Network pharmacology analysis to explore mechanism of Three Flower Tea against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with experimental support using high-fat diet-induced rats / 中草药·英文版

Objective: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become a common chronic liver disease that is harmful to human health. Moreover, there is currently no FDA-approved first-line drug for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or NAFLD. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is widely used to ameliorate liver diseases, such as the traditional ancient recipe called Three Flower Tea (TFT), which consists of double rose (Rosa rugosa), white chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium), and Daidaihua (Citrus aurantium). However, the mechanisms of the action of TFT are not clear. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms of TFT against NAFLD in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced rats. Methods: This study utilized bioinformatics and network pharmacology to establish the active and potential ingredient-target networks of TFT. Furthermore, a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed, and enrichment analysis was performed to determine the key targets of TFT against NAFLD. Furthermore, an animal experiment was conducted to evaluate the therapeutic effect and confirm the key targets of TFT against NAFLD. Results: A total of 576 NAFLD-related genes were searched in GeneCards, and under the screening criteria of oral bioavailability (OB) ≥30% and drug-likeness (DL) ≥0.18, a total of 19 active ingredients and 210 targets were identified in TFT. Network pharmacology analysis suggested that 55 matching targets in PPIs were closely associated with roles for NAFLD treatment. Through the evaluation of network topology parameters, four key central genes, PPARγ, SREBP, AKT, and RELA, were identified. Furthermore, animal experiments indicated that TFT could reduce plasma lipid profiles, hepatic lipid profiles and hepatic fat accumulation, improve liver function, suppress inflammatory factors, and reduce oxidative stress. Through immunoblotting and immunofluorescence analysis, PPARγ, SREBP, AKT, and RELA were confirmed as targets of TFT in HFD-induced rats. Conclusion: In summary, our results indicate that TFT can prevent and treat NAFLD via multiple targets, including lipid accumulation, antioxidation, insulin sensitivity, and inflammation.

Effects of sulfur dioxide on alveolar macrophage apoptosis in acute lung injury induced by limb ischemia/reperfusion in rats / 北京大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effect of sulfur dioxide (SO2) on the apoptosis of alveolar macrophage (AM) in lung protection of limb ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) induced acute lung injury (ALI), and to find a new target for the control of inflammatory response.@*METHODS@#Twenty pathogen-free, adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (180-230 g) were used in this study. Five rats were to be used for limb ischemia/reperfusion, then plasma was extracted as ischemia/reperfusion serum stimulation. Fifteen rats were to be used for extracting AM by bronchoalveolar lavage. The AM was isolated and cultured, then the cell count was adjusted to 1×106/mL, and randomly divided into the following 4 groups (n=6): control group, I/R group, SO2 group, and I/R+SO2 group. The I/R group was given ischemia/reperfusion serum (500 μg/L) to stimulate 6 h; the SO2 group was given an SO2 donor, Na2SO3/NaHSO3 [(0.54 mmol/kg) / (0.18 mmol/kg)]; and the I/R+SO2 group was given the same ischemia/reperfusion serum and Na2SO3/NaHSO3 at the same time. The level of mitochondrial membrane potential, the state of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP), the rate of AM apoptosis, the expression of Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 proteins were detected by flow cytometry, microplate reader and Western blotting.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the control group, in the I/R group, the ratio of red to green fluorescence and the absorbance decreased significantly, the percentage of apoptotic cells increased obviously, the apoptotic rate was 43.81%±2.40%, Caspase-3 protein expression increased, Bcl-2 protein expression decreased. While compared with the I/R group, in the I/R+SO2 group, the ratio of red to green fluorescence and the absorbance increased significantly; the apoptotic rate decreased to 37.01%±1.93%, Caspase-3 protein expression decreased, Bcl-2 protein expression increased.@*CONCLUSION@#Exogenous SO2 has the effect of accelerating AM apoptosis by stimulating mPTP to open and mitochondrial membrane potential to decrease; besides, exogenous SO2 could stimulate AM to secrete more anti-inflammatory cytokines and less inflammatory cytokines. In conclusion, exogenous SO2 can reduce macrophage apoptosis by inhibiting mitochondrial pathways.

