Biosensor analysis technology is a kind of technology with high specificity that can convert biological reactions into optical and electrical signals. In the development of drugs for Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to different disease hypotheses and targets, this technology plays an important role in confirming targets and screening active compounds. This paper briefly describes the pathogenesis of AD and the current situation of therapeutic drugs, introduces three biosensor analysis techniques commonly used in the discovery of AD drugs, such as surface plasmon resonance (SPR), biolayer interferometry (BLI) and fluorescence analysis technology, explains its basic principle and application progress, and summarizes their advantages and limitations respectively.

Objective:To investigate the application value of transanal endoscopic intersphincteric resection (taE-ISR) in sphincter preservation for low rectal cancer.Methods:The pro-pensity score matching and retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 278 patients with low rectal cancer who were admitted to 5 medical centers, including Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine et al, from January 2017 to December 2021 were collected. There were 178 males and 100 females, aged 58 (range, 49-64)years. Of 278 pati-ents, 147 cases undergoing taE-ISR were divided into the taE-ISR group, and 131 cases undergoing intersphincteric resection (ISR) were divided into the ISR group. Observation indicators:(1) propen-sity score matching and comparison of general data of patients between the two groups after matching; (2) comparison of intraoperative and postoperative conditions between the two groups; (3) long-term follow-up of the two groups; (4) analysis of risk factors affecting sphincter preservation for low rectal cancer. Propensity score matching was done by the 1∶1 nearest neighbor matching method, with a caliper value of 0.05. Propensity score matching analysis was done using the Matching package. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was conducted using the Student′s t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M( Q1, Q3), and comparison between groups was conducted using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Count data were described as absolute numbers or percentages, and comparison between groups was conducted using the Pearson chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival rate and plot survival curve, and the Log-Rank test was used for survival analysis. Multivariate analysis was conducted using the Logistic regression model with the "glm2" package. The forest plot was used to show the risk factors affecting sphincter preservation for low rectal cancer. Results:(1) Propensity score matching and comparison of general data of patients between the two groups after matching. Of 278 patients, 180 cases were successfully matched, including 90 cases in the taE-ISR group and 90 cases in the ISR group, respectively. After propensity score matching, the elimination of distance between ischial tuberosities and distance from ischial tuberosity to the skin of buttocks confounding bias ensured comparability between the two groups. (2) Comparison of intraoperative and postoperative conditions between the two groups. Cases with positive distal margins, cases with specimen integrity, cases with sphincter preservation were 1, 88, 88 in the taE-ISR group and 8, 78, 74 in the ISR group, showing significant differences between the two groups ( P<0.05). (3) Long-term follow-up of the two groups. The median follow-up time was 4.3(range, 3.8-5.0)years of the taE-ISR group and 4.1(range, 3.4-4.7)years of the ISR group. The overall survival rate, disease-free survival rate and cumulative recurrence rate were 100.0%, 95.6% and 2.2% of the taE-ISR group, versus 98.9%, 87.8% and 10.0% of the ISR group, showing no significant difference in overall survival rate between the two groups ( χ2=0.97, P>0.05) and significant differences in disease-free survival rate and cumulative recurrence rate between the two groups ( χ2=4.05, 5.26, P<0.05). (4) Analysis of risk factors affecting sphincter preservation for low rectal cancer. Results of multivariate analysis showed that taE-ISR, distance from the tumor to the anus, and adjacent organ damage were independent factors affecting sphincter preservation for low rectal cancer ( odds ratio=0.86, 0.88, 1.35, 95% confidence interval as 0.79-0.93, 0.83-0.92, 1.04-1.74, P<0.05). In further analysis, there were significant differences in sphincter preservation and defecatory dysfunction between the 21 cases with neoadjuvant therapy in the taE-ISR group and the 19 cases with neoadjuvant therapy in the ISR group ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The taE-ISR is safe and feasible for patients with low rectal cancer. Compared with ISR, taE-ISR can significantly improve surgical quality, sphincter preservation rate and patient prognosis.

