A neuroanatomical basis for electroacupuncture to drive the vagal-adrenal axis.

Somatosensory autonomic reflexes allow electroacupuncture stimulation (ES) to modulate body physiology at distant sites1-6 (for example, suppressing severe systemic inflammation6-9). Since the 1970s, an emerging organizational rule about these reflexes has been the presence of body-region specificity1-6. For example, ES at the hindlimb ST36 acupoint but not the abdominal ST25 acupoint can drive the vagal-adrenal anti-inflammatory axis in mice10,11. The neuroanatomical basis of this somatotopic organization is, however, unknown. Here we show that PROKR2Cre-marked sensory neurons, which innervate the deep hindlimb fascia (for example, the periosteum) but not abdominal fascia (for example, the peritoneum), are crucial for driving the vagal-adrenal axis. Low-intensity ES at the ST36 site in mice with ablated PROKR2Cre-marked sensory neurons failed to activate hindbrain vagal efferent neurons or to drive catecholamine release from adrenal glands. As a result, ES no longer suppressed systemic inflammation induced by bacterial endotoxins. By contrast, spinal sympathetic reflexes evoked by high-intensity ES at both ST25 and ST36 sites were unaffected. We also show that optogenetic stimulation of PROKR2Cre-marked nerve terminals through the ST36 site is sufficient to drive the vagal-adrenal axis but not sympathetic reflexes. Furthermore, the distribution patterns of PROKR2Cre nerve fibres can retrospectively predict body regions at which low-intensity ES will or will not effectively produce anti-inflammatory effects. Our studies provide a neuroanatomical basis for the selectivity and specificity of acupoints in driving specific autonomic pathways.

Tai Chi-Induced Exosomal LRP1 is Associated With Memory Function and Hippocampus Plasticity in aMCI Patients.

OBJECTIVES: The study was designed to identify the potential peripheral processes of circulating exosome in response to Tai Chi (TC) exercise and the possibility of its loaded cargos in mediating the effects of TC training on cognitive function among older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a multicenter randomized controlled trial. One hundred community-dwelling old adults with aMCI were randomly assigned (1:1) to experimental (n = 50) and control groups (n = 50). INTERVENTION: The experimental group participated in TC exercise 5 times/week, with each session lasting 60 minutes for 12 weeks. Both experimental and control groups received health education every 4 weeks. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was global cognitive function. Neurocognitive assessments, MRI examination, and large-scale proteomics analysis of peripheric exosome were conducted at baseline and after 12-week training. Outcome assessors and statisticians were blinded to group allocation. RESULTS: A total of 96 participants (96%) completed all outcome measurements. TC training improved global cognitive function (adjusted mean difference [MD] = 1.9, 95%CI 0.93-2.87, p <0.001) and memory (adjusted MD = 6.42, 95%CI 2.09-10.74, p = 0.004), increased right hippocampus volume (adjusted MD = 88.52, 95%CI 13.63-163.4, p = 0.021), and enhanced rest state functional connectivity (rsFC) between hippocampus and cuneus, which mediated the group effect on global cognitive function (bootstrapping CIs: [0.0208, 1.2826], [0.0689, 1.2211]) and verbal delay recall (bootstrapping CI: [0.0002, 0.6277]). Simultaneously, 24 differentially expressed exosomal proteins were detected in tandem mass tag-labelling proteomic analysis. Of which, the candidate protein low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) was further confirmed by parallel reaction monitoring and ELISA. Moreover, the up-regulated LRP1 was both positively associated with verbal delay recall and rsFC (left hippocampus-right cuneus). CONCLUSION: TC promotes LRP1 release via exosome, which was associated with enhanced memory function and hippocampus plasticity in aMCI patients. Our findings provided an insight into potential therapeutic neurobiological targets focusing on peripheric exosome in respond to TC exercise.

Electroacupuncture promotes neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus and improves pattern separation in an early Alzheimer's disease mouse model.

