Inhibitory effect of emodin and Astragalus polysaccharide on the replication of HBV

AIM: To evaluate the anti-viral effect of emodin plus Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) in hepatitis B virus (HBV) transgenic mice.METHODS: Sixty HBV transgenic mice (HBV TGM) whose weight varied between 18 and 24 g were randomly divided into 3 groups, with 20 mice in each group. Group A was the normal control, where the mice were treated with physiological saline; group B was the positive control where the mice were treated with lamivudine solution (100 mL/kg per day). Group C was the experimental group where the mice were treated with physiological saline containing emodin and APS (57.59 mg/kg per day and 287.95 mg/kg per day, respectively). The mice were treated daily for 3 wk. After 1 wk recovery time, the mice were sacrifi ced and serum as well as liver tissues were collected for ELISA and histological examination.RESULTS: After 21 d treatment, HBV DNA levels in group B and group C significantly declined when compared with group A (P < 0.05). However, a signif icant increase in HBV DNA content was observed in group B, whereas this phenomenon was not observed in group C. A reduction in the contents of HBsAg, HBeAg and HBcAg in the mice from group B and C was observed when compared with group A.CONCLUSION: Emodin and APS have a weak but persistent inhibitory effect on HBV replication in vivo, which may function as a supplementary modality in the treatment of hepatitis B infection.

Changes in gut microbiota composition and diversity associated with post-cholecystectomy diarrhea

BACKGROUND Post-cholecystectomy diarrhea(PCD)frequently occurs in patients following gallbladder removal.PCD is part of the post-cholecystectomy(PC)syndrome,and is difficult to treat.After cholecystectomy,bile enters the duodenum directly,independent of the timing of meals.The interaction between the bile acids and the intestinal microbes is changed.Therefore,the occurrence of PCD may be related to the change in microbiota.However,little is known about the relationship between the gut microbiota and PCD.AIM To better understand the role of the gut microbiota in PCD patients.METHODS Fecal DNA was isolated.The diversity and profiles of the gut microbiota were analyzed by performing high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing.The gut microbiota were characterized in a healthy control(HC)group and a PC group.Subsequently,the PC group was further divided into a PCD group and a postcholecystectomy non-diarrhea group(PCND)according to the patients’clinical symptoms.The composition,diversity and richness of microbial communities were determined and compared.RESULTS In the PC and HC groups,720 operational taxonomic units(OTUs)were identified.The PC group had fewer OTUs than the HC group.β-diversity was decreased in the PC group.This indicated decreased microbial diversity in the PC group.Fifteen taxa with differential abundance between the HC and PC groups were identified.In the PCD group compared to the PCND group,significant decreases in microbial diversity,Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio,and richness of probiotic microbiota(Bifidobacterium and Lactococcus),and an increase in detrimental microbiota(Prevotella and Sutterella)were observed.Moreover,a negative correlation was found between Prevotella and Bifidobacterium.Using a Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes functional analysis,it was found that the abundances of gut microbiota involved in lipid metabolism pathways were markedly lower in the PCD group compared to the PCND group.CONCLUSION This study demonstrated that gut dysbiosis may play a critical role in PCD,which provides new insights into therapeutic options for PCD patients.

Effects of extract from Ginkgo biloba on carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in rats

AIM： To study the effects of extract from Ginkgo biloba （EGb） containing 22% flavonoid and 5% terpenoid on chronic liver injury and liver fibrosis of rats induced by carbon tetrachloride （CCh）. METHODS： All rats were randomly divided into control group, CCl4-treated group, colchicine-treated group and EGb-protected group. Chronic liver injury was induced in experimental groups by subcutaneous injection of CCh and fed with chows premixed with 79.5% corn powder, 20% lard and 0.5% cholesterol （v/v）. EGb-protected group was treated with EGb （0.5 g/kg body weight per day） for 7 wk. At the end of wk 8, all the rats were killed. Liver function, liver fibrosis, oxidative stress and expression of transforming growth factor β1 （TGF-β1） a-smooth muscle actin （α-SMA） and type I collagens in liver were determined. In addition, pathology changes of liver tissue were observed under light microscope. RESULTS： The levels of alanine aminotransferase （ALT）, aspartate aminotransferase （AST） and albumin （AIb） in EGb-protected group were notably improved as compared with the CCL4-treated group （P 〈 0.01）. The contents of serum hyaluronic acid （HA）, type III procollagen （PCⅢ）, type IV collagen （CIV） and the expression of hepatic tissue TGF-β1, α-SMA and type I collagen in EGb-protected group were significantly lower than those in CCL4-treated groups （P 〈 0.05, P 〈 0.01）. The degrees of liver fibrosis in EGb-protected groups were lower than those in CCL4-treated groups （6.58 ±1.25 vs 9.52 ± 2.06, P 〈 0.05）. Compared to the CCL4-treated group, the levels of plasma glutathoine peroxidase （Se-GSH-Px）, superoxide dismutase （SOD） and malondialdehyde （MDA） were strikingly improved also in EGb-protected group （P 〈 0.05, P 〈 0.01）. CONCLUSION： EGb resists oxidative stress and thereby reduces chronic liver injury and liver fibrosis in rats with liver injury induced by CCl4.

Association between TaqIB polymorphism of cholesteryl ester transfer protein and coronary artery disease in the Chinese population

Objective: To assess whether the TaqIB polymorphism of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) in Chinese population, we performed a meta-analysis in this paper. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, the Science Citation Index (SCI), the China Biological Medicine database (CBM), the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and the Wanfang database for relevant articles. Data were extracted, and pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Results: The lit- erature search yielded 448 studies, in which 10 case-control studies including 1 694 cases and 1 456 controls matched the selection criteria. The combined B1 and B2 allele frequencies were 0.587 and 0.413, respectively. The pooled OR was 1.10 (95% CI, 0.89-1.34) for comparing the B1B1 or B1B2 carriers with B2B2 carriers, and was 1.27 (95% CI, 1.09-1.49) in the B1B1 carriers versus B2B2 or B1B2 carriers. Conclusions: In the present study, the TaqIB poly- morphism of CETP was found to be associated with CAD in the Chinese population.