Objective:To investigate the incidence of postoperative complications in Chinese patients with gastric or colorectal cancer, and to evaluate the risk factors for postoperative complications.Methods:This was a national, multicenter, prospective, registry-based, cohort study of data obtained from the database of the Prevalence of Abdominal Complications After Gastro- enterological Surgery (PACAGE) study sponsored by the China Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgical Union. The PACAGE database prospectively collected general demographic characteristics, protocols for perioperative treatment, and variables associated with postoperative complications in patients treated for gastric or colorectal cancer in 20 medical centers from December 2018 to December 2020. The patients were grouped according to the presence or absence of postoperative complications. Postoperative complications were categorized and graded in accordance with the expert consensus on postoperative complications in gastrointestinal oncology surgery and Clavien-Dindo grading criteria. The incidence of postoperative complications of different grades are presented as bar charts. Independent risk factors for occurrence of postoperative complications were identified by multifactorial unconditional logistic regression.Results:The study cohort comprised 3926 patients with gastric or colorectal cancer, 657 (16.7%) of whom had a total of 876 postoperative complications. Serious complications (Grade III and above) occurred in 4.0% of patients (156/3926). The rate of Grade V complications was 0.2% (7/3926). The cohort included 2271 patients with gastric cancer with a postoperative complication rate of 18.1% (412/2271) and serious complication rate of 4.7% (106/2271); and 1655 with colorectal cancer, with a postoperative complication rate of 14.8% (245/1655) and serious complication rate of 3.0% (50/1655). The incidences of anastomotic leakage in patients with gastric and colorectal cancer were 3.3% (74/2271) and 3.4% (56/1655), respectively. Abdominal infection was the most frequently occurring complication, accounting for 28.7% (164/572) and 39.5% (120/304) of postoperative complications in patients with gastric and colorectal cancer, respectively. The most frequently occurring grade of postoperative complication was Grade II, accounting for 65.4% (374/572) and 56.6% (172/304) of complications in patients with gastric and colorectal cancers, respectively. Multifactorial analysis identified (1) the following independent risk factors for postoperative complications in patients in the gastric cancer group: preoperative comorbidities (OR=2.54, 95%CI: 1.51-4.28, P<0.001), neoadjuvant therapy (OR=1.42, 95%CI:1.06-1.89, P=0.020), high American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scores (ASA score 2 points:OR=1.60, 95% CI: 1.23-2.07, P<0.001, ASA score ≥3 points:OR=0.43, 95% CI: 0.25-0.73, P=0.002), operative time >180 minutes (OR=1.81, 95% CI: 1.42-2.31, P<0.001), intraoperative bleeding >50 mL (OR=1.29,95%CI: 1.01-1.63, P=0.038), and distal gastrectomy compared with total gastrectomy (OR=0.65,95%CI: 0.51-0.83, P<0.001); and (2) the following independent risk factors for postoperative complications in patients in the colorectal cancer group: female (OR=0.60, 95%CI: 0.44-0.80, P<0.001), preoperative comorbidities (OR=2.73, 95%CI: 1.25-5.99, P=0.030), neoadjuvant therapy (OR=1.83, 95%CI:1.23-2.72, P=0.008), laparoscopic surgery (OR=0.47, 95%CI: 0.30-0.72, P=0.022), and abdominoperineal resection compared with low anterior resection (OR=2.74, 95%CI: 1.71-4.41, P<0.001). Conclusion:Postoperative complications associated with various types of infection were the most frequent complications in patients with gastric or colorectal cancer. Although the risk factors for postoperative complications differed between patients with gastric cancer and those with colorectal cancer, the presence of preoperative comorbidities, administration of neoadjuvant therapy, and extent of surgical resection, were the commonest factors associated with postoperative complications in patients of both categories.

