[Effect of mogroside VI on acute liver injury induced by sepsis in mice and related mechanisms].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of mogroside VI (MVI) on acute liver injury induced by sepsis in mice and its possible mechanisms. Methods A total of 60 male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into five groups: sham-operation, model, low-dose MVI (25 mg/kg), high-dose MVI (100 mg/kg), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1 alpha (PGC-1α) inhibitor (100 mg/kg MVI+30 mg/kg PGC-1α inhibitor SR-18292), with 12 mice in each group. Cecal ligation and puncture were performed to establish a mouse model of sepsis. The drugs were given by intraperitoneal injection after the model was established, once a day for 3 consecutive days. ELISA was used to measure the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Colorimetry was used to measure the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in liver tissue. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe liver histopathological changes. Liver mitochondrial respiratory function was measured, and mitochondrial respiratory control rate was calculated. RT-PCR was used to measure the copy number of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in liver tissue and the mRNA expression levels of PGC-1α, nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF-1), and mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) in liver tissue. Western blot was used to measure the protein expression levels of PGC-1α, NRF-1, and TFAM in liver tissue. RESULTS: Compared with the sham-operation group, the model group had significant increases in the serum levels of ALT and AST and the content of MDA in liver tissue (P<0.05) and significant reductions in the activities of GSH-Px and SOD in liver tissue (P<0.05). The model group had also severe liver histopathological injury and significant reductions in the mitochondrial respiratory control rate, the copy number of mtDNA, and the mRNA and protein expression levels of PGC-1α, NRF-1, and TFAM in liver tissue (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the high-dose group had significant reductions in the serum levels of ALT and AST and the content of MDA in liver tissue (P<0.05), significant increases in the activities of GSH-Px and SOD in liver tissue (P<0.05), significant improvement in liver histopathological injury, and significant increases in the mitochondrial respiratory control rate, the copy number of mtDNA, and the mRNA and protein expression levels of PGC-1α, NRF-1, and TFAM in liver tissue (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the above indicators between the low-dose and model groups (P>0.05). The PGC-1α inhibitor SR-18292 significantly inhibited the intervention effect of high-dose MVI (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: MVI can effectively alleviate acute liver injury caused by sepsis in mice, possibly by enhancing mitochondrial biosynthesis mediated by PGC-1α.

Methotrexate can prevent cardiovascular events in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: An updated meta-analysis.

AIMS: The incidence of cardiovascular events (CVEs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is higher than that in people without RA. This may be because inflammation promotes the progression of atherosclerosis. Anti-inflammatory drugs might reduce the occurrence of CVEs in patients with RA. Methotrexate (MTX) is a conventional synthetic anti-rheumatic drug that is widely used in the treatment of RA. We performed a meta-analysis to determine whether MTX can prevent CVEs in RA patients. Then, we discussed the possibility of using MTX to prevent recurred CVEs in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library using the key words "methotrexate," "cardiovascular," "acute coronary syndrome," "coronary heart disease," "myocardial infarction," "angina pectoris," and "rheumatoid arthritis." The efficacy outcome was defined as a composite of CVEs, including stable angina, acute coronary syndrome, stroke, heart failure, and cardiac death. RESULTS: A total of 10 studies and 195,416 RA patients were included in our meta-analysis, and the effect size of relative risk (RR) was pooled using a fixed effect model. The results showed that MTX prevented CVEs in RA patients (RR: 0.798, 95% CI 0.726-0.876, P = .001, I2 = 27. 9%). CONCLUSION: MTX can prevent CVEs in RA patients, but there is not sufficient evidence for using MTX to treat patients with CHD.

miRNA­34a­5p downregulation of VEGFA in endometrial stem cells contributes to the pathogenesis of endometriosis.

Endometrial-derived stem cells (EnSCs) serve an important role in the development of endometriosis via retrograde menstruation. Abnormal expression of miRNAs in EnSCs is involved in the etiology of endometriosis, however, the mechanisms remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of miR­34a­5p and VEGFA in endometrial samples from patients with or without endometriosis, and then examine the underlying mechanism of microRNA­34a­5p regulation of VEGFA in EnSCs. Endometrial samples from patients with or without endometriosis were collected, and miR­34a­5p expression in the two groups was measured using RT­PCR. Human endometrial­derived stem cells (hEnSCs) were isolated from these endometrial samples, and hEnSCs were transfected with the miR­34a­5p mimics or control miRNAs. qPCR and western blotting were performed to assess the effects of miR­34a­5p on the expression of VEGFA in hEnSCs, and cell growth was assessed by an MTT assay. miR­34a­5p was significantly downregulated in patients with endometriosis when compared with that of those without endometriosis. VEGFA expression levels in hEnSCs with an overexpression of miR­34a­5p were significantly reduced when compared with those in the negative control (P<0.01). In addition, the upregulation of miR­34a­5p suppressed EnSCs proliferation by targeting the 3' untranslated region of VEGFA. miR­34a­5p provides a novel avenue for the understanding of the development of endometriosis, and may facilitate the development of potential therapeutics against endometriosis.

[Evaluation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and tumor necrosis factor-beta in serum of patients with endometriosis].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and tumor necrosis factor-beta (TNF-beta) before and after conservative laparoscopic surgery in patients with endometriosis. METHODS: The levels of TNF-alpha and TNF-beta in the serum of both 82 patients with EMS and 68 controls were determined by ELISA. RESULTS: The levels of TNF-alpha and TNF-beta in the serum of patients with EMS were significantly higher than those of the controls (P < 0.01), and they increased with the clinical terms ( P < 0.05). After clearance of endometrosis foci with laparoscopic conservative surgery, the TNF-alpha levels decreased significantly in EMS III - IV, and TNF-beta levels decreased significantly in EMS I - IV. CONCLUSION: Measuring TNF-alpha and TNF-beta levels in the serum of patients with EMS may have important value in postoperative follow-up, surveillance and evaluation of the effectiveness of the surgery.

[Laparoscopic radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy: analysis of 14 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility and safety of surgical removal of the tumors through laparoscopy in patients with early-stage uterine cancer. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 10 cervical cancer and 4 endometrial cancer cases, in which laparoscopic radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy were performed following the same surgical procedures as in laparotomy. RESULTS: The mean operating time was 302 min, and mean estimated blood loss was 760 ml, with the mean postoperative gastrointestinal recovery time of 30 h and average number of removed lymph nodes of 22. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic surgery has equivalent curative effect to laparotomy, and laparoscopic radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy in the patients with early-stage uterine cancer is both feasible and efficient.

Production of novel microbial flocculants by Klebsiella sp. TG-1 using waste residue from the food industry and its use in defecating the trona suspension.

A microbial-flocculants-producing (MBF-producing) bacterium, named TG-1, was isolated from waste water of a starch factory, and identified as Klebsiella sp. TG-1. The microbial flocculants (MBF) produced by TG-1, named as MBF-TG-1, was applied to defecating the strong basic trona suspension in the trona industry. After optimizing medium and culturing conditions with single-factor and orthogonal designs, the highest flocculation rate of 86.9% was achieved. Chemical analysis showed that the purified microbial flocculants (MBF-TG-1) was mainly composed of polysaccharides (84.6%), with a small amount of protein or amino acid (11.1%). Bridging mechanism was supposed as the main flocculation mechanism by analyzing the flocculation process and the biochemistry properties of MBF-TG-1. The high flocculation rate (84%) was also achieved with a low-cost medium (the solid residue of tofu production from food industry).