Neferine inhibits the progression of diabetic nephropathy by modulating the miR-17-5p/nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 axis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Neferine (Nef) on diabetic nephropathy (DN) and to explore the mechanism of Nef in DN based on miRNA regulation theory. METHODS: A DN mouse model was constructed and treated with Nef. Serum creatinine (Crea), blood urea (UREA) and urinary albumin were measured in mice by kits, and renal histopathological changes and fibrosis were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and Masson staining. Renal tissue superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Western blotting was used to detect the expression of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/ heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) signaling pathway-related proteins in kidney tissues. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of miR-17-5p in kidney tissues. Subsequently, a DN in vitro model was constructed by high glucose culture of human mesangial cells (HMCs), cells were transfected with miR-17-5p mimic and/or treated with Nef, and we used qRT-PCR to detect cellular miR-17 expression, flow cytometry to detect apoptosis, ELISAs to detect cellular SOD, MDA, and GSH-Px activities, Western blots to detect Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway-related protein expression, and dual luciferase reporter gene assays to verify the targeting relationship between Nrf2 and miR-17-5p. RESULTS: Administration of Nef significantly reduced the levels of blood glucose, Crea, and UREA and the expression of miR-17-5p, improved renal histopathology and fibrosis, significantly reduced MDA levels, elevated SOD and GSH-Px activities, and activated Nrf2 expression in kidney tissues from mice with DN. Nrf2 is a post-transcriptional target of miR-17-5p. In HMCs transfected with miR-17-5p mimics, the mRNA and protein levels of Nrf2 were significantly suppressed. Furthermore, miR-17-5p overexpression and Nef intervention resulted in a significant increase in high glucose-induced apoptosis and MDA levels in HMCs and a significant decrease in the protein expression of HO-1 and Nrf2. CONCLUSION: Collectively, these results indicate that Nef has an ameliorative effect on DN, and the mechanism may be through the miR-17-5p/Nrf2 pathway.

A novel biological sources consistency evaluation method reveals high level of biodiversity within wild natural medicine: A case study of Amynthas earthworms as "Guang Dilong"

For wild natural medicine, unanticipated biodiversity as species or varieties with similar morphological characteristics and sympatric distribution may co-exist in a single batch of medical materials, which affects the efficacy and safety of clinical medication. DNA barcoding as an effective species identification tool is limited by its low sample throughput nature. In this study, combining DNA mini-barcode, DNA metabarcoding and species delimitation method, a novel biological sources consistency evaluation strategy was proposed, and high level of interspecific and intraspecific variations were observed and validated among 5376 Amynthas samples from 19 sampling points regarded as "Guang Dilong" and 25 batches of proprietary Chinese medicines. Besides Amynthas aspergillum as the authentic source, 8 other Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) were elucidated. Significantly, even the subgroups within A. aspergillum revealed here differ significantly on chemical compositions and biological activity. Fortunately, this biodiversity could be controlled when the collection was limited to designated areas, as proved by 2796 "decoction pieces" samples. This batch biological identification method should be introduced as a novel concept regarding natural medicine quality control, and to offer guidelines for in-situ conservation and breeding bases construction of wild natural medicine.

Rapid bioluminescence assay for monitoring rat CES1 activity and its alteration by traditional Chinese medicines / 药物分析学报

In traditional Chinese medicine herbs (TCM), including Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae (Danshen), Radix Puerariae Lobatae (Gegen), Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui), and Rhizoma Chuanxiong (Chuanxiong) are widely used for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and also often co-administered with Western drugs as a part of integrative medicine practice. Carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) plays a pivotal role in the metabolisms of pro-drugs. Since (S)-2-(2-(6-dimethylamino)-benzothiazole)-4,5-dihydro-thiazole-4-carboxylate (NLMe) has recently been identified by us as a selective CES1 bioluminescent sensor, we developed a rapid method using this substrate for the direct measurement of CES1 activity in rats. This bioluminescence assay was applied to determine CES1 activity in rat tissues after a two-week oral administration of each of the four herbs noted above. The results demonstrated the presence of CES1 enzyme in rat blood and all tested tissues with much higher enzyme activity in the blood, liver, kidney and heart than that in the small intestine, spleen, lung, pancreas, brain and stomach. In addition, the four herbs showed tissue-specific effects on rat CES1 expression. Based on the CES1 biodistribution and its changes after treatment in rats, the possibility that Danshen, Gegen and Danggui might alter CES1 ac-tivities in human blood and kidney should be considered. In summary, a selective and sensitive biolu-minescence assay was developed to rapidly evaluate CES1 activity and the effects of orally administered TCMs in rats.

