Acupuncture, Moxibustion, and Combination Therapies for Insomnia

Insomnia, a common sleep disorder, affects general well-being, hastens the onset of other diseases, and impairs work performance. Hypnotic medications are efficacious in the short term but have obvious side effects. Acupuncture, often used to treat insomnia in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), is considered to be beneficial in restoring the normal sleep-wake cycle by regulating and restoring the natural flow of qi (energy power). The three main TCM theories for treating insomnia by acupuncture are the tranquilization disturbance, zangfu disturbance (disequilibrium of internal organs), and imbalance of yin and yang theories. Moxibustion, another treatment for insomnia, is usually combined with acupuncture. Acupuncture and moxibustion with tuina (exercise massage), acupuncture with Chinese herbal injection, electroacupuncture, and acupuncture with medication or psychotherapy are other interventions. Some acupuncture-based methods such as needle-rolling acupuncture, auricular acupoint plaster therapy, phlebotomy, and acupoint catgut-embedding therapy are used as well. Although most clinical trials have shown that acupuncture and its combination therapies are significantly effective in insomnia, the beneficial effects may have been overvalued, because of small sample size, nonstrict inclusion and exclusion criteria, flawed methodology, short follow-up, or nonstandardized evaluation. Therefore, clinical studies of high methodological quality are needed to verify the efficacy of acupuncture, moxibustion, and other combination therapies in insomnia.

Effect of oxymatrine on interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha serum levels in an experimental rat model of autoimmune encephalomyelitis

BACKGROUND： Studies have demonstrated that experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis （EAE） onset correlates with increased interferon-v （IFN-γ） and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） expression. Oxymatrine （OM） has been shown to inhibit autoimmune responses, but there are no reports showing that it could prevent the development of EAE. OBJECTIVE： To observe the effect of OM on serum levels of IFN-γ and TNF-α in a rat model of EAE.DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： A randomized, controlled, animal study was performed at the Experimental Animal Center of Henan Academy of Chinese Medicine and at the Key Disciplines Laboratory Clinical Medicine of Henan Province between July and December 2008. MATERIALS： OM was purchased from Chia-tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical, China; complete Freund＇s adjuvant was purchased from Sigma, USA. METHODS： Forty female Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups： EAE model （M）, low-dose OM treatment （OM-L）, high-dose OM treatment （OM-H）, and normal control （N, no immunization）, with 10 rats in each group. EAE was established in the M, OM-L, and OM-H groups following immunization with Guinea pig spinal cord homogenate and complete Freund＇s adjuvant. The M and N groups were intraperitoneally injected with normal saline （6.7 mL/kg per day）, the OM-L group received an intraperitoneal injection of OM （100 mg/kg per day）, and the OM-H group received OM （150 mg/kg per day）. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： At 16 days after immunization, the degree of histopathological changes in the spinal cord was assessed by hematoxylin-eosin stanining. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect serum levels of IFN-γ, and radioimmunoassay was utilized to determine serum TNF-α level. Neurological scores were measured on a daily basis according to a 0-5 scale. RESULTS： Daily injections of OM, both high and low doses, resulted in decreased neurological scores in EAE rats （P〈0.01）, as well as reduced cellular infiltration in the spinal cord and decreased levels of serum IFN-γ and TNF-α （P〈 0.01）. CONCLUSION： OM reduced the onset and severity of EAE, which correlated with decreased IFN-γ and TNF-α expression.

NSUN2-mediated mRNA m^(5)C Modification Regulates the Progression of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

RNA modifications affect many biological processes and physiological diseases.The 5-methylcytosine(m^(5)C)modification regulates the progression of multiple tumors.However,its characteristics and functions in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)remain largely unknown.Here,we found that HCC tissues had a higher m^(5)C methylation level than the adjacent normal tissues.Transcriptome analysis revealed that the hypermethylated genes mainly participated in the phosphokinase signaling pathways,such as the Ras and PI3K-Akt pathways.The m^(5)C methyltransferase NSUN2 was highly expressed in HCC tissues.Interestingly,the expression of many genes was positively correlated with the expression of NSUN2,including GRB2,RNF115,AATF,ADAM15,RTN3,and HDGF.Real-time PCR assays further revealed that the expression of the mRNAs of GRB2,RNF115,and AATF decreased significantly with the down-regulation of NSUN2 expression in HCC cells.Furthermore,NSUN2 could regulate the cellular sensitivity of HCC cells to sorafenib via modulating the Ras signaling pathway.Moreover,knocking down NSUN2 caused cell cycle arrest.Taken together,our study demonstrates the vital role of NSUN2 in the progression of HCC.