Objective:To investigate the effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors on reducing residual lymph node metastasis in patients with gastric cancer.Methods:The cohort of this retrospective study comprised patients from Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University and the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University who had undergone systemic treatment prior to gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy and had achieved Grade 1 primary tumor regression (TRG1) from January 2014 to December 2023. After exclusion of patients who had undergone preoperative radiotherapy, data of 58 patients (Nanfang Hospital: 46; First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University: 12) were analyzed. These patients were allocated to preoperative chemotherapy (Chemotherapy group, N=36 cases) and preoperative immunotherapy plus chemotherapy groups (Immunotherapy group, N=22 cases). There were no significant differences between these groups in sex, age, body mass index, diabetes, tumor location, pathological type, Lauren classification, tumor differentiation, pretreatment depth of invasion by primary tumor, pretreatment lymph node stage, pretreatment clinical stage, mismatch repair protein status, number of preoperative treatment cycles, or duration of preoperative treatment (all P>0.05). The primary outcome measure was postoperative lymph node downstaging. Secondary outcomes included postoperative depth of invasion by tumor, number of lymph nodes examined, and factors affecting residual lymph node metastasis status. Results:Lymph node downstaging was achieved significantly more often in the Immunotherapy group than the Chemotherapy group (pN0: 90.9% [20/22] vs. 61.1% [22/36]; pN1: 4.5% [1/22] vs. 36.1% [13/36]; pN2: 4.5% [1/22) vs. 0; pN3: 0 vs. 2.8% [1/36], Z=-2.315, P=0.021). There were no significant difference between the two groups in number of lymph nodes examined (40.5±16.3 vs. 40.8±17.5, t=0.076, P=0.940) or postoperative depth of invasion by primary tumor (pT1a: 50.0% [11/22] vs. 30.6% [11/36]; pT1b: 13.6% [3/22] vs. 19.4% [7/36]; pT2: 13.6% [3/22] vs. 13.9% [5/36]; pT3: 13.6% [3/22] vs. 25.0% [9/36]; pT4a: 9.1% [2/22] vs. 11.1% [4/36], Z=-1.331, P=0.183). Univariate analysis revealed that both preoperative treatment regimens were associated with residual lymph node metastasis status in patients whose primary tumor regression was TRG1 (χ 2=6.070, P=0.014). Multivariate analysis incorporated the following factors: pretreatment depth of invasion by primary tumor, pretreatment lymph node stage, pretreatment clinical stage, number of preoperative treatment cycles, and preoperative treatment duration. We found that a combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy administered preoperatively was an independent protective factor for reducing residual lymph node metastases in study patients whose primary tumor regression was TRG1 (OR=0.147, 95%CI: 0.026–0.828, P=0.030). Conclusion:Compared with preoperative chemotherapy alone, a combination of preoperative immunotherapy and chemotherapy achieved greater reduction of residual lymph node metastases in the study patients who achieved TRG1 tumor regression in their primary lesions.

Objective:To investigate the incidence of postoperative complications in Chinese patients with gastric or colorectal cancer, and to evaluate the risk factors for postoperative complications.Methods:This was a national, multicenter, prospective, registry-based, cohort study of data obtained from the database of the Prevalence of Abdominal Complications After Gastro- enterological Surgery (PACAGE) study sponsored by the China Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgical Union. The PACAGE database prospectively collected general demographic characteristics, protocols for perioperative treatment, and variables associated with postoperative complications in patients treated for gastric or colorectal cancer in 20 medical centers from December 2018 to December 2020. The patients were grouped according to the presence or absence of postoperative complications. Postoperative complications were categorized and graded in accordance with the expert consensus on postoperative complications in gastrointestinal oncology surgery and Clavien-Dindo grading criteria. The incidence of postoperative complications of different grades are presented as bar charts. Independent risk factors for occurrence of postoperative complications were identified by multifactorial unconditional logistic regression.Results:The study cohort comprised 3926 patients with gastric or colorectal cancer, 657 (16.7%) of whom had a total of 876 postoperative complications. Serious complications (Grade III and above) occurred in 4.0% of patients (156/3926). The rate of Grade V complications was 0.2% (7/3926). The cohort included 2271 patients with gastric cancer with a postoperative complication rate of 18.1% (412/2271) and serious complication rate of 4.7% (106/2271); and 1655 with colorectal cancer, with a postoperative complication rate of 14.8% (245/1655) and serious complication rate of 3.0% (50/1655). The incidences of anastomotic leakage in patients with gastric and colorectal cancer were 3.3% (74/2271) and 3.4% (56/1655), respectively. Abdominal infection was the most frequently occurring complication, accounting for 28.7% (164/572) and 39.5% (120/304) of postoperative complications in patients with gastric and colorectal cancer, respectively. The most frequently occurring grade of postoperative complication was Grade II, accounting for 65.4% (374/572) and 56.6% (172/304) of complications in patients with gastric and colorectal cancers, respectively. Multifactorial analysis identified (1) the following independent risk factors for postoperative complications in patients in the gastric cancer group: preoperative comorbidities (OR=2.54, 95%CI: 1.51-4.28, P<0.001), neoadjuvant therapy (OR=1.42, 95%CI:1.06-1.89, P=0.020), high American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scores (ASA score 2 points:OR=1.60, 95% CI: 1.23-2.07, P<0.001, ASA score ≥3 points:OR=0.43, 95% CI: 0.25-0.73, P=0.002), operative time >180 minutes (OR=1.81, 95% CI: 1.42-2.31, P<0.001), intraoperative bleeding >50 mL (OR=1.29,95%CI: 1.01-1.63, P=0.038), and distal gastrectomy compared with total gastrectomy (OR=0.65,95%CI: 0.51-0.83, P<0.001); and (2) the following independent risk factors for postoperative complications in patients in the colorectal cancer group: female (OR=0.60, 95%CI: 0.44-0.80, P<0.001), preoperative comorbidities (OR=2.73, 95%CI: 1.25-5.99, P=0.030), neoadjuvant therapy (OR=1.83, 95%CI:1.23-2.72, P=0.008), laparoscopic surgery (OR=0.47, 95%CI: 0.30-0.72, P=0.022), and abdominoperineal resection compared with low anterior resection (OR=2.74, 95%CI: 1.71-4.41, P<0.001). Conclusion:Postoperative complications associated with various types of infection were the most frequent complications in patients with gastric or colorectal cancer. Although the risk factors for postoperative complications differed between patients with gastric cancer and those with colorectal cancer, the presence of preoperative comorbidities, administration of neoadjuvant therapy, and extent of surgical resection, were the commonest factors associated with postoperative complications in patients of both categories.

