ABSTRACT
Objective::To investigate the effect of Xiaoyaosan (XYS) on hepatic lipid metabolism and steatohepatitis in ovariectomized (OVX) female SD rats and its mechanism. Method::Forty female SD rats were randomly divided into sham surgery group, OVX group, low-dose XYS group (3 g·kg-1), and high-dose XYS group (9 g·kg-1). Bilateral ovaries of rats were excised to replicate the obesity model of ovariectomized rat. After 6 weeks of intragastric administration, the change rate of body mass in each group, the levels of blood lipids and liver function of rats were detected. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and oil red staining were used to observe the hepatocyte histomorphology and the intrahepatic fatty deposits. The expressions of hepatic proinflammatory cytokines and estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) were determined by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR). Result::Compared with sham surgery group, the change rate of body mass of OVX group was significantly increased (2-6 weeks) with the changes in the course of drug administration and the levels of serum total cholesterol (TC), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (P<0.05), aspartate amino transferase (AST) (P<0.01), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (P<0.05) were markedly increased too (P<0.05, P<0.01). By histological method, in OVX group, the structure of hepatic cord became disordered, and there were new lipid droplets in hepatocyte cytoplasm, transcription levels of hepatic interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in OVX group were significantly increased (P<0.05). Compared with OVX group, the growth rate of body weight in low-dose and high-dose XYS group showed significant decreases with the increase of the cycle of drug administration (3-6 weeks). XYS significantly reduced levels of serum TC, ALT, AST, and LDL levels of OVX rats (P<0.05) in a dose-dependent manner, while serum triglyceride (TG), alkaline phosphatase (AKP) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels in the four groups showed no statistical significance, XYS can improve hepatocyte structure and steatosis of OVX rats, XYS could reduce the transcription hepatic levels of IL-6 and IL-1β of OVX rats in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05, P<0.01), but there was no significant difference in the transcription level of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) among groups, both low and high-dose XYS can increase the transcription hepatic level of ERβ in OVX group (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion::XYS can improve the growth rate of body mass, the hepatic lipid metabolism abnormalities and steatohepatitis of OVX rats. The mechanism may be related to the elevated expression of hepatic ERβ by XYS, so as to inhibit the hepatic pro-inflammatory factors expressions.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Drug-induced liver damage is a potential complication from using many drugs. The aim of our study was to analyze the etiology and clinical features of drug-induced liver damage, in order to draw more attention to this problem.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Two hundred and seventy-six cases over a 5-year period in Jiangsu Province Hospital were retrospectively analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A variety of drugs, including traditional Chinese medicines (26.1% of our total cases) and anticancer drugs (17%) caused liver damage. The main clinical manifestations of it were fatigue, nausea, vomiting and jaundice. In 88% of our cases the symptoms were relieved or completely disappeared, but there was still a 5.1% mortality rate.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The clinical features of drug-induced liver damage are of no specificity, and the mortality of it is not low. Liver function should be monitored when suspected drugs are prescribed.</p>
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Young Adult , Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury, Chronic , Classification , Diagnosis , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
The ongoing pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 calls for rapid and cost-effective methods to accurately identify infected individuals. The vast majority of patient samples is assessed for viral RNA presence by RT-qPCR. Our biomedical research institute, in collaboration between partner hospitals and an accredited clinical diagnostic laboratory, established a diagnostic testing pipeline that has reported on more than 40,000 RT-qPCR results since its commencement at the beginning of April 2020. However, due to ongoing demand and competition for critical resources, alternative testing strategies were sought. In this work, we present a clinically-validated standard operating procedure (SOP) for high-throughput SARS-CoV-2 detection by RT-LAMP in 25 minutes that is robust, reliable, repeatable, sensitive, specific, and inexpensive.
ABSTRACT
The emergence of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has led to a pandemic infecting more than two million people worldwide in less than four months, posing a major threat to healthcare systems. This is compounded by the shortage of available tests causing numerous healthcare workers to unnecessarily self-isolate. We provide a roadmap instructing how a research institute can be repurposed in the midst of this crisis, in collaboration with partner hospitals and an established diagnostic laboratory, harnessing existing expertise in virus handling, robotics, PCR, and data science to derive a rapid, high throughput diagnostic testing pipeline for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in patients with suspected COVID-19. The pipeline is used to detect SARS-CoV-2 from combined nose-throat swabs and endotracheal secretions/ bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Notably, it relies on a series of in-house buffers for virus inactivation and the extraction of viral RNA, thereby reducing the dependency on commercial suppliers at times of global shortage. We use a commercial RT-PCR assay, from BGI, and results are reported with a bespoke online web application that integrates with the healthcare digital system. This strategy facilitates the remote reporting of thousands of samples a day with a turnaround time of under 24 hours, universally applicable to laboratories worldwide.