BACKGROUND: Impaired pattern separation occurs in the early stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) neurogenesis participates in pattern separation. Here, we investigated whether spatial memory discrimination impairment can be improved by promoting the hippocampal DG granule cell neogenesis-mediated pattern separation in the early stage of AD by electroacupuncture (EA). METHODS: Five familial AD mutations (5 × FAD) mice received EA treatment at Baihui and Shenting points for 4 weeks. During EA, mice were intraperitoneally injected with BrdU (50 mg/kg) twice a day. rAAV containing Wnt5a shRNA was injected into the bilateral DG region, and the viral efficiency was evaluated by detecting Wnt5a mRNA levels. Cognitive behavior tests were conducted to assess the impact of EA treatment on cognitive function. The hippocampal DG area Aß deposition level was detected by immunohistochemistry after the intervention; The number of BrdU+/CaR+ cells and the gene expression level of calretinin (CaR) and prospero homeobox 1(Prox1) in the DG area of the hippocampus was detected to assess neurogenesis by immunofluorescence and western blotting after the intervention; The gene expression levels of FZD2, Wnt5a, DVL2, p-DVL2, CaMKII, and p-CaMKII in the Wnt signaling pathway were detected by Western blotting after the intervention. RESULTS: Cognitive behavioral tests showed that 5 × FAD mice had impaired pattern separation (P < 0.001), which could be improved by EA (P < 0.01). Immunofluorescence and Western blot showed that the expression of Wnt5a in the hippocampus was decreased (P < 0.001), and the neurogenesis in the DG was impaired (P < 0.001) in 5 × FAD mice. EA could increase the expression level of Wnt5a (P < 0.05) and promote the neurogenesis of immature granule cells (P < 0.05) and the development of neuronal dendritic spines (P < 0.05). Interference of Wnt5a expression aggravated the damage of neurogenesis (P < 0.05), weakened the memory discrimination ability (P < 0.05), and inhibited the beneficial effect of EA (P < 0.05) in AD mice. The expression level of Wnt pathway related proteins such as FZD2, DVL2, p-DVL2, CAMKII, p-CAMKII increased after EA, but the effect of EA was inhibited after Wnt5a was knocked down. In addition, EA could reduce the deposition of Aß plaques in the DG without any impact on Wnt5a. CONCLUSION: EA can promote hippocampal DG immature granule cell neogenesis-mediated pattern separation to improve spatial memory discrimination impairment by regulating Wnt5a in 5 × FAD mice.

Electroacupuncture suppresses glucose metabolism and GLUT-3 expression in medial prefrontal cortical in rats with neuropathic pain.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that the electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation could effectively alleviate neuropathic pain. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a vital part of the cortical representation of pain in the brain, and its glucose metabolism is mostly affected in the progression of pain. However, the central mechanism of EA analgesia remains unclear. METHODS: Fifty-four male SD rats were equally randomized into sham surgery (Sham) group, chronic constriction injury (CCI) group and EA stimulation (EA) group. The CCI model, involving ligature of the right sciatic nerve, was established in all animals except the Sham group. EA stimulation was applied on the right side acupoints of Huantiao (GB30) and Yanglingquan (GB34) in the EA group. Paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) and paw thermal withdrawal latency (PWL) were measured. The 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) was used to evaluate glucose metabolism changes in the mPFC. The expression of glucose transporter 3 (GLUT-3) in the mPFC was determined by immune histochemistry and ELISA. RESULTS: Comparing with CCI groups, EA treatment was obviously reversed CCI-induced mechanical allodynia (P < 0.01), thermal hyperalgesia (P < 0.01) and the increase of glucose metabolism in the left mPFC (P < 0.05). Furthermore, EA treatment significantly decreased the protein expression of GLUT-3 in the left mPFC (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that EA analgesia effect may be related to suppressing the glucose metabolism and GLUT-3 expression in the mPFC. This study could provide a potential insight into the central mechanisms involved in the analgesic effect of EA.