Objective:To investigate the effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors on reducing residual lymph node metastasis in patients with gastric cancer.Methods:The cohort of this retrospective study comprised patients from Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University and the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University who had undergone systemic treatment prior to gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy and had achieved Grade 1 primary tumor regression (TRG1) from January 2014 to December 2023. After exclusion of patients who had undergone preoperative radiotherapy, data of 58 patients (Nanfang Hospital: 46; First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University: 12) were analyzed. These patients were allocated to preoperative chemotherapy (Chemotherapy group, N=36 cases) and preoperative immunotherapy plus chemotherapy groups (Immunotherapy group, N=22 cases). There were no significant differences between these groups in sex, age, body mass index, diabetes, tumor location, pathological type, Lauren classification, tumor differentiation, pretreatment depth of invasion by primary tumor, pretreatment lymph node stage, pretreatment clinical stage, mismatch repair protein status, number of preoperative treatment cycles, or duration of preoperative treatment (all P>0.05). The primary outcome measure was postoperative lymph node downstaging. Secondary outcomes included postoperative depth of invasion by tumor, number of lymph nodes examined, and factors affecting residual lymph node metastasis status. Results:Lymph node downstaging was achieved significantly more often in the Immunotherapy group than the Chemotherapy group (pN0: 90.9% [20/22] vs. 61.1% [22/36]; pN1: 4.5% [1/22] vs. 36.1% [13/36]; pN2: 4.5% [1/22) vs. 0; pN3: 0 vs. 2.8% [1/36], Z=-2.315, P=0.021). There were no significant difference between the two groups in number of lymph nodes examined (40.5±16.3 vs. 40.8±17.5, t=0.076, P=0.940) or postoperative depth of invasion by primary tumor (pT1a: 50.0% [11/22] vs. 30.6% [11/36]; pT1b: 13.6% [3/22] vs. 19.4% [7/36]; pT2: 13.6% [3/22] vs. 13.9% [5/36]; pT3: 13.6% [3/22] vs. 25.0% [9/36]; pT4a: 9.1% [2/22] vs. 11.1% [4/36], Z=-1.331, P=0.183). Univariate analysis revealed that both preoperative treatment regimens were associated with residual lymph node metastasis status in patients whose primary tumor regression was TRG1 (χ 2=6.070, P=0.014). Multivariate analysis incorporated the following factors: pretreatment depth of invasion by primary tumor, pretreatment lymph node stage, pretreatment clinical stage, number of preoperative treatment cycles, and preoperative treatment duration. We found that a combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy administered preoperatively was an independent protective factor for reducing residual lymph node metastases in study patients whose primary tumor regression was TRG1 (OR=0.147, 95%CI: 0.026–0.828, P=0.030). Conclusion:Compared with preoperative chemotherapy alone, a combination of preoperative immunotherapy and chemotherapy achieved greater reduction of residual lymph node metastases in the study patients who achieved TRG1 tumor regression in their primary lesions.

