Pretreatment with geniposide mitigates myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury by modulating inflammatory response through TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

Geniposide (GEN), a medical herb, is known for its therapeutic applications in cardiovascular diseases, though its efficacy in treating myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MI/RI) is yet to be fully elucidated. This study is an endeavor to explore the potential protective mechanism of GEN against MI/RI. To simulate the MI/RI condition, the left anterior descending artery was occluded for 30 min, followed by a reperfusion period of 120 min in a rat model. Three dosages (50, 100, or 150 mg/kg) of GEN were intraperitoneally injected to the Sprague-Dawley rats once a day, for seven days before the ligation of the artery. The rats were categorized into sham group, MI/RI group, and three different dosages GEN-treated groups. As the results showed, the pretreatment with GEN mitigated myocardial injury, reduced infarct volume, inhibited apoptosis, enhanced superoxide dismutase activity, and decreased malondialdehyde and myeloperoxidase activity, as well as serum creatine kinase-MB and lactate dehydrogenase levels. Moreover, GEN ameliorated MI/RI by downregulating protein expression of toll-like receptor 4, myeloid differentiation primary response 88, and p-nuclear factor-κB. In conclusion, the pretreatment of GEN may be considered as a potential therapeutic option for MI/RI.

[Clinical study of fluid resuscitation guided by peripheral perfusion index in patients with septic shock].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the guiding effect of peripheral perfusion index (PI) on fluid resuscitation in patients with septic shock. METHODS: Sixty-five patients with septic shock who were diagnosed according to relevant criteria of septic shock and admitted to the department of critical care medicine of the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University from September 2017 to December 2020 were included. Patients were divided into the conventional treatment group (30 cases) and PI guidance group (35 cases) by random number method. Both groups of patients were treated with the bundle according to clinical guidelines. Sputum, urine and blood were collected for pathogenic microorganism culture before the application of antibiotics, and vasoactive drugs were given. Both groups need to achieve all the following resuscitation goals within 6 hours: urine output > 0.5 mL×kg-1×h-1, mean arterial pressure (MAP) ≥ 65 mmHg (1 mmHg ≈ 0.133 kPa), central venous pressure (CVP) was 8-12 mmHg, and central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) ≥ 0.70. There was no further resuscitation in the conventional treatment group after the goals were achieved. In addition to these four goals, the PI guidance group was expected to achieve PI ≥ 1.4. Heart rate (HR), CVP, MAP, ScvO2, blood lactic acid (Lac), the time of fluid negative balance, intensive care unit (ICU) mortality and 28-day mortality between the two groups were compared before and after 6 hours of fluid resuscitation. RESULTS: Before fluid resuscitation, there were no statistically significant differences in all indicators between two groups. After 6 hours fluid resuscitation, the four treatment goals in PI guidance group were slightly lower than those of the conventional treatment group [HR (times/min): 96.5±12.1 vs. 97.7±7.9, MAP (mmHg): 83.2±6.2 vs. 82.1±7.5, ScvO2: 0.661±0.077 vs. 0.649±0.051, CVP (mmHg): 10.8±2.7 vs. 10.4±2.1], there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups (all P > 0.05); the Lac level of the PI guidance group after resuscitation was lower than that of the conventional treatment group, and the difference was statistically significant (mmol/L: 4.8±1.3 vs. 5.9±1.4, P < 0.05); the duration of fluid negative balance in the PI guidance group was earlier than that in the conventional treatment group [days: 3.0 (2.0, 3.0) vs. 3.5 (3.0, 4.0), P < 0.05]. The ICU mortality and 28-day mortality in the PI guidance group were lower than those in the conventional treatment group [ICU mortality rate: 37.1% (13/35) vs. 50.0% (15/30), 28-day mortality rate: 57.1% (20/35) vs. 60.0% (18/30)], but the differences were not statistically significant (both P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The peripheral PI can be used as an important indicator of fluid resuscitation in patients with septic shock. PI guiding fluid resuscitation in patients with septic shock can reduce Lac levels, shorten the duration of fluid negative balance and reduce the risk of fluid overload.

Neuroprotective Effect of Stroke Pretreated Mesenchymal Stem Cells Against Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Rats.

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been shown to enhance neurological recovery after stroke. A rat middle cerebral artery occlusion model was designed to assess neuroprotective effects of stroke pretreated MSCs on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. METHODS: MSCs were isolated and cultured in medium with 10% fetal bovine serum, normal control serum, or stroke serum (SS). MSCs were then injected into rats (n = 6 in each group) 1 day after middle cerebral artery occlusion, and feeding continued for 28 days. A battery of behavioral tests, 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining, hematoxylin-eosin staining, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay were used to assess neural injury. To detect enhancement of neuronal regeneration and angiogenesis, immunofluorescence and Western blotting were performed to assess expression of trophic factors and growth factors. RESULTS: After treatment, behavior of rats improved significantly. Infarction area, brain lesion, and apoptosis cells were significantly decreased in the SS-MSCs group compared with the other groups. SS-MSCs also modulated inflammation by attenuating inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, the number of neurogenesis-positive cells and expression of trophic factors and growth factors were significantly higher in the SS-MSCs group compared with the others. MSCs cultured with fetal bovine serum and normal control serum showed differences in expression of trophic factors and growth factors, but the results were not as good as with SS-MSCs. CONCLUSIONS: Administration of SS-MCSs after reperfusion led to neuroprotection by inducing the recovery process, including improving pathological changes, behavioral improvement, neurogenesis, suppression of apoptosis and inflammation, and angiogenesis.

Linalool inhibits the growth of human T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells with involvement of the MAPK signaling pathway.

Linalool can inhibit the malignant proliferation of numerous human malignant solid tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer, small cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. However, the role of linalool in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) remains unclear. In the present study, human T-ALL cell lines (Jurkat, H9, Molt-4 and Raji cells) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors were treated with various concentrations of linalool (3.75, 7.50, 15.00, 30.00, 60.00 and 120.00 µM, respectively). A CCK-8 assay was used to analyse cell viability and it demonstrated that linalool inhibited the growth of T-ALL cells in a dose-dependent manner, but did not significantly affect normal PBMCs. Flow cytometry was used to detect the cell cycle and apoptosis and demonstrated that linalool reduced the percentage of T-ALL cells at the G0/G1 phase, and induced the apoptosis of T-ALL cells. RNA sequencing was conducted on an Illumina HiSeq X Series 2500 before and after treatment with linalool followed by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis. It was demonstrated that the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway was involved in the effect of linalool on T-ALL cells. Real-time quantitative PCR and western blotting were performed to verify the mRNA and protein levels, respectively of the genes in the signaling pathway identified. In addition, it was found that linalool significantly inhibited phosphorylated (p)-ERK1/2 protein expression and enhanced p-JNK protein expression of T-ALL cells. In conclusion, the present study revealed that linalool inhibits T-ALL cell survival with involvement of the MAPK signaling pathway. JNK activation and ERK inhibition may play a functional role in apoptosis induction of T-ALL cells. Linalool may be developed as a novel anti T-ALL agent.