Mechanism underlying treatment of diabetic kidney disease using Traditional Chinese Medicine based on theory of Yin and Yang balance

The pathogenic mechanism of diabetic kidney disease(DKD) is complex. The development of DKD cannot be fully explained by a single mechanism.Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) has been applied extensively for the treatment of DKD in China.However, studying the mechanism of DKD using theories and methods that are appropriate for TCM characteristics and searching for theoretical bases for TCM clinical application are topics that still need to be explored and researched. Activation of the transforming growth factor(TGF)-β1/Smad and PI3 K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways functions as a self-protection mechanism against renal microinflammation in DKD. However, the persistent abnormal overactivation of reactions causes secondary cell dysfunction, cell apoptosis, increased extracellular matrix(ECM) secretion, and eventually renal fibrosis. During this process, the dysregulation of self-balance among a variety of signaling pathways and the loss of self-feedback regulatory mecha-nisms downstream of these signaling pathways are critical causes of the occurrence and development of DKD. TCM may both inhibit the expression or activation of hyperactive signaling pathways(NFB, Smad3, and PI3 K/Akt/mTOR) and increase the expression or activation of deficient signaling pathways(Smad7 and PTEN) to restore balance to cells with an abnormal pathophysiological status and achieve the goal of DKD treatment.     

山楂水提取物对正常大鼠离体胸主动脉环的舒张作用及其机制

目的：探讨山楂水提取物对胸主动脉环的舒张作用及其作用机制。方法：采用累积加药法,检测山楂水提取物（0．1,0．3和0．5mg／m1）对苯肾上腺素（PE）1．0μmol．L^-1和KCl50mmol．L^-1预收缩的胸主动脉环张力的影响。结果：山植水提取物对离体大鼠内皮完整和去内皮的胸主动脉环均有浓度依赖性的舒张作用,而对苯肾上腺素（PE）预收缩血管的舒张作用是内皮依赖性的。用一氧化氮合酶抑制剂L-NAME和鸟苷酸环化酶抑制剂MB预处理后,两者的血管舒张作用均被阻断。但用环氧合酶抑制剂吲哚关辛,不能阻断山楂引起的舒张血管作用。结论：山楂水提取物可能是通过NO-鸟苷酸环化酶途径产生内皮依赖性的血管舒张作用。     

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy： A case report

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy （TC） is a reversible non-ischemic cardiomyopathy characterized by transient left ventricular dysfunction, which is usually associated with a favorable prognosis. It is similar to an acute myocardial infarction, but coronary angiography shows no obstructive lesions and akinesia of the apex and the middle portion of the left ventricle. TC is often triggered by an intense physical or emotional stress event. Without appreciation of differentiating features, TC can easily be misdiagnosed as an acute coronary syndrome. Misdiagnosis and the subsequent inappropriate and potentially harmful use of medication therapy can be avoided through detailed history-taking, laboratory examination and proper investigations. In order to raise the awareness of the importance of TC diagnosis and further to discuss the therapeutic strategies, we are going to present a case report regarding TC and provide a timely summary and update on current understand- ing.     

TLR2 as an essential molecule for protective immunity against Toxoplasma gondii infection

To investigate the role of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family in host defense against Toxoplasma gondii, we infected TLR2-, TLR4- and MyD88-deficient mice with the avirulent cyst-forming Fukaya strain of T. gondii. All TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice died within 8 days, whereas all TLR4-deficient and wild-type mice survived after i.p. infection with a high dose of T. gondii. Peritoneal macrophages from T. gondii-infected TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice did not produce any detectable levels of NO. T. gondii loads in the brain tissues of TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice were higher than in those of TLR4-deficient and wild-type mice. Furthermore, high levels of IFN-gamma and IL-12 were produced in peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) of TLR4-deficient and wild-type mice after infection, but low levels of cytokines were produced in PEC of TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice. On the other hand, high levels of IL-4 and IL-10 were produced in PEC of TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice after infection, but low levels of cytokines were produced in PEC of TLR4-deficient and wild-type mice. The most remarkable histological changes with infiltration of inflammatory cells were observed in lungs of TLR2-deficient mice infected with T. gondii, where severe interstitial pneumonia occurred and abundant T. gondii were found.     

