OBJECTIVE: To study the in vitro and in vivo antitumor effects of the polysaccharide of Alocasia cucullata (PAC) and the underlying mechanism. METHODS: B16F10 and 4T1 cells were cultured with PAC of 40 µg/mL, and PAC was withdrawn after 40 days of administration. The cell viability was detected by cell counting kit-8. The expression of Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 proteins were detected by Western blot and the expressions of ERK1/2 mRNA were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). A mouse melanoma model was established to study the effect of PAC during long-time administration. Mice were divided into 3 treatment groups: control group treated with saline water, positive control group (LNT group) treated with lentinan at 100 mg/(kg·d), and PAC group treated with PAC at 120 mg/(kg·d). The pathological changes of tumor tissues were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. The apoptosis of tumor tissues was detected by TUNEL staining. Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 protein expressions were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the expressions of ERK1/2, JNK1 and p38 mRNA were detected by qRT-PCR. RESULTS: In vitro, no strong inhibitory effects of PAC were found in various tumor cells after 48 or 72 h of administration. Interestingly however, after 40 days of cultivation under PAC, an inhibitory effect on B16F10 cells was found. Correspondingly, the long-time administration of PAC led to downregulation of Bcl-2 protein (P<0.05), up-regulation of Caspase-3 protein (P<0.05) and ERK1 mRNA (P<0.05) in B16F10 cells. The above results were verified by in vivo experiments. In addition, viability of B16F10 cells under long-time administration culture in vitro decreased after drug withdrawal, and similar results were also observed in 4T1 cells. CONCLUSIONS Long-time administration of PAC can significantly inhibit viability and promote apoptosis of tumor cells, and had obvious antitumor effect in tumor-bearing mice.
Mice ; Animals ; Alocasia/metabolism* ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Caspase 3/metabolism* ; Apoptosis ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism*

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of brexpiprazole in treating acute schizophrenia.Methods Patients with schizophrenia were randomly divided into treatment group and control group.The treatment group was given brexpiprozole 2-4 mg·d-1 orally and the control group was given aripiprazole 10-20 mg·d-1orally,both were treated for 6 weeks.Clinical efficacy of the two groups,the response rate at endpoint,the changes from baseline to endpoint of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS),Clinical Global Impression-Improvement(CGI-S),Personal and Social Performance scale(PSP),PANSS Positive syndrome subscale,PANSS negative syndrome subscale were compared.The incidence of treatment-related adverse events in two groups were compared.Results There were 184 patients in treatment group and 186 patients in control group.After treatment,the response rates of treatment group and control group were 79.50％(140 cases/184 cases)and 82.40％(150 cases/186 cases),the scores of CGI-I of treatment group and control group were(2.00±1.20)and(1.90±1.01),with no significant difference(all P＞0.05).From baseline to Week 6,the mean change of PANSS total score wese(-30.70±16.96)points in treatment group and(-32.20±17.00)points in control group,with no significant difference(P＞0.05).The changes of CGI-S scores in treatment group and control group were(-2.00±1.27)and(-1.90±1.22)points,PSP scores were(18.80±14.77)and(19.20±14.55)points,PANSS positive syndrome scores were(-10.30±5.93)and(-10.80±5.81)points,PANSS negative syndrome scores were(-6.80±5.98)and(-7.30±5.15)points,with no significant difference(P＞0.05).There was no significant difference in the incidence of treatment-related adverse events between the two group(69.00％vs.64.50％,P＞0.05).Conclusion The non-inferiority of Brexpiprazole to aripiprazole was established,with comparable efficacy and acceptability.

Thyroglobulin(Tg)is a glycoprotein with large molecular weight,which is synthesized and secreted into the bloodstream by thyroid follicular cells.The concentration level of Tg in blood is one of the important biomarkers for diagnosis of thyroid diseases such as differentiated thyroid cancer(DTC),subacute thyroiditis,etc..Radioimmunoassay(RIA),immunoradiometric assay(IRMA),and immunochemiluminescence assay(ICMA)are the main clinical methods for detecting Tg.Recently,for meeting the requirement of detecting low concentration of Tg in blood after thyroid clearance surgery,researchers have developed various high-performance analysis methods for detecting Tg concentration in blood samples,providing new assays for thyroid disease screening and efficacy evaluation.This review summarized the analysis methods of Tg,especially the new progresses in the biosensors for monitoring low concentration of Tg in blood during the past five years.The current technical challenges of these methods in clinical applications were briefly discussed,which might provide useful information for developing new liquid biopsy methods of DTC.