Role of minimal residual disease detection by multiparameter flow cytometry in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: an analysis of 106 patients / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To assess the feasibility and prognostic value of the minimal residual disease (MRD) evaluated by multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) in the newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients of China. Methods: Clinical data of 106 consecutively newly diagnosed MM patients with MRD data were retrospectively analyzed in a single center in China from June 2013 to June 2015. Results: ① Of 106 patients, 48 (45.3%) achieved MRD negativity. The median time to MRD-negative was 3 months. More patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) achieved MRD negativity compared with non-ASCT patients (62.2% vs 36.2%, χ(2)=6.536, P=0.011). ② Of 48 patients in complete remission (CR), 7 (14.6%) was MRD positive, 5 of them showed disease progression (PD) during the follow-up, and 3 died. The median progression free survival (PFS) was 19 months, and the median overall survival (OS) was 28 months, both were significantly shorter than the CR patients with MRD-negative (P<0.05). ③At a median follow-up of 38 months, MRD-negative patients showed significantly superior outcomes compared with MRD positive ones, the PFS was not reach versus 17 months and the OS was not reach for both (P<0.001). Patients were grouped into 4 categories according to their MRD levels: 1% or higher, 0.1% to less than 1%, 0.01% to less than 0.1%, or negative. It showed that the outcomes (PFS and OS) tended to be improved along with the tumor depletion. ④ Multivariate prognostic analysis showed that MRD was a powerful independent prognostic factor for PFS[HR=0.133 (95% CI 0.062-0.288) , P<0.001] and OS[HR=0.156 (95% CI 0.050-0.484) , P=0.001]. According to MRD and cytogenetics, the patients were classified into 4 groups. High risk patients with MRD negative presented a significantly better outcome than high risk patients with MRD-positive, and a similar one to the standard risk patients with MRD-negative. Conclusions: MRD negativity by MFC was more popular in MM patients undergoing ASCT. MRD was an independent prognostic factor in MM. And the prognosis of MM patients can be stratified according to the level of MRD. MRD-negative patients with high risk cytogenetics presented a similar outcome to the standard risk ones. MRD by MFC should therefore be considered more widely applied in the clinic.

Clinical analysis of 70 chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients with trisomy 12 detected by FISH / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To summarize and investigate the characteristics, prognosis and treatments of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients with trisomy 12 by using FISH (CEP12). Methods: Clinical data of 330 CLL patients were analyzed retrospectively by using FISH (CEP12) to detect trisomy 12 from May 2003 to April 2015. The clinical data and laboratory characteristics of CEP12 positive patients (70 cases) were compared with those CEP12 negative patients (260 cases). Results: Compared with CEP12 negative CLL patients, the proportion of hepatomegaly (13.6% vs 4.0%, P=0.011) and LDH>247 U/L (43.3% vs 18.5%, χ(2)=15.892, P<0.001) in CEP12 positive CLL patients were much higher, respectively. There were no significant differences between age, sex, clinical stage, β(2)-microglobulin level, IGHV mutation ratio and splenomegaly/lymphadenopathy in these two subgroups. However, compared with CEP12 negative patients, CEP12 positive patients had higher ratio of FMC7 (23.8% vs 12.7%, χ(2)=4.730, P=0.030), and lower ratio of CD23 (95.2% vs 99.6%, P=0.033). The overall response rates (ORR) in Fludarabine (without Rituximab), Rituximab (with or without Fludarabine) and the traditional chemotherapy group (chlorambucil, CHOP or CHOP-like) were 77.5% (31/40), 84.8% (56/66) and 45.4% (50/110), respectively. The ORR of the traditional chemotherapy group was lower than that of the Fludarabine group and Rituximab group. For CEP12 positive patients, the ORR was inferior to CEP12 negative patients when only using Fludarabine (P<0.05). However, when using Rituximab, the difference could be eliminated, and the ORR was even a little higher in CEP12 negative patients (91.7% vs 81.0%, P=0.306). Compared with CEP12 negative patients, there were no significant differences in progression-free survival (PFS) (χ(2)=0.410, P=0.478) and overall survival (OS) (χ(2)=0.052, P=0.180) for CEP12 positive patients whom the median time from diagnosis to start treatment and OS time was 22.6 (95%CI 15.4-31.7) and 118.5 (95%CI 74.5-162.4) month while the 5-year PFS and OS were (52.9±7.6)% and (74.8±6.6)%. Conclusions: CEP12 positive CLL patients are more common in hepatomegaly and higher level of LDH. The traditional chemotherapy treatment had the lowest efficacy, and the curative effect of single use of fludarabine is not as good as that of CEP12 negative patients, however, when using Ritaximab, the efficacy could be comparable.

