ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the prophylactic effects of caloric restriction (CR) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced septic cardiomyopathy (SCM) and to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the cardioprotective actions of CR. This research aims to provide innovative strategies and theoretical support for the prevention of SCM. MethodsA total of forty-eight 8-week-old male C57BL/6 mice, weighing between 20-25 g, were randomly assigned to 4 distinct groups, each consisting of 12 mice. The groups were designated as follows: CON (control), LPS, CR, and CR+LPS. Prior to the initiation of the CR protocol, the CR and CR+LPS groups underwent a 2-week acclimatization period during which individual food consumption was measured. The initial week of CR intervention was set at 80% of the baseline intake, followed by a reduction to 60% for the subsequent 5 weeks. After 6-week CR intervention, all 4 groups received an intraperitoneal injection of either normal saline or LPS (10 mg/kg). Twelve hours post-injection, heart function was assessed, and subsequently, heart and blood samples were collected. Serum inflammatory markers were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The serum myocardial enzyme spectrum was analyzed using an automated biochemical instrument. Myocardial tissue sections underwent hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and immunofluorescence (IF) staining. Western blot analysis was used to detect the expression of protein in myocardial tissue, including inflammatory markers (TNF-α, IL-9, IL-18), oxidative stress markers (iNOS, SOD2), pro-apoptotic markers (Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, CASP3), and SIRT3/SIRT6. ResultsTwelve hours after LPS injection, there was a significant decrease in ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) ratios, along with a notable increase in left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD). Morphological and serum indicators (AST, LDH, CK, and CK-MB) indicated that LPS injection could induce myocardial structural disorders and myocardial injury. Furthermore, 6-week CR effectively prevented the myocardial injury. LPS injection also significantly increased the circulating inflammatory levels (IL-1β, TNF-α) in mice. IF and Western blot analyses revealed that LPS injection significantly up-regulating the expression of inflammatory-related proteins (TNF-α, IL-9, IL-18), oxidative stress-related proteins (iNOS, SOD2) and apoptotic proteins (Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, CASP3) in myocardial tissue. 6-week CR intervention significantly reduced circulating inflammatory levels and downregulated the expression of inflammatory, oxidative stress-related proteins and pro-apoptotic level in myocardial tissue. Additionally, LPS injection significantly downregulated the expression of SIRT3 and SIRT6 proteins in myocardial tissue, and CR intervention could restore the expression of SIRT3 proteins. ConclusionA 6-week CR could prevent LPS-induced septic cardiomyopathy, including cardiac function decline, myocardial structural damage, inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. The mechanism may be associated with the regulation of SIRT3 expression in myocardial tissue.

Objective: To explore the correlation between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitution and depressive symptom among school aged children and adolescents, so as to provide evidences for informing constitution based regulation and prevention of depressive symptom. Methods: From June to December 2024, a total of 4 729 students aged 6-14 were recruited by cluster random sampling from 10 primary schools in Baoding (Hebei Province), Heze and Liaocheng (Shandong Province). General information, TCM constitution and depressive symptom were collected. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were used to analyze related factors and threshold effects of depressive symptom. Binary Logistic regression was applied to examine the association between depressive symptom and TCM constitution, with subgroup analyses conducted. Results: The detection rate of depressive symptom among the included children and adolescents was 25.82%. RCS analyses indicated non linear associations between depressive symptom and age (inflection point at 10 years old), bedtime (inflection point at 22:00), and wake up time (inflection point at 6:30 ) (all P non linearity <0.01). Linear associations were observed with body mass index (BMI) and sleep duration (all P non linearity > 0.05 ). After adjusting for covariates such as age, BMI and sleep status, binary Logistic regression analyses showed that Yin deficient constitution ( OR =1.26, 95% CI =1.09-1.45) and Phlegm-dampness constitution ( OR =1.42, 95% CI =1.11-1.82) were significantly associated with depressive symptom among children and adolescents (all P <0.05). Conclusions Depressive symptom among school aged children and adolescents is primarily associated with Yin deficiency and Phlegm dampness constitutions in TCM constitution. Active attention should be paid to susceptible TCM constitution among children and adolescents. Targeted health guidance and interventions should be implemented to improve TCM constitution health status for preventing the occurrence of depressive symptom.

