Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of thermosensitive hydrogel containing curcumin-vitamin E (VE) complex (hereinafter referred to as “curcumin-VE hydrogel”) on radiation-induced oral mucositis in mice. Methods Curcumin-VE hydrogel was prepared using the synthesized curcumin-VE complex as the carrier and poloxam as the substrate. The structure of curcumin-VE complex was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, the microstructure of curcumin-VE hydrogel was determined by scanning electron microscope, and the gelation temperature was determined by rheometer, gel swelling and degradation were tested and gel adhesion was determined using a universal testing machine. Thirty healthy male BALB/C mice with specific pathogen free grade were randomly divided into three groups, with ten mice in each group. The radiation group and radiation+hydrogel group were modeled by a single high dose of radiation (25 Gy), while the control group had anesthesia but no radiation. The control group and radiation group were given daily feed and water 7 days after radiation. In addition to daily feed and water, the radiation+hydrogel group was given curcumin-VE hydrogel twice a day. The mice were sacreficed on the 8th day after radiation. The weight changes of each group were recorded after radiation. The ulceration area of tongue was measured by toluidine blue. The tongue of mouse were pathologically observed. The activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase and the level of malondialdehyde in tongue tissue were determined. The levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 in tongue tissue were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The distribution and positive expression of phosphorylated histone H2AX (γ-H2AX) and nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 were determined by immunohistochemistry. Results Curcumin-VE hydrogel had a porous network structure and the gelation temperature was 30℃, the swelling rate was close to 300%, the gel degradation rate was up to 95% after 48 h, and the adhesion strength was 12.748 kPa. Compared with the radiation group, the weight of mice in the radiation+hydrogel group increased (P<0.05), the ulcer area decreased (P<0.05); the activity of CAT increased (P<0.05); the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 decreased (P<0.05); the expression of γ-H2AX was down-regulated (P<0.05). Conclusion Curcumin-VE hydrogel can delay or weaken the process of radiation-induced oral mucositis by reducing the DNA damage caused by radiation, inhibiting the production of reactive oxygen species, and effectively reducing the level of inflammation in tongue tissue.
Objective To study the effect and mechanism of recombinant human brain natriuretic peptide (rh-BNP) in alleviating myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury by regulating mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Methods A total of 128 adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats with specific pathogen free were selected. The SD rats were divided into groups according to random number table, including, sham operation (Sham) group, I/R group, I/R+rh-BNP group, negative control adenovirus (Ad-NC)+Sham group, Ad-NC+I/R group, Ad-NC+I/R+rh-BNP group, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase adenovirus (Ad-p38MAPK)+I/R group and Ad-p38MAPK+I/R+rh-BNP group, with 16 SD rats in each group. Myocardial I/R injury model was established by ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery. Before modeling, rh-BNP was injected intraperitoneally or adenovirus was injected into myocardium; 180 minutes after reperfusion, the contents of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) in serum, myocardial infarction size, the contents of reactive oxygen species (ROS), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and the expression of phosphorylated p38MAPK (p-p38MAPK), phosphorylated JNK (p-JNK) and phosphorylated extracellular regulated protein kinases 1/2 (p-ERK1/2) were detected. Results The contents of LDH, CK-MB, myocardial infarction size, the contents of TNF-α, ROS and the expression of p-p38MAPK and p-JNK in I/R group were higher than those in Sham group, p-ERK1/2 expression level was lower than that in Sham group (P<0.05). The contents of LDH, CK-MB, myocardial infarction size, the contents of TNF-α, ROS and the expression of p-p38MAPK in I/R+rh-BNP group were lower than those in I/R group (P<0.05), the expression of p-JNK and p-ERK1/2 had no significant difference compared with I/R group (P>0.05). The contents of LDH, CK-MB, myocardial infarction size, the contents of TNF-α, ROS and the expression of p-p38MAPK in Ad-p38mapk+I/R+rh-BNP group were higher than those in Ad-NC+I/R-rh-BNP group (P<0.05). Conclusion rh-BNP can alleviate myocardial I/R injury, which is related to inhibiting p38MAPK pathway, reducing inflammation response and oxidative stress response.
