Protective Mechanism of Cordyceps sinensis Treatment on Acute Kidney Injury-Induced Acute Lung Injury through AMPK/mTOR Signaling Pathway / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate protective effect of Cordyceps sinensis (CS) through autophagy-associated adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in acute kidney injury (AKI)-induced acute lung injury (ALI).@*METHODS@#Forty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups according to a random number table, including the normal saline (NS)-treated sham group (sham group), NS-treated ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) group (IRI group), and low- (5 g/kg·d) and high-dose (10 g/kg·d) CS-treated IRI groups (CS1 and CS2 groups), 12 rats in each group. Nephrectomy of the right kidney was performed on the IRI rat model that was subjected to 60 min of left renal pedicle occlusion followed by 12, 24, 48, and 72 h of reperfusion. The wet-to-dry (W/D) ratio of lung, levels of serum creatinine (Scr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin- β and tumor necrosis factor- α, and biomarkers of oxidative stress such as superoxide dismutase, malonaldehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO), were assayed. Histological examinations were conducted to determine damage of tissues in the kidney and lung. The protein expressions of light chain 3 II/light chain 3 I (LC3-II/LC3-I), uncoordinated-51-like kinase 1 (ULK1), P62, AMPK and mTOR were measured by Western blot and immunohistochemistry, respectively.@*RESULTS@#The renal IRI induced pulmonary injury following AKI, resulting in significant increases in W/D ratio of lung, and the levels of Scr, BUN, inflammatory cytokines, MDA and MPO (P<0.01); all of these were reduced in the CS groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared with the IRI groups, the expression levels of P62 and mTOR were significantly lower (P<0.05 or P<0.01), while those of LC3-II/LC3-I, ULK1, and AMPK were significantly higher in the CS2 group (P<0.05 or P<0.01).@*CONCLUSION@#CS had a potential in treating lung injury following renal IRI through activation of the autophagy-related AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway in AKI-induced ALI.

[Mechanism of tomato plants enhanced disease resistance against early blight primed by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus versiforme].

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) can not only improve host plants nutrient absorption, but also enhance their disease resistance. Taking the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) seedlings preinoculated with axbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus versiforme as test materials, this paper studied their protective enzyme activities and defense-related genes expression, and their resistance against a fungal pathogen Alternaria solani Sorauer which causes early blight. The seedlings pre-inoculated with AMF and later inoculated with A. solani showed significantly higher activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) in leaves. The leaf SOD activity of the dually inoculated plants reached the maximum 18 h after pathogen inoculation, being 28.6%, 79.2% and 82.8% higher than that of the plants with G. versiforme inoculation alone, pathogen inoculation alone, and non-inoculation, and the Leaf POD activity reached the maximum 65 h after pathogen inoculation, being 762%, 18.3%, and 1710% higher, respectively. Real time RT-PCR analysis showed that dual inoculation with C. versiforme and A. solani strongly induced the expression of three defense-related genes. The transcript levels of pathogen-related protein (PR1), basic type beta-1,3-glucanase (PR-2), and chitinase (PR-3) in leaves were 9.67-, 8.54-, and 13.4-fold higher, as compared with the non-inoculation control, respectively. Bioassay showed that the disease incidence and disease index of the seedlings pre-inoculated with C. versiforme were reduced by 36.3% and 61.4%, respectively, as compared with the non-mycorrhizal control plants. These findings indicated that mycorrhizal colonization could induce stronger and quicker defense responses of host tomato plants, and priming could be an important mechanism of the enhanced disease resistance of mycorrhizal tomato plants.

[Relationship between muscle motor evoked potentials and hindlimbs motor function in rabbits with spinal cord injury].

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between muscle motor evoked potentials (MEP) and hindlimbs motor function in rabbits with spinal cord injury. METHODS: Forty-five rabbits were randomly divided into 9 groups, including one control group and 8 injured groups (receiving Allen's injury of 0, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, or 250 gcf). Hindlimb strength and muscle MEP were recorded at the 1st day and 4th week postoperatively. At 4 weeks after spinal section, the spinal cord tissue was sampled for histological examination with HE staining and immunohistochemistry with anti-NF antibody of the corticospinal tract fibers. RESULTS: During the operation, MEP showed an all-or-none pattern with significant correlations to postoperative optical density of NF and postoperative hindlimb motor function. The latency prolongation of the muscle MEP at the 4th week showed a linear correlation to the hindlimb Tarlov's score, whereas the MEP amplitude was not correlated to postoperative hindlimb motor function. CONCLUSIONS: The all-or-none pattern of muscle MEP can be used to evaluate the severity of spinal cord injury.

[Randomized controlled clinical study on ginger-partitioned moxibustion for patients with cold-damp stagnation type primary dysmenorrhea].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of ginger-partitioned moxibustion in the treatment of patients with primary dysmenorrhea (PD) of cold-damp stagnation type. METHODS: A total of 209 PD patients were randomized into moxibustion group (n=105) and control group (medication group, n=104). Patients of the former group were treated with ginger-partitioned moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8) and Guanyuan (CV 4), once daily for 3 days in the first menstrual cycle, and 3 days before menstruation and once daily for 6 days in the 2nd and 3rd menstrual cycles, and those of control group were asked to take Yueyueshu Granules (a Chinese herbal patent drug for relieving PD). Clinical symptom scores were assessed before and after the treatment. RESULTS: After the treatment, of the 105 and 104 cases in the moxibustion and control groups, the cured, markedly effective, effective and failed cases were 58 (55.24%) and 32 (30.77%), 37 (35.24%) and 33 (31.73%), 5 (4.76%) and 24 (23.08%), and 5 (4.76%) and 15 (14.42%), respectively. The total therapeutic effect of moxibustion group wassignificantly better than that of control group (P<0.01). The effects of moxibustion for relieving mild, moderate and severe dysmenorrhea were evidently superior to those of medication (P<0.01). The symptom scores after the treatment and 3 months of post-treatment in moxibustion group were significantly lower than those of control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Ginger-partitioned moxibustion therapy was effective for PD of cold-damp stagnation type.

[Effects of substance-partitioned moxibustion on plasma beta-EP content in the patient with primary dysmenorrhea of cold-damp stagnation type in the menstrual period].

OBJECTIVE: To probe into the mechanism of substance-partitioned moxibustion in treatment of primary dysmenorrhea (PD) of cold-damp stagnation type. METHODS: The treatment group (105 cases of PD) were treated with substance-partitioned moxibustion and the control group (104 cases) were treated with Chinese drug Yueyue-shu. Their therapeutic effects were observed. Plasma beta-endorphin contents in menstrual period were determined before and after treatment in 40 patients of each group. RESULTS: The total effective rate of 95.2% in the substance partitioned moxibustion group was better than 85.6% in the control group (P < 0.05); after treatment, plasma beta-endorphin content significantly increased in the substance-partitioned moxibustion group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Substance-partitioned moxibustion has obvious therapeutic effect on primary dysmenorrhea of cold-damp stagnation type, which is carried out possibly through regulating the plasma beta-endorphin content as one of the mechanisms.