犬牙槽骨牵张成骨的生物力学和组织学分析

背景：牙槽骨牵张成骨是解决严重牙槽骨萎缩的重要方法,其成骨过程和生物力学对于以后的种植和修复极为重要,目前一直缺少相关的实验研究。 目的：分析犬牙槽骨牵张成骨的生物力学和组织学特点。 方法：先拔除12只杂种犬双侧下颌前磨牙,牙槽骨修整后,制作萎缩牙槽骨模型。3个月后,植入骨内型牙槽骨牵张器。经过7 d的间歇期,以1 mm/d,1次/d的频率进行牙槽骨垂直向增高。在固定期的1,2和3个月,对牵张后的牙槽骨进行临床、生物力学、放射学和组织学检测。 结果与结论：所有牵张器与周围组织愈合良好。牵张结束时,临床和放射学检查显示：萎缩牙槽骨分别增高 (4.80±0.50) mm和(5.12±0.67) mm。组织学检测发现牵张区骨小梁在固定期的1-3个月成熟,其剪切力逐步提高,固定期3个月时和自体骨的剪切力相当。结果显示牙槽骨牵张成骨的组织学和生物力学性能在固定期3个月时与自体骨相当。 中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：组织构建;骨细胞;软骨细胞;细胞培养;成纤维细胞;血管内皮细胞;骨质疏松;组织工程全文链接：     

Resistance imparted by vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin B12 to the acute hepatic glycogen change in rats caused by noise

The effects of vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin B12 on the noise-induced acute change in hepatic glycogen content in rats were investigated. The exposure of rats to 95 dB and 110 dB of noise acutely reduced their hepatic glycogens. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) attenuated the noise-induced acute reduction in the hepatic glycogen contents. This result suggests that antioxidants could reduce the change via reactive oxygen species. Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) delayed the noise-induced change, a finding that suggests that vitamin B12 could postpone the acute change via compensating for vitamin B12 deficiency.     

Implantation of bone marrow mononuclear cells using injectable fibrin matrix enhances neovascularization in infarcted myocardium

Neovascularization may improve cardiac function and prevent further scar tissue formation in infarcted myocardium. A number of studies have demonstrated that bone marrow-derived cells have the potential to induce neovascularization in ischemic tissues. In this study, we hypothesized that implantation of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) using injectable fibrin matrix further enhances neovascularization in infarcted myocardium compared to BMMNC implantation without matrix. To test this hypothesis, infarction was induced in rat myocardium by cryoinjury. Three weeks later, rat BMMNCs were mixed with fibrin matrix and injected into the infarcted myocardium. Injection of either BMMNCs or medium alone into infarcted myocardium served as controls. Eight weeks after the treatments, histological analyses indicated that implantation of BMMNCs using fibrin matrix resulted in more extensive tissue regeneration in the infarcted myocardium compared to BMMNC implantation without matrix. Examination with fluorescence microscopy revealed that cells labeled with a fluorescent dye prior to implantation survived in the infarcted myocardium at 8 weeks of implantation. Importantly, implantation of BMMNCs using fibrin matrix resulted in much more extensive neovascularization in infarcted myocardium than BMMNC implantation without matrix. The microvessel density in infarcted myocardium was significantly higher (p < 0.05) when BMMNCs were implanted using fibrin matrix (350 +/- 22 microvessels/mm2) compared to BMMNC implantation without matrix (262 +/- 13 microvessels/mm2) and medium injection (76 +/- 9 microvessels/mm2). In addition, average internal diameter of microvessels was significantly larger (p < 0.05) in BMMNC implantation with fibrin matrix group (14.6 +/- 1.2 microm) than BMMNC implantation without matrix group (10.2 +/- 0.7 microm) and medium injection group (7.3 +/- 0.5 microm). These results suggest that fibrin matrix could serve as a cell implantation matrix that enhances neovascularization efficacy for myocardial infarction treatment.     

Hybrid positron detection and optical coherence tomography system: design, calibration, and experimental validation with rabbit atherosclerotic models

We evaluate the performance of our novel hybrid optical coherence tomography (OCT) and scintillating probe, demonstrate simultaneous OCT imaging and scintillating detection, and validate the system using an atherosclerotic rabbit model. Preliminary data obtained from the rabbit model suggest that our prototype positron probe detects local uptake of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) labeled with 18F positron (beta) radionuclide emitter, and the high-uptake regions correlate with sites of injury and extensive atherosclerosis areas. Preliminary data also suggest that coregistered high-resolution OCT images provide imaging of detailed plaque microstructures, which cannot be resolved by positron detection.