Aerobic exercise improves cardiac function in rats with chronic heart failure through inhibition of the long non-coding RNA metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1).

BACKGROUND: To explore the beneficial effects and underlying mechanisms of aerobic exercise on chronic heart failure (CHF). METHODS: A CHF rat model was induced via left anterior descending coronary artery ligation. Four weeks post-surgery, CHF rats received aerobic exercise training over an 8-week period and cardiac function indexes including xxx were analyzed. To investigate the mechanisms involved in the aerobic exercise-induced benefits on CHF, overexpression of the long non-coding RNA MALAT1 was examined both in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, the interaction between MALAT1 and the microRNA miR-150-5p and the downstream PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was investigated. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the CHF rats showed evidence of left ventricular dysfunction including aggravated cardiac function indexes and lung to body weight ratio. The Masson staining demonstrated a significant degree of blue-stained fibrotic myocardial tissue in CHF rats compared to control rats. Furthermore, the levels of collagen I and collagen II were also markedly increased in CHF rats. Aerobic exercise improved cardiac function and left ventricular remodeling in rats with CHF. There was a significant reduction in the levels of the reactive oxygen species (ROS), inflammatory cytokines including TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1ß, and inflammatory mediums containing the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) MMP-2 and MMP-9. Moreover, CHF rats receiving aerobic exercise showed decreased myocardial apoptosis and increased expression of autophagy-related proteins including beclin-1 and LC3B-II. Overexpression of the lncRNA MALAT1 eliminated all the beneficial effects related to aerobic exercise in CHF rats. Subsequent investigations demonstrated that miR-150-5p expression was up-regulated in CHF-Tr rats and down-regulated in CHF-Tr-MALAT1 rats. Furthermore, the downstream PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was re-activated in CHF-Tr-MALAT1 rats. In vitro experiments revealed that overexpression of MALAT1 reduced the miR-150-5p levels, resulting in increased cellular apoptosis and less autophagy. In addition, overexpression of MALAT1 suppressed the downstream PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Restoring miR-150-5p level with a miR-150-5p mimic decreased the cellular apoptosis and increased autophagy, and the downstream PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was re-activated. CONCLUSIONS: Aerobic exercise improved cardiac function through inhibition of the lncRNA MALAT1 in CHF, and the potential mechanisms may be mediated via the miR-150-5p/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Metabolite profiling of gypenoside LVI in rat after oral and intravenous administration.

Gypenoside LVI, one of the major bioactive triterpene saponins in Gynostemma pentaphyllum, has been regarded as a potential and promising lead drug for anti-tumor strategy. To better understand the pharmacological activities of the component, an investigation of its in vivo metabolism is important and necessary. In the present study, a liquid chromatography-ion trap time of flight tandem mass spectrometry has been utilized to discover and identify the metabolites of gypenoside LVI in rat urine after oral and intravenous administration. Negative electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry was used to discern gypenoside LVI and its possible metabolites in urine samples. As a result, after oral and intravenous administration, eight and six metabolites together with gypenoside LVI were detected and identified in rat urine, respectively. As metabolites of gypenoside LVI, they have never been reported before. Deglycosylation and dehydration were found to be the major metabolic processes of gypenoside LVI in rat.

[Water extract from Codonopsis thalictrifolia wall affects the reproductive system of male infant rats].