Clinical analysis of 24 patients of hairy cell leukemia treated by cladribine / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To investigate the curative effect of hairy cell leukemia by clatabine. Methods: The clinical data of 24 patients with hairy cell leukemia treated by cladribine from November 2006 to October 2017 were analyzed retrospectively, then the curative effect and adverse drug reaction were analyzed. Results: ① A total of 24 patients including 22 male and 2 female, and the median age was 49.5 years (range 33 to 76) at diagnosis. There were 20 patients with of splenomegaly (4 patients with mild splenomegaly, 4 moderate splenomegaly, and 12 massive splenomegaly), 3 patients with enlargement of lymph nodes, and 1 patients who had undergone splenectomy. Five patients were pancytopenia, 15 were cytopenia in 2 lineages, and 4 patients were cytopenia only in one lineage. The median ratio of HCL cells detected by flow cytometry in bone marrow was 21.79% (0.69%-68.96%). BRAF mutation was detected in 15 patients by first generation or next generation sequencing technology. ② Among 24 patients, 20 were treated with cladribine alone (one course in 19 patients, 2 courses in 1 patient), and 4 patients were treated with cladribine combined with rituximab (one course in 3 patients, 2 courses in 1 patient). Excepting 5 patients whose follow-up time was not reaching 6 months, 19 patients were evaluated for efficacy in 6-12 months after treatment: 9 patients obtained CR, 9 obtained unconfirmed CR (Cru), the other 1 obtained PR, the CR/CRu rate was 94.7%, the overall response rate (ORR) was 100.0%. ③ All the 24 patients appeared 2-4 grade hematological adverse reactions after cladribine treatment, which were mainly grade 3/4 neutropenia (66.67%) and grade 3/4 thrombocytopenia (29.2%). All the adverse reactions were controlled or recovered spontaneously. ④ After the median follow-up time of 15 (3-133) months, no progression, recurrence or death occurred in the patients. Both median OS and PFS were not reached. Conclusion: This study suggests that treatment of HCL with cladribine has high response rate, controllable adverse reactions and the good prognosis.

Correlation analysis of indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and hepatitis virus / 中国肿瘤临床

Objective:To differentiate hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection from hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among different indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) subtypes. The correlation between indolent B-NHL and hepatitis viral infection was also investi-gated. Methods:A total of 733 indolent B-NHL patients from January 1994 to January 2014 with integrated clinical information were retrospectively investigated. We compared the hepatitis viral infection between the general population and indolent B-NHL patients. We analyzed the infection rate of hepatitis virus in the different indolent B-NHL subtypes and examined their correlations. Results:The HBs-Ag positive rate of the indolent B-NHL was 7.9%, which was not significantly different with that of the general population (7.9%vs. 7.2%, P=0.548). Among the different indolent B-NHL subtypes, the 48 splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) patients exhibited the highest HBs-Ag positive rate, which was significantly higher than those of the general population (18.8%vs. 7.2%, P=0.002), other indo-lent B-NHL subtypes (18.8%vs. 7.2%, P=0.004), and other marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (MZL) patients (18.8%vs. 7.1%, P=0.005). The HBs-Ag positive rates between other B-NHL subtypes and the general population were not significantly different. The coexpression of HBs-Ag, HBe-Ag, and anti-HBc-Ab exhibited no significant difference among the various B-NHL subtypes. However, the co-expres-sion of HBs-Ag, HBe-Ab, and anti-HBc-Ab was significantly higher in the SMZL group than the other B-NHL subtypes (16.7%vs. 4.7%, P<0.001).The positive rate of the anti-hepatitis C virus antibody (HCV-Ab) was 1.9%in 733 indolent B-NHL patients, which was significant-ly higher than in the general population (1.9%vs. 0.4%, P<0.001). The HCV-Ab positive rates in the chronic lymphocytic leukemia, lym-phoplasmacytic lymphoma/Waldenstr?m macroglobulinemia, SMZL, hairy cell leukemia, nodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma group were 2.2%, 2.5%, 4.2%, 3%, and 3.7%, respectively. These values were significantly higher than those of the general population. Preva-lence rates of HCV in B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders, unclassified, extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associat-ed tissue lymphoma, B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia, and follicular lymphoma groups were not significantly different compared with the general population. Conclusion:Prevalence rate of HBV was higher in the SMZL group than other indolent B-NHL groups, which suggests that HBV infection may play an etiologic role in SMZL.