ObjectiveThis study summarizes the latest research on the use of inflammatory markers to predict clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (CR-POPF), and explores the impact of perioperative inflammatory regulation on CR-POPF, providing references for early warning and individualized intervention for CR-POPF. MethodsA systematic review and summary of relevant literature from the past decade on the early prediction and diagnosis of CR-POPF using inflammatory biomarkers. ResultsThe inflammatory cascade triggered by pancreatic surgery plays a significant role in the development and progression of CR-POPF. Numerous studies had confirmed that following pancreatic surgery, inflammatory markers such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), inflammatory cells, and other inflammatory markers had significant predictive and diagnostic value for early CR-POPF. Additionally, studies had shown that dynamic monitoring of the trends and magnitude of changes in these inflammatory markers, as well as the establishment of predictive models incorporating inflammatory indicators, could enhance the accuracy of predicting CR-POPF. Furthermore, appropriate anti-inflammatory therapy during the perioperative period plays a positive role in the prevention and treatment of CR-POPF. ConclusionsEarly prediction of CR-POPF is crucial for improving postoperative clinical outcomes and short-term prognosis in patients. Traditional inflammatory markers such as IL-6, CRP and PCT have unique value in the early prediction and diagnosis of CR-POPF. Dynamic monitoring can reflect changes in disease status, thereby influencing clinical management. Future research should further clarify and standardize the predictive timepoints and threshold criteria for inflammatory markers, and explore novel inflammatory markers to provide more accurate and comprehensive guidance for early risk stratification and personalized management of pancreatic fistula in clinical practice.
ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) level and in-hospital prognosis in patients with acute type A aortic dissection within 24 hours of admission.MethodsFortysix patients diagnosed with type A aortic dissection were included in our hospital and their Lp-PLA2 levels within 24 hours of admission were measured between January 2017 and June 2019. According to their Lp-PLA2 levels within 24 hours of admission, 23 patients were classified into a high Lp-PLA2 group (Lp-PLA2 > 200 μg/L, 16 males and 7 females at age of 52.0±14.0 years) and 23 patients were into a low Lp-PLA2 group (Lp-PLA2 ≤200 μg/L, 15 males and 8 females at age of 53.0±11.0 years). The relationship between Lp-PLA2 level and clinical outcome was analyzed.ResultsThe incidences of bleeding, hospital infection, multiple organ dysfunction and mortality in the high Lp-PLA2 group were higher than those in the low Lp-PLA2 group (P<0.05). Seven (15.2%) patients died during 3 months of follow-up. The 3-month survival rate of patients with an increase of Lp-PLA2 was significantly lower than that of the patients with normal Lp-PLA2 (P<0.01), which was an independent predictor of adverse outcomes at 3 months of onset (P<0.01).ConclusionLp-PLA2 may be a predictor of disease progression in the patients with acute type A aortic dissection, and the patients with significantly elevated Lp-PLA2 have a higher 3-month mortality than the patients with normal Lp-PLA2.
ObjectiveTo understand the research progress of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) in abdominal infection and sepsis. MethodsThe relevant literatures at home and abroad in recent years regarding the research on the role of TREM-1 in abdominal infection and sepsis were retrieved and reviewed. ResultsRecent studies have focused on the key role of TREM-1 in abdominal infection and sepsis. TREM-1 is a pattern recognition receptor, which rapidly upregulated under inflammatory stimulation, forming a positive feedback loop that significantly amplifies the immune response. Its activation can trigger the cascaded release of a large number of proinflammatory factors and chemokines, exacerbating the inflammatory storm; at the same time, excessive activation of the pathway is regarded as the core driving mechanism for the progression of sepsis and even septic shock. ConclusionsThe TREM-1 mediated amplification effect of inflammatory cascades has been identified as a key link in immune imbalance in infectious diseases such as sepsis and abdominal infection. Further clarification of the expression dynamics of TREM-1 under different infectious conditions and the regulatory mechanisms of its signaling pathways is expected to provide new biomarkers for the clinical diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of infectious diseases, as well as theoretical basis for targeted intervention strategies and new drug development, thereby promoting the establishment and optimization of precise diagnosis and treatment regimens.
