[Meta-analysis of Zhibitai Capsules combined with statin in reducing blood lipid levels in patients with coronary heart disease].

To systematically review the efficacy and safety of Zhibitai Capsules combined with chemical drugs versus chemical drugs alone in regulating blood lipid of patients of coronary heart disease, so as to provide evidence-based reference for clinical treatment. In this study, PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, China Knowledge Network Database(CNKI), Technology Journal Database(VIP) and WanFang Database(WanFang) were retrieved to find the randomized controlled trials(RCT) about therapeutic efficacy of Zhibitai Capsules combined with statins(experimental group)versus statins alone(control group)in the treatment of regulating blood lipid of patients with coronary heart disease. The retrieval time was restricted to be from the inception to October 2019. The data were extracted from the randomized controlled trials. Meta-analysis was conducted by RevMan 5.3 statistical software after quality evaluation by Cochrane 5.1.0 quality evaluation tool(blood lipid level, inflammation indicators, traditional Chinese medicine syndrome score and adverse reactions). A total of 11 RCT were included, involving 1 538 patients. The results of Meta-analysis showed that in terms of decrease of total cholesterol(MD=-0.15,95%CI[-0.25,-0.05],P=0.004), decrease of triglycerides improvement(MD=-0.16,95%CI[-0.23,-0.10],P<0.000 01), decrease of low-density lipoprotein(MD=-0.08,95%CI[-0.15,-0.01],P=0.03), and increase of high-density lipoprotein(MD=0.06,95%CI[0.03,0.10],P=0.000 2), experimental group was better than control group. At the same time, the incidence of adverse reactions were low in the experimental group(OR=0.40,95%CI[0.18,0.85],P=0.02). As a result, in treatment of coronary heart disease, the therapeutic efficacy of Zhibitai Capsules combined with statins is better than statins alone in lowering total cholesterol level, triglyceride level, low-density lipoprotein level, and increasing high-density lipoprotein level. Patients in the experimental group had a low incidence of adverse events, but the heterogeneity was slightly higher, and the result had a poor stability. However, due to the small sample size of studies included, some experimental designs were not perfect, which reduces the recommendation level and evidence intensity of this system evaluation. Therefore, high-quality multi-center, large-sample, randomized, double-blind randomized controlled trials are needed for providing more reliable basis.

The effect of low-level laser to apoptosis of chondrocyte and caspases expression, including caspase-8 and caspase-3 in rabbit surgery-induced model of knee osteoarthritis.

The purpose of this study was to observe the effect of 810-nm low-level laser to apoptosis of chondrocyte and related proteins, including caspase-3 and caspase-8, in rabbit surgery-induced model of knee osteoarthritis. A total of 24 New Zealand White rabbits were randomly assigned into 3 groups: test group, model group, and normal group. The rabbits in test group and model group received anterior cruciate ligament transection in the right knee. Six weeks after transection, the rabbits in test group were given 10-session 810-nm laser illumination. Eight weeks after transection, all animal were killed. Modified Mankin Score was made for histological assessment. The caspases expressions and chondrocytes apoptosis were tested using the immunohistochemistry and TUNEL assessment, respectively. The modified Mankin Score of test group was significantly lower than model group (P < 0.01) and higher than normal group (P < 0.01). The caspase-8 expression of test group was lower than model group and higher than normal group, but no significant difference was found (P > 0.05). This study revealed that the 810-nm low-level laser can improve cartilage structure, prevent articular cartilage degradation and significantly decrease the expression of caspase-3 in this surgery-induced OA model. Further studies are needed.

The effect of different treatment time of millimeter wave on chondrocyte apoptosis, caspase-3, caspase-8, and MMP-13 expression in rabbit surgically induced model of knee osteoarthritis.

The aim of this study is to observe the effect of different treatment time of millimeter wave (MMW) on chondrocyte apoptosis, caspase-3, caspase-8, and matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) in rabbit knee osteoarthritis induced by anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT). Thirty-two New Zealand White rabbits were randomly assigned into 4 groups: millimeter wave treatment for 20-min group (MWT20); millimeter wave treatment for 40-min group (MWT40); model control group (MC) and normal control group (NC). All groups received anterior cruciate ligament transection in the right knee except NC group. Six weeks after transection, the MWT20 group and MWT40 group were given millimeter wave (MMW) at 37.5 GHz frequency, 8 mm wavelength, and 10 mW/cm(2) power for 20 and 40 min, respectively, for 10 days. Eight weeks after transection, all animals were killed. Modified Mankin Score was assessed for histological assessment. Chondrocytes apoptosis was tested by the TUNEL assessment, and the expressions of related proteins were tested by the immunohistochemistry observation and Western blot. The modified Mankin Score, the chondrocyte apoptosis, and the expression of caspase-3 and MMP-13 in MWT40 group were significantly lower than those in MC group. Only a decreasing trend of modified Mankin Score and caspase-3 and MMP-13 expression was found in MWT20 group. The caspase-8 expression of the treatment groups was lower than model control group and higher than normal control group, but no significant difference was found. This study revealed MWT40 had a better therapeutic benefit to osteoarthritis cartilage structure, decreased the apoptosis of chondrocyte, and caspase-3 and MMP-13 expression compared to MWT20. But only a decreasing trend of caspase-8 expression was found.

