin peak, but it was difficult to detect the characteristic peaks of violanthin and isoviolanthin. HPLC characteristic chromatograms of D. officinale in bionics wild cultivation and greenhouse of "Danxia landform species" and "Guangxi Tiepilan species" were compared. The results showed that the characteristic peaks in D. officinale planted in greenhouse could be detected stably,which verified the reliability of the source in D. officinale. Conclusion: The analytical method has a better separation effect on flavonoids of D. officinale, with a good reproducibility. The commonness and specificities of flavonoid glycosides components of D. officinale from different categories have basically confirmed. This suggests that Vicenin Ⅱ is suitable to be a reference peak for characteristic chromatogram. Both the relative abundance of rutin and the detection or relative abundance of violanthin and isoviolanthin peaks could be used as a reference to judge the categories of D. officinale in "Danxia landform species" or "Tiepilan species from Yunnan, South Guangdong and Guangxi" or "native species from Zhejiang".

Objective: To optimize the pre-column derivation high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) content determination method of D-mannose and D-glucose as well as the content determination method of narinhenin in Dendrobium officinale and D. huoshanense, and compare the contents of D-mannose,D-glucose and narinhenin between D. officinale and D. huoshanense. Method: A pre-column derivation HPLC method modified by Chinese Pharmacopoeia(Ch.P) 2015 was used to simultaneously determine the contents of D-mannose and D-glucose,with acetonitrile-0.02 mol·L^-1 ammonium acetate solution as mobile phase for gradient elution. Kromasil 100-5 C₁₈ was performed with the wavelength set at 250 nm,and the flow rate was 1 mL·min^-1;column temperature was 30℃. HPLC content determination of narinhenin was performed on Kromasil 100-5 C₁₈ with the acetonitrile-methanol-0.4% phosphoric acid solution as mobile phase for gradient elution,and the wavelength was set at 290 nm; the flow rate was 0.8 mL·min^-1,and column temperature was 40℃. Result: D-mannose and D-glucose showed a good linear relationship within the range of 0.15-3.0 μg and 0.075-2.25 μg (r=0.999 9); and their average recoveries were 99.01% (RSD 2.1%) and 101.69% (RSD 2.0%) respectively. In addition, the other methodological researches such as repeatability and durability all met the requirements. The contents of D-mannose(C_m),D-glucose(C_g) and sum of them (C_m+C_g) were 12.75%-36.40%,2.93%-18.39% and 19.23%-54.58% in 43 batch of D. officinale. Almost all of the results except very few samples reached the D-mannose standard in Ch.P 2015, and the total content of D-mannose and D-glucose was also up to the total polysccharide standard in Ch.P. The correlation between content and origin was not significant. The contents of D-mannose(C_m),D-glucose(C_g) and sum of them (C_m+C_g) were 14.33%-29.47%,6.64%-15.20%,and 25.73%-44.37% in 12 batch of D. huoshanense. These contents and ratio of peak areas of D-mannose to D-glucose (A_m/A_g) were within the scope of D. officinale's; in addition, their average contents were basically the same with those in D. officinale (about 33%).Next,naringenin showed a good linear relationship within the range of 0.020 8-0.832 0 μg (r=0.999 9),and its average recovery was 101.96% (RSD 1.8%). The content of naringenin was 0.053 2-0.122 4 mg·g^-1 (average value of 0.081 0 mg·g^-1) in 11 batch of D. officinale, slightly higher than 0.040 3-0.090 0 mg ·g^-1 (average value of 0.068 3 mg ·g^-1) in 7 batch of D. huoshanense. All of these results of narinfenin did not reach the content lower limit in Ch.P. Conclusion: The method used to determinate the content of D-mannose and D-glucose is reproducible, and their sum content is possible to substitute the total polysccaride determination (with higher errors) in D. officinale; monosaccharide content determination can be used for quantitative quality control of D. huoshanense. However, it could not distinguish D. officinale and D. huoshanense by determining the contents of polysccharide,D-glucose,D-mannose and narinhenin, and shall be combined with other specificity methods for further identification.

