Study on the Mechanism of Bu-Shen-He-Mai Granules in Improving Renal Damage of Ageing Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats by Regulating Th17 Cell/Tregs Balance.

Methods: Blood pressure and urine biochemical indices were recorded. Renal blood flow was evaluated by renal ultrasonography. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and HE staining were used to assess kidney and spleen morphology. Renal fibrosis was assessed using Masson staining. Serum levels of IL-6, IL-10, and IL-17A were measured using ELISAs. The density of RORγ and Foxp3 in the spleen was observed by immunofluorescence staining. The levels of Th17 cells and Tregs in blood were detected via flow cytometry. Transcriptome sequencing was performed to screen the targets of BSHM granules in hypertensive kidneys. Results: BSHM granules decreased SBP by 21.2 mm·Hg and DBP by 8.8 mm·Hg in ageing SHRs (P < 0.05), decreased the levels of urine mALB, ß2-Mg, and NAG (P < 0.01), and improved renal blood flow and arteriosclerosis. BSHM granules increased IL-10 expression (P < 0.05) while decreasing IL-6 (P < 0.01) and IL-17A (P < 0.05) levels. BSHM granules improved Foxp3 density and the number of Tregs (P < 0.01) and reduced RORγt density and the number of Th17 cells (P < 0.01). Transcriptome sequencing identified 747 differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs in kidneys after BSHM treatment. GO analysis suggested that BSHM granules act through immunoregulation. Conclusions: BSHM granules attenuated hypertensive renal damage in ageing SHRs, by significantly increasing Tregs and decreasing Th17 cells.

Predicting Coupled Herbs for the Treatment of Hypertension Complicated with Coronary Heart Disease in Real-World Data Based on a Complex Network and Machine Learning.

Hypertension and coronary heart disease are the most common cardiovascular diseases, and traditional Chinese medicine is applied as an auxiliary treatment for common cardiovascular diseases. This study is based on 3 years of electronic medical record data from the Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. A complex network and machine learning algorithm were used to establish a screening model of coupled herbs for the treatment of hypertension complicated with coronary heart disease. A total of 5688 electronic medical records were collected to establish the prescription network and symptom database. The hierarchical network extraction algorithm was used to obtain core herbs. Biological features of herbs were collected from public databases. At the same time, five supervised machine learning models were established based on the biological features of the coupled herbs. Finally, the K-nearest neighbor model was established as a screening model with an AUROC of 91.0%. Seventy coupled herbs for adjuvant treatment of hypertension complicated with coronary heart disease were obtained. It was found that the coupled herbs achieved the purpose of adjuvant therapy mainly by interfering with cytokines and regulating inflammatory and metabolic pathways. These results show that this model can integrate the molecular biological characteristics of herbs, preliminarily screen combinations of herbs, and provide ideas for explaining the value in clinical applications.

Complete intravenous leiomyomatosis: a case report and literature review.

Intravenous leiomyomatosis (IVL) is a relatively novel disease and can be aggressive. Since the first case was reported, it has a history of more than one hundred years, but the clinical incidence is extremely low, which has profound clinical research significance. Early recognition and management can prevent fatal consequences. IVL should be considered in female patients with a history of leiomyomas and intravascular filling defects. Because the patient's symptoms are not obvious, it is often misdiagnosed. We report on a female patient with IVL who presented with dizziness, and discuss the unexplained cause of filling defects within the right cardiac chambers and pulmonary arterial system. We present a complicated and rare case of IVL in a woman with a right atrial mass. A long, cord-like mass with inhomogeneous echo was detected by echocardiography. Coronary computed tomography (CT) showed a large hypodense mass occupying most of the right atrial cavity, spreading in both pulmonary arteries. Vascular ultrasound revealed a mixed echogenic mass invading the inferior vena cava like a rope. We performed surgery on her and complete resection on the tumor. We search for documents by searching databases such as National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Web of Science (WoS), etc. the recurrence rate recorded in the 4 cases series was 47.83% (11/23), 43.48% (20/46), 12.50% (2/16), and 10.00% (2/20), respectively.