Differential Proteomic Analysis of the Hippocampus in Rats with Neuropathic Pain to Investigate the Use of Electroacupuncture in Relieving Mechanical Allodynia and Cognitive Decline.

Abnormal changes in hippocampal function and neuroplasticity are involved in neuropathic pain, which induces hyperalgesia and learning and memory deficits. Previous studies from our group have shown that electroacupuncture at Huantiao (GB30) and Yanglingquan (GB34) has an obvious analgesic effect on neuropathic pain. However, the central regulatory mechanism occurring in the hippocampus remains to be investigated. In this study, behavioral and proteomic analyses were performed to identify differentially expressed hippocampal proteins involved in electroacupuncture-induced analgesia. Our results showed both upregulated (TMEM126A, RDH13, and Luc7L) and downregulated proteins (Mettl7A, GGA1 RTKN, RSBN1, and CDKN1B). Further protein verification revealed for the first time that hippocampal TMEM126A plays an important anti-inflammatory role in the treatment of neuralgia by electroacupuncture.

Novel gene rearrangement in the mitochondrial genome of Coenobita brevimanus (Anomura: Coenobitidae) and phylogenetic implications for Anomura.

The complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) can indicate phylogenetic relationships among organisms, as well as useful information about the process of molecular evolution and gene rearrangement mechanisms. However, knowledge on the complete mitogenome of Coenobitidae (Decapoda: Anomura) is quite scarce. Here, we describe in detail the complete mitogenome of Coenobita brevimanus, which is 16,393 bp in length, and contains 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA, 22 transfer RNA genes, as well as a putative control region. The genome composition shows a moderate A + T bias (65.0%), and exhibited a negative AT-skew (-0.148) and a positive GC-skew (0.183). Five gene clusters (or genes) involving eleven tRNAs and two PCGs were found to have rearranged with respect to the pancrustacean ground pattern gene order. Duplication-random loss and recombination models were determined as most likely to explain the observed large-scale gene rearrangements. Phylogenetic analysis placed all Coenobitidae species into one clade. The polyphyly of Paguroidea was well supported, whereas the non-monophyly of Galatheoidea was inconsistence with previous findings on Anomura. Taken together, our results help to better understand gene rearrangement process and the evolutionary status of C. brevimanus and lay a foundation for further phylogenetic studies of Anomura.

Altered thalamic neurotransmitters metabolism and functional connectivity during the development of chronic constriction injury induced neuropathic pain.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the thalamic neurotransmitters and functional connections in the development of chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain. METHODS: The paw withdrawal threshold was measured by mechanical stimulation the right hind paw with the von frey hair in the rats of CCI-induced neuropathic pain. The N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and Glutamate (Glu) in thalamus were detected by magnetic resonance spectrum (MRS) process. The thalamic functional connectivity with other brain regions was scanned by functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI). RESULTS: The paw withdrawal threshold of the ipsilateral side showed a noticeable decline during the pathological process. Increased concentrations of Glu and decreased levels of NAA in the thalamus were significantly correlated with mechanical allodynia in the neuropathic pain states. The thalamic regional homogeneity (ReHo) decreased during the process of neuropathic pain. The functional connectivity among the thalamus with the insula and somatosensory cortex were significantly increased at different time points (7, 14, 21 days) after CCI surgery. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that dynamic changes in thalamic NAA and Glu levels contribute to the thalamic functional connection hyper-excitation during CCI-induced neuropathic pain. Enhanced thalamus-insula functional connection might have a significant effect on the occurrence of neuropathic pain.

Electroacupuncture ameliorates learning and memory deficits via hippocampal 5-HT1A receptors and the PKA signaling pathway in rats with ischemic stroke.

