[Astragali Radix-Curcumae Rhizoma combination inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion of colon cancer HT-29 cells by regulating EMT].

This study aims to investigate the effect of Astragali Radix-Curcumae Rhizoma(AC) combination on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of colon cancer HT-29 cells based on epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT). HT-29 cells were respectively treated with 0, 3, 6 and 12 g·kg~(-1) AC-containing serum for 48 h. The survival and growth of cells were measured by thiazole blue(MTT) colorimetry, and the proliferation, migration, and invasion of cells were detected by 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine(EdU) test and Transwell assay. Cell apoptosis was examined by flow cytometry. The BALB/c nude mouse model of subcutaneous colon cancer xenograft was established, and then model mice were classified into blank control group, 6 g·kg~(-1) AC group, and 12 g·kg~(-1) AC group. The tumor weight and volume of mice were recorded, and the histopathological morphology of the tumor was observed based on hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining. The expression of apoptosis-associated proteins B-cell lymphoma-2-associated X protein(Bax), cysteine-aspartic acid protease-3(caspase-3), and cleaved caspase-3, and EMT-associated proteins E-cadherin, MMP9, MMP2 and vimentin in HT-29 cells and mouse tumor tissues after the treatment of AC was determined by Western blot. The results showed that cell survival rate and the number of cells at proliferation stage decreased compared with those in the blank control group. The number of migrating and invading cells reduced and the number of apoptotic cells increased in the administration groups compared with those in the blank control group. As for the in vivo experiment, compared with the blank control group, the administration groups had small tumors with low mass and shrinkage of cells and karyopycnosis in the tumor tissue, indicating that the AC combination may improve EMT. In addition, the expression of Bcl2 and E-cadherin increased and the expression of Bax, caspase-3, cleaved caspase-3, MMP9, MMP2, and vimentin decreased in HT-29 cells and tumor tissues in each administration group. In summary, the AC combination can significantly inhibit the proliferation, invasion, migration, and EMT of HT-29 cells in vivo and in vitro and promote the apoptosis of colon cancer cells.

Effect of combined therapy with bailing capsule and benazepril on urinary albumin excretion rate and C-reactive protein in patients with early diabetic nephropathy / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of combined therapy with Bailing Capsule (BC) and benazepril on the levels of urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) and C-reactive protein (CRP) for exploring its protective effect on early diabetic nephropathy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty patients with early diabetic nephropathy were randomly assigned to the control group treated by benazepril alone, and the treated group treated by BC and benazepril, and the treatment lasted for 16 weeks. The changes of UAER and CRP levels were measured to estimate the protective effect of the combined therapy.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Levels of 24h urinary protein, UAER, CRP were (0.85 +/- 0.32) g/24 h, (83.34 +/- 38.27) microg/min, (2.67 +/- 1.72) mg/L before treatment in the control group, and (0.43 +/- 0.17) g/24 h, (71.22 +/- 31.12) microg/min, (1.05 +/- 0.78) mg/L after treatment and they were (0.87 +/- 0.31) g/24 h, (81.59 +/- 35.69) microg/min, (2.55 +/- 1.66) mg/L before treatment in treated group, and (0.25 +/- 0.29) g/24 h, (57.32 +/- 31.11) microg/min, (0.49 +/- 0.38) mg/L after treatment respectively, all of them decreased after treatment in both groups, showing significant differences as compared with those before treatment (P<0.05, P< 0.01), and the reduction in the treated group was more significant (P<0.01); meanwhile, levels of serum creatinine, fasting blood glucose and HbA1c had somewhat decrease, showing no statistical difference with those before treatment (P >0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Combined use of BC and benazepril could significantly lower the UAER and CRP levels in patients with early diabetic nephropathy to alleviate the renal impairment, showing an effect better than that of using benazepril alone.</p>