Analysis of intestinal flora in elderly Uygur patients with sarcopenia.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to analyze the structural characteristics of the intestinal flora of elderly Uygur patients with sarcopenia, thereby providing new ideas for clinical treatment. METHODS: Firstly, fecal samples were collected from 40 elderly Uygur patients with sarcopenia (Sarcopenia group) and 40 healthy people (Control group). Next, significant differences in the intestinal flora between the two groups were analyzed based on 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing. The linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) was used to estimate the magnitude of the effect of each component (species) abundance on the differential effect. Additionally, an analysis was also performed on the relationship between the intestinal flora and the cytokines in the peripheral blood of patients with sarcopenia. RESULTS: The results of ß diversity showed that there were differences in the structure of the intestinal flora between the two groups. Besides, the phylum level of intestinal flora between the two groups was not significantly different. However, the difference was significant in the intestinal flora at the order, family, and genus levels between the two groups. Among them, Lachnoclostridium, Photobacterium, Anaerobic Bacillus, Hydrogenophilus, and Eubacterium were enriched in the Sarcopenia group; Prevotella 9, Firmicutes FCS020 group, Streptobacillus, Aggregatibacter, Corynebacterium, Clostridium Difficile, and Haloanaerobium were enriched in the Control group. The LEfSe outcomes further showed that Lachnoclostridium was highly enriched in the Sarcopenia group; Prevotella 9 and Firmicutes FCS020 group were significantly enriched in the Control group. Furthermore, the relative abundance of Lachnoclostridium and Streptobacillus were significantly different in patients with high and low IL-6 levels. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, Lachnoclostridium is significantly enriched in the intestines of elderly Uygur patients with sarcopenia; the increase in Lachnoclostridium abundance and the decrease in Streptobacillus abundance are associated with high levels of IL-6. Therefore, abnormal intestinal flora is related to inflammatory reflexes in patients with sarcopenia.

Fluvastatin combined with corbrin capsule can improve depression and anxiety in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of fluvastatin (Flu) combined with corbrin capsule (CC) on the pulmonary function (PF) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: Totally, 156 patients with COPD treated in our hospital were assigned: 86 patients in the research group (RG), who were treated with Flu plus CC, and 70 patients in the control group (CG), who were treated with CC plus conventional drugs. The changes in inflammatory factors, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and procalcitonin (PCT), of the two groups before and after treatment were compared. The complications, psychological status, quality of life (QOL) and recurrence rate of the two groups were analyzed. RESULTS: The total effective rate in the RG was dramatically higher than that in the CG (P<0.05). Compared with the factors in the CG, the PF in the RG notably increased after treatment (P<0.05); the blood gas levels were noticeably better (P<0.05); and the level of inflammatory factors decreased (P<0.05). The incidence of complications in the RG was noticeably lower than that in the CG (P<0.05). The psychological status and QOL in the RG were remarkably better than those in the CG (P<0.05), and the recurrence rate within one year of diagnosis was lower than that in the CG (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Flu combined with CC is effective and safe in the treatment of COPD and can effectively improve the PF and the QOL of patients.

Puerarin promotes the proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells via microRNA-106b by targeting receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand.

Puerarin, an isoflavone-C-glucoside extracted from the root of Pueraria Labata (Willd.) Ohwi, is one of the most important crude herbs used in Chinese medicine for various medicinal purposes. Accumulating evidence has indicated that puerarin suppresses bone resorption and promotes bone formation. However, the molecular mechanism involved in puerarin-associated bone formation is unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of puerarin-induced osteoblast proliferation and differentiation. The study showed that puerarin treatment differentially affected cell proliferation in a time-dependent manner. Notably, at a concentration of 20 µM, puerarin significantly promoted cell proliferation in comparison with the control (P<0.01). Furthermore, puerarin promoted MC3T3-E1 cell differentiation at an appropriate concentration. In addition, miR-106b was significantly upregulated in MC3T3-E1 cells following treatment with 20 µM puerarin (P<0.01), and a known target for miR-106b, receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) was demonstrated using the luciferase reporter assay. Furthermore, inhibition of miR-106b significantly reversed the promotion of cell differentiation induced by puerarin in MC3T3-E1 cells (P<0.01). In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that puerarin exerts its role in MC3T3-E1 osteogenesis through miR-106b by targeting RANKL. The findings suggest that puerarin may be considered a promising anti-osteoporotic agent for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Tagging SNPs in REN, AGTR1 and AGTR2 genes and response of renin activity, angiotensin II and aldosterone concentrations to antihypertensive treatment in Kazakans.

HYPOTHESIS: Polymorphisms of REN, AGTR1 and AGTR2 may be associated with responses of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) activity phenotypes to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) antihypertensive treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 400 first diagnosed Kazak hypertensives were randomly allocated to two groups and received a 3-week course of either captopril and atenolol as monotherapy under double blinding. Genotype-phenotype association analyses were performed by covariance analyses between baseline level and responses of blood pressure, renin, angiotensin II and aldosterone concentrations with tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in REN, AGTR1 and AGTR2 genes. A false discovery rate method was used to adjust multiple testing. RESULTS: After adjustment for multiple testing, we found that the G allele of rs6676670 (T/G) in intron 1 of REN was significantly associated with higher baseline aldosterone concentrations (p < 0.0001, explained variance (EV) = 2.3%). Significant associations after adjustments were also found between the A allele of rs2887284, with higher baseline renin activity (p = 0.022, EV = 1.0%), higher responses of renin (p = 0.018 EV = 5.4%), and higher responses of angiotensin II (p = 0.0255, EV = 3.13%) to the treatment of ACEI. The carriers of the A allele of rs2887284 appeared to be more sensitive to the ACEI treatment. CONCLUSION: rs2887284 in intron 9 of REN is associated with the response of renin and angiotensin II levels to ACEI treatment.