RNA Structural Dynamics Modulate EGFR-TKI Resistance Through Controlling YRDC Translation in NSCLC Cells

Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors(EGFR-TKIs)positively affect the initial control of non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Rapidly acquired resistance to EGFR-TKIs is a major hurdle in successful treatment.However,the mechanisms that control the resistance of EGFR-TKIs remain largely unknown.RNA structures have widespread and crucial functions in many biological regulations;however,the functions of RNA structures in regulating cancer drug resistance remain unclear.Here,the psoralen analysis of RNA interactions and structures(PARIS)method is used to establish the higher-order RNA structure maps of EGFRTKIs-resistant and-sensitive cells of NSCLC.Our results show that RNA structural regions are enriched in untranslated regions(UTRs)and correlate with translation efficiency(TE).Moreover,yrdC N6-threonylcarbamoyltransferase domain containing(YRDC)promotes resistance to EGFR-TKIs.RNA structure formation in YRDC 30 UTR suppresses embryonic lethal abnormal vision-like 1(ELAVL1)binding,leading to EGFR-TKI sensitivity by impairing YRDC translation.A potential therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment is provided using antisense oligonucleotide(ASO)to perturb the interaction between RNA and protein.Our study reveals an unprecedented mechanism through which the RNA structure switch modulates EGFR-TKI resistance by controlling YRDC mRNA translation in an ELAVL1-dependent manner.

Upregulation of Chemokine CXCL12 in the Dorsal Root Ganglia and Spinal Cord Contributes to the Development and Maintenance of Neuropathic Pain Following Spared Nerve Injury in Rats

Emerging evidence indicates that CXCL12/ CXCR4 signaling is involved in chronic pain. However, few studies have systemically assessed its role in direct nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain and the underlying mech- anism. Here, we determined that spared nerve injury （SNI） increased the expression of CXCL12 and its cognate receptor CXCR4 in lumbar 5 dorsal root ganglia （DRG） neurons and satellite glial cells. SNI also induced long- lasting upregulation of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in the ipsi- lateral L4-5 spinal cord dorsal horn, characterized by CXCL12 expression in neurons and microglia, and CXCR4 expression in neurons and astrocytes. Moreover, SNI- induced a sustained increase in TNF-α expression in the DRG and spinal cord. Intraperitoneal injection （i.p.） of the TNF-α synthesis inhibitor thalidomide reduced the SNI-in- duced mechanical hypersensitivity and inhibited the expression of CXCL12 in the DRG and spinal cord. Intrathecal injection （i.t.） of the CXCR4 antagonist AMD3100, both 30 rain before and 7 days after SNI, reduced the behavioral signs of allodynia. Rats given an i.t. or i.p. bolus of AMD3100 on day 8 of SNI exhibited attenuated abnormal pain behaviors. The neuropathic pain established following SNI was also impaired by i.t. admin- istration of a CXCL12-neutralizing antibody. Moreover, repetitive i.t. AMD3100 administration prevented the acti- vation of ERK in the spinal cord. The mechanical hyper- sensitivity induced in nai＇ve rats by i.t. CXCL12 was alleviated by pretreatment with the MEK inhibitor PD98059. Collectively, our results revealed that TNF-α might mediate the upregulation of CXCL12 in the DRG and spinal cord following SNI, and that CXCL 12/CXCR4 sig- naling via ERK activation contributes to the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain.

Involvement of long non-coding RNAs in the progression of esophageal cancer

Esophageal cancer(EC)is one of the most common malignant tumors of the digestive system with high incidence and mortality rate worldwide.Therefore,exploring the pathogenesis of ECand searching for new targeted therapies are the current research hotspot for EC treatment.Long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs)are endogenous RNAs with more than 200 nucleotides,but without proteincoding function.In recent years,lncRNAs have gradually become the focuses in the field of non-coding RNA.Some lncRNAs have been proved to be closely related to the pathogenesis of EC.Many lncRNAs are abnormally expressed in EC and participate in many biological processes including cell proliferation,apoptosis,and metastasis by inhibiting or promoting target gene expression.LncRNAs can also regulate the progression of EC through epithelial-mesenchymal transformation(EMT),which is closely related to the occurrence,development,and prognosis of EC.In this article,we review and discuss the involvement of lncRNAs in the progression of EC.