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of the water extract from Codonopsis thalictrifolia Wall (CTW) on the reproductive METHODS: We divided 32 male SD infant rats into four groups of equal number to be treated intragastrical-system of male infant rats. ly with distilled water (control) and CTW at 10 g/kg (low dose) , 20 g/kg (medium dose), and 40 g/kg (high dose), respectively, twice a day for 2 weeks. Then we killed the rats, measured the levels of testosterone (T), luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in the serum, obtained the testis weight, body weight, testis visceral coefficient and sperm concentration, and detected sperm viability, sperm motility and the level of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in the Leydig cells, followed by RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the low-dose, me-analysis of differences among different groups using the SPSS software. Medium-dose and high-dose CTW groups showed significant decreases in the serum T level ([3.09 +/-0.42] vs [1.22 +/-0. 32] , [1.06 +/- 0.29] and [0.57 +/-0.18] nmol/L, P<0.01), testis weight ([1.40 +/-0.16] vs [0.96 +/-0.09], [0.92 +/-0.11] and [0.91 +/- 0.08] g, P <0.01), and sperm concentration ([1.03 +/-0.16] vs [0.19 +/-0.07], [0.17 +/-0.08] and [0.16 +/-0.07] x 10(6)/ml, P <0.01), but a dramatic elevation in the testis visceral coefficient ([42.22 +/- 3.02] vs [51.39 +/- 3.09], [52.28 +/- 4.86] and [54.13 +/-6.06] mg/10 g, P <0.01); the medium- and high-dose CTW groups exhibited remarkable increases in the levels of serum LH ([13.62+/-0.89] vs [14.69 +/-0.12] and [14.93 +/-0.28] ng/L, P<0.01) and FSH ([4.32 +/-0.18] vs [4.77 +/-0.23] and [4.89 +/-0. 38] IU/L, P <0.05); all the three CTW groups showed markedly inhibited serum T secretion ([1.85 +/- 0.18] vs [1.42 +/-0.15], [1.12+/-0.18] and [0.88 +/-0.21] nmol/L, P<0.01) and intracellular cAMP ([5.51 +/-0.12] vs [4.39+/-0.06], [4.28 +/-0.07] and [4.11 +/- 0.10] nmol/L, P <0.01) in the Leydig cells. CONCLUSION: The water extract from CTW may reduce the synthesis of testosterone in the serum of male infant rats through the PKA pathway and consequently inhibit their testicular development and sperm production and affect the development of their reproductive system.

Metabolic profiling of Gynostemma pentaphyllum extract in rat serum, urine and faeces after oral administration.

Folk drug Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino contains many biologically active phytochemicals which have been demonstrated to be effective against chronic diseases. As in vivo anti-tumor experiments of G. pentaphyllum extract (GP) show much stronger antitumor activities than in vitro, it is important and necessary to understand the metabolic study of GP. A sensitive and specific U-HPLC-MS method was utilized for the first time to rapidly identify gypenosides and its possible metabolites in rat serum, urine, and faeces after oral administration. Solid phase extraction was utilized in the sample preparation. Negative Electrospray ionisation (ESI) mass spectrometry was used to discern gypenosides and its possible metabolites in rat samples. As a result, after oral administration, a total of seven metabolites of G. pentaphyllum extract were assigned, two from the rat serum and seven both from the rat urine and faeces. As metabolites of G. pentaphyllum extract, all of them have never been reported before.

The relationship between patient safety culture and adverse events: a questionnaire survey.

BACKGROUND: Patient safety culture is an important factor in the effort to reduce adverse events in the hospital and improve patient safety. A few studies have shown the relationship between patient safety culture and adverse events, yet no such research has been reported in China. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to describe nurses' perception of patient safety culture and frequencies of adverse events, and examine the relationship between them. DESIGN: This study was a descriptive, correlated study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: We selected 28 inpatient units and emergency departments in 7 level-3 general hospitals from 5 districts in Guangzhou, China, and we surveyed 463 nurses. METHODS: The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture was used to measure nurses' perception of patient safety culture, and the frequencies of adverse events which happened frequently in hospital were estimated by nurses. We used multiple logistic regression models to examine the relationship between patient safety culture scores and estimated frequencies of each type of adverse event. RESULTS: The Positive Response Rates of 12 dimensions of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture varied from 23.6% to 89.7%. There were 47.8-75.6% nurses who estimated that these adverse events had happened in the past year. After controlling for all nurse related factors, a higher mean score of "Organizational Learning-Continuous Improvement" was significantly related to lower the occurrence of pressure ulcers (OR=0.249), prolonged physical restraint (OR=0.406), and complaints (OR=0.369); a higher mean score of "Frequency of Event Reporting" was significantly related to lower the occurrence of medicine errors (OR=0.699) and pressure ulcers (OR=0.639). CONCLUSIONS: The results confirmed the hypothesis that an improvement in patient safety culture was related to a decrease in the occurrence of adverse events.