Effects of astragalus polysaccharides on improvement of liver and kidney injury and regulation of intestinal flora structure in cadmium-exposed rats / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the effects of astragalus polysaccharides on the improvement of liver and kidney injury and the regulation of intestinal flora structure in cadmium exposed rats. Methods Rats exposed to cadmium were established by intraperitoneal injection of CdCl2. After continuous intragastric administration of astragalus polysaccharides for five weeks, urine, liver, kidney and feces were collected. The cadmium residues in urine, liver and kidney were detected by Graphite Furnace Atomic absorption spectrometry, the pathological changes of liver and kidney were observed by HE staining, and Illumina PE250 sequencing and bioinformatics software were used to analyze the structure of intestinal flora. Results After intraperitoneal injection of CdCl2, the accumulation of cadmium in urine, liver and kidney increased significantly, some liver and kidney cells showed pathological damage such as swelling, necrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration. Chao, ace and shannon indexes decreased significantly, while simpson index increased significantly. The number of OTU decreased. And the abundance of Ruminococcus, Bacteroides, Flavonifractor, Roseburia and Elusmicrobium decreased significantly, but Lactobacillus, that of Lachnospiracea_incertae_sedis, Parasutterella, Clostridium XlVb, Clostridium XI, Integinimonas and Fusobacterium increased significantly. Compared with the normal control group, the differences was statistically significant(P<0.05 or P<0.01). After intragastric administration of astragalus polysaccharides, cadmium accumulation in urine, liver and kidney decreased significantly, liver and kidney cell damage alleviated, and inflammatory cell infiltration reduced. Chao, ace and shannon index increased markedly, and simpson index decreased significantly. OTU number increased. And the bundance of Prevotella, Bacteroides, Parasutterella, Elismicrobium and Barnesiella raised significantly, that of Ruminococcus, Oscillibacter, Flavonifractor, Clostridium XlVa, Roseburia, Lactobacillus, Ruminococcus2, Lachnospiracea_incertae_sedis, Clostridium IV, Clostridium XlVb, Clostridium XI and integinimonas decreased significantly, which was statistically significant compared with the group exposed to cadmium alone(P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusions Astragalus polysaccharides may improve liver and kidney injury by reducing cadmium accumulation and regulating the structure of intestinal flora in cadmium exposed rats.

Guiqi Dingnian Prescription Delays Senescence of Mouse Mesangial Cells by Regulating JAK2/STAT Pathway Activity / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To investigate the effects of Guiqi Dingnian prescription （GDP） on the expression of related molecules in Janus tyrosine kinase 2 （JAK2）/signal transducer and activator of transcription （JAK2/STAT） signaling pathway of <italic>D</italic>-galactose （<italic>D</italic>-gal）-induced senescent mesangial cells. Method:The senescent mouse mesangial cells induced by 10 g·L^-1 <italic>D</italic>-gal were continuously treated with 40 mg·L^-1GDP for three days. The senescence of the treated cells was determined by senescence-associated （SA）-<italic>β</italic>-gal staining. The cell cycle was detected by flow cytometry. The cell viability was analyzed using the cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8）. The mRNA expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-<italic>α</italic> （TNF-<italic>α</italic>）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， nuclear transcription factor-<italic>κ</italic>B （NF-<italic>κ</italic>B）， and IL-1<italic>α</italic> were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. The protein expression levels of STAT1， phosphorylated STAT1 （p-STAT1）， STAT3， and p-STAT3 in the JAK2/STAT signaling pathway were determined by Western blot. Result:CCK-8 results showed that the optimal concentration of GDP was 40 mg·L^-1. Compared with the blank group， the positive rate of SA-<italic>β</italic>-gal in the model group was significantly higher（<italic>P</italic><0.01）， the percentage of cells in G₀/G₁ phase was significantly increased（<italic>P</italic><0.05）， the percentage of cells in G₂/M and S phase was significantly decreased（<italic>P</italic><0.01）. The mRNA expression levels of TNF-<italic>α</italic>，IL-6，NF-<italic>κ</italic>B and IL-1<italic>α </italic>were significantly increased（<italic>P</italic><0.01）. Compared with the model group， the model + GDP group exhibited significantly decreased SA-<italic>β</italic>-gal-positive cells （<italic>P</italic><0.05）， reduced cells in the G₀/G₁ phase （<italic>P</italic><0.05）， increased cells in the G₂/M and S phases （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， and down-regulated TNF-<italic>α</italic>， IL-6， NF-<italic>κ</italic>B， and IL-1<italic>α </italic>mRNA expression （<italic>P</italic><0.05） and STAT1， p-STAT1， STAT3， and p-STAT3 protein expression （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Conclusion:GDP delays the senescence of mouse mesangial cells possibly by down-regulating the expression of related molecules in the JAK2/STAT pathway.

