Que Zui tea ameliorates hepatic lipid accumulation and oxidative stress in high fat diet induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

In this study, the protective effects of hot water (QW) and aqueous-ethanol extracts (QA) from Que Zui tea on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were investigated. Quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed that QW and QA were rich in polyphenols, especially 6'-O-caffeoylarbutin. Both QW and QA significantly reduced body weight and liver index, increased serum levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and decreased the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), nonesterified free fatty acids (NEFA) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in NAFLD rats induced high fat diet. Furthermore, the contents of TC, TG, NEFA, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in the liver tissues were inhibited after QW and QA administration. Histopathological examination showed that QW and QA significantly reduced liver lipid accumulation of NAFLD rats. In addition, QW and QA could enhance increase the activity of antioxidant (glutathione, superoxide dismutase and catalase) in the liver by regulation Nrf2 signaling pathway, thereby alleviating liver damage caused by lipid peroxidation. QW and QA activated AMPK/PPAR-α signaling pathway by increasing the expression of adiponectin and its receptor AdipoR2, thereby reducing fat production and enhancing fatty acid ß oxidation. These data suggested that QW and QA had the potential to in the prevention and treatment of NAFLD.

Upregulation of microRNA-351 exerts protective effects during sepsis by ameliorating skeletal muscle wasting through the Tead-4-mediated blockade of the Hippo signaling pathway.

Sepsis-induced skeletal muscle wasting may lead to various severe clinical consequences. Understanding molecular mechanisms of the regulation of the loss of skeletal muscle mass in septic patients remains a significant clinical challenge. The current study was conducted to establish septic mice models to explore the relationship between microRNA (miR)-351 and the transcription element apical (TEA) domain transcription factor (Tead)-4 gene and to investigate its effects on the skeletal muscle through mediating the Hippo signaling pathway in mice with acute sepsis. A total of 60 mice were collected to establish mouse models of acute sepsis. The positive expression rate of Tead-4 and the apoptotic index (AI) were measured. A dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was conducted to verify the targeting relationship between miR-351 and Tead-4. Furthermore, the muscle fiber diameter (MFD) and area (MFA) and the content of 3-methylhistidine (3-MH) and tyrosine (Tyr) were assessed. The expression levels of miR-351, p38-MAPK, Yes-associated protein, Tead-4, B-cell lymphoma X protein (Bax), and Caspase-3 were determined with quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Finally, cell viability, apoptosis, and levels of inflammatory factors, including IL-1ß, IL-6, IGF-1, TNF-α, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 were detected by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2- yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, flow cytometry, and ELISA. Initially, Tead-4 protein expression was higher in skeletal muscle tissues of mice with acute sepsis. Tead-4 was identified to negatively regulate miR-351. Upregulation of miR-351 increased MFA and MFD, muscle weight water content, Bcl-2 expression levels, and cell viability. Up-regulation of miR-351 reduced AI; 3-MH and Tyr content; positive expression of Tead-4 protein; the expression levels of p38-MAPK, Yap, Tead-4, Bax, and Caspase-3; apoptosis; and inflammatory responses. The current study demonstrated that up-regulation of miR-351 inhibits the degradation of skeletal muscle protein and the atrophy of skeletal muscle in mice with acute sepsis by targeting Tead-4 through suppression of the Hippo signaling pathway. Thus, miR-351 overexpression may be a future therapeutic strategy for acute sepsis.-Zhang, L.-N., Tian, H., Zhou, X.-L., Tian, S.-C., Zhang, X.-H., Wu, T.-J. Upregulation of microRNA-351 exerts protective effects during sepsis by ameliorating skeletal muscle wasting through the Tead-4-mediated blockade of the Hippo signaling pathway.

Practical method to calculate post-LASIK corneal power: the Actual K(a+p) method.

AIM: To evaluate the accuracy of a practical method (the Actual K(a+p) method) of corneal power measurement for post-LASIK eyes undergoing cataract surgery. METHODS: Ten eyes of 7 patients (4 male, 3 female, average age 50.10±4.01 years, with -11.01±3.55D mean refraction before LASIK), underwent post-LASIK phaco+IOL cataract surgery. We used the posterior corneal curvature as measured by the Pentacam in a method we named Actual K(a+p) to calculate the post-LASIK corneal power for IOL calculation. The refractive outcomes after cataract surgery were evaluated. The Actual K(a+p) was compared with the back- calculated corneal power (BCK), which was thought to be the benchmark of true corneal power. The corneal power estimated by other published methods, including Maloney, Shammas, Koch-Maloney, Savini, and McCulley, together with the true net power and equivalent K reading (EKR) as found by the Pentacam were also compared with the BCK. RESULTS: All eyes achieved satisfied refractive status after cataract surgery. The difference between the postoperative refraction and the target refraction was 0.04±0.40D, range from -0.63D and +0.85D. Among all the methods we studied, although the Bonferroni multiple comparison tests did not detect significant differences between any two of them, the Actual K(a+p) yielded the highest agreement with the BCK, with 80% of the eyes falling within ±0.5D and 100% within ±1.0D from the BCK values. CONCLUSION: The Actual K(a+p) method can provide encour- aging results in post-LASIK eyes undergoing cataract surgery.

[The accuracy of posterior curvature method in corneal power calculation after LASIK surgery].

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the accuracy of posterior curvature method in corneal power calculation after LASIK surgery. METHODS: Corneal power calculation in 11 eyes that underwent Intraocular Lens (IOL) implantation after LASIK surgery (10 cases of Phaco + IOL, 1 case of IOL displacement), all of which used posterior curvature method, was analyzed retrospectively. The differences between post-operative stable refraction and target refraction were calculated, the actual corneal powers were deduced, and the expected refractive errors using other corneal power evaluation methods (auto-keratometry, corneal topography, spherical equivalent method, anterior curvature method, Equivalent K Reading method provided by Pentacam) were analyzed. In addition, refraction of 23 eyes underwent LASIK surgery were done on their 6 months follow-up. The theoretical corneal powers were deduced by subtracting the change of refraction before and after LASIK surgery from the pre-operative corneal powers. The differences between calculated corneal powers using posterior curvature method and the theoretical corneal powers were analyzed, and were compared with other corneal power evaluation methods. RESULTS: The mean uncorrected post-operative visual acuity of IOL implantation eyes using posterior curvature method was 0.8 +/- 0.2, with mean absolute refractive error from target of (0.36 +/- 0.36) D (-0.63 to +0.85 D). The ratio of eyes with absolute error within 0.25 D, 0.50 D, and 1.00 D was 55%, 73%, and 91% respectively. This result was significantly lower than that of the auto-keratometry (2.50 +/- 1.08) D, corneal topography (1.90 +/- 0.88) D, and those obtained from spherical equivalent method (2.09 +/- 1.62) D (P < 0.01) or anterior curvature method (1.45 +/- 1.10) D (P < 0.05). It also showed less bias (-1.13 to 0.85 D) when compared to the Equivalent K Reading (-1.10 to 1.80 D), but the difference was not significant (P > 0.05). For the 23 post LASIK eyes, the absolute difference between the corrected corneal power using posterior curvature method and theoretical power was (0.67 +/- 0.45) D, also showed least bias compared with other methods. CONCLUSION: It is a practical and accurate way to calculate the corneal power after LASIK surgery using posterior curvature method.