Dexmedetomidine alleviates lung tissue injury of rat models with ventilator-associated lung injury / 基础医学与临床

Objective To investigate the effect of dexmedetom idine(DEX)on lung tissue and Ras homolog gene family member A(RhoA)/Rho kinase 1(ROCK1)signaling pathway in lung tissue of rats with ventilator-induced lung injury(VILI).Methods A VILI rat model was established and separated into control group,model group(VILI group),dexmedetomidine low and high dose groups(DEX-L,DEX-H group),and high dose dexmedetomi-dine+lysophosphatidic acid(LPA)group(DEX-H+LPA group).Determination of wet/dry mass ratio of rat lung tissue(W/D);HE staining microscopy was applied to observe morphology of lung tissue;ELISA kit was applied to detect the level of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-1β(IL-1β)and interleukin-6(IL-6)in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF);TUNEL staining method was applied to detect lung epithelial cell death;Immunoblotting was applied to detect the expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins,and RhoA,ROCK1 pro-teins.Results DEX could reduce lung injury,lung injury score,W/D,apoptosis rate,levels of TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6,and expression of Bax,cleaved caspase-3,RhoA,ROCK,α-SMA in VILI rats(P＜0.05),while increased the expression of Bcl-2(P＜0.05);LPA could aggravate lung injury and increase lung injury score,W/D,apopto-sis rate,level of TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6 and expressions of Bax,cleaved caspase-3,RhoA,ROCK and α-SMA(P＜0.05);Bcl-2 expression level was decreased(P＜0.05).Conclusions Dexmedetomidine may protect rats with ventilator-induced lung injury by the inhibition of RhoA/ROCK1 signaling pathway.

Prospects for histone deacetylase inhibitors as antidepressants / 药学学报

Depression is a serious mental illness with a high incidence. At present, we do not fully understand the specific pathological mechanisms of depression, and the efficacy of drug treatments is very limited. Recent studies have shown that epigenetic changes that occur in specific brain regions may be a key mechanism by which environmental factors to interact with individuals to influence the risk of depression. Therefore, drugs that target epigenetic regulation may become a new direction for the development of antidepressants. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) are a class of compounds that inhibit histone deacetylase activity, which has been reported to be associated with depression; this article addresses the use of HDACi in preclinical studies, and their potential therapeutic role and limitations of use in depression.

Quercetin inhibits proliferation of human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells through affecting tryptophan metabolism / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the mechanism of inhibition on the proliferation of human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells by quercetin.Methods Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 method.Flow cytometry was used to detect the cell cycle changes.OD480 values which reflected the metabolism of tryptophan and the production of kynurenine were measured by UV-Vis spectrophotometer.The mRNA levels of IDO1 were detected by qPCR.The expression and purification of IDO1 protein were detected by Western blot.Enzyme activity reaction was performed in vitro,and the content changes of tryptophan and kynurenine were detected by HPLC.Results Quercetin inhibited the proliferation of HeLa cells and led to cell cycle arrest.Quercetin inhibited the metabolism of tryptophan.Quercetin significantly inhibited the enzymatic activity of IDO1 in vitro,but did not affect the expression of IDO1.The addition of kynurenine could reverse the inhibition of cell proliferation induced by quercetin.Conclusion Quercetin affects tryptophan metabolism through inhibiting the enzymatic activity of IDO1.This may be one of the mechanisms by which quercetin exerts its effect on the proliferation of HeLa cells.

Characteristics of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Women Aged 15-49 Years from 2005 to 2012 in China / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To describe the characteristics of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in women aged 15-49 years in China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>HIV/AIDS cases from 2005 to 2012 that fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were identified on the Chinese HIV/AIDS case reporting system. Descriptive and spatial analyses were performed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 103,559 female HIV/AIDS cases were included in our study. Based on the descriptive analysis, between 2005 and 2012, the proportion of heterosexually acquired HIV infection among women (15-49 years) increased rapidly from 35.8% to 87.4%. Approximately 60% of these cases were infected through non-marital heterosexual contact. Among older women (40-49 years), a slightly increasing trend was identified. The spatial analysis detected 'hot spots' in the Xinjiang, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, and Chongqing provinces. The epidemic trends in these areas were predominately driven by heterosexual transmission.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Non-marital heterosexual contact is a very important factor in the HIV/AIDS epidemic in women aged 15-49 years, and the HIV infection rate in older women is increasing. Several epidemic hot spots were detected in northwestern and southwestern China. Efficient interventions are needed to control the spread of HIV/AIDS among women living in these areas.</p>

Epidemiologic studies of particulate matter and lung cancer / 癌症

Particulate matter (PM) plays an important role in air pollution, especially in China. European and American researchers conducted several cohort-based studies to examine the potential relationship between PM and lung cancer and found a positive association between PM and lung cancer mortality. In contrast, the results regarding PM and lung cancer risk remain inconsistent. Most of the previous studies had limitations such as misclassification of PM exposure and residual confounders, diminishing the impact of their findings. In addition, prospective studies on this topic are very limited in Chinese populations. This is an important problem because China has one of the highest concentrations of PM in the world and has had an increased mortality risk due to lung cancer. In this context, more prospective studies in Chinese populations are warranted to investigate the relationship between PM and lung cancer.