Association Between Serum Magnesium Levels and Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes.

Introduction: Serum magnesium is a crucial mineral within the human body. It is imperative for diabetic patients to maintain optimal serum magnesium levels. We focus on the relationship between glycemic control and serum magnesium in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: The retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study comprised 1694 patients recruited from the People's Hospital of Yuxi. Fasting blood samples were collected for analysis, accompanied by the recording of participants' demographic characteristics. Patients were categorized into two groups based on whether their glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels < 7%. A t-test was employed to identify significant differences between the two groups. Correlation coefficients were calculated using Pearson's method. A Logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between variables and glycemic control. A linear regression analysis was performed to assess the relationship between serum magnesium levels and HbA1c. Results: Patients with poor glycemic control exhibited elevated age, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) compared to those with good glycemic control (P < 0.001). Additionally, total cholesterol (TC) levels were significantly higher in patients with poor glycemic control. Conversely, high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) and serum magnesium levels were lower in patients with poor glycemic control. Serum magnesium levels exhibited negative correlations with HOMA-IR (r = -0.05, P < 0.05), HbA1c (r = -0.29, P < 0.05), and FPG (r = -0.20, P < 0.05). Moreover, serum magnesium was significantly associated with reduced odds of glycemic control (OR = 0.0005, 95% CI 0.0001-0.0027, P < 0.001). Conclusion: The serum magnesium level in patients with T2DM is closely associated with glycemic control.

Tanshinone IIA increases the bystander effect of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase/ganciclovir gene therapy via enhanced gap junctional intercellular communication.

The bystander effect is an intriguing phenomenon by which adjacent cells become sensitized to drug treatment during gene therapy with herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase/ganciclovir (HSV-tk/GCV). This effect is reported to be mediated by gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC), and therefore, we postulated that upregulation of genes that facilitate GJIC may enhance the HSV-tk/GCV bystander effect. Previous findings have shown Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA), a chemical substance derived from a Chinese medicine herb, promotes the upregulation of the connexins Cx26 and Cx43 in B16 cells. Because gap junctions are formed by connexins, we hypothesized that Tan IIA might increase GJIC. Our results show that Tan IIA increased GJIC in B16 melanoma cells, leading to more efficient GCV-induced bystander killing in cells stably expressing HSV-tk. Additionally, in vivo experiments demonstrated that tumors in mice with 10% HSV-tk positive B16 cells and 90% wild-type B16 cells became smaller following treatment with the combination of GCV and Tan IIA as compared to GCV or Tan IIA alone. These data demonstrate that Tan IIA can augment the bystander effect of HSV-tk/GCV system through increased gap junction coupling, which adds strength to the promising strategy that develops connexins inducer to potentiate the effects of suicide gene therapy.

Induction of apoptosis by evodiamine involves both activation of mitotic arrest and mitotic slippage.

Evodiamine (Evo) is an indole quinazoline alkaloid isolated from the fruit of Evodia rutaecarpa Bentham. Previous studies have shown that Evo exhibits anti-proliferative anti-tumor activities in several cancer types, but its target(s) and underlying mechanism(s) of action remain unclear. In the present study, we sought to establish a cell synchronization model in order to examine the anti-proliferative and apoptotic mechanisms of Evo in the human gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901. In addition, we transfected these cells with full-length or non-degradable (ND) cyclinB1 to evaluate the relationship between the induction of apoptosis and activation of mitotic arrest and mitotic slippage by Evo. Our results demonstrated that Evo markedly inhibited cell growth and was cytotoxic to SGC-7901 cells. Furthermore, transient Evo treatment (<16 h) caused reversible mitotic arrest, but sustained mitotic arrest was required to initiate apoptosis. The time required to reverse the apoptotic effects of Evo was between 16 and 20 h. We also demonstrated that promotion of mitotic slippage by a CDK1 inhibitor enhanced apoptosis. Furthermore, we evaluated the effect of delaying mitotic slippage by overexpressing ND cyclinB1, which delayed apoptosis. In conclusion, these results indicate that Evo-induced apoptosis is associated with mitotic arrest and subsequent mitotic slippage, which may underlie the actions of Evo in the treatment and prevention of cancer.

[Effect of Ganoderma triterpene on proliferation of dendritic cells from mouse spleen].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Ganoderma Triterpene (GT) on proliferation of Dendritic cells (DC) from mouse spleen. METHODS: Compared with the cytokine (GM-CSF + IL-4), we investigated the effect of GT of different concentrations and cytokine + GT of different concentrations on proliferation of DC from mouse spleen by MTT. RESULTS: GT (40-200 microg/ml) could stimulate the proliferation of DC significantly, but the stimulations weren't obvious compared with the cytokine. GT + cytokine, compared with the negative control, had obviously promoting effect and was better than the cytokine. The results above indicated GT could not only stimulate the proliferation of DC but also significantly coorderate with the cytokine. CONCLUSIONS: GT may play the role by its growth factor-like function, and by cooperating with the cytokine in the regulation of DC.

[The effects of dieda zhentong liquid on ear microcirculation of rabbit].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of Dieda Zhentong Liquid (DDZTL) on ear microcirculation of rabbits. METHODS: With microcirculation apparatus, caliber of micrangium, velocity and volume of blood flow were detected in experimental groups. RESULTS: The volume of blood flow of DDZTL group without Chlorophytum laxum haven't an increase compared with that of the group without administering the medicinal liquid. Shexiang Shuhuo Essence group, Chlorophytum laxum group, high and low dose DDZTL group have an increase. CONCLUSION: DDZTL could improve ear microcirculation of rabbit. Chlorophytum laxum maybe play an important role in above-mentioned effect.