Hippocampal 5-HT1A receptors and the PKA signaling pathway have been implicated in learning and memory. This study aimed to investigate whether PKA signaling mediated by 5-HT1A receptors was involved in the electroacupuncture (EA)-mediated learning and memory in a rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion-induced cognitive deficit (MICD). Compared to no treatment or non-acupoint EA treatment, EA at DU20 and DU24 acupoints improved the neurological deficit of scores, shortened escape latency and increased the frequency of crossing the platform in the Morris water maze test. T2-weighted imaging demonstrated that the MICD rat brain lesions were mainly located in the cortex and hippocampus, and injured volumes were reduced after EA. Furthermore, we found that these behavioral changes were concomitant with the deficit of the 5HT1A and PKA signaling pathways in the hippocampus, as the activation of the 5-HT1A receptor, the reduction of PKA kinase activity, and AMPA and NMDA receptor phosphorylation occurred in the injured hippocampus at Day 14 after MICD. Additionally, EA dramatically elevated the activation of PKA. Moreover, EA significantly increased intracellular calcium concentrations regulated by the activation of NMDA receptors. Therefore, PKA kinase and NMDA receptors mediated by 5-HT1A receptors in the hippocampus might contribute to improving learning and memory during the recovery process following ischemic stroke with an EA intervention.

Disease Stage-Associated Alterations in Learning and Memory through the Electroacupuncture Modulation of the Cortical Microglial M1/M2 Polarization in Mice with Alzheimer's Disease.

Microglia are the primary cells that exert immune function in the central nervous system, and accumulating evidence suggests that microglia act as critical players in the initiation of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Microglia seemingly demonstrate two contradictory phenotypes in response to different microenvironmental cues, the M1 phenotype and the M2 phenotype, which are detrimental and beneficial to pathogenesis, respectively. Inhibiting the M1 phenotype with simultaneous promoting the M2 phenotype has been suggested as a potential therapeutic approach for cure AD. In this study, we demonstrated that electroacupuncture at the Shenting and Baihui acupoints for 16 weeks could improve learning and memory in the Morris water maze test and reduce amyloid ß-protein in the parietal association cortex and entorhinal cortex in mice with mild and moderate AD. Besides, electroacupuncture at the Shenting and Baihui acupoints not only suppressed M1 marker (iNOS/IL-1ß) expression but also increased the M2 marker (CD206/Arg1) expression in those regions. We propose that electroacupuncture at the Shenting and Baihui acupoints could regulate microglial polarization and decrease Aß plaques to improve learning and memory in mild AD mice.

Two common mutations within CYP2C19 affected platelet aggregation in Chinese patients undergoing PCI: a one-year follow-up study.

The effect of dual antiplatelet therapy, clopidogrel combined with aspirin, was influenced by CYP2C19 gene mutation and heterogeneity of population. Related studies remained controversial and limited, especially in Chinese. Total 3295 unrelated ACS Chinese patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were recruited and followed up to 1 year. Meanwhile, baseline and clinical data were retrieved. CYP2C19*2 and *3 were genotyped by sequencing. Associations of variants and metabolic types with platelet reactivity (PR) were analyzed by a logistic regression model. And, a Cox proportional hazards model was utilized to analyze survival data. Confounders included gender, age, smoking status, dosage of aspirin and clopidogrel, and BMI. It was found that patients with allele A in CYP2C19*2 and *3 were susceptibility to high PR (OR, 95%CI and P values were 1.34, 1.20-1.50, <0.0001 and 1.42, 1.13-1.79, 0.0029, respectively) after taking clopidogrel. The PR increased along with the number of loss of function (LOF) allele increased and did in order of haplotype*1, *2, and *3. This research suggested that LOF alleles and risk haplotypes in CYP2C19 could significantly attenuate the response to clopidogrel, which resulted in platelet aggregation.