Percutaneous coronary intervention and acute coronary syndrome are both closely tied to the frequently occurring complication of coronary microembolization (CME). Resveratrol (RES) has been shown to have a substantial cardioprotective influence in a variety of cardiac diseases, though its function and potential mechanistic involvement in CME are still unclear. The forty Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into four groups randomly: CME, CME + RES (25 mg/kg), CME + RES (50 mg/kg), and sham (10 rats per group). The CME model was developed. Echocardiography, levels of myocardial injury markers in the serum, and histopathology of the myocardium were used to assess the function of the cardiac muscle. For the detection of the signaling of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB along with the expression of pyroptosisrelated molecules, ELISA, qRT-PCR, immunofluorescence, and Western blotting were used, among other techniques. The findings revealed that myocardial injury and pyroptosis occurred in the myocardium following CME, with a decreased function of cardiac, increased levels of serum myocardial injury markers, increased area of microinfarct, as well as a rise in the expression levels of pyroptosis-related molecules. In addition to this, pretreatment with resveratrol reduced the severity of myocardial injury after CME by improving cardiac dysfunction, decreasing serum myocardial injury markers, decreasing microinfarct area, and decreasing cardiomyocyte pyroptosis, primarily by blocking the signaling of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB and also reducing the NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Resveratrol may be able to alleviate CME-induced myocardial pyroptosis and cardiac dysfunction by impeding the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and the signaling pathway of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB.

Objective: To evaluate the effects on short-term clinical outcomes and long-term quality of life of laparoscopic-assisted radical proximal gastrectomy with esophageal gastric tube anastomosis versus total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis for adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction. Methods: This was a propensity score matching, retrospective, cohort study. Clinicopathological data of 184 patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction admitted to two medical centers in China from January 2016 to January 2021 were collected (147 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University and 37 in the Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University). All patients had undergone laparoscopic-assisted radical gastrectomy. They were divided into two groups based on the extent of tumor resection and technique used for digestive tract reconstruction. A proximal gastrectomy with reconstruction by esophageal gastric tube anastomosis group comprised 82 patients and a total gastrectomy with reconstruction by Roux-en-Y anastomosis group comprised 102 patients. These groups differed significantly in the following baseline characteristics: age, preoperative hemoglobin, preoperative albumin, tumor length, tumor differentiation, and tumor TNM stage (all P<0.05). To eliminate potential bias caused by unequal distribution between the two groups, 1∶1 matching was performed by the nearest neighbor matching method. The 13 matched variables comprised sex, age, height, body mass, body mass index, preoperative glucose, preoperative hemoglobin, preoperative total protein, preoperative albumin, neoadjuvant radiotherapy, tumor length, degree of differentiation, and pathological TNM stage. Postoperative complications, postoperative nutritional status, incidence of reflux esophagitis 1 year after surgery, and quality of life were compared between the two groups. Results: After propensity score matching, 60 patients each were enrolled in the proximal gastrectomy with esophageal gastric tube anastomosis and total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis groups. The baseline characteristics were comparable between these groups (all P>0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups in operative time, intraoperative bleeding, time to semifluid diet, postoperative hospital days, tumor length, and total hospital costs (P>0.05). Patients in the proximal gastrectomy with esophageal gastric tube anastomosis group had earlier postoperative gastric tube and abdominal drainage tube removal time than those in the total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis group (t=-2.183, P=0.023 and t=-4.073, P<0.001, respectively). In contrast, significantly fewer lymph nodes were cleared and significantly fewer lymph nodes were positive in the proximal gastrectomy with esophageal gastric tube anastomosis group than in the total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis group (t=-5.754, P<0.001 and t=-2.575, P=0.031, respectively). The incidence of early postoperative complications was 43.3% (26/60) in the total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis group; this is not significantly higher than the 26.7% (16/60) in the proximal gastrectomy with esophageal gastric tube anastomosis group (χ²=3.663，P=0.056). The incidences of pulmonary infection (31.7%, 19/60) and pleural effusion (30.0%, 18/60) were significantly higher in the total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis group than in the proximal gastrectomy with esophageal gastric tube anastomosis group (13.3%, 8/60 and 8.3%, 5/60, respectively); these differences are significant (χ²=8.711, P=0.003 and χ²=11.368, P=0.001, respectively). All early complications were successfully treated before discharge. The incidence of long-term postoperative complications was 20.0% (12/60) in the total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis group and 35.0% (21/60) in the proximal gastrectomy with esophageal gastric tube anastomosis group; this difference is not significant (χ²=3.386，P=0.066). The incidence of reflux esophagitis was 23.3% (14/60) in the proximal gastrectomy with esophageal gastric tube anastomosis group; this is significantly higher than the 1.7% (1/60) in the total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis group (χ²=12.876, P<0.001). Body mass index had decreased significantly in both groups 1 year after surgery compared with preoperatively; however, the difference between the two groups was not significant (P>0.05). The differences in hemoglobin and albumin concentrations between 1 year postoperatively and preoperatively were not significant (both P>0.05). Quality of life was assessed using the Visick grade. Visick grade I dominated in both groups. The percentage of patients with Visick II and III in the total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis group was 11.7% (7/60), which is significantly lower than the 33.3% (20/60) in the proximal gastrectomy with esophageal gastric tube anastomosis group (χ²=8.076, P=0.004). No patients in either group had a grade IV quality of life. Conclusions: Both proximal gastrectomy with esophageal gastric tube anastomosis and total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis laparoscopic-assisted radical surgery for adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction are safe and feasible. However, both procedures have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of postoperative complications. The incidence of reflux esophagitis is higher after proximal gastrectomy with esophageal gastric tube anastomosis, whereas the long-term quality of life is lower than that of patients after total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis.