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of interleukin-2(IL-2)on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis(EAE)mice.Methods After establishment of the EAE(experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis) mouse models with MOG35-55 polypeptides,the mice were grouped according to the neurological function score and divided into control group,EAE group and low dose IL-2 treatment group.A double blind method was used to evaluate the neuro-logical impairment in mice.On the 29th day,pathological experiments were carried out in the mice's brain and spinal cord, hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to evaluate the scoring of inflammatory cell infiltration and luxol fast blue staining was used to evaluate the scoring of demyelinating.The proportion of regulatory T cells(Treg)and NK cells(natural killer cell, NK)was detected by flow cytometry,and the immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expressions of glial fibril -lary acidic protein(GFAP)and myelin basic protein(MBP)in the spinal cord.Results Compared with the EAE group, the neurological function score, the inflammatory cell infiltration score and the demyelinating score of the low dose IL-2 treatment group were reduced.The proportion of Treg cells in the low dose IL-2 treatment group was significantly higher than that in the EAE group,and the proportion of NK cells in the low dose IL-2 treatment group was slightly higher than that in the EAE group The expression of GFAP and MBP was detected by immunohistochemistry.The expression level of GFAP in low dose IL-2 treatment group was significantly lower than that in the EAE group,while the expression level of MBP was higher than that in the EAE group.Conclusion Low dose IL-2 has significant therapeutic effect on EAE mice.

Age-related hearing loss (AHL) is one of the most common sensory disorders among elderly persons. The inwardly rectifying potassium channel 5.1 (Kir5.1) plays a vital role in regulating cochlear K(+) circulation which is necessary for normal hearing. The distribution of Kir5.1 in C57BL/6J mice cochleae, and the relationship between the expression of Kir5.1 and the etiology of AHL were investigated. Forty C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into four groups at 4, 12, 24 and 52 weeks of age respectively. The location of Kir5.1 was detected by immunofluorescence technique. The mRNA and protein expression of Kir5.1 was evaluated in mice cochleae using real-time polymerase-chain reactions (RT-PCR) and Western blotting respectively. Kir5.1 was detected in the type II and IV fibrocytes of the spiral ligament in the cochlear lateral wall of C57BL/6J mice. The expression levels of Kir5.1 mRNA and protein in the cochleae of aging C57BL/6J mice were down-regulated. It was suggested that the age-related decreased expression of Kir5.1 in the lateral wall of C57BL/6J mice was associated with hearing loss. Our results indicated that Kir5.1 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of AHL.
Aging ; genetics ; metabolism ; Animals ; Cations, Monovalent ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Ion Transport ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Microtomy ; Potassium ; metabolism ; Potassium Channels, Inwardly Rectifying ; genetics ; metabolism ; Presbycusis ; genetics ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Spiral Ligament of Cochlea ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; ultrastructure

To prepare tanshinone ⅡA loaded nanostructured lipid carrier (Tan ⅡA-NLC), and study its in vitro transdermal permeation characteristics. The Tan ⅡA-NLC was prepared by high pressure homogenization technology and optimized by Box-Behnken design-response surface method, and it was characterized in terms of morphology, particle size, zeta potention, et al. The transdermal permeation of Tan ⅡA-NLC was evaluated by using Franz diffusion cells. The results showed that, the optimal formulation was as follows: drug/lipid materials ratio 88, GMS/MCT ratio 2, emulsifier concentration 1%, average particle size (182±14) nm, polydispersity index PDI (0.190 6±0.024 5), zeta potential (－27.8± 5.4) mV, encapsulation efficiency EE (86.44%±9.26%) and drug loading DL (0.98%±0.18%), respectively. The in vitro transdermal permeation results showed that as compared with Tan ⅡA solution, Tan ⅡA-NLC had lower transdermal permeation amount after applying drug for 24 h, but its retention in the epidermis was 3.18 times that of solution. These results indicated that the prepared Tan ⅡA-NLC could effectively increase the regention of Tan ⅡA in the epidermis, and had a broad application prospect.