ObjectiveTo determine the predictive value of preoperative systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII) regarding the development of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) after abdominal surgery.MethodsThisretrospective study involved 433 patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery. Logistic regression risk model was used to evaluate the prognostic value of SII. We drew the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calculated the area under the ROC curve to compared the predictive ability of SII, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and monocyte-to- lymphocyte ratio (MLR).ResultsThe independent risk factors of PPCs were preoperative respiratory diseases, preoperative history of chronic liver disease, maintenance of intravenous or inhalation anesthesia, and intraoperative infusion of more colloid (P<0.05). However, SII, PLR, NLR, and MLR did not predict the occurrence of PPCs, and they also did not predict ≥3 grade of PPCs (AUC<0.60, P>0.05).ConclusionsPreoperative SII is not a prognostic biomarker of PPCs occurrence in patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery. Other biomarkers, such as PLR, NLR, and MLR, also have no predictive value for the PPCs in these patients.
ObjectiveTo summarize the anti-inflammatory effects of irisin in inflammatory diseases.MethodThe relevant literatures at home and abroad in recent years were systematically searched and read to review the anti-inflammatory effects of irisin in the inflammatory diseases.ResultsThe irisin was widely distributed in the body and played a physiological role in inducing the browning of white adipocytes, improving energy metabolism and glucose utilization. A grow body of evidences demonstrated that the irisin exerted the anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting increased pro-inflammatory cytokines and tumor necrosis factor-α, antagonizing apoptosis and activation of nuclear factor-κB, and improving tissue damage in many inflammatory diseases, such as acute lung injury, inflammatory bowel disease, septic cardiomyopathy, acute pancreatitis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and malignant tumors.ConclusionsIrisin plays an important anti-inflammatory role in pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. Irisin is considered as a promising candidate biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of inflammatory diseases, and a novel target for treatment of inflammatory diseases.
Abstract： Objective To investigate the acute cardioprotective effect of 17b-estradiol (17b-E2) against severe myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in rabbits and the mechanism of the effect. Methods We established the model of myocardial I/R in vivo by occluding the left anterior descending coronary artery of the rabbits (who underwent coronary occlusion for 40 minutes followed by 3 hours of reperfusion). Twentyfour New Zealand white male rabbits were randomly divided into two groups with 12 in each group. Before coronary occlusion, 1 ml of ethanol or 17b-E2 at 10 μg/kg was administered intravenously to the rabbits in the control group and the experimental group respectively. The serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at the following time points: before occlusion, 40 minutes after occlusion, 1 hour, 2 hours and 3 hours after reperfusion. Activation of p38 mitogen activated protein kinase(MAPK) was determined by Western blotting analysis, and apoptosis of cardiocytes was identified by terminal deoxynucleotidlyl transferase mediated deoxyuridinebiotin dUTP Nick End Labeline (TdT)mediated dNTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining. Results During myocardial ischemia, TNF-α decreased significantly in the experimental group compared with the control group (F=0.007,P=0.001), while there was no difference in IL-6 between the two groups (F=0.616,P=0.095). During the process of reperfusion, the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group (Plt;0.01). Besides, the activation of p38 MAPK and apoptotic index for the experimental group were also lower (45.07%±2.73% vs. 61.25%±2.41%, t＝－15.398, P=0.000; 11.21%±3.85% vs. 22.02%±4.49%, t＝－6.332, P=0.000). Conclusion The cardioprotective effect of 17b-E2 against myocardial I/R may be attributed to its antiinflammatory and antiapoptotic properties, which is probably associated with the inhibition of 17bE2 on p38MAPK activity.