Humans ; Anastomosis, Roux-en-Y ; Retrospective Studies ; Cohort Studies ; Esophagitis, Peptic ; Quality of Life ; Propensity Score ; Gastrectomy/methods* ; Esophagogastric Junction/surgery* ; Anastomosis, Surgical/methods* ; Adenocarcinoma/pathology* ; Stomach Neoplasms/pathology* ; Postoperative Complications ; Treatment Outcome

Coronary microembolization (CME) is associated with cardiomyocyte apoptosis and cardiac dysfunction. Puerarin confers protection against multiple cardiovascular diseases, but its effects and specific mechanisms on CME are not fully known. Hence, our study investigated whether puerarin pretreatment could alleviate cardiomyocyte apoptosis and improve cardiac function following CME. The molecular mechanism associated was also explored. A total of 48 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into CME, CME + Puerarin (CME + Pue), sham, and sham + Puerarin (sham + Pue) groups (with 12 rats per group). A CME model was established in CME and CME + Pue groups by injecting 42 μm microspheres into the left ventricle of rats. Rats in the CME + Pue and sham + Pue groups were intraperitoneally injected with puerarin at 120 mg/kg daily for 7 days before operation. Cardiac function, myocardial histopathology, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis index were determined via cardiac ultrasound, hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) and hematoxylin-basic fuchsin-picric acid (HBFP) stainings, and TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining, respectively. Western blotting was used to measure protein expression related to the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) pathway. We found that, puerarin significantly ameliorated cardiac dysfunction after CME, attenuated myocardial infarct size, and reduced myocardial apoptotic index. Besides, puerarin inhibited cardiomyocyte apoptosis, as revealed by decreased Bax and cleaved caspase-3, and up-regulated Bcl-2 and PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β pathway related proteins. Collectively, puerarin can inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis and thus attenuate myocardial injury caused by CME. Mechanistically, these effects may be achieved through activation of the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β pathway.

Coronary microembolization (CME) is associated with cardiomyocyte apoptosis and cardiac dysfunction. Puerarin confers protection against multiple cardiovascular diseases, but its effects and specific mechanisms on CME are not fully known. Hence, our study investigated whether puerarin pretreatment could alleviate cardiomyocyte apoptosis and improve cardiac function following CME. The molecular mechanism associated was also explored. A total of 48 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into CME, CME + Puerarin (CME + Pue), sham, and sham + Puerarin (sham + Pue) groups (with 12 rats per group). A CME model was established in CME and CME + Pue groups by injecting 42 μm microspheres into the left ventricle of rats. Rats in the CME + Pue and sham + Pue groups were intraperitoneally injected with puerarin at 120 mg/kg daily for 7 days before operation. Cardiac function, myocardial histopathology, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis index were determined via cardiac ultrasound, hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) and hematoxylin-basic fuchsin-picric acid (HBFP) stainings, and TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining, respectively. Western blotting was used to measure protein expression related to the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) pathway. We found that, puerarin significantly ameliorated cardiac dysfunction after CME, attenuated myocardial infarct size, and reduced myocardial apoptotic index. Besides, puerarin inhibited cardiomyocyte apoptosis, as revealed by decreased Bax and cleaved caspase-3, and up-regulated Bcl-2 and PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β pathway related proteins. Collectively, puerarin can inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis and thus attenuate myocardial injury caused by CME. Mechanistically, these effects may be achieved through activation of the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β pathway.