Quercetin Attenuates Cardiac Hypertrophy by Inhibiting Mitochondrial Dysfunction Through SIRT3/PARP-1 Pathway.

Cardiac hypertrophy is an important characteristic in the development of hypertensive heart disease. Mitochondrial dysfunction plays an important role in the pathology of cardiac hypertrophy. Recent studies have shown that sirtuin 3 (SIRT3)/poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) pathway modulation inhibits cardiac hypertrophy. Quercetin, a natural flavonol agent, has been reported to attenuate cardiac hypertrophy. However, the molecular mechanism is not completely elucidated. In this study, we aimed to explore the mechanism underlying the protective effect of quercetin on cardiac hypertrophy. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were treated with quercetin (20 mg/kg/d) for 8 weeks to evaluate the effects of quercetin on blood pressure and cardiac hypertrophy. Additionally, the mitochondrial protective effect of quercetin was assessed in H9c2 cells treated with Ang II. SHRs displayed aggravated cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, which were attenuated by quercetin treatment. Quercetin also improved cardiac function, reduced mitochondrial superoxide and protected mitochondrial structure in vivo. In vitro, Ang II increased the mRNA level of hypertrophic markers including atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) and ß-myosin heavy chain (ß-MHC), whereas quercetin ameliorated this hypertrophic response. Moreover, quercetin prevented mitochondrial function against Ang II induction. Importantly, mitochondrial protection and PARP-1 inhibition by quercetin were partly abolished after SIRT3 knockdown. Our results suggested that quercetin protected mitochondrial function by modulating SIRT3/PARP-1 pathway, contributing to the inhibition of cardiac hypertrophy.

[Effect of Simiao Yong'an Decoction on the Expression of Wnt/p-catenin Signaling Pathway in Diabetic Ulcer Model Rats].

Objective To observe the changes of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway in diabetic ulcer (DU) model rats and to study the effect of Simiao Yong'an Decoction (SYD) on it. Methods Totally 51 female Wistar rats were divided into the normal control group (n =17) and the diabetes mellitus (DM) group (n =34) according to random digit table. Rats in the normal control group were fed with common forage. Those in the DM group were prepared for DM model by high fat high glucose forage +intrap- eritoneal injection of low-dose Streptozotocin (STZ). Successfully modeled rats were then randomly divided into the DU group and the DU-SYD group, 15 in each group. Fifteen rats were randomly selected from the normal control group, and then divided into the ulcer control group (CU). Rats in the DU-SYD group were administered with SYD by gastrogavage. Rats in the CU group and the DU group were administered with normal saline by gastrogavage. The conditions of wound healing were observed, histomorphological changes of the wound tissues were observed by HE staining at day 3, 7, and 14, respectively. Protein and mRNA expressions of p-catenin, GSK-3ß, and Rspo-3 in wound tissues were detected by ELISA and RT-PCR. Results The wound healing rate was sequenced from high to low as Group CU, Group DU- SYD, Group DU at day 3, 7, and 14, respectively (P <0. 05). Compared with CU group, protein contents and mRNA expressions of ß-catenin and Rspo-3 in wound tissues decreased, protein contents and mR- NA expressions of GSK-3ß increased in the DU group at day 3, 7, and 14, respectively (P <0. 05). Compared with the DU group, protein contents and mRNA expressions of ß-catenin in wound tissues increased, protein contents and mRNA expressions of GSK-3ß decreased in the DU-SYD group at day 3, 7, and 14, respectively (P<0. 05). There was no significant difference in protein contents or mRNA ex- pressions of Rspo-3 between the DU group and the DU-SYD group (P >0. 05). Conclusions Down-regulation of Wnt/ß-catenin pathway might result in difficult healing of UC. SYD could promote the healing of DU possibly by regulating Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.