Insulin Resistance and the Prognosis in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma.

OBJECTIVE:  To investigate whether insulin resistance (IR) affects the prognosis in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Place and Duration of the Study: The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China, from September 2017 to December 2021. METHODOLOGY: This study retrospectively analysed 324 patients with DLBCL who were divided into a non-IR group (251 cases) and IR group (73 cases) according to IR. The authors collected clinical data of the study population and calculated the overall survival (OS) of patients through inpatient case data or follow-up. The Cox regression method was used to assess the prognostic factors of the patients. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for drawing the survival curve of IR on OS of the DLBCL patients. RESULTS: The IR group had older age, higher international prognostic index (IPI), later stage, and higher insulin levels. The five-year OS rate was 46% in the IR group and 66% in the non-IR group. Compared with the non-IR group, the IR group showed a poor prognosis (OS: adjusted HR 1.23, 95% CI: 1.02-1.41, p = 0.031). CONCLUSION: IR was one of the factors leading to poor prognosis in patients with DLBCL, and attention should be paid to this risk factor. KEY WORDS: Insulin resistance, Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, Overall survival, Prognosis.

Quercetin protects against the Aß(25-35)-induced amnesic injury: involvement of inactivation of rage-mediated pathway and conservation of the NVU.

Quercetin has demonstrated protective effects against Aß-induced toxicity on both neurons and endothelial cells. However, whether or not quercetin has an effect on the neurovascular coupling is unclear. In the present study, we aim to investigate the anti-amnesic effects of quercetin and to explore the underlying mechanisms. Aß(25-35) (10 nmol) was administrated to mice i.c.v. Quercetin was administrated orally for 8 days after injection. Learning and memory behaviors were evaluated by measuring spontaneous alternation in Morris Water Maze test and the step-through positive avoidance test. The regional cerebral blood flow was monitored before the Aß(25-35) injection and on seven consecutive days after injection. Mice were sacrificed and cerebral cortices were isolated on the last day. The effects of quercetin on the neurovascular unit (NVU) integrity, microvascular function and cholinergic neuronal changes, and the modification of signaling pathways were tested. Our results demonstrate that quercetin treatment for Aß(25-35)-induced amnesic mice improved the learning and memory capabilities and conferred robust neurovascular coupling protection, involving maintenance of the NVU integrity, reduction of neurovascular oxidation, modulation of microvascular function, improvement of cholinergic system, and regulation of neurovascular RAGE signaling pathway and ERK/CREB/BDNF pathway. In conclusion, in Aß(25-35)-induced amnesic mice, optimal doses of quercetin administration were beneficial. Quercetin protected the NVU likely through reduction of oxidative damage, inactivation of RAGE-mediated pathway and preservation of cholinergic neurons, offering an alternative medication for Alzheimer's disease.

The protective effect of 3-deoxysappanchalcone on in vitro influenza virus-induced apoptosis and inflammation.

Influenza virus is one of the most important causes of acute respiratory disease. Viral infection and viral replication activate multiple cell signalling pathways. Apoptosis of infected cells and immune response against viral replication, which are generally considered to be protective mechanisms, are also probably mediated by viruses, which lead to severe health problems. We previously reported that 3-deoxysappanchalcone (3-DSC), a compound that is isolated from Caesalpinia sappan, exhibited in vitro anti-influenza activity. In the present study, we further identified that 3-DSC inhibited viral genomic replication and transcription only at a relatively high concentration. We then evaluated the effect of 3-DSC on the regulation of virus-induced cellular apoptosis. 3-DSC ameliorated virus-induced DNA fragmentation in a concentration-dependent manner, which tends to be a consequence of its inhibition of upstream caspase activation. 3-DSC also protected host cells against influenza-induced inflammation by suppressing CCL5 and CXCL10 secretions in endothelial cells and reducing the production of IL-6 and IL-1ß in monocytes/macrophages. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that anti-influenza virus mechanisms of 3-DSC involved anti-apoptosis and anti-inflammation activities in vitro. Moreover, 3-DSC could be a promising drug candidate for influenza treatment.

[Active neuraminidase constituents of Polygonum cuspidatum against influenza A(H1N1) influenza virus].

OBJECTIVE: To isolate and identify active neuraminidase constituents of Polygonum cuspidatum against influenza A (H1N1) influenza virus. METHOD: On the basis of the bioassay-guided fractionation,such chromatographic methods as silica gel, sephadex LH-20 and HPLC were adopted to isolate active constituents of extracts from Polygonum cuspidatum, and their molecular structures were identifiied on the basis of their spectral data such as NMR and MS and physico-chemical properties. RESULT: Seven compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of P. cuspidatum and identified as 2-methoxystypandrone (1), emodin (2), resveratrol (3), polydatin (4), emodin-8-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (5), (E)-3, 5, 12-trihydroxystilbene-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside-2'-(3", 4", 5"-trihydroxybenzoate) (6) and catechin-3-O-gallate (7), respectively. Among them, the NA test showed that compounds 3, 6 and 7 had inhibitory effect against NAs activity, with IC50 values of 129.8, 44.8 and 21.3 micromol x L(-1), respectively. Moreover, the further CPE test showed compounds 6 and 7 had significant inhibitory effect against H1N influenza virus (EC50 = 5.9, 0.9 micromol x L(-1), respectively), with very low cytotoxicity to the host cells, their therapeutic selective index(SI) in MDCK cells ranged from 56 to 269. CONCLUSION: The neuraminidase inhibitors against H1N1 anti-influenza virus isolated from extracts of P. cuspidatum on the basis of the bioassay-guided fractionation are significant in specifying their therapeutic material basis and drug R&D against influenza.