Cell Labeling with Cy3 through DNA Hybridization for Assessing Neural Stem Cells Survival and Differentiation.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) have been attractive donor sources for cell therapy in traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Monitoring the fate of transplanted cells, including the survival and differentiation, will provide vital information to assess the outcome during the therapy time course. However, the current labeling methods are based on the principles of cell endocytosis, demanding relatively high fluorescent probes concentration and long incubation time, which may affect the proliferation and differentiation of transplanted cells. In our study, an efficient and relatively fast labeling strategy for NSCs with Cy3 based on DNA hybridization was proposed for monitoring the fate of transplanted cells. The oligo[dA]20 conjugated with Cy3 was anchored on NSCs which had modified with oligo[dT]20 via the oligo[dT]20-oligo[dA]20 hybridization. This labeling system did not affect the viability of labeled NSCs. After implantation of labeled NSCs into the brain, immunohistology demonstrated implanted cells were able to survive and differentiate into mature neural cells as long as one month. In conclusion, the DNA hybridization system can be used as an efficient cell labeling method in cell therapy.

Electroacupuncture ameliorate learning and memory by improving N-acetylaspartate and glutamate metabolism in APP/PS1 mice.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the precise mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) to delay cognitive impairment in Alzheimer disease. METHODS: N-Acetylaspartate (NAA), glutamate (Glu) and myoinositol (mI) metabolism were measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy, learning and memory of APP/PS1 mouse was evaluated by the Morris water maze test and the step-down avoidance test, neuron survival number and neuronal structure in the hippocampus were observed by Nissl staining, and BDNF and phosphorylated TrkB detected by Western blot. RESULTS: EA at DU20 acupuncture significantly improve learning and memory in behavioral tests, up-regulate NAA, Glu and mI metabolism, increase the surviving neurons in hippocampus, and promote the expression of BDNF and TrkB in the APP/PS1 transgenic mice. CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that EA is a potential therapeutic for ameliorate cognitive dysfunction, and it might be due to EA could improve NAA and Glu metabolism by upregulation of BDNF in APP/PS1 mice.

Association of polymorphisms in the heparanase gene (HPSE) with hepatocellular carcinoma in Chinese populations.

Heparanase activity is involved in cancer growth and development in humans and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the heparanase gene (HPSE) have been shown to be associated with tumors. In this study, we investigated whether SNPs in HPSE were a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by undertaking a comprehensive haplotype-tagging, case-control study. For this, six haplotype-tagging SNPs (htSNPs) in HPSE were genotyped in 400 HCC patients and 480 controls by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. A log-additive model revealed significant correlations between the HPSE polymorphisms rs12331678 and rs12503843 and the risk of HCC in the overall samples (p = 0.0046 and p = 0.0055). When the analysis was stratified based on hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier status, significant interactions between rs12331678 and rs12503843 and HBV were observed. Conditional logistic regression analysis for the independent effect of one significant SNP suggested that rs12331678 or rs12503843 contributed an independent effect to the significant association with the risk of HCC, respectively. Our findings suggest that the SNPs rs12331678 and rs12503843 are HCC risk factors, although the potential functional roles of these two SNPs remain to be fully elucidated.

Argonaute 2 and nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a genetic association study and functional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Argonaute 2 (AGO2), a central component of RNA-induced silencing complex, plays critical roles in cancer. We examined whether the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of AGO2 were related to the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: Twenty-five tag SNPs within AGO2 were genotyped in Guangxi population consisting of 855 NPC patients and 1036 controls. The SNPs significantly associated with NPC were further replicated in Guangdong population consisting of 996 NPC patients and 972 controls. Functional experiments were conducted to examine the biologic roles of AGO2 in NPC. RESULTS: A significantly increased risk of advanced lymph node metastasis of NPC was identified for the AGO2 rs3928672 GA + AA genotype compared with GG genotype in both the Guangxi and Guangdong populations (combined odd ratio = 2.08, 95 % confidence interval = 1.44-3.01, P = 8.60 × 10(-5)). Moreover, the AGO2 protein expression levels of rs3928672 GA + AA genotype carriers were higher than the GG genotype carriers in the NPC tissues (P = 0.041), and AGO2 was significantly over-expressed in NPC tissues compared with non-cancerous nasopharyngeal tissues (P = 0.011). In addition, AGO2 knockdown reduced cell proliferation, induced apoptosis, and inhibited migration of NPC cells. Furthermore, gene expression microarray showed that genes altered following AGO2 knockdown were clustered in tumorigenesis and metastasis relevant pathways. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the genetic polymorphism in AGO2 may be a risk factor for the advanced lymph node metastasis of NPC in Chinese populations, and AGO2 acts as an oncogene in the development of NPC.

