ABSTRACT
ObjectiveLevosimendan,a new calcium ion sensitizer,is currently used in the treatment of heart failure and as an option for patients with injury to the left heart or at high risk for surgery.The study tried to evaluate the effects of levosimendan and ulinastain for protecting myocardium from ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury to the isolated immature rabbit hearts and investigate the possible mechanism.MethodsFifty New Zealand long-ear white immature rabbits were anesthetized and heparinized.Their hearts were rapidly removed and mounted on modified Langendorff apparatus.A left ventricle pressure monitoring line was inserted through the left atrial and mitral valve.The hearts were equilibrated with oxygenated K-H solution at 37℃ for 10 minutes.The rabbit hearts were randomly divided into 5 groups with 10 hearts in each group.Hearts in group C were perfused with K-H solution,in group U were perfused with ulinastain (50000 U/kg),in group LI were perfused with Levosimendan 0.1 μmol/L,in group L2 were perfused with Levosimendan 0.3 μmol/L,and in group L + U were perfused with Ulinastain (50 000 U/kg) and Levosimendan 0.1μmol/L.The hearts were arrested with St-Thomas solution for 30 min.Hearts in each group underwent 30 min-reperfusion with the same solutions after 30 min-global myocardial ischemia.Heart rate ( HR) Jeft ventricular pressure ( LVP) and LVdp/dtMax were monitored.Effluent from coronary sinus was collected at time of ischemia /reperfusion for measuring the concentration of TNF-α,IL-6,CK and cTnI.ResultsLVP and LVdp/dt in group L1,L2 and L + U were better than those in group C and U.But the heart rates in group L2 were higher than in other groups.Concentrations of CK,cTnI,TNF-α and IL-6 in the effluent from coronary sinus at 0、10 and 30 min of reperfusion were significantly lower in group L + U than in the other groups.ConclusionLevosimendan may have the similar effects with ulinastain in reducing the reperfusion injury to the immature myocardium.The protective effect of levosimendan (0.1 μmol/L) in combination with ulinastain (50 000 U/kg) was better than that of levosimendan or ulinastain alone.
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Objective The present study is to investigate the effect of EPO pretreatment on TNF-? expression in cultured cardiac myocytes with H/R and to explore the possible NF-?B signal transduction mechanism. Methods The model of cultured cardiac myocytes with H/R was established and the cardiac myocytes were divided into 4 groups, including EPO group (treat with EPO 10?U/ml 24?h before H/R), EPO+PDTC group (treat with EPO 10?U/mL and PDTC 5??g/ml 24?h before H/R), PDTC group (treat with PDTC 5??g /ml 24h before H/R) and control group. Change of TNF-? gene expression before and after H/R in cardiac myocytes was detected with RT-PCR and western blot. Change of NF-?B activity before and after H/R in cardiac myocytes was assayed with EMSA. Results Before H/R, there was no significant difference in TNF-? mRNA and protein expression between the 4 groups and after H/R, TNF-? mRNA and protein expression increased significantly in the 4 groups compared to control group before H/R. After H/R, TNF-? mRNA and protein expression was lower in EPO group than in the other 3 groups. Before H/R, NF-?B activity was higher in EPO group than in the other groups. After H/R, NF-?B activity increased significantly in all the 4 groups compared to the control before H/R and NF-?B activity was lower in EPO group than in the other groups. Conclusion EPO pretreatment inhibited the upregulation of TNF-? gene expression after H/R in cardiac myocytes, which might be related to the inhibition of NF-?B activation; EPO pretreatment might inhibit the activation of NF-?B after H/R through the negative feed-back mechanism of NF-?B activation.
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Objective To investigate the pathogenic factors and the visceral involvement in murine disseminated trichosporonosis caused by Trichosporon asahii. Methods Forty-five mice were immunosuppressed with cyclophospamide 3 days hefore and 7 days after inoculation of T. asahii, and were divided into intravenously inoculated group (n = 15), intradermal inoculated group (n = 7), gastrointestinal infusion group (n = 8), intravenously inoculated + treatment group (n = 15). In the control groups the mice were not immunosuppressed, and were also divided into intravenous, intradermal, and G.I. infusion groups with the same number of mice respectively. In the treatment group the mice were given both liposomal amphotericin B and fluconazole. The main viscera of the mice were examined by mycologic culture and pathologic sections. Results In the intravenous inoculation group of immunized mice, Trichosporon asahii were isolated from at least one organ in 10/12 mice, while T. asahii were only isolated in 2/14 mice in the control group; in 2/7 mice of the intradermal group of immunosuppressed mice, skin lesion appeared at the inoculation site, but no visceral infection was observed. No visceral infection was found in the groups that T. asahii was inoculated by non-intravenous injection in both immunosuppressed and non-immunosuppressed mice. The number of mice died, the number of visceral organs involved and the incidence of systemic infection were significantly less in the treatment group than those in the non-treatment groups (P
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Objectives To study the clinical effects and therapeutic mechanisms of the application of Chinese traditional medicine,the Decoction of Jie Du Hua Yu Tang,in the treatment of psoriasis.Meth-ods The clinical effects were observed in50patients with psoriasis vulgaris,to whom the Decoction of Jie Du Hua Yu Tang was given.The mice were used as experimental models whose tail scale epidermis was nat-urally lacking granular layer,similar to psoriatic epidermis.The mice were fed with Jie Du Hua Yu Tang and the effects on the formation of granular layer in their tail scale epidermis were noticed.Results The clinical cure rate was42%and the total response rate was90%with the Jie Du Hua Yu Tang.There was a signifi-cantly strong promoting effect on the formation of granular layer in mouse tail scale epidermis with the use of Jie Du Hua Yu Tang,in comparison with the control group.Conclusions The Decoction of Jie Du Hua Yu Tang is effective for the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris.The decoction could promote the formation of granu-lar layer in mouse tail scale epidermis.The therapeutic mechanism of the decoction may be related to the inhibition of proliferation of epidermal cells.