Objective To examine the effect of estradiol (E2) treatment on ovariectomy (OVX) induced depressive-like behavior and possible mechanism by measuring inflammatory biomarkers levels oi interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis tactor-(x (TNF-ot) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in amygdaia nucleus. Methods Thirty nine healthy aduit 缶male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups : sham operation group (SO), ovariectomized group (OVX) and ovariectomized estradiol treatment group (OVX + E2). After 6 weeks of E2 treatment, depressive like behavior was evaluated by opening field test (OFT) and sugar water preference test (SPT). The levels of inflammatory factors IL-6 and TNF-a in amygdala were measured by ELESA, and the expression of BDNF in rat amygdala was detected by immunohistochemical staining. Results The result of the SPT showed that OVX significantly decreased the sugar intake and sugar preference rate of rats, and E2 treatment significantly increased sugar water intake and sugar water preference rate of rats. The result of the OFT showed that OVX significantly decreased the numbers of crossing and rearing of rats, and reduced the time spent in the centre ; E2 treatment significantly increased the numbers of crossing and rearing of rats, and prolonged the time spent in the centre. ELESA and immunohistochemical analysis found the levels of IL-6 and TNF-a in amygdala increased significantly, while the average absorbance (AA) of BDNF in the amygdala reduced significantly (P<0.01 respectively) of rats in OVX group when compared with the SO group. And the levels of IL-6 and TNF-a in amygdala decreased significantly (P<0.01 respectively), while the A4 of BDNF increased significantly (P< 0.05) in the amygdala of rats in the OVX+EX group when compared with the OVX group. The difference was statistically significant. Conclusion E2 treatment improved depression-like behavior of OVX rats is partly due to increased antiinflammatory and activated the BDNF expression in amygdaloid nucleus, thus enhancing the neuroprotective effect of OVX rats.

Lozenge is one of the traditional dosage forms of Chinese medicine. It has been recorded in traditional Chinese medical classics of all dynasties since the Eastern Han Dynasty and has been developing and evolving continuously. The unique pharmaceutical methods and application scope are the driving force of its emergence, existence, and development. Up to now, lozenge has been included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia as an independent dosage form. Lozenge has been endowed with new meaning by modern Chinese medicine pharmaceutics, which is worth tracing origin and exploring value. The present study reviewed the origin and development of lozenge, compared lozenge with other similar dosage forms, analyzed the characteristics of modern and ancient dosage forms of lozenge, and discussed the development prospect and potential of lozenge in combination with the demand development of modern Chinese medicine preparation, so as to provide references for expanding the modern application of lozenge.
Biopharmaceutics ; Medicine, East Asian Traditional ; Tablets ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, is a major public health issue. The epidemic is unlikely to be contained until the global launch of safe and effective vaccines that could prevent serious illnesses and provide herd immunity. Although most patients have mild flu-like symptoms, some develop severe illnesses accompanied by multiple organ dysfunction. The identification of pathophysiology and early warning biomarkers of a severe type of COVID-19 contribute to the treatment and prevention of serious complications. Here, we review the pathophysiology, early warning indicators, and effective treatment of Chinese and Western Medicine for patients with a severe type of COVID-19.