Effect of modified myocutaneous flaps in treatment of lower eyelid relaxation / 中华医学美学美容杂志

Objective@#To observe the effect of modified myocutaneous flaps in the treatment of lower eyelid relaxation.@*Methods@#From June 2017 to November 2018, 85 patients with lower eyelid relaxation were treated in our hospital. Modified musculocutaneous flaps were used in all cases. The techniques of preservation of eye fur, treatment of lacrimal grooves and muscle resection and suture were emphasized during the operation. All patients were followed up for 6 months to observe the occurrence of complications. At 6 months after operation, the satisfaction of operation was evaluated.@*Results@#After 6 months of follow-up, 79 cases (92.94%) were satisfied. The symptoms included the disappearance of lower eyelid skin relaxation, the disappearance of lower eyelid margin baggy groove, no eyelid retraction, the formation of " orbicularis oculi muscle threshold" on the eyelid margin, and no obvious scar. There were 6 cases of basic satisfaction and 0 cases of unsatisfactory. Two patients had mild eyelid ectropion, 2 patients had slight scar hyperplasia at the lateral canthus incision, and no complications such as retrobulbar hematoma, infection and facial nerve injury occurred. No second repair operation was performed.@*Conclusions@#Modified musculocutaneous flaps have a satisfactory effect in the treatment of lower eyelid skin relaxation. It not only takes into account the advantages of the two traditional methods of skin flaps and musculocutaneous flaps, but also retains the natural physiological curvature of eye fur. It can also significantly improve the wrinkles and lacrimal grooves of lower eyelid. It is worthy popularizing.

Effects of Hericium erinaceus Polysaccharide on the Content of Short-chain Fatty Acids in the Intestine of Ulcerative Colitis Model Rats / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE： To investigate the effects of Hericium erinaceus polysaccharide on the content of short-chain fatty acids （SCFAs） in the intestine of ulcerative colitis model rats. METHODS： A total of 40 SD rats were randomly divided into blank group， model group and H. erinaceus polysaccharide low-dose and high-dose groups （0.5， 1.0 g/kg）， with 10 rats in each group. Except for blank group， other groups were given acetic acid enema to induce ulcerative colitis model. The next day after modeling， H. erinaceus polysaccharide groups were given relevant medicine solution intragastrically； blank group and model group were given relevant volume of water intragastrically， for 10 consecutive days. Colon tissue was collected， and pathological changes of colon tissue were observed by HE staining. The pathological changes of colon in rats were observed with naked eyes and scored so as to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy. The contents of 6 kinds of SCFAs （acetic acid，propionic acid，butyric acid，isobutyric acid，pentanoic acid and isovaleric acid） in intestine of rats were determined by GC-MS. RESULTS： Compared with blank group， inflammatory lesions of colonic mucosal epithelium in model group rats were obvious； colonic mucosal ulcer score increased significantly （P＜0.01）； the contents of 5 kinds of SCFAs and the total amount of SCFAs in colon except for propionic acid were decreased significantly （P＜0.01）. Compared with model group， the degree of colonic histopathological damage in H. erinaceus polysaccharide groups was significantly reduced； colonic mucosal ulcer scores were significantly reduced （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）； the contents of 5 kinds of SCFAs and the total amount of SCFAs in colon except for propionic acid were increased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS： H. erinaceus polysaccharide can effectively improve the pathological condition of ulcerative colitis model rats； its regulation of intestinal SCFAs （especially acetic acid and butyric acid） may be an important mechanism of its anti-ulcerative colitis.

Comparative analysis of nursing needs and actual service status of inpatients / 中华医院管理杂志

