Pharmacodynamic Mechanism of Kuanxiong Aerosol for Vasodilation and Improvement of Myocardial Ischemia / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the effect of Kuanxiong Aerosol (KXA) on isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial injury in rat models.@*METHODS@#Totally 24 rats were radomly divided into control, ISO, KXA low-dose and high-dose groups according to the randomized block design method, and were administered by intragastric administration for 10 consecutive days, and on the 9th and 10th days, rats were injected with ISO for 2 consecutive days to construct an acute myocardial ischemia model to evaluate the improvement of myocardial ischemia by KXA. In addition, the diastolic effect of KXA on rat thoracic aorta and its regulation of ion channels were tested by in vitro vascular tension test. The influence of KXA on the expression of calcium-CaM-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II)/extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) signaling pathway has also been tested.@*RESULTS@#KXA significantly reduced the ISO-induced increase in ST-segment, interventricular septal thickness, cardiac mass index and cardiac tissue pathological changes in rats. Moreover, the relaxation of isolated thoracic arterial rings that had been precontracted using norepinephrine (NE) or potassium chloride (KCl) was increased after KXA treatment in an endothelium-independent manner, and was attenuated by preincubation with verapamil, but not with tetraethylammonium chloride, 4-aminopyridine, glibenclamide, or barium chloride. KXA pretreatment attenuated vasoconstriction induced by CaCl2 in Ca2+-free solutions containing K+ or NE. In addition, KXA pretreatment inhibited accumulation of Ca2+ in A7r5 cells mediated by KCl and NE and significantly decreased p-CaMK II and p-ERK levels.@*CONCLUSION@#KXA may inhibit influx and release of calcium and activate the CaMK II/ERK signaling pathway to produce vasodilatory effects, thereby improving myocardial injury.

Bear Bile Powder Inhibits Growth of Hepatocellular Carcinoma via Suppressing STAT3 Signaling Pathway in Mice / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the inhibitory effect of bear bile powder (BBP) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) growth in vivo and investigate the underlying mechanisms.@*METHODS@#A HCC xenograft mouse model was developed by producing with huh7 cells. After 5 days following xenograft implantation, ten HCC xenograft mice were given intra-gastric administration with 10 mg/(kg•d) dose of BBP or saline for 3 weeks. Tumor growth in HCC xenograft mice was evaluated by measuring the tumor weight and volume. Cell apoptosis, proliferation or tumor angiogenesis were examined via immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) or cluster of differentiation 31 (CD31), respectively. Phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) were determined by Western blot. The mRNA and protein expressions of Bcl-2, Bax, Cyclin D1 and Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) in HCC tumor tissues were respectively determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot. The protein expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) in tumor tissues was examined by IHC staining.@*RESULTS@#BBP treatment led to a significant decrease on tumor volume and tumor weight in HCC mice (P<0.05) and had no effect on the change of body weight. In addition, BBP profoundly promoted cell apoptosis, inhibited cell proliferation and intratumoral microvessel density in HCC tumor tissues (P<0.05). Moreover, BBP treatment remarkably suppressed the STAT3 phosphorylation and modulated the expression of critical target genes including Bcl-2, Bax, Cyclin D1, CDK4 and VEGF-A in HCC mice.@*CONCLUSION@#BBP exerts its anti-cancer activities via suppressing STAT3 signaling pathway and affecting multiple intracellular targets.

A system review of randomized controlled trials on treating chronic stable angina by rhodiola / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To systematically assess the efficacy and safety of Rhodiola in treating chronic stable angina pectoris.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Our group searched the Cochrane library, PubMed, Embase, Chinese biomedical literature database (CBM), VIP database (VIP), Chinese Journal Full-text Database (CNKI) for the literature published in English and Chinese till April 2013. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included on the therapeutic effect of Rhodiola or Rhodiola plus conventional Western medicine in comparison with the conventional Western medicine treatment on stable angina. Data were extracted according the data extraction form. The literature methodological quality was assessed by using the Cochrane handbook, and data analyzed by Rev-Man 5.2 Software for Meta-analysis. The effect indicators of outcomes was expressed by odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 7 randomized controlled trials, 662 cases of stable angina pectoris patients met the inclusion criteria and all published in Chinese, without one scientific design and high quality literature. Compared with the conventional Western medicine treatment, combined with oral administration of Rhodiola could improve the efficiency of anti-angina (OR = 2.49, 95% CI: 1.02 - 6.09). Combined with intravenous infusion of Rhodiola could also improve the efficacy of angina pectoris (OR = 4.86, 95% CI: 2.4 - 9.82). Oral administration of Rhodiola couldn't improve ECG efficacy (OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 0.67 - 2.34). Intravenous infusion of Rhodiola could improve the clinical efficacy (OR = 2.94, 95% CI: 1.61 - 5.35). Combined with the conventional treatment, intravenous infusion of Rhodiola could improve the whole blood viscosity (low and high shear rates) and inverse variance (IV) (-1.36 and -0.99, 95% CI: -1.65 - 1.07 and -1.26 - 0.71), but could not reduce serum fibrinogen and D-dimer level. The incidence rate of adverse reactions was higher than that of the conventional treatment combined with Rhodiola (OR = 0.1, 95% CI: 0.02 - 0.51).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>On the basis of routine treatment, Rhodiola could further improve patients' symptoms. Combined with intravenous medication, Rhodiola could increase the ECG improvement rate, and reduce adverse reactions. But the methodological quality of included studies was poor, the number of samples was small, and influence factors such as the intervention period was short. This conclusion needs scientific and rational design in a larger sample, multicenter clinical trial to verify.</p>