RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Acupuncture is relatively popular worldwide, but an unregulated operation can easily lead to infections. The purpose of this report was to analyze a clinical case of surgery combined with the use of antibiotics for the treatment of thoracic vertebral infection by Escherichia coli (E. coli) after acupuncture. CASE SUMMARY: A 63-year-old male was diagnosed with E. coli infection in the thoracic vertebra after acupuncture. His fever and pain did not improve after treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics for 10 d. Thus, debridement of the infected area and biopsy were decided. The final pathology confirmed the diagnosis of vertebral infection by E. coli. The patient underwent anterior and posterior thoracic vertebral debridement and internal fixation surgery combined with the use of sensitive antibiotics. He had no fever or backache 3 mo postoperatively. CONCLUSION: In this report, we first considered antibiotic treatment for the patient with septic spinal infection, but the effect was not obvious. Interventional surgery was combined with the use of sensitive antibiotics to relieve backache, and good clinical results were achieved. Furthermore, acupuncture practitioners should pay attention to hygienic measures.
RESUMEN
Three new aplysiatoxins, neo-debromoaplysiatoxin D (1), oscillatoxin E (2) and oscillatoxin F (3), accompanied by four known analogues (4-7), were identified from the marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya sp. Structural frames differ amongst these metabolites, and therefore we classified compounds 1 and 4-6 as aplysiatoxins as they possess 6/12/6 and 6/10/6 tricyclic ring systems featuring a macrolactone ring, and compounds 2, 3 and 7 as oscillatoxins that feature a hexane-tetrahydropyran in a spirobicyclic system. Bioactivity experiments showed that compounds 1 and 4-6 presented significant expression of phosphor-PKCδ whereas compounds 2, 5 and 7 showed the most potent blocking activity against potassium channel Kv1.5 with IC50 values of 0.79 ± 0.032 µM, 1.28 ± 0.080 µM and 1.47 ± 0.138 µM, respectively. Molecular docking analysis supplementing the binding interaction of oscillatoxin E (2) and oscillatoxin F (3) with Kv1.5 showed oscillatoxin E (2) with a strong binding affinity of -37.645 kcal mol-1 and oscillatoxin F (3) with a weaker affinity of -32.217 kcal mol-1, further supporting the experimental data.
RESUMEN
Osteoporosis is an aging process of skeletal tissues with characteristics of reductions in bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of glucocorticoidinduced osteoporosis on osteoblasts and to examine the roles of ßecdysterone (ßEcd) involved. In the present study, an in vivo model of osteoporosis was established through the subcutaneous implantation of prednisolone (PRED) into SpragueDawley rats, with or without a subcutaneous injection of ßEcd (5 or 10 mg/kg body weight). Expression of Beclin1 and microtubuleassociated protein 1A/1Blight chain 3I/II and apoptosis in lumbar vertebrae tissues was measured by immunofluorescence and TUNEL assays, respectively. Serum concentration of calcium and phosphorus, and the activity of tartrateresistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were measured by biochemical assay. Reverse transcriptionquantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting was used for detect the expression of related genes and proteins. PRED treatment inhibited bone formation by decreasing bone mineral density, and suppressing the expression of Runtrelated transcription factor 2 and bone morphogenetic protein 2, while enhancing the activity of alkaline phosphatase, upregulating the expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand, and increasing the serum content of calcium, phosphorus and tartrateresistant acid phosphatase in rats. Additionally, PRED was revealed to inhibit autophagy through the downregulation of Beclin1, autophagy protein 5 and microtubuleassociated protein 1A/1Blight chain 3I/II expression, whereas it induced the apoptosis, through the activation of caspase3 and the suppression of apoptosis regulator BCL2 expression. Notably, the PREDinduced alterations in bone formation, autophagy and apoptosis were revealed to be attenuated by ßEcd administration. In conclusion, the findings of the present study suggested that ßEcd may be a promising candidate for the development of therapeutic strategies for the treatment of osteoporosis, through the induction of autophagy and the inhibition of apoptosis in vivo.