Objective To probe into the gaps between the inpatient care needs at public tertiary hospitals and existing nursing services,for measures to improve the quality of nursing service.Methods The simple clinical score(SCS),Barthel index scale,patient care needs questionnaire,and actual service status questionnaire were used in a multi-centered stratified random sampling survey, covering the adult inpatient wards of 72 departments at six tertiary hospitals.The results were subject to a stratified analysis of patient care needs, and a comparative analysis between patient care needs and the actual status of the service.Results Statistically significant differences were found between the nursing needs of patients from among different departments,self-care abilities and those with different conditions(P<0.05); the patient care needs and actual service status in cleaning, eating, excretion, activities, health education, basic treatment and nursing of traditional Chinese medicine in terms of the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05); the comparative analysis found differences between patient care needs and actual service status.The top five patient care needs which were greater than the actual service status were namely temperature measuring,rehabilitation guidance,routine inspection,observation and psychological care.The top five areas with actual service status greater than patient care needs were namely turnover /back flapping, toilet assistance,temperature measuring,hands washing before and after meals,and herbal fumigation.The top five areas with minimal gap between needs and service were namely oral care, moxibustion, perineal care,assistance in using toilet in bed and manicure.Conclusions Departments, self-care abilities and conditions of patients vary with their needs of nursing.Based on the existing problems between patient care needs and the actual service status,nurses should increase their care in such soft indicators as rehabilitation guidance,routine inspection and disease observation, and fully meet the needs of patients.On the other hand,they are expected to enhance patients′health education and health literacy in such hard indicators as temperature measuring,turnover and back flapping.

Efficacy and safety of multiple target therapy for lupus nephritis in children / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of combined use of calcineurin inhibitor in the treatment of lupus nephritis in induction or maintenance,which is resistant to mycophenolate mofetil.Methods Sixty-six cases of children with lupus nephritis were selected from February 2014 to September 2016 in Huazhong University of Science and Technology,Tongji Medical College Affiliated Wuhan Children's Hospital.The randomized method was used to divide them into the control group and the observation group randomly.Among them,31 cases in the control group were given glucocorticoid,cyclophosphamide combined with traditional medicine for treatment;35 cases in observation group were given glucocorticoid,mycophenolate mofetil,tacrolimus (calcine phosphatase inhibitor) multi-target therapy for treatment.The clinical effect of 2 groups before and after treatment were compared,and the incidence of adverse reactions in the treatment of 2 groups of children were compared.Results After treatment,the levels of systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI),serum creatinine and 24 h urine protein [(6.05 ± 1.04) scores,(45.08 ± 18.52) μmol/L,(0.96 ±0.30) g/L] in the observation group were lower than those in the control group [(11.09 ±2.33) scores,(95.33 ±36.74) μmol/L,(2.05 ±0.74) g/L],and the differences were statistically significant (t =3.097,3.356,3.871,all P ＜ 0.05).Serum complement C3,plasma albumin levels [(1.05 ± 0.28) g/L,(63.24 ± 12.98) g/L] were higher than those in the control group [(0.34 ±0.10) g/L,(35.45 ±6.74) g/L],and the differences were statistically significant (t =4.124,3.567,all P ＜ 0.05).After treatment,the levels of serum complement C3 and plasma albumin were significantly higher between 2 groups than those before treatment,the differences were statistically significant (all P ＜ 0.05).The incidence of adverse reaction (14.29％,5/35 cases) in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (38.71％,12/31 cases),and the difference was statistically significant (x2 =5.128,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Multi-target combination therapy and traditional cyclophosphamide therapy can effectively control lupus nephritis in children,but the clinical effect of multi-target combination therapy is better and the adverse reaction is less.

Comparison on in vivo pharmacokinetics of brucine, total alkaloids of Strychni Semen and Strychni Semen pulveratum in rats / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study different in vivo pharmacokinetic regularity of brucine, total alkaloids of scorched sand-prepared Strychni Semen products and Strychni Semen pulveratum in rats, and probe into mutual impact between single component and compound.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Rats in each group were orally administered with brucine, total alkaloids of scorched sand-prepared Strychni Semen products and Strychni Semen pulveratum suspension. The in vivo plasma concentrations of brucine in rats were determined by HPLC. A compartment model was made for the blood drug concentration-time curve using 3P97 software package and the pharmacokinetic parameters of each group were calculated and compared.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The in vivo metabolic process of brucine in rats complied with the two-compartment model, weight W = 1/C2. The results of variance analysis showed that among three existing forms of brucine with same dosage, the brucine solution group and the total alkaloids group of scorched sand-prepared Strychni Semen products showed significant differences in C(max), MRT (P < 0.05); and the brucine solution group and the Strychni Semen pulveratum suspension group showed significant differences in C(max), AUC(0-t), and AUC(0-infinity), in which the latter displayed minimum C(max), AUC(0-t) and AUC(0-infinity).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The total alkaloids group of scorched sand-prepared Strychni Semen products showed a relatively longer retention time of effective components of brucine in plasma, while the Strychni Semen pulveratum suspension group showed a lower bioavailability.</p>