Objective To investigate the status of familial aggregation of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection in Jinniu District, Chengdu, and analyze its risk factors so as to provide a basis for developing prevention and control strategies of family aggregation of Hp infection. Methods A total of 172 subjects in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College · 416 Hospital of Nuclear Industry from January 2022 to January 2023 were selected as the research subjects. All subjects underwent 13C-urea breath test (13C-UBT) to diagnose whether there was Hp infection. Analyze the current situation of family aggregation of Hp infection in the region, collect general data of survey subjects, analyze the relevant factors affecting Hp family aggregation infection, and develop prevention and control strategies based on this. Results A total of 242 people from 97 households were surveyed, and the Hp family aggregation rate was 29.33%. Univariate analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in family aggregation of Hp infection in terms of different age groups (χ²=9.719, P=0.008), marital status (χ²=8.496, P=0.014), occupations (χ²=19.462, P<0.001), frequencies of dining out (χ²=5.457, P=0.019), previous Hp test results (χ² =4.131, P=0.042) and test results after treatment (χ²=12.000, P=0.001), with statistical significance (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the frequency of dining out 2 days or more per week and a positive Hp test results in the past were risk factors for family aggregation of Hp infection, while the occupation of teachers/medical staff/management/technology personnel and a negative Hp results after treatment were protective factors (P<0.05). Conclusion Family aggregation of Hp infection is related to family members' occupation, frequency of dining out, previous Hp test results and Hp test results after eradication, which deserves attention in clinical practice.

In this paper, the antitussive and expectorant activity of platycodin D (PD) were studied by constructing a mouse cough induced by concentrated ammonia water and a mouse trachea phenol red excretion model. The mechanism of antitussive and expectorant effect of PD was studied by metabolomics. The animal experiment was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine (approval number: JZLLSC-20220739). Then mice were randomly divided into the normal, model, positive drug, PD low-dose, PD medium-dose and PD high-dose group. The antitussive and expectorant effects of PD were evaluated using a cough mouse model induced by concentrated ammonia water and a mouse tracheal phenol red excretion model, respectively. UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS was used to identify the metabolites of mouse lung tissue, and multivariate statistical analysis method of orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) was used for metabolites profile analysis. The differential metabolites were screened by variable projected importance value (VIP) and t-test results. Pathways for enrichment of differentiated metabolites were analyzed using the MetaboAnalyst platform. The comparative method was applied to analyze the differences in mechanisms of PD, Deapio-platycodin D (DPD) and total platycosides fraction. The results showed that PD at different concentrations could significantly prolong (P < 0.05) the incubation period of cough mice induced by ammonia water, reduce the coughs frequency, and significantly increase (P < 0.05) the amount of phenol red excretion in phenol red excretion model mice. PD could regulate 6 metabolic pathways of phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, linoleic acid metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and tyrosine metabolism to exert antitussive effect. It could also regulate 8 metabolic pathways of linoleic acid metabolism, glyoxylic acid and dicarboxylic acid metabolism, glycerol phospholipid metabolism, citric acid cycle and arachidonic acid metabolism to exert an expectorant effect. However, only linoleic acid metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism could be regulated by the PD, total platycosides fraction and DPD, which may be ascribed to the structural difference of the platycosides and the interaction between platycosides and the intestinal microbiota. Functional analysis showed that these metabolic pathways are closely related to the regulatory mechanisms of anti-inflammatory response, immune function regulation, neurotransmitter release, cell signal transduction, energy metabolism and cell apoptosis. This study shows that PD possesses good antitussive and expectorant activities. In addition, the mechanism difference of PD, total platycosides fraction and DPD imply that the apiose in PD and the interaction between PD and intestinal microbiota could exert an important effect on the antitussive and expectorant mechanism of the platycosides.

