Schisandrin A alleviates renal fibrosis by inhibiting PKCß and oxidative stress.

BACKGROUND: Renal fibrosis is a common pathway that drives the advancement of numerous kidney maladies towards end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Suppressing renal fibrosis holds paramount clinical importance in forestalling or retarding the transition of chronic kidney diseases (CKD) to renal failure. Schisandrin A (Sch A) possesses renoprotective effect in acute kidney injury (AKI), but its effects on renal fibrosis and underlying mechanism(s) have not been studied. STUDY DESIGN: Serum biochemical analysis, histological staining, and expression levels of related proteins were used to assess the effect of PKCß knockdown on renal fibrosis progression. Untargeted metabolomics was used to assess the effect of PKCß knockdown on serum metabolites. Unilateral Ureteral Obstruction (UUO) model and TGF-ß induced HK-2 cells and NIH-3T3 cells were used to evaluate the effect of Schisandrin A (Sch A) on renal fibrosis. PKCß overexpressed NIH-3T3 cells were used to verify the possible mechanism of Sch A. RESULTS: PKCß was upregulated in the UUO model. Knockdown of PKCß mitigated the progression of renal fibrosis by ameliorating perturbations in serum metabolites and curbing oxidative stress. Sch A alleviated renal fibrosis by downregulating the expression of PKCß in kidney. Treatment with Sch A significantly attenuated the upregulated proteins levels of FN, COL-I, PKCß, Vimentin and α-SMA in UUO mice. Moreover, Sch A exhibited a beneficial impact on markers associated with oxidative stress, including MDA, SOD, and GSH-Px. Overexpression of PKCß was found to counteract the renoprotective efficacy of Sch A in vitro. CONCLUSION: Sch A alleviates renal fibrosis by inhibiting PKCß and attenuating oxidative stress.

[Multicentral randomized controlled study on effects of acupuncture at Zusanli (ST 36) and Xuanzhong (GB 39) on cerebrovascular function in the patient of ischemic stroke].

OBJECTIVE: To explore effect of acupuncture at Zusanli (ST 36) and Xuanzhong (GB 39) on cerebrovascular function in the patient of ischemic stroke. METHODS: Three central, single blind, randomized controlled trial method was adopted, and 160 cases were randomly divided into an acupuncture group and a control group, 80 cases in each group. The two groups were treated by routine treatment for ischemic stroke with acupuncture at Zusanli (ST 36) and Xuanzhong (GB 39) added in the acupuncture group. Changes of TCD cerebrovascular blood flow indexes before and after treatment were evaluated. RESULTS: After treatment, TCD indexes significantly improved in the acupuncture group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) with a significant difference as compared with that in the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture at Zusanli (ST 36) and Xuanzhong (GB 39) can significantly improve cerebral vasomotoricity, cerebral blood flow auto-regulative function, cerebral hemisphere collateral circulation comprehental function in the patient of ischemic stroke.

[Influences of repeated lower +Gz exposures on high +Gz exposure induced brain injury in rats].

Objective. To explore the influence of repeated lower +Gz exposures on high +Gz exposure induced brain injury in rats. Method. Forty SD male rats were randomly divided into control group (5 rats), +10 Gz/5 min group (5 rats) +4 Gz exposure one time, three times and five times group (10 rats each group). After 1 d or 6 d of +4 Gz exposure each group were exposed to +10 Gz again. Three days after +10 Gz exposure the neuron damage was observed by light microscope in HE stained section. Result. There was no brain damage after repeated +4 Gz/3 min exposure 5 times so it was reasonable to use this exposure intensity as ischemia stimulation. +10 Gz/5 min exposure could result in irreversible neuron damage such as neuron degeneration and coagulation necrosis. The experiment results suggested that after +10 Gz/5 min exposure there were degenerated neurons in cortex, hippocampus and thalamus. The number of degenerated neurons were obviously decreased in cortex, hippocampus and thalamus when exposed to +10 Gz/5 min again after repeated +4 Gz/3 min 3-5 times. Conclusion. The degree of neuron damage was obviously slight at the time of exposure to +10 Gz/5 min again after repeated +4 Gz/3 min 3-5 times. The ischemia tolerance at the time of exposure to +Gz was similar to other brain ischemia.

Immunocytochemical localization of substance P receptor in hypothalamic oxytocin-containing neurons of C57 mice.

With the use of double immunofluorescence, we have examined the distribution of oxytocin-containing neurons that express substance P receptor (SPR) in the hypothalamus of C57 mice. The distribution of oxytocin-like immunoreactive neurons overlapped with that of SPR-like immunoreactive neurons in the paraventricular nucleus and supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus. Neurons showing both oxytocin- and SPR-like immunoreactivities were predominantly found in both nuclei. A few neurons that were double-labeled with oxytocin- and SPR-like immunoreactivities were also scattered in the hypothalamic periventricular and preoptic regions. Semi-quantitative analysis indicated that about 94% of the oxytocin-like neurons displayed SPR-like immunoreactivity. These double-labeled cells constituted about 91% of the SPR-like neurons in the aforementioned regions. The present study provides morphological evidence for tachykinin-induced modulation of oxytocin-containing neurons as mediated by substance P receptor in the hypothalamus of mammals.

[Study of the acupuncture effect on monoamine transmitters in rabbit plasma and brain tissue by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection].

A rapid and simple method for the study of the acupuncture effect on monoamine transmitters and related compounds in rabbit plasma and brain tissue by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection was developed. An ODS column was selected as the separation column at 25 degrees C, and pH 4.50, 0.02 mol/L of trisodium citrate-0.05 mol/L sodium phosphate dibasic to methanol (95:5, volume ratio) without ion-pair at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Four compounds, epinephrine (E), norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), were simultaneously separated and determined under the above conditions. Twenty rabbits were investigated after the acupuncture action upon the central neurotransmitters. The sufficient data showed that acupuncture could significantly affect the activities of the neurotransmitters including E, NE, DA and 5-HT, and the changed functions of the neurotransmitter systems induced by acupuncture not only lead to the neurotransmitter content increase both in brain and plasma but also cause the increase of rabbit breed ability. The results show that the method is very simple and fast. The method is valuable not only for clinical diagnosis but also for research work.