Role and mechanism of all-trans retinoic acid in up-regulating apelin expression in vascular smooth muscle cells / 生理学报

This study was aimed to investigate the mechanism of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) up-regulating apelin expression in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). The effect of ATRA on apelin expression in the VSMCs was investigated by RT-PCR, real-time PCR and Western blot analysis. To further define whether retinoic acid receptor α (RARα) mediated the induction of apelin by ATRA, endogenous RARα was down regulated by transfection of siRNA against RARα (si-RARα) or RARα was over-expressed by infection of the adenovirus vector pAd-GFP-RARα in the VSMCs. The results showed that ATRA significantly induced apelin expression in a time- and dose-dependent manner in the VSMCs. Although RARα expression was increased in a time-dependent manner, the expressions of RARβ and RARγ were little changed by the ATRA treatment. When VSMCs were treated with a RARα antagonist Ro 41-5253 prior to the addition of ATRA, or si-RARα was used to down regulate endogenous RARα expression, the blockade of RARα signaling partially reduced the response of apelin to ATRA. Moreover, RARα over-expression, induced by infection of pAd-GFP-RARα, further increased the induction of apelin by ATRA. In conclusion, ATRA may up-regulate apelin expression in VSMCs, and the mechanism may be RARα dependent.

Fas and TNFR1 expressions after cerebral ischemia and reperfusion in rats: association with cell apoptosis and the effects of Bcl-2 overexpression / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of Bcl-2 overexpression on Fas and TNFR1-mediated apoptosis and its possible mechanism in rat hippocampus following global ischemia/reperfusion (IR).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninety healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into sham operated group, IR group and Bcl-2 overexpression group (BT group). Rat model of global IR was established by the 4-V0 method. The expressions of Bcl-2, Fas and TNFR1 and the cell apoptosis in the CA1 and CA3 regions were examined by HE staining, immunohistochemistry and TUNEL method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In IR group, the neurons in the CA1 region showed an obvious reduction in number with disordered arrangement and interstitial edema 48 h after global IR. Such changes were not obvious in BT group. Immunohistochemistry showed that Fas expression in the CA1 region reached the peak level at 6 h in IR group with a greater expression intensity than that in BT group (P<0.05). TNFR1 was expressed at a higher level in IR group than in BT group (P<0.05), reaching the peak level at 24 h. In the sham group, the expression of Fas and TNFR1 was not detected the in CA1 and CA3 regions. Global IR caused increased cell apoptosis in the CA1 and CA3 regions, starting at 6 h and reached peak at 24 to 48 h. The cell apoptosis was less obvious in BT group (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Fas and TNFR1 are expressed in the CA1 and CA3 regions after global IR in rats, suggesting the involvement of death receptor in cerebral IR injury. Bcl-2 overexpression decreases the expression of Fas and TNFR1 and cell apoptosis after global IR, thus offering protective effect against cerebral IR injury.</p>

A new experiment teaching model in pathogenic microbiology / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Based on their inherent relationship,some independent and verifying experiments of medical immunology were intergrated into a series of comprehensive and open experiments,which was embodied in the preparations of antiserum.so as to set up a new experiment teaching system emphasizing the training of student comprehensive capability.Achievements in training students'scientific research capacity,innovative motivation and practical working ability have been obtained and the results could provide valuable experience for innovation and reform of medical immunology experiment teaching model and method.