Thirty-one phenolic constituents were isolated and purified from the 95% ethanol extract of Sanguisorbae Radix by using various chromatographic techniques, including macroporous resin, silica gel, ODS, Sephadex LH-20 and semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were elucidated by physicochemical properties, spectroscopic data (MS and NMR) and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra, and identified as 3-methoxyl-2S,3S-epoxyflavanone (1a), 3-methoxyl-2R,3R-epoxyflavanone (1b), longifoin B (2), longifoin C (3), eriodictyol (4), naringenin (5), liquiritigenin (6), 5,3ʹ-dihydroxy-7,4ʹ-dimethoxyflavanone (7), naringenin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (8), dihydroquercetin (9), dihydrokaempferol (10), (-)-garbanzol (11), (2R,3R)-4-methoxyl-distylin (12), kaempferol (13), quercetin (14), α,4,2′,4′-tetrahydroxydihydrochalcone (15), phloretin (16), (+)-catechin (17), ethyl (+)-cyanidan-3-ol-8-carboxylate (18), phyllocoumarin (19), methyl 3-methoxy-4,5-dihydroxybenzoate (20), 4,5-dimethoxy-3-hydroxybenzoic acid methyl ester (21), 3,4′-di-O-methylellagic acid (22), 3,4,3′-O-trimethylellagic acid (23), 3,3ʹ,4ʹ-O-trimethylellagic acid-4-O-β-D-xyloside (24), (3R)-thunberginol C (25), resveratrol (26), 1-hydroxypinoresinol (27), (7S,8S)-3-methoxy-3′,7-epoxy-8,4′-oxyneoligna-4,9,9′-triol (28), emodin-8-O-β-D-glucoside (29), phloracetophenone (30) and 4-(4′-hydroxyphenyl)-butan-2-one (31). Among them, compound 1a and 1b is a pair of new flavonoid enantiomers, compounds 2 and 3 are a pair of new epimers, while compounds 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 16 and 26 were obtained from S. officinalis for the first time, compounds 7, 8, 27, 30 and 31 were isolated for the first time from the S. officinalis genus, and compounds 11, 12, 15, 18, 19, 25, 28 and 29 were isolated for the first time from the Rosaceae. The antioxidant activities of compounds 1-24 were evaluated by activating the Nrf2 transcriptional pathway, which were measured by the dual-luciferase reporter gene assay in 293T cells. Compounds 4, 6-10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 20 and 22-24 showed significant Nrf2 agonistic effect compared with the control group at 25 μmol·L^-1, which provided reference for the research of their antioxidant activity.

Objective To investigate whether Liuwei Dihuang Pills enhances the antigen cross-presenting ability of dendritic cell(DC)by increasing gap junctional intercellular communication(GJIC),and to explore the mechanisms involved.Methods Western Blot and immunofluorescence were used to observe the effects of Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum on the expression and membrane localisation of gap junction protein connexin43(Cx43)in mouse melanoma cells(B16);Calcein-AM/DiI fluorescence tracer assay was used to observe the effects of Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum on the function of GJIC in B16 cells;flow cytometry was used to observe the role of GJIC in the enhancement of DC antigen presenting ability by Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum;and propidium iodide(PI)/Hoechst staining assay was used to observe the immunocidal effect of CD8+ T-lymphocytes.Results Western Blot and immunofluorescence experiments showed that Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum led to the up-regulation of Cx43 expression;fluorescence tracer experiments proved that the GJIC function of B16 cells was significantly enhanced by Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum;flow cytometry analyses showed that the DC antigen-presenting ability was enhanced by Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum;and the results of PI/Hoechst staining showed that the immuno-killing effect of CD8+T-cells was more significant after the intervention of Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum in B16-OVA.Conclusion Liuwei Dihuang Pills improve the GJIC function by up-regulating the Cx43 expression of melanoma cells,and then enhance the cross-presenting ability of DCs thus activating stronger CD8+ T-cell immunocidal responses.

At present,radiofrequency ablation(RFA)has already replaced medication therapy and become the first-line treatment option for patients with atrial fibrillation.Intraoperative cardiac tamponade is the most commonly-seen fatal complication,and,unfortunately,the absolute number of this pernicious event is increasing with the extensive use of RFA.Therefore,the full understanding of cardiac tamponade and timely management of cardiac tamponade are of great significance in clinical practice.This article reviews the diagnosis,rescue and treatment process,prognosis and prevention strategies of this complication.(J Intervent Radiol,2024,33:325-329)