COVID-19 ; Humans ; SARS-CoV-2

Light is the main source for plants to obtain energy.Asarum forbesii is a typical shade medicinal plant, which generally grows in the shady and wet place under the bushes or beside the ditches.It can grow and develop without too much light intensity.This experiment explores the effects of shading on the growth, physiological characteristics and energy metabolism of A.forbesii, which can provide reference and guidance for its artificial planting.In this experiment, A.forbesii was planted under 80%, 60%, 40%, 20% and no shade.During the vigorous growth period, the photosynthetic physiological characteristics such as fluorescence parameters, photosynthetic parameters, photosynthetic pigment content and ultrastructure, as well as the content of mitochondrial electron transport chain(ETC) synthase and nutrients were measured.The results showed that the photosynthetic pigment content, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and net photosynthesis rate(P_n) decreased with the decrease of shading.Under 20%-40% shading treatment, the plants had damaged ultrastructure, expanded and disintegrated chloroplast, disordered stroma lamella and grana lamella, and increased osmiophi-lic granules and starch granules.The activities of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase(NADH), succinate dehydrogenase(SDH), cytochrome C oxidoreductase(CCO) and adenosine triphosphate(ATP) synthasewere positively related to light intensity.With the reduction of shading, the content of total sugar and protein in nutrients increased first and then decreased, and the content was the highest under 60% shade.In conclusion, under 60%-80% shading treatment, the chloroplast and mitochondria had more complete structure, faster energy metabolism, higher light energy-conversion efficiency, better absorption and utilization of light energy and more nutrient synthesis, which was more suitable for the growth and development of A.forbesii.
Asarum ; Chlorophyll/metabolism* ; Chloroplasts ; Energy Metabolism ; Photosynthesis/physiology* ; Plant Leaves/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the application effect of sequential autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (Auto-HSCT) with lenalidomide, bortezomib and dexamethasone (RVD) in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) evaluated by propensity score matching. METHODS: The clinical data of 49 MM patients treated with RVD scheme and followed-up for 36 months in the hospital from January 2015 to January 2021 were retrospectively analyzed and included in the control group, the clinical data of 54 MM patients who received RVD scheme and sequential Auto-HSCT scheme and completed 36 months of follow-up in the hospital during the same period were collected and included in the observation group. PSM method (1∶1, caliper value=0.01) was used to match the control group with the observation group based on baseline data and laboratory indexes, covariate equilibrium samples were obtained between groups (40 cases in each group). The clinical efficacy of patients in the two groups after 18 weeks of treatment was compared; the incidence of toxic and side effects during treatment of patients in the two groups was compared; the survival of patients in the two groups was compared after 36 months of follow-up. RESULTS: The ORR and DCR in the observation group were higher than those in the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Compared the incidence of fatigue, rash, thrombocytopenia, anemia and nausea of patients in the two groups, there was no statistical significant difference (P>0.05). After 36 months of follow-up (no loss during follow-up), 4 cases died from illness in the observation group, with a survival rate of 90% and an average survival time of 35.61 (95% CI: 35541-35.685) months, 10 cases died from illness in the control group, with a survival rate of 75% and an average survival time of 34.70 (95% CI: 34.559-34.832) months, the survival rate of the observation group was higher than that of the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Sequential Auto-HSCT with RVD regimen in the treatment of MM can improve the short-term efficacy and increase the survival rate of patients, which will not increase toxic and side effects and has high safety.
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Bortezomib/therapeutic use* ; Dexamethasone ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation/adverse effects* ; Humans ; Multiple Myeloma/drug therapy* ; Propensity Score ; Retrospective Studies ; Transplantation, Autologous/methods* ; Treatment Outcome

