Effect of acupuncture on learning and memory ability and hippocampal Ngb expression in rats with vascular cognitive impairment / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:To discuss the effect of acupuncture on learning and memory ability and the expression of neuroglobin (Ngb) of the hippocampus of vascular cognitive impaired (VCI) rats.Methods:VCI rats model was established by repeated ligation of the carotid arteries of the two sides to induce ischemia-reperfusion injury. The successful modeled rats were divided into acupuncture group and a model group according to the random number table method, with 12 rats in each group, and 12 rats were selected as the normal group. The rats in the acupuncture group received acupuncture at "Baihui", "Fengfu" and "Yongquan", 10 times as a course of treatment, a total of 3 courses, and stop acupuncture treatment for 2 days during the courses of treatment. Neurobehavioral scores were measured on the 3rd day after the intervention. Morris water maze was conducted to detect the learning and memory ability of the rats in each group, and Western blot was used to detect the expression of Ngb in the hippocampus of the rats.Results:Compared with the model group, the behavioral score of the acupuncture group decreased after intervention ( P<0.05), the escape latency was significantly shortened ( P<0.05), the number of crossing platforms was increased ( P<0.05), and the hippocampal Ngb (1.18±0.06 vs.0.98±0.04) was significantly increased ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Acupuncture at "Baihui", "Fengfu" and "Yongquan" could promote the expression of Ngb in the hippocampus of rats and improve the learning and memory ability of VCI rats.

Repurposing vitamin D for treatment of human malignancies targeting tumor microenvironment

Tumor cells along with a small proportion of cancer stem cells exist in a stromal microenvironment consisting of vasculature, cancer-associated fibroblasts, immune cells and extracellular components. Recent epidemiological and clinical studies strongly support that vitamin D supplementation is associated with reduced cancer risk and favorable prognosis. Experimental results suggest that vitamin D not only suppresses cancer cells, but also regulates tumor microenvironment to facilitate tumor repression. In this review, we have outlined the current knowledge on epidemiological studies and clinical trials of vitamin D. Notably, we summarized and discussed the anticancer action of vitamin D in cancer cells, cancer stem cells and stroma cells in tumor microenvironment, providing a better understanding of the role of vitamin D in cancer. We presently re-propose vitamin D to be a novel and economical anticancer agent.