Clinical Analysis of Improved Particle Swarm Algorithm-Based Magnetic Resonance Imaging Diagnosis of Placenta Accreta.

The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image processing capabilities were investigated based on the improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) algorithm, and the clinical application analysis of MRI images in the diagnosis of placenta accreta (PA) was evaluated in this study. The MRI uterine images were detected on the basis of IPSO. Besides, the clinical data of 89 patients with PA were selected and collected, who were diagnosed by clinical cesarean section surgery and pathological comprehensive diagnosis in hospital from January 2018 to July 2020. Then, all of them underwent the ultrasound (US) and MRI examinations, and the differences of sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy between MRI and US under IPSO in the diagnosis of PA were compared, as well as the differences in the diagnosis of adhesive, implantable, and penetrated PA. The results showed that the difference in detection between IPSO-based MRI images and US images was not statistically substantial (p > 0.05), but the number of initial detections was higher than the number of US examination. MRI examination had higher sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of PA during pregnancy, especially for implantable PA, compared with US examination (p < 0.05). In conclusion, MRI images based on the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm showed a good application effect in the diagnosis of placental implantation diseases, which was worthy of further promotion in clinical practice.

Naringenin prevents pregnancy-induced hypertension via suppression of JAK/STAT3 signalling pathway in mice.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) is characterized by high blood pressure during pregnancy, which causes perinatal and maternal mortality. Inflammation, oxidative stress and the JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway have been reported to play critical roles in the pathogenies of PIH. Due to the safety and side effects of current treatments for PIH, searching for new therapeutic agents is urgently needed. Naringenin is a flavonoid with anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation activities. In the current study, the effects of naringenin on PIH were investigated. METHODS: We established the PIH mouse model and administrated naringenin to these mice. The blood pressure, total urine protein, plasma levels of vasodilation converting enzyme (VCE), α-1A adrenergic receptor (α-ADR) and angiotensin, inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress markers were measured. The protein levels of reactive oxygen species proto-oncogene 1 (ROS1), superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), phospho-STAT3, Src homology 2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 1 (SHP-1), Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) and phospho-JAK2, in vascular endothelium cells were detected by western blot. RESULTS: Administration of naringenin significantly decreased blood pressure, total urine protein level, plasma levels of VCE, α-ADR and angiotensin in PIH mice. Naringenin decreased serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), while increased IL-10. Naringenin decreased serum levels of ROS, endothelin while increased SOD and nitric oxide levels. Western blot analysis showed that naringenin inhibited ROS expression, while increased SOD expression in vascular endothelial cells of mice. In addition, western blot also showed that naringenin inhibited JAK2/STAT3 signalling by suppressing SHP-1 expression in vascular endothelial cells of mice. CONCLUSION: Naringenin suppressed the activation of JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway and promoted SHP-1 expression, leading to ameliorated hypertension in pregnancy.

Regulative effect of maternal serum fatty acid-binding protein 4 on insulin resistance and the development of gestational diabetes mellitus.

Fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) was found to be closely correlated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), a severe pregnancy syndrome. However, safe and efficient treatment for GDM is limited. We aimed to investigate whether inhibition of FABP4 could ameliorate GDM and the underlying mechanism. An evaluation of blood samples from a total of 109 patients showed significantly positive correlations between serum FABP4 and biochemical parameters known to associate with GDM. This correlation was subsequently explored in vitro. FABP4 inhibition was achieved using BMS309403 in GDM mice. GDM related symptoms, including insulin resistance and macrophage infiltration in the adipose tissues, were measured. Lipid metabolism in 3T3-L1 adipocytes was tested. We firstly confirmed the positive correlations between serum FABP4, insulin resistance and inflammation cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), in GDM patients. Surprisingly, inhibition of FABP4 by BMS309403 resulted in significant alleviation of GDM symptoms in GDM mouse model. BMS309403 improved glucose and insulin tolerance and transcriptionally repressed the levels of TNF-α and IL-6, suggesting a role of FABP4 in inflammation. Furthermore, macrophage infiltration into the adipose tissues was dramatically decreased in the BMS309403-treated GDM mice compared to untreated GDM mice. Interestingly, incubation of 3T3-L1 adipocytes with FABP4 protein decreased the mRNA and protein levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), which was absent when BMS309403 was used. However, lipid accumulation was promoted in FABP4-treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes which showed no change in the presence of BMS309403. In conclusion, inhibition of FABP4 by BMS309403 could be an effective treatment to alleviate GDM.

Conserved peptides enhance immune efficiency of inactive vaccines against emerging avian influenza viruses in chicken.

Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) such as H5N1 and H7N9 are a great threat to poultry economics and public health. Vaccination can effectively inhibit the spread of AIV in poultry, which is also a viable strategy for controlling virus transmission from poultry to human. Adjuvants that are commonly used in current inactivated vaccines to provide stronger anti-AIV immune responses are often limited in their capacity to quantitatively induce both humoral and cellular immune responses. Herein, we assessed the levels of immune responses generated by a vaccine formulation comprising inactivated H5N1 antigen and synthetic peptides covering conserved CD4+, CD8+ T cell, and B cell epitopes. We found that the synthetic peptides enhanced the antibody responses against conserved influenza virus antigen M2e. Notably, the hemagglutination inhibition test results indicated that the peptides significantly augmented the antibody responses of inactivated H5N1 antigen even in the 1/10 or 1/5 dose group, in the identical antibody level as antigen alone used at the full dose. This indicates that the peptide can significantly reduce the use of inactivated virus, lowering the cost of the vaccine. Moreover, the peptides increased the transcript levels of interleukin-4 and interferon-γ cytokines in chicken peripheral blood mononuclear cells, which may facilitate both humoral and cellular immune responses. Our data suggest that this peptide combined with inactivated H5N1 antigen enhances both the humoral and cellular immune responses, which may benefit the prediction and design of synthetic peptide-based adjuvants for vaccines in chicken.