Astragalus polysaccharide attenuates liver injury in rats with chronic cadmium exposure / 基础医学与临床

Objective To explore the effects of Astragalus polysaccharides on liver injury induced by cadmium chloride. Methods The cadmium chloride solution was administrated i.v. to develope rat model of liver injury. Rats were randomized divided into three groups;control group, model group, Astragalus polysaccharides intervention group. After the 5 weeks, the rats were sacrificed and the livers were weighted, alanine aminotrans ferase(ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and lactate dehydrogenase(LDH), the contents of cadmium(Cd) was checked by plasma mass spectrometerthe(ICP-MS), the contents of interleukin-2(IL-2) and transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1) was measured by ELISA, the the protein expression of Bcl-2 and Bax was observed by immunohisto-chemistry staining method. Results The liver weight was increased in model group, the level of ALT, AST and LDH were also ascended in model group, the contents of Cd, TGF-β1 and the protein expression of Bax all increased in mode group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01). The content of IL-2 and the protein expression of Bcl-2 were decreased in mode group (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01). Compared with the model group, the liver index was decreased in Astragalus polysaccharides intervention group, the levels of ALT, AST and LDH were also reduced in Astragalus poly-saccharides intervention group, the contents of Cd, TGF-β1 and the protein expression of Bax were all dropped in Astragalus polysaccharides intervention group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).The content of IL-2 and the protein expression of Bcl-2 increased in Astragalus polysaccharides intervention group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01). Conclusions Astragalus polysaccharides may reduce the oxidative stress injury of rats liver cells indued by cadmium chloride, and its mechanism may be explained by regulation of Bcl- 2/Bax protein expression.

The research progress of interaction between inflammatory environment and MSCs autophagy / 中国药理学通报

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can participate in the repair of various tissue and organ damage, but inflammation often exists in local repair area,and autophagy is induced. As a kind of self-regulating mechanism of cells, autophagy can not only regulate the physiological process of MSCs under inflamma-tory environment, but also work on anti-inflammatory environ-ment. This research focuses on the relations between inflamma-tory environment and MSCs autophagy's interaction and feed-back regulation, providing a train of thought for research of MSCs in inflammatory environment.

Effect of ultrafiltration-membrane extracts of Radix Rehmanniae Praeparata on proliferation and genetic stability of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells induced by cadmium chloride / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of ultrafiltration-membrane extracts of Radix Rehmanniae Praeparata (UMERRP) on theproliferation and genetic stability of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) induced by cadmium chloride (CdCl2).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Protective effects on the proliferation, micronuclear rates, chromosome aberration rates, and apoptosis rates were observed by micronuclei test, karyotype analysis, and flow cytometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the CdCl2 group, UMERRP with different molecular weights at 0. 8 g/L could obviously promote the proliferation (P <0. 05). Compared with the control group, micronuclear rates, chromosome aberration rates, and apoptosis rates were obviously enhanced in the CdCl2 group (P <0. 05). Compared with the CdCl2 group, UMERRP with different molecular weights could obviously decreased CdCl2 induced micronuclear rates, chromosome aberration rates, and apoptosis rates (P <0. 05). Of them, BMSC micronuclear rates and chromosome aberration rates decreased most obvious in UMERRP groups with molecular weight below 10 000 (P <0. 05). The apoptosis rate decreased most obviously in UMERRP groups with molecular weight ranging 100 000 and 200 000 (P <0. 05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>UMERRP could reduce CdCl2 induced micronuclear rates, chromosome aberration rates, and apoptosis rates.</p>

Study on cytogenetic changes with relation to FAB classification in 397 patients with acute leukemias / 中国实验血液学杂志

The purpose of study was to investigate the cytogenetic abnormality of acute leukemias (AL), to analyze the relationship in the chromosomal abnormality and the AL FAB types, and to explore the impact of the chromosomal abnormalities on the prognostic factors of AL. The chromosome karyotypes of 397 patients with AL were analyzed by means of bone marrow short-term culture and G banding technique. The results showed that in 319 out of 397 patients, the chromosome karyotypes could be analyzed, and the chromosomal abnormality occurred in 175 patients (54.9%). In the patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and acute mixed-lineage leukemia (AMLL), the chromosomal abnormality occurred respectively in 33 of 120 patients (27.5%), 129 of 252 patients (51.2%) and 13 of 25 patients (52.0%). Hyper-diploids, hypo-diploids and diploids occurred in 41 of 175 patients (23.4%), 22 of 175 patients (12.5%), and 112 of 175 patients (64.0%) respectively. In patients with AML the FAB type-associated chromosomal abnormality occurred in 69 of 129 patients (53.5%). It is concluded that chromosomal abnormalities exist in about 55% AL patients. Some special chromosomal abnormalities are cytogenetic characteristics of AL, and obviously correlated with AL FAB types, the combination of chromosomal detection with cytogenetics is useful for the diagnosis of AL, and the evaluation of therapeutic effects and prognosis.