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of early postoperative systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) on the short-term outcome of patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection (ATAAD).MethodsThe clinical data of 88 patients with ATAAD who were treated in our hospital from January 2018 to January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into a SIRS group (n=37) and a non-SIRS group (n=51) according to whether SIRS occurred within 24 hours after surgery. The perioperative data of the two groups were compared.ResultsThere was no significant difference between the two groups in general clinical data, preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction, white blood cell (WBC) and body temperature (P>0.05). Compared with the non-SIRS group, the cardiopulmonary bypass time in the SIRS group was significantly longer (P<0.05), and the WBC and body temperature within 1 day after surgery in the SIRS group were higher (P<0.01). A significant difference was revealed in the mechanical ventilation time, ICU stay, total hospitalization time and hospitalization costs between two groups (P<0.01). Patients in the SIRS group had higher postoperative acute physiology and chronic health evaluationⅡscores, sequential organ failure assessment score as well as a greater risk of developing postoperative acute lung injury, acute kidney injury, continuous renal replacement therapy, delirium, liver dysfunction and morbidity (P<0.05).ConclusionEarly postoperative SIRS significantly increases the incidence of major adverse complications and the mortality rate of patients with ATAAD.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of melatonin (MT) on bone mass and serum inflammatory factors in rats received ovariectomy (OVX) and to investigate the effects of MT on the levels of inflammatory factors in culture medium and osteogenic ability of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) stimulated by lipopolysaccharide. Methods Fifteen 12-week-old Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 3 groups. The rats in Sham group only received bilateral lateral abdominal incision and suture, the rats in OVX group received bilateral OVX, and the rats in OVX+MT group received 100 mg/(kg·d) MT oral intervention after bilateral OVX. After 8 weeks, the levels of serum inflammatory factors [interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α)] were detected using ELISA assay. Besides, the distal femurs were detected by Micro-CT to observe changes in bone mass and microstructure, and quantitatively measured bone volume fraction, trabecular thickness, and trabecular number. The BMSCs were extracted from the femurs of three 3-week-old SD rats using whole bone marrow culture method and passaged. The 3rd-5th passage BMSCs were cultured with different concentrations of MT (0, 1, 10, 100, 1 000 μmol/L), and the cell viability was then detected using cell counting kit 8 (CCK-8) to select the optimal concentration of MT for subsequent experiments. Cells were devided into osteogenic induction group (group A) and osteogenic induction+1/5/10 μg/mL lipopolysaccharide group (group B-D). The levels of inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) in cell culture medium were detected using ELISA assay after corresponding intervention. According to the results of CCK-8 method and ELISA detection, the cells were intervened with the most significant concentration of lipopolysaccharide for stimulating inflammation and the optimal concentration of MT with osteogenic induction, defining as group E, and the cell culture medium was collected to detect the levels of inflammatory factors by ELISA assay. After that, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining and alizarin red staining were performed respectively in groups A, D, and E, and the expression levels of osteogenic related genes [collagen type Ⅰ alpha 1 chain (Col1a1) and RUNX family transcription factor 2 (Runx2)] were also detected by real time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). ResultsELISA and Micro-CT assays showed that compared with Sham group, the bone mass of the rats in the OVX group significantly decreased, and the expression levels of serum inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) in OVX group significantly increased (P<0.05). Significantly, the above indicators in OVX+MT group were all improved (P<0.05). Rat BMSCs were successfully extracted, and CCK-8 assay showed that 100 μmol/L was the maximum concentration of MT that did not cause a decrease in cell viability, and it was used in subsequent experiments. ELISA assays showed that compared with group A, the expression levels of inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) in the cell culture medium of groups B-D were significantly increased after lipopolysaccharide stimulation (P<0.05), and in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, the expression levels of inflammatory factors in group D were significantly higher than those in groups B and C (P<0.05). After MT intervention, the expression levels of inflammatory factors in group E were significantly lower than those in group D (P<0.05). ALP staining, alizarin red staining, and RT-qPCR assays showed that compared with group A, the percentage of positive area of ALP and alizarin red and the relative mRNA expressions of Col1a1 and Runx2 in group D significantly decreased, while the above indicators in group E significantly improved after MT intervention (P<0.05). ConclusionMT may affect the bone mass of postmenopausal osteoporosis by reducing inflammation in rats; MT can reduce the inflammation of BMSCs stimulated by lipopolysaccharide and weaken its inhibition of osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs.