Objective: To explore the effect of moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8) on myocardial structure and function in exercise-induced fatigue rats. Methods: A 12-week treadmill running training was performed to create an exercise-induced fatigue rat model. Sixty eligible male specific-pathogen-free grade Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a control group, a model group, a non-meridian non-acupoint group, a Zusanli (ST 36) group and a Shenque (CV 8) group, with 10 rats in each group. Rats in the blank group did not receive treadmill running training or moxibustion. Rats in the control group did not receive treadmill running training but received mild moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8). Rats in the model group received treadmill running training but no moxibustion. Rats in the non-meridian non-acupoint group, the Zusanli (ST 36) group and the Shenque (CV 8) group received moxibustion at the non-meridian non-acupoint points, Zusanli (ST 36) or Shenque (CV 8) immediately after each treadmill running training, 15 min each time, once a day for 5 consecutive days a week at a 2-day interval, 60 times of moxibustion in total. Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDd), left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESd), left ventricular diastolic volume (LVDv), left ventricular systolic volume (LVSv), ejection fraction (EF), stroke volume (SV), early diastolic peak flow velocity of mitral valve (E) and late diastolic peak flow velocity of mitral valve (A) of each group before and after the last treadmill running training were measured. Blood was collected 6 h after the last treadmill running training, and serum C-reactive protein (CRP), myoglobin (Mb), creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB), cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) levels were detected. Finally, the heart was separated, the heart mass (HM) was measured, the cTnT level of the myocardial tissue was detected, the ultrastructural changes of the left ventricular myocardium were observed by transmission electron microscope, the left ventricular fraction shortening (LVFS), E/A and heart mass index (HMI) were calculated. Results: Compared with the same group before treatment, the rat cardiac LVEDd, LVESd, LVDv, LVSv, SV, E and A were significantly increased (all P<0.01), and the rat LVFS, E/A and EF were significantly decreased (all P<0.01) in the model group and the non-meridian non-acupoint group after treatment; the rat cardiac SV, LVDv, LVSv, E and A were all increased (all P<0.01), while E/A and EF were decreased (all P<0.01) in the Zusanli (ST 36) group after treatment; the rat cardiac LVDv, E and A were significantly increased (P<0.01 or P<0.05), and E/A was significantly decreased (P<0.01) in the Shenque (CV 8) group after treatment. After treatment, compared with the blank group, the rat cardiac LVEDd, LVESd, SV, LVDv, LVSv, E, A, the serum CRP, Mb, CK-MB, cTnI, cTnT and HMI, and the myocardial cTnT were increased (all P<0.01), and the LVFS, E/A and EF were all reduced (all P<0.01) in the model group; compared with the model group and the non-meridian non-acupoint group, rats in the Zusanli (ST 36) group and the Shenque (CV 8) group showed decreased LVEDd, LVESd, SV, LVDv, LVSv, E, A, serum CRP, Mb, CK-MB, cTnI, cTnT and HMI, and myocardial cTnT (P<0.01 or P<0.05), along with increased LVFS, E/A and EF (all P<0.01); compared with the Zusanli (ST 36) group, Mb and A of the Shenque (CV 8) group were decreased (both P<0.01), while both E/A and EF were increased (P<0.01, P<0.05). Transmission electron microscopy examination showed that myofibrils in the blank group and the control group were neatly arranged with clear light and dark bands; the model group and the non-meridian non-acupoint group showed different degrees of myofibril disintegration and breakage, increased and aggregated mitochondria of different sizes, and increased electron density. The myofibrils in the Shenque (CV 8) group and Zusanli (ST 36) group were arranged neatly with clear light and dark bands, and compensatory hyperplasia of mitochondria. Conclusion: Moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8) and Zusanli (ST 36) both can effectively improve the occurrence of myocardial remodeling in exercise-induced fatigue rats, and the effect of moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8) is better in improving cardiac function.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1) can protect human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) against high glucose-induced apoptosis and examine the underlying mechanism. METHODS: HUVECs were divided into 5 groups: control group (5.5 mmol/L glucose), high glucose (HG, 40 mmol/L) treatment group, Rb1 (50 µ mol/L) treatment group, Rb1 plus HG treatment group, and Rb1 and 3-( RESULTS: Rb1 ameliorated survival in cells in which apoptosis was induced by high glucose (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Upon the addition of Rb1, mitochondrial and intracellular reactive oxygen species generation and malondialdehyde levels were decreased (P<0.01), while the activities of antioxidant enzymes were increased (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Rb1 preserved the mitochondrial membrane potential and reduced the release of Cyt-c from the mitochondria into the cytosol (P<0.01). In addition, Rb1 upregulated mitochondrial biogenesis-associated proteins (P<0.01). Notably, the cytoprotective effects of Rb1 were correlated with SIRT3 signalling pathway activation (P<0.01). The effect of Rb1 against high glucose-induced mitochondria-related apoptosis was restrained by 3-TYP (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSION Rb1 could protect HUVECs from high glucose-induced apoptosis by promoting mitochondrial function and suppressing oxidative stress through the SIRT3 signalling pathway.