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Nourishing kidney-yin (NKY) granules and warming kidney-yang (WKY) granules represent one of the prescriptions that prescribed in treating primary osteoporosis (POP) in light of tonifying kidney and nourishing essence principle as well as the theory of "treating both the disease and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome".Both granules were created through the systematic analysis of clinic prescriptions by Professor Shi Qi.Consequently clinical investigations have well established that NKY granules significant improved bone mineral density (BMD) as well as relieved the kidney-yin deficiency syndromes in POP patients.Meanwhile,WKY granules relieve kidney-yang deficiency syndrome and the quality of life (QOL).What is more,pharmacological study established the application of common cnidium fruit,and fructus ligustri lucidi alleviated bone loss in OVX-induced mice.In addition,investigation with effective components identified that both NKY and WKY granules play systematic pharmacological effects on bone remodeling by regulating the expression of BMP/Smad,Wnt/β-catenin,RANKL/RANK/OPG axis,and Notch.The drug discovery was performed by the lead of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory.It is one successful transformation investigation based on pharmacological effects,clinical intervention,animal model,cell culture and molecular investigation.
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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disorder primarily occurred in small joints.Our previous studies suggested that sufficient lymphatic drainage was favorable for the recovery of RA.This study aimed at exploring the effect of Er Chen combined with Tao Hong Si Wu Tang (ECSWT) on RA in TNF transgenic (TNF-Tg) mice.Ten-week old TNF-Tg mice and WT littermates were detected with indocyanine green-nearinfrared (ICG-NIR) lymphatic imaging system before and after accepting the 12-week intragastric administration of ECSWT.All ankle joints were assessed by micro-CT scanning.According to three dimensional images of Micro-CT,it was found that the ankle joints in the TNF-Tg group were much eroded compared with the control group.The bone mass and structure were protected after the treatment of ECSWT.ICG-NIR results showed that lymphatic clearance rate of the TNF-Tg group decreased compared with those of the control group.In comparison with the TNF-Tg group,ECSWT promoted the repair of lymphatic function.Compared with the control group,the pulse value of the TNF-Tg group declined;while this condition could be rescued by ERSWT.In conclusion,ECSWT mitigated bone erosion of astragalus bone area in TNF-Tg mice in contrast to the saline mice,while promoted the pulse value and clearance of lymphatic vessels afferent from footpad to popliteal lymph node,implying that ECSWT was a promising agent for treating RA through its promoting lymphatic drainage function effects.
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Aim To observe the anti-apoptotic effect of different concentrations of amygdalin on the endplate chondrocytes induced by IL-1 βderived from rat inter-vertebral discs and explore the possible mechanism fur-ther.Methods Chondrocytes were obtained from endplate of one-month SD rat intervertebral discs and cultured primary chondrocytes.After identifying,they were divided into normal group,induced group and A-mygdalin 1 0 -2 mol·L -1 ,1 0 -3 mol·L -1 ,1 0 -4 mol· L -1 ,1 0 -5 mol · L -1 administration group.Then the apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry (FCM).Re-al-Time PCR was adopted to detect the mRNA expres-sion of Bax and Bcl-2.The protein expression of Bax and Bcl-2 was detected by Western blot.Results The apoptosis of the endplate chondrocytes induced by IL-1 βderived from rat intervertebral discs could be inhib-ited by amygdalin with different concentrations.Amyg-dalin could reduce the apoptotic rate analysed by FCM,down-regulate the Bax mRNA expression of Bax and up-regulate the Bcl-2 mRNA assayed by RT-PCR;compared with the induced group the differences were statistically significant (P <0.05).Besides,observa-tion of the protein expression of Bax and Bcl-2 by Western blot found that amygdalin 1 0 -4 mol · L -1 could inhibit the effect of IL-1 β,which could increase the protein expression of Bax and reduce the protein expression of Bcl-2.Conclusion Amygdalin has an effect on anti-apoptosis of the end-plate chondrocytes induced by IL-1 βderived from rat intervertebral discs and improve the degeneration of intervertebral discs.