Early single Aspirin-triggered Lipoxin blocked morphine anti-nociception tolerance through inhibiting NALP1 inflammasome: Involvement of PI3k/Akt signaling pathway.

Clinical usage of opioids in pain relief is dampened by analgesic tolerance after chronic exposure, which is related to opioid-associated neuroinflammation. In the current study, which is based on a chronic morphine tolerance rat model and sustained morphine treatment on primary neuron culture, it was observed that Akt phosphorylation, cleaved-Caspase-1-dependent NALP1 inflammasome activation and IL-1ß maturation in spinal cord neurons were significantly enhanced by morphine. Moreover, treatment with LY294002, a specific inhibitor of PI3k/Akt signaling, significantly reduced Caspase-1 cleavage, NALP1 inflammasome activation and attenuated morphine tolerance. Tail-flick tests demonstrated that pharmacological inhibition on Caspase-1 activation or antagonizing IL-1ß dramatically blocked the development of morphine tolerance. The administration of an exogenous analogue of lipoxin, Aspirin-triggered Lipoxin (ATL), caused a decline in Caspase-1 cleavage, inflammasome activation and mature IL-1ß production and thus attenuated the development of morphine tolerance by inhibiting upstream Akt phosphorylation. Additionally, treatment with DAMGO, a selective µ-opioid receptor peptide, significantly induced Akt phosphorylation, Caspase-1 cleavage and anti-nociception tolerance, all of which were attenuated by ATL treatment. Taken together, the present study revealed the involvement of spinal NALP1 inflammasome activation in the development of morphine tolerance and the role of the µ-receptor/PI3k-Akt signaling/NALP1 inflammasome cascade in this process. By inhibiting this signaling cascade, ATL blocked the development of morphine tolerance.

Prediction of success for polymerase chain reactions using the Markov maximal order model and support vector machine.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is hailed as one of the monumental scientific techniques of the twentieth century, and has become a common and often indispensable technique in many areas. However, researchers still frequently find some DNA templates very hard to amplify with PCR, although many kinds of endeavors were introduced to optimize the amplification. In fact, during the past decades, the experimental procedure of PCR was always the focus of attention, while the analysis of a DNA template, the PCR experimental subject itself, was almost neglected. Up to now, nobody can certainly identify whether a fragment of DNA can be simply amplified using conventional Taq DNA polymerase-based PCR protocol. Characterizing a DNA template and then developing a reliable and efficient method to predict the success of PCR reactions is thus urgently needed. In this study, by means of the Markov maximal order model, we construct a 48-D feature vector to represent a DNA template. Support vector machine (SVM) is then employed to help evaluate PCR result. To examine the anticipated success rates of our predictor, jackknife cross-validation test is adopted. The overall accuracy of our approach arrives at 93.12%, with the sensitivity, specificity, and MCC of 94.68%, 91.58%, and 0.863%, respectively.

