Tanshinone IIA improves diabetes mellitus via the NF-κB-induced AMPK signal pathway.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a systemic metabolic disease. Tanshinone IIA (Tan-IIA) presents potential benefits for DM. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of Tan-IIA in type 2 DM rats and explore its potential mechanism in renal cells. A type 2 DM rat model was established and administered with Tan-IIA or PBS. It was demonstrated that Tan-IIA treatment significantly reduced levels of total cholesterol, non-esterified fatty acids, total triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in experimental DM rats compared with the control group. The results indicated that Tan-IIA treatment significantly decreased levels of interleukin (IL)-8, tumor necrosis factor-α, C-reactive protein and IL-6. It was identified that Tan-IIA treatment significantly decreased nuclear factor-κB levels and significantly elevated 5' adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase levels. Western blot analysis indicated that Tan-IIA elevated immunocyte precipitation in renal cells. Furthermore, Tan-IIA treatment improved lipid metabolism, glucose metabolism, insulin resistance and body weight of type 2 DM rats. In conclusion, Tan-IIA administration may inhibit inflammatory cytokines and alleviate type 2 DM symptoms in experimental rats.

Prognostic value of ultra-sensitive pregnancy associated plasma protein-A in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prognostic value of ultra-sensitive pregnancy associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) level in the early phase of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) attack. METHODS: Patients diagnosed as ACS were enrolled and the level of circulatory PAPP-A was measured within 12 hours after ACS attack. The patients were followed at the time of 1st, 6th, and 12th months post-ACS attack in order to observe the incidence of the cardiovascular adverse events. According to the highest quintile, the patients were divided into 2 groups: high level (≥26.08 µg/L) group and low level (<26.08 µg/L) group, to evaluate the association between the level of PAPP-A and the incidence of the cardiovascular events. RESULTS: Compared with the low level group, the incidence of the composite outcome is significantly increased in the high level group, and the values of OR are 4.76, 4.38, 3.75 for 1st, 6th, 12th months respectively (P=0.000). For myocardial infarction (MI) + cardiac death (CD) the values of OR were 9.81, 6.08, 4.12 (P<0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrates that PAPP-A was an independent risk factor for the cardiovascular adverse events in the early, median, and late phase of ACS (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: In the early phase of ACS attack, the elevation of PAPP-A is an independent risk factor for the occurrence of cardiovascular adverse events.