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The effect of amygdalin joint hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) on the endplate chondrocytes derived from intervertebral discs of rats induced by IL-1beta and the possible mechanism were studied and explored. Chondrocytes were obtained from endplate of one-month SD rat intervertebral discs and cultured primary endplate chondrocytes. After identification, they were divided into normal group, induced group, amygdalin group, HSYA group and combined group. CCK-8 kit was adopted to detect the proliferation of the endplate chondrocytes. FCM was measured to detect the apoptosis. Real-time PCR method was adopted to observe the mRNA expression of Aggrecan, Col 2 alpha1, Col 10 alpha1, MMP-13 and the inflammatory cytokines IL-1beta. The protein expression of Col II, Col X was tested through immunofluorescence. Compared with the normal group, the proliferation of the endplate chondrocytes decreased while the apoptosis increased (P < 0.05). With down regulation of the mRNA expressions of Aggrecan, Col 2 alpha1 and up regulation of the mRNA expressions of Col 10 alpha1, MMP-13, IL-1beta (P < 0.05), the protein expression of Col II decreased while the protein expression of Col X increased. Compared with the induced group, amygdalin group, HSYA group, the combined group could inhibit the apoptosis and promote the proliferation (P < 0.05). They could increase the mRNA expressions of Aggrecan and Col 2 alpha1 while decrease the mRNA expressions of Col 10 alpha1, MMP-13 and IL-1beta (P < 0.05). They could also enhance the protein expression of Col II while reduce the protein expression of Col X. The effect of the combined group was significantly better than that of amygdalin and HSYA. Amygdalin joint HSYA could inhibit the degeneration of the endplate chondrocytes derived from intervertebral discs of rats induced by IL-1beta and better than the single use of amygdalin or HSYA.
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Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of island flap pedicled with dorsal cutaneous branches of digital inter-nal artery for severe thermos injury of fingers .Methods From May 2008 to May 2012 ,15 fingers in 12 cases with severe thermos injury were treated with island flap pedicled with dorsal cutaneous branches of digital internal artery .The defect size ranged from 1 .5 cm × 2 .0 cm to 2 .2 cm × 3 .0 cm ,4 fingers with anterograde flap repair ,11 fingers with retrograde flap repair .Results Partial necrosis happened at the distal end of 2 island flaps ,All the other flaps survived completely .The patients were followed up for 6-12 months with satisfactory cosmetic and functional results ,cicatricial contracture around the skin graft in 3 fingers ,The two-points discrimination distance was 9-11 mm in flaps .Conclusion These flaps have the advantages of an extended skin paddle and a versa-tile pivot point on the phalanx ,and they allow coverage of wide and distal defects .
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the role of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) in culturing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and the related signal pathways.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We amplified the mature peptide of BMP4 from the placenta through RT-PCR, and IgK secretion peptide was ligated to the N-terminal of BMP4 mature peptide. The recombinant plasmid pPYCAG-IgK-BMP4 was transfected into 293T cells and screened with puromycin, and the positive clones for expressing BMP4 were verified by cell immunofluorescence and Western blotting. To test the bioactivity of BMP4, iPSCs were cultured in the medium supplemented with leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) plus the supernatant containing BMP4, and the cell phenotype, cell differentiation capacity into lineages of the 3 germ layers and expression levels of pluripotency-associated genes were investigated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Smad1 was phosphorylated by BMP4 from the culture medium. iPSCs cultured in the medium supplemented with LIF plus the supernatant containing BMP4 for 3 passages maintained the phenotype of stem cells with the expression levels of pluripotency-associated genes not affected. These iPSCs also maintained the capacity to differentiate into cell lineages of the 3 germ layers.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>BMP4 can be efficiently expressed in mammalian cells to maintain the multipotent differentiation capacity of the iPSCs in in vitro culture.</p>
Subject(s)
Animals , Female , Humans , Mice , Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 , Genetics , Cell Differentiation , Genetics , Cells, Cultured , Gene Expression , HEK293 Cells , Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains , Genetics , Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells , Cell BiologyABSTRACT
To investigate the effects of serum containing Yiqi Huayu Bushen Recipe, a compound Chinese herbal medicine, on expressions of aggrecan and type X collagen mRNAs of the degenerated intervertebral disc cells in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy.
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To observe the effects of icariin, psoralen and oleanolic acid, the three active ingredients of Yinyanghuo (Herba Epimedii Brevicornus), Buguzhi (Fructus Psoraleae) and Nuzhenzi (Fructus Ligustri Lucidi), respectively, on gene expression profile of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) from rats with corticosterone-induced osteoporosis.
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To observe the effects of Qishe Pill, a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on lumbar vertebral bone formation induced by long-time upright posture in rats and to investigate the potential mechanism.