Association between the p73 G4C14-to-A4T14 polymorphism and risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a case-control and family-based study.

p73, a structural and functional homolog of p53, plays an important role in modulating cell cycle control and apoptosis. We examined whether the p73 G4C14-to-A4T14 polymorphism was related to the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) among Chinese populations. The G4C14-to-A4T14 polymorphism was genotyped in 593 NPC cases and 480 controls, and in 102 NPC trios. Logistic regression analysis and transmission/disequilibrium tests (TDT) were performed to evaluate whether there was an association between the polymorphism and NPC, respectively. Functional analyses were conducted to verify the biological relevance of the polymorphism. We observed that compared with the GC/GC genotype, the genotypes containing AT allele (GC/AT + AT/AT genotypes) were associated with significantly increased susceptibility to NPC [odds ratio (OR) = 1.51; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.16-1.95; P = 0.002]. Furthermore, compared with the GC/GC genotype, the GC/AT + AT/AT genotypes were significantly associated with the advanced lymph node metastasis (OR = 1.47; 95% CI = 1.02-2.11; P = 0.041). A significantly greater than expected transmission of the AT allele from heterozygous parents to offspring was also observed (P = 0.049) using the TDT. By using the TdT-mediated dUPT-biotin nick end labeling assay, we observed lower apoptosis in NPC tissues from the AT allele carriers compared with that from non-carriers. Furthermore, the relative TAp73 RNA levels of the AT allele were lower than those of the GC allele in heterozygous cells. Our findings suggest that the p73 G4C14-to-A4T14 polymorphism may play a role in mediating the susceptibility to NPC in Chinese populations.

Mechanism of action of Shaoyao-Gancao decoction in relieving chronic inflammatory pain via Sema3G protein regulation in the dorsal root ganglion.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of Shaoyao-Gancao decoction (SGD) on proteins with significant changes in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) in rats and to explore the role of the Semaphorin 3G (Sema3G) protein in the DRG and its downstream factors, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and CC-motif chemokine ligand 2(CCL2), in the treatment of chronic inflammatory pain (CIP). Methods: We created a CIP rat model using 100 µL of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) that was injected into the left posterior plantar of rats. Then, we administered SGD intragastrically. We tested the animals for behavioral changes and protein expression levels in DRG pre- and post-drug intervention. Results: Rats in the SGD group showed significantly increased paw withdrawal threshold (PWT), paw withdrawal latency (PWL), and relative expression levels of the Sema3G protein in the DRG (all P < 0.05), while the relative mRNA expression levels of IL-6 and CCL2 in the DRG of the rats were significantly decreased (P < 0.05) when compared with the model group. Conclusion: In this study, we found that Shaoyao-Gancao decoction was effective in improving the PWT and PWL of rats with CIP. It reduced CIP by upregulating the expression of Sema3G in the DRG and inhibiting the relative mRNA expression levels of IL-6 and CCL2.

A non-synonymous SNP in the NOS2 associated with septic shock in patients with sepsis in Chinese populations.

Sepsis represents a systemic inflammatory response to infection and its sequelae include severe sepsis, septic shock, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) and death. Studies in mice and humans indicate that the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS, NOS2) plays an important role in the development of sepsis and its sequelae. It was reported that several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within NOS2 could influence the production or activity of NOS2. In this study, we assessed whether SNPs within NOS2 gene were associated with severity of sepsis in Chinese populations. A case-control study was conducted, which included 299 and 280 unrelated patients with sepsis recruited from Liaoning and Jiangsu provinces in China, respectively. Six SNPs within NOS2 were genotyped using Sequenom MassARRAY system. The associations between the SNPs and risk of sepsis complications were estimated by a binary logistic regression model adjusted for confounding factors. Functional assay was performed to assess the biological significance. The GA + AA genotype of a non-synonymous SNP in the exon 16 of NOS2 (rs2297518: G>A) was significantly associated with increased susceptibility to septic shock compared with GG genotype in Liaoning population (OR = 3.29, 95% CI = 1.40-7.72, P = 0.0047). This association was confirmed in the Jiangsu population (OR = 3.49, 95% CI = 1.57-7.79, P = 0.0019). Furthermore, the functional assay performed in the immortalized lymphocyte cell lines indicated that the at-risk GA genotype had a tendency of higher NOS2 activity than the GG genotype (P = 0.32). Our findings suggest that the NOS2 rs2297518 may play a role in mediating the susceptibility to septic shock in patients with sepsis in Chinese populations.