Photodynamic Therapy Mediated by Aloe-Emodin Inhibited Angiogenesis and Cell Metastasis Through Activating MAPK Signaling Pathway on HUVECs.

Photodynamic therapy is a clinically used, minimally invasive therapeutic procedure that involves the application of photosensitizers which can locate in target cells and so be irradiated at a corresponding wavelength. Laser light irradiation activation of photosensitizers generates free reactive oxygen species, which induces selective cytotoxic activity in target cells. Within recent years, aloe-emodin as a photosensitizer has been successfully applied in photodynamic therapy applications. Angiogenesis plays an important role in tumor growth and metastasis; thus, the development of a novel target treatment for angiogenesis is essential in order to improve treatment therapeutics for cancer treatment. An essential step in angiogenesis involves the formation of tube-like structures during matrix degradation, rearrangement, and apoptosis of endothelial cells. In the present study, we investigated the mechanisms of photocytotoxicity induced by aloe-emodin in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Analysis of cell proliferation results noted a significant decrease in cultured cells which received various concentrations of aloe-emodin and photodynamic therapy-induced light doses. Additionally, mitochondrial mechanisms of apoptotic cell death were observed in aloe-emodin photodynamic therapy-treated cells, as tube formation assays noted angiogenesis suppression after treatment. The capacity of migration and invasion of human umbilical vein endothelial cells was measured using the transwell assay and demonstrated that aloe-emodin photodynamic therapy significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The expression of p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, the c-Jun N-terminal kinases, and vascular endothelial growth factor suggested that the cellular metastasis was related to mitogen-activated protein kinase signal pathway. Furthermore, disorganization of F action cytoskeleton components was observed after aloe-emodin photodynamic therapy. Overall, the findings from this study suggest that aloe-emodin photodynamic therapy inhibited angiogenesis and cellular metastasis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells by activating the mitogen-activated protein kinase apoptotic signaling cell death pathway.

Inhibition of breast cancer cell growth by methyl pyropheophenylchlorin photodynamic therapy is mediated though endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced autophagy in vitro and vivo.

Autophagy and ER stress participated in the inhibition of MPPa-PDT on tumor growth, but the molecular links between them remain undefined. We just explore the molecular mechanism between them in vitro and vivo. CCK-8 assay and flow cytometer were used to detect the cytotoxicity and mode of cell death after MPPa-PDT. Furthermore, the role of autophagy was verified in MPPa-PDT. Confocal microscopy was used to show the intracellular distribution of MPPa. ER stress markers and PERK signaling pathway were detected by western blot. While in vivo, tumor histology and immunohistochemistry were performed to show the effect of MPPa-PDT in mice. After MPPa-PDT, cells viability decreased in dose-dependent manner. Besides, the cell apoptosis increased along with the increasing of Beclin-1and LC3B II but declining of P62. When pretreated with 3-MA, LC3B II formation and the cytotoxicity declined. MPPa-PDT caused increasing of ER stress markers (GRP78, CHOP) as MPPa accumulated in ER. However, pretreatment with ER stress inhibitor 4PBA, the expression of GRP78 and LC3B II was blocked but the PERK signaling pathway activated and the expression of P62 increased. In vivo, the tumor growth was significantly inhibited by MPPa-PDT. Besides, the appearance of ER stress and autophagy was further demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. Our findings demonstrate that autophagy mediated by MPPa-PDT was regulated by ER stress, via PERK signaling pathway, to kill MDA-MB-231 cells in vitro and vivo.

The effect of aloe-emodin-induced photodynamic activity on the apoptosis of human gastric cancer cells: A pilot study.