Antiviral Activity of Recombinant Cyanovirin-N against HSV-1 / 中国病毒学·英文版

In this study,a standard strain of HSV-1(strain SM44)was used to investigate the antiviral activity of the recombinant Cyanovirin-N(CV-N)against Herpes simplex virus type 1(HSV-1)in vitro and in vivo.Cytopathic effect(CPE)and MTT assays were used to evaluate the effect of CV-N on HSV-1 in Vero cells.The number of copies of HSV-DNA was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(FQ-PCR).The results showed that CV-N had a low cytotoxicity on Vero cells with a CC50 of 359.03±0.56 μg/mL,and that it could not directly inactivate HSV-1 infectivity.CV-N not only reduced the CPE of HSV-1 when added before or after viral infection,with a 50% inhibitory concentration(IC50)with 2.26 and 30.16μg/mL respectively,but it also decreased the copies of HSV-1 DNA in infected host cells.The encephalitis model for HSV-1 infection was conducted in Kunming mice,and treated with three dosages of CV-N(0.5,5 & 10 mg/kg)which was administered intraperitoneally at 2h,3d,5d,7d post infection.The duration for the appearance of symptoms of encephalitis and the survival days were recorded and brain tissue samples were obtained for pathological examination(HEstaining).Compared with the untreated control group,in the 5mg/kg CV-N and 10mg/kg CV-N treated groups,the mice suffered light symptoms and the number of survival days were more than 9d and 14d respectively.HE staining also showed that in 5mg/kg CV-N and 10mg/kg CV-N treated groups,the brain cells did not show visible changes,except for a slight inflammation.Our results demonstrated that CV-N has pronounced antiviral activity against HSV-1 both in vitro and in vivo,and it would be a promising new candidate for anti-HSV therapeutics.

Relationship between transmembrane signal transduction pathway and DNA repair and the mechanism after global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats / 神经科学通报·英文版

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the protein levels of phospho-ERK and phospho-APE/Ref-1 in hippocampal neurons after global cerebral ischemia reperfusion in rats, and observe the relationship between transmembrane signal transduction and repair of DNA damage. The role of ERK signal transduction pathway following global cerebral ischemia reperfusion in rats is further discussed.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninety healthy male SD rats were divided into 3 groups randomly: Sham group (S group), Ischemia reperfusion group (IR group) and Pd98059 pretreatment/ischemia reperfusion group (PD group). Global cerebral ischemia reperfusion model was established by four-vessel occlusion (4-VO) method, and reperfusion was performed 5 minutes following ischemia. Protein levels of phospho-ERK and phospho-APE/Ref-1 were detected using immunohistochemical method at 2 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after reperfusion, and neuron apoptosis was observed by HE and TUNEL staining.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In CA1 region of IR group, TUNEL positive cells began to appear at 6 h after IR, and reached the apex during 24 h to 48 h. However, TUNEL positive was most strongly exhibited in PD group. In IR group, phospho-ERK was obviously detected in CA3 region at 2 h after IR, and its level was gradually decreased from 6 h until totally absent at 48 h. Besides, phospho-ERK expression in PD group was weaker than that in IR group. For phospho-APE/Ref-1, its expression began to appear in CA1 region in IR group at 2 h after IR, with no obvious changes during 2 h to 12 h. Phospho-APE/Ref-1 expression began to decrease at 24 h and this decrease continued thereafter. Expression level of phospho-APE/Ref-1 in PD group was lower than that in IR group. Results showed the concurrence of decreased phospho-ERK expression level and increased neuron apoptosis after cerebral ischemia reperfusion, the former of which was consistent with the decrease of phospho-APE/Ref-1 expression. Also, the greater the inhibition of ERK phosphorylation was, the greater decrease of APE/Ref-1 expression occurred.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Activation of ERK signal transduction pathway increased the expression of phospho-APE/Ref-1, and thus faciliated the repair of DNA damage. So, activation of ERK signal transduction pathway may protect neurons from apoptosis after cerebral ischemia reperfusion.</p>

Establishment of the Experimental Curriculum Teaching System for Long Educational System Students / 微生物学通报

In view of the predominance problems in present experimental teaching of medical microbiology, we reformed the experimental contents and experimental teaching methods,to establish an entire experimental curriculum teaching system to be suitable for seven-year system and long educational system students,which manifests the creative teaching idea.

The effect of ginkgolides on expression of ChAT in the Alzheimers disease-like rat brain / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investgate the mechnism through which ginkgolides affect learning and memory capabilities of the Alzheimers disease-like rats. Methods Okadaic acid(OA)was injected into the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus and the rats were gavaged with ginkgolides. The learning and memory abilities of the rats were assessed through Morris water maze behavioral test, and the expressions of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and ChAT were observed by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry, respectively.Results Compared with the control rats, the capabilities of learning and memory were lowered significantly(P