The aim of the present study was to explore the effect of aloe-emodin (AE)-induced photodynamic activity in human gastric cancer cells. AE was used as a photosensitizer to explore the effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in human gastric cancer cells (SGC-7901). An MTT assay was used to detect the effect of AE-induced PDT in optimal concentrations and illumination energy densities in human gastric cancer cells. Following AE-induced PDT, morphological changes of the cells and the rate of cell death were evaluated by TUNEL assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The expression levels of caspase-9 and caspase-3 were determined by western blot analysis. The AE and AE-induced PDT demonstrated a significant inhibitive effect on the proliferation of human gastric cancer cells in dose-dependent and energy-dependent manners. For subsequent experiments, 10 µM AE and 12.8 J/cm2 illumination energy density were used. Typical morphological changes of apoptosis were observed in the cells using a TUNEL assay 12 h subsequent to AE-induced PDT. The percentage of apoptotic cells treated with AE-induced PDT significantly increased when compared with the control group, the 10 µM AE group and the illumination group (P<0.05). Upregulation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 protein levels was also observed following AE-induced PDT. The present study revealed that 10 µM AE-induced PDT had an inhibitory effect on human gastric cancer cells, and it may induce cell apoptosis by upregulating caspase-9 and caspase-3, which indicated that the mitochondrial pathway may be involved. AE-induced PDT has the potential to be a novel therapy for the treatment of human gastric cancer. However, further investigations are required.

The effect of aloe emodin-encapsulated nanoliposome-mediated r-caspase-3 gene transfection and photodynamic therapy on human gastric cancer cells.

Gastric carcinoma (GC) has high incidence and mortality rates in China. Surgery and chemotherapy are the main treatments. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has become a new treatment modality, appearing in recent experimental studies and clinical trials in various tumors. This study explores the combined effect of gene transfection with PDT on GC cells using aloe emodin (AE)-encapsulated nanoliposomes, which acted as gene carrier as well as one photosensitizer (PS). AE-encapsulated nanoliposomes (nano-AE) were prepared by reverse evaporation method. Electron microscopy and nano-ZS90 analyzer were used to detect its morphology, size, and wavelength. Western blot was used to detect the expression of the caspase-3 after transfection. MTT assay and flow cytometry were employed to determine the cytotoxic and apoptotic rates, respectively. Hoechst 33342 staining was adopted to detect the morphological changes in death gastric cancer cells. Cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) contents were measured by DCFH-DA staining. Outcomes demonstrated that the nano-AE has good properties as gene delivery carriers as well as a PS. The group in which the recombinant plasmid of r-caspase-3 was transfected had higher protein expression of the caspase-3 than controls, meanwhile the proliferation rates of the transfected cells were inhibited by the nano-AE-mediated PDT in an energy-dependent manner. In addition, in the transfected cells, the death rate increased to 77.3% as assessed 12 h after PDT (6.4 J/cm(2) ). Hochest 33342 staining also revealed that the death rate increased significantly in the transfected group compared with other groups. Compared to control groups, the production of ROS in nano-AE PDT group had quadrupled in SGC-7901 cells as early as 1 h after PDT, while it is similar to the group of nano-AE transfection and PDT. Nano-AE-mediated r-caspase-3 gene transfection coupled with PDT could inhibit the proliferation rate and increase the apoptotic rate remarkably in human gastric cancer cells.

Motor function and activities of daily living capacity of patients with fractures sustained during the Wenchuan earthquake.

BACKGROUND: On the afternoon of May 12, 2008, a 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan Province, a mountainous region in Western China, killing about 70 000 people and leaving over 18 000 missing. What about the survivors motor functions and activities of daily living (ADL) capacity, especially for fractures? We need the data to guide the rehabilitation for the seismic wounded and it's important to collect the data for the future. We study the survivors to understand the motor functions and ADL capacity of patients with fractures sustained in the Wenchuan earthquake, to provide a basis for rehabilitation and treatment. METHODS: We used the Manual Muscle Testing method to evaluate muscle strength, the joint angle scale to measure joint range of motion (ROM), and the Barthel index to evaluate the activities of daily living status. SPSS 13.0 software was used to analyze the data and the results were tested using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: The number of seismic wounded amounted to 487; 81.1% of patients had fractures. Most of the injured had fractures in multiple regions (53.9% of all fracture patients), followed by fractures of the upper limb (34.0% of patients); cranial fractures were rare (2.3%). Totally 82.0% had restricted range of motion, 23.5% had decreased muscle force, and 72.2% of the patients had restricted activities of daily living capacities. With time the activities of daily living capacity of female increased (P < 0.05), compared with the male fracture patients who did not show any relative improvement (P > 0.05). The difference between the patients' ages and ADL capacities did not reach statistical significance (P > 0.05), nor was there a significant difference between their ages and the numbers of days in hospital (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Fractures were the main issue in the seismic wounded, many of them had reductions in the ROM, muscle force and ADL capacities. The physicians involved in rehabilitation should pay greater attention to muscle force exercises, joint mobilization, and occupational therapy during the early phases post disaster.